A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....04-18-03 to 04-20-03..."The Stations of the Cross"

Hope you will find this as powerful and enlightening as I did.

The Pastor's name is Stephen Burnette, and his reference to Sergeant Buggs was to our Barnwell son,
the first South Carolina soldier killed in Iraq.

He was buried here with full military honors last Saturday with the Governor and other dignitaries in attendance.

Yes - he was willing to lose his life so that others might live in freedom - - -
may God give him eternal rest for having heard and heeded The Word.

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Sharing with you something from my church's weekly First Word publication for this Holy Period - - -
The Pastor's Word:

"Why didn't Jesus hurt the people who were crucifying him?"....
That was the question one of our thoughtful young children asked me as his family was leaving church
this past Sunday.

Good question. He certainly could have. He is God. Why didn't Jesus retaliate?
We probably would have, wouldn't we? The answer is all about Easter.

Had Jesus used his power to retaliate, then he would not have been an innocent sacrifice for the world.
I often hear this about our soldiers who "lost their lives in Iraq." They were not lost. Sergeant Buggs did not lose his life...it was given. These brave young men and women willfully laid down their lives on our behalf. They died for you and me.

Just so. Jesus gave his life. Paul says in Romans 5:8,
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Again...

1 John 3:16, This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Jesus willingly gave up his right of self-preservation, prerogative and retaliation. He would not be like us.

He gave his life so we might receive life. Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain!
Come! Come this Easter to worship Him.

Sunrise Service: 6:30 on the Front Lawn. Breakfast following.
Worship: 8:30 am and 11 am
No PM Services. Be with the ones you love.

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Awesome thought that our military are prepared to give their life - not 'lose' it!! - for others - - -
may we appreciate that more fully this day.

Respectfully,
LadyX

Thank you for sharing that, Lady.

Good afternoon & thank you

Very nice, dutchess. You clearly put your heart in today's thread.

An Internet Tribute to Lori Ann Piestewa,
American Indian killed in action in Iraq

Please bump the article if you have a moment. Thanks!

Here is the link to the website. Turn your speakers up for Amazing Grace:

Tribute to Lori Ann Piestewa
Click Here for Easy Link to Website

And here are two very enlightening threads that address the question of suffering, both Christ's and ours:

The Three Crosses: The Good Thief or the Cross Accepted

The Three Crosses: The Bad Thief or the Cross Rejected

Beautiful thread today, dutchess. Thanks for all your hard work putting it together. Looking forward to the contributions of others leading up towards Resurrection Day.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in the midst of Sedona's Red Rock country.

Happy Easter (-:

Wow! Thank you for posting the beautiful Easter art work...A wonderful addition to this beautiful thread by dutchess.

See you later, after work...

How very beautiful, HiJinx!
Thank you so much for being here this Easter Season - you are Family....

Thank you for stopping by and expressing your appreciation of this very beautiful thread that dutchess has presented to us today...

OK, you brought tears to my eyes with this....
Thanks - beautiful thoughts on giving rather than losing.

Thank you for the wonderful note of appreciation to all who keep this thread going both by preparing threads, conributing to the Comments, lurking, agreeing to be profiled, ad infinitum. You covered it pretty well.

Happy Easter to you dear Billie...and you must be especially proud of dutchess today for her preparation of this thread since you literally taught her everything she knows about html and graphics (well, almost everything) and to see her fly from the nest in such a fine fashion must be very special.

Thank you for the Easter wishes. It is always great when a former finest profilee drops by to say hi....

HOLY WEEK

+ a holy week

a holy week
has stolen in
upon the hour glass again

reminding us that price was paid
so dearly for our damning sin.

a holy week to contemplate
the wonders spilt upon the soul

to give us hope, to plant us peace,
to heal our hearts, to make us whole.

a holy week to sit and watch
beneath the cross in shadows there

as meek and humbled 'neath his frame
we take in death, the cross' stare.

a holy week has broached us new
by father's beck'ning overtures

for those with faith to understand
the son's pure grace upon us pours.

_______________

+ i think that i shall never see

i think that i shall never see
the crumbling of a tattered tree

as when i spied on calvary
the likes of wood in twisted spree

as if its limbs were bent from birth
to grow as gauntlet for his bow,

as if its carriage bent intent
to carry blood to painful low.

of carrying upon his head
the sins of mortals such as i

who rant and rave to selfish be,
lost souls intent our spites to spy

out cheapest coins betrayal planned
while lying through hypocrisies.

around and 'round the limbs twist hard
as knowing that they bear in arms

our greed, our pettiness, our lies
corralled within our secret charms

that prance about religious strut
as if we reached the pinnacle

of righteousness while all the time
we carved our souls for self's small swirl.

i think that i shall never see
a burdened wood like calvary

i think that i shall never see
a burdened wood called calvary.

_______________

+ there is a hope

there is a hope
that comes upon

the soul at night
when demons crawl

and winds would howl,
when hours are long.

there is hope
that comes upon

the soul at night
when heaven's love

takes pity on
the frettings, cares

imprisoning
so as to fright

with death's mean sting,
with hauntings rare.

there is a hope.

___________________

+ i caught his glimpse

i caught his glimpse, but just a look,
that lingered on his bloodied face

as he peered down to ground below,
his eyes but wet with tears immersed.

i caught his glimpse, but just a look,
an awful hurt impressed upon

his face, a dreaded memory
stamped deep upon my nighttimes tossed

for lack of rest because i know
he bore for me my pride, deceit,

my fabricated falsities
as if religious to appear

before my peers, as if to think
i hid from him the truth, the spears

that drove into his wounded side,
that brought to fore his holy tears.

_______________________

+ i wonder why

i wonder why he loves me so
and why he cares for soul of mine

when i have scolded him, denied
him more than thrice, for sure, for sure,

and yet he hangs there still for me
and yet he hangs there still for me

as if i counted for a worth
a pence, a crusted slithery dime,

as if i were a care for one
so holy as the son secure

who sacrificed his arms and legs,
his torso young upon a tree.

i wonder why, i wonder why
and so it is at night i cry

to moon and stars and owls that howl
to city streets that bye and bye

will leave me to my utter wail
that claims his love, his mercy still

that claims his love, his mercy still.

______________________

poems by J. Grant Swank, Jr., Pastor, New Hope Church, Windham ME

SO GOOD TO FIND YOU HERE.

GRANT SWANK

Thank you for that striking photo.

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_____________________________

". . .for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." I Corinthians 4:l9

Those into showmanship focus this verse upon their marvelous exploits in the name of religion. They yearn for center stage. They set up for the next performance. Their audiences exclaim over what power is set loose in their coliseums.

When the disciples returned to Jesus to relate how marvelous were their village ministries, Jesus cautioned them not to concentrate on that kind of power. Instead, He told them to thank heaven that their names were written down in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now that's power. It's the power set loose at Calvary.

When Paul writes about power, he writes it in the context of those who have called too much attention to themselves. "I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power."

Paul was not impressed with marvelous power; he was impressed with marvelous integrity--the power of the interior.

"What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?"

In other words, Paul was ready to discipline those into their own egocentric power displays. He was determined that the church would know only the interior power--lowliness, meekness, humility.

When Jesus walks alongside the cross carrier, Jesus instructs him on the power sources of heaven. They produce "poor in spirit" evidences. In other words, Jesus teaches the disciple how to let Jesus servanthood work out through human personality.

When Jesus abides within the human spirit, there can be no display of conceit. Jesus is a jealous God. He will not stand alongside pride. Therefore, either pride must go or Jesus must go. If Jesus stays, then the power of poverty comes through.

It does not take much to work up an audience nor come upon carnal extravaganzas for attention. That can be seen through in a fleck of time. But it takes some doing to come upon Jesus' brokenness. It takes everything the disciple can muster to submit to the bent frame of Calvary, to live out that sacrifice in daily grind.

Do you evidence that kind of kingdom power? It is the only kind that God commends: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. . ."

______________

J. Grant Swank, Jr., Pastor, New Hope Church, Windham ME

GLADNESS IN THE CROSS

When one carries the daily cross, one does not sit up surprised when another trouble comes along. Cross carrying adjusts one's senses to expect the unexpected dilemma. It is the day without trouble that is amazing, not the day with trouble.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the ordeal that has come to test you. . .you are sharing what Christ suffered; so rejoice in it." I Peter 4:12

Saints are forever in trouble. Such is our toughening up ground here below prior to moving into the perfect bliss of heaven. This probationary period is necessary to prove our mettle and provide comfort for others on the journey.

Therefore, do not be startled when difficulties pound against your day. Commit each one to God; ask Him to help you in bearing up under the load, thus learning another lesson in the chapter of the surrendered life.

In fact, dealing honorably with trouble is another badge on the Christian's armor. When we wear such insignia, we give testimony to the fact that we are of the beloved army for holiness truth.

We will have plenty of time not to fight against the wrong. There will be the eternal scene where there is no wrong to contest. But for now, there is much ground to gain, much to war against, and much victory to experience.

Therefore, ". . .rejoice in it. . ." Why? Because God owns your cross; therefore, He owns the battle. Further, this warring allows you to love your enemy, pray for your enemy, and watch God deal with your enemy according to His own wise judgment.

In addition, the holiness battle allows you the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ Jesus. Paul reminds us of this pleasure in his letters. None of the past believers were worth their station unless they had been bloodied up somewhat. Therefore, be careful that your days do not become too hectic-free.

The gladness in carrying the cross comes when we finally abandon all of life to God, the caretaker of the cross. Total relinquishment is such a sweet morsel.

An especially agonizing cross for my wife and me to carry was dealing with our wayward teen son, Jay. When we adopted Jay, he was two and a half months old. The only details we knew about his birth parents were some medical specifics provided by his birth mother to the social worker.

Bringing Jay into our family was such a joy. We were rightly proud the first Sunday we introduced our new son to our church family. He was our second child, Crystal having been born previously. After Jay, Heidi would be born to us.

All went so well in Jay's younger years that, when he grew into his mid-teens, it was difficult for me to deal with his full-blown rebellion. He had known love from both family and friends. Our home was Christian. It enjoyed the climate of God's presence.

Therefore, when our only son ran away on occasion, got into trouble with the police and scoffed at our lifestyle, we felt a hurt that no one could express in words. Time and time again we would reach out to him, yet he would pull back from us to go with the undesirables.

I never dreamt that life could be so bleak. Hardly a day went by that Jay did not plunge us into confusion and pain. He would knock holes in walls, throw furniture across the room, and bash in a door, scowl and curse.

I had had dreams upon dreams for our three children. I had not expected everything to go perfectly; yet I had never prepared my heart for the scars it was having to endure because of our handsome but terribly unruly son.

As to his schooling, we tried everything: public, Christian and then homeschooling. None seemed to work. Jay admitted to no other authority than himself: no principal, teacher, parent, and policeman. No one.

We arranged counseling for Jay. We prayed with him. We disciplined him. We hugged him. We pleaded with him. Yet his own unwise choices and his devil-may-care peers drew him away from our hearts time and time again.

Realizing that we were legally responsible for his behavior until he turned l8, we knew nowhere to turn for long-term help. For a time, he lived out of state with friends; that proved exceptionally helpful. Yet that season came to an end. Then we were confronted with his impossible turnabouts all over again.

Every family trip was ruined by his outbursts. Because he was physically more powerful than I, I was limited as to what final control I had over this large fellow. Therefore, more times than not, we had to endure his unpredictable schemes.

I would lie awake night after night wondering what to do. I did not know if he had sneaked out of the house, made arrangements for a midnight pickup at the nearby intersection or simply sauntered away possibly for good.

Further, he was addicted to violent videos. He would watch them for hours at a time, usually in a totally dark room. How would they act themselves in his own life? I wondered.

As far as doing work while being schooled, he would stay on a job for about three weeks. During that stint, he would perform exceptionally well. Yet peers were the magical magnet which would pull him away from responsibility. There simply was no accountability, as far as Jay was concerned.

Some nights were interrupted with those dreaded calls from police. Or the cruiser's lights swung against our home in the dark. Or getting out of bed, dressing hurriedly and driving into the city in search of my son.

There was no use in scolding my son, unless I wanted a car window bashed in.

I recalled in years past when seeing others' children acting undisciplined, I would think to myself: "If that were my child, I would. . ." With Jay, I knew that there are some parent-child situations which have no answers. That was a very hard fact to face, especially since my wife and I do not favor permissive behavior.

"My God, when will this nightmare end?" I cried out over and over again.

Then I would look up to see him walk through the front door after having been away for several days. His facial features were perfect. That broad smile was particularly captivating. His body was muscled.

His winsome personality was so overwhelming when not taken over by the sinister spirits. When Jay would meet friends for the first time, they would often comment on how attractive his personality was. He could be adorable, playful, soft-spoken and exceptionally courteous. Yet when out of control, watch out!

"He is on a course of self-destruction," I would tell my wife.

Other parents with difficult children would come to talk with us. Together we were beside ourselves as to practical strategy. Talk, talk, talk, but no real solution that would connect.

However, one bottomline that I held to finally proved to be one that did work: no one can ultimately make any other person do anything. Nevertheless, we can pray for that other person's will to change for the good.

Therefore, I entered into my greatest struggle as a parent: I gave up trying to coerce Jay to do anything or be anyone. After all, our family had lived out our faith as well as any Christians could; therefore, we were relieved of guilt in knowing that.

Consequently, I gave myself to pulling back each day in order to give Jay to his own destiny. It was so hard for I wanted to jump into his skin and make him "come out right." But I could not do that any more than the Father could force His will on Adam and Eve, or Jesus could force His will on Judas. Mortals are made with free wills; with free wills they make their own futures.

Finally, I explained this to Jay. Then it was that I surrendered my son to God completely.

That meant watching my son go off one more time with some low-lifes on an extended run-away to a nearby city. Time went by; we heard nothing. Was he alive? Had he left the state? Where was Jay headed?

Then the phone call came. It was Jay. He was in jail.

"But don't worry. I didn't do anything and so I will be out soon."

But there was no "soon." Instead there were five years in a federal facility.

With that, Jay began to take stock of his life. "I had been going so fast, I had not taken time to figure out what was going to happen to me," my son told me.

"Your sin put you in jail," I wrote him. "The devil paid you with his salary check of death.

"You could have lost your life 'out there.' But instead, you are still alive. You are not injured. You can still think and decide. So there is much hope for you. God wrestled you to the jail floor in order to set your soul free in Jesus. It is now your choice to commit solely to the life in Jesus--completely. I pray you make the eternally right choice."

The cross we as parents carried was crushing. But we carried it by the grace of God.

Bear up under your cross. Cherish it, knowing that God has blessed it. In that is your present gladness, midst sadness. In that will be your song of overcoming gladness as the testing passes.

__________________________

J. Grant Swank, Jr., Pastor, New Hope Church, Windham ME