Ibi Fülöp

We had dinner with our dear friend, Ibi, this evening. Ibi is visiting from Hungary, where she works for Campus Crusade for Christ. Please take a few minutes to read her blog. We first met Ibi a couple of years ago, when she and Mara visited the OpenWord Sunday school class. We were truly impressed with the strength of her commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The more we heard about Campus Crusade's work in Eastern Europe, the more we were convinced to support her ministry.

Heavenly Father,
I come to you in Jesus name
And ask not that you hear my voice, but His,
lifting up the name of Ibi Fülöp.
Please continue to bless her ministry
And all of those at Campus Crusade
Who seek to do your will in spreading
The Good News.
Amen.

The Message

No, not The Message bible translation. This message is one from the archives. From a long time ago, when I lived where it often snowed heavily. I did not have a car--if fact, I felt like cars were evil. I used to dream that I was standing at the intersection of East Lane Avenue and North High Street with a shoulder bag full of rocks, and I would scream and yell and throw them at the passing cars. Now I understand that it was not the cars that were evil. Anyway, this is from that time, circa 1980.

The Message
While I walk, a silent snow takes the city.
Cars become intruders: threatening, whispering,
"Go home, go home."
But I walk on, imagining the sidewalk is safe.
Disobeying the sign, I weave a secret pattern in the crosswalk,
Leaving a message for the next night walker:
"Safe to cross here, brother."

Hebrews 6

I am teaching Hebrews chapter 6 on Sunday, and I am so excited. We are using the book Hebrews for Everyone by Tom Wright for the translation and commentary. Tom poses two questions for us to consider:

1. Is it possible first to become a genuine Christian and then to lose everything after all?
2. Are we - or are some within our Christian fellowhip - in danger of turning our backs on the faith, and joining in the general tendency to sneer at the gospel and the church?

For an answer to the first question, Tom directs us to Romans 5-8, where Paul "gives the emphatic answer 'No!'"

For an answer to the second, you must look into your own heart.

A morning song

The night before, I had gone to bed with a heavy heart. My day had been hard. I was so busy that I neglected to pay some bills on time, and I could not seem to shake off thoughts of the late charges that I had incurred. I tossed and turned all night.

But I woke up with a song in my mind. I could not identify it precisely--the name of the song and the artist were just out of my mental grasp. As I walked downstairs to do my morning exercises, it came to me: Bluebird, by Paul McCartney and Wings. I searched for the CD, found it, and as it started to play, I dropped to my knees on the exercise mat. With the first notes I heard, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of joy. This was exactly what I needed to hear to bring me out of my dark mood.

As the music continued and my joy increased, I remembered a time that I had watched my daughter dance with a similar joy to another song on the very spot where I was now kneeling. And I knew in that moment that God created us to be joyful. He put that song in my mind to lift me up, and in my joy, on my knees, I gave thanks for the day.