The Last Prayer in the Bible

In the next to last verse of the Bible, John prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus." When we think about the great prayers of the Bible, we may think of the Lord's Prayer, or maybe Solomon's prayer of dedication for the Temple. John's prayer probably is not on our list of great prayers of the Bible; but it has a great place in the unfolding story of God's plan for all creation.

Simply put, God's plan is the gospel. The gospel is the story of Jesus. The gospel began before the foundation of the world and will continue after time as we know it has ceased to exist. Each of the Gospels is the story of Jesus, and Paul used "gospel" to describe the whole story of Jesus. The long awaited Messiah lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father; but the Jesus story is not finished yet. We are living in the time between his first and second comings. When John prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus," he was praying for the next step in the gospel to happen.

So often our prayers are mundane. The typical church prayer meeting is long on requests for the sick and short on global vision. The Lord's prayer is different. The first half of the Lord's prayer is about a God's agenda, God's name, God's kingdom, and God's will. When we follow the model prayer that Jesus gave to us, we say "your kingdom come." Then we say, "your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." When we say those words, what are we ultimately asking? Basically, we are asking for the same thing John was asking for when he said, "Come, Lord Jesus."

These days people are wringing their hands about North Korea. News stories about perverts and children abound. We live in a society that does not value the idea of absolute truth. About five times as many unborn babies have died in the United States than people who died in the Holocaust. Every day it seems like there is another story about human trafficking, or the opioid epidemic, or a horrible accident. This list could go on and on. When we think about the big picture, praying "Come, Lord Jesus" makes perfect sense.

Drucker on Time

I discovered Peter Drucker's body of work from references to it in leadership and business books some time ago. On beginning to read one of his classics for the first time, I quickly understood why he has been so influential through the years. Recently, I was "grazing" in my library and began to thumb through The Effective Executive. Drucker's thoughts on time claimed my attention once again, and they are worth sharing.

The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it . . . . Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever and will never come back. Time is, therefore, always in exceedingly short supply.

Time is totally irreplaceable. Within limits we can substitute one resource for another, copper for aluminum, for instance. We can substitute capital for human labor. We can use more knowledge or more brawn. But there is no substitute for time. 

Being effective and time management go hand in hand. As Drucker reminds us, time is a highly perishable resource. May we use the time that we have wisely as we work together for King and his kingdom.

The Joy of Children in Church

One Sunday evening, I noticed a broken crayon on the floor against a leg of the Lord's Supper table. It looked black. When I picked it up I saw that it was blue; but I saw more than that. "Broken crayon" was a generous way to describe it. The fragment of what used to be a whole crayon had a long and useful life. Broken at both ends and well-worn, only the smallest of fingers would be able to use it for coloring anymore. What was left of the paper around it showed evidence of being jumbled up in a box of other crayons for quite some time. I suppose it had been a Sunday School crayon. At first glance, a piece of colored wax on the floor could look like a hazard. Someone's heel could grind it into the carpet and cause a mess. My first thought was just to pick it up and throw it away. A moment of reflection, though, caused me to see the bit of crayon differently. It wasn't a piece of trash, but a sign of life.

Sometimes children at church can cause problems. They may squirm too much, giggle, or just make noise during a service. Before a service, they may race into the auditorium on little legs that are moving too quickly. Here and there through the years I have heard complaints about children's behavior, and many of those complaints have been valid. Children can disrupt adult meetings, or cause a mess, or whatever; but all people can cause problems. Given a choice, I would choose the problems that children can cause over the problems that adults can cause every time.

Children are an incredible blessing in a church family. The difference between a church with relatively few children and a church with plenty of children is immense. Twice I have watched churches change from having few children to having a healthy number of children coming with their families. In both cases, the change has been gradual but profound. The difference between a typical Sunday with few children compared to a typical Sunday with plenty of children is like the difference between death and life.

A few weeks ago, I was busy with our food box ministry. The truck had delivered 5,000 pounds of food, and we were unloading and sorting it. Almost no one was talking, everyone was busy, and I heard an exclamation from across the floor, "HEY MISSA WODIN!" (translation: Hey Mister Roland!) The little tyke had seen me through all of the activity, and the greeting warmed my heart. Children have a way of doing that.

I have been fascinated by babies in a ladies Sunday School class recently. A couple of mothers have been bringing tiny little ones to class, and they all have been taking turns holding them. Yes, we have a nursery, but this is something beyond child care. I keep hearing about the good lessons and discussions in this class too. The class has energy, and the mothers and the babies are a part of that. The women love it. It might not fit every class, but it fits them. If that is how they want to do Sunday School, I think it is great, and we could use even more of it!

Children are an essential part of life in a healthy church. Nothing will make a church seem dead like the absence of children. Nothing works like the presence of children to make the atmosphere feel alive. Children truly are a joy in a church family.

A Christmas Meditation from Athanasius

A Christmas meditation from Athanasius, one of the great heroes of the faith in our early years:

The incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial God entered our world. In one sense, indeed, He was not far from it before, for no part of creation had ever been without Him Who, while ever abiding in union with the Father, yet fills all things that are. But now He entered the world in a new way, stooping to our level in His love and Self-revealing to us.

Athanasius, On the Incarnation, 8

Merry Christmas!

Serious Discussions about Lasagna

An occasional break in my routine investing time in the kitchen to support our Wednesday night activities at church is something that I enjoy. Last Wednesday night, our church supper featured lasagna and serious discussions about lasagna are continuing around FBC Richton. I have important discussions around church all of the time. In the past few months, I have enjoyed all of the interaction around the book of Hebrews. The level of interest has surprised me at times, and continues to be a delight even now after our study is finished. In the past week, the number one topic of conversation has been lasagna. I cannot provide a recipe because I never measure anything when I am cooking. In truth, I never cook anything exactly the same way twice. This post is an attempt to describe the process. The key to great lasagna is to experiment a bit here and there through the years until you arrive at a result that suits the tastes of your family perfectly.

Beginning with a really good meat sauce makes a difference. Instead of just using a jar of sauce, saute chopped bell pepper, onions, and garlic to go into the sauce. Sometimes, I like to saute chopped tomatoes to add, too. Adding just a bit of cream or melting in a little cheese can make a difference. Instead of only using ground beef, use a blend of ground beef and italian sausage. A 50/50 blend and a 60/40 blend work well, but so does 100% sausage. A little extra basil, red pepper, or fennel can make a difference. Adding just a pinch or two of sugar removes the acidity of tomato sauce without making it taste sweet. Of course, some people like a hint of sweetness in their pasta sauce, so they may want to add a little bit more. Many recipes call for adding water to the sauce, but if you want flavor use beef broth instead. Allowing the sauce to slowly cook for a couple of hours allows the flavors to blend, resulting in a superior sauce. Remove it from the heat when it is just the right consistency for layering with the noodles, not too thick and not too thin.

Any box of lasagna noodles will have a recipe on the back or side that describes how to mix cheese for layering. Great lasagna has more cheese than any printed recipe describes. Maybe use a recipe for a starting point, but more Mozzarella mixed with the Ricotta is good. (I never have used Mascarpone in lasagna, but I have wondered about using some with the Ricotta.) An extra egg or two helps it all stay together better. I like to throw in some basil and/or chopped parsley because it adds flavor and looks good. Some chopped raw garlic or some garlic powder in the cheese blend is good, because more garlic always is good. I have to learned to avoid too much of the "hard" cheeses in the cheese blend for layering because they make it less creamy. Some Parmesan and Romano is good in the layering blend, but any extra is best on top of the lasagna. Of course, more Mozzarella melted on top at the very end of the cooking process is essential for great lasagna. 

Last Wednesday, those who ate at FBC Richton had a choice of regular lasagna, or the "kicked up" version. The special version was the result of a special request. There were differences in the spices and cheese blends, but the main difference between the two kinds was the meat. The "kicked up" version had more meat, and some of it was prepared differently. I broiled link italian sausage until it was almost done, then allowed it to cool and chopped it. (It would have been just like the ground sausage without the broiling.) Then, the chopped sausage was browned until it was completely done. Browning it in a skillet after it was chopped added an extra element to the flavor. This was added into a roughly 50/50 blend of browned ground beef and italian sausage, forming the extra meat layer for the "kicked up" lasagna. The result was 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 ground italian sausage, and 1/3 chopped italian sausage for that layer. 

I hope that these thoughts are useful for those who have been asking for a recipe. All of the lasagna-themed discussions have been fun. Food can be great, but sharing our lives over food is even better. May this post contribute to many great family lasagna experiences throughout our church family and beyond.