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The Place Adventist Fellowship Blog

Thoughts and stories from members of The Place community.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Reach Out to Bere Hospital

James Appel has lots of friends at The Place. James is the medical director of Béré Adventist Hospital, in Tchad, Africa.

James keeps a blog and his posts will really move you outside the very comfortable world most of us live in. James and his wife Sarah definitely need our support, encouragement, and prayers. Send James a note by commenting on one of his blog posts or donate time, money, and stuff through Adventist Health International.

Labels: bere hospital mission james appel

posted by The Place @ 3/22/2007 01:48:00 PM 0 comments

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Forgiving Your Enemies or Just Avoiding Them?

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28, TNIV)

All of us have heard those words of Jesus before, but there's a subtle point that's often overlooked--"DO good to those who hate you." To do good to someone means to continue to interact with them. Often, as Christians, we surround ourselves with the like-minded to avoid the company of those who can't stand us.

And, that absence might make us thing we've licked the "love your enemies" thing. Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Holocaust survivor, wrote and preached often of forgiveness. Here, she tells the story of her first actual encounter with one of her Nazi captors after the war:

It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggles to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I prayed, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

Corrie thought that she had forgiven her enemies until she actually met one who she couldn't bring herself to forgive. The only way she could overcome was to surrender her hate to Jesus. It's a humbling lesson for all of us when we consider all those who've wronged us in our lives.

Labels: forgiveness

posted by The Place @ 3/17/2007 03:43:00 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 11, 2007

The Great Blondin and Discipleship

Charles Blondin was one of the greatest tightrope walkers of all time. He first crossed Niagara Falls in 1859, then repeated it blindfolded, in a sack, pushing a wheelbarrow, on stilts, and sitting down midway while he cooked and ate an omelette.

He did it once, however, carrying his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back. According to Colcord, the trip was terrifying. Blondin was only 5-5, 140 lbs. The ropes that keep the tightrope from swaying were broken. Blondin grew tired about 1/3 of the way across and made Colcord get off so Blondin could rest. Colcord then had to climb back up. Colcord had been warned not to look down, but he did and panicked.

But, what could Colcord do? Nothing. He was told to rest like a dead weight and NEVER try to balance if Blondin should seem to stumble or tilt.

They made it across.

What are the lessons for us? Trust. Surrender. Obedience. Colcord had complete faith in Blondin. When it really counted, Colcord realized he was powerless and trusted Blondin to get him across safely. How many of us, in our walk with Jesus, are more like the spectators in the crowd? We're on the sidelines watching and may even feel like we're part of the event. But, when it really matters, do you really trust God enough to risk everything? Would you ever lay it all on the line? That's the difference between believing and being a disciple of Jesus.

Labels: blondin niagara falls discipleship tightrope

posted by The Place @ 3/11/2007 05:16:00 PM 0 comments

Thursday, March 8, 2007

What Did Jesus Look Like?

Yes, that's The Place's very own Ralph Figueroa stepping in as the Lord's stunt double for Oxygen Church Media, who provide Christian graphics. You can see Ralph in action as Jesus on many images on their site.

But, many, if not most of us have wondered what Jesus looked like. Here's a traditional depiction of Jesus in Ethiopian Christian art:

There a whole entry in Wikipedia speculating on the physical appearance of Jesus. In it, some scientists have created a portrait of Jesus based on the bones that have been uncovered in the area from that time period:

Does it really matter? If it does, how and why?

Labels: Jesus appearance race

posted by The Place @ 3/08/2007 09:38:00 AM 2 comments