Open For Business

A mysterious stranger arrived at a New England seaport town from somewhere across the ocean. He opened an office with a sign that simply read, "Recovery of Lost Things." At first, no one entered the stranger's office, but everyone was curious.

The stranger put an ad in the paper to further explain his business, "I will help you find anything you have lost." The explanation did not satisfy all.

"So he's a detective?" asked one villager. His question received only shrugs of uncertainty.

Yet, the explanation was enough for a woman who had lost a great deal of money. She slipped into the stranger's office under cover of night. A few nights later, another person asked for the stranger's help because he had lost his great-grandfather's Bible.

Eventually, many of the villagers felt drawn to this stranger. The more comfortable they felt with him, the more they truly opened up to him about other "things" they had lost. An aging lady with wrinkles and sadness wept before the stranger, yearning to recover the beauty of her younger days. A young man of barely twenty was filled with regret and asked the stranger if he could help him get his innocence back.

After a few weeks, the stranger sat in his office late one night with a list of grand requests:
1. Bring back opportunities that were missed.
2. Restore tarnished reputations.
3. Replace sadness with joy forfeited long ago.
4. Renew relationships destroyed by selfishness, hatred, pride, and greed.
5. Resurrect loved ones buried both recently and long ago. Many asked only for one final moment to express feelings of love, or to apologize for things said or things not said.
6. Return the accolades, fame, popularity and praise of years past that has now faded and been replaced with continual silence.
7. Remove the effects of aging, smoking, drinking, and hard living and restore health, fitness, and vibrance.
8. Replace bitterness, emptiness, loneliness, and callousness with love, joy, forgiveness, and peace.

The stranger shook his head in disbelief. He only meant to help others find lost luggage, cargo, or other tangible items left behind on nearby ships. Yet, just as these hurting souls felt drawn to him to express the loss of their truest valuables, he felt the depth of their pain, listened to their requests without clarifying his intentions, and assured each one, "I will do everything I can."

He became a praying man, a compassionate man, a broken man, and a man of great understanding concerning the importance of valuing relationships and redeeming the time.

These requests were neither returned nor recovered by the mysterious man. But at least the longing of each visitor to his office was addressed. At least the pain was confessed. At least someone listened. Someone cared.

What each villager did not know was the trail of pain and heartache from which this stranger from across the ocean had fled. He came to their village to escape. Each of their longings reflected the longings of his own heart. His wife had died giving birth to their first child. The child followed his mother into eternity an hour behind her. He dealt with the pain of his loss with great anger and drunkenness. He boarded a ship with his few possessions in hopes of getting away from the painful memories. Upon arrival at the village, the ship's crew could not find some of the belongings he had stored below deck.

As the weeks turned into years, many who had once visited his office met him along the sidewalk or in the market. They met him with smiles, hugs, handshakes, and expressions of gratitude. With renewed hope and lifted spirits, they thanked him for all he had done. What had he done?

Only what each of us can do for one another. He gave them permission to grieve, promised to get involved, and prayed on behalf of their woundings. He did so unwittingly. We can do so intentionally. In helping others with their wounds, he found healing for his own.

This morning, let's go into business together. You grab a hammer and a nail. I'll hold the shingle above our business door that says, "Recovery of Lost Things."

Perry Crisp

The Miracle Named Meagan

Somewhere between 10:30 pm and midnight on October 1st, 2008, life drastically changed for a young man and young lady. While driving to a relative's home, their automobile spun out of control. The car flipped and spun several times. The young man was trapped inside the car with a broken leg. The young lady, Meagan, was thrown violently from the car.

Meagan laid on the ground a few feet from the car unconscious until early the next morning. She was carried by helicopter to a local hospital with critical injuries to her vertebrae, broken bones in her pelvis, arms, ankle, and elbow, and a ruptured spleen.

Days, weeks, and months passed by while Meagan struggled with her injuries. Progress was slow. An occasional reaction to a whisper in her ear or a squeeze of her hand. A grunt. A moan. Her eyes opened just enough to keep her loved ones' hopes alive.

Meagan endured numerous surgeries and complications from the injuries as well as cellulitis from the ant bites she incurred while laying on the ground that night.

I visited Meagan in her hospital room in late November or early December. She struggled to keep her limbs under control. Her feet and hands only wanted to curl up. She did not respond to my attempts to talk to her. As I watched her kick and looked into what appeared to be vacant eyes, I wanted to help her, but I felt so helpless. She is near the same age as my own daughter.

I talked to her and prayed with her, but I left feeling a heavy burden. My faith was weak. I feared she might remain in that condition for the rest of her life.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, 2009. It has been six months since Meagan's accident. She was at church with us!

As I gave the invitation at the end of the morning worship service, I looked over to my left and saw a small group huddled at the altar, but I didn't know who it was.

A few minutes later, Meagan came up out of that little prayer huddle, and with her mother's help, she walked toward me with a huge smile on her face. She had just prayed to receive Christ as her personal Savior!

God is still in the miracle business. He proved it to me again on resurrection Sunday. He resurrected a broken body from a hospital bed and gave her the will to fight and the strength to walk.

Yesterday, Meagan walked to Jesus and gave herself to Him in such beauty and grace. While Meagan's body continues to recover and heal, her soul is now completely alive and restored! Over 2,000 eyes were wet with tears of joy. We saw a resurrection miracle on Easter Sunday!

He has risen! He's alive! He still redeems. He still heals. He will never leave us nor forsake us. October 1st, 2008 was Meagan's "Friday." It looked like life and hope were almost over for her. But April 12th, 2009 was her "Sunday!" Hope is alive!

I believe!
Perry Crisp

WoW

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases" - Psalm 103:2-3 (NIV).

Hold your thumb over your pinky so that your three remaining fingers form a "W." Do the same with your other hand. Put one hand on each side of your mouth and open your mouth wide. Stay frozen like that until you can see yourself in a mirror.

Do you see it? According to the book, "Sign Language for Dumb Blondes," it is the sign for the word, "WOW!"

That's how I feel about God's forgiveness and healing (both of which I will probably need if any blondes are offended by this devotional).*

For God to forgive all sin is beyond comprehension. For God to forgive MY sins alone is incredible. But to add yours and multiply those of millions of others -- my mind cannot even go anywhere near there.

And that's not all. Not only does God forgive; He heals! God heals spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically. The same God who molded us into being can certainly mend us when we're broken.

God forgives. Wow! God heals. Double wow! Put them together and you have a thing called "justification." To be justified is to be "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned. It means that we have the same position with God that we had before we sinned. We are right where we would have been if we had never sinned. Amazing, isn't it?

Cindy played with a bell from her mother's bell collection and broke the handle. Afraid to tell her mom, the four-year-old hid the broken pieces under her bed. It wasn't long before her mom found it.

"Cindy, look what I found," said her mom. Cindy's mom had the bell and was holding it by the handle. She had glued the handle back in place!

Cindy exclaimed, "Wow! It's like brand new!"

After Cindy's tearful apology, her mom hugged her and assured her that she was forgiven. Cindy's relationship to her mom was repaired "like brand new," too.

Forgiveness plus healing equals justification. God forgives our sin and heals our soul. With our sins removed and our soul restored, we too, are like brand new.

Feel free to have someone take your picture while you are making the "WOW" pose, and PLEASE send me a copy. I need a good laugh. THANKS JIM BARRETT...I'M STILL LAUGHING!!!

Just-as-if-I'd Never Told a Dumb Blonde Joke,*
Perry Crisp

*Disclaimer: The author of this devotional in no way implies that all who have blonde hair are dumb blondes. "Dumb blonde" is a cultural colloquialism applied to all societal dingbats,** regardless of hair color or the existence of hair.

**Disclaimer: The author of this devotional in no way intends to insult the bat population of the animal kingdom. "Dingbat" is a commonly used colloquialism originating in printing press factories as an onomatopoeia...for heaven's sakes.