As Evening Approaches

I am the youngest of four brothers. I never knew my second oldest brother because he died from spinal meningitis when he was two years old. The remaining three brothers are six years apart which means each of us was raised almost like an only child for the first six years of their life.

I loved my two other brothers, but one of the negative outcomes of being raised six years apart was that we lived fairly independent lives from each other. There were infrequent phone calls between us, and neither of us knew much detail about what was going on in the other brothers’ lives. We might exchange a phone call every so often, and the humorous part was the call felt like we picked up from a conversation we had the previous day. Yet our typical conversation lacked specificity and depth.

Recently, my oldest surviving brother faced some serious medical issues. It looked bleak for a few days. Thankfully, he made it through surgery and is holding his own. But this near-death experience got me lamenting about how little I knew about my brother.

Romans 14:13 reminds us: “Therefore let us not be judging one another any longer, but rather make this your decision, not to put before a brother a stumbling block or a cause for tripping.”

As far as I know, I have never intentionally placed a stumbling block before my siblings. But as years advance and evening of death approaches an aging person, recent events with my brother causes me to add specificity and depth to whatever time we may have left.

Robert Parlante
August 2016

Because of One Solitary Life

This past week we experienced the passing of a close neighbor after a long illness. It was a sad time, as well as an uplifting time hearing about the wonderful contributions he had made into the lives of his family and friends. What a blessed way to be remembered.

A few years ago I experienced a passing that felt just the opposite. This incident is forever etched into my memory bank. It was a sad experience, yet it felt like an episode of “Seinfeld.”

I had just started an environmental engineering position at the corporate headquarters of a major corporation. I was on the job a few weeks, I was the only one in the office at the time, and I hoped no incident would happen requiring me to intervene. I was just a neophyte!

Early afternoon I received a call from my boss who was out of town on business. He said one of the corporate executives had died and was being waked at a local funeral home. He asked me to pay respects to the family on behalf of the environmental engineering department. I had no clue who this person was. I had never seen a photo of him. I could not think about what I would say to the mourners.

Later when I walked into the foyer of the funeral home I saw the overflow crowd in the viewing room to my left. I walked over to the open casket and knew something was immediately wrong. The man laid out was short and stocky; every executive I had seen in my company was trim and over six feet tall.

A woman walked up to me and thanked me for coming. “How do you know my husband,” she asked.

I barely got the words out. “I work in the environmental engineering department at American Cyanamid.”

“Thank you for coming today,” she said. “My husband did all the bricklaying of the monuments at the front entrance to your company.”

What? This man is a stone-mason, not an executive! After offering condolences, I immediately and quietly escaped into the crowd, headed for the exit, when I saw another viewing room with a lone closed casket. The placard in the door indicated it was the executive.

I was stunned still. There was not a single mourner in the room. Surely there must have been a good reason for that. I cannot judge.

To this day, that incident is a reminder to remember people for their contributions to life worth living. Did they finish the race? Did they stay the course? Did they encourage their family? Did something change in a positive way because of that one life?

We are all one solitary life. I hope and pray we leave behind a legacy of blessings whether you are a stone-mason or a powerful executive. I know my neighbor friend did! 

Robert Parlante

August 2016

They Are Not Real People!

Today we return to Psalm 37 for our final word of encouragement found in its uplifting words. Verse 7a reads: Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

I don’t know anyone who can honestly say they know how to be still and patient and wait for the Lord to intervene in their pressing issues. The political environment we are presently experiencing agitates me and has me talking to the television at times. Being still and patient are the last things on my mind while watching the political drama unfold before my eyes.

 My wife and I have been binge watching the TV series “Madam Secretary” on Netflix. The stories are riveting and the characters are realistic. Last night while watching an episode, we found ourselves both yelling at our least favorite character in the series.

In a moment of revelation, I turned to my wife and said, “What are we doing? They are not real people!”

How can I be still and patient when I can’t adequately separate reality from fiction?

Galatians 5:22 reads: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. If you are a believer you are equipped with the fruit of the Spirit.

Need to be still … Need patience … then dig deep within yourself because you are already equipped to deal with life’s challenges. Ask the Lord to strengthen you.

Robert Parlante
August 2016

Power Outage

I was listening to iHeartRADIO when one of their Internet DJs shared how her family reacted when they had recently experienced a 2-hour power outage during a thunder storm. Beyond the obvious results of electrical power outages, computers went dead. Internet-based news cycles could not be accessed. One work-at-home family member was a web designer. No power; no web design activity.

Life came to a screeching halt when there was no access to electrical power. But consider what would life be without the other power source ___ the Holy Spirit. The impact of such an event would impact a person far beyond two hours. In fact, it would be a lifetime and an eternity impact.

When a person places his or her faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is imparted to us. That Spirit is then available to lead us, guide us and help us. The good news is that there is never a power outage or “removal” of the Holy Spirit if we continue to seek the direction of the Spirit through Scripture, prayer and fellowship with other believers.

With the Holy Spirit in our lives, one’s life can never come to a screeching halt! Life is more exciting than any computer game, more important than any news cycle spreading gloom and doom, and is perfectly designed.

Have a Holy Spirit powered day!
Robert Parlante

August 2016

Grafted Apples

As a child I loved being with my grandparents who owned a homestead adjacent to my family’s property. Neither grandparent worked outside the home, and both worked the land and raised livestock to sustain their large family. My grandmother made the largest and best cinnamon buns in the world (excuse the exaggeration!), and my grandfather was a master gardener (before Master Gardener became a certification).

During summer vacation from school I would follow my grandfather throughout his patch of land. He taught me so much about gardening and raising chickens from the old country in Italy. My love of gardening has still not diminished. I gave up on chickens since I always seemed to have a love-hate relationship with roosters.

His grafted apple tree was legendary. He took scions (cuttings) of different apple trees and grafted them all on one other tree. When the resultant apples ripened you could pick whichever ones you like. Back then, I thought it was a miracle. Now I know it is only science and knowhow.

Today with events as they are, the grafted apple tree got me thinking in a different direction. Perfect and different varieties of apples were all growing on the same root stock. Shouldn’t our lives as believers be the same? When we are grafted into Christ as a believer a Macintosh apple can grow next to a Granny Smith drawing the same sustenance through the tree roots. There doesn’t have to be an isolated tree for each ethnicity or culture. When grafted into the same root stock as believers we should appreciate and celebrate the variety and tastes of cultures which Christ came to save.

Robert Parlante

July 2016

Some Plant, Some Water, Some Reap

In 1991 my wife and I joined a mission trip to the city of Krasnoyarsk Russia located in eastern Siberia to minister to school children. The team distributed the Book of Life which was an easy-to-read version of the Gospel of John, as well as medical supplies.

I still recall the warm and enthusiastic reception the various teams received ministering in the schools which ranged from lower grades to college.

Now jump ahead a few decades. I recently received a call from a minster friend who led the teams going to Krasnoyarsk. He was on a layover at the Charlotte Douglas Airport and decided to “catch up” with me and my family. At the close of our phone call, he then told me how he had preached recently at a Messianic congregation where he had shared about the trip to Krasnoyarsk in 1991. After his sermon a woman in her 30s-40s came forward and shared with him her journey to salvation.

She recalled a group of missionaries coming to the Siberian city to distribute the Book of Life. The missionary team came to her specific school and gave  her a copy of the Book of Life. After we had long gone, the young girl read the Gospel of John and told my friend how it set her on a path to salvation. (I do not know if the attached photo includes the woman in question. But I would like to believe it does!)

It brought to mind Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:6 – I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

This was a reminder to continue planting seeds,
watering with discipleship, encouragement and friendship,
and most important, trusting God to make it grow!

Robert Parlante
July 2016

Commit Your Way to the Lord

Today we return to Psalm 37 which I believe gives us several instructions that help be at peace with ourselves. Verse 5 says: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this…”

Before we get to what the Lord will do, we need to first look at the issues of commitment. Couples co-habitating before marriage seem to be the norm. After they are married it is not uncommon to hear one say, “If it doesn’t work out we’ll just get divorced.” It appears marriage is not always viewed as a commitment.

When I entered the workforce in my early 20s, I was grateful to have a job, and I believed I was committed to that job potentially for a lifetime. Today, millennials anticipate they will change jobs every few years. Commitment is redefined to fit society’s changing viewpoints.

When the David wrote Psalm 37, he understood the frivolous nature of people. If you do not commit to the ways of the Lord, one gets onto a slippery pathway of potential discontent because the world keeps changing the rules and definitions of life. Only Scripture remains true to purpose and meaning of life.

Now what will the Lord do if we commit ourselves to the ways of the Lord? Verse 6 gives us the answer. “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

For those unhappy with the worldly path you may be on, consider what comes from commitment to the ways of the Lord. (1) Your prayers will be answered. (2) One’s righteous standard of living will be an encouragement to others. (3) You will enjoy the Lord’s sustaining help and protection. (4) You can look forward with confidence to a heavenly inheritance.

Be encouraged. Commit your ways to the Lord. His definitions are not subject to whims of society. The Godly ways are true and comforting.

May the peace be with you,

Robert Parlante
July 1, 2016