Last week I had an email from a subscriber that touched my heart in a special way.
She wrote:
I have always enjoyed reading your newsletter. You have a way of explaining your faith journey by your simplicity. Your way of explaining the message is not heavy, not over anyone’s head. Just there. Where we as the reader can understand it in layman’s terms. I know, for myself, the “Ah moment”, or as you put it ”God-incidences “, are clearly presented and well received. Thank you.
It touched my heart because 30 years ago, I felt God calling me to quit my job in Corporate America to start sharing my faith online, full-time.
It was a crazy move to many. The Internet was still in its baby crib, and one of my close relatives was furious at me for quitting my job for THIS.
“But not everybody’s ON the Internet!” she said.
I replied, “I’ll start with the 30 million that are on it and work my way from there!”
This year, 30 years later, there are 6 billion people connected to the Internet, 75% of the world’s population.
I’m still trying to make a dent. (Later I’ll share how you can help me keep going, if you’d like.)
But after 30 years, I still get notes like the one above from people who are moved by my way of sharing my faith online.
And 30 years later, my ministry is still “in the black,” which in accounting terms is very good, meaning my assets still outweigh my liabilities. (I would be “in the red” if they didn’t!)
I’m surprised, honestly, because when I quit my secular job 30 years ago, I had a wife, three kids, and $1,500 in the bank. I’ve since had three more kids and still have about $1,500 in the bank. Hallelujah!
That’s thanks to many of you who have helped us stay afloat for the last 30 years.
I feel like the customer in this cartoon.
There’s a creek by my house called “Money Creek.” I’m told it’s called Money Creek because there’s a bank on each side. :)
Every time I drive over that creek, I turn my palms upward and say, “Thank You, Lord, for the money You’ve given, and I pray for more to keep on going. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I could have more than $1,500 in the bank today. But I just keep my hands open, trusting that as I pour out the money He gives into the people and projects that are on my heart, He will fill them with more.
I’m so thankful to God and all those who have helped me for 30 years. And I’m praying for more to keep on going.
If you’ve been touched by this ministry in some way over the past year (or past 30!) would you consider a year-end gift to help me keep going?
I’d love it. God would love it. And readers like the one above would love it.
I only ask for cheerful gifts. My ministry is always freely available, with no obligation. But if you’d LIKE to give, I’d love your support.
“Let each one give as they decide in their hearts, with gladness, not sorrow or obligation. For God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Last week, I wrote about three “God-incidences” that happened to me on recent flights. This week, I want to write about one more.
It happened the week before Christmas.
I was flying to New York to see a Broadway show. I had pulled out a script to read on the flight of a new show I’ll be working on this coming year. I was going through the script page by page, making notes on my phone about parts that made me laugh, made me cry, or maybe needed some attention.
Halfway through the flight, the guy sitting across the aisle from me asked what I was reading. I told him it was a script that a friend and I were working on for an upcoming movie project.
He was curious because he was a cinematographer, on his way to New York to meet his team and see some locations for a new movie he’s filming!
He said it was unusual to see someone reading an actual paper script these days. I told him it was, but that I really wanted to read it through “the old-fashioned way.” There’s something about reading a script on paper that just makes it more real.
As we were talking, the woman sitting next to him jumped into the conversation. She said, “Sorry to jump in, but I was overhearing that you both work on movies. A film crew was just filming a show at my mom’s house in New Jersey for three weeks, so I know all the things that you guys are talking about!”
The “film crew” that was at her house wasn’t just any film crew. It was a crew headed by one of the hottest writers and producers in the U.S. right now. I tried hard not to “fangirl” and ask her a million questions. The three of us chatted away for the rest of our flight.
The cinematographer said how unusual it was that we were all sitting there in that row on that plane.
The woman commented, “And I wasn’t supposed to be on this flight.”
The cinematographer said, “I wasn’t either.”
I added, “And neither was I!”
“Serendipity!” said the cinematographer.
“Or something more,” I thought.
I looked at the script in my hands. I had printed it out just before my trip to read on the plane, and it was that script that drew the guy’s attention, then drew the woman into the conversation.
The cinematographer had been so intrigued by the script, and by the show as I described it. He had already asked for my contact information so we could stay in touch.
I looked at the script in my hands again. I asked the cinematographer, “Would you like to read the script?” He said, “I’d love to.” I asked, “Would you like to have this paper copy?” He said, “I’d love it!”
I took out a pen, wrote his name on it, wrote “Merry Christmas!” then signed it. Beneath my signature, I wrote, “Serendipity?!?” Then I handed it to him.
Suddenly, I was “unscripted.” Just like this whole trip. Or was it?
I don’t know what will happen with the cinematographer, or the woman who had one of the hottest producers in the U.S. in her house, or with my own movie project. But what I sensed was God’s peace. God’s timing. God’s hand, moving in my life, and in each of theirs.
Sometimes those “little nudges” (“go to New York,” “take this flight,” “print out the script,” “read it on the plane”) are more than just hunches. Sometimes they’re setups for “God-incidences,” moments when we can see God at work in our lives.
This doesn’t just happen to me. It happens to others. It’s probably happened to you.
When I got home from my trip, I read a story in the Bible where it happened to a man named Simeon. I was reading the end of the Christmas story in Luke chapter 2 where, eight days after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary took Him to the temple in Jerusalem to be dedicated to the Lord.
The moment they walked into the temple, an elderly man named Simeon walked into the temple, too. God had previously promised him that one day, in his lifetime, he would see the Messiah with his own eyes.
And that day, the Bible says Simeon had been “moved by the Spirit” to go to the temple. He entered it at the very same moment as Joseph and Mary. When he saw baby Jesus, he knew this was “the One.” He said,
“Now I can die content, for Your promise to me has been fulfilled. With my own eyes I have seen Your Word, the Savior you sent into the world” (Luke 2:29-31, TPT).
Like Simeon in the Bible, I felt God’s peace. I felt His presence. I felt I was in the right place at the right time.
I’ll leave the rest in His hands.
Love,
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
I was reading further in the Christmas story this week in the Bible and was struck by the frustration Mary and Joseph may have had while traveling to Bethlehem for the census. To them, I imagine it was especially aggravating, having to report to the city of their heritage being so close to the time of giving birth.
But to God, there was a reason. A prophecy had been made 700 years earlier predicting this very event: a baby would be born in Bethlehem who would become a ruler over Israel.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).
This trip wasn’t a “coincidence.” It was a “God-incidence.”
I’ve been on three flights recently where I was just minding my own business, doing what I felt was on my heart to do. But along the way, God turned three “coincidences” into “God-incidences.”
On the first trip, I sat next to a man who saw the title of a book I was reading about “fearless living.” Before we even left the tarmac, he began sharing with me his fear of dying that was precipitated by the way he was living. He was a Christian, but doing things that were clearly, to him, immoral, threatening his sense of salvation.
He asked what I thought of dying, and I shared with him some of my own moral failings that had shaken me and eventually led me to put my faith in Jesus for everything in my life. I shared that if I was relying on my goodness, I’d never make it into heaven. But I was relying on my Jesus, and that made all the difference in the world.
I told him, “We aren’t Christians because of how good we’ve been. We’re Christians because we’re sinners in need a Savior, so we’ve put our faith in Jesus Christ.”
It was like a light went on in his head. He realized God wanted him to make better choices not because of where he would go when he died, but so he could better live the life God wanted him to live right here and now. Immediately he felt lighter, freer. He knew what he needed to do, both in the situations he was facing and in trusting Jesus to forgive him of his sins and carry him through it all.
He thanked me profusely and said he felt God was speaking to him through our conversation. And I thanked God profusely, for I hadn’t set out to have some kind of significant conversation. Yet God used that “coincidence” as a “God-incidence” in both our lives.
For the second story, I was flying home from that same trip and had pulled out my Bible to read. I was circling and underlining words and phrases and writing notes in the margins about what I felt God was saying to me.
About half an hour into the trip, the woman sitting next to me turned and asked, “Are you a pastor?” I said I was, and she said, “I’ve got a question for you.”
She proceeded to tell me how she had just bought three different versions of the Bible and was trying to read them, but she kept getting stuck in the first few chapters. She couldn’t get anything out of them, but she really wanted to. She wanted to know what to do to make it more meaningful. It wasn’t just a question on her heart because I was sitting next to her. It was THE question on her heart, and God had put me next to her!
I told her what I do, which is just what I shared with you. I told her I read to understand what the passage was saying at the time it was written, but also to ask God to speak to me about my life, today, here and now. Then I just keep reading until something speaks to me.
I pointed out some of the things God was speaking to me about on the plane, and showed her some of the things I had written in the margins.
She was fascinated. She was excited. She told me she was so glad she sat by me because she couldn’t wait to get back and start reading again.
For the third story, I was flying to another city, with my Bible and journal on my tray. I hadn’t even opened them when the woman sitting next to me asked, “Are you a pastor?” I told her I was and she began pouring out her heart.
She was involved in a situation that had hurt her terribly. She was spending all her time and considerable money trying to get an apology from someone. She wasn’t going to get anything back that she had lost. She wasn’t going to change what had happened already, or what might happen again.
I sensed that, to paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, she didn’t want to be compensated because she had been wronged. She wanted to be healed because she had been hurt.
She asked what I thought she should do. I told her I couldn’t advise her what to do, but I told her what I sensed. I asked if she had other things she felt God might be wanting her to do with her time and energy. She said there were, and she shared those things. They sounded so much more productive! I told her what I thought. She said, “That’s just what my pastor said, too.” (Whether she was happy with that answer or not, I don’t know! But I do know she had heard it at least twice now. I had to trust God could use it however He chose.)
Three times people had reached out to me, each asking for pastoral wisdom. I had to thank God each time, as I was just going on my way. I hadn’t initiated any of these conversations. But when asked, I was willing and happy to engage about their questions. What seemed like “coincidences” felt very much like “God-incidences,” especially with three in a row like that!
Which brings us back to Mary and Joseph and their trip to Bethlehem. Why, oh why, did they have to travel when Mary was about to give birth? And why did it have to be in a stable, where the only place to lay their baby was in a manger?
Why? The rest of the Christmas story answers that question, with God using shepherds to confirm to Mary and Joseph that they were in the exact place at the exact time that God had in mind for them. An angel had appeared to the shepherds, saying:
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:11-12, 15-20).
Don’t miss the “God-incidences” in your life. Do like the shepherds did on that very first Christmas, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.”
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Great Light!
Love,
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Join me this Thursday night for cookies and cocoa! It’s Christmastime, and I’d love to host you as my guest for an online party!
I’ll be live online from 7-8:30 PM CST, this Thursday, December 18th on Zoom. Just send me a note if you’d like to join and I’ll send you the link. Since we’ll be online, I’ll have to ask you to bring your own cookies and cocoa!
Here’s what I’m hoping for our 90 minutes together...
I’d like to share a life and ministry update with you, including 3 recent stories of “divine encounters” that left me shaking my head in praise to Jesus.
I’d like to give you time to make new friends and maybe reconnect with old ones.
I’d like to enjoy cookies and cocoa and share some Christmas cheer!
If you’d like an inspirational night with friends old and new (plus cookies and cocoa!), I hope you’ll join the fun.
Again, just send me a note if you’d like to join and I’ll send you the link.
Love,
Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.
I was reading the Christmas story this week in the Bible, and I was surprised at my reaction to the opening words. In Luke, chapter 1, an angel appears to Zechariah, telling him that he and his wife Elizabeth are going to give birth to a son named John.
This was good news, as they had been barren for years. Yet my immediate thought was:
“Yeah, great. And one day, John’s going to get his head chopped off by a crazy king.”
“What?!?” I thought. “What happened in my heart that made me jump to the end of the story, where the king’s wife asks to be given the head of John the Baptist on a platter?”
Somehow I skipped the entirety of John’s fruitful and productive life. I went straight to the ending. Why did I skip over all the good stuff? I knew exactly why.
I’ve recently gone through my own “bad ending.” I was in a relationship that began so beautifully, yet ended so abruptly after only a few short months. My head was reeling, as if someone had brought it out on a platter, too. What began as good news soon filled me with tremendous grief and disappointment, so much so that I considered giving up on ministry completely.
I must not have heard from God, I thought. I must have messed up somehow that caused my dream world to burst. And I am now looking back on the relationship through the lens of its ending, leaving me with feelings of pain, shame, and despair.
So I understood why I responded to Zechariah’s “good news” that the angel had brought him. Remembering how the story ended, I filtered it through the lens of the ending only, as if the ending was the most important part.
But John’s story is more than its ending! As I kept reading the Christmas story, I saw a much fuller view of the “good news” the angel had given to Zechariah even before his son John was born. The angel said:
“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God is showing grace to you. For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child has been answered. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you are to name him John.
“His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb.
“And he will persuade many in Israel to convert and turn back to the Lord their God.
“He will go before the Lord as a forerunner, with the same power and anointing as Elijah the prophet.
“He will be instrumental in turning the hearts of the fathers in tenderness back to their children and the hearts of the disobedient back to the wisdom of their righteous fathers.
“And he will prepare a united people who are ready for the Lord’s appearing.”
Luke 1:13-17, TPT
Now that’s a life well-lived! And John did do all of those things, even up to his final breath, when he was beheaded because of his warning to the king to turn away from his adulterous and incestuous relationship with his brother’s ex-wife.
And then there’s this: listen to what Jesus had to say about John’s life:
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11a).
Now that’s the RIGHT perspective! My initial reaction to the passage was skewed by the pain of what I had recently been through myself. I had jumped to the end and skipped all the good stuff in between. My lens was askew.
I thought again about my relationship that ended. I thought of the joys and blessings that have come from it, despite its ending… and some blessings even because of its ending.
I thought again:
Maybe the ending isn’t the most important part.
I prayed: “Lord, help me to have Your perspective on the people and events in my life. Help me to not skew my memories through a lens that’s distorted. Help me to have a clear view of the whole story, especially the parts that are most important to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Here’s John’s story in a nutshell, as foretold by the angel… the parts that matter most of all:
“His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God.”
May God give us all His perspective on the people and events in our lives.
Love,
P.S. And if you’d like to listen to some beautiful Christmas music, here are two full albums of piano music recorded by my sister, Marilyn Byrnes. Just use the links below or search any streaming music service for “Marilyn Byrnes, Christmas.” Enjoy!
