So...First thing you are probably wondering is what in the world does the title mean. I am very glad you asked. A couple a months ago, I started thinking about this group of people I had heard about called the Moravians. This group of people became famous for their work in Christian missions overseas. They are most often cited in the context of missions as the ones who would pack their belongings in a coffin symbolizing that they were committing to staying on the field and realizing that they would probably die there. That is where the title of this post came from. Now the fun part.
This whole movement was started by a guy named Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in the 1720s I believe. Zinzendorf is known for starting a 24/7 prayer meeting that lasted continuously for over 100 years! Two men were sent out as part of this movement, John Leonard Dober and David Nitschman. These guys were ordinary men with families living in Copenhagen who felt God calling them to be missionaries in the West Indies in 1732. So committed were they to their goal of reaching the slaves there, that they sold themselves into slavery in order to reach the slaves. Their mission statement was "Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him." These guys were willing to give everything to follow Jesus and his call on their lives by recognizing all that He had already done for them. Pulling away from the docks, the men cried out, "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering," which became the cry of the Moravians that would later come.
So in thinking about the life these men led, I wrote a song named "Packing Up My Coffin" in tribute to the work they and the ones that followed did. As a challenge, everyone who is a Christian is called to be a missionary. That could be where you are now or somewhere else. I leave you with this quote from singer Keith Green's song Jesus Commands Us to Go, "Jesus commands us to go, It should be the exception if we stay."
So here are the lyrics to my song. I hope you enjoy.
Packing Up My Coffin
Our Lamb has conquered
Let us follow Him
Into the world to spread His name
Our Lamb has conquered
and we have been saved
Why should we not follow Him?
I'll give You everything
I'll go where You say go
I'll serve you forever more
I'll lay down all my pride
And have the faith of a child
A child forever yours
Our Lamb has conquered
Let us follow Him
Regardless of where we are told
Our Lamb is for us
Who could be against us?
Our Lamb has conquered
Why should we fear?
I'll give You everything
I'll go where You say go
I'll serve you forever more
I'll lay down all my pride
And have the faith of a child
A child forever yours
May the Lamb that was slain
Receive the reward of His suffering
May the Lamb that was slain
Receive the reward of His suffering
I'll give You everything
I'll go where You say go
I'll serve you forever more
I'll lay down all my pride
And have the faith of a child
A child forever yours
May the Lamb that was slain
Receive the reward of His suffering
May the Lamb that was slain
Receive the reward of His suffering
So I'll pack up my coffin and go.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mother's Day
So this is the first big holiday since my mother passed away in February. I don't really know what to say, but shortly after my mother passed away I heard this song for the first time and figured it would be appropriate to share it today with all of you. Pay attention to the lyrics as this is the greatest comfort we can have in the midst of losing someone we love; the comfort that if they were a follower of Christ, and we are as well, that one day we will see them again.
Save a Place for Me - Matthew West
Save a Place for Me - Matthew West
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Long awaited update... sorta
So between everything going on here between school and research I have not rambled in a little while. However, I am pretty tired at the moment and am in dire need of sleep so I will ramble for a short while while giving you the idea that I will ramble about in the next couple of days. I figured I would share one of my favorite songs and what it has meant to me. So being very 24esque I will not tell you what that is and force you to come back to the next post to find out.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Hmmm.....
So here is something that happened this past week, particularly Thursday and Friday. I will preface this by stating something clear from Scripture. Coincidence does not exist.
As most people know, I have been inundated with homework, tests, and work on top of dealing with the loss of my mom and getting everything in order at home. Well, one more thing was added to the mix, a NASA proposal due on that next Monday. Not being a last minute person and realizing that I had basically no ideas or anything written down, I naturally freaked out. It was so bad that at least from my perspective I had a nervous panic attack, even freaking out several people in my department. To the best of my knowledge, this was brought on by having too many things going on, especially with my family situation, and I could not take the pressure. I should add here that there was definitely added pressure from the fact that my mom communicated to me on several occasions before she passed away that she felt like I needed to work for NASA at some point.
This was only the second time I had reacted that way to circumstances and my situation. Eventually I calmed down, relaxed, and ended up getting some ideas and making a good start on the proposal. I got the rough draft finished Friday morning. So here is the interesting part about this escapade.
When I calmed down, I realized I had not trusted in God in that issue. I realized I was acting pretty stupidly about the whole situation and that everything was going to be fine. And it was. I got the rough draft finished with a weekend of work on it still possible. And then comes Friday night. I get an email. It says that the deadline has been pushed back one week. Obviously, I jump for joy because I got a little breathing room and then I think. So this deadline got pushed back another week after it had already been pushed back a month previously. Hmmm....
As most people know, I have been inundated with homework, tests, and work on top of dealing with the loss of my mom and getting everything in order at home. Well, one more thing was added to the mix, a NASA proposal due on that next Monday. Not being a last minute person and realizing that I had basically no ideas or anything written down, I naturally freaked out. It was so bad that at least from my perspective I had a nervous panic attack, even freaking out several people in my department. To the best of my knowledge, this was brought on by having too many things going on, especially with my family situation, and I could not take the pressure. I should add here that there was definitely added pressure from the fact that my mom communicated to me on several occasions before she passed away that she felt like I needed to work for NASA at some point.
This was only the second time I had reacted that way to circumstances and my situation. Eventually I calmed down, relaxed, and ended up getting some ideas and making a good start on the proposal. I got the rough draft finished Friday morning. So here is the interesting part about this escapade.
When I calmed down, I realized I had not trusted in God in that issue. I realized I was acting pretty stupidly about the whole situation and that everything was going to be fine. And it was. I got the rough draft finished with a weekend of work on it still possible. And then comes Friday night. I get an email. It says that the deadline has been pushed back one week. Obviously, I jump for joy because I got a little breathing room and then I think. So this deadline got pushed back another week after it had already been pushed back a month previously. Hmmm....
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Change in a Week (Feb 17 - Feb 24)
Every person in the world has dealt with (or will deal with) the issue of suffering at some point in their lives. What we do in the midst of that suffering is what distinguishes us as Christians.
Sitting in BSU during at Noonday on Feb 17, 2010, I was sorta dealing with that issue. My mom had been battling cancer for almost a year and our hopes were up about it. Even when she got the report that the cancer had spread 40% in one month our hopes were still up because we knew the God of the Bible could remove it if it was in His will. The speaker that day talked about Job. After hearing all his possessions were lost and children were dead, this is what follows in Chapter 1:
"Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong."
Job 1:20-22 (emphasis added)
I thought about these verses Wednesday and eventually took a nice long walk around campus that night (which is an amazing thing to do to clear your head, think, pray, etc...). First off, how could Job fall to the ground and worship after everything he had was lost and his children were killed? How could he not charge God with wrong when that is the natural thing for humans to do under the circumstances? How could God do this to Job?
Probably what spurred on the extra thinking about these verses was the fact that I found out my mom had been put in the hospital that evening and I knew little details, although I did not get the impression that it was something big at the time.
Well then came the day that would change my life forever, Feb 18, 2010, my mom's 50th birthday. I found at at approximately 6:30 am that my mom's condition had gotten worse that night and left for Memphis after a long ordeal around 10 am. Arriving shortly after lunch, I got to the hospital and saw my mom. She was unable to talk but seemed to recognize that I was there. I then found out she did not have long to live (5 minutes till the next morning). She passed away shortly after 4pm with my sister, her husband, her mother, and myself standing around her. It seemed like she went from doing pretty good to not good at all in 2 weeks. Everything happened so fast.
Over the next couple of days, I pondered many things. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen to such a good lady? What next? And then I began thinking of the verses in Job that I had been thinking about that Wednesday. All the time spent with my mom was now seen as a blessing and I knew because of my mom's faith that she was no longer suffering. I was able to praise God because of my mother's life and all that she taught me. I even realized that as strange as it sounds, her death could bring about change in people's lives for the better. The visitation came that Saturday. It was really strange. I shed some tears. I knew my mother was dead but I had such a feeling of joy in the midst of sadness. I do not know how to explain it. I found myself comforting the people paying their last respects more than they were comforting me. It seemed really strange. And then came the funeral the next day. A similar thing occurred. I was saddened by everything, but I had an indescribable joy knowing my mom was in heaven singing and in no more pain. I actually shed only a few tears in the service, when I was expecting to shed the most there. What in the world was going on?
After much thinking, I have come to this conclusion. It was the first time I had to deal with the issue of suffering as an adult. The message at Noonday that Wednesday prepared me to deal with what would happen the very next day. Without that message, I believe that I would not have been able to feel joyful in the midst of suffering. I finally had realized that while we all will deal with suffering in our life, our strength comes from the Lord and He can get us through the suffering, just as He got me through everything that happened that very long week. Through everything, I have been able to say, "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) and I hope that you will be able to rejoice in all circumstances and situations in your life. The principle learned this past week has really changed my life.
Sitting in BSU during at Noonday on Feb 17, 2010, I was sorta dealing with that issue. My mom had been battling cancer for almost a year and our hopes were up about it. Even when she got the report that the cancer had spread 40% in one month our hopes were still up because we knew the God of the Bible could remove it if it was in His will. The speaker that day talked about Job. After hearing all his possessions were lost and children were dead, this is what follows in Chapter 1:
"Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong."
Job 1:20-22 (emphasis added)
I thought about these verses Wednesday and eventually took a nice long walk around campus that night (which is an amazing thing to do to clear your head, think, pray, etc...). First off, how could Job fall to the ground and worship after everything he had was lost and his children were killed? How could he not charge God with wrong when that is the natural thing for humans to do under the circumstances? How could God do this to Job?
Probably what spurred on the extra thinking about these verses was the fact that I found out my mom had been put in the hospital that evening and I knew little details, although I did not get the impression that it was something big at the time.
Well then came the day that would change my life forever, Feb 18, 2010, my mom's 50th birthday. I found at at approximately 6:30 am that my mom's condition had gotten worse that night and left for Memphis after a long ordeal around 10 am. Arriving shortly after lunch, I got to the hospital and saw my mom. She was unable to talk but seemed to recognize that I was there. I then found out she did not have long to live (5 minutes till the next morning). She passed away shortly after 4pm with my sister, her husband, her mother, and myself standing around her. It seemed like she went from doing pretty good to not good at all in 2 weeks. Everything happened so fast.
Over the next couple of days, I pondered many things. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen to such a good lady? What next? And then I began thinking of the verses in Job that I had been thinking about that Wednesday. All the time spent with my mom was now seen as a blessing and I knew because of my mom's faith that she was no longer suffering. I was able to praise God because of my mother's life and all that she taught me. I even realized that as strange as it sounds, her death could bring about change in people's lives for the better. The visitation came that Saturday. It was really strange. I shed some tears. I knew my mother was dead but I had such a feeling of joy in the midst of sadness. I do not know how to explain it. I found myself comforting the people paying their last respects more than they were comforting me. It seemed really strange. And then came the funeral the next day. A similar thing occurred. I was saddened by everything, but I had an indescribable joy knowing my mom was in heaven singing and in no more pain. I actually shed only a few tears in the service, when I was expecting to shed the most there. What in the world was going on?
After much thinking, I have come to this conclusion. It was the first time I had to deal with the issue of suffering as an adult. The message at Noonday that Wednesday prepared me to deal with what would happen the very next day. Without that message, I believe that I would not have been able to feel joyful in the midst of suffering. I finally had realized that while we all will deal with suffering in our life, our strength comes from the Lord and He can get us through the suffering, just as He got me through everything that happened that very long week. Through everything, I have been able to say, "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) and I hope that you will be able to rejoice in all circumstances and situations in your life. The principle learned this past week has really changed my life.
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