Chaplain’s Corner

We have all made choices and decisions that didn’t give us what we thought should happen. Sometimes this has been our fault, sometimes it has been the fault of others, sometimes its simply been the fault of circumstances. But one thing can always be counted on! When we are allowing God to be our source of direction we can surely know it is the right choice.

Rebekah Nolt has illustrated this beautifully in a special way:

The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

I have found this true in so many ways in my life.
Here are some scriptures that can truly inspire us to know
how God wants us to live, not only in our senior moments, but
always:

“I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living”
– Psalm 116:9

“This is the way, walk in it”
– Isaiah 30:21

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”
– Micah 6:8

“Just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to
please God”
– I Thessalonians 4:1

“Walk in love”
– Ephesians 5:2

“Walk in the Spirit”
– Galatians 5:16

Never question God or His Will. It will be fabulously great for
all of us, all the time.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday in May, designated by the US Congress to encourage people to turn to God in prayer and meditation. This years employment of this day is Thursday, May 2, 2019. For all at Kirby Pines two prayer services will be held. Chaplain Don Johnson will host the first session at 11:00 am in the Chapel. Dr. Buck Morton will host an evening prayer session at 6:30 pm in the PAC.

Father, thank You,
especially for letting me fly this flight.
Thank You for the privilege of being able to be
in this position; to be up in this wondrous place, seeing all these many startling,
wonderful things that You have created. Help guide and direct all of us that we may shape our lives to be much better Christians, trying to help one another, and work with one another rather than fighting and bickering. Help us to complete this mission successfully. Help us in our future space endeavors
that we may show the world that
a democracy really can compete… Be with all our families.
Give them guidance and encouragement
and let them know that everything will be okay. We ask in Thy name. Amen.

May 15-16, 1963, Major Gordan Cooper, USAF, stirred the world with his 22nd orbit in space. To Major Cooper, the experience was more than scientific. As he circled the earth he composed the following prayer, which he later read before a joint session of Congress. This Week Magazine, then the National Sunday Magazine with a circulation of over 14 ½ million, printed the words of Cooper on December 29, 1963, as “Prayer of the Year” What a wonderful way to express God’s greatness and man’s need for clinging to the Creator wherever we might be. This could be the prayer for us today. The Lord is still here though trouble is everywhere. Truly Psalm 19:1 rings true: “The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Till next time, Don Johnson, Kirby Pines Chaplain

Have you ever wished you had been one of Jesus’ original disciples? Ever thought about what it was like in those days when Christ walked and talked with His close circle of followers? If we knew what the early beginnings were we might come to different conclusions.

Jesus called four fishermen—Peter, Andrew, James and John. He called two brothers—James and John. He called a corrupt government employee—Matthew. He called a political zealot— Simon. It didn’t seem like such a grand group.

Peter Marshall, renowned Minister and Chaplain of the Senate, said: “Thomas was a dogged unbeliever until the last minute. Judas sought redemption through revolution instead of revolution through redemption. James and John wanted to get rid of people who differed with them, instead of getting rid of the differences so they could get the people.”

When we look 50 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and return to Heaven we can see not only the outcome of those early Christians but the deep cost of their discipleship. Someone has written:

1. John died of extreme old age exiled to the island of Patmos.
2. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.
3. Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of Nero.
4. Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, a Grecian Colony.
5. James, the younger, son of Alphaeus, was thrown from a
6. pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.
7. Bartholomew was flayed (skin removed) alive in Albanopolis, Armenia.
8. James, the older son of Zebedee, was beheaded in Jerusalem.
9. Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance
10. at Coromandel, in the East Indies.
11. Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis.
12. Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
13. Simon died on a cross in Persia (what we now call Iran).
14. Matthew was first stoned and then beheaded.
15. Paul was killed after imprisonment in Rome by Emperor Nero.

Could we stand challenges like they did? Could we pay such a high cost to follow Christ? This was not only needed 20 Centuries ago, it is required today! Will we embrace the loving and perhaps deadly commitment the original Christians had?

2 Timothy 3:12, “…everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

I say “yes” to this call for commitment. What will you say… today?

Till next time, Don Johnson, KP Chaplain

Can you imagine 144 million cards given out on or before Valentine’s Day in America? It has become the second leading day in the entire year for such expression. Alfred Tennyson wrote, “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever!” What an amazing expression! It’s something many of us should say today.

But perhaps the greatest illustration of what this day is all about comes from a mid-nineteenth century English poet named Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She wrote a book in 1853 known as The Sonnets From The Portuguese in which she included a special love poem known as Sonnet 43. Andrew Spacey presents this amazing story the following way.

It was dedicated to her husband, poet Robert Browning.

The inspiration behind the work was Elizabeth’s love for the man who had, for all intents and purposes, rescued her from a quietly desperate, reclusive lifestyle she led in London, following the accidental death of her closest brother.

Dominated by her possessive father, Elizabeth spent most of her time alone in an upstairs room. She was a frail, sick woman who needed opium and laudanum in an effort to cure her pain.

Her only consolation was poetry and at this she was very successful. When Robert Browning read her work he was so impressed he wrote asking to meet her. The two eventually fell in love and decided to secretly elope to Italy in 1846, despite the father’s resistance and anger. He ended up disinheriting his daughter.

Elizabeth and Robert exchanged hundreds of love-letters over the two years from 1845-46. In them you get a clear idea of just how much they adored one another. Take this excerpt from Elizabeth in 1846, near the time of their elopement:

‘For I have none in the world who will hold me to make me live in it, except only you – I have come back for you alone…at your voice…and because you have use for me! I have come back to live a little for you. I love you – I bless God for you – you are too good for me, always I knew.’

Elizabeth was close to 40 years of age when she broke free from the control of her father. You can imagine her pent up strength of feeling and sense of relief. She went on to give birth to a son and was happily married for sixteen years, until her death in 1861.

Here is the classic love poem Elizabeth wrote to Robert:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use In my old greifs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

I wish I could have written that! Don’t you? It’s such a deep and beautiful way words can express what we feel but so often find hard to say. Let’s say these thoughts today. Let’s present to the one we love how deeply they had touched us and how broadly they have changed our lives!

In a spiritual dimension consider this: “What would it be like to love a Being absolutely lovely – to be able to give our whole existence, every thought, every act, every desire to that Adored One – to know that He accepts it all, and loves us in return as God alone can love?” (F.P. Cobb) Jesus Christ is that Being absolutely lovely. He is worthy and accepting of our response to His love for us. “We love Him because He first loved us.”(I John 4:19)

In every way may this day be the best you’ve ever experienced!

Till next time, Don Johnson, KP Chaplain

When I was in my teens I came across some thoughts by Lois Kendall Blanchard that powerfully presented God moving into our hearts and lives and being exposed to all our plans and actions.

Here’s what she said:

“If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two—
If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you’d do.
Oh, I know you’d give your nicest room to such an honored Guest,
And all the food you’d serve to Him would be the very best,
And you would keep assuring Him you’re glad to have Him there—
That serving Him in your own home is joy beyond compare.

But—when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome to your heavenly Visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in?
Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they’d been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn’t heard?
And wish you hadn’t uttered that last, loud, hasty word?

Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about?
And I wonder—if the Savior spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?

Would your family conversation keep at its usual pace?
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing, and read the books you read,
And let Him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you’d planned to go?
Or would you, maybe, change you plans for just a day or so?

Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends?
Or would you hope they’d stay away until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do
If Jesus Christ in person came to spend some time with you”.
– Lois Kendall Blanchard

This too often describes us. God would not be comfortable with
most of our everyday experiences? Major changes would have to
come both on the inside and outside? He probably would not want
to stay on and on.

Robert Boyd Munger wrote a classic story about this titled, My
Heart, Christ’s Home. He divided the house of his heart into distinct
rooms: the Study, the Dining Room, the Living Room, the Work
Room, the Rec Room, and the Hall Closet. As he walked through
each room separately he noticed they all needed to be carefully
evaluated, changed and given to the Lord for His control. Munger
had given God the deed to the house of his heart, but then realized he
had not surrendered possession of each room specifically. When he
did that the Lord became not only a Guest in his heart but the Master
of his life.

In light of the “ifs” of our lives, we must meticulously commit
everything to Him. He has promised to always be with us (Hebrews
13:5). Personally, powerfully and daily He gives strength, insight, and
wisdom so each step is in His path (Proverbs 3:5-6). He continues
to ask us to give Him not most but all. This really makes all the
difference in the world.

Till next time, Don Johnson, KP Chaplain

We’ve come through another series of the exciting sports event of World Series Baseball. Once claiming the title of America’s Greatest Sport, still held by many, thousands love to watch two teams battle for the title. There is one great story of this event we need to remember.

“In 1924 the World Series, the New York Giants and the Washington Senators were tied after six games. Griffith Stadium in Washington was packed for the final game on October 10, 1924. At the beginning of the ninth inning the score was tied at three runs each.

New York didn’t score any runs and Washington came to bat. The home team fans screamed for one lone run, which would win the series and the world championship for the Senators. The first two men made outs and it looked like there would be extra innings. Then a player named Leon ‘Goose’ Goslin came to the plate.

Two strikes were called and then two balls. The crowd was watching every pitch. On the fifth pitch, Goslin stepped into the ball and slammed it to left center field. The crowd became delirious; it looked like a home run, but it hit inches below the top of the wall and fell back onto the field of play.

Goslin was running around the bases, slowing down for a triple when the third base coach waved him on to try for an in-park home run. The shortstop took the peg from left center and fired the ball to the catcher. Goslin slid into home in a cloud of dust, seemingly a split second before the tag. The catcher followed the routine of throwing the ball around the bases, just in case, while waiting for the umpire to make the call. The umpire delayed his call. After consulting with the other umpires he cried, ‘You’re out!’

Washington player/manager, Bucky Harris, along with his team and fans rushed onto the field, protesting the call. The umpire secured order and announced, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the batter is out…not because he didn’t beat the ball at home plate but because he didn’t touch first base!’ The players were always required to touch each base with their foot as they rounded the bases. Goslin didn’t do this!

The game went into extra innings. In the bottom of the twelfth inning, Early McNeely hit an infield ground ball that should have been an easy out. The ball took a bounce over the third baseman’s glove into left field. That was enough to score Washington catcher Ruel from third base with the winning run. It was the first World Championship Washington won. What a World Series.”

Angel Martinez, colorful and well known Hispanic evangelist from San Antonio, Texas, remembered this World Series story in his special message “Play Ball.”

He said First base represented “Salvation.” Second base represented “Baptism and Church Membership.” Third base stood for “Christian Service.” And Home plate was “Heaven.”

Martinez said you think you’re doing all the right things and believe you are sliding into home plate just ahead of the catcher receiving the ball. You’re safe. The game is won.

Identification in Baptism and Church Membership (Second Base) and outreach and service through Evangelism (Third Base) are very important and wonderful. But reaching Heaven (Home Plate) will not be what is expected if Salvation (First Base) has not been touched.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life…For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit…But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all… Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord…Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” [John 3:16; I Peter 3:18; Isaiah 53:5-6; Acts 16:31; Romans 6:23; Revelation 3:20]

Getting up to bat, hitting the ball and running the bases won’t count if you miss First Base. We may look like we’ve made it Home. But the Umpire Who sees it all and knows we must play by the rules will call us “out.”

John Henry Newman said, “Fear not your life shall have an ending, rather fear it shall never have a beginning.” That’s First Base…that’s salvation.

Till next time, Don Johnson, Kirby Pines Chaplain

Do you remember the Baseball World Series of 1941. It was an unforgettable contest between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Let’s revisit that time.

The Yankees won the first game of the series by a score of 3-2. Brooklyn returned the favor in the 2nd game with a score of 3-2. The Yankees took the third game 2-1. In the 4th game, the Dodgers were ahead 4-3 at the top of the 9th inning and looked like they would tie the series. The Yankees had two outs and Tommy Henrich was at bat with three balls and 2 strikes. Henrich swung at the next pitch but missed the ball. This should have ended the game, but the Dodger catcher, Mickey Owen, dropped the ball. It hit the heel of his mitt and rolled toward the Dodgers dugout. Henrich ran to first base before Owen could retrieve the ball. Next at bat was ‘Joltin Joe’ DiMaggio. The Yankees scored four runs in the final inning and won the game 7-4. This gave them a 3-1 lead in the series. The next day in game 5 the Yankees beat the Dodgers 3-1 and won the 1941 Baseball World Series. Some attribute the Yankee win and the Dodger loss to that moment when Mickey Owen dropped the ball. Though he lived to 2005 he could never get away from that fatal mistake in the 1941 World Series. The New York Times obituary was titled, “Mickey Owen dies at 89, Allowed Fateful Passed Ball.” Even in his death he could not escape the results of his 1941 game 4 error.

Some trace the origin of the phrase “dropped the ball” to Mickey and this event.

Often we are all like Mickey Owen. How many dropped balls have been a part of our experience. Mistakes, though unintentional, have had damaging results. Sometimes it has been less monumental. Other times it has been catastrophic. It has been the difference between winning and losing. In some instances, the difference between life and death.

Our actions are vitally important? An opportunity comes…and goes…because we drop the ball. A relationship, once so special, falls apart because we drop the ball. A life-changing step is never taken because we drop the ball. Someone needing our help is disappointed because we drop the ball.

Financially, career-wise, relational and in many other areas we can easily drop the ball. It’s also true in the spiritual realm. Look at the story in Matthew 22:35-40, “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” Jesus was paraphrasing the words from the Jewish Torah. When we consider His challenge it must be evident that we all have dropped the ball.

There is time to correct our great mistake. Admit our failure, get back in the game and play with God-given energy what lies before us. We never know when our series may end so let’s be all that God wants us to be. We can begin now to be more focused, to be on top of our actions, and to hold onto the ball when it comes our way.

The words of Hebrews 12:2 can guide us: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entraps us, and let us run with patience the race before us.”

Till next time, Don Johnson, Kirby Pines Chaplain

We are all taking daily steps on life’s journey. Some days are good; other days fall short. Amidst the ups and downs, we wonder what we can really be doing. The following story about “Joe” illustrates a valuable lesson about caring and giving even through hard times.

Joe was driving home one evening on a two-lane country road. He’d been searching for a job with little success. Joe had been unemployed since the local clothing factory had closed, and things were really getting tight.

It was a lonely road, and he almost didn’t see the elderly lady stranded on the side of the road. Even in the twilight, he could see she needed help. He pulled up by her Mercedes and stopped.

He knew he frightened her. He knew he didn’t look safe. He tried to set her mind at ease. “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe.”

All she had was a flat tire, and Joe fixed it quickly even though he scraped his knuckles a few times trying to locate the jack under the car. The woman asked Joe how much she owed him. She had already imagined all the terrible things that could have happened had he not stopped to help her. But Joe never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. It was helping someone in need. He refused the money, thinking how many times people had given him a hand. Joe told the lady that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Joe added, “…and think of me.”

The woman drove off and a few miles down the road saw a small cafe where she could get a bit to eat. It was a dingy place, but she went inside.

Her waitress came over and brought her a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. The lady noticed the waitress was about eight months pregnant, but she never seemed to let the strain and aches change her attitude. She had a sweet smile, and the woman wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.

After the woman finished her meal and the waitress went to get change for a $100 bill, the woman slipped out the door. She left a note on the napkin, which brought tears to the waitress’ eyes when she read it. “Keep the change. You don’t owe me a thing. I’ve been there, too. Someone once helped me out the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, don’t let the chain of love end with you.”

That night when the waitress got home from work, she climbed into bed. She was thinking about the money and what the woman had written. How could she have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Joe.”

On our journey there are many things we can do that won’t cost us a thing. They may not bring immediate return, at least not to the level we need at the moment. But traveling the journey with care and love is so important. At times a need arises that interrupt our usual activity. Too often we rush past these interruptions. If we notice someone who needs our help, we pass by. We’re late…or too busy…or think we need help more than the other person. We think, “Let someone else help them” or “Let them help themselves.” But if we stop…if we help even when we have so little…it will enrich us with inner gratitude that we’ve gone beyond the limited circle of ourselves, and it will touch others at seeing they are noticed, valued and provided for in difficult times and situations. And sooner or later our selfless actions will reap a surprising reward. When our motives are right the outcome can be unexpectedly great! Now is the time! Are we looking? Are we stopping? Are we helping?

Hebrews 6:10 says it so well. “God is fair. He will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them.”