St. Luke's Blogs

After graduating college mid-term, my very first professional job took me out of state to Hutchinson, Kansas.  I moved to a new city, my very own apartment and a brand-new job.  It was exciting, it was scary, and it was me starting a new place to call home.  I remember buying a few new household items and a stick or two of furniture – but it was mostly cobbled together hand-me-downs that I used to make my tiny apartment feel like home.

I missed my family and missed my friends; many were still in college. There was a lot to learn at my new job, a new city to explore and friends to make, but I can still remember counting the days until I could drive home to visit…

When was the last time something inexplicable happened to you?

You could chalk it up to “luck” – whether good or bad – or you could take it as “a sign.”

I keep the Bible on my desk as a reminder to read it.  I do this with many things.  I keep vitamins on my kitchen counter.  I keep dirty clothes right next to the washing machine.  I keep “to do” sticky notes in my car.

The result?  I often push the vitamins off to the side, the laundry piles up like an abstract sculpture, and the sticky notes get stuck under fast-food napkins.  And the Bible?  Sadly, I often forget to just pick it up and read it… because I’m “busy.”

That Bible caught my eye one evening as I was leaving the office.  I stopped and thought, “I keep saying I’ll read it tomorrow, so before I leave, take 30 seconds, just pick it up, start flipping the pages, stop them with your finger, and read whatever scripture you’re pointing at.”

I grew up going to Sunday night youth at my church. It was a special time when the youth of the church would gather to play games, have Bible study, and worship together. Many of the things I learned during Sunday night youth shaped and molded my faith.

It was during Sunday night youth worship that I first heard Benny Hester’s song, When God Ran…

“Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

 I have lost count of the number of times that I have read the 23rd Psalm at a graveside service. I have had the privilege of presiding at the funerals of many wonderful saints, who now rest from their labors with our Lord. We often read from the 23rd Psalm because it offers so many wonderful phrases of comfort, it presents beautiful symbols of peace, rest, and the care of a God who is bigger than the valley of the shadow of death. If you have not read the 23rd Psalm in a while, stop for a minute and take out your Bible. It is a beautiful statement of God’s love for God’s people.

Thomas J. Barnardo was an Irish doctor who had a dream of being a medical missionary in China. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Thomas was dedicated to his faith in Jesus Christ. He actually made the decision to become a missionary at age 17. He committed to his studies and to his faith so that he would be ready to someday serve in the mission field.

In 1866, Thomas Barnardo arrived in London to continue his medical studies. During his first year in London, there was a large outbreak of Cholera that resulted in the death of thousands of people. So many families were devastated by the outbreak. London now was faced with many homeless children begging in the streets…

9/11 was a tragic event for our world and a disastrous loss for the families of the victims. When tragedy happens, we immediately begin asking ‘Why?’  We wonder, “How did this happen” or “Who is responsible” or “Why would someone do such a terrible thing?”  This is a natural reaction. We want to understand, although there is no reasonable excuse for evil. We also want to prevent the same tragedy from happening again…

While meeting with families to discuss funeral arrangements, I often hear (and share) some version of the phrase “my loved one is home.”  This truth brings comfort and hope to each one of us.  Jesus told the disciples he would go to “prepare a place” for us, and in previous versions mentioned a house, rooms, and even a mansion.  While we do not know or understand all the details of heaven, we hold deeply to the idea that God welcomes us into His loving presence and our eternal home…

September 12, 2001 was an interesting day in our country. As we continued to learn about the attacks of the previous morning, we questioned how we would possibly move forward. Business as usual did not seem likely. We huddled together in our living rooms watching TV, and we huddled together at work, discussing everything.

I have heard the days and weeks following 9/11 described in many ways. Perhaps the one memory I have, as I look back on those days, is how unified we felt.