Thought For the Week

Dear Friends, Most of you have probably heard bits and pieces of the story of Corrie ten Boom mustering up the strength to forgive the man who was the cruel camp guard at Ravensbrück concentration camp during WWII. I had as well. But there were parts I never knew until I read this excerpt from the same book I quoted from last time – Everybody Needs to Forgive Somebody, by Allen R. Hunt. I struggled with shortening it, as I know long posts simply get skipped over. Yet, in the end, I included what I felt was necessary for those unfamiliar with her story to understand the immense struggle it took her to forgive. May you be blessed (and challenged) as you read. And if you have not seen the movie, “The Hiding Place” I would strongly encourage you to see it! Enjoy. “Casper ten Boom ran a watchmaker’s shop in the lowest floor of his house in the Nazi occupied city of Haarlem, in Holland. Upstairs his daughter Corrie emerged as a chief organizer of an underground movement to rescue Jews. In...

Dear Friends, Few things in life are as difficult as forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply. It’s surely even harder to forgive someone who has hurt those we love – especially when it is done intentionally and with great malice. In fact, when I read the story that follows, I wondered, “How could she do it? If I had been her, would I have been able to forgive him?” I pray I will never have to find out. In sharing this I offer the sometimes-used warning, “Not for the faint of heart.” I include the unsettling parts of her story that are snapshots of human evil, because to edit them out would lessen the degree of grace we see this woman bestow. It is a true story, and is entitled, “Releasing the Poison.” I came across it in a book entitled, “Everybody Needs to Forgive Somebody – 11 Stories of Real People Who Discovered the Underrated Power of Grace,” by Allen R. Hunt. Yet, he states that the story itself is taken from Philip Yancey’s book, “Rumors of Another World.” Brace yo...

Dear Friends, This is Easter week. Holy Week. Semana Santa for my Spanish speaking friends! A week which ends with the glorious story of Jesus’ resurrection! Therefore, today, I want to offer you the story of a “resurrection” of sorts. A personal resurrection. The story of a man brought from death to life. A man who was made different. A true story of a man named Haji, in Ethiopia, entitled, “I Used to Beat Him.” It is found in the book, “When Faith is Forbidden,” by Todd Nettleton. Blessings to you as we head toward Maundy Thursday, to Good Friday, and then on to Easter morning and the empty grave! Enjoy. I Used to Beat Him “The nickname ‘Haji’ is a term of respect in the Muslim world, bestowed on those who have completed their ‘hajj’ pilgrimage to Mecca, one of Islam’s five pillars – although it’s not commonly combined with the title ‘pastor’! We met pastor Haji at his grass-roofed house in the southern part of Ethiopia, an area where a rising tide of radica...