Hi everyone, just a sad, quick update. A few weeks ago I mentioned Molly, a little 7-year-old warrior fighting for her life in the hospital. I’m very sad to report that this morning she passed from this life into the next.
God was gracious, and even though it’s been very difficult, I consider myself blessed to have been able to follow her story. In their updates, the family mentioned that every time they put out an urgent call for prayer, there was an improvement in Molly’s condition a short time later. An army of prayer warriors did what they could, but in the end, God wanted Molly in Heaven more than he wanted her here.
Please pray for the Ingram family, who, I have to imagine, is shattered, exhausted, confused, and has been focused on nothing else for the past month or so and now has to deal with the insulting reality that the world continues to turn even though their lives have been turned upside-down. Molly leaves behind a Mom, Dad, and little sister Sunny.
Molly, for those of us who trust in Christ as Savior, we’ll see you on the other side; it just hurts that we have to wait until then. Thanks for touching so many lives.
Lord Jesus, we don’t understand, but we know you’re good. May your name be praised, and may you bring good out of this somehow.
For additional info, please see Molly’s Belly Blog on Facebook. (You’ll have to request access, but it shouldn’t be an issue.) Also feel free to check out the Team Ingram Blood Donation Group in honor of Molly.
The most recent Belly Blog entry breaking the tough news from her dad, Cam:
5-Jul, 5:55AM (Hour 0)
Molly Alice Ingram was met at the heavenly gates by Jesus, who took her in his arms and said “well done, my good and faithful child.”
In the military, especially in units that operate fighter aircraft, there’s something called a “show of force.” This is a tactic that was used a lot in Iraq and Afghanistan early in our military’s operations in those countries. A show of force is when a very maneuverable plane gets low to the ground, goes full throttle, and flies as close as possible past the enemy on the ground.
If you’re on the
receiving end, this tactic is not something that will physically affect you;
there are no shots fired and there’s typically no ordnance dropped. If you’re
unaccustomed to sudden loud noises, though, it’s something that will make you
wet your pants. The idea behind a show of forces is simply to make you cower in
fear and, at least for a little while, make you stop doing what you were doing
while you question your life decisions.
A few years back I
experienced a spiritual show of force. I had been working for a few weeks to
prepare a talk for a group at church. To use another military analogy, to “red-team”
something means to examine your own capabilities/facilities from the
perspective of the enemy, taking the opportunity to uncover weaknesses and
vulnerabilities. For the talk I had been preparing, I focused on “red-teaming
humanity” from the perspective of Satan and his fallen angels. If you’re
familiar with C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape
Letters, it was kind of like that, but delivered in the form of a
brief/presentation.
At first I thought it
was a cool idea. It was neat to gauge Humanity’s collective spiritual weaknesses.
The problem was that to do it effectively, you have to think like you’re a
member of the bad guys’ team, and that becomes uncomfortable and even troubling
to do for an extended period of time when you have Christ living in you. As the
time drew near for me to present the project, I was excited to share what I had
prepared, but I was very eager to be done with it.
I know I’m jumping all
over the place and mixing metaphors, but I need to throw another one at you.
Imagine you’re on a professional football team, and somehow your team gets hold
of your opponent’s playbook. You’d be ecstatic, but if the other team found
out, they’d do just about anything to keep you from exploiting it. I had put
together a brief that was going to show some of the basic strategies from the
Devil’s playbook. I even thought “you know, leading up to this brief, it wouldn’t
be surprising if I had some sort of experience that was a little outside the
norm.”
I had no idea at the
time, but I was spot on. Less than a week before I was to give the talk, I
experienced the show of force.
I was at a gas station,
getting my car inspected. There was a spot inside the gas station where people
could hang out while their cars were in the garage. I was sitting there, doing
stuff on my phone, when the door opened and someone walked in. I didn’t look
up, but I heard a woman start speaking strangely. I assumed two people had
walked in, or that she was speaking to someone nearby. There are a lot of
weirdos around, so I didn’t look up; I assumed she was speaking to someone she
knew. Still looking at my phone, I was surprised when she reached down and
touched my arm. I was startled to look up and see her staring down at me with a
pretty intense look.
She seemed a little bit
like she wasn’t playing with a full deck, if you know what I mean. I don’t even
remember what she said next, but I totally blew her off. She walked past me and
sat down on a chair behind me.
I wasn’t sure what to
make of the whole situation, but as I refocused on whatever I was doing on my
phone, I started thinking about some of our pastor’s main themes of his
then-current series: don’t stay silent; engage.
I kind of worked my way up to it, then turned to face this woman. I was caught off guard to see that she wasn’t sitting like a normal person. She was sort of sliding off the chair, rigid, with both arms stretched behind her unnaturally and her head tilted far back.
I plowed ahead anyway.
I asked her about one of the strange words I remembered her saying. Thus began
a bizarre encounter that I don’t even remember very much of. I do remember that
without me giving any indication of my spiritual beliefs, she started ripping
on Jesus Christ pretty hard. She behaved very unnaturally and aggressively
tried to persuade me that Christianity was false and misleading.
This went on for a few
minutes, and I can’t even tell you how glad I was when the guy told me that my
car was ready. I didn’t even care whether it passed or failed; I popped up out
of my seat and started walking his way. The woman suddenly became very adamant
about touching my hand. “Let me shake your hand.” I declined, and she extended
her hand quite urgently, saying “I need to touch you.” I later recounted these
events to my pastor, and when I asked him what that part was all about, he
explained that some people believe they can transfer spirits from one person to
another by touching. Now, because God only allows demonic forces to go so far,
I don’t think that would have been a concern, but let me tell you…I had
absolutely no problem skipping out of there without saying a cordial goodbye.
Friends, I don’t know
if this has occurred to you, but we’re in a war. There’s a whole lot out there
that our senses cannot perceive. Looking at the last 10, 20, or 30 years, it
seems like the dark forces are the ones making all the moves and all the noise
(has our country moved toward or away from Christianity during that time?). To
use another metaphor, imagine there’s a fire that needs to be put out, and that
God’s Holy Spirit takes the form of a nearby lake. The water to extinguish that
fire is present, but without something the Holy Spirit can fill, a vessel of
some sort (Christians), the water does nothing to fight the fire. Please don’t
misunderstand me; I’m not
saying that God is powerless without us, but I am saying that He chooses to
work through us. When we allow
God to work through us, we become that cup, that jug, that bucket, or that fire
hose that gets filled with the Holy Spirit and gets to have a front-row seat
when God fights the fire. Are you going to be a part of something big when God
invites you along to strike at the powers of darkness, or are you going to put
your feet up and watch TV?
Here’s part of one of
my favorite Bible stories from the Old Testament. When an enemy king and his
army tried to attack Israel, God spoke through the prophet Elisha to warn the
Israelite king, who was then able to effectively counter the enemy’s moves multiple
times. Naturally, this frustrated the enemy king, and he wanted to capture
Elisha to increase his chances of success. The most exciting part of the story is
the perspective of Elisha’s servant:
One
of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in
Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So
he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was
told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” He sent horses and chariots and a
great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and
gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And
his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered,
“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened
the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire all around Elisha.
-2 Kings 6:12-17
There’s more going on
than what you can see. You’re smack dab in the middle of a war. While it’s very
important to have a sober respect for the enemy’s power, don’t be put off by a
show of force. Ask that God “fill this vessel,” and that you have the boldness
to live out your faith and your calling. When you do, there’s no telling how
God will use you to fight the enemy’s fire.
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. -1 John 4:4
My wife is one of four
sisters, and each one of them is married with kids. The four families are
spread out across the country, but when we can make it happen, it’s fun to get
together.
A few times in the
past, after most of the kids go down for the night, the parents have pulled out
board games. It usually ends up that the teams get split into husbands vs.
wives. The hubbies are able to squeak out wins in some games, but the wives are
freakishly dominant when it comes to Pictionary.
I don’t know what it
is; maybe all that time spent together as kids developed some kind of shared
consciousness or something. It’s actually embarrassing to be on the other team.
One of the sisters will be halfway into drawing a stick figure when another one
shouts “ooh, ooooh…the Berlin Wall!” “YES! You got it!” Or one of them might
draw a circle, and a half second later two of them will simultaneously yell “an
apple a day keeps the doctor away!” After that the artist excitedly points at
them and shouts “Yes, that’s it!”
Team Hubby just sits
there bewildered, looking at the drawing, then at each other. The ladies are
either extremely good at cheating and not letting us find out about it, or they
benefit from a collection of minds that are on the same wavelength, with a
singular focus and common understanding.
Oddly enough, that’s
sometimes how Christianity works. I love hearing stories about how God weaves lives together to benefit one
or more of them. Believers (and even unbelievers) become answers to urgent
prayers. Complete strangers walk up to someone and, prompted only by the Holy
Spirit, hand over money that the recipient desperately needed. Collectively, people
employ their different spiritual gifts or use their various resources to
achieve improbable or unique feats.
At times Christians work
together without any earthly coordination. Something from your devotions
combines with a “random” song on the radio and something you read (maybe even
this blog!) to result in a message that’s being shouted at the hearer.
The hearer asks “what
does this mean?” Well, if you’re the one hearing it, you’re the one that’s in
the best position to make sense of it. Continue praying and seeking God’s
guidance for your life. Not just once or twice more, but each day, multiple
times a day, and He will eventually make it clear. Once He does, act on it.
It’s your ticket to being a part of the freakishly dominant team.
PS – No, we don’t play
Pictionary at family events anymore. The wives see that Team Hubby is getting
bent out of shape, so they let us win other stuff and act like we won through
our raw talent.
I’ve got three kids.
I’ve had my share of seeing one or more of them knowing that they ought to tell me something, even though they
don’t want to.
You can see the nervous fidgeting, their eyes looking anywhere but at you, and you know right away that the longer they take to tell you, the worse the irreversible damage might be somewhere. Did they flush something weird down the toilet and now it’s clogged and overflowing all over the floor? Did they pick up a fish from the fishbowl and accidentally drop it on the floor? Did they accidentally hurt their brother or sister, who now needs help in a hurry?
Your mind goes crazy
thinking about all the things that could
be wrong, and all you want to do is find out the truth so you can take
immediate action if you need to. As the kiddo stands there, searching for the
right way to break the news to Dad, it’s maddening to see them slow down even
further, hinting at things to gauge how Dad reacts to different approaches. On
the inside you’re screaming “just TELL me already!”, but you know that will
stall the truth even more, so you have to cover any appearance of urgency and
gently coax it out of them without looking mad.
Have you ever been in a
situation like that? All you want is the truth. It might be at the doctor’s
office after some test results come back. You see them start to hem and haw,
uncertain about the best way to deliver the news. All the uncertainty you’ve
been wrestling with has created more anxiety, and all you want to do is yell
“just TELL me already!”
Have you ever felt that
way on a grander scale? Not just for a blip during your past, but over a much
longer span of time. You’ve had your ups and downs, but it feels like there
ought to be more. Maybe you have a nice family, a nice house, you even have a
great career, but it still feels like something’s missing, or that you’re waiting
for the other shoe to drop. What’s this life all about? You don’t even care how
it’s going to make you feel; you just want someone to tell you the rest of the
story.
Well if you want it,
here it is.
You’re not good enough.
I’m not talking about not being good enough at your job, at being a nice person, or at not burning the crust in the oven. I’m talking big picture. When everyone, including you, was born, they were set on a course that does not lead to Heaven. And why? Because nobody’s perfect. Heaven only accepts perfection. Even if folks are good people that lead good, moral lives, after this life they are headed for eternal suffering and anguish. It’s not good news, but this is the sound of the other shoe dropping. If you don’t believe in the afterlife, I understand how it might sound kooky. Here’s the thing though…have you ever been on the other side of death?
There’s good news about
all this: there is a sure way to change course. There is a way out of this default
eventuality.
You’ve heard the name
Jesus Christ. You may even have said it a few times, but who is He? He’s God’s Son…the
power of God incarnate…all the power of God in human form. If He lived in
Heaven, why would God show up as a person on Earth?
It’s kind of an odd answer: to withstand your punishment and serve your sentence on your behalf. Christ was perfect and fulfilled all of God’s laws flawlessly, but was wrongfully accused and executed. He spent a full day in Hell, taking my place, taking your place, taking the sweet grandma down the street’s place, taking the death row inmate’s place. Then He conquered it: He came back to life the third day after His death. By doing this He broke the power of Hell. Out of love, Jesus Christ now extends a hand to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, orientation, national origin, regardless of everything. None of that matters, because each of those people falls short of perfection. By accepting His invitation, you switch sides…you’re no longer destined for eternal suffering and sorrow regarding this missed opportunity. People that take His hand are clothed in His perfection; they are destined instead for a joyous future in God’s presence alongside others that have made the same decision.
Some will tell you that
many roads lead to Heaven. I’m sorry, but that’s simply not accurate. A
relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to ensure an eternity in Heaven.
He even said so in John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Now I just want to
explain something. My writing is simply not compelling enough to convince
people to make this decision. If you feel something tugging at your mind and
heart, though, that’s God working on you. I’m just the method He’s using to
reach you. Please don’t ignore the pull…Christ can whisper to you, but He won’t
force you to switch sides. You don’t have anything to lose, but you have
everything to gain.
Maybe you’ve never
prayed before, but if you’re open to this, pray this prayer along with me:
Dear Jesus…thank you so
much for loving me even when I don’t deserve you at all. Lord, come into my life,
change me, break me, make me new, make me whole…forgive me. Purify my heart.
Jesus I believe you died on the cross and rose again three days later. You are
my savior and one day I will live with You forever. But meanwhile, help me to
stand for you. To shine for you, to make a difference and let your truth be
known. Use me Lord, Holy Spirit fill me to overflowing. I love you so much! In
Jesus’ name, amen.
If you’re not quite ready for that, but you’re open to hearing more, I encourage you to listen to this man’s story. We’ve heard of instances where people die for a few moments on the operating table, only to be revived and tell stories of a brief vision of Heaven. But what if we got a brief view of Hell? It’s a remarkable story.
For those with a little less time (or for more encouragement after the first video), have a listen to this song. It conveys why Jesus would give up everything…because the Savior of the World would rather die than live without you.
Even if you’re skeptical about all this, please consider passing this on. If you’re already on board, please share it either by posting it in your social media or by forwarding this link: https://daregreatlynow.com/?p=650
Eternity hangs in the
balance. Will you see someone in Heaven because you helped them get there?
A view of Earth rising above the lunar surface during Apollo 8
When I was a kid I
wanted to be an astronaut. I loved learning about the space race of the 1960s
and 70s, and at one point I knew the name and assigned crew position of every
Apollo astronaut that flew on a mission during the Apollo Program.
In 1961 the Americans
had barely touched space. America’s first man in space, Alan Shepard, didn’t
even complete an orbit; the weak rocket he used only got him high enough to
kiss the edge of space. The Soviets had already sent their first Cosmonaut into
orbit, and this launch was a weak American response, barely doing enough to
keep us in the race. Less than three weeks later, American President Kennedy
threw down the audacious goal of beating the Soviets in a manned mission to the
moon before the end of the decade, as a way of establishing American
preeminence in space.
Thus began a harrowing
eight or nine years for NASA. It had to not only figure out the best strategy
for meeting the goal, but it also had to develop skills and equipment that didn’t
exist.
The process moved fast
and grew increasingly complex with time. First NASA sent up one astronaut at a
time, and the longest that any mission stayed up was just over a day. Then it
started launching two astronauts at a time. They started to do spacewalks, to
rendezvous with other orbiting objects, and to see if a capsule and crew could
physically last for the two weeks in space that it would take to make it to the
moon and back. Finally, it was time for the Apollo missions, which carried
three men and the ability to use a lunar lander that would be used to land on
the moon.
By all measures, Apollo
was a beast of a program. The spacecraft systems’ subsystems had subsystems. Engineers
working on the spacecraft worked in round-the-clock shifts, and projects still
fell behind schedule. Everyone worked at a breakneck speed to get things ready
to meet the deadline. In January 1967, the first Apollo mission finally drew
near. Three astronauts sat atop their huge rocket and conducted a final test to
demonstrate that all systems were ready to operate on their own.
Then an unmitigated disaster
struck, freezing everything in its tracks. As the rocket still sat on the
launch pad, a ferocious fire erupted inside the cabin, and killed the three
astronauts before they could escape from the capsule. The fire killed America’s
second man in space, its first spacewalker, and a rookie astronaut. The
devastating setback stunned the nation. All work stopped while NASA, the
spacecraft contractors, and even Congress sought answers to what went wrong and
whether the moon was worth the cost.
Fellow astronauts escort Grissom’s body to Arlington Cemetery
It wouldn’t be until
October 1968, more than a year and a half, before another manned American
launch occurred…an eternity when considering JFK’s looming end-of-the-decade deadline.
With time running out, everyone needed to figure out how to grieve but still
move forward. In the miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon,” Wally
Schirra, the commander of the first space mission after the fire, was asked
about preparing for his upcoming launch while living in the shadow of the
Apollo 1 tragedy. He responded “You’re sad. You mourn the loss.” He paused
for a moment before adding “But you don’t wear the black armband forever.”
Without question, there
are tragedies in peoples’ lives that knock them down hard. The death of a loved
one; a betrayal by someone you trust; a feared diagnosis; a job loss; a
terrible injury; an addiction you’re fighting through. There are serious and
legitimate times in our lives when we just can’t be an effective contributor to
God’s kingdom. Nobody faults you for things that are beyond your control. It
takes time to fight through many of these problems, and many times God will
make something good out of them. Just make sure that you don’t start using your
sorrows and difficulties as an excuse not to move forward with what God’s
calling you to do.
You’re the only one
that knows whether or not this is an issue you’re dealing with. You WILL be knocked down;
Jesus promised that we’d have trouble in this world. Sometimes you need to stay
down for a minute, but don’t forget that you do need to get back up again.
Don’t wear the black
armband forever. There are people you might not even know about that are
waiting for you to get back up again.
