Army Surplus Machetes--the Stuff of Wonder!

It was the spring of the year I would turn 12 when I made a discovery that would change my life.  One of my favorite places to go was to the army surplus store.  My dad, being a school principal, would often go there to see if there were some office supplies or a vehicle that he could pick up cheap for the school.  This particular trip, I got to accompany him.

I loved the musty old smell of the canvas tents and the cool look of the uniforms.  There were hats and gloves and wool pants for winter hiking.  There were hammocks and canteens and mess kits.  But I had already acquired a number of the regular articles.  I had $3 bucks in my pocket and I was on the hunt for the unusual.   I didn’t know what it was yet, but I was on my way to discovering it. 

While dad looked at the long sheet of available vehicles, I went up and down the aisles looking for that special find.  I looked at boots and handwarmers and gloves where you could slide your fingers out without taking them off.  I checked out compasses and whistles and survival kits and signaling mirrors.  All of them were cool, but they weren’t what I was looking for.

I was looking for that special “find”.  The kind that every young boy hopes to discover.  You don’t know exactly what it is until you find it, but once you find it, you just know that’s it.  The moment you lay eyes on it, you just know.  Girls could never really understand it.  But boys knew.  My sister would grow impatient and tell me just to find something and get on with it.

But I always wanted to hold out for that special find.   That moment that I just knew I had the find.  How do you know?  Because you know that the moment you unveil your find to your friends, they will think it’s the coolest thing they have ever seen.  And they’ll go: “That’s awesome!  Where did you get it?  How much did you pay?  Can I hold it?  Let me see that!”

That’s how you know you’ve got your genuine, authentic find.  I’m sure there are female counterparts, but I wasn’t looking for anything girly.  I was out, this particular day for a man-find.  So I continued the hunt.

I looked at ammo pouches and camouflage gun covers and camo face paint.  I thought I almost found it when I came across the grenade vests.  Those were cool with all the pockets for the grenades, but they weren’t quite the find since I didn’t have any grenades.

Next I looked at survival knives and helmets, but I already knew guys in the neighborhood that had those.  There was some Vietnam sunburn cream and some ice crampons in bins next to each other, but not what I was looking for either.  There were scopes and binoculars—too expensive.  Patches and insignias—already had ‘em.  And then I came around the corner…and there was my find!  Sitting right there at the end of the aisle.  I knew, as soon as I looked at it that this was it.  And it was only $2.50.

I grabbed one and went running towards the front of the store where dad continued to leaf through the pages of surplus vehicles.  This find would require his permission.  If I could only get him to let me buy it, I would soon be recognized as the most intrepid explorer on the block.

“Dad,” I almost shouted, “can I buy this?  I have enough money.”  Dad looked my way and a frown crossed his face.  This was going to be a hardsell.

“No, son, a machete is way too dangerous for a boy your age.”  He responded.  “You could get hurt or hurt someone else.”

“But dad, you’ve said yourself that those vines behind the house have got to go.  You said that they are taking over everything.  Well, with this, I could just hack them up for you and stack them and then when they are dried out, we could just burn them.  And I promise to be careful and only use it on vines and stuff like that out in the woods.”

There were a lot of vines, and dad saw I had lots of enthusiasm.  Maybe he could create a win-win.  “Ok, but you have to be careful and only use it on the vines.”

I was already on my way to the cash register.  Wait 'til the guys see this. 

The next few weeks were spent as king of the block as my machete, in it’s green canvas sheath,  hung from my green army surplus attachment belt.  I hacked through the vines, letting other guys try it out when I got tired.  In no time, all the vines were down and we were looking for other stuff to chop.  We entered the woods behind the house, where we hacked at the bottom of large grapevines, making ourselves tarzan style swings.  We hacked trails all through the woods, exploring, conquering and in general having a great time.  And one day I made another find.

I was out on one of our trails, when I spotted a dense thicket.  It was just the sort of thicket that needed hacking by an army surplus machete.  I left the trail and hacked my way over to it, and there discovered that it wasn’t just any old thicket.  This was a honeysuckle thicket.

I decided to make myself a fort.  A honeysuckle fort with a low hidden entrance.  So I hacked a little hole down at the bottom and crawled through.  Once deep inside, I hacked out enough room to lay down.  In no time, I was on my back, looking up through the ceiling of my honeysuckle fort to clouds beyond, grabbing flower after flower and breaking off the tips and sucking the nectar out of the end.  I loved that fort. I returned over and over, long after the flowers had gone and spent hours there, deep in my imagination, making up new adventures and then going out to conquer. It was a time of wonder.  Of awe.  Of aliveness. Do you remember times like that?

I began thinking of other times in life when I felt fully alive, enshrouded in awe and wonder.  And most of them were when I was a kid.  Though some are from when I was older.

The sight of a perfectly flat and smooth lake at 5 am, with the sun just coming up to chase the mist off of the water as our boat idled out of the cove and I was going out to learn how to barefoot ski.

Pausing at the top of a ski run in Breckenridge, Colorado to just look out at the winter scenery and being caught off guard at the beauty of the scene.

Sitting in a rocking chair on the backporch of a log cabin with a tin roof during a summer rain shower and just listening to rain and watching it run over the edge of the roof and splash at the base of the porch.

What happened to that sense of wonder?  Where did the awe go?  How did life become so flat and passionless?  How did we lose our childlike sense of awe?

In his book Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith, the late Mike Yaconelli suggests four obstacles that block adults from living the childlike faith that Jesus calls us to:

* The obstacle of dullness: we have made faith safe and comfortable, but the faith Jesus taught was radical and transforming.


* The obstacle of the dream stealers: we make a relationship with the living God into ritual and rules, quenching the work of the Spirit.


* The obstacle of predictability: we put God in a box, never allowing him to surprise us, challenge us, or show us something new, thus stifling the creativity of God.


* The obstacle of the banal: we become so immersed in our culture and in the material needs and wants of life, that we fail to live in abject dependence on God for every breath of air and every bite of bread.

Somehow, we have let society squeeze us into its mold.  We buy what society says we need to be happy.  We don’t dare do anything that might be against societal norms, except maybe go to church on Saturday, but we have a good reason.  We want our churches and schools to be nice, filled with nice people, and somehow we grow more concerned over how we look rather than how we see.

Never mind that Jesus called us to a radical faith, where radical things happen.  He called us to follow Him.  When was the last time you actually did?

Just try and follow Him through scripture without being amazed.  He started with nothing and created everything.  Ponder that for an hour and see what happens to your sense of awe.

In the first book of the Bible alone, you have creation, sin, a plan revealed to save man, wickedness   Ponder that.  We thought the Christmas tsunami in Asia was horrific a few years ago with over 500,000 dead or missing.  And it was.  We were shocked and yet in awe of the devastating power of one wave.  Whole countries totally built or revamped their early warning systems based on one wave.

increasing, a world-wide flood.

But a world-wide flood.  That’s epic.  Only 8 made it out alive.  Their descendants tried to develop a safety net.  A tower to escape another world-wide flood…but God now mixed their languages so that confusion would set in and they would move off and start new settlements.

You’ve got God telling a 110 year old man that his 90 year old wife is going to be pregnant.  That’s amazing by itself.  But it actually happens.  Then God calls for Abraham to sacrifice that son.

Later in scripture, God sends plagues to deliver  His people.  He opens a corridor in the sea. He leads by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.  He uses manna to feed them, and water from a rock to quench their thirst.

Do you see anything ordinary about His actions?   Can you follow that kind of a God.

When Jesus comes to show us what God is really like, it gets more intense.

Protecting an adulterous woman but chastising the church leaders.  Turning over tables in the temple and chasing tons of adults off, immediately followed by children and the poor flocking around him

Healing lepers through touch, when the rules said you don’t touch.  Healing a man blind from birth, but getting into trouble with the Pharisees because He did it on the Sabbath.

Eating at the wrong houses; those of Sinners.  Hanging out with the wrong people: adulterers, demoniacs, tax collectors, lepers, and prostitutes. 

Are you really following Jesus?  Have you followed Him even to associate with those type of people, treating them with love and respect just like He did.

We’ve lost our sense of wonder because we’ve allowed life to become tame.  No…not allowed it to become tame…we have tamed it, so that it is nice.  We want it comfortable.  And we want a nice tame Jesus.

But again, as Mike Yaconelli points out in his book, Dangerous Wonder, “Tameness is not an option. 

“Take surprise out of faith and all that is left is dry and dead religion. Take away mystery from the gospel all that is left is a frozen and petrified dogma. Lose your awe of God and you are left with an impotent diety. Abandon astonishment and you are left with meaningless piety. When religion is characterized by sameness, when faith is franchised, when the genuineness of our experience with God is evaluated by its similarities to others’ faith, then the uniqueness of God’s people is dead and the church is lost.”

Yaconelli offers this challenge to the dull, dreamless, predictable, and banal faith that most of us refer to as "Christianity":

“It is time to find the place where the dangerous wonder of faith can be discovered—a place landscaped by risky curiosity, wild abandon, daring playfulness, quiet listening, irresponsible passion, happy terror and naïve grace. In a day when most of us are tired, worn-out, thirsty, and starving for life and joy and peace, maybe it is time to become a child again.

What does that mean? I think it can be boiled down to one word. Savor. A child naturally savors life. When I was in the middle of my honeysuckle fort, I savored it. I enjoyed it. I soaked it in. But our hurry and worry never allow us to pause for wonder."

Albert Einstein once said, “He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead.”  And I think he’s right.  It’s proven over and over as you watch the lives of people who are always rushing.  They can’t pause…they have to rush.  No time to pause for God, because they will be late.  No time to pause to savor life, because time is money.  No time to pause and savor relationships, because there are 3 jillion things on their  to-do lists.

So much to savor, yet we seldom do.  We seldom stop to reflect and soak in what is truly deserving of our awe.  And yet when we do stop and savor, awe comes almost as a by-product.

So when will YOU stop...and savor?

(Dangerous Wonder, Mike Yaconelli, NavPress; 2 edition (September 16, 2003

Who is the Greatest? or Am I Better Than You?

One of the most interesting and challenging statements of Jesus occurs just after the mother of James and John has asked that they be allowed to have the highest positions in Jesus’ coming kingdom.  Jesus responded that it was not his place to grant positions in heaven, but His Father’s.   But the mere asking really irritated the other disciples.  It annoyed them to think that someone was trying to get the top spots in the kingdom.  Not because they had anything against James and John, but because it would mean that they wouldn’t be in the top slot.

And so Jesus responds to the whole lot of them with one of the toughest teachings in the Bible.  It’s found in Matt. 20:25-28. 

V.25 Jesus called them together and said,  “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Notice that Jesus isn’t just suggesting here.  Notice that he isn’t merely hinting.  He is very straightforward in turning their pre-conceived ideas upside down with a new command that makes sense, but it doesn’t make sense all at the same time.  He is telling them that if they want to be great in God’s kingdom, they must be counter-cultural, go against the systems and structures set up by man, and become a servant.  They must strive for what we would call today, downward mobility.

I don’t think they cared much for the idea.  As a matter of fact, not long after this, they were traveling to Capernaum they began arguing quietly among themselves as they trudged the road behind Jesus.

Mark 9:33 ¶ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them,  “What were you arguing about on the road?”

Mark 9:34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

It is ever upwards in their minds.  How do I get to the top?  How do I become numero Uno?  Is it possible to edge someone else out?  And we can’t finger point.  We do the same thing, don’t we? Oh, we know our place at work or school, but it isn’t without the thoughts, “Well, if I were running this show, I would…”  And it’s very easy to try and discount anyone who may be in authority over us.  We want to move up the ladder, to go higher and get better.  We want people to recognize that we are just a bit superior.  That we sure aren’t as ignorant or as back woodsy or as unsophisticated as those rednecks, or geeks or hillbillies.  No matter where you find yourself on the food chain, what do you do?  You look around to see who has it better and who has it worse.  And we can all say, “Well at least I’m not as bad as….” Or “If only I could…then I’d…”

Who’s the greatest?   That’s the question we are really asking.  Am I better than?  And Jesus’ response to His disciples might rattle our cage as well.

Mark 9:35 ¶ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,  “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
They didn’t much like that…and neither do we.  We don’t much like the thought of downward mobility.  We sure don’t like the idea of going to the end of the line.  And if someone cuts in on us…it makes our blood boil.  Jesus ups the ante.

36 ¶ He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37  “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Great pastor Don, I have no problem welcoming little children.  It’s the teenagers that drive me nuts!  And what does this have to do with the church anyway?  I’m glad you asked.

One of the reasons the church has such a hard time allowing young people to participate is because we don’t want to lose control.  We reason that we had to pay our dues in order to gain leadership positions in the church, so they should have to pay theirs.  And as long as they haven’t paid theirs, they are subject to whatever we like, because, after all, we are on top.  How do you think Jesus would respond to that idea?  If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.  Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Not only are we welcoming Jesus when we determine to serve young people, but we are also welcoming God the Father and the Holy Spirit as well.  If we are to become a people who disciple young people, we must become servant leaders.  But what does that mean?

First of all, it means choosing a path of downward mobility.  Choosing to relinquish any rights I may think I have in the church, for the sake of winning others and discipling them.  It means making a conscientious choice to build into the life of another person.  It means being less concerned with me, and what I like, and more concerned with you and what will win you to Jesus.  Who is the greatest?

It still isn't me or you.  It isn't even the kids we serve.  It always has been and always will be Jesus. And He has called us to follow His example and go lower.  How will we respond?

It's Everybody's Choice

It was a hot, humid Sabbath, back in the day before air-conditioning.  The windows were all open, flies buzzed in and out, fans stationed at strategic locations around the church churned the otherwise breezeless air.  I sat there with sweat running down my back, my forehead, my chest—pretty much any pore that could sweat was sweating.  I have no idea what the pastor said, for in my misery, his voice had long ago become little more than a drone in the background of my suffering.

I looked around and saw many other church members stirring up the air themselves with whatever they could get hold of, be it funeral home fans, camp-meeting fans, or just hymnals out of the rack, and trying to pay attention.  Others had succumbed to the heat and were dozing, some quietly, some not so quietly. Other kids, like me, were trying to simply endure to the end.  Some were watching the flying insects.  Some were counting ceiling tiles.  One had abandoned his seat altogether, and had crawled under the pew and was now laying on the cool tile floor right in front of one of the square box fans sitting on the floor.  He was fast asleep.  I privately envied him, knowing that death would be my fate if I tried something similar on my side of the church.

The pastor, in his dark suit, with the coat on and buttoned, literally had rivulets of water pouring down his forehead, which he swiped repeatedly with an already soaked handkerchief as he continued to preach.  I don’t know how he did it.

And somewhere in the middle of my agony, the question came clearly to my mind.  I had no answer for it that day, and I’m not sure that I  have a much better answer for it on this day.  The question?  Why do we do this?  Why do we come to church week after week when nothing ever seems to change?

On that day for me, as on this day for some of you, the answer was that I was there because I had to be there. My parents had insisted I be there, so I was there because I had to be.  But others had actually chosen to be there.  What was that about?

In that day and time, a person was measured in the church community, as well as the society at large, by their behavior.  It seemed to be externally focused.  Look good…you are good.  Look bad…you are bad.  It didn’t seem to matter what a person was really like on the inside.  If you didn’t look or act just right on the outside, you were judged harshly.  So maybe many of them came to avoid judgment.  Or perhaps they came because they wanted to move up in the church community.

Or maybe from my perspective, I was the one being a bit harsh, because there probably were some there because they truly loved Jesus.  I mean, there had to be some there because of that.  It’s just that it seemed like nothing ever changed in that church.  Week after week, summer, spring, winter and fall, we would all be there, and outside of a few amusing incidents, I can’t really remember anyone changing.

Miss C, an old maid spinster, was still mean outside of church.  Mr. R. still yelled at little kids who didn’t go right into church, asking them if they wanted to go to hell, because that’s where they were headed if they didn’t get right into church…which is where some of us thought we were on those hot summer days IN church.  The story was that Mr. B would beat his kids if they didn’t sit still during church as well as their one-hour family worships, and the two older ones often came to school with bruises on their legs and arms.  Mrs. M. gossiped about everyone to everyone.  And it was widely known, probably through Mrs. M, that Mr. H was making political moves towards being nominated head elder so that he could run the church the way he thought it ought to be, and that included maybe even getting rid of the pastor, if need be.

Then there was the pantry patrol, a group of ladies who would go to the homes of others in the church to make sure that they didn’t have any “forbidden’s” in their pantry or refrigerators.  No sugar. No pop.  No mustard.  No vinegar. Nothing that would be against the health message they touted.  Moderation was not part of their vocabulary.  Nor was kindness.  As strict vegetarians, they also sought to make all others vegetarian, and woe be unto you if they found some meat in your fridge.  Eggs, somehow were ok…but not chicken.

The gospel preached back in that day emphasized more the hardship of following Jesus, and how much you had to do, or not do, and how much you were supposed to give up. It was about conquering all known sin, at least any that people could see. It was about passing out tracts and literature, distributing articles of clothing and Bible studies given.  It was about getting your Ingathering goal…not giving it, and it was about making sure that others knew that you had done your part for the church, whatever that may be.  It seemed to be all about externals—but though people did some pretty whacky things, like the pantry patrol, it never really seemed to make a difference in their day-to-day lives.  It just seemed like people were working like mad to get to heaven.

Gradually, the pendulum began to swing back the other direction.  People actually acknowledged that one could be saved by grace, through faith, and not from the works they were doing.  But as pendulum swings go, it kept going through its swing until we get down to now, where we are on the other side of the pendulum swing.

We’ve opted now for such a grace orientation, that we almost never talk about Christ's life and death and resurrection giving us the victory over sin anymore.  We’ve just accepted living with it and repeating a pattern of sin, feel guilty, ask forgiveness, sin, feel guilty, ask forgiveness, etc.   We’ve actually settled for sin management, instead of sin conquering.  Which is not new either.

That started back in the garden.  Check out  Genesis 3:6,7  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

We get pretty hard on Adam and Eve for plunging us all into sin, but the fact is, they had never heard a lie before, and they had no clue that all beings weren’t totally honest.  They did not know that deception existed.  They had only had truthful dealings with God.  Everything He told them was true, and they had no reason to doubt.  Isn’t it logical then to assume that in their innocence, they would have no reason to doubt what the serpent said? Satan knew this, and used it to his advantage.  But once they had bitten on the lie, innocence faded away.

Isn’t it interesting that when the abrupt realization comes that they were not innocent anymore, and that suddenly they find themselves vulnerable and naked, they instantly start trying to manage sin?

They sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, caused by their transgression.  Now here’s the real interesting thought.  Adam and Eve had never heard of deception before.  They were innocent and had no knowledge of evil, or lies or anything…they were led to sin because they trusted a serpent to be honest with them, even though the serpent contradicted God.  Their doubt, their desire to be like God, and their acting on that desire caused them to fall, though they had never seen sin or lies or evil before.

We, on the other hand, have known about deceit almost from birth.  We know of evil and disease.  We have a written history of how it started.  We have the story of sin and of redemption.  We know that Jesus has made a way out for us when He died on the cross.  We know all of this, and yet we still sin.  And we still make excuses.  And in our teaching today, we have actually made it all ok.

See, whenever we teach that salvation is by mental assent, or intellectual belief, that doesn’t also include transformed behavior, we have given ourselves permission to keep on sinning.  And we make excuses.  We sew fig leaves.  “Well, that’s just the way I am!  I can’t help it.”  “I was born with a red-hot Irish temper—so I can’t help it.”  “My dad had a problem with chasing other women, so I guess it just comes naturally.”  That may be the way you are, but it is not the way Jesus wants to leave you.

How much longer will we go on pretending to be Christians, while doing everything the world does?  When will we realize that to do everything the world does, would actually make us non-Christian?  When will we realize that to do so is really fraudulent of the church at large?  That we are actually telling people we are what, in fact, we really aren’t?

Rom. 12:1,2  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,(a sacrifice is a total giving up of something—here Paul is saying to offer yourself as a sacrifice) holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.  2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

God is calling you this morning to a transformation.  It is true that Jesus loves you just where you are…but He loves you too much to leave you that way.  He wants you to become just like Jesus.  And if you are not becoming more and more like Jesus, you are not truly a disciple. 

If you are not being transformed into the image of Jesus, then you are not truly following as a disciple.  If your temper problem is not more under control today than it was when you first started following, you haven’t truly given it to Jesus.  If you still lie, or gossip or steal, then you need to bring those things to Jesus and let Him begin the transformation process.  If you don’t love others more now, than when you first started with Jesus, then you haven’t been doing the discipleship coursework.

Accepting His gift is one thing.  It’s the first step.  That’s what we call justification.  But walking in His steps is the second step and the third…and so on, until you become like Jesus.  That’s sanctification.  Your faith becomes obvious in your life by the changes that take place due to your obedience to Jesus.

We’ve got to rearrange our goals from being successful, or wealthy or even noble and instead, make our goal to be a committed follower of Jesus.  Until we do, we will lack passion, and perspective and priorities and perseverance to follow Jesus.  And we won’t see the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives.  And we won’t tell others about the kingdom, even though we know that Jesus asked us to.  And we will be weak, spineless, Christ-less Christians, which are really not Christians at all.  And as a result, because the individual members lack those things, the whole church will be weak, spineless and Christ-less, which means that we really aren’t a Christian church, no matter how much we may identify ourselves that way.

It all goes back to a choice.  It’s everybody’s choice.  Each of you have to make it.  A choice, not only to take the first step with Jesus…which many of you did last Sabbath by accepting His grace and forgiveness in your lives, but also a choice to take the second step, by accepting His grace and leadership into your lives.  He not only wants to forgive you, He wants to transform you into His likeness.  He wants to change you from who you are to who He wants you to be.  He wants to help you overcome your sin and bad habits and He wants to rule in your heart.  He wants you to talk and act and think and become Just like Jesus.

God calls us to more than just a mental assent to the truth.  He calls us first of all to repentance.  And then He calls us to live the life of Jesus.  To believe what Jesus believed. Live as Jesus lived. To love like Jesus loves.  To minister like Jesus ministered.  To lead as Jesus led.

Use What You've Got!

Craig Brian Larson, in his book Pastoral Grit: the Strength to Stand and to Stay shares an interesting story.  He writes:

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.

And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.'" The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.

Cool story pastor, but what does that have to do with me?  I’m glad you asked.  You may look around you and feel like people who can do the job much better surround you.  You may not feel you have anything to offer.  Perhaps you feel like you are too insignificant or too wounded or too weak or too whatever.  But did you know that when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord, He can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities?   Consider this as well.  God can do no work through someone who is always inward looking or who quits.

If you’ve only got 8 watts worth of abilities…fire up all eight watts and watch what God can do!  Be willing to be used.


-------------------------------------------------------
Note:  This is from NASA's site on Pioneer 10:

Pioneer 10 was built by TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., and was launched March 2, 1972, on a three-stage Atlas-Centaur rocket. Pioneer 10 reached a speed of 32,400 mph needed for the flight to Jupiter, making it the fastest human-made object to leave the Earth; fast enough to pass the moon in 11 hours and to cross Mars’ orbit, about 50 million miles away, in just 12 weeks.

On July 15, 1972, Pioneer 10 entered the asteroid belt, a doughnut-shaped area that measures some 175 million miles wide and 50 million miles thick. The material in the belt travels at speeds up to 45,000 mph and ranges in size from dust particles to rock chunks as big as Alaska. Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt, considered a spectacular achievement, and then headed toward Jupiter. Accelerating to a speed of 82,000 mph, Pioneer 10 passed by Jupiter on December 3, 1973.

The spacecraft was the first to make direct observations and obtain close-up images of Jupiter. Pioneer also charted the gas giant’s intense radiation belts, located the planet’s magnetic field, and established Jupiter is predominantly a liquid planet. In 1983, Pioneer 10 became the first human-made object to pass the orbit of Pluto, the most distant planet from the Sun.

Following its encounter with Jupiter, Pioneer 10 explored the outer regions of the solar system, studying energetic particles from the Sun (solar wind), and cosmic rays entering our portion of the Milky Way. The spacecraft continued to make valuable scientific investigations in the outer regions of the solar system until its science mission ended March 31, 1997.

Since that time, Pioneer 10’s weak signal has been tracked by the DSN as part of a new advanced-concept study of communication technology in support of NASA’s future Interstellar Probe mission. At last contact, Pioneer 10 was 7.6 billion miles from Earth, or 82 times the nominal distance between the Sun and the Earth. At that distance, it takes more than 11 hours and 20 minutes for the radio signal, traveling at the speed of light, to reach the Earth.

“From Ames Research Center and the Pioneer Project, we send our thanks to the many people at the Deep Space Network (DSN) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who made it possible to hear the spacecraft signal for this long,” said Pioneer 10 Flight Director David Lozier.

Pioneer 10 explored Jupiter, traveled twice as far as the most distant planet in our solar system, and as Earth’s first emissary into space, is carrying a gold plaque that describes what we look like, where we are, and the date when the mission began. Pioneer 10 will continue to coast silently as a ghost ship into interstellar space, heading generally for the red star Aldebaran, which forms the eye of the constellation Taurus (The Bull). Aldebaran is about 68 light-years away. It will take Pioneer 10 more than two million years to reach it. Its sister ship, Pioneer 11, ended its mission September 30, 1995, when the last transmission from the spacecraft was received. Information about Pioneer 10 is on the Internet at:

http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNhome.html

Following Where God Leads

Elisha had accepted God into his life years before. He had daily learned the lessons of hard work and humility. He had been taught the lessons of kindness and faithfulness to duty. He had been told that God had a special plan for his life. But when it came time to answer the call, he had to count the cost. He had to make a decision to leave the comforts of wealth and live the life of a wandering prophet, often misunderstood, often ignored, often abused. Yet that was his calling. He had to make a choice. And Elisha determined that nothing would stand in the way of his following God. So he ate his farewell meal and then went to learn from Elijah.

Elijah was moving into another phase of his calling. For years he had stood tall in Israel as God’s chosen mouthpiece. He had rebuked and called the people back. Day in and day out he had instructed, pleaded, preached and tried to arouse the people to remember the God of their fathers and to return and follow Him. Finally, at God’s command, he had prophesied no rain and then, three and a half years later, had his big day on Mt. Carmel.

And now God was calling Elijah to a new phase of ministry. He would still rebuke sin. He would still preach and call the people back. He would still deliver the word of the Lord wherever the Lord instructed him to, but now, instead of doing it alone, he was to mentor God’s next man. He was to prepare him for the ministry. He was to allow Elisha to work alongside him and ask questions and watch and learn. He was to give Elisha the full inside scoop on a prophet’s ministry. And it was to be day in and day out for the next few years.

That may not seem like that big of a deal to you, but just think what that would mean in your life, at your job, if you were called on to mentor and train one of the next generation of new workers, day in and day out, for two or three years. And then they went home with you every night. That’s huge! That’s what Elijah was being called to. And he had to make a decision as well. Would he really follow God’s command at the risk of having his style cramped; his life intruded upon?

So maybe God isn't calling you to have someone move in, but perhaps He is calling you to share with the next generation. Could be your kids, younger siblings, or perhaps a kid with no dad in your church or neighborhood. Maybe it's time for you to move to a new phase of ministry. Maybe.

The Calling

It is one thing to be so discouraged that you want to die.  It is quite another to get a fresh touch from God.   Let’s pick up the story in 1Kings 19:15.  Elijah is in a cave on the mountain of God and has just experienced a still, small voice.  Now he's ready to hear what else God has to say.

1Kings 19:15  The LORD said to him,  “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel — all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

1Kings 19:19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.  “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said,  “and then I will come with you.”

 “Go back,” Elijah replied.  “What have I done to you?”

21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

Elijah left the cave on Mt. Horeb with a new commission and a new lease on life.  He now had new marching orders.  And there is something about understanding what God has called you to do that helps you refocus and set out with a fresh determination to follow God.

Notice what one of the key things God tells Elijah. “…and anoint Elisha … to succeed you as prophet.”   In other words, “Elijah, you’re not going to be around forever, and you must (in the vernacular of our day) mentor someone to take over the work.”  Elisha needed to be trained.  He needed to be worked with to prepare him for what was to come.

And so Elijah went and found him hard at work plowing the fields.   Elisha came from a wealthy home.  For he and his servants to be plowing with 12 yoke of oxen showed great wealth.  To have one yoke of oxen was considered fortunate.   But 12 yoke was a sign of incredible wealth.

In our day, a farmer owning one $40,000 John Deere 4x4 tractor would be fortunate.  To have 12 sitting in his barn would show great wealth.

Elisha had grown up working.  He had learned to be faithful in the small things of his father’s household, and now God was about to call him to something greater.  Without a word, Elijah walked up and threw his cloak over the shoulders of Elisha, and then walked on.  Everyone knew who Elijah was and what he represented.  Elisha was stunned as the full impact of what had just happened settled in on him.  He ran after Elijah and said, ““Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said,  “and then I will come with you.”

 “Go back,” Elijah replied.  “What have I done to you?”

Now let me ask you; doesn’t that strike you as a bit odd?  I mean, this whole conversation just seems a bit surreal.  Very different. 

I’ve always tried to picture it in our day.  It would be like one of the great preachers of our day walking up and handing a young man their Bible and then turning around and walking off.   The young man perceives the message that he is to be the next great preacher…runs after him and says, “Ok…let me tell ma and pa goodbye and I’ll meet you at the car.”  And then the preacher says, “Go ahead, what have I done to you?”

At first reading, it strikes one as just a bit bizarre.  But let’s look deeper.  It is not really Elijah doing the calling.  It is God.  Elijah is just the mouthpiece.  Elisha knew God intimately himself, therefore, he recognized God’s call.  And so he was telling Elijah that he was going to tell his folks goodbye and then catch up.  Elijah also knew that it wasn’t his call, but God’s that Elisha was answering.  He knew that God always gives a choice as to whether one will answer the call or not.    So he was basically saying; “It’s not my call on your life, but God’s. I haven’t done anything to you except what God has instructed, so you take your time and make your decision.  If you answer the call, so be it.

Elisha goes back and instantly slaughters his yoke of oxen. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat, and then had a farewell meal with his family.  He had decided to respond to the call of God.  He left the wealth and comfort of his family to live the hardship life of a prophet, and he burned his past behind him. There was no going back.  He was now going to move forward for God.

Sometimes we come to those decisions in life where we have to either go back or go forward.   To go back to our comfort zones, or go forward for God.  Too many times we are like the rich young ruler of Jesus day found in Luke 18.  After being told that he must keep the commandments, and after having replied that he had done all of these things since his youth,  Jesus had this to say:

Luke 18:22 ¶ When Jesus heard this, he said to him,  “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Luke 18:23 ¶ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

Which brings me to a question for us today, church.  What is it in your life that keeps you from responding to the call of God to move forward? 

Looking for Other Wells

Jews and Samaritans bitter enemies. Samaritans were looked upon as half-breeds.  Part Jew, part Syrian.  The could trace their ancestry back to Jacob as their father, but the sons of Jacob had also taken some wives of the land, and some of their offspring now occupied this slice of land which lay right between Judea and Galillee.  Since they were not “pure” Jews, they were despised.  And since the Jews despised them, they, in turn, despised the Jews.  Jews would only trade with them if they absolutely had to. A Jew would not borrow from a Samaritan, nor receive a kindness, not even a morsel of bread or a cup of water.  They would pay their own way.   Only in meeting a necessity would a Jew stoop to trade with a Samaritan.  Disciples felt that this was a case the Pharisees would approve of and went in to town.

Jesus alone at the well.  Thirsty in His humanity.  So close to water…no way to get at it.  Stuck waiting on a person to meet his needs.  Closed eyes. head resting against the well.  Heard movement.  Woman coming in the heat of the day.   Ad lib.  Ashamed.  Embarrassed. Tired of the comments from the others who came in the cool of the morning or evening.  She came not suspecting anything.  Now she has to contend with this Jewish man.

You can read the story in John 4.  But especially notice verse 7.  John 4:7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

Jesus asked her for a drink.  Such a favor no Oriental would withhold.  In the Middle East, water was called a “gift from God.”  To offer a drink to the thirsty traveler was held a sacred duty.  The hatred between Samaritans and Jews prevented the woman from offering Jesus a drink.  Jesus knew that she would never offer a kindness, and that, likewise, she would never accept anything from Him.  But in seeking her heart, Jesus asks a favor that she can’t refuse.  And in this act of trust, He awakens trust in her heart.

But Jesus doesn't stop there.  John 4:9    The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
v10    Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
A Jew talking to a Samaritan.  And a Samaritan woman?  If you knew who you were talking to you would have asked Him and He would have given you a drink.

She’s puzzled, but now intrigued with the conversation.   You have nothing to draw with.  Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well?

In her mind she compared Him with the honored Patriarch Jacob and she cherished the feeling that no other well could be equal to that which had been theirs for generations.  She was looking both backward to her heritage, and yet forward to the Messiah’s coming while she sat their talking to the very one she was looking for and didn’t know it.

Some things never change.  Many of us today are so close to really knowing Jesus, but we keep looking for other wells to satisfy our thirst.  And often, they are good wells.  Wells that have watered us for generations.  But if we are ever to find a fountain springing up into everlasting life, we must look to Jesus.