THE IDES OF MARCH

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

On this Friday the 13th I find myself reflecting upon the passage of time, which is something I often do. On one radio talk show today, a caller insisted that March 13 is the "Ides of March", that is, the day on which Julius Caesar was assasinated. The host thought it happened on March 15. The caller was not persuaded, but the host was correct. The Ides of March is March 15. One reason that date is burned into my memory is that my daughter was married last year on the Ides of March, on March 15, 2008, in Springfield, Missouri. I mailed off an Anniversary card to Amy and David today, and I e-mailed them anniversary wishes. I don't feel old enough to have a daughter that's a married adult!

Every year around this time I remember the first automobile accident I had. It was on March 12, 1973. The accident involved three cars and I was in the middle. I was plowed from the rear by a middle-aged man driving a 1972 Ford LTD and pushed into a Cadillac. In the impact my glasses flew off and were later found on the floor of the back seat. I've had a few car accidents in my driving career, but that one was the worst. I was eighteen years old. My father, the Registry of Motor Vehicles official was pretty upset. He expect everyone in the family to drive (well, "operate"...see my last entry) perfectly. Many people he'd taught to drive had "perfect driving records", and at age 18, my driving record was already shattered in his eyes.

I can vividly remember that car accident. I can bring it back in my memory as if it happened only days ago. It seems impossible that it happened thirty-six years ago. Although 1973 is the topic of a current police drama on television about some cop who went back to fight crime in the distant past of 1973, to me, 1973 doesn't seem like it was long ago at all! I decided to figure out how old I will be thirty-six years from now. I was shocked to compute that in thirty-six years it will be 2045 and I will be 90!

The Ides of March falls at an interesting time of year. In some parts of the country it's quite Spring-like right now. In much of Florida, it's SUMMER-like. In New England, at the cusp between winter and spring, temperatures can swing between 27 and 72 depending on the particular day. It's a time of year that we think of life coming forth from death. On the other hand, it's a time of year we think of death, i.e. Julius Caesar and at least one of those cars on Washington Street, Canton in 1973! For some reason I was thinking of the short story, "The Lottery" this week. I remember that being read to our English Class by Mrs. Kane when I was a Sophomore in high school It's a fictional account of a colonial American village where a lottery takes place each spring to see who will be stoned to death to placate nature and insure a good harvest. Yes, the Ides of March can really bring on some deep philosophical thinking!

Last year, Easter was VERY early. In fact, it was the earliest it had fallen it about a hundred years, and my understanding is that it won't fall this early for over another hundred years. I was complaining last year about how early Holy Week and Easter fell last year. (Palm Sunday last year was March 16.) I really prefer Holy Week and Easter to fall in April, as is the case this year, but in retrospect, in the midst of the tension and bleakness of March, it WAS nice to celebrate Jesus' resurrection!

If you've ever watched that tearjerker cartoon, "Charlotte's Web" you remember the song about how very special we are for just a moment in time. In a literal, physical sense, that's true. The Bible says, life is but a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (see James 4:14). For those who know the Lord, THIS life is just a dress rehearsal for eternity.

Well, that's my musing about the Ides of March on Friday the 13th. I can't stop the fact that I'm aging by the second and that in thirty-six years I'll be 90! But I can rejoice in the fact that because of what Jesus Christ has done for me, I have a glorious eternity to look forward to!

"OPERATING UNDER THE INFLUENCE..."

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (I John 2:15-16)

There's a disturbing story in the local news this week. A teenage driver, 19-year-old Elizabeth Finnegan of Norfolk was found passed out at the wheel by Ashland police at 7:10 a.m. on Sunday. She had driven her car into a snowbank and passed out; or maybe it was the other way around. Numerous emptied bottles and cans of alcoholic beverages were found in the car she was driving. The most disturbing part of the story is that the young lady was on Probation for have hit and killed a 48-year-old man in Wrentham in December of 2006. At that time, she'd left the scene of the accident but later turned herself in to police saying she didn't know she'd hit anybody. You can read about this in the MetroWest Daily News at

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x238204155/Norfolk-teen-on-probation-for-fatal-car-crash-now-faces-OUI-charge-in-Ashland

The young lady is being charged with "O.U.I." ("Operating under the influence of alcohol"). You may wonder why Massachusetts doesn't say "D.W.I." ("Driving with the influence of alcohol") which is the term that is used in most other states. It may surprise you that in Massachusetts Motor Vehicle law, there's really no such thing as a "driver", unless you happen to be riding in your car down the road and you come upon a hayride wagon pulled by horses...then the person at the reins would be the "driver". In Massachusetts, the legal term is always an "Operator". In Massachusetts you DON'T "drive" a car, you "operate" it. I can recall years ago that the wording on your license actually said, "LICENSE TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE". The licenses NOW say "Driver's License" and I think that's been the case for at least twenty years. Massachusetts probably changed the term on the licenses to "Driver's License" reluctantly because police departments and motor vehicles departments in other states may have been confused by the term "Operator".

We've all heard that line, "Driving is a privilege, not a right!" Well serious, hard core Libertarians like San Francisco talk show host Gene Burns can tell you THAT'S been challenged in the courts, and the courts have determined that driving IS a right, and that issuing a "Driver's License" is TECHNICALLY unconstitutional! (A few fanatical libertarians in other states have tested this and that's the way the courts have ruled.) Whatever you MAY think, there have been some very smart legal minds at high levels in the government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They anticipated this problem many years ago, and that's why you don't get a "license to drive" in Massachusetts, you get a "license to operate machinery in the public ways" and issuing and requiring such a license IS constitutional!

Well, whatever we want to call it, that young lady found passed out was under the influence of alcohol. It's OUTRAGEOUS. And, as my son pointed out, she's under age. Does the 21-year-old drinking law stop a 19-year-old from driving drunk? Sadly, it does not. That may be a topic for another day.

I don't drink alcoholic beverages at all for two reasons: One is that I'm an Assemblies of God minister and especially in leadership circles in the AG, drinking is strongly frowned upon. The other is that my late brother was an alcoholic and I've seen the heartache that alcohol abuse can bring upon a family. However, I struggle with other issues. I can be very moody. I can be self-absorbed. I can allow myself to be ruled by my emotions rather than by the Holy Spirit (or even by common sense). When I choose to do that, in a very real sense I'm "operating under the influence". So, today, as I think with anger and disappointment about the actions of that young lady who was found passed out at the wheel in Ashland, I find myself thinking about how many times I reacted to a person or a situation out of my emotions or mood or something which I allowed into my life to "hijack" my day. This is frankly a difficult area for me, and it's an area I really need to pray about, and a part of my life where I really need to yield to the Holy Spirit and "walk in the Spirit so that I don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (as Galatians 5:16 says). In fact, I need to be "under the influence" of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, which is, of course, a GOOD kind of being "under the influence"!

So, in a strange sort of "back door" way, I learned a lesson from the actions of Elizabeth Finnegan of Norfolk.

SUNDAY'S SPECIAL SERVICE (extra entry)

The following is the text of an e-mail which went out to a number of people earlier today. For those of you who live within 40 miles of Framingham, Massachusetts, I'd love to have you join us for a special healing service this coming Sunday evening, March 15 at 6:30 P.M. Here's the text of my "promotional e-mail":


Hello!

Once again, First Assembly of God of Framingham is having a SPECIAL HEALING SERVICE on Sunday evening, March 15, 2009 at 6:30 P.M. We are inviting you to come.

We were blessed to have 3 Special Healing Services in 2008. Those who came brought their needs before our God Who has the power to save, to heal, to deliver, to provide, to restore, to comfort, and to mend broken hearts and broken lives. God tells us in His Word that NOTHING is too difficult for Him and that He is no respecter of persons. So, whoever you are and whatever your need is GOD IS THE ANSWER.

God heals in MANY ways. Many times He uses doctors and conventional medicine. There are times that God heals instantly. There are times that God chooses to heal gradually. Do we understand God's ways all the time?? NO, but God is God. He knows what's best for each and every person. Be encouraged to come and seek God for your need or needs. Remember, our God cares about even the seemingly smallest details in our lives.

I've shared some of these testimonies of healing before but they are worthy of being repeated.

Eight years ago, my accountant was seriously ill with bladder cancer. At our appointment that year, he told my sister and me that he was doing very poorly and was going to be readmitted20to the hospital following our appointment. I asked him if he would like the two of us to pray for him and he said "yes". We laid hands on him and prayed for a miraculous healing. A number of months later I phoned him to set up another appointment and I asked him how he was doing. He was very cheerful and announced that God had healed him. Eight years later, he's still giving God the glory for healing him from cancer.

Many years ago, when I was a home fellowship group leader in Walpole, we laid hands on a man who had bursitis. We prayed and he was instantly healed from bursitis.

Closer to home, a person in our church, just recently, was set free from a longtime addiction when she renewed her commitment to Christ. A year ago, a man in our church was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate with the likelihood of cancer. Our church prayed for this man several times from the time he received that report from his doctor until the time he went for further tests which included 12 biopsies. By the time he went for those tests, his prostate was no longer enlarged and the test results came back negative for cancer. We believe God answered our prayers and miraculously healed this man.

I've shared these testimonies with you to encourage you. Maybe you've received a bad report from your doctor or maybe you have some type of addiction. Maybe you have a financial need. Maybe=2 0you've been struggling in a relationship with a spouse or a friend. Maybe you've grown cold in your relationship with God. Whatever your need is GOD is the answer. Come and be ministered to Sunday evening, March 15, 2009 at 6:30 P.M.

First Assembly of God of Framingham
32 South Street
Framingham, MA 01702
508-875-5030

agframingham@aol.com

www.agframingham.org

God Bless You,
PASTOR BOB BARIL
P.S. Many thanks to our Board Members who did a super job proofing and editing my original draft of this letter! All of us encourage you to be in prayer for this coming Sunday evening’s service!

GETTING PHYSICAL

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:14)

This may not sound like a big thing to you, but it was a big thing to me: I went for a routine physical examination this week. I had not had a complete physical since 1989 although I had a few sort of basic doctor checkup visits in the early 1990s. The only thing I haven't had done yet is a colonoscopy. (Private note: I know, I know, DCM, but give me credit that at least I had the physical!) In the distant past I've written about why visits to doctors have tended to be few and far between for me, so I'm going to skip writing about that. One person recently pointed out that I have regular dental checkups and regular eye exams, and so it doesn't make sense to neglect the rest of the body. It IS hard to argue with that one!

While all of the details and results of the physical are certainly personal, I will say that overall my health is pretty good. There are often concerns about prostate issues for men over 50. My prostate is very good. My thyroid is also very good. Although I am at least thirty pounds overweight, there's absolutely no indication of diabetes. I was actually surprised that I've LOST about ten pounds since Christmas. The doctor would like to see me lose at least another ten. Well, I'll try! My cholesterol number is slightly elevated, but it's not high enough to warrant being put on medication. My B.P. is also a bit on the high side but not quite at the level of needing medication.

It was much harder for me to have that physical exam done than you can imagine! I will admit, however, that hearing that I'm basically in good health was comforting.

I readily identify myself on this blog as "fifty-something" and anybody looking at my "salt and pepper" hair and middle aged demeanor is not going to confuse me with a 27-year-old! Even so, I'm one of those who has had a difficult time REALLY accepting being over fifty. I think of people over fifty as constantly talking about their ailments and operations and what medications they're taking. My parents and their peers were certainly that way. I'm trying not to "go gentle into that good night" if you're familiar with that poem title.

On the other hand, I do understand that we are called to be stewards of not only our money and our things, but of our bodies, also. That thought certainly comes across in verses such as First Corinthians 6:19, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

So, yesterday I did something which was very much out of my comfort zone. When you're called to do something outside of your comfort zone, God's grace is sufficient for you (says Second Corinthians 12:9). So, know you can take that step with God's help.

I can't say much more about it now, but at this time I'm finding myself constantly thrown into situations which are outside of my comfort zone, and as the Recovery groups say, I'm trying to take each of these situations, "One Day at a Time".

PROGRESS?

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 16:25)

I guess this may be very hypocritical of me- writing, warning of the dangers of becoming too dependent on computers and electronic devices...and I’m writing this ON A BLOG ON THE INTERNET! It’s kind of like T.V. specials for children and families which tout the virtues of TURNING OFF TELEVISION. That also seems rather hypocritical to me!

Please bear with me in my inconsistencies, but I want to tell the story of a minister friend of mine who kept his entire very busy schedule on one of those hand held electronic devises (the brand name starts with “P”) which he would then “sync up” with his computer. I’ve had this guy tell me of how wonderful his calendar system is...that he never keeps a traditional datebook or calendar. Everything goes into his electronic device, and then onto his computer. AND, he believed his system was foolproof because he subscribes to a well known service whose brand name starts with “C”. That service is supposed to back up everything on your computer so that even if your computer had a meltdown, you can go to that “C” brand service and everything is still there.

Well, he’s been having serious trouble with his hand held electronic device. He’s had SO much trouble, that he just bought a brand new one. Last night he left his hand held device hooked up to his computer so that everything would “sync up”...then he planned to transfer the data from the computer today to his new hand held device and all would be right with the world.

This morning he checked:
The old hand held device was devoid of any memory...everything was “wiped out”!
The computer was devoid of any memory OF THE CALENDAR./SCHEDULE...everything was wiped out.
Even the special “C” brand service was devoid of any memory OF THE CALENDAR/SCHEDULE. IT “remembers” the last action of an application. Well, the last action of his electronic schedule was to wipe it all out, so that special “C” brand service also wiped it all out!

He had NO hardcopy of his schedule.

“How can I prevent such a thing in the future?” he asked.

Maybe this was really rude, but I said nothing. I just pulled a BIC pen out of my pocket and held it up!

“I knew somebody was going to do that,” he said kind of sadly.

What he DID decide to do was to e-mail about 200 people that he regularly interacts with. He explained his plight and asked that if he has anything scheduled with any of them, that they mail the information to him so he can rebuild his calendar.

I have learned to “never say never”. Twenty years ago I said I would NEVER have a car phone or a cell phone...NEVER! Well, I’ve now had a cell phone for almost ten years. I also said I did not plan to go on-line and that there was absolutely no need for me to be on-line. Well, I’ve been on-line for almost thirteen years. I also said I did not need to use a computer...that a typewriter was good enough for me. Well, I’ve now been using computers for sixteen years. I am NOW saying I can’t imagine myself keeping my calendar on one of those electronic devices, but maybe someday I will. I still keep a calendar the old fashioned way. In fact, I have my main datebook in my church office and I have a small datebook in my briefcase. I write all my appointments in BOTH. Yes, like my electronic friend, I have to “sync” my calendars up, and I do that every couple of days. It’s very helpful, because sometimes I forget to put an appointment on one or the other calendar, and when I compare them, it helps be to keep my schedule straight!

I really DID feel bad for my friend. He said he’s not going to put QUITE SO MUCH information in his hand held electronic device and he’s not going to be quite so dependent on it in the future. He also plans to printout a hardcopy of his schedule every week or so to save as a backup. That makes sense.

We can get in a lot of trouble when we’re too dependent on ANYTHING. A 70-ish pastor I know became “Pastor Emeritus” at his church a few years ago, and his “GEN X” son became the new pastor. I’ll call the older pastor Elwood and his son Zach. Some months after 30-ish Zach became pastor he was all in a panic because the PowerPoint system was not working at his church one Sunday morning. He was not sure he could even hold a service...as they were totally dependent on PowerPoint for song lyrics, visual aids, announcements, etc. His Dad Elwood laughed.

“Thirty years ago, I had church in an old American Legion hall with folding chairs, a Bible and a few beat-up hymnals,” the older guy said, “PowerPoint is a nice tool and sound systems are nice, but just give me a Bible and a simple podium, and I’m more than comfortable running a service. But my son just doesn’t know what to do without that stuff and considers it a necessity!”

We all become so dependent on so many things! I did not own a car equipped with air conditioning until 1988. Now, if the AC goes out on one of my vehicles, I consider it a catastrophe and remark, “CAN’T this get FIXED?!”

Back in 1974, there was a huge convention and convocation of evangelical Protestants in Lausanne, Switzerland. Many of them signed the “Lausanne Covenant” which committed them to a “simpler lifestyle”. Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham refused to sign it. A feisty and honest woman, she told Billy that she wasn’t going to sign up to live a simple lifestyle! I can’t blame her. I think a lot of times people sign those agreements and then “find ways around” them. But watching my friend’s dilemma today, I felt bad about how dependent we’ve all become on modern electronic devices. Yes, I felt so bad about it that I jumped on my state-of-the-art iMac computer and wrote a posting for my blog!

Fifteen years ago, I would not have known what a blog was! In those days, I probably would have viewed a blog as a bad thing...as a chore I’d never want to be responsible for.

Is this progress? Is this good? I don’t know!

THE WIDOW'S MITE

“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:42-44)

Those verses come from a passage of Scripture that we were studying at our Bible study last Friday night. It’s ironic that I’d been teaching and talking about that on Friday night, and then saw an example of it which touched my heart!

Our little church has been going through financial problems. We’re not alone. I heard that donations at one local Christian ministry are down 50% and at another are down 25%. It seems everybody is affected by the economy! The thing that has hit the church the hardest is the cost of oil heat. Foolishly, late last summer, we “locked in” a price for our oil deliveries for the ‘08-’09 heating season. Like many, we thought the price of oil would go even higher over the next 6 months. It didn’t. As a result we’ve been paying more than double for oil that we could otherwise have been paying if we were just paying the going rate. Except for Sunday services, most of the time the heat in our little church building is turned down and it can get pretty cold in there. SO, we’re paying big money to be cold. Well, THAT could be a topic for another day. What I really want to focus on is “widow’s mite giving”.

For the sake of anonymity, I am going to try to be as general and generic as possible as I don’t want to reveal the person’s identity. Sunday morning before service, a person showed up and took me aside. The person handed me an envelope saying, “I wanted you to be sure to get this!” I wondered what the envelope might contain. The outside of the envelope was marked, “For church oil heat”. I opened the envelope, and there was $100.

Now, to appreciate this: the person who gave that $100. is quite poor. It reminded me of when the Apostle Paul wrote that he felt bad taking a generous offering from the Macedonian Christians who gave out of their poverty...but (of course) he didn’t want to insult them by NOT taking the offering. I felt like that.
That $100. was a sacrifice. Honestly, that person may have missed a few meals in order to give that gift. That person may have NOT paid one of their own bills in order to pay that gift. That really poor person made a GREAT sacrifice. Honestly, we need WAY more than $100. to pay the oil bill right now. Again, I really felt like the Apostle Paul, and it would have been so easy to say to that person, “Look, I don’t want to see you missing meals or not paying your own bills. Please just take this back and pray for us.” But, I would be insulting that person, and acting like their gift was not important.

Mary Ann and I have had to make some sacrifices in the church this year. I don’t want to say a lot about it because it would be foolishly calling attention to ourselves. BUT, this donor made a greater sacrifice than we have! It’s very humbling. You can start to feel sorry for yourself when you have to do without a few things in a struggling church. However, when a truly impoverished person does WITHOUT in the manner of that person, you kind of swallow hard and say, “God, YOU’RE worth the sacrifice, and THESE PEOPLE OF YOURS are worth the sacrifice!”

May God bless and help that wonderful person who gave SO much. I’m sure that person doesn’t have access to a computer or e-mail, but I did send a thank you card today. My thank you note really seemed like so little, but I DID write that I understand what a sacrifice they made and that I appreciate it.

Now, for those of you who don’t understand what I mean when I mention “the widow’s mite”, Jesus and his disciples were watching people make donations at the Temple. In those days, they used all coins...no paper money...no checks...certainly no credit cards! A number of people came by and made big donations. A poor widow dropped in “two mites”. That was a very low amount of money. Some might say, maybe 2 pennies in modern U.S. currency. Well, I suspect it was maybe like 2 one-dollar bills. Even so, 2 one-dollar bills are almost NOTHING in the year 2009! Jesus commented on HOW MUCH the widow gave!

He remarked to his disciples, “Take a look at THAT. She gave more that all those people! She gave all she had to live on!”

Maybe it was two mites or two bucks or whatever, but proportionally, it WAS the biggest offering.

In ministry, I’ve found that the poor often DO similarly out give the rich. I truly have! Recently I heard a radio commentator say he doesn’t like the poor because “they don’t SMELL good!” This is a guy I often agree with, but I wanted to throw up when I heard that, and I turned off the car radio!

Thank God for the widow’s mite. On second thought, maybe it should be spelled, “the widow’s MIGHT”.

IMPORTANT QUOTE FROM PAUL HARVEY

( I sent this out to a bunch of people as a mass e-mailing today. I was not originally planning to post it on my blog, but rather only to share it as an e-mail, but my wife, Mary Ann liked it so much that she urged me to post it, so here it is: )

Most of us were saddened to learn of radio commentator Paul Harvey's death on Saturday, February 28 at age 90.

Ironically, in the sermon I'd prepared the day before his death, I used a quote of Paul Harvey's as an illustration. Paul Harvey certainly spoke many "gems" on his radio program and in speaking engagements. The Paul Harvey quote that had the most impact on me is,

"...think overtime trying to anticipate and avoid unerasable mistakes..."

It's from his piece entitled, "To My Son" which is on an audio tape from the mid-1970s called, "Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor".

It's true God will forgive the sins of the repentant and that He can make, "the foulest clean". YES, God forgives sins, but Paul Harvey's quote is about the consequences of what we do...which many times can never be fixed. Driving wrecklessly and taking a life in the process would be an example.

There are FAR better men than I am...FAR better pastors who have had their lives ruined by a one-night stand with a beautiful woman or by embezzling funds or something like that. I know I'm not immune to any such sins! I know I can easily fall, if I "take my eyes off the Lord".

That quote is one I've often come back to.

My sermon was from 2 Kings 20 about King Hezekiah of Judah. He was a good king. That chapter even tells us that God miraculously healed him when he was deathly ill. But he did at least one really STUPID thing which became an unerasable mistake, and ultimately had dire consequences for the Kingdom of Judah. The Paul Harvey quote was a great illustration...and the fact that Paul Harvey died this weekend makes the quote even more powerful and memorable.

so remember to "...think overtime trying to anticipate and avoid unerasable mistakes..."

And if you'd rather hear a Bible verse, as well, remember that Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." The more we're reading God's Word and following it, then the more likely we will "anticipate and avoid unerasable mistakes".