Tag: faithful

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

You should have seen it coming

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jun Weng on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Lamentations 2.

The Lord has done what he purposed;
    he has carried out his word,
which he commanded long ago;
    he has thrown down without pity;
he has made the enemy rejoice over you
    and exalted the might of your foes. (Lamentations 2:17)

When I think of God’s promises, I think of positive ones. I remember promises of his presence protection, provision, and forgiveness.

But what about God’s promises of discipline, punishment, and destruction? As Jeremiah witnesses the siege, invasion, and destruction of Jerusalem, he recalls God’s promise of consequences for unfaithfulness and disobedience (Deuteronomy 29). Whether you like it or not, God keeps his word.

I used to have a little book that listed all of God’s promises by topic. Well, not all of them. Only the positive ones. It never occurred to me that the negative ones had been conveniently overlooked. I don’t think they would sell as many of those books.

Come to think of it, the first promise in the bible was a warning. “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) I never see those words on a t-shirt or wall plaque.

So when you want talk about God’s faithfulness, don’t forget the warnings as well as the blessings. It’s all part of his word that teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains (2 Timothy 3:16).

Posted in Resurrection reflections

Make sure you listen to what he says

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.‘

And they remembered his words (Luke 24:6-8).

Jesus did explain these events to the twelve. “But they understood none of these things” (Luke 18:34). In Mark’s gospel, he explains it three times. But they were afraid to ask him what he was talking about. The resurrection is something to be experienced rather than simply explained.

Many years ago I sat with my daughter waiting to see an orthopedic doctor about her foot. The waiting room was packed. More patients entered, but none were called back to see the doctor. After an hour I overheard a conversation at the front desk. “No, he isn’t here. He got called away for an emergency.”

“Let’s go. We’ll call for an appointment on another day.”

The open, empty tomb of Jesus had to be seen, but it was the wrong place and the wrong time to see Jesus. He wasn’t there. Rather than dead, he was alive.

It’s embarrassing to show up for an appointment on the wrong day or the wrong time. Especially since you’ll receive texts, emails, and phone calls to remind you. But it happens. More than once families showed up late for a baptism or wedding, missing all the action. I shouldn’t have found it entertaining. But I did.

So pay attention to what Jesus says. If you’re not sure what he means, ask. He doesn’t mind questions. But he does what he says. He is faithful and true.

Posted in Connecticut, Life, Ministry, neighbor

A place to stay

Posted on by William Douthwaite

knock“You are a priest, so you have to give me a place to stay.”

Those were the first words out of the woman’s mouth when I answered the door one evening just before dark and found her standing on our front step. We had only been at my first parish for a year to two. Even in the rolling rural hills of eastern Connecticut, a variety of people quickly found out that we lived in the parsonage next door to the church. So we got the usual procession of people looking for food or gas money, but till now never a demand for housing.

Inge introduced herself with a thick Swedish accent. She hadn’t been in America very long, found herself abused and estranged from her husband, and had nowhere to go. I think at some point we actually met her husband, but there wasn’t going to be any reconciliation. She was also Lutheran, actually a pastor of some sort herself. We were a combination of naive, compassionate, and new at this, and we had a huge house full of rooms we weren’t using, so we took her in. Our family was small, just my wife and I and our infant son — and now a boarder.

She didn’t bring much with her. Inge had little money, just a few items of clothing and personal items in a small suitcase. Her habits were a little different than ours. She liked eating bread slathered with mayonnaise and tomato sauce. On many a pasta night we found ourselves with no sauce. She also like to make sweet rolls with lots and lots and lots of butter. I seem to remember that she showered and shaved only occasionally, taking more of a continental approach to hygiene.

Inge found a job at some kind of small manufacturing company in our town, one she could walk to. She did attend worship and bible class when she didn’t have to work. She used some of her income to buy things like a VHS player, which she wanted to take back to Sweden with her. Since she was “buying American” for the moment, we saw a glaring flaw in her plan. She wasn’t actually saving anymoney to go back home.

After a few months, we decided we would help her out. She didn’t have a bank account, so we cashed her paychecks for her, withholding some and saving up for a flight back to Sweden. Within a month, we had enough for the trip. I purchased a ticket, drove her to La Guardia, and dropped her off. I don’t think we ever heard from her again.

I have helped a lot of people in a lot of different ways over the years. This was the only time we actually took someone in. It’s been a memory-stretcher to recall this story. I wasn’t journaling my life then as I do now. I definitely remember it being a less fearful and more innocent time, before the Persian Gulf conflicts, 9/11, Internet, wifi, and smart phones.

I’m not sure we would do this again. Were we foolish or faithful? Hard to say. Following Christ seems to be a mixture of both sometimes.