Queen Elizabeth’s Last Hill

“You got to walk that lonesome Valley. You got to walk it for yourself.” (Mississippi John Hurt, 1883-1966, Blues singer)

After Queen Elizabeth’s II death, I looked through many photos and events of her life. I love history because it helps to reveal the interconnectedness of generations and events. Elizabeth was elegant and beautiful throughout her life. However, there is one photo that struck me the moment I saw it. 

This photo is from 51 years ago as she climbed a hill in the countryside of Scotland. The background is gorgeous and the photo is stunning. A half-century ago she climbed that hill. This year, she climbed the hill into the presence of God. 

We all will make that journey… some sooner than expected, and others later than expected. And, as bluesman Mississippi John Hurt says in his song, “We got to walk it for ourself.” Each of us will walk the trail, the mountain, or the valley as our life winds down. Sometimes the end of life is not a soft landing; however, for those who belong to Christ, the final rest is always in presence of our Savior.

We Are Not Above the Master

At times we may find our hearts questioning the purpose for our suffering. Especially if the trial continues beyond the point that we see no rhyme or reason to its length. Let us ask, “Who have we gained the greatest encouragement from? Those in pleasure or those in sorrow?” Those who are best at drying eyes and comforting broken hearts are those who have trodden their own path of sorrow ahead of us.

Only recipients of grace are capable of dispensing gifts of grace. If our road is long and dusty, we search out those who are ‘dirtied’ from the same road, not one whose clothes are untouched because of their comfort and ease.

Ms. Carrie Breck (1855-1934) spent most of her life in Oregon. A devout Christian, she was devoted to her husband and five daughters. She had no sense of pitch, and could not carry a tune, but she had the gift of poetic rhythm, and wrote more than 2,000 poems. She was not particularly robust in health, and had to take frequent rests while doing chores. At such times, she would sit in her favorite rocking chair, take up a notebook, and write poetry, often with a baby on her knee, or playing at her fee. She gave us the words to this old gospel hymn.

Once I heard a song of sweetness,
As it cleft the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness,
Like a tender, pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer,
Whence the wondrous song was borne;
And I found a bird, sore wounded,
Pinioned by a cruel thorn.

God Moves in Mysterious Ways

“God moves in mysterious ways…” (Christian Hymn, William Cowper, 1773) We never have to be afraid to pray and ask the Lord what he is doing. However, some things we will not understand in this life, some things we cannot understand even if the Lord told us, and some things we will never understand. He is God, and we are not. I’m sure this ‘not knowing’ was a big factor 81 years ago today at Pearl Harbor. 

If we live long enough, some of the great stories in life will come full circle and reveal the majesty of God’s sovereign dealings with humanity. Here is one such story. Jacob DeShazer was a bombardier as part of Jimmy Doolittle’s raid against Japan after they had bombed Pearl Harbor and plunged the United States into the throes of World War II. The mission was an attempt to let Japan know that the long arm of the USA could reach them. It would come with a price, as the bombers taking off to fly over and bomb Japan could not carry enough fuel to return. The men would have to ditch their planes over China and hope to return to the United States. 

Jacob DeShazer was captured by the Japanese on April 18, 1942, and held prisoner for the remainder of the war. Within the first six months, he watched three of his fellow airmen executed and one starved to death by their captures. Jacob was an atheist, but the events around him in the prison camp forced him to question why the Americans and Japanese hated each other so much.

A Book With Rough Edges

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Today, we frequently see quotes from the Psalms written on book covers, car tags, or bumper stickers. All of that is fine, but the message is much deeper than that. David, Asaph, and others wrote the Psalms in the midst of tears and terror. The words were penned during times of fear, loneliness, doubt, and pain.

    While some of the Psalms came out of moments of victory and praise, most were written in the white-hot furnace of affliction as the authors sought to understand God’s dealings with mankind. David and others poured out their hearts in honest contemplation and prayer, seeking the understanding that only God could give. They were not attempting to wax eloquent or impress the readers. Instead, they lifted the innermost parts of their soul to the only one who could help them. They sought an audience with God.

    Today, we face a danger when we read the Psalms. That danger is the temptation to remove the words from the dusty caves and lonely rooms of a broken heart. We bring them to our kitchen table, where we have little need, and apply their blood-soaked words to our comfortable lives. With our microwave-warmed croissants and instant coffee, we read these tear-torn pages of pain under the soft light of our life. We fail to dive into the troubled waters of which they speak.

From Allah to Jesus

Training church planters in India, raising support for orphans and missionaries, writing gospel tracks, and preaching through technology can be laborious, especially when all of that is on top of leading a church here in the USA. However, whenever I get a testimony like I just received, all I can do is fall on my knees before the Lord and thank Him for allowing me to be a small part of His work of the great commission.

This is the testimony I recently received from Beha*, who is pictured to the left. Read through the entire story and you’ll see the miraculous change that only Christ can do in the hearts of people. The entire testimony is below, including the words she capitalized for emphasis.