Life does not always give us the chance to learn “the rest of the story.” People come and go through our daily encounters, friendships fade, people move on, we move on. Sometimes I catch myself wondering, whatever happened to some of them. Right now I am reflecting on a life that briefly intersected with mine. I learned this weekend of the passing of one of my family’s pastors at age 97. He was by all measures, a man of grace. He was the minister of the Philadelphia Baptist Church while I was in college in Birmingham, Alabama. He is most famously remembered because of his name, Charles Merry Christmas, Sr. His kind ways encouraged me as a young minister while in college. I attended as often as I could. I preached once as part of a Youth Sunday service. While my parents and sisters attended regularly, across my college years I served on the staff of two churches, supply preached in rural churches, and frequently traveled with a full-time evangelist leading the music in revivals. One of my last occasions at the Philadelphia Baptist Church was the honor of officiating at my sister Denise’s wedding. 

When we first met the Christmas family, their daughter, Joy Carol Christmas, and son, Charles Merry Christmas, Jr., were in high school.  Charles Christmas, Sr. and his wife Louise were married 65 years when she passed away. 

Dr. Christmas was called to preach during World War II at age 18. He graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) and earned his doctorate at New Orleans Theological Seminary. He was widely respected as a Bible teacher who practiced what he preached.  I learned that he pastored several churches through the years and “retired” in 1997 after seven years as a Baptist Associational Director. He served as an interim pastor and guest preacher through his mid-nineties. He wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper called Simple Truth.  Always eager to share a good word with others, he had the idea of giving away baseball caps as a witness. He had caps printed with sayings such as Jesus Christ is Lord, and my favorite, God’s Grace is Sufficient. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Live gracefully. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,

The wonder of sunrise I see;

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

Is the wonder that God loves me.

The words from George Beverly Shea’s song came to mind as I gazed at the solar eclipse yesterday. Those of us very near the full path saw, once again, the awe-inspiring handiwork of creation. The precision of the heavenly bodies that surround us. The incredible power of sunlight to warm us, burn us, or permanently scar our vision, blocked by the darkness of the whole moon because the moon is not a source of light on its own. All of us were wearing or sharing the funny little paper and foil glasses that were invented to save the eyes of millions of people looking toward the sun in the middle of the day. O the wonder of it all!

Just as the eclipse was beginning, I stopped in a fast-food place near the church to pick up my to-go lunch and headed to the church. It was time for a picnic. I collected a folding chair, put my lunch on a cart and rolled it out to our new pavilion. I sat in the shade, moving into the light to see the first “bite” of the moon. For the thirty minutes around the peak of the eclipse, I sat facing the sun and meditating on the majesty of God. (Psalm 8 and Hebrews 1-2.) Apparently having a “solar eclipse tan” today earned bragging rights for some. My face just burned lightly. I heard the noisy birds go quiet and noticed the odd coloring of the buildings and trees around me. As the sun grew bright again, I slowly gathered my things and went back inside. What a beautiful day to know that millions of others were sharing this glorious moment together.

There’s the wonder of springtime and harvest,

The sky, the stars, the sun;

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

Is a wonder that’s only begun.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep looking up. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

There is an endless, unseen battle taking place in our church parking lot. I see the evidence of it at random times during the week. Cars quietly make their way over to our air-conditioning cooling tower, park for a little while, then drive away. An unseen artificial intelligence program has designed that area as a Pokèmon Go Gym. Pokèmon Go is a worldwide game played on hand-held devices such as phones and computer tablets. With your device in the right spot a player can see the other pokèmons—picture a cartooned short-eared rabbit crossed with say a cat, horse or dragon. At a gym, players can battle for control over other pokèmon players, winning power enhancements and points. The longer the winning pokèmon can stay in the gym before being defeated by someone else, the more points and rewards can be achieved. This is not just a children’s game. Adults are driving all over town to win more battles over opposing forces. Pokèmon Go takes a great deal of time and energy. 

When I asked our resident family experts to explain Pokèmon Go to me, they suggested this might not be a very interesting topic for everyone. However, I was also thinking about other unseen forces battling it out in the church parking lot, in neighborhoods and in homes across the land. Forces that cannot be seen with hand-held devices, but only with eyes of discernment and hearts of compassion. Evidence of evil activity is relatively easy to discover. Spiritual battles with victories won may be harder to see. One day an angry king’s army surrounded a town by night, intent on killing the Lord’s prophet. Rising early, a servant saw the strong army preparing for the attack. After praying for God to open his eyes, the prophet told his servant to look again, this time the man could see the angelic army, equipped and ready for action against the foes. (2 Kings 6:8-23)

Pokèmon Go is a fun game with an endless array of characters and teams. It challenges people to enter the quest and win personal rewards. The game stimulates our need to see and feel everyday victories over the forces lined up against us. For more details on Pokèmon Go, feel free to consult with the gaming experts you may know. For spiritual victories, look again through the lens of God’s Word into the world around you.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today, with open eyes. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

After all the excitement of the early morning, apparently Jesus went for a walk. When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary began to hurry from the Garden Tomb to tell the disciples they had seen an angel, they ran into Jesus and He said, “Hello.” According to one account they fell to the ground, grabbed His ankles and worshipped Him. He told them not to be afraid, and sent them on to the disciples with the same message as the angel—“Go to Galilee and meet Him there.” The disciples did not believe this story. Peter and John ran and found the tomb empty; still, they did not pack their things and head for Galilee. They were processing the events and were somewhat afraid to venture too far from the security of the upper room. 

In the Gospel descriptions, all slightly different because these are eye-witness accounts, Jesus was known for His early morning and late evening walks. It was His quiet time for prayer and reflection, away from the demands of the crowds, and the mentoring of the disciples. 

Two previously unnamed followers of Jesus were present that amazing morning when the women told of seeing angels and meeting Jesus on the path. One of the followers was named Cleopas. His mother, maybe the other Mary, had been at the foot of the cross when Jesus died. In his own grief and discouragement, Cleopas and his friend headed home to Emmaus. At some point on their slow journey that first Easter afternoon, Jesus walked with them. “What are you talking about?” “Have you not heard,” they said with eyes fogged by tears, “about Jesus of Nazareth? He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed. We had so hoped he was the One.” Thus the conversation began. Walking and talking about expectations, disappointments, and God’s word. Then there was the whole matter of Peter and John reporting that the tomb was empty, but they did not see Jesus. It was getting dark and they were now in the village. “Would you join us for supper?”  At the table Jesus assumed the role of the host, took the bread, broke it and gave thanks. Then they knew Jesus was truly alive. They did not wait for another minute to tell the others the good news. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Take an Easter walk with Jesus. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

Paul Alexander was 5 years old when he was diagnosed with polio. That was in 1952, in the old Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. I remember when one of our elementary school class projects was to see how many little cardboard folders we could fill with the dimes we put in the round cut-out slots for other children like Paul, who had to live in an iron lung. We learned about the polio epidemic in America, the March of Dimes, and the story of President Franklin Roosevelt who had gotten polio because he went swimming one day in his vacation home pond when he was 39 years old.  We lined up at school for our polio shots, and we were all so very thankful for an oral vaccine that prevented us from having more shots, as well as ever getting polio. One of my teachers in junior high told how he got polio wading in the run-off water by the railroad tracks. Polio caused him to walk with a limp. Paul Alexander lost the ability to breathe automatically. He was known as “Polio Paul” for his remarkable life and the 73 years he spent depending on that iron lung machine. Paul Alexander died Sunday, March 15, at 78, of a recent bout of Covid-19 and other factors. Incidentally, March 15 was the 4^th anniversary of when everything closed because of  Covid.

According to CNN:  “Paul’s ambitions were not limited by his condition. He learned breathing techniques that allowed him to leave the iron lung for a few hours at a time. He graduated college, earned a law degree, and went on to practice as a courtroom attorney for 30 years. He also self-published his autobiography, Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung, titled after the accomplishment of learning how to breathe independently for at least three minutes – a feat that took him a year to master and was rewarded with a dog, according to the book.”  According to his brother Phillip, Paul’s last words were, “We are perfect.”

What an inspiring story of courage, perseverance, and a life well-lived. I think I complain about my aches and pains too much. Life is already hard. Adversity, pain, and sickness make it more difficult. Adding our own selfishness and sinfulness to the day compounds our troubles. There is a Savior who promises to be there with us through each day and provides the strength to overcome. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Be an overcomer. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage: