This one thing I know…[John 9]

He’d been blind from birth. Never saw a sunrise or sunset. Never saw the face of those who loved him, or the beauty of a flower. He was doomed to spend his entire life sitting on the side of a dusty road, in the hot sun, hoping for some merciful passerby to drop a coin in his cup.

Then Jesus came.

The disciples asked the question everyone wondered back then. Why did adversity come? What made him blind? Did he sin, or was it the sin of his parents. Those were the only two options on the minds of people back then. Adversity was a result of sin. Someone had to pay and God sat up there on His throne dealing out tragedy to those who dared step out of line. The same mindset prevails today. Blessing=right living. Tragedy=sinful rebellion.

Jesus’ answer to the disciples then is the same to us today. Neither. We think finite. We think black and white. Sometimes, as in the case of the man born blind, adversity comes so that God can be glorified. Not easy to understand. But later, the man ONCE blind, could see.

The organized church questioned him. They couldn’t accept his new sight. Their god didn’t work that way. To their accusations and questions, his answer was simple. “I don’t know about all the theology and doctrine. All I know is that once I was blind, but now I see.” The blind [man] left seeing, the seeing [the organized church leaders] were left blind.

Still today, there are many who have come on hard times. Some as a result of bad choices, some as a result of others. Those who are touched by Jesus may not be free of adversity, but they know his touch and are strengthened by it. Let us never put our God in a box and limit His power in the lives of those who struggle.

The Carol: It’s about restoration

Hello fellow ‘Carolers’,

I think I can speak for DirectorDude when I say thanks for a great night of rehearsal. Your patience and quietness makes our time go much easier.

I still get a lump in my throat when I watch the scene where Belle and Ebeneezer end their ‘engagement’. Although it’s just a play, thinking about the pain of broken relationships is very real, as all of us know. Life sometimes deals some pretty hard and painful blows. How we react to them is the most important thing, and many times how others react to us makes a difference on how we react to pain. When others come along side us in support and not in an effort to ‘fix everything’ it helps the healing process.

I think that is what Paul was talking about in Galatians 6:1. When we see someone who is struggling in their spiritual journey, gentle restoration is the key to healthy healing. This week as we pray for the ‘empty pew people’ pray for an awareness of the pain others are feeling. Often, when people lash out at us it is because of their own pain and not our actions.

Blessings on your week! See  you Sunday.

Bob

We are Free

I loved Marley’s post from Sunday. You can find it in comments under ‘The Adventure Begins’. There is something special about this play. This was shown tonight by the vast number of returning ‘veterans’ to the performance. It was so good to see Jim Roberts returning after a few years off. That’s just one example of how this play affects lives, both in the cast and in the audience.

The Carol is an opportunity for each of us to bring others to freedom. Ole’ Ebeneezer had all the comforts anyone in London could ask for, yet he was trapped in a life of unhappiness. Through the patient love of his nephew Fred, and no doubt plenty of prayers along the way, he found the freedom he sought in his newfound faith in Jesus.

As we prepare for this years run of ‘The Carol’ by learning lines, assembling the set and getting all the peripherals in place, let’s not forget to set the stage spiritually. Please be praying for the ‘empty pew’ people. There will be those in attendance at the Carol that would never set foot in a church. WE have the chance to bring them to freedom!

Feel free to share with others (on this blog) what you think it means to be ‘free in Christ.’

Have a great week. See you Sunday.

Bob

The Adventure Begins

Hi gang,

Thanks to those who were able to make it to the Picnic and Audtions last night. It was so good to see all of you, some of whom I haven’t seen since the last Carol run in 2006. This year we tried something a little different, adding the picnic to Audtion night. I’d like some feedback from people as to if they thought this was a good idea or not, and also any suggestions for making it better.

Another thing we did differently was to have the ‘vision’ casting meeting to try to get some of the ‘housekeeping’ done so that we could devote our energy to Auditions when the time came. DirectorDude and I would like to know if you felt this was beneficial or not.

Thanks again for all your help and hard work last night!

Bob