Jeff Adams

No, not THAT judgment. I’m talking about an IRS audit. The letter came a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was coming, though I knew not the day nor the hour. My contributions, you see, are way beyond the normal profile.

I was a little apprehensive, but not fearful, because this is not the first time. I went through this a couple of years ago. Then, I’ll confess I was a little fearful. No, actually I was in a panic. I’ve seen torture museums in Europe and an Inquisition museum in Peru. My imagination was in overdrive.

When I showed up for that fateful day of reckoning, the access doors were shut and windowless. A phone hung on the wall. I thought this must be where the prisoners were held. I debated with myself, then picked up the phone. No one answered. I thought about making a getaway right then and there, but what if this were a test? I checked for surveillance cameras. I walked down the hall and came back. Before I could escape, the door suddenly opened and an imposing figure stood in the doorway. Well, actually she was a middle-aged woman who asked if she could help me. I told her I had an appointment for an audit, and she looked at me with a blank expression. Looking through my papers, she determined that the person who summoned me to this Great White Throne moment was ill. She would be able, though, to check my records. Great!

“Is this how it would be in the real Day of Judgment,” I thought? She occasionally looked knowingly at me as she shuffled the papers. I could remember seeing that look once in the principal’s office in High School. “OK, let’s see your records.” I laid out my church contribution record and some copies of canceled checks I had retrieved from my bank.

“You write checks for your giving?” She blurted this out so loudly I thought I must have broken several federal laws. “Yeah,” I sheepishly replied.

“Ha! You wouldn’t believe how many pastors tell us they just put cash in the offering plate!” She turned toward the woman in the next cubicle, “Did you hear that? He actually writes checks!” The whole tone of the interview changed. Five minutes later I was out the door. That is probably as close as I have ever come to knowing what Lazarus felt like when they rolled the stone back from the opening of his tomb.

So, this time was much easier as I approached judgment day with a measure of confidence. I’m a meticulous record keeper after all. Besides that, this time I even got to set my own appointment, and the nice lady on the phone gave me detailed instructions on how to find the office and use the phone on the wall. Sure enough, she was just as nice as she sounded. I laid my records on her desk and she made small talk as she added up the figures for the two years in question. It went so well, she even smiled warmly as she pointed out a $1000 addition mistake for one year and asked me for a $200 check for underpayment.

Can anyone see any spiritual lesson or biblical imagery in this?

El otro día estaba yo leyendo este pasaje: No hubo otro rey antes de él, que se convirtiese a Jehová de todo su corazón, de toda su alma y de todas sus fuerzas, conforme a toda la ley de Moisés; ni después de él nació otro igual. 2 Reyes 23:25

El rey mencionado es Josías y este versículo es un resumen de su vida. La vida de Josías es aún más increíble al considerar su vida. Era nieto del infamo Manasés e hijo de Amón. Amón, su padre, era tan malvado que sus propios siervos conspiraron contra él y lo mataron cuando Josías tenía apenas ocho años. Así que Josías se encontró en el trono a los ocho años. Que es más, ni tenía las escrituras para su guía, pues se habían perdido por descuido de Israel y fue hasta años después en el reino de Josías que se descubrieron.

Sin padre, sin buena familia, sin las escrituras, y en un tiempo turbulento en la sociedad, ¿quién le hubiera dado mucha esperanza a Josías? Sin embargo, dada la oportunidad, Josías se pegó al Señor Dios de todo su corazón como ningún otro. Se preocupó más por ser un varón de Dios que por hacer grandes cosas para Dios. Como resultado de ser un varón de Dios, entregado por completo a Él, Josías pudo hacer grandes cosas también.

Me hace pensar en lo que D. L. Moody dijo, el famoso evangelista del siglo diecinueve. Dijo, “El mundo no ha visto lo que Dios puede hacer a través de un hombre totalmente entregado a Él. Por la gracia de Dios quiero ser ese hombre.”

I recently made a great discovery. Mp3 files work for audio as well as music. I knew that. But, I really didn’t understand the practical value of that truth. You see, I live precisely 4 minutes and 30 seconds from the office, assuming no traffic problems. I like the convenience, but the down side is I have no natural time to listen to tapes, music, sermons, radio, etc. When you’ve only got four and a half minutes, what’s the point? I have a gym routine: three days of karate each week and three days of weights with 3 miles on the elliptical machine and two miles on the wave machine. To keep my sanity during the miles I listen to music. But, I recently discovered audio books on mp3. Yeah, I knew they existed; I just thought I would hate them. I love them.

I’m listening to C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity after having read it about 30 years ago. It’s as though I never read it. I am loving this audio version, and it’s all fresh. In fact, I’m liking this more than when I read it the first time.

Here’s my paraphrase of the latest thing I heard that I missed the first time through Mere Christianity: Pride is always competitive. Pride is always about being better, having more, or being superior to someone else. Someone who is proud always has to be better, stronger, richer, or superior to others. Let’s say you won 25 billion dollars. If you are a proud person, you could never be satisfied with that as long as there was one other person on this planet with more money than you. You would always crave more. The competitive nature of pride demands it. Pride is never satisfied with having; pride is about being better or having more.

Here’s a question. With whom are we competing and why? Consider what Paul said. Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6). So, who wins?

Okay, people, either I am totally self-confident or incredibly stupid to post this picture. Yes, that is yours truly in my high school band uniform gripping my beautiful French horn. Yeah, I know it’s a very small picture and you can’t even tell it’s me. I’m not that self-confident or that stupid. So, why would I even risk this potential cyber-humiliation by posting this compromising picture so anyone who happens to access this site can see it? To tell a simple story with a point that may help someone. The point is the title to this posting.

In high school I participated in many activities; I loved music. I was a pretty good French horn player and was offered a small scholarship to a university with an outstanding music department. I could have attended other schools, but I had this dream about music and I followed it. I’m glad I did. There were some wonderful musicians in my university and some went on to brilliant professional careers. I was not a phenom; I was a good musician and managed to keep pace my first year. I loved music and I had this dream.

My second year things were different. I had other interests, too. I loved music, but I also loved being part of the debate team. And, by this time I had committed my life to being a follower of Jesus Christ and I was being strongly pulled to areas of interest in ministry. To just keep playing with the orchestra was no longer a possibility. I was surrounded by people who were totally committed to the music. It’s not that they didn’t have other interests, too. They did. But, they gave themselves to the music. Some of them were dedicated followers of Jesus Christ, too, but they knew they had to follow the music if they were to follow Christ. I wasn’t sure anymore about that level of commitment to music. It would be like being a small scholarship player on a Division I NCAA basketball team and thinking I could just show up and play hoops with the guys a couple of times a week. That’s just not possible at that level. I had followed a dream and it had given me great joy and fulfillment in many ways. I have no idea what type of musician I could have become if I had decided to stick with it, but I’m really glad I dared to dream and followed it as far as I dared.

In the process of turning loose of a dream, God gave me another. I’m glad He did. He blessed me with a wonderful family, the opportunity to travel and minister in many countries around the world, and the chance to touch thousands of lives. As much as the Spanish language is a part of who I am, I was never in Spanish Club in High School. I never dreamed I would speak Spanish. I took Latin and German. By the way, I still love music.

Remember those silly pictures years back where you had to spot Waldo amongst a multitude of faces? Friday, that goofy game title became a terrifying thought as I watched the live reports of the horrible fire that destroyed a treasured landmark in Kansas City’s Waldo neighborhood and injured five firefighters. Fires are common in a big city, and only a couple of weeks ago I shared my impressions about the large explosion in the East Bottoms area. Fortunately, no one was injured in that one, and the chemical company will bounce back.

This Waldo fire seemed much more personal. First, people were hurt. Besides that, this was no isolated company in an industrial area, but an historic stucco building dating back to the 1920′s where people have eaten, lived, worked and been entertained for generations. As are many metro residents, I am very fond of the Waldo area. Cheryl and I had enjoyed many of the shops and restaurants for years, including the fine French pastries at Cafe Apanaire, one of the casualities.

Saturday, I happened to be near the neighborhood anyway and found myself sitting for a few moments in the drugstore parking lot across the street. 75th Street is still closed. People gathered in groups, talking and looking on in shocked disbelief. I thought of the many people affected by events like this, not just many of us who have found memories, but the workers wondering about how this affects their employment, or the building and business owners who, even if fully insured, will have their lives disrupted for a long time to come. I thought about the courageous character of the folks at the bridal shop, Gown Gallery, who, even before the fire was under control, were on the phones contacting customers and even arranging for the overnight delivery of a gown from a New York designer for a Saturday wedding.

Not long ago I watched a Florida church set up chairs on top of rubble for Sunday services after their building was demolished in a tornado. And, who can forget the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought on New Orleans, a major American city that will never again be just the same. Events like these force us to order our priorities. We get very attached to stuff, don’t we?

Here’s what I’m asking myself. In case of unexpected tragedy, fire, hurricane, tornado or what have you, how would I respond? Can I prepare myself mentally against that eventuality so that even in grief I would have a practiced mental path to follow? Are there records I should keep in a safe place or all together? While living in a civil war many years ago, Cheryl and I had a box of important papers and other irreplaceable items that we could throw in the car if forced to make a getaway. What can be replaced and what cannot? And, even if we lost every thing we had, what are those things that no one could ever take from us and no tragedy could ever touch? Those are the things for which we should thank God! What do you think?