Be strong and of great courage! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
If there is one thing that I like to share with others, it is that in the presence of God and those whom you love and believe in, that the clouds of discouragement dissipate, and in the place of a frightful feeling of helplessness and hopelessness we have great comfort and encouragement and peace in the presence of God.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Courage to Change things I can!
"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference." -- Saint Francis of Assisi
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference." -- Saint Francis of Assisi
Friday, August 29, 2008
New Experiences
This morning as I awoke from sleeping in a tent we set up in our yard, the sky had a tint of blue that I had never seen before. Perseverance through thunder and lightning in a tent camping out with my two sons in our own yard was a first and the blends of purple and blue hues at 5:30am was the most beautiful pre-sunrise sky I have ever seen. Thoughts of bones sore from sleeping in dampness on a hard ground gave way to appreciation to a wonderful Lord who smiled down on my efforts and took time to inspire my soul - how blessed to have two young sons who push the envelope of experience for their 'little feeble aging father'. Initially I may have asked them "Why?" but now I sigh and say Thank you Lord for such a splendid sky.
Friday, April 11, 2008
A funeral service to prepare for brother Sam.
A quiet, soft voice wept in the phone, "Pastor Bruce, this is Kessiah, my father Sam died yesterday and I have been trying to reach you. I have never met you but my father spoke so highly of you." As I paused to let her relay the story of his passing, my inner voice called out to the Lord. "God, you know how I loved Sam and I felt such an affinity with him as if we were brothers. He was black. I was white. He was tall. I am short. He was elderly in the waning years of life. I was a young man in the prime of life. He could sing. I really do not have a singing voice. Most inspiring was his courageous faith. Sam was physically blind but I could see. Yet we had such a bond in our love for Christ. He had an uncanny 20/20 spiritual vision and could see with the eyes of his heart.
We loved the Lord. He had been a pastor for many years. Lord, he fought his cancer so bravely for so long. The doctors had declared him near death's door over and over. He prayed and believed and lived victoriously praising the Lord and never missing church. Being blind, he needed a ride to church every Sunday and my wife would go and pick him up because I wasn't physically able to assist him along and into the vehicle. He played his guitar and sang every Sunday morning during the morning worship. He even went to the local hospital with us on Sunday afternoon to encourage the residents. He enjoyed the presence of the Lord and coming together with other Christians. I have missed Sam very much since his health failed and he was admitted into the Veteran's Hospital. Just before he was admitted to the Veteran's, one Sunday afternoon after church service on a ride back to Sam's place, we vowed to see each other in heaven. How edifying to hear Sam sing Amazing Grace, "I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind but now I see."
2 Corinthians 5:7-9 (King James Version)For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
Sam, look's like you made it. There's no pain. You can sing with the heavenly choir and be re-united with family and friends as you share words of praise and love to God from glory to glory.
We loved the Lord. He had been a pastor for many years. Lord, he fought his cancer so bravely for so long. The doctors had declared him near death's door over and over. He prayed and believed and lived victoriously praising the Lord and never missing church. Being blind, he needed a ride to church every Sunday and my wife would go and pick him up because I wasn't physically able to assist him along and into the vehicle. He played his guitar and sang every Sunday morning during the morning worship. He even went to the local hospital with us on Sunday afternoon to encourage the residents. He enjoyed the presence of the Lord and coming together with other Christians. I have missed Sam very much since his health failed and he was admitted into the Veteran's Hospital. Just before he was admitted to the Veteran's, one Sunday afternoon after church service on a ride back to Sam's place, we vowed to see each other in heaven. How edifying to hear Sam sing Amazing Grace, "I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind but now I see."
2 Corinthians 5:7-9 (King James Version)For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
Sam, look's like you made it. There's no pain. You can sing with the heavenly choir and be re-united with family and friends as you share words of praise and love to God from glory to glory.
Courage for Christ
A Sudanese Christian boy has his knees and feet nailed to a board and he is left to die. When rescued he says he forgives the man who did this because Jesus was also nailed and forgave him.
A Vietnamese pastor is sentenced to two years in prison. When he is offered an early release, he declines stating that he has a group of new Believers in the prison he has to disciple.
A Colombian missionary is kidnapped and told she only has two hours to live. She tells her captors that if she only has two hours to live, she wants to spend it telling them about Jesus.
A Vietnamese pastor is sentenced to two years in prison. When he is offered an early release, he declines stating that he has a group of new Believers in the prison he has to disciple.
A Colombian missionary is kidnapped and told she only has two hours to live. She tells her captors that if she only has two hours to live, she wants to spend it telling them about Jesus.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Courageous Walkers
Looking back, I've been privileged to meet some exceedingly extraordinary people who have immeasurably influenced the course of my own life and ministry. Most of them have not stood in the bright white lights of popularity and fame. In fact, most have names you've probably never heard. But they have been a special encouragement to me, nonetheless.
Interestingly, in my situation, those most heroic influencers, encouragers and purveyors of inspiration and resolve have been within the circle of my own family primarily. From my father, Harvey Braswell, now in heaven claimed by an unsolved homicide, and my mother, Iva Pearl who has nurtured me through times of great suffering, to my sister Carolyn Greene, possessor of a sceptor of righteousness, who has guided and encouraged my giftedness, my brother Gary Braswell, business entrepreneur par excellence of Braswell Galleries, who has backed me up through falls, physical and financial, and my younger sister Sandra Carlson, teacher who cares and dares to teach those with the greatest challenge to learning, she has been a rallying support for my wife and I in diverse ways. Carolyn, Gary and Sandra have been there for me at special times, critical points of interpersonal relational dynamic needs and seasons of gladness and sadness -- together with my devoted lovely wife Maureen of 20 years and sons Paul and Peter both sons who stand taller than I yet who walk courageously with me from day to day -- all in all-- there is something quite extraordinary within each of them that is a story deserving of full disclosure and telling-- a story of a family each of whom contain all those special qualities that comprise the extraordinary as celebrated out in the life of one somewhat insignificant person - a suffering child- Bruce ravaged by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis from age 2 who has matured into a little man- one who is small but mighty, small in stature, standing 4 feet tall yet mighty if spirit and faith and courage, thanks to God's extraordinary family saints.
Interestingly, in my situation, those most heroic influencers, encouragers and purveyors of inspiration and resolve have been within the circle of my own family primarily. From my father, Harvey Braswell, now in heaven claimed by an unsolved homicide, and my mother, Iva Pearl who has nurtured me through times of great suffering, to my sister Carolyn Greene, possessor of a sceptor of righteousness, who has guided and encouraged my giftedness, my brother Gary Braswell, business entrepreneur par excellence of Braswell Galleries, who has backed me up through falls, physical and financial, and my younger sister Sandra Carlson, teacher who cares and dares to teach those with the greatest challenge to learning, she has been a rallying support for my wife and I in diverse ways. Carolyn, Gary and Sandra have been there for me at special times, critical points of interpersonal relational dynamic needs and seasons of gladness and sadness -- together with my devoted lovely wife Maureen of 20 years and sons Paul and Peter both sons who stand taller than I yet who walk courageously with me from day to day -- all in all-- there is something quite extraordinary within each of them that is a story deserving of full disclosure and telling-- a story of a family each of whom contain all those special qualities that comprise the extraordinary as celebrated out in the life of one somewhat insignificant person - a suffering child- Bruce ravaged by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis from age 2 who has matured into a little man- one who is small but mighty, small in stature, standing 4 feet tall yet mighty if spirit and faith and courage, thanks to God's extraordinary family saints.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Courage is being able to say thank you for my hurting.
David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by him mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman's prognosis was devastating: "He has a 50-50 chance." The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain--the mother's ordeal can be almost as bad as the child's because she must stand by, unable to bear the pain herself. David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of his mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap--a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. "If it hurts, remember it's because he loves you," Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, "Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting."
Monica Dickens, Miracles of Courage, 1985.
Monica Dickens, Miracles of Courage, 1985.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Courage- A definition
COURAGE pronounced: kur'-aj:
Hebrew [~chazaq], "to show oneself strong" (see Numbers 13:20; 2 Samuel 10:12;
1 Chronicles 19:13; 2 Chronicles 15:8; Ezra 10:4; Psalms 27:14, 31:24; Isaiah 41:6)
Hebrew [~ruach], "spirit," "animus" (Joshua 2:11)
Hebrew [~'amats], "to be alert" (physically and mentally), "to be agile, quick, energetic" (Deuteronomy 31:6,7,23; Joshua 1:6,9,18; 10:25; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 28:20)
Hebrew [~lebhabh], "the heart," and figuratively, "person," "spirit" (Dan 11:25)
Greek [@tharsos], "cheer" (Acts 28:15).
A virtue highly esteemed among all nations, one of the four chief "natural" (cardinal) virtues (The Wisdom of Solomon 8:7), while cowardice ranks as one of the mortal sins (Ecclesiasticus 2:12,13; Revelations 21:8).
Hebrew [~chazaq], "to show oneself strong" (see Numbers 13:20; 2 Samuel 10:12;
1 Chronicles 19:13; 2 Chronicles 15:8; Ezra 10:4; Psalms 27:14, 31:24; Isaiah 41:6)
Hebrew [~ruach], "spirit," "animus" (Joshua 2:11)
Hebrew [~'amats], "to be alert" (physically and mentally), "to be agile, quick, energetic" (Deuteronomy 31:6,7,23; Joshua 1:6,9,18; 10:25; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 28:20)
Hebrew [~lebhabh], "the heart," and figuratively, "person," "spirit" (Dan 11:25)
Greek [@tharsos], "cheer" (Acts 28:15).
A virtue highly esteemed among all nations, one of the four chief "natural" (cardinal) virtues (The Wisdom of Solomon 8:7), while cowardice ranks as one of the mortal sins (Ecclesiasticus 2:12,13; Revelations 21:8).
Concentric Circles of Courage
As prayer requests pour in from all around, I happened upon a book in my library by W. Oscar Thompson, Jr. entitled "Concentric Circles of Concern" (Broadman Press, 1981) dealing with relational circles from the inner circle of self, to the next circle of immediate family, then a circle encompassing those of relatives, then close friends, then neighbors, then acquaintances, then person x. Oscar asserted that God holds us accountable for everyone who comes into our concentric circles.
Some have difficulty loving others but he notes that when Jesus becomes Lord of our lives, we must surrender forever the right to choose whom we will love. Oscar was a pastor and yes so am I. He battled cancer for years while writing his book and continuing in ministry until he went to be with the Lord. Surely, he was speaking from his personal experiences as he outlined love as meeting needs. We can show love to God by giving a cup of cold water and going the extra mile.
This model helps us to identify those whom we may reach and to think of points of contact. Let us begin here but press on. For when life's concerns press upon us all and upon many of our friends and relatives,so many in the various circles become burdened. Attempting to meet the needs of others may cause a backlash of emotional suffocation and lead to a spiraling vortex of focusing upon the pains and problems with diminishing effectiveness in prayer life. Perhaps a ploy of the evil one!
When adversity presses in, it is time to take a courageous walk with a brave heart directly to the points of need together in faith praying and believing for miracles. Where there are two or three gathered together in Jesus' name in overlapping circles of courage, there is Jesus in the midst. Where is the pain, where is the sorrow. In the divine presence, they are but a faint whisper. The tornado like funnel cloud vortex of circling problems dissipates, the wind reverses and brings a fresh breeze of healing, wholeness, peace and joy emanating from outward extending waves generated by overlapping circles of courage. May you feel the wave of courageous faith warriors praying for you, reaching out to you in Chrislikeness?
Some have difficulty loving others but he notes that when Jesus becomes Lord of our lives, we must surrender forever the right to choose whom we will love. Oscar was a pastor and yes so am I. He battled cancer for years while writing his book and continuing in ministry until he went to be with the Lord. Surely, he was speaking from his personal experiences as he outlined love as meeting needs. We can show love to God by giving a cup of cold water and going the extra mile.
This model helps us to identify those whom we may reach and to think of points of contact. Let us begin here but press on. For when life's concerns press upon us all and upon many of our friends and relatives,so many in the various circles become burdened. Attempting to meet the needs of others may cause a backlash of emotional suffocation and lead to a spiraling vortex of focusing upon the pains and problems with diminishing effectiveness in prayer life. Perhaps a ploy of the evil one!
When adversity presses in, it is time to take a courageous walk with a brave heart directly to the points of need together in faith praying and believing for miracles. Where there are two or three gathered together in Jesus' name in overlapping circles of courage, there is Jesus in the midst. Where is the pain, where is the sorrow. In the divine presence, they are but a faint whisper. The tornado like funnel cloud vortex of circling problems dissipates, the wind reverses and brings a fresh breeze of healing, wholeness, peace and joy emanating from outward extending waves generated by overlapping circles of courage. May you feel the wave of courageous faith warriors praying for you, reaching out to you in Chrislikeness?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
