Douglas Young

The other evening I got home a little later than normal, around the time my kids were going to bed. I kissed them each goodnight, as per their requests. Reese was already half asleep when he uttered, “Dad, can we pray?” I responded, “Sure bud!” and he commenced almost instantaneously.

One phrase has stuck with me ever since. “God, please take away my bad dreams, and Haylee’s, Aby’s, and mom and dad’s bad dreams too.” When he was done, I kissed him on the forehead and said, “Thank you, buddy.”

I’ve heard it said that whether we realize it or not, when we sleep we always dream. I’ve also heard it suggested that we, on average, have several dreams a night. No one may be poorer than me at remembering what I dream about, but I know that when I have bad dreams, I tend to remember them.

Growing up, I repeatedly had the same terrible dream that caused me to wake up screaming at the top of my lungs. Funny thing is that nothing that I remember about the dream itself was really frightening. It wasn’t as if Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees or Michael Meyers were hunting me down or anything like that. The dream that caused me to awaken in terror, night after night, was centered around my being trapped at the bottom of a hill as hundreds of wooden barrells plummeted down from the top. That’s it. No blood. No guts. No creepy figure from the big screen. Just me, a hill, and barrels.

As we experience them, dreams are very real to us. They may invoke any number of different kinds of emotions because they are tremendously powerful. Our minds, the most powerful tool God has given us, are intensely at work. A lot is going on while we dream, stirring up good and bad emotional responses.

So I’m not the least bit surprised that Reese prayed for God to take away his bad dreams. They are no small matter to him, and the depth to which he is affected by them is seen in his desire that God takes away the bad dreams from the rest of his family too!

God can do that. But God can do much more. He can take away the harmful effects of sin- guilt, shame, and emotional pain- by the power of his might. For that I am eternally grateful. But I’m also thankful that he can take away our bad dreams as well!

When it comes to having children, in particular bringing children into the world, I often say, “My quiver is full” (cf. Ps. 127:5). But down deep inside, Tisha and I both have a yearning to adopt a child. If we do, we will wait until our children are old enough to understand, as much as they possibly can, the rationale behind it. If it goes as planned, we will not adopt an infant, but instead an older child—one that has slipped through the cracks.

Hopefully, we all feel for children without parents, regardless of how or why they are in the situations they’re in. Parentless children are most unfortunate. If you have never thought about a child who is orphaned or abandoned by dead-beat parents, the thought should bring sadness to your heart. And if for some reason, you feel as if you cannot sympathize with what I am expressing, then try empathizing with it instead.

You see, in a sense, all of us who were once lost but are now found, are adopted children. Sin creates a terrible chasm between God and man (Isa. 59:1-2; Eph. 2:11-12), leaving us spiritually alone, Fatherless in sense. But through the blood of Christ the chasm is traversed (v. 13). The process is redemption and adoption (Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). Our disposition becomes one of adoption, and no longer one of bondage (Romans 8:15). The terminology could not be any clearer.

By faith, we become “children of God” (Gal. 3:26-27). He is our Father, unto whom we cry, “Abba” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6), and with Him, no earthly relationship can compare. He is our heavenly Father and we are His children. The thought alone is one that should give us chills.

So all of us should understand, at least to a certain degree, having been Fatherless once and in need of spiritual adoption, what it is like for any child to not have parents. Adoption is a great thing. It gives a child hope, and of course, that is a good thing; for all of us need hope. For this reason, it is a concept to which we should cling. Fortunately, we have hope through having been adopted by God. Therefore, let us never take it for granted!

I don’t have a clue where I got this, nor who the author is, but I’ve used it repeatedly over the years as a part of funeral service. I love it. Hope you will to!

You and I have been together a long time in a most intimate and valuable relationship. Now you have grown old. Your hearing and strength are failing. Your resistance to cold is diminishing. You cannot climb and run as you once did. In a word, you are running down. In a short time you will cease to breath and your heart will stop beating. When you can go no further, you will be returned to the substance of which you were made, and I shall continue on in that life where you are not needed. A Power greater than us both started us on this journey together.

Now I recognize that you are aware of the fact that your journey is nearing its end, while my journey has scarcely begun. I know this to be true, for while you are feeble, I have never been more alive. Our separation, therefore, cannot be one of sadness, but will be one of joy. You are weary and want to stop. I am longing to alight from this slowing vehicle and go on without you. Death will mean that your desire to stop is granted, and my longing is satisfied.

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, sine they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

I Peter 3:7, ESV

All sorts of things can hinder a prayer life. For sure, the guilt and shame of failures lead one to be hesitant in prayer, especially, when thinking about a prayer life with another person. I can’t help but think that this is certainly true when it comes to a husband and wife praying together.

Apart from God, who knows you like your spouse? Your spouse knows your tells. Your spouse understands your tendencies.  Your spouse can hear in the tone of your voice when something isn’t quite right. Moreover, your spouse most always sees through the facades you knowing and unknowingly erect to protect yourself. So when a couple isn’t dwelling together “in an understanding way,” things aren’t going to be the same, especially, when it comes to prayer. Shame causes us to be reluctant to enter into the house of prayer with one we love!

Father…Help us to not let the failure of unmet standards inhibit our prayer lives!

Last year, in a conversation with a friend, he posed a series of questions that have haunted me ever since. I have posed them myself to others in various situations to get feedback. Unfortunately, the looks on the faces of hearers say it all.

I don’t know who first raised these questions, so I can’t give them credit, but I am glad that they are being thrown out there and are making people think. These two questions are important because they get to the heart of where churches stand in their communities.

For some of us, sticking our heads in the sand is no longer an option. The church is the body of Christ in the world. Heaven’s reign should guide and govern every single member of this body, as they seek to bring the offering of Christ to those who need him. God is reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:18-19). He’s bringing heaven to earth (Matt. 6:10), hope for the helpless (Eph. 4:4), and rest for the weary (Matt. 11:28-30). I’ve heard it said, “The church doesn’t have an outreach program; it is an outreach program.” This is true and the NT testifiies to it.

So I pose the two questions to you for your consideration. Think about them, and if you don’t like the answers, then do something about it.

If your church closed its doors after this Sunday, and never opened them again, would your community notice? Moreover, would the community even care?

I hadn’t seen her smile as much…ever. Of course, I wasn’t around for the first 10 years of her life. I wasn’t present to witness her holding each of her four children for the first time either. We haven’t lived in the same town since the 90s, so I don’t know everything about what’s brought her happiness. But I do know that I hadn’t seen her smile as much…ever.

This past weekend I was blessed to officiate my oldest sister’s wedding and I learned about the power of a smile. Friday evening (rehearsal/dinner) and Saturday morning (the day of the wedding) were filled with smiles. Powerful smiles. My sister’s happiness was contagious. Virtually everyone I spoke with had something to say about it. It spread like wildfire.

She deserves it. I am so happy for her and Harvey. They are bringing people together in wonderful ways. I shall never forget August 1, 2009. I learned the power of the smile.

Have fun y0u two! Love you both!

It was all he could do, but it was beautiful to my ears.

Last Friday morning, I lead singing at a  local nursing home devotional service conducted by members of 16th & Pile. To my right was a man who lay the entire time reclined in chair. I never once saw him open his eyes. Upon my initial recognition of him, I presumed he was asleep. As we sang, though, I noted a distinct sound coming from his direction. His eyes remained closed and his mouth stayed shut, but the sound clearly came from him. He was humming the tune, never missing a beat. He continued the trend for all six songs I lead.

There’s something about worship in song that stimulates us when nothing else can. It brings us to life. It energizes us from lethargy and awakens us from slumber. It generates a response from us when nothing else might. That’s the amazing power of song!

After we were done, the  man continue to lay there with his eyes closed. He never responded to anything else anyone around him was doing. But when united in song, he apparently did all he could do and it was beautiful to my ears.

Jesus was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub the “prince of demons” (Mark 3:22), a sign of the great lengths to which his adversaries would go to discredit him. It was an absurd notion void of all common sense. Jesus, though, seized it and illustrated its foolishness with:

How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. Mark 3:23-27.

You’d think the scribes would’ve liked to have taken that accusation back, given how irrational it was, but rationality in their treatment of Jesus seemed hardly their concern. I envision them walking away pouting, eyes fixed on the ground under which they walked and minds already redirected on how they could entrap the Messiah without looking so foolish in the process.

We all have those “open mouth, insert foot” moments that we’d love to have back but can’t. The comment was uttered. “Send” was already clicked. The enveloped was already dropped in the blue mailbox at the post office. In those situations, hindsight really stinks!

I suppose this is why God would encourage us to think before we act (Proverbs 4:23-27). It’s altogether too easy to be thoughtless given how we live our lives. Thinking takes time, and time is a precious commodity lost in the commotion of everything that bides for it. But we are doing ourselves any favors by not taking the time to think through things before we act. We are setting ourselves up for embarrassment and regret. Maybe through contemplative forethought, we won’t have to live with the grief that shadows thoughtless actions!

In my last post, I wrote of the inherent risk involved in having an internet presence. If you read the ensuing comments of that post, there was good discussion that followed. One comment, in particular, as one poster put it, may very well have proved the point of the post.

There is another element to this discussion deserving of treatment. Often those who post the most critical of comments, for whatever reason, will do so anonymously.  It’s an approach that strikes me as interesting.  If one has something to say, but is concerned about revealing his/her identity, maybe its better left unsaid? I know, there may be a legitimate reason to post something anonymously, but “hit and run” hecklers “in the name of Jesus” use the technique quite often. Personally, I think it reflects poorly on the one who uses it.

But there’s even a more sinister technique used by hecklers “in the name of Jesus.” Some, with a penchant for deception and lying, post comments under pseudonyms. Just supply the field with a false name and a phony email address and post away. What might that say about a person?

This happens more often than you’d imagine. I think it’s happened here very recently. That I’ve enquired of a person’s identity and the invalidity of the email address that was supplied with his comment, but have gotten no response as yet, is telling. You see, this is not the first time that I’ve gotten a comment from this person, but it is the first one that I’ve allowed through. Wordpress.org supplies the IP address with the comment that is posted. IP addresses are specific to a person’s computer/network. A simple search allowed me to discover from what city the post/posts originated. This coupled with the fact that I know of no one by the poster’s name and the email address supplied isn’t a valid email address, has forced me to believe that the poster was using a pseudonym. Too, for another reason, I have a sneaking suspicion that I know who the poster is. The question is…will the person own up to it? I doubt it. Pride keeps us from doing a lot of things we know we should.

There is a possibility that I might be wrong, but I don’t think so. If I am, I will own up to it. What I am certain of, though, is that this kind of thing goes on regularly. I know of others who have experienced similar situations. How honorable is it to use deception as a cloak for cowardice?

Having a personal website, a blog , or even a Facebook page comes with a price. A person is putting himself or herself out there for the world to see, and often those who stop by have an agenda. Thankfully, blog softwares generally all have comment moderating capabilities. Sites like Facebook have the means of blocking users from personal profiles. This is good but it’s also unfortunate.

I love reading blogs, especially the ones by those who are dealing with substantive life issues. They are providing us a service, opening our eyes to the dark realities of ministry work. I read blogs to understand people, not to get what I believe. I definitely don’t read blogs so that I can dig up dirt on other people. But some do.

I know this because some are proud enough to admit it. I know this because word gets around quickly. I know this because people like to chase rabbits. Don’t join the wrong Facebook group or befriend the wrong person; we all know what that means!

The sad reality is that good people are leaving local ministry because of the beatings they take. Good writers are shutting down blogs because they are sick of hecklers “in the name of Jesus.” They are sick of having to apologize to friends and family for hecklers “in the name of Jesus.” It’s unfortunate, but its reality. What a shame!