The Parable of the Midnight Caller

My daughter, Brooke, is 18 months going on 18 years. She, like her mother, has always been able to fall asleep pretty fast and just about anywhere, especially cars. We could be making a quick trip to the corner store (not even 5 minutes away) and the two of them will be fast asleep in their seats before we're even out of the driveway. So bedtime is usually a non-issue for Brooke. She'll gingerly place two fingers in her mouth, find her ear with the other hand and it's off to 'la-la land' for Brooke.

(Brooke and I visiting Kristy's family in Golden, CO)

But not tonight. Brooke had fallen asleep at her usual bedtime, but by 12:00 AM she was wide awake and ready for action. From her crib she called out for Mommy first. But Kristy can be a pretty deep sleeper so the first hundred cries fell on deaf ears. Neither of us were quite ready to abandon the warmth of the down comforter so Kristy leaned over to the nightstand and switched the baby monitor to 'vibrate'. As you can imagine, this did nothing to help our situation. The monitor simply translated the cries from MOM-MY into VRR-VRRR. Brooke proceeded down her list of parental units with cries for Daddy next. I had a big day coming up and needed sleep to be on top of my game. I was hoping she would eventually find her finger/ear combo but it was evident Brooke was not going to go back to sleep in her crib.

On rare occasions we find it necessary to bring Brooke into bed with us. This was one of those nights. With Brooke happily nuzzled between Kristy and I, she finally found peace ... or so we thought. It wasn't long before Brooke started talking. "Hi Daddy!" she said with a big smile (the lights were off and it was pitch dark, but you could hear in her voice that she was smiling ear-to-ear). "Hi Brookie," I mumbled. In contrast to Brooke's enthusiastic greeting, mine was delivered out the side of my mouth with not quite as much excitement. "Hi Daddy!" she exclaimed again. Over and over, "Hi Daddy!" Despite my lack of energy I still responded every time which only encouraged her to keep up the banter. It wasn't long before Kristy ordered us both to go to sleep and that was the end of it.

In spite of my initial delay in responding to Brooke's cries, I will always be there for her. And in like manner, God is always there for His children. In Deuteronomy 31:6 we are reminded that, "... the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." So it doesn't matter where you're at or what time of day it is, God will always be there for you to talk to, to confide in, to provide comfort and peace. And unlike an earthly parent, "God watches over you [and] will not slumber ... nor sleep." (Psalm 121:3-4). Even if we mess up and stray from Him, God will always be there waiting for us with open arms.

To help illustrate this, I'd like to close with a fitting video produced by the LHBC youth ministry. I think you'll recognize the story (I particularly liked the slow motion reunion scene towards the end).

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Super Bowl)

The Parable of the Popcorn Kernel

The other night after 25 grueling miles on the stationary bike, I decided to reward myself by having some popcorn. But not just any ordinary popcorn ... this was the movie theater style that's loaded with salt & butter. It's a rare treat that I reserve only for when I've put in a good workout. I had a light dinner and after all those calories burned on the bike, I was about ready to sell my birthright. The bag was placed label down in the microwave as the seconds ticked off. Two minutes, thirty seconds to dreamland ... 1 minute to go (the bag was half popped) ... 30 seconds left ... the smell of buttered popcorn filled the kitchen air ... 3, 2, 1 ... *ding*.

Not waiting for the bag to cool off, I tore it open and emptied its contents into a large snack bowl. The popcorn was just as delicious as I had imagined. Because the kids were already in bed the recommended serving size could be doubled and shared between my wife and I (joy)! As we neared the bottom of the bowl, there were still quite a few un-popped kernels. This is where Kristy abandons the feast but where I press on to test my orthodontic strength on a few partially popped kernels (I think it's a guy thing). No sooner had I started this feat of stupidity, when one of the kernels became lodged in between two of my back molars. I actually didn’t notice it at first, but it wasn’t long before that tooth started aching. Here's a day-by-day account of my predicament ...

Day 1: The kernel lodged in between my teeth has become a bit of an annoyance.
Day 2: I try to use dental floss to carve out this enemy who’s made my mouth its home.
Day 3: With the dental floss failing, I upgraded to a plastic pick which I wielded with great skill but to no avail.
Day 4: I’ve started to sub-conscientiously play with the kernel non-stop using my tongue; mid-sentence I’m abandoning conversations with people to “wrestle” with this demon.
Day 5: I’m starting to lose sleep; I start to wonder what the long-term affects of lodged popcorn kernels are.
Day 6: It’s driving me absolutely insane and I’m going out of my mind. I’m about ready to shell out whatever co-pay my insurance company insists on to have this kernel professionally removed.

On the seventh day I finally broke down and dug the old water pik out of storage. I filled the receptacle with warm water and Listerine and cranked that puppy up to full strength. I was going to blast that piece of popcorn out of there if it’s the last thing I do. One pass wasn’t enough, but after the second rinse I finally declared victory when I saw the kernel fall into the sink and retreat down the drain. I exclaimed, “Freeeeeedom!!” in my proudest, loudest Braveheart voice. Suddenly everything came back into perspective. Like when King Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity was restored after seven seasons as an animal, so too was I finally able to regain composure and focus in life. How could something so small cause me that much grief? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to waste another second thinking about that popcorn kernel. “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last." (borrowed from Martin Luther King, Jr.)

If you’ve ever had a popcorn kernel stuck in your teeth I’m sure you can relate to my plight. Do you remember how liberating it was when the kernel was finally dislodged? Well we as Christians have another opportunity to feel that tremendous sense of relief when we put our trust in God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. I can say with utmost certainty that we have all disobeyed God at one point or another in our lives. This disobedience is called sin and it is an extremely heavy burden. Why? Because it keeps us separated from God (and remember, without that close oneness with God we’re left with a “hole in our hearts”; see The Parable of the Ebay Ad). The evil one plagues us with feelings of guilt and unworthiness when we carry around this sin with us. He wants us to believe that there is no escape from these feelings. But I have Good News! Nothing could be further from the truth. In John 14:6 Jesus carefully draws out our escape route. He explains that “I [Jesus] am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That reunion with God is only made possible through acceptance of Christ as our personal savior. “Then you will know the truth [Jesus], and the truth [Jesus] will set you free” (John 8:32). Only Jesus can free us from the burden of sin. Ask Him to help you with a sin you’ve been struggling with and see just how swiftly He lifts this burden that's weighing you down. God promises in Hebrews 8:12 to forgive us and He will remember our sins no more. Just like the old Rolaids slogan, “How do you spell relief?” I spell it: J-E-S-U-S. Amen.

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Midnight Caller)

The Parable of the Bubblegum Machine

When I was in elementary school I had a friend named Ronnie Faiella. His family was probably one of the wealthiest I knew in our small town of Sayreville, N.J. The Faiella's lived in a mansion-sized home and inside there were protective plastic covers over everything ... the furniture, the appliances, just about anything a sly 10-year-old could get his grubby paws on. Plus, it was easy to tell where guests were allowed or not allowed to go in the house because there were plastic runners on the carpet leading you like the yellow brick road - step off of them and I was sure spotlights and sirens would go off to warn the homeowners of the infraction.

From time to time I would go over to Ronnie's house after school. It was always a real treat to visit Ronnie because he had his own pinball machines and stand-up arcade video games. But one time, just after his birthday, Ronnie had gotten his own bubblegum vending machine for his room. I remember it vividly ... it dispensed "Dubble-Bubble" bubblegum balls for a nickel. So every time I went over to Ronnie's house after that I was sure to bring a few nickels so I could pop them into his bubblegum machine and hear that distinct sound of grinding gears followed by the anticipated 'clack' when the gum ball dropped into the dispensing slot. I'm sure Ronnie made a small fortune off me (I hope he made it into a very prestigious business school with the proceeds).

But then one day Ronnie let me in on his little secret. You see Ronnie had read the directions that came with the bubblegum machine so he knew how to toggle the little switch inside that made it dispense bubblegum for free. That's right ... no more nickels ... just turn the knob when you wanted free gum and we were set. Of course, I couldn't keep this amazing secret to myself. I had to tell Jim Aleski who had to tell Danny Hassell who had to tell the whole neighborhood. Well you can imagine how popular Ronnie became soon after the secret of his free gum ball machine hit the street.

Maybe you already know where I'm going with this but I can't ignore the parallels this story has with the gospel of the New Testament. God's gift of salvation, communion with Him now and eternal life with Him in His kingdom forever, is free for us to receive. Believe me ... this is far more valuable than gum balls. The reason it's free is because God's only Son, Jesus, came to this earth and paid the ultimate price for us. Sadly, this didn't cost Him a few nickels (or shekels for that matter). Jesus laid down His whole life and took our place on the cross. And after 3 days He rose again. God graciously gives us this gift for free because of Christ's atoning sacrifice and our faith in Him.

Ronnie read the directions to understand how to receive free gum just like we have the directions for how to receive the Holy Spirit and Christ as our personal Saviour. It's called The Holy Bible, the inspired word of God. In 1 Corinthians 2:12 the Apostle Paul reminds us that "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us." Remember how I couldn't keep the secret of the free gum to myself? Well, we're also commanded in Matthew 28:18-20 to share the Good News of the Kingdom of God (this free gift) with everyone on the planet. It's called The Great Commission and in simple terms using my story above, The Great Commission explains that being a Christian is like being a kid who shows another kid where to get free bubblegum. So here's your "bubblegum" ... If you want to accept Jesus as your personal savior just pray this little prayer in your HEART (the words themselves mean nothing; its believing them in your heart that's important) .

"Dear Lord, I believe you died and rose from the dead. I know and confess that I am a sinner and am lost without you. I ask you to forgive my sins and come into my heart. I give my life to you and want to live for you the rest of my life. I thank you Lord and praise you. Please guide me and direct me for the rest of my life! In Jesus name I pray, Amen."

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Popcorn Kernel)

The Parable of the Ebay Ad

In case you haven't noticed, ebay, the online auction super-site, is currently running ads touting it's vast inventory of merchandise with the slogan, "Whatever it is ... You can get it on ebay." In many ways the ebay advertising crew is right. Because ebay acts as a hub for people of the world to sell their wares over the internet, good chances are that what you're looking for can probably be found on ebay.

Just for fun I did a search on some really obscure items in hopes that ebay wouldn't be offering them. Now keep in mind, these are not necessarily items I desire (so don't get any crazy ideas about what I want for my next birthday).

- "Time, Love & Tenderness" by Michael Bolton (1991): 27 CD's for sale
- "Packers Cheese-Head Hat": 16 for sale (My sister is a huge Green Bay fan)
- "Donald Duck Bobblehead Figure" 1 for sale
- "Crocheted Elmo Hat": 1 available at the time of this writing
- "Water Babies" (1978): 4 available (a movie I only saw once as a child)

How about a relationship with God? Can you get that on ebay? I can undoubtedly tell you that this priceless gift is not for sale on ebay or any other website. Nevertheless, there are so many people in the world who are searching for "it" and they don't even know what "it" is. There's just this void they feel in their lives that they often try to fill with the pursuit of fame, fortune, beauty, success, or other temporary ideals. Others seek to dull the emptiness with addictions. But no matter what we do, if we do not encounter the "real thing", we will always be left with a feeling of emptiness and unfulfillment.

There is only one place where we will find the true love and acceptance that we are looking for and that is in a personal relationship with God. We were all born with a God sized 'hole in our hearts' that can only be filled by God Himself. The good news is that God wants to be in a relationship with us more than we want to be in a relationship with Him. The One who knew us before we were conceived (Jeremiah 1:4-5) and knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) wants to be our heavenly Father. While we are His offspring by creation, His desire is that we might become His children through redemption in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13).

The best part is that you can directly talk with God. Can you believe it?! The Creator of the entire universe wants to hear from you and help you in your daily life! In Matthew 7:7-11 we read, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" So take Him up on His invitation and let God fill that void that perhaps you may have been trying to satisfy by shopping on ebay.

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Bubblegum Machine)

The Parable of the Soccer Mom

1 John 5:1 - "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well."

When I was growing up I played all kinds of sports: gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, cross country, track, tennis ... but probably my favorite had to be soccer. I still remember the rush of adrenaline I would feel in my stomach when we were driving to one of my games. Just the anticipation of getting out onto the field to run my guts out and maybe put the ball in the goal was what I looked forward to all week long.

(See if you can spot me. I'm the one with the big cheesy smile; photo courtesy of Flickr.com)

There was one particular game at the end of the season where the all-stars were selected to play in a final match for bragging rights. To my surprise I was selected but have always wondered if it was for my mad-soccer-skills or because my Dad was the assistant coach. At any rate, I was only 10 and this was the biggest game of my fledgling soccer career. There's one particular part of the game I clearly remember. I was positioned at midfield and I had the opportunity to support the attacking forwards. The ball came to me and I began to dribble it wide left and up field. I was going to make a break for it and try to cross the ball near the 18 yard line so that one of my teammates could have an opportunity to score.

My scrawny legs couldn't carry me fast enough. The defense was closing in way too fast. I had to let it go a little early. I tried to remember all the things my soccer coaches had taught me: plant your foot firmly, lean over the ball, and follow-through in the direction you want the ball to go. With these tips in mind I unleashed the ball with every ounce of strength I could muster. It went up, up over the defensive players and ended up bouncing fairly close to the mark desired. Matt Daugherty was there to pick it up and he made an excellent play on goal but we didn't score on that opportunity. While getting back to my position to receive the goal kick, I heard a familiar voice in the crowd. It was my Mom shouting, "That's my boy!" I've always had mixed feelings about this cheer because it was a little embarrassing to have a mother so vocally proud of her son. But I wouldn't change it for the world. She continued to cheer, "That's my boy!" not only at my soccer games, but every sporting event, school play, report card, you name it, until I turned 18 (ok, I'll admit she still says it to this day and I'm 32 years old).

God sent His Son -- His one and only Son -- to be the Savior of the world for our victory. How do you think God felt when He watched Jesus being born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem? "That's my boy!" When He turned the 'H20 into Merlot'? "That's my boy!" When He raised Lazarus from the dead? "That's my boy!" When He rode into town on a donkey and was hailed King of Kings and Lord of Lords? "That's my boy!" Then finally when He climbed the hill of the skull with cross in tow and blood spilling from every open wound; when He was nailed to the cross and was hanged to die as payment for our sin so that we could have eternal life? "That's MY boy!"

God did so love us that He sent His Son to earth to become like us and to live and die for us (John 3:16). What a God! What a Father! What a Savior! As proud as my parents were of me playing in that all-star game, it fails to compare with what God felt the day His Son went to the cross. We will all accomplish much in life with many great victories and a few defeats along the way, and there will be countless mothers and fathers in the stands with similar chants of, "That's my boy/girl!" But may we always remember that it may have been said for the first time so many years ago when our heavenly Father watched His Son give the world victory that day.

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Ebay Ad)