Eva Mozes Kor not only survived Auschwitz and made it to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp, she has adopted the grandson of the former commandant as her own. Her story is one of an amazing survival and incredible forgiveness.
Eva and her twin sister Miriam arrived at Auschwitz when they were 10 years old and were selected along with 1,500 other sets of twins for cruel experimentation and torture by the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. She once heard him laughingly say about her, "So young and she only has two weeks to live." But she did live and she and her sister were in the 200 surviving sets of twins liberated by the Red Army.
On the 50th Anniversary of her liberation Mrs. Kor wrote a letter of forgiveness to her Nazi captors stating, "I had the power to forgive. No one could give me the power or take it away from me. I refused to be a victim and now I am free."
Mrs. Kor was latter contacted by Rainer Hoess, the grandson of Rudolf Hoess, the man who had been in charge of Auschwitz. He had read the story of his grandfather and felt a great deal of shame about his family's legacy. Eva and Rainer later arranged a meeting where they talked, embraced and began a relationship in which Rainer asked her to become his "grandmother." She jokingly said that her own children "did not produce any grandchildren, so they forced me to adopt the grandson of a Nazi."
Her ability to survive and to forgive, then to go on to a life of true freedom amazes me. I once visited a survivor of a Nazi death camp while working as a hospital chaplain at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. She said she could never be free from what was done to her. Every time she saw a homeless person it brought it all back to her.
Contrast her story to Mrs. Kor's. No matter what has been done to us, we still have choices about how we will respond. Those choices lead to being free or remaining a victim. There is a power in forgiveness. Do you need to be set free? That power is what we will look at this Sunday.
for the journey...
Tim
Friday, January 30, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Flashback
This is what the Lord says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16
One morning this week, I was in my driveway pushing the newspaper with the end of my crutch to a place where I could more easily and safely pick it up when I had a flashback. It was a memory from high school, but now it spoke to my situation and enabled me to see things in a different light.
It was my sophomore year, sitting near the window on the second floor of Yoakum High School waiting for my first period class to start. I watched out the window as Mr. Winchester, who lived just across the street from the school, went to pick up his morning newspapers. Mr. Winchester had been the long time principal of Yoakum High. He was there when my father was a student. He was there when my oldest sister was a student. By the time my high school years had rolled around, he had retired but he was a frequent substitute.
Mr.Winchester had overcome much to live such a long and productive life. He suffered a broken back as a young man and all that could be done for him in those days was a form of spinal fusion, which meant he had very limited, if any, ability to bend his spine from his hips to his neck. He walked assisted by two canes. It seemed to take much effort but he always seemed to have a positive disposition.
I watched him that morning as he took his two canes and used the tips to push the newspapers he had received that day along the ground toward a mesquite tree in his front yard. He was quite a reader and had several papers delivered daily, probably every newspaper you could receive in Yoakum, Texas. Once he got them all to the base of the low, sloping trunk of the tree, he carefully inched them up, one by one along the trunk of the tree using his cane tips, until it was high enough for him to reach. He would quickly stuff a paper under his arm and then go for another one. It was a long and tedious task. I would see him do that day after day through out my sophomore year. That first day I saw him do it, I marveled at it but it soon became a routine that I did not bother to watch.
Now flashing back as I pushed my paper along the driveway with my crutch, I had a new a profound appreciation for what he did just to get his morning news. And a greater appreciation for what he did with his life. He overcame a life scarring, handicapping injury. He had influenced generations of young people in my home town.
Years after his death, he was still influencing me. I have to do things like this for a few weeks. He had to do things like this for most of his life. How many other tasks had he conquered with his canes and sheer determination? I found myself newly inspired to get through this time of my limitations by being reminded of how he overcame his.
It is interesting how God can use our memories. Something we saw years ago can be brought to our minds and God can show us something new - something for our present and for our future. This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series "Ancient Paths." In it we will see how the experiences of the psalmists from centuries ago can still guide our paths today. See you Sunday.
For the journey...
Tim
"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16
One morning this week, I was in my driveway pushing the newspaper with the end of my crutch to a place where I could more easily and safely pick it up when I had a flashback. It was a memory from high school, but now it spoke to my situation and enabled me to see things in a different light.
It was my sophomore year, sitting near the window on the second floor of Yoakum High School waiting for my first period class to start. I watched out the window as Mr. Winchester, who lived just across the street from the school, went to pick up his morning newspapers. Mr. Winchester had been the long time principal of Yoakum High. He was there when my father was a student. He was there when my oldest sister was a student. By the time my high school years had rolled around, he had retired but he was a frequent substitute.
Mr.Winchester had overcome much to live such a long and productive life. He suffered a broken back as a young man and all that could be done for him in those days was a form of spinal fusion, which meant he had very limited, if any, ability to bend his spine from his hips to his neck. He walked assisted by two canes. It seemed to take much effort but he always seemed to have a positive disposition.
I watched him that morning as he took his two canes and used the tips to push the newspapers he had received that day along the ground toward a mesquite tree in his front yard. He was quite a reader and had several papers delivered daily, probably every newspaper you could receive in Yoakum, Texas. Once he got them all to the base of the low, sloping trunk of the tree, he carefully inched them up, one by one along the trunk of the tree using his cane tips, until it was high enough for him to reach. He would quickly stuff a paper under his arm and then go for another one. It was a long and tedious task. I would see him do that day after day through out my sophomore year. That first day I saw him do it, I marveled at it but it soon became a routine that I did not bother to watch.
Now flashing back as I pushed my paper along the driveway with my crutch, I had a new a profound appreciation for what he did just to get his morning news. And a greater appreciation for what he did with his life. He overcame a life scarring, handicapping injury. He had influenced generations of young people in my home town.
Years after his death, he was still influencing me. I have to do things like this for a few weeks. He had to do things like this for most of his life. How many other tasks had he conquered with his canes and sheer determination? I found myself newly inspired to get through this time of my limitations by being reminded of how he overcame his.
It is interesting how God can use our memories. Something we saw years ago can be brought to our minds and God can show us something new - something for our present and for our future. This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series "Ancient Paths." In it we will see how the experiences of the psalmists from centuries ago can still guide our paths today. See you Sunday.
For the journey...
Tim
Friday, January 16, 2015
Crutches
When you are on crutches, as I am now, and will be for a while, you make some discoveries - things that you never would have seen had you not been hobbling around with pieces of aluminum sticking out of your underarms. Such discoveries as...
...dogs and small children do not know what to think of people on crutches. They have a sense that something is not right about this picture. They are right.
...you cannot use an umbrella and crutches. It just doesn't work. Trust me.
...you cannot carry a container with liquid in it while on crutches. Again, trust me on this.
...public restrooms and crutches, I won't even go there.
...you instantly can recognize someone else who has been on crutches. You see it in their eyes, they understand and will either give you a nod of sympathy or go hold open the nearest door for you. They get it. People who have never been on crutches often don't.
...your comfort zone gets real small when you are on crutches. It is hard to have an adventurous spirit while on crutches. You think of places where you could go and immediately think about your obstacles and seating availability. You also think of distances from car to chair.
...it is hard to go places where you have never been while on crutches. Again, your comfort zone and your spirit of adventure get real small.
...crutches are a good general excuse for everything and anything you don't want to do.
The friend who served as the best man in my wedding was on crutches back in his college days when someone invited him to go on a mission trip. You might think that is not a good idea but my friend said yes. It was on that mission trip, while on crutches, that he became a Christian.
Do you have crutches? Not the ones up in the attic but ones that people can't see. Ones that make your comfort zone real small and cause you to make excuses about things you have never done before.
The next two Sundays we will be talking about our upcoming Spring Break mission trip. How will we view this trip and our crutches? What discoveries will you make? This could get interesting.
for the journey...
Tim
...dogs and small children do not know what to think of people on crutches. They have a sense that something is not right about this picture. They are right.
...you cannot use an umbrella and crutches. It just doesn't work. Trust me.
...you cannot carry a container with liquid in it while on crutches. Again, trust me on this.
...public restrooms and crutches, I won't even go there.
...you instantly can recognize someone else who has been on crutches. You see it in their eyes, they understand and will either give you a nod of sympathy or go hold open the nearest door for you. They get it. People who have never been on crutches often don't.
...your comfort zone gets real small when you are on crutches. It is hard to have an adventurous spirit while on crutches. You think of places where you could go and immediately think about your obstacles and seating availability. You also think of distances from car to chair.
...it is hard to go places where you have never been while on crutches. Again, your comfort zone and your spirit of adventure get real small.
...crutches are a good general excuse for everything and anything you don't want to do.
The friend who served as the best man in my wedding was on crutches back in his college days when someone invited him to go on a mission trip. You might think that is not a good idea but my friend said yes. It was on that mission trip, while on crutches, that he became a Christian.
Do you have crutches? Not the ones up in the attic but ones that people can't see. Ones that make your comfort zone real small and cause you to make excuses about things you have never done before.
The next two Sundays we will be talking about our upcoming Spring Break mission trip. How will we view this trip and our crutches? What discoveries will you make? This could get interesting.
for the journey...
Tim
Friday, January 9, 2015
Westbury or Westboro?
My nephew is the pastor of Westbury Baptist Church in Houston. If you are not familiar with Houston, there is a section of the city called Westbury and thus the name of the church. There are frequent calls to my nephew's church from people thinking they are calling the Westboro Baptist Church - the small, fanatical church that protests at soldier's funerals and other places where they angrily proclaim such things as signs of God's judgment. Some people never go to the trouble to differentiate between a church in Houston called Westbury and a church in Kansas called Westboro. Perhaps many of those callers do not realize there is a vast difference in location, actions and theology.
If you would call yourself an evangelical, Bible believing Christian, Newsweek magazine sees you as the same as the people at Westboro. According to the cover article published December 23, 2014, "The Bible - So Misunderstood It's a Sin" there really is no distinction between your beliefs and the beliefs of the angry protestors from Westboro. We are all one and the same. We all have a very wrong view of the Bible. I will not try to explain all this but just let you go to the links below and see for yourself.
This Sunday, we will be looking at "What Happens When We Read the Bible?" And just to clarify, it makes you nothing like the folks at Westboro.
For an overview of all this, see Dr. Jim Denison's Cultural Commentary:
http://www.denisonforum.org/america/1291-why-did-newsweek-attack-christianity
For the Newsweek article:
http://www.newsweek.com/2015/01/02/thats-not-what-bible-says-294018.html
For Dr. Michael Kruger's point by point rebuttal of the Newsweek article:
http://michaeljkruger.com/a-christmas-present-from-the-mainstream-media-newsweek-takes-a-desperate-swipe-at-the-integrity-of-the-bible-part-1/
for the journey...
Tim
If you would call yourself an evangelical, Bible believing Christian, Newsweek magazine sees you as the same as the people at Westboro. According to the cover article published December 23, 2014, "The Bible - So Misunderstood It's a Sin" there really is no distinction between your beliefs and the beliefs of the angry protestors from Westboro. We are all one and the same. We all have a very wrong view of the Bible. I will not try to explain all this but just let you go to the links below and see for yourself.
This Sunday, we will be looking at "What Happens When We Read the Bible?" And just to clarify, it makes you nothing like the folks at Westboro.
For an overview of all this, see Dr. Jim Denison's Cultural Commentary:
http://www.denisonforum.org/america/1291-why-did-newsweek-attack-christianity
For the Newsweek article:
http://www.newsweek.com/2015/01/02/thats-not-what-bible-says-294018.html
For Dr. Michael Kruger's point by point rebuttal of the Newsweek article:
http://michaeljkruger.com/a-christmas-present-from-the-mainstream-media-newsweek-takes-a-desperate-swipe-at-the-integrity-of-the-bible-part-1/
for the journey...
Tim
Friday, January 2, 2015
One Step
Life changed for me with one step - one bad step. I have a broken foot with a metal pin in it now. I won't be able to put weight on that foot for several weeks because of one step. Some things I am learning about one step:
One step, just one wrong step cannot be un-taken. It was a step I took without seeing the changes in the San Antonio River Walk in front of me. I was unaware of what that step would mean but it does not change the consequences and I can not retrace my steps and change things after that one step.
One step leads to another. After that step, changes began to take place and I have a new path to follow. I will be taking steps down that path but not with my left foot. Christmas plans had to be changed or cancelled. A mission trip to the Dominican Republic goes on without me and my wife. I have to alter pretty much everything I do now - eating, bathing, sleeping, dressing and just getting from Point A to Point B. They all have to be done differently now. All requiring much more effort and much more time, because of one step.
One step I took, affects everyone around me. Family Christmas plans, church services, every day life schedules all had to be changed. People's lives were affected. A whole surgical crew had to add me to their busy schedule on Christmas eve because of my one step. I am very grateful for everyone who stepped up because of my step.
My one wrong step brings home the power of a single sin - a single unthinking decision and its consequences. A lot of the things I have just written about are true also because of one wrong spiritual step as well as a wrong physical step. I cannot undo my wrong spiritual steps, not a single one. My wrong spiritual steps lead to another, they have an impact on everyone around me. Just one wrong step.
But sometimes we don't see the power of a single positive step. It can change things for the good and have just as many positive consequences with one right step. One step in obedience, even "unthinking" obedience can be a very powerful thing. One obedient step leads to others, because of one step life is changed and by one step other people's lives are impacted. Usually when the positive happens we don't notice as much as the negative but it doesn't mean it is not as powerful.
This Sunday (Lord willing) we will talk about one step and how to carefully choose our steps. Oh, the power of a single step.
for the journey...
Tim
One step, just one wrong step cannot be un-taken. It was a step I took without seeing the changes in the San Antonio River Walk in front of me. I was unaware of what that step would mean but it does not change the consequences and I can not retrace my steps and change things after that one step.
One step leads to another. After that step, changes began to take place and I have a new path to follow. I will be taking steps down that path but not with my left foot. Christmas plans had to be changed or cancelled. A mission trip to the Dominican Republic goes on without me and my wife. I have to alter pretty much everything I do now - eating, bathing, sleeping, dressing and just getting from Point A to Point B. They all have to be done differently now. All requiring much more effort and much more time, because of one step.
One step I took, affects everyone around me. Family Christmas plans, church services, every day life schedules all had to be changed. People's lives were affected. A whole surgical crew had to add me to their busy schedule on Christmas eve because of my one step. I am very grateful for everyone who stepped up because of my step.
My one wrong step brings home the power of a single sin - a single unthinking decision and its consequences. A lot of the things I have just written about are true also because of one wrong spiritual step as well as a wrong physical step. I cannot undo my wrong spiritual steps, not a single one. My wrong spiritual steps lead to another, they have an impact on everyone around me. Just one wrong step.
But sometimes we don't see the power of a single positive step. It can change things for the good and have just as many positive consequences with one right step. One step in obedience, even "unthinking" obedience can be a very powerful thing. One obedient step leads to others, because of one step life is changed and by one step other people's lives are impacted. Usually when the positive happens we don't notice as much as the negative but it doesn't mean it is not as powerful.
This Sunday (Lord willing) we will talk about one step and how to carefully choose our steps. Oh, the power of a single step.
for the journey...
Tim
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