Chuck Roots
21 August 2017
www.chuckroots.com
Blessing in Disguise
Sunday morning, I was preaching at
the Oasis Christian Fellowship in Pleasant Hill, about an hour’s drive from
Ripon. My friend and fellow pastor in the Free Methodist denomination, Rob
Baker, invited me to come and share with his congregation. I readily accepted.
Pastor Rob has been there quite a
number of years, bringing an infectious energy that is contagious when you are
in his presence. His congregation is an eclectic bunch covering the spectrum of
Americans of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, ages, disabilities, and diversity
of spiritual journeys. Isaura and I came away convinced that we had been
blessed by these folks more than any words I shared from the pulpit.
Music is one of Rob’s loves, having
written many worship songs in the contemporary genre of church music. I have
had a few of his CDs for the past several years. The congregation is lively and
very loving. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes after Isaura and I
walked in that we were approached by John. We were sitting in the back row,
listening to the worship team practice. This was twenty minutes prior to the
service starting. I always plan to be at a speaking/preaching engagement well
ahead of time so as not to be a concern to the person who has invited me,
wondering, “Is he coming?”
So, anyway, John comes up beside my
chair and says “Hi. Welcome to Oasis!” I stood up to greet him, reaching for
his extended hand. I immediately noticed that he was holding a white stick in
his other hand. His sunglasses confirmed his blindness. We chatted a bit, explaining
that he had lost his vision six years earlier due to diabetes. At this point he
introduced his wife, Dalia, who was sitting across the way. She gave us a big smile
and waved. I walked over to shake her hand, only to realize that she was
confined to a wheel chair. The way she was seated told me her legs were of no
use to her.
This encounter made a profound
impression on me. Here Isaura and I were, fully mobile with all of our senses
in operational mode. Yet John and Dalia extended themselves, despite their
physical limitations, by warmly welcoming us into their fellowship. And they
were at the church well before the service was to begin, no doubt seeking to be
a blessing to someone, as they were to us. They simply could not have been more
gracious. It set the tone for the rest of our time with these folks at Oasis.
I next approached the audio/video
guy, Daniel, to ask if he could put some passages of Scripture up on the screen
during my sermon. He assured me that he could and had it loaded up in a couple
of minutes. As I watched his dexterity with the computer, envying his prowess,
I suddenly paid a bit more attention to what he was doing. It was then that I
noticed his arms and hands did not work naturally. His elbows were splayed,
with fingers pointing in awkward directions. But he never missed a bit in
accomplishing his task.
After several rousing songs of
worship, Pastor Rob asked if anyone had something for which they would like to praise
God. Normally, in most churches I’ve been in, an awkward moment of silence is
uncomfortably endured until someone offers a praise. Not at Oasis! My goodness,
these folks were sharing answers to prayer, thanking God for others in the
congregation who had been praying for them during serious illness, or offering
to help one another. This must have gone on unabated for at least twenty
minutes at which point Pastor Rob brought that part of the service to a close.
I was so enjoying this blessing that I was somewhat chagrined that it had to
end.
I was introduced by Pastor Rob in his
typical tongue-in-cheek tomfoolery concerning my military service, travels
around the world, and other nonsense which his congregation thoroughly enjoyed.
Stepping up to the pulpit, I remarked that I was going to ignore his
disparaging remarks. After all, he referred to me as an ex-Marine! As everyone
should know, there are no ex-Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine. The congregation
took delight in this bit of repartee between us.
The Scripture I used was taken from
Ephesians 6:10-20, which describes how any follower of Jesus must put on the
whole armor of God. Why? Because we are “not fighting against flesh and blood,
but against spiritual forces.” I concluded by reminding these dear people that
God has equipped us to do spiritual battle by providing us with two weapons; God’s
Word (the Bible), and prayer.
After the service, Isaura and I went
to lunch with a lady (and her son) who used to attend the Ripon Free Methodist
Church when I was the pastor. She now attends Oasis. We spent the time getting
caught up on each other’s comings and goings, all while consuming delightful
Chinese cuisine. I had sweet and sour pork. Yum!
To top off the day, late in the
afternoon, I picked up Alyssa, my nine-year-old granddaughter, and took her
golfing at Spring Creek. She has become quite the golfer, hitting the ball well
over one hundred yards from the tee. That sure does my heart good to see her
enjoying this sport which we can play together. I am truly blessed.
Have a great week! And look for God’s
blessings! You might just be surprised!
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