What's Happ'nin' & Who Dunnit!
By Harold Hendrick

 

             Michael Anders of St. Louis had been known as “Boogie” since childhood.  Along the way, Boogie developed an interesting sideline to finance his compulsive gambling habit.  He robbed St. Louis banks.  He got away with his first job, but got caught following his second, and was sent to federal prison in Springfield.

            While in prison Boogie heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, received the Savior into his life in a very personal way, and, of course, was saved in the highest biblical sense.  Seeing the change in his life, fellow inmates gave him the nickname he carries today…”Brother Boogie.”

            Following his radical life change, his repentance became evident rather quickly. Boogie called his lawyer with instruction in two areas. “Change my plea from innocent to guilty,” he directed. “Why?” the lawyer questioned. “Because I’m guilty,’ Boogie responded. The second point had to do with thousands of dollars found in Boogie’s possession that he claimed had come from gambling winnings.  The authorities said that the money in question was from the bank robbery. “Change my claim about the money being from my gambling winnings,” he told his lawyer. “Why?” “Because it really is money I got from the bank robbery.”

            Brother Boogie is now back in St. Louis in a very fine prison ministry.  In seeking support for it, he applied for a ministry grant … from the last bank he robbed.  On the application form he noted that he had previously robbed their bank! He received the ministry grant from that bank!

            Boogie very effectively tells his story, and will share it with your group if asked. You can reach Boogie by calling (314) 605-7173.

 

            McDonald Restaurants…that uniquely Middle Eastern institution?  Three-year-old granddaughter Moriah enjoys her occasional visits to McDonalds where she lives in the Middle East.  Shortly after returning to the USA, David mentioned as a mealtime option that the family might visit McDonalds.  Moriah apparently thought that her father was teasing.  With much expression she responded, “Daddy…you know they don’t have McDonalds in America!”

            In further acquainting her with important parts of St. Louis culture, her mother told Moriah that they were going out (to her first St. Louis Cardinals baseball game) and asked if she knew where they were headed. “To root….root…root for the Cardinals…” was her answer.  (Her “Gammy” Joan had taught her the words to “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” on our recent visit to the Middle East.)

 

             David, Cortland, and the girls are currently on medical stateside assignment because of Cortland’s history of premature labor. I have asked David and Cortland to share with you what I thought was a very moving analysis that they recently shared with a friend who was interested in their perspective on the conflict in Iraq:

 

Who is God For Anyway?

            When Joshua and the army of Israel were about to take Jericho he came upon a man with a drawn sword and the question Joshua posed to him was, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" (Joshua 5:13)  The response of the "man" was, "Neither."  The man then declared he was “the commander of the army of the Lord” and adjusted Joshua's perspective on the battle before him. 

            As believers we have been given a certain position in Christ.  This position supercedes any vocation, ethnic background, or even citizenship.  When this angel announced the arrival of God’s troops onto the scene (let us not forget that God’s people in the army of Israel were already there) he was reminding Joshua there were two conflicts taking place -- one physical and the other spiritual.  God’s forces were present to ensure that victory would come in both arenas.

            It’s right to love being American.  Praise God that He made this, the greatest country in the history of the world, our earthly home.  But our real citizenship is in heaven.  According to

I Peter, I am to be an alien and stranger in the world and to be part of a "holy nation" and a people belonging to God.  This doesn't mean that I don't pay my taxes or that I don't love the biblical principles upon which our great country was founded.  It does mean, however, that I need to work to have God's perspective of the world.  That means understanding that as important as it is that the nation of America is being used to maintain order and justice in the world, it is even more important to be a part of a "royal priesthood" that is used to advance God's Kingdom.  Most of the watching world will not recognize a military victory alone as being from God.  But if that happens along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis receiving Christ, few could deny that something truly supernatural had taken place.

            It is often preached in America that patriotism is next to godliness but the two are, more accurately, mutually exclusive.  I find it unlikely that when we get to heaven that God would ask us, "How much did you love America?" However, we would be wise to anticipate His asking, "How faithful were you to fulfilling my Great Commission?" 

            God can use military conflict to glorify Himself—we see this in Scripture and throughout history.  But the issue we have to keep at the forefront of our minds is that this doesn't happen by wrestling against flesh and blood.  The spiritual battle, which rages on unseen, is the one that we should be paying the most attention to.

            So what do we as His Body do?  Let’s begin by praying for much more than just what affects us directly here in America.  Why not recruit a million people to pray for the real liberation of millions of Iraqis through contact with the Gospel?  Often, because the Gospel is so readily available here, we forget that most Iraqis have never even had to make a decision about the religion of Islam -- they were born into that religion and that’s all they have been exposed to. But, many are truly seeking God.  We pray that they would have an opportunity to hear about Jesus as He is revealed in the Bible.

            Perhaps the greatest exhortation of the angel of God to Joshua was to give worship to

God.  Whatever else our response is, it should include this as the priority.  Acceptable worship, as revealed to us in Romans 12:1-2 is the offering of ourselves (body, mind, and soul) to God, to use however He sees fit.  Let’s start there. 

            Remember, faithfulness to God doesn’t begin by loving Muslims.  It ends there.  God loves them, and through our love for Him and our willingness to do whatever He would ask, a change in our hearts is sure to follow and bring Him the glory He deserves.

 

 

Harold Hendrick is a minister at large in the St. Louis area, Director of Public Affairs for Christian radio station KSIV, and talk show host of "Encounter" aired Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 3 p.m. on KSIV AM 1320.