Articles by Phil Ware at Heartlight

Peace Be with You!

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500

[Jesus said] "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Growing up, the standard procedure around our house for repeat offenders went something like this. We would mess up and get a nudge of a reprimand. When we messed up a second time, we would get a stern warning. At the end of the warning, there was an even more ominous promise: "I've told you once, I've told you twice, you do not want me to have to tell you a third time!"

Three times in John chapter 20, Jesus stood among His closest followers and offered them the following blessing: "Peace be with you" (verses 19, 21, & 26). The Lord also shows them the scars on His hands and His side (verses 20 & 27). They are behind locked doors because they are afraid (verses 19 & 26). Clearly they needed peace!

The common greeting in Jesus' day was a blessing-prayer asking Yahweh to bring goodness in every aspect of life to the people being greeted. We know it today as the term, "Shalom." Jesus gives His confused and broken disciples this greeting: "Peace be with you!" Yet the Lord is definitely doing more than giving His broken and disheartened followers a "shout out" or common greeting. He is giving them a gentle reprimand while trying to calm their troubled hearts: "I've told you once, I've told you twice, and now I'm going to tell you a third time. I have come to bring you peace!"

The peace Jesus offers is more than an absence of problems, or freedom from persecution, or a world that is calm and without problems. The peace that Jesus promises is not the world's style of peace. It is a peace that only Jesus can give -- a peace that comes from the gift of the Holy Spirit, given by the Lord who conquered death.

The scars on the hands and side of Jesus are the key to understanding this peace. By showing His scars, Jesus is giving His disciples ...

Proof that He really triumphed over the grave and was alive, resurrected, and victorious.

Perspective on what real ministry involves -- the ministry that the Lord is calling them to offer the broken world.

Purpose for their lives -- something worth living and dying to achieve.

Peace is far more than the absence of problems: it is the victory found in Jesus through our problems, in our difficulties, and over our fears. This is life lived to the full (John 10:10)!

So listen, dear friend, to the words of Jesus and be comforted, motivated, and encouraged:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Have you ever experienced this peace in trouble? Will you share this experience with others?

How does Jesus give us peace from and through these difficulties? (Go back and look at the verses before John 14:27 and John 16:33 and relate your answer to the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to His disciples.)

How does Jesus give us this peace?

What is the basis of Jesus' promise to give us peace?

What does this peace entail -- what exactly are the blessings of this kind of peace?

Our Summer Series on the Post Resurrection Sayings of Jesus

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

This Is What I Told You ...

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Most of us have seen enough public investigations to be familiar with the question phrased as a statement: "I want to know what you knew and when you knew it!" I don't know about you, but I have often wondered when Jesus knew He would go to the Cross and be raised from the dead.

Did He know when He touched the leper?

Did He know when He cast out the demons?

Did He know when He turned the water to wine?

Did He know when He journeyed to Jerusalem as a twelve year old boy?

Did He know every time He heard Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53 read in the synagogue?

While I can't be sure exactly what Jesus knew and when He chose to know it, I do know this: Jesus knew! The Lord knew death awaited Him in Jerusalem as He made His last journey there. He knew from the Scriptures -- from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. He knew it and had spoken about it from the earliest stages of His ministry:

[Jesus said] "But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast" (Luke 5:35).

And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life" (Luke 9:22).

[He said] "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human hands" (Luke 9:44).

"But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!" (Luke 12:50).

He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day-for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! (Luke 13:32-33).

For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation" (Luke 17:24-25).

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again" (Luke 18:31-33).

While Jesus knew, His ragtag band of followers didn't get it. So after His resurrection, the Lord came to His closest followers and opened their minds so they could understand the Holy Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27; Luke 24:44-47).

This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).

The Cross was no accident! Jesus' death was not some unexpected tragedy. Jesus' rejection by His people was not a surprise. Jesus knew this was His destiny. So take comfort in these LifeWORDS of Jesus, "This is what I told you while I was still with you ..." He knew what lay ahead of Him and He trusted that God would triumph over death and the devil through it.

Jesus had warned them. Jesus was crucified. Jesus was raised. Now, Jesus was alive again and reminding them of the truth: "This is what I told you ..."

So what difference do these words mean to us? How do these words matter to us today? Why are these LifeWORDS of Jesus special?

Three simple and life-changing truths are ours if we will accept them:

Jesus fulfilled God's plan at great personal cost to honor God and save us.

Jesus demonstrated His love for us in unmistakable ways, so we can trust what He tells us.

Jesus showed that He knows and ensures our ultimate future, so we can be confident in our reunion with those who love the Lord and in our future with Him.

We may not know all that the future holds, but we do know the One who holds the future. He has demonstrated His love for us. We can trust His promises. He knew what would happen to Him from Scripture. He told us what would happen to Him from His own authority. He lived what God had asked Him to do with integrity. Now, Jesus ensures that the future holds great joy and ultimate reunion for us with Him!

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-19 TNIV, emphasis added).

The following questions are for your personal reflection, for sharing in a small group of friends, or for use in a home gathering. I'd also love to hear from you on my blog and see what you think about this message and these questions: http://www.thephilfiles.com

Why is it important that Jesus knew He would die to fulfill God's plan to redeem us?

Why can you trust Jesus' promises above someone else's promises?

Why didn't Jesus do something to stop His own suffering and death if He knew it was going to happen?

Why do you think the followers of Jesus had to have their minds opened to understand the Scriptures about Jesus' death and resurrection?

Do you find it hard to believe that you will be raised from the dead and united with Jesus and those who love Him?

How can you encourage others who have doubts about our resurrection to be with Jesus?

Our Summer Series on the Post Resurrection Sayings of Jesus

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

My Brothers!

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Few commitments are harder to keep than genuinely forgiving someone who has wronged us deeply. Anytime I share a blog post, an article, or a Today's Verse devotional about forgiveness, people send me very personal emails about the deep wounds they have endured and their struggle to forgive those who have wounded them. These deep wounds range from forgiving the person who killed a family member during a time of genocide to forgiving an unfaithful spouse to forgiving a dishonest business partner to forgiving a trusted relative who abused them to a mother trying to forgive the person who murdered her daughter. These are deep, grievous, and lasting wounds. Forgiveness is a hard grace for those wronged, but it is also a necessary grace!

The hard part of forgiveness is that it is a commitment. Forgiveness is not a one-time gift: it is a lifetime of generosity toward someone who has hurt us deeply. While we can work up our courage to genuinely offer forgiveness for an offense, the wound gets opened again and again -- an anniversary, a birthday that can't be celebrated, horrible dreams at night, another installment on a loan to payoff what was stolen, or a host of other things, makes true forgiveness hard.

Notice what the resurrected Jesus calls his disciples when he reveals himself to Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary":

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (Matthew 28:10 TNIV).

Notice what the Lord calls his "eleven disciples" (Matthew 28:16) -- even the number eleven is a reminder of how these closest friends of the Lord let Him down when He needed them most. Jesus called these "eleven" failures "my brothers." I'm sure it wouldn't take you long to think of other names for these guys. Remember how they failed Him:

Jesus closest friends in the group couldn't stay awake and pray with Jesus an hour when His soul was in deep agony.

Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Peter, after saying He would die for Jesus, denied Him three times even after being warned he would do so.

All of them forsook Jesus and deserted Him when the soldiers arrested the Lord.

And don't think Jesus' resurrection immediately fixed everything in their character: they doubted He was raised from the dead, some still doubted even after He showed them the scars in His hands, feet, and side ... twice! They hid themselves in a locked room even after the resurrected Jesus had revealed Himself to them and eaten fish in front of them to show that He was really alive and not a ghost.

Jesus claims this bunch of knuckleheads and failures -- or whatever term you want to call them -- as "my brothers." Jesus isn't using an empty title, a flippant description, or a sarcastic put down with this phrase. "My brothers" speaks to Jesus' love for them and His confidence in them to fulfill the mission He is about to give them (Matthew 28:18-20). "My brothers" ... Jesus told us what this title means earlier in His ministry:

"Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:48-50).

Jesus is speaking forgiveness and offering His empowering grace to His deeply flawed followers. This is the Lord, speaking of who they will become when they have fully yielded their heart to Him. In doing this for His first disciples, Jesus is also doing two things for us!

Jesus is telling us that our lives can begin again, fresh and new (2 Corinthians 5:17), empowered by His grace to become something vital to the Kingdom and important to God (Titus 3:3-8). He can take the faithless, the failures, and the fearful and use them to change the world! We know it's true because He has already done it with a group that He called, "my brothers" when they didn't deserve it!

Second, Jesus is challenging us to forgive those who have let us down. He wants us to help God's work to be accomplished in them. Since Jesus forgave His eleven "brothers" of letting Him down so completely, how can we not forgive those who have wounded us? This is especially true when we realize how much the Lord has forgiven us! How can we withhold forgiveness and love from someone Jesus describes as a "brother for whom Christ died"? (Romans 14:15; 1 Corinthians 8:11).

The great power of God in Jesus' resurrection didn't end when Jesus' dead and lifeless body rose from the grave. No, this was just the beginning of the power of the resurrection and nothing is more powerful in the life of someone than forgiveness. When the commitment to forgive takes place, the power of the resurrection is demonstrated in everyday life and the reality of the Kingdom of God is experienced!

Jesus said:

"This, then, is how you should pray:

"'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'

"For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matthew 6:9-14).

The following questions are for your personal reflection, for use in a small group Bible study or house church, and I would love to get your responses to them on my blog: http://thephilfiles.com

Why is forgiveness hard for you?

How is forgiveness liberating to the person forgiven?

How is forgiveness liberating to the person who does the forgiving?

Why do you believe Jesus is so adamant that His followers be a forgiving people? (Read the Lord's Prayer, along with Jesus' editorial comment in Matthew 6:9-15 and also Jesus' parable about the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35 before answering this question!)

The apostle Paul called us to forgive like we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32-5:1). How are we like God when we forgive?

How can we help each other become more forgiving?

Why are confrontation of sin and confession of sin so important to creating an environment of forgiveness? (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 18:15-20; James 5:16)

Our Summer Series on the Post Resurrection Sayings of Jesus

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

He Knows My Name!

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Mary didn't recognize Him! Can you believe it? After all Jesus had meant to her and after all she had seen Jesus do, she didn't recognize the Lord as He stood outside the tomb.

[The angels] asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him" (John 20:13-15 TNIV).

This is a story of despair -- a story about losing everything that matters in life. Mary has had life crushed out of her by the torturous death of Jesus. She is blinded by her grief and the job at hand. She has no expectation of anything good coming out of this senseless and inexplicable tragedy. Mary does not recognize Jesus even though he is only a few feet from her.

Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher") (John 20:16).

When the Lord calls her by name, she recognizes Jesus' voice ... she recognizes that it is Jesus! Just as the Lord promised, when those who follow Him hear His voice, they recognize Him and follow Him (John 10:1-4).

About this point in our thinking, the not-so-friendly Yabbots interrupt our faith-thinking and replace it with earthbound "reality" thinking.

"Yeah, but Jesus doesn't speak to us today."

"Yeah, but we can't expect that to happen to us today."

Underneath the "reality" thinking, this earthbound pessimism, is a nagging fear: Jesus doesn't really know about me, He doesn't really care about me personally, and He doesn't involve himself in matters as small as me. It's a way of saying, "I really don't matter that much at a personal level to the Lord."

Of course, those of us who are religious, have more "righteous" sounding ways of explaining away why Jesus doesn't talk to us. "I don't believe in modern revelation!"

But listen to what we sing!

He knows my name.
He knows my every thought.
He sees each tear that falls.
And He hears me when I call (by Tommy Walker).

He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own ... (by C. Austin Miles).

Also take note of what we see Jesus do after the resurrection! He speaks personally to Mary, calling her by name. He speaks and shows the scars of crucifixion to the disciples. He speaks personally to Thomas to help him believe that the resurrection is true, once again showing the scars on His hands, feet, and side. He shares a very personal and intimate meal with two followers from Emmaus.

Then notice what we have heard from Scripture. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). Listen to the psalmist:

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast (Psalm 139:8-10).

We are not cogs in some cosmic clock that God wound up and left to us to play out our roles as time winds down. God knows us from conception (Psalm 139:13-16). God is involved in working the pieces of our life out to some good purpose (Romans 8:28-29). Our lives are the personal work of God himself (Philippians 1:6; Philippians 4:13).

So what creates our doubt? What makes Jesus hard for us to recognize in our daily lives?

Could it be that we are so caught up with our own wounds and grief, our work and busy lives that we don't expect to hear anything? Have we forgotten to listen?

The following ideas and questions are intended to help you further study this subject and is also for your personal reflection, your use in a small group or house church, or a discussion with friends. I would also love to get your reaction on my blog: http://www.thephilfiles.com/2009/06/11/to-me

So if God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- are involved in our lives, and if the Lord speaks to us, then how does He do it and how can we can be sure it is really God and not some selfish desire or some worldly wisdom or some evil spirit trying to deceive us?

Ah! Two good questions. I'll give you a response, but leave it to you to do some digging in Scripture to deepen your understanding and to discover God's truth for yourself. (Try these ideas out and work through the Scripture references!)

How does Jesus speak to us today?

While we sleep! (The Bible talks about God ministering to us while we sleep. I encourage you to read the article, While We Sleep.)

During our times with our church family! We forget that church is more than filling pews and following a worship order. Jesus is present (Matthew 18:20) and through the power of the Holy Spirit, our worship becomes more than a sharing of words (1 Corinthians 5:4). Our songs are Spirit-filled messages where we speak to each other (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:17-19). Those who speak are to do so as speaking the very words of God (1 Peter 4:11). So what is preached, what is said to encourage us by friends, the loving confrontations we help each other face in Bible study, and the messages we sing to each other are one way Jesus speaks truth and hope into our hearts!

During our everyday life experiences. God is at work in us, speaking to us when we read His word, when we hear repeated thoughts from multiple sources, and through the well-timed note, phone call, or card we receive from a friend (Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:28).

What are some other ways you think the Lord may have spoken truth into your life?

But how can we know it is really from the Lord and not from some other source? Aren't we taught to "test the spirits" to see if what is being said is true? (1 John 4:1-6)

Here are some ways to test to see if what we hear the Lord communicating is really from Him:
Know Jesus. Get into the Jesus story and recognize what has the ring of truth from knowing what the Lord said and how He lived (John 10:1-4; John 10:27; read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Pray for the Holy Spirit's help in knowing what is truth and knowing Jesus' will. The Holy Spirit is given to us to help us know the truth from error and to recognize what is from God and from some other source (1 John 2:20-27; 1 John 3:23-24; 1 John 4:1-6; John 14:16-18; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:12-15).
Do what Jesus says to do. Not only is Jesus' truth self-validating when it is lived by His disciples (John 8:31-32), but Jesus promises to reveal Himself to us and come make His home with each of us (John 14:19-23).

What are other ways that you believe we can discern what is truly from Jesus and what is from some other source?

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

Go to My Brothers and Tell Them

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

She had been there through the whole nightmare. Now that the brutality was over, she was committed to do the final acts of love to the one she called her Lord.

Having purchased spices late on Saturday evening after the Sabbath had ended (Mark 16:1-2), Mary Magdalene and the other women got up before dawn and made their way in the dusk of morning to the tomb of Jesus. Upon arriving at the tomb, the women found the stone moved away and the tomb open and empty (John 20:1).

Mary's mind raced to try to understand what she was seeing.

"What had happened to his body?"

"Where have they taken my Lord?"

After alerting Peter and the beloved disciple, Mary Magdalene was left alone in her grief and confusion:

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher").

Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her (John 20:11-18 TNIV).

This incredible, simple, and touching appearance of the resurrected Jesus' to Mary Magdalene is filled bits of glory-filled wonder. Confusion becomes conviction. Horror transforms into hope. Weeping is replaced by witness!

Mary Magdalene, once terrorized by seven demons (Luke 8:2), is saved once more by Jesus. Her intended acts of faithful kindness to Jesus' battered and lifeless body become the turning point of human destiny. In a time where women were to be neither seen nor heard, the resurrected Jesus commissions Mary to become the apostle to the apostles: "Go instead to my brothers and tell them ..." (John 20:17). Her voice will be the first human voice to proclaim history's most profound truth: "I have seen the Lord!" (John 20:18).

And for us, the journey of this one woman reveals the marvelous truth each of us so desperately needs to hear: "You are known. Your tears are noticed. You are valuable to me. You have a mission."

No matter your gender, no matter your past, no matter your brokenness, no matter your loss, the resurrected Jesus longs to enter your life as Lord and give you comfort, hope, community, and purpose. And if you ever doubt this is true, remember Mary Magdalene and her trip with spices to an empty tomb.

The following questions are intended for your personal reflection, your use in a small group or house church, or a discussion with friends. I would also love to get your reaction on my blog:
http://thephilfiles.com

Since the testimony of women was not trusted or appreciated in Jesus day (Luke 24:9-11), why do you think that Jesus had Mary Magdalene and the other women be His first proclaimers of the resurrection?

Mary Magdalene's journey from a woman tormented by demons (Luke 8:1-2) to the first proclaimer of the good news of Jesus' resurrection is a powerful story with a wonderful message for each of us. What is God's message to you, in your situation, in this story?

How does Mary's journey from a woman tormented by demons to the first person who proclaimed Jesus' resurrection from the dead illustrate the following two principles in Scripture?

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:26-29).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In this important life-story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, Jesus asks Mary a very important question: "Who is it that you are seeking?" (John 20:15).

Is this the most important question we answer when we "go to church"?

Is this the most important question we will ever answer?

How can this question help us in our life's most important decisions?

Our Summer Series on the Post Resurrection Sayings of Jesus

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

God's Gift of Family Grace

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Sometimes the stories behind the scenes are the main story. Our church was packed, and the excitement was electric. But the best story on this Mothers' Day was unknown to most in the crowded sanctuary. Crammed onto one big row was a family only the Lord, through His grace, could pull together.

More than two decades earlier, a new Christian found out she was pregnant. She had found the Lord as part of a campus ministry at a major university. While her parents wanted her to come home so they could care for her -- but only if she would leave behind her new church commitment -- this young pregnant woman decided to stay with a family involved in the campus ministry. After much prayer, she lovingly decided to share her daughter -- we'll call her Erin* -- with a Christian family longing to adopt a child. This was no small decision, but one she believed would bless Erin and honor her commitment to the Lord.

Now on Mothers' Day Sunday, more than two decades later, this mom sat on the same row at church with her parents. Joining them was Erin, the daughter she placed through adoption so many years earlier. Also joining them was the case worker who helped with the adoption process. Even a member of the family where Erin's mother had lived while she was pregnant was part of the group. The day before, they had all been together with Erin's adoptive parents celebrating celebrating her graduation from college.

Such a sweet, God-provided reunion happened because of two powerful loves -- love for the Lord and love for a baby. Only now, the baby was a young lady who graduated from college the day before and was bringing her big, extended family with her to her church. Those of us who knew could barely speak because of the emotion and lump in our throats. What a sweet blessing of grace. What a beautiful glimpse of the reunions that will be ours in heaven.

While I can never know the depth of love or emotion that goes into a woman's decision to share her child through adoption, I deeply appreciate it. That's why I am on the board of a group that helps make these kinds of opportunities for birth moms, babies, and adoptive families possible.

Several years ago, I began to give a gift to honor each of my dads on Fathers' Day. Yes, that's plural -- dads. My physical father died 28 years ago and my mom re-married a great, godly man who is also my dad. Rather than spend money on a tie my father would never use or on golf balls my dad would lose, I decided to give a gift to Christian Homes and Family Services, in honor of my dad, to help an unborn child find a dad and mom through adoption. Now I encourage other folks to join me in this effort through a program called "Tied to Life."

I believe that it is absolutely crucial for those of us who are pro-life to also make sure we are providing the opportunities for birth moms and babies to know that life means an opportunity to become all God has made that child to be. So I'd like to encourage you to join me in taking part in being "Tied to Life"! You can find out more about it online:
http://www.christianhomes.com/tiedtolife/index.html

And if you are already supporting an endeavor like this, then I want to encourage you to use Fathers' Day as a time to give them some additional support.

Either way, I can assure you from this Dad's point of view, I couldn't ask for a greater gift on Fathers' Day than a bucket of chicken, a few hours to watch the US Open, and an envelope that says I'm "Tied to Life"!

* Out of respect for her privacy, we have not used her real name.

Do you have a personal story of adoption's blessings?

Do you have any personal messages you would like to share with a birth mom considering adoption as a good thing for her baby?

I'd love for you to share it with me on my blog:

http://www.thephilfiles.com/2008/05/18/special-grace

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

Making God Touchable

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Ah, the sense of touch. While it warns us of danger and alerts us to pain, our sense of touch opens up a world of delight, joy, security, love, tenderness, and a host of other emotions. Think about how powerful our sense of touch can be as you think about ...

the feel of cold skin cream rubbed on your sunburned shoulders making you shudder with shock and deligh.
the sting in your hand from a high five celebrating what you have just accomplished.
the gentle tousling of your hair by someone you love.
the gentle drag of your daddy's fingertips across the top of your palm to help you relax.
the stroke of your mom on your cheek as she puts a cool rag on your feverish forehead.

Most of us have experienced hundreds of other similar moments of touch that thrilled, excited, or comforted us. God made us tactile people -- folks whose lives are empty if they are devoid of personal, human touch. So, God refused to only be theoretical or theological: God chose to be tactile and touchable, too.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life (1 John 1:1 TNIV).

These words sound like distant echoes from Thomas' encounter with the resurrected Jesus:

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:24-28)

What do these passages have in common? In both, John talks about the touchability of Jesus.

Jesus came to our world as God wearing human skin. He came as Immanuel, God with us, in human form. He was God Who was touchable skin in a real human body. This means that God got splinters in the carpenter shop, blisters on his feet during his long walks, sweat on his sunburned face, and piercings in his hands, feet, and side on the cross. Yes, the Passion was God knowingly enduring the humiliation and rejection of His own people in the Cross (Isaiah 53:3), fully with the sense of touch:

... a man of suffering, and familiar with pain ... pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5).

Through Jesus, we witness God touching the broken, the mortal, and the untouchable. This touch of God through the hands of Jesus made His ministry powerful and personal:

When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him (Matthew 8:14-15).

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?" ... he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means "Little girl, I say to you, get up!") (Mark 5:35-41).

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him (Luke 5:12-13).

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ... Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means "Sent"). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing (John 9:1-7).

Jesus' ministry was about the touch of God for those who needed it and about God being touchable by those who were seeking Him. Which brings us back full circle to Jesus' resurrection appearance with Thomas and the other apostles:

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:21-22).

Did you hear what Jesus said? We are sent to make God touchable and to share the touch of God with those who most need it!

LIFE Questions:

The following questions are for small group discussion, personal reflection, and for home gatherings. I would love to get your response on my blog, as well:
http://thephilfiles.com

Those of us who gather around the Lord's Table and follow Jesus are the Body of Christ: we are the physical presence of Jesus in the world today (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Our work is to make faith touchable for a world that cannot see or touch God.

How does understanding this vital truth change your approach to each day?

As God's people, who are we touching?

Are these the same kind of folks Jesus touched?

What do you need to do personally to help share the touch of God with others?

How does your schedule need to change if you are going to share the touch of God with others?

How can you share the touch of God with those in your normal weekly schedule?

How does knowing that you are sent by Jesus to share the touch of God with others change the way you look at the people you see every day?

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ