A Wisconsin bus driver is being hailed as a hero after she rescued two siblings found wandering in the snow during last week’s cold snap. Nicole Chamberlain said she found a 6-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sister in Waukesha, not properly dressed for the cold. At the time the temperature was 18 degrees, according to local news reports. The girl was only wearing a T-shirt, boots and her diaper.

Bus surveillance video shows Chamberlain scoop up the girl and put the two on the bus for warmth. Chamberlain wrapped her coat around the girl. "I said, 'What's going on?' and they said, 'We're looking for grandma.' I said, 'Come with me, I'm gonna put you on the warm bus, and I'll help you find grandma.' And so they came with me," Chamberlain said. "I picked them up and put them on my bus and called the police."

Police said the kids' grandmother was watching them but when she went in the basement for a moment, they headed outside to look for her. Within minutes, the grateful grandmother arrived at the bus and explained to police that the two had wandered away from home.

Chamberlain said she was glad her bus route took her past the right place at the right time. "If that were to happen to my children, I would hope that there would be somebody, a decent human being, that would stop and help my kids," she said. Police said they were not recommending charges in the case.

All’s well that ends well.  Those wandering children were found and brought back home.  Somebody was watching out for them!

Little children are not the only ones who wander.  And frigid cold is not the only threat.

God is a good, good father who keeps watch over his children. He doesn’t want us to wander and be lost. For that reason he sent his son to be the savior of the world.  For that same reason he sends those of us who have been rescued to bring back home those who wander.

He calls us to “watch out for wanderers!” That will be our theme this Sunday at Istrouma as we focus on James 5:19-20. Be sure to join us! 

James: Practical Spirituality

“Watch out for Wanderers!”

James 5:19-20

1. A temptation to avoid

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth . . . (5:19a).

1. There is universal guilt

1. There is unlimited grace

1. A task to accept

. . . and someone brings him back (5:19b).

1. God is recruiting workers

1. God is restoring wanderers

1. A truth to announce

Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (5:20).

1. There is joy in service
2. There is joy in salvation

One of the most exuberant and engaging TV personalities of recent memory was Steve Irwin—the “crocodile hunter.”  He was an Australian who grew up, literally, in a zoo that his parents operated.  When he was six-years-old, he got his first python.  By the time he was nine, he wrestled his first croc.  He loved wildlife and was an advocate for them.

When he was 44-years-old he was snorkeling in chest-high water.  His crew was filming a stingray.  Normally stingrays are described as docile but they do have a venomous barb at the end of their tail. When threatened it is a formidable weapon.  Something must have spooked the stingray because it began thrusting its tail wildly. 

Steve was hit in his heart.  Within a few short minutes he died.

There is so much irony in his death.  He loved animals and advocated for them.  He was young and vibrant.  Death by a stingray injury is very, very rare. 

But the story of Steve Irwin reminds us of how fragile and fleeting life is. We never know when our time will come or how it will end.

How, then, ought we to face the future?  That will be our theme this Sunday at Istrouma as we focus on James 4:13-17. Be sure to join us! 

I’m sure it comes as no newsflash, but we are living in a war-torn world.

Think of the serious conflicts that rage globally. Hotspots include: Turkey and Syria, India and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and the list goes on. Not only are there are conflicts between nations, there are conflicts within nations—places like Venezuela and Hong Kong. In fact, it might be easier to list the countries that don’t have war than those that do. Recently the Institute for Economics and Peace evaluated 162 countries. Only 11 were not involved in conflict of one kind or another.

It’s bad enough to have conflict within the league of nations, but how bad is it when it erupts in Little League?! On June 15, 2019, a baseball game for 7-year-olds in Lakewood, Colorado descended into chaos when parents disagreed over a decision made by the 13-year-old umpire.  Spectators captured video of a shocking brawl that ensued. Authorities ultimately issued citations for disorderly conduct to twelve adults. Crazy!

Let me get more personal still.  What about your family?  What about your own heart?  Are you at peace?

This coming Sunday at Istrouma we will focus on James 4:1-10. There God gives us a prescription for peace.  We’ll see the sources of conflicts, the seriousness of conflicts, and the solution to conflicts. Be sure to join us!

James: Practical Spirituality

“A Prescription for Peace”

James 4:1-10

1. The sources of sinful conflict

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? (4:1a)

1. The seriousness of sinful conflict

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a firend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (4:4-5).

1. The solution to sinful conflict

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (4:6-7).