Posted in Ministry

Snap, crackle, pop

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Yesterday I got to teach our preschool Sunday School class about the time Jesus restored a man’s hearing. We covered our ears to understand what it might mean to not able to hear. We moved our lips without making a sound, too.

The snack that went along with the lesson was Rice Krispies and milk. None of the students were big cereal eaters, so this was new experience for them. They got to hear the snap, crackle and pop when we poured on the milk. Great fun. Of course, they didn’t stop there. They took a big spoonful, opened up their mouths so I could hear the sounds in there, too. And that’s not all. We quickly went through a batch of Rice Krispie treats.

On the playground afterwards, I asked, “So what was our lesson about today?” Of course, their first answer is, “I don’t know.” So I asked, “What was wrong with the man?” “He couldn’t hear.” “What did Jesus do?” “He took care of it.”

Not a bad answer. Not a bad answer at all. No matter what, Jesus takes care of it. I’ll have to remember that!

Posted in Devotions, Lent, Ministry

2020 Lenten devotion #6 – Water into blood (part 1)

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash

“If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” (Exodus 4:9)

So Moses has to convince an entire nation, all of Israel, that he is to be their leader who will bring them out of slavery. Not an easy task.

No problem. God will give you a few tools, a few impressive feats to convince them. A staff that turns into a serpent. A hand that becomes leprous and then whole again. And water from the Nile that turns into blood. You got this Moses!

You had me at “staff into serpent.” You have that kind of power at your disposal? I’m all ears. When do we leave? What should I pack?

Well, maybe. How did he do that? Is this for real? In a world of lies, fake news and scams, who do you believe? Who’s telling the truth? Who should you listen to? We’ve got scripture, history and eyewitnesses to shape our faith. Israel had ancient legends, bedtime stories and desperate prayers. We still have our doubts. So did they.

One way or the other, God was going to deliver his people. It didn’t matter whether or not they believed. It didn’t matter if Moses had to pull out all of the tricks God gave him. These folks were not going to stay in Egypt. They were going home. And they would know that it was God who made all the travel arrangements.

Drops of blood on the ground where Jesus was flogged and where he was crucified testified to the power of God to save us. Travel arrangements, right? Because of that blood, we’ll get to go home, too.

Chances are you’ll pour out some water today and it will turn into coffee, tea, lemonade or soup. We take those things for granted, but it’s really amazing when you think about it. Maybe one of those things will remind you to recall the powerful things God has done and the travel arrangements he’s made for you for eternity!

Thanks for the tickets to go home, Lord. Amen.

Posted in Ministry

Another shrine in the neighborhood

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Yesterday’s shrine in the woods was nothing compared to this front yard Samson and I saw on our walk today. I first saw St. Francis, but then noticed Mary and her son Jesus, plus a few angels.

So I couldn’t help but wonder, who would decorate their front yard in this way? Shrubs, flowers and trees all seem to make sense. Statues and figurines just aren’t my style. I love the Madonna (and Jesus), just not on my front porch. I love angels, but prefer the real ones that no one sees. St. Francis was a wonderful servant of God, but no more so than many other unnoticed “saints” who fill our churches each week for worship and live out their faith in the world.

Statues just don’t do it for me. Give me the living, breathing people of God any day.

Posted in Devotions, Lent

2020 Lenten devotion #5: A day of reckoning

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood” (Genesis 42:22).

Reuben and his brothers are in big trouble. All but one of them traveled to Egypt to buy some food. But now they are accused of being spies! They must leave a brother behind and bring their youngest brother back. They are convinced they are reaping the consequences of selling their brother Joseph to a caravan many years before. They don’t know he’s alive. They don’t know he’s standing right there in front of them. They think it’s their day of reckoning for his life. That day still haunts them after all those years.

I’ll bet all of us can identify some bad choices, decisions and sinful behavior that we believe we are paying the price for today. Getting into debt, words that destroyed a relationship or an arrest on your record. A lie, a purchase or a hasty decision you now regret. We know there will be a day of reckoning. Sometimes it feels like that day is today.

Never forget that your day of reckoning was that day when Jesus was nailed to a cross. That’s when God dealt with your sin. Jesus stood in for you and took the punishment. It wasn’t pretty. It was bloody. But it means that it’s over. Today might be hard. It might be painful. It might be a nightmare. But it’s not payback. It’s life.

We all have regrets. We all wish we could go back and do it differently. But we can’t. What a blessing to know that when it’s all said and done, God still loves us. He still cares, protects. preserves and blesses us. Yes, I will have seconds of his grace!

Thank you, Lord, for being there for my day of reckoning. Amen.

Posted in death

A shrine in the woods

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I (and Samson) have probably walked past this little shrine a hundred times. It’s about fifty feet off the road in an undeveloped lot next to a drainage ditch around the block from my house. I always knew there was something there on the tree, but couldn’t quite see what. Today we decided to take a closer look.

It’s there in memory of Justin, a twenty-three year old young man. A couple of American flags suggest he may have died in military service of our country. A rosary lets me know someone still prays for him. A solar-powered angel-light stands vigil at night. A small valentine sits right next to a small stone reminding us of the presence of angels. A small sign reminds us to count our blessings.

I’ve seen plenty of little shrines at intersections and curves in the road where crashes have taken the lives of loved ones. When words fail us, small crosses, stuffed animals, pictures, flowers and flags announce to the world, “We miss this person a lot.” These carefully erected shrines express a grief in ways that words can’t.

There is almost always a cross at the center of those shrines. A cross that reminds us of Jesus’ horrible death. A cross that reminds us of Jesus’ victory over death on the third day. The church may not be filled with all those who believe, trust or grasp for hope in Christ. But they are out there. They say it with a memorial that speaks volumes about their loved one, their faith and their Lord.

Posted in Devotions, Lent, Ministry

2020 Lenten devotion #4: Goat blood instead of Joseph’s

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“And Reuben said to [his brothers], ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. “(Genesis 37:22)

“Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?’” (Genesis 37:26)

“Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.” (Genesis 37:31)

Joseph’s eleven brothers are ready to kill him, throw him in a pit and tell everyone that a wild animal had eaten him (Genesis 37:18-20). They are so jealous and so tired of hearing about Joseph’s grandiose dreams that they are ready to murder him! And you thought your family was dysfunctional!

Reuben, the oldest and supposedly responsible, begs them not to shed any blood. He wanted to come back and rescue him later. Judah has second thoughts, too. Would it really do them any good to kill Joseph? Instead they stage his death, sell their brother to a passing caravan, and soak his robe in the blood of a goat. This would explain his disappearance to their father. 
A little blood is all it takes to solve their problems. They’ve gotten rid of Joseph and gotten away with his disappearance. Would they be able to sleep at night? Well, that’s a different story. 

A little goat’s blood will also save their skin a few years down the road. When they desperately show up in Egypt, Joseph will save his family by selling them some food. Good thing he was still alive!

You never know when that person you don’t like, can’t stand or even hate will be someone who will help you out someday. God has a way of using folks to provide, protect and preserve our lives. They despised and rejected Jesus, didn’t they? And he’s the very one who saved their lives!

Thank you for all the people who help me out Lord, especially your son, Jesus. Amen. 

Posted in Devotions, Lent

2020 Lenten devotion #3: Blood is life

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jose Murillo on Unsplash


“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.’”  (Genesis 9:4-6)

In the wake of the flood, God somberly charges Noah and his sons with responsibility for the lives of others. That is a serious charge. But God is serious about life. He knows that once blood is shed, more blood will be shed. Rather than a world of bloodshed, God wants us to look out for each other. “From his fellow man (and even from the beasts!) I will require a reckoning for the life of man.” 

That’s not my natural instinct. I am prone to look out for myself much more than the lives of others. Clearly, I shouldn’t do that. My life is tied up in the lives of others. We’re in this together. If I’m not concerned about those around me, I can’t complain when something happens to me. 

If you can’t stop the bleeding, someone is going to die. As long as the heart pumps blood through our bodies we are alive. If my heart can no longer do the job, I die. Blood is necessary for life. 

Jesus was born into a world where life was cheap. Get in the way of a Roman soldier and you would soon experience the sword. It doesn’t bother them at all. They won’t lose any sleep. Your life had little value to them. 
But our lives are precious to God. You see, we were created in his image. When someone takes a life, from the unborn to a family next door to a hospital patient or an enemy in war, it is an affront to him. You are taking a swipe at God himself. Of course, it doesn’t harm him. But it hurts him deeply. He loves you that much. 

So never forget how precious life is. Never take life for granted. God doesn’t. 

Lord, teach me to value life as much as you value mine. Amen.  

Posted in death, Ministry

Soon

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Tim Evans on Unsplash

A few days ago, I visited a member who had just been admitted to a hospice house. She was alone, comfortable and talkative when I stopped by. We had a great visit.

Early in the conversation, though, she said, “I have a question for you. I told God a long time ago I was ready to die. What’s taking him so long?”

Great question. Way above my pay grade. So I said, “I don’t know.” But then I said, “Do you remember when you were a child and your parents were driving somewhere for the day or for vacation? How many times did you ask them, ‘How much longer? When are we going to get there? Are we there yet?’ I’ll bet your mom or dad said, ‘We’ll be there soon.’ That’s our heavenly Father’s answer for us, too. Soon.”

As a dad that’s what I always said to my kids when they asked, “Are we almost there?” Whether we had fifteen minutes or a few hours to go, I always said, “Yes!” I answered the question and got a few miles or minutes of peace.

The last words our Lord says in scripture are, “I am coming soon.” What does that mean? Who knows? Time can fly or drag. But the word “soon” gives me hope and peace for the next few minutes or miles of life.

Posted in friends, Ministry

A great friend from the past

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nina Conte on Unsplash

I had the most pleasant surprise yesterday. After the noon Ash Wednesday worship service, I was hanging around talking to my organist when I caught sight of a man I didn’t recognize walking through the narthex. Nothing out of the ordinary. People wander in all the time. I walked up and introduced myself, and as he shook my hand he said, “Jim Werner.”

Wait a minute. This name is familiar. This name is in the mental database. OMG, Jim Werner. I shared a house with him thirty-eight years ago in Neptune, NJ. Are you kidding? No way? That’s a name from like three lifetimes ago. Yep, it was Jim. He was on his way to Jacksonville, looked me up, stopped by and by the grace of God found me.

Suddenly, a flood of memories from my past overwhelmed me. In 1980, with a whole year of experience of work at Bell Labs under my belt, Jim asked if I would like to share a house with him. Apartment life wasn’t working out very well for me, so I jumped at the opportunity. Jim was a fellow tenor in the choir with me. His family was an influential part of the church Less rent for me. A more affordable home for him. A win-win.

That opportunity was a life-changer in many ways. I could get my first dog, a yellow lab named Gabriel who got along famously with Jim’s Irish setter named Shannon. Jim worked nights, I worked days, so we rarely saw each other during the week. His bright idea to buy a wood burning stove to heat the house afforded me the opportunity to learn how to operate a chain saw and cut and split firewood. I absolutely loved doing that.

I was running 70-80-90 miles a week in preparation for marathons while he had family and friends over to party. His supper would often be no more than a few slices of toast, while I ate a variety of vegetables. Both of us slept on mattresses on the floor because neither one of us had a bed frame. Hey, it was comfortable.

Jim’s family (mom and dad plus three sisters) became my surrogate family as I learned how to live on my own. We were very different from each other, but were also very good for each other.

You never know who God is going to put in your life to help shape your future. But somehow, he always knows who you’ll need.