Mark Spruill – Page 21 – Various stuff from the life of J. Mark Spruill

Meeting Places

Dec 202011

Marshall and I met for lunch last week. We work in opposite directions from home, so we had to work out a plan to meet somewhere halfway between. We did, and had a wonderful lunch. Turns out, by just driving about 15 minutes, we could spend the next 45 minutes together. It was so worth it.

As we sat down with our Chick-fil-A sandwich, Marshall said the prayer, a short prayer, thanking God for the food and places “in the middle” where we could meet to eat together. It was a simple phrase, but something about it rang true. Thank God for places in the middle. Places where we go toward one another and meet. It reminded me of the McDonalds in Shepardsville, KY. As we drove home from Ohio this past Thanksgiving, I pointed it out to my adult children. It took them a minute, but when I reminded them of the meetings there, they smiled. When Jacque was small and we lived in Nashville, we would meet the grandparents there, eat a hamburger, and hand over a kid for a summer week with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a place in the middle.

Places in the middle are special. They are the places where we meet others. The places where we meet friends and family. The places where two angry, hurt hearts meet for forgiveness. The places where people from opposite directions can come together. Two ends can meet in the middle. Unless, one end is God and the other is me. In that case, He came all the way to a manger in Bethlehem. He comes all the way, knowing I could never make it even half way to Him. All I have to do is turn around and He is there.

Like a Good Neighbor . . .

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Dec 102011

There is a well known insurance company that advertises their neighborly business model. They claim that like a good neighbor, they are there when you need them. However, I think it is mostly hype. It has been my experience that they were NOT there when I needed them. The incident occurred many years ago in Athens, Georgia. We needed help. They provided none.

This blog post is not about what happened. Someday, I may write about that. This post is about neighborliness. Seven of us were stuck in Athens one Saturday night because of a car problem. A BIG car problem. We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know how to get home to Duluth. There were no rental car places open. A taxi ride from Athens to Duluth would be crazy. We called our insurance company. They basically said, “There is nothing we can do right now. Have your car towed to the nearest facility and call us in the morning.”

Our insurance company was not “there” when we needed them, but fortunately for us, someone else was. Someone else who had attended the same event heard of our predicament, and stepped up. “We’re going in that same general direction you need to go,” they said. “We have a big vehicle that can carry you all. We’ll take you home.” So they did. It was out of their way a bit, but they took all seven of us home, squished in an old SUV. I was so grateful. The next day, we ordered a gift to be sent to them.

I have never seen or heard from them since that night. I don’t remember their name. I don’t remember where they lived. I don’t know anything about them, other than the fact that when I needed it most, they were there. They were, and always will be to me, a good neighbor.

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
            – Luke 10:25-29   Check out the whole story in Luke 10:25-37

Thresholds

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Nov 302011

Tammy was in a small accident this morning. She was sitting at a stop sign when a young lady in a car bumped into the rear of Tammy’s van. There was no damage to the van, but the other lady received a small crinkle on her bumper and, according to her, a “ruined day.” Nobody was hurt. Nobody lost their driver’s license. Nobody even got a ticket, but the lady declared her day ruined. Tammy assured the tearful young lady it would be OK. There was no cause for a ruined day. After more reassurance and a hug, they each went their separate ways, not even knowing each others name.

When Tammy first told me the story, I thought how I might have reacted had my bumper been crinkled. I think Tammy is right. A slightly crinkled bumper does not constitute a ruined day. A lost job maybe. A report of cancer probably. The death of someone close, surely. But a crinkle in a bumper? It would seem this young lady must have her “ruined day threshold” set pretty low. The whole story has me taking a closer look at my own day-status meter. I am thinking of bumping the ruined day threshold up a couple of notches. Why not? The higher my ruined day threshold, the more good days I am likely to live.

Who Prays for Me?

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Nov 212011

Preparing for my next trip to Haiti, I am impressed with the topic of communication with God. It is something I need to learn more about. This approach seems to work pretty well. God shows me something I need to learn and I share my learning experience with others. That said, I invite anyone reading here to chime in with your thoughts on the subject. You can reply to posts, or add replies to the Haiti retreat page I have created. Today’s case-in-point is the following.

I have often been taught that we should pray for others. In fact, there are many places in scripture where we are taught that we should. But somehow I have gotten the impression that praying for myself is selfish. That it should be “saved for last,” keeping God and others top priority in my prayers. I think that may be wrong. Jesus was asked how we should pray, so he gave an example. The first part of the sample prayer was recognizing the greatness of God. The rest of the prayer was all about . . . me. Sure the prayer says “us,” but I am certainly one of “us.” Give us our daily bread. Forgive us our sins. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil.

As another example: In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus takes some disciples with him to prepare for the cross that is ahead. He asks them to pray. If it were me about to go through an ordeal, I would be saying “Boys, you guys pray for me! Pray hard! Pray loud! Ask God to deliver me from this trial!” Instead, he tells them to pray for themselves. Pray that they won’t “enter into temptation.”

So, here’s my thesis: Praying for others won’t do much good unless my relationship with God is right. Therefore, humbly pray for myself first, then I will be able to pray more effectively for others.

If I am wrong on this, please pray in your prayers that God will set me straight. I will certainly be praying the same . . . for myself. 😉

See Mathew 6:5-15, Luke 22:39-40

Why do Crickets Chirp?

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Nov 152011

When I walked by the kitchen counter last night, the crickets were chirping. Yes, there are crickets on my kitchen counter. They are destined to be food for the lizard that sets next to them. Their fate is at hand, yet some of them sing. I figure they could be doing one of three things in that cage: 1) They could be blissfully unaware of their fate, so they sing out of ignorance. 2) They could be quietly cowering in the corner, trying to escape or deny their fate. 3)They could know their fate, yet sing anyway.

I vote for option 1 or 3. Regardless the fate, it’s better to sing.

A Few Words From Jude

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Nov 122011

I found this while studying for my next Haiti trip. When I read it out loud, it makes my heart do flips.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
– Jude 1:24-25 NASB

Waking Up

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Nov 082011

Last night I dreamed I was a thief. I helped someone steal some building materials. We didn’t get caught, but I felt so guilty I was miserable. I wanted to confess, but I was afraid. It was a nightmare. Guilt was killing me . . . then I woke up. I was so relieved. The guilt was gone. It was all a dream. I wonder, is that how the criminal on the cross felt when he woke up to spend his first day in Paradise?

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
– Luke 23:39-43

Mounds of Trouble

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Oct 272011

Fire ants are a part of life in Georgia. If you have never experienced them, then all you are missing is a dirt mound full of the meanest, biten’est, hurten’est, most aggressive little insects that ever lived! And unfortunately, they are all over Georgia. You find them just about anywhere there is dirt. They build huge mounds for their nest, which they defend ferociously, as anybody who has ever stepped on one can confirm.

A fire ant hill in our yard

Sam and I were walking down the sidewalk this past Sunday and just as we got to the end, spotted a fire ant hill. “Can I step on it?” Sam asked. “Sure.” I said. It was not my usual response. I usually prefer not to stir them up. Keeping them all happy and content in the mound makes it much easier to poison them all later. But these ants at the end of the trail were in “no man’s land,” so we both stirred them up and watched them come pouring out of the mound looking for something to attack.

As we walked away from the havoc we had created, I wondered why it was so fun to stir up an ant nest. Step on them. Kick the nest. Poke a stick in the mound. Watch them pour out to defend the nest. Why stir up trouble? Was it malice? Was it revenge for all the past ant bites? Did it stem from a twisted desire to make life more difficult for another living creature? Or perhaps it was a desire to show myself superior to the poor little ants? It could be some of all of these reasons, but I think for me, it’s mostly just curiosity. One of the first questions that pops in my mind when I see the ant mound is, “Is anybody home?” Give the mound a little kick; see the inhabitants come swarming out. “Yep. They’re in there.”

If you think about it, the whole ant mound incident is a little like the story of Job. Job was all happy in his big wealthy ant hill when along comes Satan asking God if he can kick the mound. God gives him the OK, so he kicks it. Stirs it up. Pokes a big stick right in the middle of Job’s mound of comfort zone. Now Satan and God stand back to watch what comes pouring out.

Satan expects a swarm of resentment and hate to spill out all over everything. “Curse God and die” is the stinging bite he assumes to elicit. What he gets instead is “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Not at all what Satan expected to be in the Job mound. But God wasn’t surprised. He knew exactly what lived inside the center of that Job mound, and precisely what would happen when Satan stirred it.

God knows what’s in every mound. Satan, on the other hand, does not. And unfortunately, he is still in the business of stirring up trouble wherever he can. We build our little “me” mounds and ready ourselves to defend them ferociously. Satan comes along and kicks the dirt around so he can watch what happens. He wants to know what’s inside. The real question is, if Satan comes messing with the “me” mound, what comes pouring out? Stinging, biting hurt? Or the Holy Spirit of God? When he kicks the nest, checking to see if anybody is home, what will he find? Will he cackle with delight at the chaos his hardship caused? Or will God smile while a defeated Satan backs away mumbling, “Yep, HE’s in there.”

And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
– Mark 7:20-23

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
– Romans 8:11-14

Elite Travellers

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Oct 182011

Whenever I travel by air, I fight a tinge of I-don’t-know-what while waiting to board the plane. The gate attendant announces for the “elite” travellers to board first. They march right past the rest of us second class travelers and board the plane at will, zipping through the “priority lane” while the rest of us wait in line, jocking for position until our number is finally called. I make fun of their aloofness, but I think it’s just a pitiful attempt to mask the envy.

How dare they be better than me. I wanna be elite. I wanna be first. And that, I think, is near the heart of the matter. Not just for me, but for most of the people on the planet.

10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 10:36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 10:37 They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” 10:38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?” 10:39 They said to him, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience, 10:40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

10:41 Now when the other ten heard this, they became angry with James and John. 10:42 Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 10:43 But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 10:44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
— Mark 10:35-45 Netbible.org

Fire Trucks, Cars, and Traffic

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Oct 132011

While sitting in a parking lot, I just watched a fire truck scream by on the road in front of me. I heared it comming from way up the street. The distracted drivers in the busy traffic did not hear and respond immediately, but eventually they parted a bit disjointedly as the fire truck weaved its way through them. It passed by and then, even before the siren scream had hardly begun to fade, the cars moved back into their lane and continued their busy pace. Within 30 seconds, traffic was moving at business-as-usual speed.

Still, the fire truck was going somewhere in a hurry. Somewhere down the road is a person in trouble. I wonder who it is?

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