Just when we think we’ve got live dialed in, God throws a curve ball.  Just to keep us on our toes mind you.  All that sanctification and such.  The latest curve ball is some weirdness at work and some weirdness at home.  I’m using euphemisms because they are things I wouldn’t wish on any one but the point is they are out of the ordinary.  We’ve been blessed by these events in that they have driven us back to God.

One of the events involved simply being the parent of a child with Autism.  Mrs Flying Deacon ran across this article which really nails what it’s like to be the parent of a child with Autism.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

http://specialneedslifeboat.com/beirut.aspx

My wife knows and understands me.  She knows my inner struggles.  She knows all my weak points and my shortcomings but like Christ, she loves me unconditionally.  I received the following quote by J. R. Miller from her today:

It would be a great deal safer, in one sense, for believers to be taken at once to heaven as soon as they begin to follow Christ. They would then have no temptations, no enemies to fight, no conflicts and struggles to pass through. But who would then do Christ’s work in the world? There would be none to tell sinners about the Saviour, none to show to men the beauty of Christ in a holy life, none to witness for God and to fight His battles.

There is another reason why Christians are left here. They are not the most majestic trees that grow in the sheltered valleys, where no storms break, but those rather which are found upon the hill-tops and on the mountains, where they must encounter the fierce gales. It is so with men: the noblest are grown amid difficulties and hardships, not in pampered ease. Even Jesus himself was trained in the school of conflict and struggle. It may be the easiest thing to have no battles in life, to grow in some sheltered plain where the storms never blow, to meet no hardships, to have no burdens to carry; but what sort of life comes in the end from such a career? If we would reach the heights of blessedness we must be content to pass through the fields of struggle.

When armies return from victorious war, the loudest cheers are not for those who have fought the fewest battles, nor for the flags which are cleanest, but for the regiments which are cut down to a few men, and for the colours that are shot to pieces. So it will be in heaven when the redeemed are welcomed home: those who have fought the most battles, and bear the most "marks of the Lord Jesus," will receive the highest honors. It is better, then, even for Christians themselves to stay in this world, and to grow to strength through duty and conflict.

Thank you, my love.  You know just what I need, just when I need it.  You are a blessing.

Just when you think you have it made the adversary can sneak up and blindside you.  I’ve been fighting a particular sin issue.  I keep running this speech through my head…

Hold your ground – hold your ground! Sons of Gondor – of Rohan . . . my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. The day may come when the courage of Men fails; when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship; but it is not this day – an hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the Age of Man comes crashing down – but it is not this day!!! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth – I bid you stand!

I wonder why I’m trying to take heart from a speech by a fictional character in a movie when I have the greatest heroes of all in Scripture who have faced far worse than Aragorn ever did.  The speech I need to keep in my head is…

Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you where ever you may go.

This day and every day.  His courage will never fail, and of His reign there will be no end.  He is my help and my salvation, my rock, my shield.

The word for church in ancient Greek literally means “called out” or “the called out ones.”  This is exactly how I am feeling lately.  I feel God has been slowly leading my wife and I to a place where we can minister to other families of special needs children.  I understand “special needs” comes in many shapes and forms.  The families we will be targeting are those with children with moderate to severe cognitive delays.  Also families with moderate to severe physical handicaps.  But to be precise our main thrust will be to minister to families of autistic children.

We know from personal experience how isolated and neglected these families can feel.  Whether it is real or imagined it feels like you have no hope.  You almost feel oppressed by the special needs child.  We want to provide a forum for these parents to talk about their challenges, receive encouragement and admonition with a strong scriptural basis.  I cannot claim to be a biblical scholar but I can lay claim to knowing exactly how these parents feel.  My elders are biblical scholars so they can help me with scripture and provide the oversight I would desire to make sure scripture is properly applied.

There are many support groups out there for “autistic parents” as we call them but none provide comfort from scripture.  This is what we propose to do.  We want these families to know that God does not make mistakes, that every creation by God is deliberate and meaningful and kind and good!

What my wife and I mainly need at this point is your prayer and encouragement.  Pray that we will be given the wisdom and love that we need.

Ummm…. no.  God isn’t “up there somewhere.”  Scripture tells us that Christ ascended into the clouds, and will come back to earth in the same manner he left.  Which by the way, doesn’t necessarily mean He will descend from the clouds, I believe the passage just means that He will return in glory, just as He left in glory.  But I digress.

I say this because of another website that was started by some young Christians asking others to pray for God’s creation any time they fly because “you’re never closer to God than at 30,000 feet.”  Now, let me just say that I think these folks have the best of intentions and I love the fact that they are using their time in a jet wisely; in prayer rather than watching the in-flight movie.   But to think that you are closer to God just because you’re high up in the atomosphere is theologically incorrect, and really just deist.  This is a god who as Christian Smith explains, “created the world, and defines our general moral order, but not one who is particularly personally involved in one’s affairs–especially affairs in which one would prefer not to have God involved. Most of the time, the God of this faith keeps a safe distance.”

But scripture doesn’t teach us that God watches us “from above.”  He is intimately involved in all of creation.  Job 38:39-41 speak of how God even provides food for the lion cubs and young ravens “when it’s young ones cry to God and wander around in search of food.”  Our God manages His creation every minute.  He doesn’t sit on some throne up above the clouds.  We’ve been above the clouds and He wasn’t found there.  We’ve been as far as Mars and no one has seen His temple.

If you really want to be close to God, visit a prison.  Visit an old folk’s home.  Visit a hospice.  You’ll never be closer to God than when you’re next to someone who is about to meet Him…

If you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll know I used to sprinkle a lot more content on theology and Christ in general.  My bad.  I should add more.  However, I’m going to leave theology and teaching to the pros.   I’m a deacon and as such I don’t teach on theological matters.  My ministry is a practical one.  So I will start trying to add more practical, hands-on ways to show people you belong to Christ.

Here is one way I demonstrated Christ’s love in a very practical way.  I work downtown and there are a LOT of homeless and drug addicted people that hang out down here.   On Tuesday a older woman  (obviously from one of the above categories) walked up to me and asked for money to buy some food because she was having a diabetic reaction.  I didn’t give her any money.  But I did walk with her to a local cafe and asked her to order whatever she thought she needed to help with her “diabetic reaction.”  She ordered a bannana nut muffin.  That’s all she wanted.  So I paid for her and told her that Christ had provided for her this morning and to be sure and thank Him.

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” – Matthew 25:40

I’ve walked past people ignoring their needs for far too long.  Praise God that He gave me someone to minister to.