When I Say…

Many of my Christian friends send emails that aggravate me. Oh, in their mind, they are passing along something they feel is inspirational or uplifting… and it often is. The aggravating part is that they seldom (read: NEVER) bother to check out what they send, verify the source, or remove the ubiquitous email wrapper that usually contains a false lead-in and concludes with a call to send the message on to everyone you care about.

Today, the email was to let me know that it is Christian Person Week.

Officially, THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

What followed that false statement was an unaccredited poem that turned out to be originally written by Carol Wimmer. Part of the reason that the original author of the email did not give Carol credit for her beautiful poem is that the anonymous email author changed just about every line of Carol’s poem! Here is Carol’s poem in its original form:

When I say, “I am a Christian”

by Carol Wimmer - Copyright 1988

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved!”
I’m whispering, “I get lost!
That’s why I chose this way”

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble -
needing God to be my guide

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed
and cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
asking humbly to be taught

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are far too visible
but God believes I’m worth it

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache
which is why I seek His name

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority
I only know I’m loved


On her site, Carol explains the history of her poem:

My heart was heavy as I wrote the poem, When I say, “I am a Christian.” The year was 1988. I had begun to sense an increasing societal resentment toward the attitude of self-righteousness that has been adopted by so many Christians. I knew such behavior was and is a perversion of Christianity. Thus the sentiment of the poem was born out of my personal awareness of this perversion and the heartache it can cause in our pluralistic society.

I jotted down my thoughts with an inner determination to define the Christian spirit as I wished to experience it. The resulting words formed a reflection of my own beliefs and the reputation I hoped to secure for myself. Four years later, I sent the poem to 5 different publishers. As a result of its first publication in 1992, someone placed the poem on the Internet where it miraculously began taking on a life of its own.

From Manila to South Africa; Australia to Singapore; Finland to Bahrain—I’ve received e-mails from people all over the world who express a common desire to walk humbly with God. Therefore I owe a sincere “Thank You” to the unknown person who originally posted the poem on the Internet and the countless number of readers who have subsequently passed this simple expression on to others.

Used with permission; Carol Wimmer.

For more information about Carol, she has a web site at:

                http://carolwimmer.com/

How do YOU say: “I am a Christian”?

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Fortune Teller

Several of my friends have discovered an online app (application, for the uninitiated) called: Fortune Teller. It’s a humorous app that ties into Facebook, and predicts… where you will be in 20 years. I’m pretty sure that all MY friends are intelligent enough to realize that this online, social media predictor of their future is no more accurate than, say… a spiritualist, a card reader, or Magic Eight Ball. Depending on how you respond to the app, it will predict that you will be:  

• A millionaire;
• Locked up;
• Divorced;
• Famous;
• Pregnant… AGAIN?!?

You get the idea. It made me chuckle, and it certainly elicits some interesting responses in Facebook… as people either agree, or disagree with the prediction. Hahahaha! Often they offer up their own counter-prediction. But that’s kind of what these types of apps are designed to do: not actually predict anything, but generate comments, discussions, and dialog.

 

Now, I’m not promoting this particular app; quite the contrary! I never personally used the app, since it takes you to an unsecure site, requires that you grant it access to your Facebook account, and hence, gains access to all of your Facebook information. Like many apps of this type, it may be perfectly innocuous, but I rarely place my computer at risk… at least not knowingly.

 

But it did get me thinking. Where will I be in the future? I’m old enough that I can consider the prospect of NOT living forever. What will MY eternity be like? Well, I have a prediction.

 

My prediction stems from my inviting Christ into my life, and from allowing Jesus to strengthen my faith… even in my weakness. My prediction comes from spending time in God’s Word and with God’s people and hearing the promise that the creator and sustainer of the universe loves me. KNOWING THAT, my prediction is:

 

God willing, I'll be touring the nebula, star systems, black holes, and other amazing astronomical phenomenon of the universe. I wonder... do you think Sagan, Einstein, or da Vinci lead tours or workshops? I mean, how much time can you spend in the mansion… no matter how nice? But who knows? An app? 

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”  -- 1 Corinthians 13:12 King James Version (KJV)

 

What does your eternity look like? I may not really be able to predict mine, but I do know… that through Jesus… I will come to the Father. And THAT… will be glorious!

 

Your brother in Christ,

 

Dave

Only a Man

Thank you, God.

Do I tell you that enough, Lord? Probably not... definitely not! Do I come to you in prayer enough? Talk with you? Share with you? Lay my burdens down at your feet? Again… probably not… definitely not!

Thank you, Lord, for friends that share their heart, their lives, their delights, and their music with us on Facebook. They plant seeds without trying, they melt icy hearts without design, and they spread the Gospel message of God’s great love without any theological training or ideology.

Thank you, Jesus, for coming into my life. Thank you for enriching it with a continual blessing of friends who reflect your love and encouragement. Specifically, for this, thank you for the enduring faith and beautiful talent of Stacey Baltes, the Facebook video of zanna726, and the talent and voice of Jonny Lang.

When I tend to overthink and complicate things, to worry about what to say and how to witness, thank you for reminding me of the simplicity of the words of Jesus: “Just follow me.”

Thank you for not giving up on ANY of us. Thank you for continuing to call out to me… moment by moment.

Thank you, God!

Dave