The inevitable call came on Thursday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. “Daddy, I want to come home.” It was Trae, calling from Arkansas, filled with homesickness after a couple of weeks with grandparents and friends. I knew that call was coming and, missing her myself, I did something incredibly spontaneous – which is out of character for me.

“Ask Grammy if she will meet me in Texarkana and I will come pick you up tonight.”

And that is what we did, arriving back home at 5:06 a.m. on Friday morning.

Do you ever get homesick on your pilgrim journey through life? Do you ever look around and think internally, “I wasn’t created for this world”? Are you ever overcome with the longing for your true home?

“All these people (the great heroes of faith) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11.13-16).

The next time you are overcome with a longing for your true home, remember you have good company. Scripture paints the great heroes of faith as people who lived with perpetual homesickness and an insatiable desire for heaven.

The words of James Rowe capture it well: “If for the prize we have striven, after our labors are o’er, rest to our souls will be given, on the eternal shore. Home of the soul, beautiful home, there we shall rest, never to roam; free from all care, happy and bright, Jesus is there, He is the light! Oft in the storm, lonely are we, sighing for home, longing for Thee, beautiful home of the ransomed beside the crystal sea.”

"For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4.12).

I love the Bible. I love studying the Bible. I love meditating on the words and the meanings of the Bible. I love, at times, surrending to the call of the Bible.

But as I have discovered in the last past eleven years since I first began to serve as a Preaching Minister, the Word of God is truly living and active. When I look back at some of my early sermon outlines, I blush with embarrasment. "Did I really say that?" "How could I have ever believed that was the meaning of that passage?"

Any serious student of the Bible has had similar experiences. Because we are living and the Word is living, its effect on our lives is continual. It divides what we do not fully comprehend -- soul and spirit.

"The issue of the authority of the Bible is a perennial and urgent one for those of us who claim and intend to stake out lives on its attestation. But for all of the perennial and urgent qualities of the question, the issue of biblical authority is bound, in any case, to remain endlessly unsettled and therefore, I believe, perpetually disputatious. It cannot be otherwise, and so we need not hope for a 'settlement' of the issue. The unsettling and disputatious quality of the question is, I believe, given in the text itself, because the Bible is so endlessly 'strange and new.' It always, inescapably, outdistances our categories of understanding and explanation, of interpretation and control. Because the Bible is, as we confess, 'the live word of the living God,' it will not submit in any compliant way to the accounts we prefer to give of it. There is something intrinsically unfamiliar about the book, and when we seek to override that unfamiliarity we are on the hazardous ground of idolatry" (Walter Brueggemann).

God in His grand design has given to us a Word from Him that we can never totally master in the hopes that His Word will ultimately master us.

Only four words are needed to describe the events last night in the City by the Bay.

The Rangers got hosed.

Here's Jamey Newberg's take on last night's game between the Rangers and the Giants, which the Giants won 5-3 courtesy of some extremely questionable umpiring, to say the least.

That was a disgusting, pathetic, sickening display of umpiring incompetence that I would expect to have consequences of some sort, if I didn’t have exactly zero faith that the league had any freakin’ clue on how to handle it.

I hope JD didn’t have a television feed in Oklahoma City. As furious as I am, I can’t imagine what he must feel like.

I’m not going to sleep well tonight.

Tonight’s home plate “ump” (Larry Young) and tomorrow night’s home plate excuse (Tom Hallion), who are basically bulletproof and not held accountable for their pathetic ineptitude, will probably sleep like babies.

What a disgrace.

Here is a link to the highlights courtesy of MLB.com where you can watch for yourself on the multimedia link the play in which Mark Teixeira's line drive is clearly fair, yet ruled foul by first base umpire Tom Hallion.

The headline reached out and arrested my attention: "25% of Americans have no one to confide in." The story beneath the headline, on the front page of last Friday's edition of the USA Today, told of the sobering reality of disconnectedness within American life today.

The article relayed results from a similar study in 1985 which showed that 10% of Americans (at that time) felt lonely and isolated, without close friends or confidants. And now, just 20 years removed from that initial study, researchers have discovered the percentage has grown by 15%.

Why is disconnection among people growing so rapidly? According to the article, the chief culprits are suburban living, an increase in time spent at work, the prevalence of entertainment tools (TV, IPods, Computers, Internet) that allow people to "stay home and tune out."

But what if people want to plug in to something other than an electronic gadget? What if people longed for a place where connection is prized and relationship is encouraged?

If someone wanted to go to a place where "everybody knows your name," is there an option other than the local tavern?

Of all the metaphors for the covenant people of God in scripture, the metaphor of "community" has to be the most engaging to our culture today. It is community that provides connectedness, relationship and mutual support that people in our world today are dying without.

How highly is community prized in your home church? What could you do to be a catalyst for community in your home church?

"An enormous amount of everyday life in the United States is shaped by economic practices. Few people would disagree that buying and selling goods and services is an integral part of our daily lives. If this exchange of goods and services was simply an efficient means of securing the basic necessities of life, we might have less cause for concern. But we live and move and have our being within an economic system that impacts nearly every aspect of our lives. The obvious strength of this system is its ability to deliver a tremedous amount of goods and services to vast numbers of people in a relatively cost-effective way. The advantages of such division of labor are obvious to anyone who has considered how different our lives would be if we had to grow our own food, sew or own clothes and build our own homes.

However, the obvious advantages of such a system are only part of the story. Most people who are adept at functioning within such an economic system rarely notice the potentially dangerous features of such systems. For example, even though the market system could be viewed as a mechanism for rendering mutual service, little in our society encourages us to do so. Instead, we are encouraged to operate in the marketplace as self-interested parties attempting to secure our own existence in the midst of others doing the same. As a result, we tend to view other people in the marketplace not as unique and splendid people in their own right who warrant our attention, but as actors in our drama. In our drama, these people play the part of producers of goods and services for us, or of potential customers for our goods and services, or of competitors whose own attempts to secure their livelihood may threaten our attempts to do the same. Can we really be other-directed when so many of our daily interactions encourage us to be self-interested, to pay attention to others only to the extent that they can benefit us" (Philip Kenneson, Life on the Vine, p. 42-43).

In the last 14 days, I have flown 3,316 miles, driven 1,935 miles, spoken 10 ten times and picked up a van full of kids at Camp Blue Haven. It is has been an exciting, exhilarating, draining, fulfilling time!

Summertime always seems to be overload time, especially in the ministry. There are a myriad of opportunities for spiritual growth, faith formation and friendship and while it is exhausting, it is all worth it!

-----------------

One of the downfalls of my recent trips is the fact that in the last 14 days, I have only seen Trae and Tori for a total of 12 hours (and 8 of those hours were spent sleeping). I am missing my girls like crazy and looking forward to tomorrow night when they return home.

They’ve been in Arkansas, visiting grandparents, adopted grandparents and friends. Mandy tells me they’ve had a blast but I can’t wait for them to come back tomorrow!

---------------


Tomorrow, my sermon is about the way things really are in this world in which we live. Too often, we Christians fall in love with this world and the trappings of this world. Too often, singing the words “This World is not Home” rings a strange chord because this world does feel like home.

But we forget that this world is the temporary punishment place of Satan.

Revelation 12 is a unique, apocalyptic story of Satan’s attempt to destroy the covenant people of God. With the covenant people of God protected from Satan’s onslaught, Satan shifted strategies and attempted to destroy the male child birthed by the covenant people of God – an apocalyptic reference to Jesus. Revelation 12 paints a furious Satan chasing Jesus right up to the gates of heaven at his ascension, attempting mightily to destroy him. But Satan’s efforts proved futile. God banished Satan to the earth, where Satan is “filled with fury.” And his fury is unleashed at the offspring of the covenant people of God. Who is that? You and me.

We live in a world that doesn’t work right. Sin has introduced complications into the world. Satan, as the “prince of this present age” roams the earth looking for children of God to devour. Disease is prevalent. Poverty is rampant.

But don’t think for a minute that because Satan is winning a few battles on this earth that he will ultimately win the war! The good news of Revelation 12 is that his doom is sure and the covenant people of God triumph in the end, because of their connection to the blood of the Lamb.

Give Revelation 12 a read this weekend and allow its message to fill you with understanding and hope. Revelation 12 helps us to see and understand the way things really are and infuses us with hope about the way things will ultimately turn out.

It was great to be home last night, to sit in my recliner after a fast-paced 10 days, relax, and watch my beloved Rangers. The Rangers lost a heart-breaker to the Padres, 6-5. As you can tell by the look of consternation on Mark Teixeira's face, the Rangers thought they'd won the game. Teixeira hit a titanic blast into the upper deck that was so high it went over the foul pole, landing in the upper deck -- something I have never seen happen ever at Ameriquest Field. The umpires, though, ruled the ball foul. Had it been ruled fair, the two runs would have secured a Rangers win but it wasn't to be.

The beauty of baseball, though, is that each day brings a new opportunity and tonight the Rangers send ace Kevin Millwood to the mound against ex-Ranger, Chris Young.

------------

Some of our teens are currently serving in a wonderful mission of mercy with the Contact Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You can read about their adventure on Jimmy's blog.

Another group of our teens are on the final leg of a two-week camp experience at Camp Blue Haven in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Tomorrow, Todd Lewis and I will make the long trek into New Mexico to bring back the kids from a wonderful, faith-building camp.

------------

On our flight home yesterday, Mandy and I were unable to sit together on our flight from Fresno to Los Angeles. So, I decided to read through Hebrews in my Bible. In the later portion of Hebrews, specifically chapters 11-13, the writer makes abundantly clear how faith works.

Faith is not simply mental assent. Faith is not merely the intellectual acknowledgement of certain realities.

True faith, real faith, always does something!

As the old Amish proverb says, "What you do says more about your faith than what you say you believe." And reading through the Hall of Fame of faith in Hebrews 11 was a wonderful reminder to me that those scripture considers great were great because they put their faith into action.

I'm going to assume those of you who visit here regularly must have thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth. Not quite, but the last ten days have provided a flurry of ministry opportunities and spiritual blessings.

The old hymn says, "Anywhere is home if Christ my Lord is there." I have certainly felt the reality of that in the last ten days. First, the family at the Gilmer Church of Christ warmly received me -- and Mandy the last day of my stay -- and my messages and I trust the Word continues to work. Then, it was off to Fresno, California and the Woodward Park Church of Christ, an amazingly diverse congregation of Anglos, Cambodians, Laotians and Hmong. There are four different assemblies each Sunday in four different languages. Additionally, the Woodward Park church sponsors an inner-city ministry in downtown Fresno reaching out to the Hispanic population in the inner-city.

From a comfortable rural church to a thriving urban congregation, I met new friends, witnessed the wonderful way in which the living Word of God is still active in transforming lives, and, in both places with polar opposite cultures, I felt...at home!

Tonight finishes up 7 messages in 5 days with many new-found friends at the Gilmer church. Their hospitality toward me and reception of my messages has been wonderful.

Following tonight's presentation, it's off to DFW for an early morning flight out to Fresno, California.

Mandy and the girls decided to drive up last evening and it was great to spend the morning with the girls. I took them over to Texarkana to meet up with Grammy where they will stay while were away, allowing them to participate in VBS at the Village.

------------

"The presence of the Holy Spirit is a necessary dimension of Bible reading. Even as scientific a reader as Alexander Campbell recognized that if we are 'to receive any benefit' from reading the Scriptures, 'we must earnestly pray for the Spirit to apply them and to explain them to our hearts.' The Spirit accompanies the word in such a way that the Spirit works in the hearts of its readers. It is through reading Scripture that we 'feel the Spirit of God working in us to will and do every thing pleasing to God.'

Reading Scripture, whether publicly as a community or privately as individuals, is a dynamic process by which the words on the page interact with the human mind in the power of the Spirit. Through the reading, meditation and teaching of Scripture, God clarifies his purposes for his people (2 Tim 2.7; Phl 3.15; Ac 15.28). God is no mere spectator when we read; rather, he seeks us, just as we seek him.

'The man of God reads the Book of God to commune with God, to feel after him and to find him, to feel his power and his divinity stirring within him; to have his soul fired, quickened, animated by the spirit of grace and truth. He reads the Bible to enjoy the God of the Bible...Such a one converses with God as one who speaks by signs. His readings are heavenly musings. God speaks: he listens.'

This dynamic understanding of Bible reading grounds the ultimate goal of Bible reading -- a means of grace (sanctification) by which God actively transforms people into his own image. God comes to us through his word in authority (norms and standards), but also in power (transforming us by the Spirit), and in presence (fellowship). The word -- in conjunction with the Spirit -- informs our intellect but also transforms our affections and empowers our wills. The goal of Bible reading is transformation into the likeness of Christ by the power of the Spirit" (Kingdom Come, p. 84-85).

Several years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a Preacher-training school in South America. It was a wonderful experience for me, sharing with and receiving blessings from men who intended to devote their lives to spreading kingdom seed.

On the last night of my stay, I was asked to speak on the final night of a crusade at a church in the city. This came on the heels of a team of Americans who'd just completed a medical mission at that church.

I was told before my arrival that the American team had been there five days and baptized 72 people. I was amazed! I was so excited about the opportunity to teach so many new converts.

But as I began my sermon, I asked for a show of hands of everyone in the audience who'd been baptized that week. With the medical team safely back in the U.S., I was stunned when only 2 people raised their hand.

I'm sure that team went back and reported to their home church what blessed success they'd had on their journey. But that experience caused me to reflect: did they simply baptize those 72 people without calling them to genuine discipleship?

In Kingdom Come, Hicks and Valentine note: "(James) Harding emphasized that the 'life of a successful Christian is a continual growth in purity, a constant changing into a complete likeness to Christ.' To 'grow more and more into the likeness of Christ' should be the Christian's greatest desire. In other words, Harding believed discipleship was the central dimension of the kingdom of God. Consequently, one of the dangers of revivalism (and medical mission trips) was the immediate interest in a large number of conversions where the main concern was 'escaping hell and getting into heaven' as opposed to discipling people to lead 'lives of absolute consecration to the Lord.' As a result, these 'converts are much more anxious to be saved than they are to follow Christ' (76).

Alright, some honest confession time. The reason I haven't been posting a new blog at my usual times is because I haven't been awake at those usual times! My routine is so out of whack but the refreshment and renewal is priceless. It reminds me of my first year out of college before Mandy and I met -- staying up late and sleeping in late every day.

--------------

Last December, I spent the better part of one week preparing and plotting out my sermons for 2006. Every sermon. Sunday morning and Sunday evening.

A great deal of my down-time on this trip is devoted to reviewing that plan, making adjustments, and reading and reflecting in advance of the upcoming lessons.

For example, I'm re-reading and reflecting extensively this week on Philip Kenneson's Life on the Vine in preparation for a Sunday evening series on cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit. Kenneson's work is brilliant, discussing how cultural forces are adversarial to the cultivation of Spirit fruit.

For Sunday morning, I'm working on a series called "Christmas in July." The series is an expository walk through Paul's prison letter to the church in Philippi. Tom Wright's insight in Paul For Everyone: The Prison Letters is simply profound and highly applicable. If you've ever wanted a commentary written by a prolific Christian scholar that is very easily understood and applicable, then Tom Wright's commentary series is for you.

Additionally, I brought with me three other books to finish that I had begun reading back home. John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine collaborated to write Kingdom Come: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of David Lipscomb and James Harding. This book summarizes the shared view of Lipscomb and Harding on the kingdom of God. Showing that not every leader in our Restoraton Heritage equated the kingdom with the church, Hicks and Valentine reveal through Lipscomb and Harding's own words the inbreaking of the kingdom-reign of God and its implications.

Another book is making my way through is Darryl Tippens' Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life. Tippens serves as Provost of Pepperdine University and his work is a "vivid invitation to the moveable feast of Christian spirituality." If you are looking for a book that describes spiritual disciplines in a straight-forward, easily understood way, then this book is for you.

Finally, if I get through all those which is my goal, then Eugene Lowry's The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form will tide me over until I get back home.

So that is what I'm up to: reading and reflecting. Praying and planning. My personal sabbath is renewing my ministry and refreshing my soul.

What a great start to my time with all the good folks of the Gilmer Church of Christ. God certainly blessed us today with a wonderful beginning to our week together.

I even got an extra special surprise this morning when, about 10 minutes into teaching during Sunday School, my mom and dad walked into the church building. They had rolled out of bed at their home at 4:30 a.m. and made the 3 1/2 hour drive to be there. We had a great lunch together and it was just all-around special to be in the presence of God and His people with my parents.

-------------

Dear Princess,

12 years ago today, you blessed me with the second greatest gift of my life. 12 years ago today, in Rick and Keely's front yard, you committed to spend the rest of your life with me as my wife. My bride. My angel.

What a 12 years its been, huh? We've been on the receiving end of two wonderful bundles of love from God, Trae and Tori. We've lived together in four states. We've bought three homes and built one. We've made memories on every coast. We laughed together, cried together, fought together, gotten mad together, prayed together, sang together, worshipped together, served together.

We've shared life together.

I'll never forget the day I first saw you behind those aviator sunglasses. From the first glance, my heart raced at your beauty -- beauty that has only been enhanced in my eyes with the passing of time. It was your physical beauty that stole my eye away at first. And twelve years later, it is the beauty of your entire personality that I've come to cherish and am so madly in love with. From your sense of humor to the wonderful mommy you are to our girls to those cute dimples in your chin when you smile, I am as smitten today as I was on that autumn afternoon when I first saw you.

Thank you for loving me. For supporting me. For praying for me. For putting up with me.

Your love coupled with God's love is the three-stranded cord that completes me.

Happy Anniversary Baby Doll!
I Love You,

Jim

The embarrasing proof of the length a preacher will go to in order for the kids to invite their friends to Vacation Bible School. I guess it worked, with 169 children (ages 3 through 5th grade) registered for VBS and over 200 (including teachers and volunteer helpers) on each of the final three days!

Should the Rangers lose the AL West pennant this year by two games or less, last night's excruciating loss at Kansas City will definitely be one of the two losses responsible (the other being the 9-run lead the Rangers blew in New York three weeks ago).

That makes twice in three weeks, on the road, the Rangers have blown at least a 7-run lead.

To make matters worse, the Rangers go into Boston's venerable Fenway Park tonight for 4 games in 3 days. Nothing like blowing out the bullpen in advance of a trip to the AL East-leading Red Sox.

------------

Albert Pujols meet Barry Bonds. Could Pujols be the next big name sullied in the MLB performance-enhancing drug saga?

------------

Today marks the conclusion of VBS '06 and I will be forced to don a grass skirt and coconut top later this morning as a reward for the kids reaching their attendance goal. The week has been great with the attendance increasing every day!

------------

Tomorrow, I'll make a 5 1/2 hour trek northeast to Gilmer, Texas to speak Sunday through Thursday at the Gilmer Church of Christ. On Friday of next week, it's off to Fresno, California to speak at the Woodward Park Church of Christ. I'll be able to blog courtesy of wireless capability in the hotels where I will be staying. Pray for me and for the messages I'll present.

Have a great weekend!

A great come-from-behind win for the Rangers last night over the hapless Kansas City Royals, 4-2. The Rangers plated 4 runs in the 9th after being held in check for 8 innings by a rookie Royals pitcher.

After Royals manager, Buddy Bell, pulled said rookie pitcher after walking the lead-off man in the 9th, the Royals' fans let Bell have it. A tirade of boos rained down from the 11,000 faithful at Kaufman Stadium.

And as fate would have it, the Royals relievers summoned by Bell proceeded to allow the Rangers 4 runs.

I hate to admit this but I honestly felt sorry for Bell and his team last night. With just 14 wins in their first 57 games, they are on pace to set an all-time record for futilty, surpassing the current low-water mark set by the Mets in 1962 (40-120).

-------------

Something tells me the Jason Grimsley saga is going to open up a whole 'nother can of worms for Bud Selig and the boys at MLB that just might dwarf the BALCO/Barry Bonds scandal.

------------

Last night, we had VBS Open House for all the kids and their parents. We had a midweek attendance high for this year with over 300 present.

From my vantage point in the rear of the auditorium, I couldn't help but notice the faces of the parents and grandparents as their little darlings went up on the stage to sing VBS songs. One-by-one, each class was led by Jimmy in two "action" songs. And as they sang, the faces in the audience lit up with unabashed joy.

The thought hit me like a ton of bricks, as I watched the faces of the parents light up with joy: could it be that God's face lights up in the same way when we, as his children, worship him? Could it be that God delights in the simple, sincere praise of his children in the same way that parents delight to see the simple, sincere praise of their own children? Could it be that our trepidation of God is unfounded? Could it be that God our Father is so pleased with our worship of Him in the same way I was so pleased by my daughter last night?

Yesterday, I intentionally avoided any and all references in my blog to the fact that it was 6-6-6, as in June 6, 2006. Didn't want any of you rearranging your life around something as baseless as say, the daily horoscope, to which I compare the craze that surrounded yesterday's date.

But the fact that yesterday was 6-6-06 didn't stop others from drastic measures. Seton Hospital in Austin had 5 inductions and 2 c-section births cancelled yesterday by the soon-to-be parents for fear of some impending evil or doom in the life of their child.

And just to allay your superstitious fears, the clincher might have actually occured last night during the Rangers' game at Kansas City. In the top of the 2nd, Brad Wilkerson, wearing uniform number 6 and batting in the number 6 hole in the batting order on 6-6-06, hit a home run. That will forever seal the deal for me!

------------

Seriously, what do you make of all the 6-6-6 fanaticism? And how is that mysterious symbol to be understood?

In the recent past, world leaders such as Hitler (6 letters in his last name) and Ronald Wilson Reagan (6 letters in each of his 3 names) have been earmarked as possible carriers of the 6-6-6 brand.

I take an Amillenial Preterist interpretation of the book of Revelation. Basically, that is a scholastic way to say: I believe the prophetic events in Revelation, with the exception of the final two chapters, have already been fulfilled in the fall of the Roman empire and I do not believe in a literal 1000-year of Jesus Christ on this earth, contrary to much popular Christian fiction on the market today.

Fee and Stuart in their landmark book How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth are unequivocal that the first rule of good Biblical interpretation is this: A text cannot mean something to us that it could not have meant to the writer and his original readers (64). I think people generally accept that hermeneutical rule, except when it comes to Revelation. But I cannot subscribe to an interpretation of Revelation that is incongruent with the reading of the rest of Scripture.

The driving question in reading Revelation is this: What was John (the writer) attempting to convey through apocalyptic language to his original readers?

When that question is not asked of the text, a whole host of wild conclusions are reached that John's original readers would have never envisioned.

For example, they mysterious mark of the beast (666) in Revelation 13.18. Let me take a stab at it and you feel free to share your insights with me via email (jim.gardner@hotmail.com).

Throughout scripture, the number "7" is used as a holy number. A perfect number. God's number. But "6" is an apocalyptic symbol for evil. For unholiness. Opposed to God, it is man's number. Because "6" falls short of "7" it is representative of evil.

Now whenever scripture wants to speak of the ultimate expression of something, it often does so in a series of three. For example, we sing "Holy, Holy, Holy" taken from the song of the seraphs around the throne of God in Isaiah 6.3. The seraphs' song, singing of the holiness of God in trinitarian fashion, is meant to elevate the absolute holiness of God.

In the same way, to use the number "6" in trinitarian fashion is to raise the bar that this beast in Revelation 13 is not literally branded with "666" but is, rather, the ultimate expression of evil. The ultimate expression of rebellion against the holiness and will of God.

I hope that simple explanation puts to rest any superstitious fears you might have faced yesterday in the face of what, I believe, to be a wholly unfounded interpretation of scripture. I know this interpretation is not as engaging as some of the more popular contemporary views, but it is a view that is, nonetheless, coherent with the whole of scripture.

"Each one of these people died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that -- heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them" (Hebrews 11.13-16, MSG).

Transients. Pilgrims. Aliens. Strangers.

We sing "This World Is Not My Home" but do we mean it? Do we live it?

I wonder if the whole discussion involving the immigration issue and what to do about the leaky borders of the United States hasn't betrayed the fact that, for some Christians, our corner in this world has become a bit too cozy.

Last Thursday at the weekly Rotary luncheon, our club was privileged to hear from U.S. Representative Mike Conaway (R-Texas). In his presentation, Mr. Conaway addressed at length the issues involved in the immigration/illegal aliens discussion. His speech was thoroughly informative.

But what gripped me in the course of the speech is the picture he painted with words leading those of us in the audience to understand the motivation of illegal immigrants south of the border. Suppose a father lives in a poor village in Mexico. His only income source is farming and drought conditions have cut into his ability to provide for his family. Because of the economy and lack of jobs, he's at a dead-end, but he realizes if he can just make it to the United States, he can find work and income that can be sent back home to feed his family.

Mr. Conaway exuded great compassion in getting at the root motivation of many illegal immigrants. A father, attempting to provide for his family and feed his children, will go to any extent -- be it swimming across a river or illegally crossing a border -- in order to provide for his family.

Suppose the shoe was on the other foot. Suppose America was the land of an impoverished economy and poor job growth. If you were struggling to provide for your family but realized the vast opportunity that existed in Mexico, would you be tempted to cross the border?

With that picture in mind, I cannot understand some of the vitriol with which Christians have approached this issue. These "illegals", some who altogether refuse the follow the legal course, are nonetheless people created in the image of God. Do their actions provide Christians the ammunition to verbally unload? Or, despite their carelessness for the law, should we view them, in spite of their actions, as people created in the image of God and valued by God?

What great men of faith like Abraham, Joseph and Moses clearly realized -- that they themselves were aliens, strangers, pilgrims, transients in this world -- we need to realize today. This world is not our home, we are just passing through. And on our journey, God calls us to be a people devoted to upholding the dignity and worth of every human being, no matter how frail, feeble or, in our own minds, flawed.

God's Word, coupled with the examples of many of our great heroes of faith in Scripture, strikes a blow at our quest to control our corner of the globe. Rather than exerting political power in our own best interest, our calling from Scripture seems to be to exert service in the best interests of those whom society has labeled and marginalized. Rather than participate in the rhetoric, we are called to reform within that allows us to see every person through the eyes of God.

Does all that mean that federal laws are inconsequential? Absolutely not! Don't hear me making any sort of case for antinomianism. But upholding law doesn't mean that as Christians, we have a right to forego compassion for those society deems to be the least.

Today kicks off Vacation Bible School 2006 at the Marble Falls Church of Christ. The kids will be making the trek to Treasure Island to discover the vast treasures of God's love. I love VBS and can't wait to see all God has in store for the kids who will learn how wide and deep and high and long is the love of God.

---------------

What a great weekend for the Rangers in the Windy City. The Rangers went into the home of the World Series Champions, the White Sox, and took two out of three games. Because the A's are streaking, the Rangers lead in the AL West remains at 3.5 games.

Gerald Laird is tearing it up right now (4-for-5 yesterday, 12 total bases, 2 home runs, 4 rbi)! Isn't it about time for Buck Showalter to supplant mundane starting catcher Rod Barajas with Laird?

--------------

I love the writing of N.T. Wright. In the last year, Wright has become one of my favorite writers in the sphere of New Testament theology. Here is an excerpt from his book The Challenge of Jesus.

"If church leaders themselves spent more time studying and teaching Jesus and the Gospels, a good many of the other things we worry about in day-to-day church life would be seen in their proper light. It has far too often been assumed that church leaders stand above the nitty-gritty of biblical and theological study; they have done all that, we implicitly suppose, before they come to the office, and now they simply have to work out the 'implications.' Then they find themselves spending countless hours at their desks running the church as a business, raising money or working at dozens of other tasks, rather than poring over their foundation documents and enquiring ever more closely about the Jesus whom they are supposed to be following and teaching others to follow. I believe, to the contrary, that each generation has to wrestle afresh with the question of Jesus, not least its biblical roots if it is to be truly the church at all -- not that we should engage in abstract dogmatics to the detriment of our engagement with the world, but that we should discover more and more of who Jesus was and is, precisely in order to be equipped to engage with the world that he came to save. And this is a task for the whole church, especially those appointed to leadership and teaching roles within it" (31).

The Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee...you've come a long way, baby!

I remember back when ESPN first decided to air the spelling bee how whacked that seemed. Come on, who wants to give up an afternoon of Australian Rules Football reruns for a spelling bee?

And look at 'em now, airing the spelling bee live on Primetime television. That tells me one of two things: either the spelling bee is at an all-time popularity high or the primetime lineup on Thursday night's on ABC this summer is horrendously bad.

And maybe at this point I should pause and ask: do you hear any bitterness in my tone and words about the spelling bee? You should.

Leading up to my eighth grade year, I had routinely breezed through spelling bees at school. Science and math never peaked my interest much, but when it came to spelling, look out. I'd typically spelled most of my classmates out of the contest when it came to the spelling bee.

And then eighth grade came -- that fateful year when the spelling bee really counted. The year in which, if a person won the school spelling bee, it was off to the state spelling bee and then, potentially, the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee.

I was certain that a free trip to New York City was in my future. But on the way to the trip, I was tripped.

Want to guess what word I missed?

Doorjamb.

That's right.

Doorjamb.

Now before you're too hard on me, would you have thought at the age of 13 to spell "doorjam" with a silent "b" on the end?

And ever since that day, silent "b's" and spelling bees have caused me great consternation!

------------------

Interesting article in Tuesday's USA Today combining two of my most beloved interests.

Faith and Baseball.

The Colorado Rockies, presided over by former University of Arkansas Associate Athletic Director, Keli McGregor, have taken faith to a whole new level among professional sports franchises.

Bob Nightengale notes in the article the overhwelming role that faith plays in the Rockies' clubhouse. Give it a read and tell me what you think.

Back on May 12th, I surmised that the 20-day stretch the Rangers completed yesterday would go a long way toward determining if they were contenders or pretenders in the AL West race.

Put them down as contenders!

The Rangers won 4 and lost 4 on their road swing through Boston, New York and Houston (two games in Boston were rained out). The homestand against the AL West teams, Anaheim, Oakland and Seattle, finished up with 6 wins and 4 losses. A 10 win, 8 loss stretch against that schedule wass good enough and the Rangers were able to extend their lead in the West by 4 games during the 20-day stretch.

Now the Rangers go on the road for 11 days: to defending World Series champion Chicago, lowly Kansas City, and a return trip to Beantown where one of the rainout games will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, June 10.

Also, yesterday during the game, the Rangers dumped disgruntled DH Phil Nevin on the Cubs. Nevin had been supplanted from his lead role as DH and will not be missed on the field or in the clubhouse.

-------------


Yesterday, I asked you to think about the possible discrepancy regarding the location of Judas when Jesus transformed the Passover meal into the memorial we call the Lord’s Supper. Was Judas in the room when Jesus transformed the Passover meal, as Luke 22.21 seems to indicate? Or was Judas absent, as John clearly implies in the timing of his account in John 13?

Scholarship is divided on the question. There are those who believe that Luke’s account is inaccurate, since he adds to the timeline a facet of the story that the other synoptic gospels, i.e. Matthew and Mark, do not include. The belief is that in the latter course of copying the text of Luke, scribes added this feature to the gospel record, placing Judas squarely at the table during the entire institution of the Lord’s Supper.

It would stand to reason that in the event of a discrepancy between Matthew and John versus Luke, the consensus of scholarship would side with Matthew and John. Why? Because as “apostles” of Jesus, they would have been clearly present and would have likely pointed out a fact as obvious as the presence of Judas.

There are other scholars that argue, however, that Luke’s precision as a scholar demands weight be given to his account. Luke makes clear to Theophilus in the prefaces to the gospel of Luke and the historical record of Acts that he has undergone a painstaking effort to accurately recount events with great precision and care.

So which is it?

Certainly an age-old argument on whether communion should be open or closed is considered on the basis of Judas’s presence. If Judas was absent – the position I took in my sermon last Sunday morning – then it seems to lend itself to the view that Jesus intentionally waited for Judas’s exit before turning the Passover meal into the Lord’s Supper. However, if Judas was present, then the table becomes a place where all are welcome – both insiders (those who have been declared righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ) and outsiders (those who are living unrighteous lives, with a hint of Judas within).

What we have in this case is a classic text that lends itself to open discussion. At the end of the day, the presence of Judas at the table doesn’t in any way constitute a salvation issue. One’s eternal destiny doesn’t hinge on accurately locating Judas at the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Locating his presence does have ramifications for the dated arguments regarding open versus closed communion. But those issues, themselves, do not constitute salvation matters.

I just think it’s neat, fun, intriguing and exciting to contemplate the possibilities.

But make no mistake about it, the bottom line in discussions like this is to determine on the front-end: do I want to win? Do I want to be right? Or do I want to preserve the relationship with someone who sees this matter of opinion differently than me?

Do I want to be right at all costs or do I want to be in a relationship?