Father Knows Best

Father Knows Best

The newspaper recently carried the story of a retired school teacher who lost her life savings when she was taken in by an investment scheme sold to her by a swindler. When everything she owned was gone, and she couldn't find the man who sold her the plan, she went to the Better Business Bureau for help. After she shared her heartbreaking story, the director of the Better Business Bureau said 'Why on earth didn't you come to us first? We could have helped you. Didn't you know about us?" Her reply is the source of our lesson for today. "Oh, yes," she replied, "I've always known about you. But I didn't come to you first because I was afraid you'd tell me not to do it."

Many Christians don't go to the Lord with their problems and with their questions for the same reason. They're afraid, afraid of what God might say, afraid he might say no, and even worse, afraid He might tell them to do something that is not what's best for their lives. We need to get it settled in our minds that God is out for our good, that He wants us to have a blessed and a prosperous future that is filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11). When He tells us something we don't understand or don't want to hear, it's often because the Lord sees things we aren't able to see.

It's like the story of Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22. The donkey ran into wall because the angel of the Lord was standing in front of him. Unfortunately for the donkey, Balaam couldn't see the angel and in anger beat the donkey. When the Lord opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel, he realized how wrong his attitude had been. In the same way, the Lord sees things we can't see and knows things we don't know. And He speaks to us and directs our lives, if we'll let Him, accordingly.

This reminds me of the title from an old television series in the 50's and 60's, Father Knows Best. It is something we should say about our heavenly Father as we face situations we don't understand and when we receive answers we don't want to hear, "Father knows best".

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Largeness of Heart

Largeness of Heart

Dillon came to school in January of 2007, a 17 year old high school junior who was sent to the states by his South African parents to finish high school. He was a pleasant young man somewhat overwhelmed by life in America. I knew his parents were in the ministry, but never questioned Dillon about what they were involved in.

Two weeks ago Dillon let me know that his parents were coming in for his graduation and that they would love to share in chapel. Today I met them for the first time and their story, their lives, birthed the title, largeness of heart, of today's devotion. It's taken from I Kings 4:29 that says "God gave Solomon ...largeness of heart, even as the sand on the seashore."

Ray and Sue Hakkenson shared how they started Beautiful Gate, a home and a refuge for abandoned babies in Lesotho, a small country just north of South Africa. They take in babies whose parents abandon them at birth or shortly afterwards, and raise them while trying to find someone to adopt them into a family. From the wonderful stories of those rescued and in placed in new families, to the sad, heartbreaking stories of infants dying in their arms, I was touched by their testimony and by their commitment to these children.

And their lives backed up their testimony. With them today were two children whom they had adopted themselves. One girl had been left at the hospital, her mom walked out without her and never came back. The other girl, born with HIV, lost her mother at childbirth and her father shortly afterwards. To see the love that this white South African couple showed these two black South African girls, to see the place they had in their hearts as they held them in their arms was both inspiring and challenging. Largeness of heart refers to a heart that has room in it for other people. Largeness of heart refers to a heart that can look beyond it's own needs, can see the hurts in other lives, and be touched to the point of trying to help alleviate the suffering and pain.

Ray and Sue Hakkenson started Beautiful Gate in 2001, their response to seeing abandoned children that weren't being cared for. God has blessed them with largeness of heart for the hundreds of babies and young children they have ministered to. Let's ask the Lord to give us largeness of heart and to bring us to that place where there is room in our hearts for the hurting, the hopeless, the lonely, and the lost who are all around us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Word from Waterloo

The Word from Waterloo

News from the Battle of Waterloo was relayed by a system of signals used to keep the people informed on how the battle was going. The signal station on the tower of Winchester Cathedral flashed the message W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- -D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D-. Just at that moment, fog covered the tower and obscured any further news. It was June 18, 1815 and the English reacted to the news of the defeat with understandable sadness and gloom.

Before I finish that story, we had two staff members recently agree to meet at Sam’s Club at 10:30 one morning. As they both waited in the lobby, they both wondered why the other was so late. But no-one was late. One of them was in Utica and the other in Roseville. Their frustration with each other quickly turned to laughter when they realized that they had forgotten to agree on which store to meet at.

Problems in communication happen all the time. We can get a partial message or no message at all. In our Christian walk, it happens when we fall short in knowing the Lord through His Word. God’s Word says “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37) and “God who always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus” (II Corinthians 2:14). Yet we become discouraged when we read the incomplete message our circumstances are sending us rather than realizing God is still at work in us.

When the fog lifted, the message W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- -D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -T-H-E- -E-N-E-M-Y could be seen by everyone. The good news of the victory at Waterloo spread quickly and the sadness was turned into joy.

When the early church was scattered by persecution, it seemed, at first, like a defeat. But as they went everywhere preaching the Word, and as the church multiplied because of it, they understood that “God always causes us to triumph”.

We can walk in that same understanding, in that same confidence, knowing that “He who began a good work in you will certainly complete it”.


God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The St. Louis

The St. Louis

Walking through the exhibit of the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC last week, I came to the story that year after year seems to affect me the most. It's the story of the St. Louis, a passenger boat that left Europe in 1939 with 930 Jewish emmigrants headed to Cuba. The mood on the ship was excitement mixed with relief as the passengers were escaping the persecution of Jews that was sweeping through Europe, led by the Nazis in Germany. Cuba had granted entry permits to these men, women and children and they were filled with hope as they departed from Europe.

When Cuba refused to let the ship dock and allow entry, that hope was quickly dashed. The St. Louis headed north. And here is the part of the story that bothers me so much. When the St. Louis reached the shores of the United States, within eyesight of Miami, Coast Guard vessels patroled the waters to make sure no one jumped off to try to swim to shore and to freedom. After the United States refused to allow the ship to make port, it was forced to return to Europe with the majority of those passengers later dying in the Holocaust.

What continues to bother me is that our nation didn't choose to show compassion. I John 3:18 tells us "not to love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth". Clearly America couldn't have prevented the holocaust. And these 930 inidivuals represented less than 1/10 of 1% of the 6 million who died in the holocaust. But we could have done something. And therein is the lesson for us to live out today. We may not be able to do much but each of us can do something. The Good Samaritan only rescued one person but it's recorded for everyone to read and have as an example. Why? Because the Lord wants us to realize that every person matters to Him and should matter to us.

Be committed to showing compassion, to caring for others, like the Good Samaritan. Be committed to making a difference, no matter how small it might seem to you. Be the person who doesn't pass by on the other side of the road but who stops and shows the love of Christ to someone in need.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church