Ben Milstead

My Uncle Larry and his family were missionaries in Zambia, Africa in the early 80’s.  I was lucky enough to be able to visit them for three weeks while they were there, a trip that still impacts me to this day.   Not long after my uncle moved to Zambia, someone tried to break in to break in their house.  The robber was caught in the act.  They had a big pit on the edge of their property where they threw their trash and then buried it.  The robber didn’t know it was there and fell in it while running away.  He apparently sprained an ankle badly because he couldn’t move.

Larry, with the help of a neighbor, took the robber to the Police.  They had a trial on the spot and found the guy guilty.  The penalty for breaking in to someone elses house was….THEY CUT OFF A HAND!!!  My uncle did not know this and begged the Police not to do that.  But this robber had been caught before and since it was a second offense, cutting off a hand was the only punishment available.  The only way to avoid this was for my uncle not to press charges.  Uncle Larry later said that he could not live with himself knowing he could have kept someone from losing a hand and didn’t.  So my uncle dropped the charges even though the robber repeatedly asked that he be given what he deserved.

The next day the robber showed up at my uncle’s front door, still limping badly.  He told them that he was now indebted to them and needed a way to show his gratitude for the mercy that had been shown to him.  He said he wanted to work off the debt he now felt he owed.  My uncle agreed and allowed the robber to be a gardener for his yard and to take care of the 15 fruit trees they had.

Fast forward several months.  “Henry” the former robber, was still working for my uncle but not for free.  Uncle Larry began to pay Henry from day one and continued this practice.  In fact, they became friends and Larry eventually lead Henry to Christ.   Henry cared for my relatives like no other.  It was a relationship that started with grace and mercy that is hard to find now days.

If ever there’s a prayer I’m NOT praying it’s “Lord, give me what I deserve.”  When you get right down to it, none of us deserve to even be alive.  We certainly don’t deserve to have all the comforts of life.  We certainly don’t deserve to be saved.  By by His grace, He doesn’t give us what we deserve.

I’ve been on the verge of information overload over the past couple of weeks.  I’ve been exposed to some things that have really messed with my mind and I find myself looking for the message that I’m supposed to hear.  I know the phrase is normally “calm before the storm” but I feel more like it’s the storm before the calm.  I love times like this because I know something cool is about to happen and recognize that I’m being stretched. 

*  Brad posted this video last week.  It shook me to the core when I saw what it had to say.  There are an estimated 1.2 billion children living in poverty.  That is the same as the population of China!  There are 143 million orphans in the world!  For perspective sake, consider this:  If these 143 million kids were holding hands in a straight line, and you got in your car and started driving beside the line of kids at 60 mph, you could drive 24 hours a day for over two months and still not reach the end of the line!  You would have gone around the world three times.

*  My church is participating in the OnePrayer series.  After this past Sunday I have a different perspective on the size of a church (even though that’s not what the message was about).  It’s easy to become complacent when things seem to be going good and your church is growing.  But when you realize how many unchurched people there are in the world it’s easy to get a sense of urgency!  I don’t EVER want to be complacent!

*  A friend of mine, Mickey, is going through something I hope I never have to go through.  His son is in a comma as a result of a serious car accident.  Mickey seems to have complete peace about the situation and knows that God is in control and that worry serves no purpose.  He has been an inspiration to me!

*  Another friend, Mike, is a very close friend and a man that I have always looked up to.  He has a brain tumor that has to be removed on June 25th.  Mike got this news on a Friday and was still at church volunteering on Sunday.  More than 300 men prayed for him during one of our services. 

*  For years, traditional churches have run from technology while others have chosen to embrace it.  One of my online superhero’s is this guy.  I watched this and had to keep reminding myself that I was watching a planning session for a church and not a major television network.  We have come a long way.  Who remember’s voting on whether or not the church needed a used copy machine?  I do.

*  Speaking of perspective, I had convinced myself that I was getting pretty good on the dirt bike because I kept riding with the same group of riders.  That was until I rode with a former Pro rider last Friday.  Seven laps and he was passing me for the second time!

*  And finally, THIS story made me laugh out loud.  I don’t endorse divorce but if it’s this bad just go ahead and end it!

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tennessee by school Principal Jody McLoud, on September 1, 2000. ”It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games to say a prayer and play the National Anthem to honor God and Country. Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law.

As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it an alternate lifestyle, and if someone is offended, that’s OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity by dispensing condoms and calling it safe sex. If someone is offended, that’s OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a viable means of birth control. 

If someone is offended, no problem.

I can designate a school day as earth day and involve students in activities to religiously worship and praise the goddess, mother earth, and call it ecology.

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depict people with strong, traditional, Christian convictions as simple minded and ignorant and call it enlightenment.

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor God and ask Him to bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, Federal Case Law is violated.

This appears to be at best, inconsistent and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone except God and His Commandments.

Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be at best, inconsistent and at worst, hypocritical. I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.
For this reason, I shall, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” and refrain from praying at this time. 

However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank God, and ask Him in the name of Jesus to bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that’s not against the law—-yet.”

“Dad, what is a courtesy flush?” (6 year old)

“She’s not my girlfriend, we’re just going out.” (10 year old)

“Bird! Bird! Bird!” (10 month old referring to everything.  The waitress, the cat, the motorcycle, etc.”

“I wish Trey would learn how to walk so I can read books to him.” (6 yr old…think about it!)

“She moves her body like a SIPHONE.” (…instead of Cyclone)

“We go to early service church” (Collin’s response to his teacher when she asked him what church we go to)

“Does God have a cat?  What about a dog?  Why not? Does He not like cats?”

1)   The man gave us the gift knowing he wasn’t going to get anything in return, not even a thank you.  He didn’t stick around for the praise.  He didn’t have a “look at what I’m doing” moment and draw attention to himself.  This reminds me a lot about true servanthood in the church which I can’t wait to write about later on.

2)   Why did he do it?  What went through his mind as he was making that decision?  Is this something he does a lot?

3)   Why didn’t I notice him?!?  There was a man eating dinner alone in a nice restaurant at 7:30 at night and I didn’t even notice him!  How sad that I had that kind of tunnel vision!

I want to be more like this man even though I have no idea who he is.  I want to be open to what God tells me to do even though it might not make sense to me at the time.  I want to do things with no intentions of getting any praise or recognition.  I want to be more in tune to the needs around me and the people around me.

From a Mexican Newspaper on May 21, 2008…..

A Mexican donkey has been freed from jail.

Blacky was held in the prison for three days for biting and kicking two men near a ranch outside Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas state.

He was freed after his owner, Mauro Gutierrez, paid a fine and hospital bill for the two men injured, reports ITN.

Mauro said: “This issue has been already paid for and fixed, so I’m no longer involved in this.”

Mauro must also pay £244 to each man to compensate for loss of wages.

Happy Friday!

In 1990 I traveled with a singing group from Southern Wesleyan University. We traveled on the weekends during the semester and the entire summer.  Our last concert of the summer was the p.m. service at a church in Maryland just outside of D.C.  We didn’t leave the church until after 11:00 and we were going to drive through the night to get back to South Carolina.  My parents lived in Greensboro, NC at the time so the plan was to drop me off at their house on the way back.

It was sometime around 2:00 a.m. and we were on I-95 in Virginia.  We had stopped for food and to change drivers at 1:30.  I was driving and Roy was in the passenger seat.  Everyone else was sleeping.  We had passed a conversion van several times that was full of people.  The light was on in that van and we could see in it pretty easily.  Roy would waive at a little girl as we would pass.  Then they would pass us again and she would waive.  It was a fun little game to help keep us awake.  As we started up a long incline, our 15 passenger van that was pulling a heavy 16 foot enclosed trailer, couldn’t keep up with the other van.  They went on ahead of us by several minutes.  All of a sudden, as we topped the hill, the other van was on its side in our lane!  I remember that the back tires were still turning.  Fortunately, we saw it in time and were able to stop before hitting the wreckage.  There were no major injuries in the other van and we helped them exit thru the back doors.  We sat with the victims until help came.  I don’t think I even blinked the rest of the way home.

We made it to my parent’s house in Greensboro about the time the sun was coming up.  I walked in the house and into the den where my mother had been sleeping on the couch waiting on us.  I had not seen her all summer and expected a big hug, tears, etc.  Instead, I got this:  “What happened at 2:00?”  I asked her to repeat herself and she did.  I wanted to know why she was asking me that question.  She said, “I woke up at 2:00 thinking that I was having a heart attack because my heart was pounding so hard.  Then I realized that I had just had a dream that you and your group were about to be in a wreck.  I started praying for you right then, that God would protect you on your trip home.”  The next few minutes were extremely emotional and this occurrence is still one that is emotional when recounting.

I don’t believe in coincidences!   I don’t think that anything happens in our life by coincidence.  There are christian leaders I admire and respect that would disagree with me.  That’s fine.  I just don’t believe that anything happens by coincidence.  My life has been full of things that some would call, coincidence, right place at the right time, mother’s intuition, lucky, etc.  You can call it what you want.  I call it God’s perfect timing.

Isn’t it funny how most people will believe that a story like this was a God thing and not a coincidence?   A person stops breathing and there just happens to be someone close by that knows CPR and even the non-believer will say “God was watching out for us.”   But what about the little things?  What about the friend that you run into at the store?  What about the person you are sitting beside in the restaurant,  the gym,  the ballgame?  How about the promotion that you DIDN’T get a work?  Maybe that was a position that you wouldn’t have been happy with but you are going to love the next one that God sends your way. What about the time you were driving through town and every light was green.  That made you happy and you called it luck.  Maybe God called it protection because you missed the wreck that just happened three blocks behind you.

What if you looked at everything today as an opportunity and not a coincidence!  Let’s see God for who He is and give Him credit for all things, not just the convenient ones.

 They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium.  With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the
 traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.  Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
 
 This class would NOT pray during the commencements  —not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.  The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
 
 The speeches were nice, but they were routine until the final speech received a standing ovation.  A solitary student walked proudly to the micro phone.
 He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then it happened.  
 All 92 students, every single one of them, SNEEZED!!!!
 
 The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, ‘GOD BLESS YOU’. And he walked off stage.  The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God’s blessing on their
 future with or without the court’s approval.
 
  It happened at The Washington Community High School 2001 Graduation, Peoria, Illinois.