Hurting churches

Luke 15:6 (ESV)

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

I came across this story the other day.

Some time ago there was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the enormous whale's tail could kill a rescuer. Still, the brave rescuers worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time. Eventually, they were able to free her.

As soon as she became free, the divers say she began to swim in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

We can learn a lesson from this beautiful story. So often we let the hurting in our churches and communities fall through the cracks, never to be seen again. But it is a brave soul who gathers up an army of rescuers to reach out to a suffering or hard to reach brother or sister and rescue him or her from the binding entanglements of this world. Just as the Lord has so mercifully reached out to us, we need to do the same. Whether it is a gift, an invitation to a meal or a smile and a word of encouragement, let's strive to reach out.

We need to be the first to initiate this kind of rescue team for our brothers and sisters. It will be just as beautiful as it will be rewarding.

Dear Lord, help us to gather up an army of rescuers to reach out to a suffering and hard to reach brother or sister and rescue them from the binding entanglements of this world. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Rescued

2 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV)

And I will be a father to you,

    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.

Bhaawa,a five month old baby, was found in despair, bogged down in the mud of a drying waterhole in the Kirisia Hills near Maralal in Northern Kenya. He was suffering from shock and grief.

Were it not for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, these orphan elephants would have died.

Sheldrick began doing these kinds of rescue missions in 1952, and not only did he rescue orphan elephants, but orphan rhinoceros as well. Though he passed away in 1977, his wife continued his dream, and as a result, more than 100 elephant orphans, as well as numerous rhino orphans, have been saved. All of these elephants and rhinos were raised by the Trust and gradually rehabilitated back to communities in Tsavo National Park.

To a baby elephant, his mother and extended family are of utmost importance. Without them he is completely lost and vulnerable, both physically, and psychologically.

When an elephant baby is found alone, these ties have to somehow be re-established through humans. Elephant keepers remain with these orphan babies 24 hours a day, travelling as a group during the day, and sleeping next to them at night. Different keepers sleep with different cubs every night, so that strong attachments to one person can be prevented. As elephants are highly tactile and sociable animals, great care is given to shower them with love and acceptance.

Initially, feeding is a 24 hour job, but bit by bit the elephant babies are weaned onto a 3 hour feeding routine. When they reach one year of age, they are transferred to Tsavo National Park and absorbed back into older elephant families. In this way, they can begin their gradual integration back into the wild. This transition is made easier by the fact that elephants are highly sociable and that they are automatically fond of their young.

Elephants also have a remarkable memory. They are often able to recognize people who cared for them, even after more than 37 years. This happened to Eleanor, age 42, when she recognized the one who had been her keeper when she was just 5 years old!

None of these elephants would have ever been able to survive if it hadn't been for these keepers who devoted their life in saving them. I am sure if elephants could applaud, they sure would cheer their human rescuers! Hurray!

We too were doomed for a solitary life with no hope in sight. As we wandered into forbidden territory, we became lost and entwined by the vicious snare called sin, and we, too, became orphans from our Heavenly Father, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Rom 3:10-12)

Someone did reach out to us, however, offering us eternity with Him: "Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master." (Rom 6:)

We don't need to wander around as orphans any longer. We can be adopted by the Most High God, and thus experience His immeasurable love for each one of us: "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor 6:18)

All we need to do to have such a wonderful gift is to stop running away from God! We need to accept His offer. We need to welcome Him, as well as His adoption, into our lives.

Thank you Jesus for rescuing me when I was utterly lost and desperate! Thank you for bringing me home and allowing me to experience your out-of-this-world love.

Dear Lord, we thank You for rescuing us when we were trapped in our sin. Thanks that we can come to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

God Answers Prayers

Matthew 21:21 (New International Version)

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

On December 14, 2005, fire broke out in Tracinda Foxe's kitchen in New York City. The thirty-year old mother began to panic as flames raced through her third story apartment. She soon realized that she was cut off and she could not escape.

Smoke filled her apartment within minutes. Her three week old son Eric soon was overcome by the smoke and stopped breathing.

"God, please save my son,"' Foxe screamed. She explained afterwards: "I prayed that someone would catch him and save his life."

Tracinda ran to the window, but the smoke prevented her from seeing below. In a desperate act, she screamed "Save my son! Save my son!" And then she released her grip on her precious son. Eric plunged thirty feet.

Instinctively, Felix Vasquez, a housing authority supervisor who happens to play on the baseball team at a nearby Bronx housing project, reached out and caught little Eric. Vasquez, who learned mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as a teenaged lifeguard, began mouth-to-mouth and was able to revive little Eric.

Moments after Felix's life-saving catch, two firefighters broke into the burning apartment and rescued Tracinda.

Dear Lord we praise you that everything is possible for those who believe and trust in Christ. Thank You Lord for loving and caring for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Be Strong and Courageous.

1 Chronicles 28:20 (New International Version)

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the floundering child. Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child's arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray's free hand felt something--possibly a rock-- protruding from one bank. He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. "If I can just hang on until help comes," he thought. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard's Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship can't swim.

Dear Lord we pray for courage. We pray that when you are ready to use us that we won’t be afraid but instead be ready to do the work that you have for us to do. In Jesus’ name, Amen