Free Ice Cream

Five gallons of homemade ice cream is all it took. I sent out an e-mail and took a walk around the neighborhood. I invited everyone that I talked with that day to come by for a free bowl. I was clear, nothing for sale, and no time limit on how long you stayed.

A good number of people came, but not near all that had been asked. Probably many of those that I asked had other things they were doing. Some likely didn’t like ice cream (as hard as that is to believe). Maybe a few didn’t like me!

Something free just doesn’t draw the crowd that you would expect. We are a suspicious people perhaps because we used to be gullible, but free is often not free, and freedom is not something we always want as much as we claim.

 One reason why is because deep within us there is a kind of pride that says, “Nobody needs to pay my way!” This pride can taint us from being able to see we need help. This kind of pride can make us sour toward even ice cream. Worse yet this kind of pride can make us sore toward a God that puts His Son in our place on a cross of punishment.

“I’m not that bad that he had to die in my place!” Not to make you mad, but we were that bad, and still are if we haven’t taken up His offer of forgiveness that leads to freedom. The story Jesus tells is about a wedding where the food and the party were free, but the guests didn’t have the time. There will be a lot of people in heaven, and you’re invited too.

Avoiding A Crash

Have you ever been in a car accident? I have and it’s not fun. Recently, I was in accident and wasn’t even in the car at the time. While dining out someone backed into my vehicle. My car was not moving, but the damage was real. Though the other car hit mine, you couldn’t tell who was at fault, both vehicles needed repair!

I saw a near accident recently. Only some outstanding reactions prevented some serious damage and injures. Both drivers were relieved. It didn’t matter who made the mistake, all were glad the accident was avoided.

The laws of physics, “two objects can’t occupy the same space,” has some serious implications. Sin causes a lot of accidents because people want to occupy the same space as others. They want what isn’t theirs, or they go where they shouldn’t be. Sin’s collisions are far worse than traffic accidents because the damage isn’t easily repaired. Some damage last a lifetime.

The fact is our sin damages others as it damages us. This should cause us to rethink our choices. Another factor to consider is “omnipresence.” This is the thought that God is everywhere at the same time. That means the space you are thinking about invading that doesn’t belong to you, He is there already! The space your actions will damage, He was occupying.

We can’t harm God by our actions, but He is grieved by our sin. This is why the cross where Jesus died is so frightening. It is an open display of God paying restitution for our wrongs with His very Own Son. Before sin crashes your life again, ask God to show Himself present.

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

He has traveled thousands of miles in the last 21 days, and visited two continents, but we will meet again within 50 yards of the same location where we were last together. Perhaps you have had the same phenomena happen in an airport. This demonstrates that movement, progress, and time do not always lead to change.

We consider this bad because we think a lack of change always results in stagnation, but this is not completely true. My children will always be my children, much changes, but one thing doesn’t they are always my children. The relationship is not stagnant because of this constant. The constant is a strength.

My relationship with God is always developing, moving, waning or flourishing, but it never changes in regard to God’s commitment to keeping me. For all the growth that comes with years of walking with God I am still completely dependent upon His grace to forgive, sustain, and keep me. Sometimes we act as though we are less in need of God’s forgiving power or providing grace, because we are so “grown up” after all these years. Don’t let yourself be fooled by the movements of life you still completely need God, and He is still completely willing to act on your behalf.

This is why we can never earn our salvation, because it was never for sale. It has always been a gift and forever will be. He has made up His mind and if you think you can change that well, all I can say is “Don’t go there!” He is the same, yesterday today and forever. Some things for our good don’t change!

You Will Never Guess Who I Met

Jason Ankrah

Terrence Stephens

Two high school football players on a plane trip from Lincoln, Nebraska to home met a fan of the Huskers. I am sure they were tired, but instead of brushing off the guy they talked with him. They treated him respectful and engaged in a real learning experience. The man was a big Husker football fan, but the man was also an Associate Justice of the Supreme Count, the honorable Clarence Thomas. Afterwards when the two young men realized the identity of their new friend they asked if he could speak at their High School graduation.

Have you ever been in the company of someone great and not known it? Perhaps you said something regrettable. A woman one day was asked for a drink of water. She at first was hesitant, but the one making the request turned out to be the Son of God! You can read the entire story in John 4 of the Bible.

Not knowing who someone is does not diminish the reality of who they are. Someone who doesn’t acknowledge God does not in any way diminish who God is! Justice Thomas fulfilled the request of the young men in part because they treated him with respect even before they knew his identity. What would be God’s opinion of you when you were unaware of His watching?

Associate Justice, Clarence Thomas

Behaving as though God isn’t present is a silly thing to do, but remembering that He is present is not easy. The Samaritan woman who met Jesus that day learned a valuable lesson for all of life: “God is spirit, and they that worship Him must so do in spirit and truth.”

To be spirit does not mean that God is any less real or present. Spirit is actually more real than matter! All that is material will one day pass only spirit will last. God’s presence in all we do should not be dismissed.

Some think giving God their attention is a great act of sacrifice on their part. Just remember if God pauses to attend to you He is the one who is sacrificing. “It is the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed!” The sooner I recognize that God is more famous than I am the better I will see my true role in this world. Our consumption with self importance is bizarre considering our real lack of power to affect such simple things as even time, temperature and the weather.

Get this straight: It is your honor to know Him not His to know you, but he does want to know you. Somebody really, really important wants to know you. Do you care enough to seek Him?

All Alone in the Woods, Almost

tracks reveal a turkey is near

Sitting alone in a deer stand is a very good thing. It allows time for all the motions of life to come to a point of stillness and understanding. I love the sounds of the woods going quite from all my noises and then awakening to all their own sounds. I feel both grown up and manly in the woods, and at the same time young and childlike.

We are able to learn from God when we possess manly courage and childlike faith together. What I have discovered is that many struggle between the two forces rather than at repose between them. They are like hunters constantly loading and unloading their rifles rather than carefully awaiting their prey. Focus too much on yourself and you will often not see what it is that God has around you. Learn to still yourself so that you can see and hear God. He answers the ears of faith far more than we recognize. Listening is such a chore that we choose instead to be noise makers. Yet, hearing God has a rich reward beyond making ourselves known.

Developing the heart of a listener is a worthy endeavor, listening for God in all of life’s challenges. Even from the quite God can speak. I have often discovered in the woods that I was not alone, but that God was there looking for me. Allowing God to find you takes a quite spirit. A spirit that doesn’t promote and protect your agenda, but rather seeks to comprehend its surroundings. A hunter will call this “woodsmenship.” Perhaps we need more “woodsmenship” in our relationship with the Lord. A gentle listening spirit to His voice. He is not far from us.

Love, Life and the Death of All Else

I have a friend that has changed jobs. She used to be a mortician and now she is a wedding planer. I can already hear the comments of some about, “What’s the difference?”

Before you become to upset with me for even bringing up the idea, consider these Biblical thoughts. Did you know that the Bible uses both death and marriage as a metaphor for what happens when a person really knows God in a personal way? For one we are married to Christ, the bride of the Redeemer of the world. What a picture of love. He loves us enough to die for us so that we might enjoy eternity in a home He provides. The other picture is that once we come to Him we are to consider ourselves dead to sin. The Bible goes so far as to say we are to “mortify our bodies!”

The two pictures combine to make a clear point. To love one thing fully you must remove yourself from another. As I pursue my dear wife I have give up on other women, other interests and other pursuits. It’s not because she makes me. NO, much more than that, it is what I want. This is when you really die to something. It is as though it no longer is out there. I am not wishing to go into the other room to watch some program on T.V. I am captivated by someone and the other thing just isn’t there any more. I know that God loves you, but has your love for Him brought about the death of anything in your life. What is no longer important now that He has arrived?

The Great Assignment

It takes a lot to raise a boy

My wonderful son is going to be a college graduate very soon. Moody Bible Institute has been his home these past four years. He has applied himself to the task at the expense of hunting turkeys and being with his mother and me. We love him so dearly it is hard to even type the phrase.

I remember well my graduation from college. My dad and mom didn’t say much. I know why now much better than I did then. I am convinced that our dreams for our children are much greater than our dreams for ourselves.

God loves us is a revelation of His character. In loving us He reveals just how deep the substance of His grace, goodness, kindness and mercy.

I used to think eternal life was primarily for our benefit. I am becoming more and more convinced it is primarily for God’s. It will take an eternity for Him to fully reveal the depth of His love. We will be more and more amazed with Him all through the ages.

God has a dream for us that we might know Him. This is not some egocentric notion on His part. It is a hope for our deepest fulfullment. Really, we were made for eternity. The more deeply you love someone the more quickly time passes in your relationship with them. This is why we can hurt so deeply when someone ninety years plus dies. It is not that they didn’t have a full life, but that this physical world could not contain how full it really was. There must be an eternity. There must be a heaven.

Jesus died for the “joy that was set before Him.” Eternity called Him to destroy death so that we could live forever. The more deeply you love the more profoundly you hate those things that destroy love. More than anything else I wish for my children that they learn to love. We fully discover who we are and what we can be through learning to love against all the world throws into the path to prevent it. Seeing God love teaches us how we can love.

You Can’t Believe What’s Going On Above You

Our flying prayer closet

People do a lot of praying in church, but I know a place where there might be even more prayers. Royals stadium, maybe; side of the road in a broken down car, possibly; in an airplane on a windy day, for sure! I prayed while going through the sky. I was participating in the National Day of Prayer, May 7, and the event was sponsored by Prayer Flight. A friend called me to ask if I could be involved with praying while over the air above the capital of Kansas, Topeka. The feat was duplicated over nearly every state capital in America today.

Pastor Bruce and Doris talking before the flight

Fred and Doris Hetrick have been involved with Pilots for Christ for many years, and now are using this new opportunity for witness as well. They had their pastor, Bruce Eberline and me join them for a prayer meeting in the sky. It was different from other plane flights I have enjoyed. There was no conversation between us, we only spoke with God. The silence brought a new perspective to what I normally see while in the air. Instead of seeing schools, I imagined children; instead of businesses, I imagined workers; instead of so many sites and places, I considered God’s will. The experience was a valuable lesson to me on perspective.

As we were about to land someone was mowing their lawn near the air strip. I don’t think they were paying attention to us. I wondered if anyone had paid attention to our entire flight besides God. How easy it is to not pay attention to the one that is above and seeing all that we do. I couldn’t see into the details to all that were living out their lives below me but God can. What is He thinking of us? I look up when I pray, but I must remember He is always looking down upon me.

Topeka, Kansas Downtown

A Butterfly Moment

Every now and then you see a butterfly moment.  You may be setting out on the deck or mowing your yard and one graces you with a fly by. You stop to watch and not every time but once in a while your visitor stops nearby on a flower or perhaps even on your shoulder or nose. Just for a moment you see the detailed splendor and then they are off to impress someone else with God’s wonderful creative beauty.

I had a butterfly moment recently. With friends I had stopped at Cracker Barrel for a piece of pie. We had an hour to wait for another friend and conversation over pie sounded like a good idea. The waitress even added ice-cream to the pie and brought along coffee. That is when the butterfly moment began.

I first noticed the man as he came to the table next to ours in the dining area. He was pushing his wife along in a wheel chair. You could hear him describing things to her in a comforting assuring voice. They settled into the table and ordered their meal. After ordering he helped her with her sweater and put her napkin around her neck. It was clear she suffered from affects of some form of paralysis. He gently told her how nice the room looked and what a good time he was having. Then the meal came and he moved over beside her and fed her dinner.

As I went to pay for our dessert the thought crossed my mind to pick up this gentle man and his wife’s ticket. As I stood at the register my friend beat me to the idea and paid for their meal first. In our rush to do an act of kindness we had both forgotten to tip our waitress so I returned to the table. It was then that the butterfly moment occurred.

The man was told by his waitress that some one had paid for his meal. In near tears he asked her, “but why?” Then taking hold of his wife’s hand and said to her, “Isn’t the Lord good, honey!” I had to leave the room quickly as tears were coming to my eyes.

I told my friend, “Now that is a man.”

Somehow a butterfly made it inside Cracker Barrel and displayed God’s rich beauty for just moment to those who were watching. A loving husband thankful for the provision of a meal as he cared for his wife.  As I saw it all I had to admit, “Isn’t the Lord good!”

Sixty One and Counting!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 7:05 PM., 21 lbs; 8 ½ inch beard, 1 1/8 inch spurs. Arlon Thompson East Pasture. Benelli M-1 Super 90, Remington 3″ Nitro 5’s, Spring Kansas.

Same place in the fall with a 2 year old Buck

The last few days I have been hunting with Dave. We have had all kinds of fun and heard a lot of birds, but no luck on filling a tag. Decided to go out in the afternoon by myself just for the fun of it. Thompson’s sounded like a good place as it hasn’t been bothered since nearly a month ago. Saw some birds on the way in and had to sneak behind the pond and set up below the brush pile. It isn’t long before I see some more birds on the hillside above the pond to the south. I am able to watch them through the binoculars. I think they are three jakes and two hens. I might take the big jake as it could be a two year old.

Never mind, a couple of cows move in from the east and the birds are spooked. They move into the woods stopping at the brush pile to give me a couple of yelps to see if I want to come with them. The day is over but there was a gobble to the east probably in the corner by the railroad viaduct or maybe in the east pasture. I sneak along the fence line and don’t see or hear anything. I crawl over the fence and up onto the railroad.

After taking about five steps toward the van I think I see a tom in the east pasture and look through the binoculars to confirm I am right. In fact there are a couple of hens up near the east tree line. Not a chance this strutting tom will come my way and there really isn’t any way to get closer to him. I decide to crawl through the ditch of buck brush and just see if I can get a closer look. I haven’t made more than a couple of yards of progress and he is already out of view. Oh well, I still am going to move up just to see what direction he went.

I take one more move of not more than a foot and see him again. He is coming my way to the sound of the grass moving. He would be in range if the brush wasn’t so thick. I see a hole in the brush that I think he will cross. From my knees I aim against a Mullberry tree. He hits that hole and I roll him, but he is back on his feet headed south. I move to the fence and take a careful shot (first time ever under stress!!) He piles up.

Never a single call besides the scratching of the brush while I crawled or should I say called! His beard is really worn down. Looks like he was a man of action.