Posted in helping

Helping Others: A Morning Walk Story

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

The sun is rising earlier these days as the big dog and I head out on our morning walks. The eastern sky is filled with a palette of orange hues and puffy clouds as we make our normal loop around the neighborhood.

We never know what we’ll encounter. Today, we came up a woman unloading the back of her SUV onto the driveway. Her left rear tire was really, really flat. She had an inflator attached, but it didn’t help.

I hesitated for a moment, then asked, “I don’t mean to be creepy, but can I help you?” Who wouldn’t trust an old guy in a Philadelphia Eagles cap walking a fawn-colored Great Dane?

She didn’t say, “Yes,” but she also didn’t say, “No.” She replied, “My son went to get his pump.”

I said, “If it’s okay, I’ll help you put on the spare.” She said it was okay, so I let her hold Willow’s leash, and I got to work. I loosened up the lug nuts, set up the jack, raised the car, and put the doughnut spare on in place of the flat tire. I let the car back down, tightened up the nuts, and she and I were on our way.

I learned that her name was Anne. She had lived here fifteen years. She bought her tires at Costco, so they would fix or replace it. She was on her way to work, but had called to let them know she’d be a few minutes late.

It added no more than ten minutes to our usual morning walk. We walk by Anne’s house almost every morning, so I’m sure we’ll see her again. I’m glad I could be a blessing today.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A moment of silence

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Revelation 8.

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1).

That silence stands in contrast with the unending praises of the six-winged creatures in Revelation 4:8. They are joined by the twenty-four elders, myriads of myriads of angels, and every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth and in the sea (Rev. 5:9-10, 12,13. People from every nation, tribe, people, and language who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb praise him with loud voices as well (Rev. 7:9-10).

Heaven is a noisy place until the Lamb opens the seventh seal and “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Rev. 8:1).

One of the hardest things to do when teaching a class or facilitating a discussion is to ask a question and then be quiet. If no one says anything for fifteen seconds, it’s tempting to speak. A full minute of quiet seems like an hour.

Quiet is important. People are thinking. Pondering the question. Forming their thoughts.

Quiet is important when the baby is sleeping. I disconnected the doorbell so that a well-meaning delivery person didn’t push the button, ring the bell, make the dog bark, and wake the child.

Quiet is important in music. A rest means don’t play. Don’t sing a note.

Quiet is important when you’re playing hide-and-seek. Don’t giggle. Don’t breathe heavy. Don’t give away your hiding place.

Quiet is important in golf. Spectators are warned not to make a sound when a player is lining up a perfectly still ball for a drive or putt. Same for a tennis serve.

On the other hand, when a batter is trying to hit a 90 mile-per-hour fast ball, fifty-thousand people are yelling at the top of their lungs. When a basketball player lines up for a free throw, fans of the opposing team will be anything but silent.

How entertaining is it when an adult’s whispered, “Shut up!” is louder than the noise a wriggling child makes in church?

Or when a moment of silence is interrupted by the ring tone of a cell phone in someone’s purse or pocket?

In that half-hour of silence, the prayers of the saints reach the ears of God. The cacophony of heaven’s praises cannot drown out the asking, seeking, and knocking of believers.

More importantly, the roar of heaven’s worship will never drown out your prayers. They rise up to God like the smoke of incense (8:3-4). Your whispered prayers for his help, mercy, and presence sweetly disrupt heaven’s silence, moving God to respond with the thunder, rumblings, lightning, and earthquakes of his presence (8:5).

Let’s make some noise. Let’s pray!

Posted in Life

Someone’s watching

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I pass this little patch of asphalt just about every day when walking the dogs. Oil drips form a face that is surprised to see me as I am.

Here’s another one, in the granite of my bathroom sink, sleepily looking back at me whenever I’m brushing my teeth.

It’s only a little creepy when I catch of glimpse of these faces. I wonder what they’re thinking, in their asphalt or granite world, seeing my face out in the air. Are they creeped out?

What if it was the face of a person who cut the stone or spread the asphalt? What if the countertop or the street contained the remains of someone? In the middle of a project, a worker disappeared. No one knows what happened to them. They just disappeared.

Maybe it’s just a reminder that someone is always watching you. There’s a camera in every store, on every doorbell, at ATM, and above traffic intersections. They are watching. Who? I don’t know. Someone.

Posted in dogs

The center of attention

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-tan-great-dane-532310/

When we take our Great Dane to the farmer’s market, we’re the center of attention. Not only does everyone want to pet the dog, but everyone has a Great Dane story.

After we got some Kenyan coffee, we sat in a sunny spot to people watch. A woman sat near us and shared that she had owned a Great Dane when she lived in Washington state. His name was Ares, he was a fawn, and he weighed in at… wait for it… 220 pounds! That’s twice as big as our big dog!

Susan told us that when she got Ares, the breeder told her he would only live five years. She had him for ten! She cooked all of his food since he ate so much. He filled up the entire back of a Toyota Forerunner with all the back seats folded down.

On a hike in the woods, a black bear suddenly appeared on the trail ahead of them. They froze and stared at the bear. The bear froze and stared at the dog. After a moment, he turned and walked the other way, intimidated by the size of the beast.

While waiting in traffic caused by an accident, a state highway trooper approached her car, looked in the window, and wondered out loud, “What is that?” The sheer size of Ares not only piqued curiosity, but commanded respect.

The pictures she showed us of Ares were amazing. While our big dog takes up any one of our love seats, Ares stretched out the length of a sofa, filled up the back of an SUV, and needed a king-sized bed to get comfortable at night.

I’ll bet Ares was the center of attention wherever he went!

If you want to see more of our big dog, check out her Instagram.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A good look at Jesus

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Revelation 1.

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters” (Revelation 1:12-15).

It’s interesting that this is one of the few physical descriptions of Jesus in the bible. Accounts of his transfiguration speak of sudden divine brightness (Matthew 17). Isaiah said there would be nothing special about his appearance, “no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). John says his crucifixion wounds were still visible after his resurrection (John 20).

When you picture Jesus, do you picture him as John describes him in Revelation 1? Probably not. The paintings and drawings of Jesus that come to mind probably aren’t accurate. We have no idea, other than what John writes here, which is overwhelming.

John’s Jesus has snow white hair. Long or short? Bearded? We don’t know. He’s got fiery eyes, kind of like the bright yellow eyes of ring tailed lemurs. Shiny gold-colored shoes (“Oh, Dem Golden Slippers”)?Maybe.

What do you think? Is it better to picture Jesus as an ordinary first-century Jewish man, or an awesome divine being you can’t look at because it’s like looking directly at the sun?

I suppose the answer is both. We should neither overlook his divinity nor his humanity. Jesus is so much the same and at the same time so much more than we are.

One day we’ll get to see him for ourselves (Job 19:26,27)!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Evaluating Churches: Insights from Revelation 2 and 3

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Cosmic Timetraveler on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Revelation 2 and 3.

When I look at a church, whether my own or another, I tend to notice different things than God does.

  • I look at it’s size. How many gather for worship? I think most of us assume that bigger is better. They must be doing something right, right?
  • I evaluate the style. What kind of music do they have? What’s the quality of the music? What message does the music communicate?
  • I pay attention to the demographics. Is it just a bunch of old people? I like to see a multi-generational gathering, with lots of families with children.
  • What about their programming? Do they have a lot of things going on? How full is the weekly calendar of events? Is the congregation reaching out to the local community as well as supporting mission efforts around the globe?

As John writes to the seven churches, we learn that God looks at the church in an entirely different way.

  • Is that church’s activity fueled by love (Ephesus)?
  • How does the church respond to difficulties and challenges (Smyrna)?
  • What false teaching does the church tolerate (Pergamum)?
  • What false teachers does the church tolerate (Thyatira)?
  • What programs have stalled out (Sardis)?
  • Is the church pursuing opportunities for ministries in the immediate area (Philadelphia)?
  • Does the church care about people, the community, and the world? Or are they indifferent, isolated in a bubble (Laodicea)?

How can anyone not be convicted when they read these chapters of Revelation? No church is perfect. No church checks all these boxes. Every church has something to work on.

Every church needs to repent.

Any church can dig in and declare, “We’re right and they’re wrong!” How many churches will admit, “We have a lot to work on”? How many will commit to being the kind of church that the Lord wants us to be?

Posted in Life

Thunderbirds

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Yesterday was cookie delivery day. With a bag of birthday iced sugar cookies in hand, I met the purchaser outside of the hospital where she worked in Daytona Beach.

I heard the sound well before I saw the plane. Instead of the usual commercial jet or single engine plane coming or going from the Daytona Beach airport, the roar of a fighter jet filled the air as an F-16 flew pretty low overhead. It was flying pretty low as it disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Close behind were four of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flying in close formation.

I was pleasantly surprised and awed. They were practicing their flyover for the start of the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon. The friend picking up cookies told me she had gone up onto the hospital helipad the day before, watching them from less than 1,000 feet away.

Every once in a while, I’ll see a couple of F-35s or Blackhawk helicopters overhead when the Air National Guard runs training flights along the coast out of Jacksonville. When I hear the unmistakeable sound, I hurry outside to watch. They don’t fly as low, but they are fast!

Moments like this bring back memories of one of my top ministry moments, a flyover at the graveside service of a dear friend and member.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Turn up the volume

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Al Elmes on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Jude.

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

In the first church where I served as pastor, the sanctuary was separated from a kitchen/fellowship area by a long accordion-style folding divider. One Sunday morning, a meal was scheduled to follow the worship service. I had to contend with slicing, chopping, conversation, and chuckling from well-intentioned parishioners busy with food preparation during the sermon. With a louder-than-usual-voice and lots of projection, I was up to the task.

It didn’t happen often, but some babies weren’t happy at their baptism. I had to contend with their louder-than-usual cries at the font. Once again, I was up to the task, calling upon the breath support I usually used for playing the trumpet.

Jude calls on believers to “contend for the faith” because there was a lot of other noise filling the early church air. The voices of false teachers, grumblers, complainers, and boasters created division in the church, even denying Christ himself! Jude encourages them to turn up the volume of the apostles’ words, praying and strengthening their faith in the promises of God.

Is the church a place filled with the sounds of joy or complaining? Are we united in mission or divided over worldly issues? Do we hear the voice of truth or lies from the enemy?

It’s always a good day to turn up the volume of love, mercy, and grace as we contend for the faith.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

We have an advocate

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from 1 John 2.

“If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

Over the years I’ve written many letters of recommendation for youth seeking admission to college or applying for financial aid. Most of the time, I knew them well, having taught them and gotten them involved in various church ministries. I enjoyed advocating for each one, anticipating their future success.

A few times I had to be honest and admit I didn’t know them very well. I did my best to write positively about them and their future potential.

I think it’s interesting that one of the roles the bible assigns to Jesus is advocate or mediator. But he doesn’t advocate for those who are upstanding citizens of heaven. If we fail, if we blow it, if we give in to temptation, if we do terrible things – if we sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.”

Who would you ask to write a letter of reference to God for admission to heaven? Isn’t that what we hear at funerals. Actually, that’s what you always hear at funerals. The deceased was the nicest person you could ever meet, unselfishly willing to do anything for anyone in need. Most of those in attendance know better, but dare not tell the truth. Grief is hard enough without recounting past hurts, regrets, and grudges.

Jesus is the one you want as an advocate. He doesn’t sugar coat your life. He simply assumes your guilt and shame and lets you wear his righteousness, which secures your admission to eternal life. You aren’t the nicest person he’s ever met, but he loves you so much he doesn’t hesitate to go to bat for you.