Presumptuous Sins

In Psalm 19:13 David says, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." 

What are presumptuous sins? I reached for the dictionary and found this definition, "failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate." Hmmm. Could we say failing to realize our limits? How might that be demonstrated in our lives?  

For starters:

• Thinking we are more important than we really are
• Having an inflated opinion of ourselves (our looks or opinions)
• Attempting to do something that is beyond our ability
• Thinking we can disregard God's Word and get by

When you look at that list (and there could be more), the root of every one is the original sin of pride and faith in ourselves rather than God. As William Earnest Henley said, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

There is a grain of truth in that statement as God made us creatures of choice. We can decide to follow Christ or not which determines our fate, but it is also true that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."

My mother was a godly person but she had a proper view of God which resulted in a proper view of herself. She said, "The church does not depend on me and will not stop when I'm gone." She was a great asset to the Lord's work and very much missed when she was gone, but He raised up others to take her place. The church of Jesus Christ is still going on twenty-seven years after her death. 

I'm not sitting on top of the world. I can't make everything right that is wrong. I can't live by my own rules (and bend them to my liking) and slide under the door into heaven. Probably 99.99% of the people in this world never heard of me. What I have accomplished in 72 years of living is minuscule when I think of men like William Tyndale, John Wycliffe, Menno Simons, Daniel Kauffman, Jim Elliot, and others. 

Keep me from presumptuous sins--from thinking I'm more important or powerful than I really am. I am not indispensable. The church of Jesus Christ will go on without me and He already has people prepared to take my place. 

"The Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."

The C-word

Three of my grandparents and both of my parents died from cancer of various types. I knew my family history put me at high-risk for some kind of cancer someday. But "someday" is always in the hazy far off future. Years passed and nothing happened. 

Shadows fell across my path about five or six years ago when I had an MRI for leg pain. That issue was soon resolved but the MRI had shown a small spot on my kidney. I was sent to a urologist who ordered a CT scan. The result was inconclusive. Dr. White ordered annual scans to watch the spot. I thought it wasn't necessary. He said kidney cancer is a silent killer; by the time there are symptoms it is too late. He wanted to watch it in case it got active and catch it early. So I kept going for the scans but usually there was only a tiny growth or no change. He still wasn't sure what it was. I reached my "threescore years and ten" and the C-word was still out there in the hazy future.

It came into focus when my annual CT scan was done the end of February this year. A few days later the results showed up in my lab report. "Highly suspicious for malignancy." This was followed by a letter from the hospital urging me to see my doctor as soon as possible. I had never gotten a letter like that before. I already had an appointment scheduled with Dr. White the first week of March. At that time he confirmed that the tumor had grown to 3.2 and was malignant. It was time to remove it and a surgery date was set.

My surgery date is set for May 29. We did not think it was necessary for people to think or talk about it that long so Leroy and I kept the secret to ourselves. As long as no one knew, it was easy to ignore it. We decided to tell our children and siblings on the weekend of May 9-10. I dreaded doing that; I suppose because saying it aloud made me face reality. The following Sunday our church family was informed. 

I always thought people are devastated and panic when they receive a cancer diagnosis. I was not. I had suspected for years it would catch me someday. Besides, Dr. White said it is Stage 1 and he believes he can remove the tumor without taking the whole kidney. The prognosis is good. More importantly, I know my life and soul are in God's hands and whatever happens I am secure in Him. If I should die in the OR, I will go on to live with Him. There is nothing to fear in death. If I recover and am cured of cancer, I will praise the Lord and try to serve Him to the best of my ability as long as He wants me to stay here.

 "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him [my soul, my life, my family] against that day."(2 Timothy 1:12)

Observations on Human Behavior

Most of the news in the past six weeks has been focused on the virus pandemic. The impeachment of Trump has been forgotten and we aren't hearing much about the election this fall. Even the issue of sexual abuse has fallen by the wayside while everyone is focused on the virus. There are questions and debates about the  seriousness of the virus, the causes and cures, the government mandates and more. I am no expert on medicine or politics but I have made some observations on human behavior from this.  

My first observation is that people seem to need someone to analyze and criticize. The virus provides them with a fresh variety of subjects to slash on the whipping post. You Tube and Facebook provide a platform for people to publish their opinions which other people spread by sharing and argue for or against with their comments. 

There are videos made by doctors who don't agree on the causes and cures for the virus. Some advocate natural cures and others are looking for a drug or vaccine. Some things which have been posted claim the whole thing is a hoax or a conspiracy. There are opposing viewpoints for and against the quarantine which is causing economic problems and disrupting the supply of essential foods and services. 

The mixture of opposing viewpoints is confusing and I have mostly given up on watching these things.  It has come to the point I question whether the "doctors" making these videos are actually doctors. Anybody could dress in hospital scrubs and spout their opinions as a "doctor." How can we know what is truth and who to believe?

One thing I do know is that not everything you read or see on the Internet is truth. None of us have ever seen anything like this and there are too many unknowns. Ideas and research keep changing. At one point hydroxychloroquine seemed to be the answer but new research has come up with another possibility. That could easily change next week and probably will.

Second observation, you can pretty much tell what people believe by the posts they share on Facebook. People have their own opinions and they will share things they find that support their opinions. If they think it's all a hoax, that's what they will share. If they think the quarantine was not necessary, they will share things that support their opinion. If they are an advocate of natural products, essential oils, etc., they will share things that agree with their beliefs.

Third, human intelligence is limited. People can only guess what might have been. It is impossible for anyone to know what would have happened if different decisions had been made, for example regarding quarantine. Did it help slow the spread of the virus? Is the economic fallout worse than the cause? 

Fourth, people who do not have faith and trust in God live in fear. They hoard groceries and paper supplies to gain a sense of control and security. They cower in their homes in isolation for fear of getting sick forgetting that they could just as easily die in an instant from a completely different cause. I'm not saying we should throw all caution to the winds. We should obey the laws our leaders pass which they believe are for our protection,  but we need not live in fear. This is a rough patch, but we are not alone. God is with us and He will see us through. And if we get the virus and die, we have hope beyond this life. Death is not the worst thing that could happen when it is our ticket to heaven.

Outrageous Grace

I just finished reading a book entitled Outrageous Grace. It is the story of Edmund and Grace Fabian who were Bible translators in Papua New Guinea.

Edmund was born in Poland and escaped to Germany with his mother and siblings during World War I. The trip to safety was so traumatic he seldom spoke of it. They were reunited with his father in Germany and Edmund grew up there. Grace grew up in New York. She always wanted to be a missionary and spent some time in mission work in Mexico. They met at a linguistic school and were married in 1967. 

Edmund and Grace arrived in Papua New Guinea in 1969 with their four-month-old son, Jonathan. Their assignment was to translate the Bible into the language of the Nabak people. The Nabak language had never been written. They not only had to learn the language but devise an alphabet for the sounds. They had to learn Nabak customs so they could translate the Bible in terms the people would understand. 

For example, the Nabak people have a custom of tying knots to indicate a promise or agreement has been made. If a man gives a gift of a pig to someone he lays a knot made from a tough vine on top of the meat. When the person who received the meat wants to return a gift he lays the vine on top of his gift but unties the knot. It is a symbol of mutual trust and unity. As the Fabians translated the New Testament, they frequently came across the words "covenant" and "agreement." After much discussion they translated those terms to "knot." God tied his knot with the Nabak. His words are God's "new knot." 

Through the years, several natives helped them with the translation work. They were seventy percent finished in April 1993. On April 29, Edmund was in his office working on I Corinthians 13 when the man who was helping him went berserk and buried an ax in Edmund's head. They knew he acted strange sometimes but did not know he was schizophrenic. 

 At Edmund's memorial service in the States, the minister held up a pair of Edmund's shoes and asked who will fill those shoes. His son, Jonathan, stood up and volunteered to give up his career and help his mother go on with the difficult task of finishing the translation.

Grace went to prison on a regular basis to visit her husband's murderer. The forgiveness she extended to him and Jonathan's return impressed the Nabak people more than anything they had ever done. How could they forgive? Why would Grace stay and Jonathan come back to help the people who had murdered his father? They didn't understand, but Grace did. God told her they needed a demonstration of His words so they could understand what they mean.

The New Testament was finished in 1998. Grace and her family were honored with celebrations in two places when the first Bibles were distributed. Someone asked Grace if there was a meaning for the red ribbon marker in the Bible. She told him it's red because it's for the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. It's for His covenant; "He has tied His knot with us." 

One of these places was in the village where Edmund's murder lived. By that time he had committed suicide. In a formal ceremony, his widow asked Grace to be her sister. She accepted. She and her children were "adopted" into their family and given many valuable traditional gifts. It was the Nabak way of apologizing and making restitution for a wrong. 

Grace returned to the States in 2005 but the Bible she and Edmund translated remains with the people. She has traveled back to Papua New Guinea several times to work on a songbook and renew friendships. Today she lives in eastern Pennsylvania close to her children. 

If you'd like to read the whole story, it is available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Grace-Story-Tragedy-Forgiveness/dp/1475986580

Solitude

I am amazed how quickly and drastically our lives have changed by something so tiny it can't be seen. Leroy was only working three days per week this year but he has been laid off until things turn around. We are finding out what retirement is like, however, with more restrictions than there would be under normal conditions. We have not gone anywhere for several weeks except for short runs to pick up a prescription or get parts to fix a leaking toilet. Our children get our groceries and visit on the phone. We are attend church services by live stream and are thankful for that option which would not have been available a few years ago.

I do miss not being able to worship in person, but on the whole I am not frustrated by the stay-at-home order. I'm not an extrovert who has to be surrounded by people or party to be happy. I'm perfectly happy with my quiet life, my books, email and Facebook friends.

The devotional I read this morning described the difference between loneliness and solitude. Loneliness is not always the result of being alone. A person can feel lonely in a crowd if they don't fit in with the others. Loneliness can result from rejection or separation, either by broken relationships or death. Loneliness brings pain and sorrow.

Solitude is time spent alone and is often deliberately planned. It can be time spent with God, going for a walk, or some other activity done without companionship. It is a time of renewal and refreshment. Solitude brings joy rather than pain.

In the situation that has been forced upon us by the virus, we can either chaff at the restrictions and suffer pain and sorrow or we can turn it into joy by choosing to make it a time of renewal and refreshment. With the pressures of busy schedules removed, we have time to meditate, read books, go for walks, and enjoy more family time. That is a blessing, not a hardship. 

Choose joy!

Guest Writer

Today I am sharing a post written by my brother, Merle Burkholder. His daughter is a nurse in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. This should give you a different perspective on our lot in this pandemic. 

We are living in a time of crisis. Our lives have been changed. We probably all know people who have lost their jobs or who are ill from the COVID-19 virus.

Yet here in North America we have much to be thankful for. We have some margin. We have some food in our houses. We have at least some financial reserves. We have church communities that are able to help each other through this time. We have governments that provide emergency aid to those who have lost their jobs.

Let's remember those who have a totally different experience right now.

For example, the government of India has ordered a three week shut down. The rickshaw drivers have been ordered off the streets. Many of them live one day at a time. They get paid each day and that is their food money for the next day. Suddenly, they have no food for tomorrow. They don't have a well stocked freezer to draw from either. People will die.

I think about the worker in Ethiopia who was working in a textile plant for about $25 per month. Now the plant is closed and they have no income. They have no food reserves. What will they do for their family?

I think about the several billion people in our world today who live on less than two dollars a day. They are the ones who will likely die at the highest rates.

I think about the inmates in correctional institutions.

I think about the refugees who are living in refugee camps.

When I think about these people, I am grateful for the margins that I have. I want to pray, and do what I can for others who are having a very different experience right now.

-Merle

Coronavirus

   During the past week my calendar suddenly emptied as things were canceled due to the Coronavirus that began in China and is encircling the globe. Federal and state governments keep tightening the restrictions on public gatherings in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The restrictions vary with the states but limit the group size. In some states it is limited to 100 people but Pennsylvania set the limit at 250. All schools in the state are closed for two weeks as well as nonessential businesses, restaurants and bars. 

   The idea that they would have to stay home for two weeks sent people into panic that created mass hysteria. They flocked to stores and stockpiled supplies in ridiculous amounts. Face masks, hand sanitizer, bottled water, toilet paper, milk and other things were sold out. Fear sent the stock market on a dramatic nose dive. 

   No cases of the virus have been found in our county or the counties surrounding us, but we remain under the restrictions. Children have a two-week spring break and some people are out of work which means no pay check.

  The closures may check the spread of the virus, but the whole thing has been blown out of proportion fed by the news media. There have been other viruses which were more deadly than this one, particularly the Spanish Influenza of 1918 which infected one-third of the world's population and caused 675,000 deaths in the United States. Coronavirus symptoms are mild in comparison and the majority of those infected will survive. Those whose lives are at risk with Coronavirus are the elderly or people with respiratory difficulties.

   Our lives have not been disrupted except for some activities being canceled. We know God is in control and are not panicking. We can live a long time on the canned and frozen food we have in the basement. There is no need to stockpile things from the store. When God provided manna for the Israelites in the wilderness, He warned them not to gather more than they needed or it would spoil. Those who ignored the warning found that is exactly what happened to the surplus. The hysteria we are seeing is the result of fear and lack of trust in God.

   "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" 2 Timothy 1:7.