"The Church of Christ is HIV positive."

We had a preacher from Nairobi, Kenya speak to us this past Wednesday night and we heard him again at the area-wide singing on Sunday evening. Nyabuto Marube, pronounced (Nyuh- BOOT oh, -- Ma RU bee) made this statement at the Sunday evening service where probably 4-6 congregations were represented.

Nyabuto then quoted 1 Cor. 12.25-26, putting emphasis on verse 26 about how if one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it. He shared this with the story of a man who had left behind a wife and several children for the Kayole Church of Christ to look after when this man died of AIDS.

Wow! The characteristics of Jesus as the savior taking on our afflictions, being a man of sorrows and being familiar with rejection and being ostracized had never been clearer than when hearing this man speak. I hope I can springboard off the inspiration he has given me to reach out, as Nyabuto is, to a community as desperate for the good news of Christ as any I've ever talked to before.

"Who has sinned...

... this man or his parents." The disciples saw a man who was born blind and immediately assigned blame to certain people as well as blame and motive to God. Jesus answered the disciples, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

I am gratefully very removed from the massacre at Virginia Tech yesterday. The questions about why are already swirling on the airwaves. God's motives will be speculated upon by many even well meaning people. I believe times like these reveal God's motive behind sending His Son as our Saviour.

It is BECAUSE of the evil in the world that we all need saving. When things are going semi-smoothly for me it is tempting to look around and wonder why all the fuss, what do I NEED saving from? This world ain't all bad. Then the reality of how damaging and damning sin on the loose is comes crashing down all around me. I fear the suffering of epic proportions touching me intimately as all these families at Virginia Tech are feeling.

It is during these times of crisis when people start looking deeper for answers than ever before. The answer is Jesus Christ. It is only through Him we are offered the opportunity to attach ourselves to true power, authority, goodness and immortality. Surely no one can be surprised at the occurence of such atrocities anymore. Denying the probability or even the certainty of extremely similar events within 10, 5 or even during the next year would serve only to certify one's insanity.

The salvation of Christ makes a person's death gain rather than loss.

Philippians 1.21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Does that take away the pain of suffering? No it doesn't. Even Jesus sweat drops of blood in the anxiety leading up to His sacrifice on the cross. Even Jesus cried out "Why?" on the cross during His suffering. However, Jesus' death on the cross was not the end and His sacrifice for us makes it possible that our own deaths don't have to mean the end for us either. His resurrection gives us hope through the trials and tribulations of this life no matter what or how harsh the suffering blow dealt us.

Where'd all the Honeybees go?

Who can keep up with all of the variables pushing on our world these days? The bee farmer in the article is missing approximately 50 million bees. How would you like a world map sitemeter on all their locations? God knows each of their whereabouts.

Jesus tells us that our Father in heaven does not let a sparrow fall to the ground outside of His will. Matthew 10.29 Jesus also tells us we are worth more than many sparrows. That kind of attention to detail by the creator of the universe is reassuring and a huge confidence builder in a world full of mindbreaking problems.

Jesus tells us, "It's gonna be allright. My Dad's taking care of things. Don't mind the things of this world. Focus on the eternal. That's what's really important in the end." That is an easy task on some days. On other days it seems right near impossible.