Trapped
The Grange Co-op was on fire. Steve Shafer and two other firefighters drug a hose line through an open bay door and disappeared into the thick black smoke. The thick smoke severely limited their visibility. They were feeling their way, peering through the darkness, looking for any sign of light from the flames that waited for them inside. It was all textbook so far, except for one thing, they couldn’t find the fire. They could feel the heat, there was dense smoke, but try as they might, no fire could be found.
Because he had only been on the department one year, it was Steve Shafer’s job to operate the nozzle on the 2 1/2 inch line taken into the Grange Co-Op, on South Pacific Highway, in Medford, Oregon. The Grange, as the locals called it, was a large retail store and warehouse that sold agricultural supplies.
Steve’s crew took a path that resembled the letter J. After working their way 150 feet deep into the structure, and still finding no flames, they decided to retreat back outside. In a situation such as this, firefighters are trained to follow the hose back out of the building, but Steve thought he could take a short cut across the hook of the J. So he dropped the nozzle, and headed for what he thought was the way out. He didn’t make it far. After a few moments he bumped into a wall. “Not good,” he thought to himself. He turned around and headed back in the general direction of the hose line, but somehow he missed it.
“By now I was totally disoriented,” Steve said. “I had no idea which way to go.”
He felt his way until he found a large roll up door, but it had a padlock on it. It was around this time his low-air warning-bell started ringing.
“So my low-air bell’s going off, and the roll up doors had these little narrow 4″ x 12″ windows in them,” Steve said. “I’m looking through them to the outside, but I can’t see anybody.” Read More
Like this:
Like Loading...
Love Like Jesus–A Quarterback for Christ Responds to an “Accuser”
David was just a kid, but he was on a roll. He was a rookie in Israel’s military but performing like a superstar. Every time he went out on a campaign he lit it up. The army grunts loved him, the officers loved him, the people loved him–he captured the imagination of the nation. If Twitter were around in those days the top trending hashtag would have been #David.
He was an amazing man, David. And multi-talented too, because not only was he Israel’s superstar warrior, but he was also one of their best musicians. Sometimes king Saul would have him play at the palace, performing a private concert just for him. But Saul wasn’t well. He was sometimes overcome with a spirit of evil intent toward David, born of envy. One of those times he picked up his spear and threw it at David, in an attempt to pin him against the wall and kill him. David responded by eluding Saul’s spear and fleeing. Then it happened again, and again David didn’t retaliate but, simply evaded Saul’s spear and fled. David would not raise his hand against Saul for anything. (1 Samuel 18)
How Jesus Loved People
Speaking of Jesus, Matthew 27 says,
So Jesus is under fire. The religious leadership of his day is cranking out false accusations like only politicians can. And they’re the government, so there are consequences, serious consequences. And the way Jesus handles it is to say nothing in response. He doesn’t defend himself, not even against one single false charge.
An NFL Quarterback, a Fire Chief, and a Pastor
A friend who used to work security in a football stadium told me about this encounter he saw between a Chicago Bears’ quarterback and a homeless guy. Read More
Share now:
Like this:
10 Comments
Posted on October 12, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
accusation, Bill Wade, Christian, Christian living, criticism, Love like Jesus, responding to accusation, responding to criticism, Tebow, Tim Tebow
Love Like Jesus–How Jesus Loved Judas to the Very End
Suspicion, by leafhopper77 – Creative Commons
Content for this article was taken from the new book Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus). For more articles included in the book go to Love Like Jesus Book. Love Like Jesus is due to be published in 2018.
Don’t Mess With Me!
When I was new to the position of Captain there was this older more senior firefighter on the same shift. He hadn’t made Captain yet, and he liked to take shots at me. I handled it either by ignoring him or by simply taking his digs good-naturedly. Until one day, a well-meaning supervisor shared that he was concerned I didn’t realize this older firefighter was putting me down.
Man, did that ever mess with my head.
Instead of giving the older firefighter the benefit of the doubt, Read More
Share now:
Like this:
2 Comments
Posted on October 5, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
assmume the best about, benefit of the doubt, how to love like Jesus, how to trust people, Jesus loved Judas, Love like Jesus, trust
Love Like Jesus: Living in a Mexican Prison Cell–Voluntarily
I just heard this story for the first time and it blows my mind. Mary Clarke was a beautiful blonde living in Beverly Hills who describes her life there as “glamorous.” Then in 1969 she had this dream, and in her dream she was a prisoner at Calvary and was about to be executed. But then Jesus appeared and offered to take her place. She refused his offer, touched him on the cheek, and told him she would never leave him. Her life has never been the same since.
A few years after that dream, she moved into a Tijuana prison. Yes, you read that correctly, she actually moved into a Mexican prison, with the drug dealers, thieves, and murderers incarcerated there. She made her home in one of the prison’s sparse 10′ wide cells. She went there to serve the prisoners, and 25 years later she’s still there! Read More
Share now:
Like this:
5 Comments
Posted on September 28, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Christian, Christian living, Christian service, Love like Jesus, prison angel, sarah's vase, serve others, service, sister antonia
Love Like Jesus–A Burning Hand, Luck, Nike, and a Sundial in the Shade
Risk
So you’re trying to figure out what God wants to see you doing with your life. You’re trying to figure out what it is you’re supposed to be doing. You’re always wondering what that might be, and you’re worried your true talent will remain undiscovered: “a sundial in the shade,” as Benjamin Franklin once put it.
But when you mentioned your idea to that family member, he raised an eyebrow. When you told that friend about your dream, it was met with criticism. And that made you afraid. You’re afraid of what people will say, and what people will think. You’re afraid you’ll fail. And, maybe most of all, you’re afraid of leaving the familiar. You know you can keep doing what you’re doing, currently. But that other path, that other life, well, you just never know what bad thing might befall you.
Move or Die
Late one night my friend Mitch Arnold was on the nozzle at a fire in a large sprawling old house, just outside of town. He had two other firefighters backing him as he made his way up the stairs to the second story bedroom where the fire was. But just as he passed through the doorway into the burning room, the roof collapsed, tearing the nozzle out of his hand, stripping off one of his gloves, and cutting him off from the other two firefighters. He was also cut off from his exit. The room was filled with fire, and the hose, his source of water and protection, was now buried under the rubble. Immediately he felt the heat on his unprotected hand. To shield it, he curled up face down on the floor, pressing his hand tightly against his chest. As long as he remained in that position, his hand was protected from the heat. He stayed that way for a few moments. And then, he told me, this thought came into his mind, Read More
Share now:
Like this:
6 Comments
Posted on September 21, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Christian living, Christianity, God wants you to take a risk, Love like Jesus, parable of the talents, Take a risk to love like Jesus
Love Like Jesus–How a Shrink Radically Changed My Perspective on Fatherhood Forever
The Part of Us That Wants to Avoid Our Kids
For some of us dads, the responsibility of getting our kids to undress, take a bath, jump into their PJs, brush their teeth, and get into bed is ours, and ours alone. One writer describes the situation this way,
I remember when my kids were in diapers. I looked for opportunities to trade shifts with other firefighters, Read More
Share now:
Like this:
9 Comments
Posted on September 14, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage
Christian, Christian living, dad, father, Love like Jesus, parenting, Suffer the little children
Love Like Jesus–Stay Married
The connecting link with my old self has always been the memory of the name I took on back there: “I am he who will be there with you.” When we slough off that name, lose that identity, we can hardly find ourselves again.” -Lewis Smedes
How Jesus Loved People Read More
Share now:
Like this:
2 Comments
Posted on September 7, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage
Christian marriage, Love like Jesus, marriage, Marriage counseling, Stay married
Love Like Jesus–How a Woman’s Prayer Saved a Firefighter’s Life
The Grange Co-op was on fire. Steve Shafer and two other firefighters drug a hose line through an open bay door and disappeared into the thick black smoke. The thick smoke severely limited their visibility. They were feeling their way, peering through the darkness, looking for any sign of light from the flames that waited for them inside. It was all textbook so far, except for one thing, they couldn’t find the fire. They could feel the heat, there was dense smoke, but try as they might, no fire could be found.
Because he had only been on the department one year, it was Steve Shafer’s job to operate the nozzle on the 2 1/2 inch line taken into the Grange Co-Op, on South Pacific Highway, in Medford, Oregon. The Grange, as the locals called it, was a large retail store and warehouse that sold agricultural supplies.
Steve’s crew took a path that resembled the letter J. After working their way 150 feet deep into the structure, and still finding no flames, they decided to retreat back outside. In a situation such as this, firefighters are trained to follow the hose back out of the building, but Steve thought he could take a short cut across the hook of the J. So he dropped the nozzle, and headed for what he thought was the way out. He didn’t make it far. After a few moments he bumped into a wall. “Not good,” he thought to himself. He turned around and headed back in the general direction of the hose line, but somehow he missed it.
“By now I was totally disoriented,” Steve said. “I had no idea which way to go.”
He felt his way until he found a large roll up door, but it had a padlock on it. It was around this time his low-air warning-bell started ringing.
“So my low-air bell’s going off, and the roll up doors had these little narrow 4″ x 12″ windows in them,” Steve said. “I’m looking through them to the outside, but I can’t see anybody.” Read More
Share now:
Like this:
7 Comments
Posted on August 24, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Firefighter's life saved by prayer, Jesus Prayed, Love like Jesus, pray, prayer, Woman prays saves firefighter's life
Love Like Jesus–Jesus and the General
Chinese Terracotta Warrior from Xi’an’, Drents Museum in Assen
Read the story of raising Lazarus from the dead.
The Love of a General
The Chaplain said, “When I was studying to lead my unit in the war, we were required to read an ancient story about a Chinese general named Wu Chi. One of Wu Chi’s soldiers was suffering from a battle wound that had abscessed. Wu Chi himself cared for the wound even sucking out the infection. The soldier’s mother, hearing this, wailed and lamented. Somebody asked her, ‘Why do you cry? Your son is only a common soldier, and yet the commander-in-chief himself has sucked the poison from his sore.’ The woman responded, ‘Many years ago Lord Wu performed a similar service for my husband, who never left him afterwards, and finally met his death at the hands of the enemy. And now that he has done the same for my son, he too will fall fighting I know not where.” (Sun Tzu, as cited in Traveler and the Chaplain)
How Jesus Loved People Read More
Share now:
Like this:
Leave a Comment
Posted on August 17, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Art of War, Jesus love, Lazarus, Love like Jesus, Raise Lazarus, Sun Tzu
Love Like Jesus–Make Friends With Money
How Jesus Loved People
So what were the Pharisees sneering at? Jesus had just made the statement, “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)
And the Pharisees loved money.
So they sneered.
You know what, I’ve noticed many of us Christians have a tendency to tap dance around the topic of greed. Maybe that’s partly because of it’s subtlety. We all need money to live, right? But how do you know when you’ve stepped over the line? “When someone commits adultery,” says Timothy Keller, “they don’t say, ‘Oh, hey, wait a second, you’re not my wife!'” But when we get greedy, sometimes, it’s hard to recognize it. But honestly, that’s probably not the main reason we tap dance around the issue. We’ll get to that later. Read More
Share now:
Like this:
4 Comments
Posted on August 10, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Christian living, Jesus money, Love like Jesus, Luke 16, make friends with money
Love Like Jesus and Failed Romance
A Failed Romance
We all knew that guy. He’s the guy from high school who had the huge crush on a girl. During lunch he followed her around the cafeteria–like a puppy following someone with raw meat stuck to their shoe. In the evening, if she didn’t return his call within twenty minutes he started to panic. During the day, he checked his post on Facebook every five minutes to see if she gave it a like.
He smelled of desperation. Which of course had the opposite effect he desired.
Jesus, never did that.
How Jesus Loved People Read More
Share now:
Like this:
5 Comments
Posted on August 3, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage
Christian living, free will, God and free will, let go, Love like Jesus
Love Like Jesus: No Family or Rich Friends Allowed
Kids in the Park
Family’s Softball Game Has Higher Attendance Than Cubs Game
There’s an old joke about a couple who couldn’t have kids. They sought the help of their pastor who said he would fast and pray the last day of every month until they conceived. Shortly thereafter the husband of the couple took a job in another town, so the couple and the pastor lost touch.
One year of fasting in this fashion passed. Finally, the pastor ran into the woman who couldn’t have kids. He asked if anything happened and she shared they had a set of triplets, and not only that but she was twelve weeks pregnant, and not only that but her doctor said she might be pregnant with twins. The pastor was overjoyed. He asked where her husband was so he could find him and congratulate him. She said, Read More
Share now:
Like this:
3 Comments
Posted on July 20, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
adopt, blind, Christian living, crippled, foster kids, lame, Love like Jesus, Luke 14, No family or rich friends, poor
Love Like Jesus: Grace for a Trespass
Augustin Tünger: Facetiae Latinae et Germanicae, Konstanz 1486, Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, Cod. HB V 24a. – Illustration from the life of St. Peter: Saint Peter paying a fee by extracting coins from the mouth of a fish. Image via wiki commons.
The temple tax collectors approached Peter and asked him directly, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
Peter was on the spot. He didn’t really know if Jesus intended to pay the Temple tax or not. But instead of confessing he didn’t know, he decided to wing it. Sure he does, Peter said.
That was quite an assumption. And that must have been quite a long walk home, wondering the whole way back what Jesus really thought about the Temple tax.
Upon his return, as Peter walks in the door I can see in my mind Jesus chuckling to himself. What do you think Simon? Jesus asks. Who do the kings of the earth collect taxes from–from their own kids, or from others? Read More
Share now:
Like this:
9 Comments
Posted on July 13, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage
Christian living, grace, Jesus, Matthew 17, temple tax
Signup for the inside scoop and the latest blog posts
TRENDING
Categories