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"Helping Others Communicate"

IT’S ALL GOOD!

1/30/2014

 
A certain lady once told about what happened when she and her husband purchased an older home from two elderly sisters up in northern New York state …

Winter was fast approaching and the year’s first snow came early; and I was concerned about the house's lack of insulation. "If they could live here all those years, then so can we!" my husband confidently declared.


One November night, the temperature plunged to below zero; and we woke up to find interior walls covered with frost.  My husband called the sisters to ask how they had kept the house warm.  After a rather brief conversation, he hung up.

"For the past 30 years," he muttered, "they've gone to Florida for the winter!"*

Heading south for the winter may have served those two old sisters well for those thirty years; but it would not have done much for them here in the winter of 2014!  You may have seen the picture below already.  It has recently made its rounds on the web.  But, as the picture clearly indicates, it was Old Man Winter himself who went to Florida this year!
Picture
Oh well!  It just goes to prove that the  old saying is true, in that it can’t be sunny every day.  Sooner or later, into every life a little rain must fall.  And sometimes, that rain is frozen! But, maybe that is not such a bad thing.  Nor is the cold.  Let me explain.  

We have had one of the coldest winters in recent memory.  It has repeatedly gotten down into single digit temperatures for several days now.  And yet, when I was a boy, I  remember my father and grandfather, both farmers, rejoicing to see cold weather. Their reasoning was that, without some very cold weather, the insects could be expected to abound the following spring and summer.

I have since checked this out and discovered that it was indeed true - but only for certain bug species and not for others. Nonetheless, it appears that nature in general does benefit by cold weather.  The Weather Channel’s web page contains an article titled Deep Freeze's Silver Lining: Nature's Benefits.**

According to this article, apparently the Great Lakes are refilling, tree killing insects such as the emerald ash borer are dying off, and even our citrus fruit will have a sweeter taste - all as a result of cold weather.

But what is the greatest benefit of all?  Extreme cold also reins in invasive nuisance plants – among them, the insufferable Kudzu! So, on behalf of  Southerners everywhere, “Let it snow.  Let it snow.  Let it snow!”

And above all, along with the Apostle Paul, let us all remember to give thanks in everything (I Thessalonians 5:18), even cold weather; for we never fully know what all God is up to, even when we are freezing!

*JOKE SOURCE: 
http://www.jokes4us.com/miscellaneousjokes/
weatherjokes/snowjokes.html
.

**ARTICLE SOURCE:  
http://www.weather.com/news/science/nat
ure/deep-freeze-silver-linings-20140109
.

NOTE:  In this year of polar vortexes, we may not have seen anything yet.   Apparently, as they say, the  worst is yet to come:
http://theweathercentre.blogspot.com/2014/01/february-4-6-po
tentially-significant.html
.   (Hey, they got it right about this one: http://theweathercentre.blogspot.com/2014/01/january-28-30-
potentially-historic.html
.)

QUIT MONKEYING AROUND!

1/26/2014

 
Greg Laurie serves as Senior Pastor of one of America's largest churches:  Harvest Christian Fellowship, with dual campuses in both Riverside and Irvine, California.  He  founded the church over 35 years ago with around 30 people meeting for Bible Study; and God has since  grown it to over 15,000 members.  
 
During this time, he has also authored over seventy books, including the Gold Medallion Award winner, The Upside Down Church, as well as
Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners  and The Best Is Yet to Come.  He has also written study notes in the New Believer’s Bible, The Seeker’s Bible, and the Start! Bible.

Needless to say, Greg is a gifted communicator.  In one of his blog posts, he tells the following story...

There was a man who had been out of work for a long time and decided to inquire at the local zoo. He told the zookeeper, “I would like a job.  I will clean cages.  I will do whatever you need.”

The zookeeper said, “I’m sorry. We would love to hire you, but there just aren’t any openings right now.”  Noticing how big and burly the man was, the zookeeper suddenly had an idea.

He said, “This is crazy, and you don’t have to agree to it, but would you be willing to put on a costume and pretend to be a gorilla?  Our gorilla died last week. He was our most popular exhibit. If you will be the gorilla, we will have a suit custom-made for you.  We’ll pay you really well.”

Desperate for work, the man took the job.  Feeling  a little apprehensive on his first day, he put on the gorilla suit and climbed into the cage.  He made a few gorilla moves and beat his chest a little.  The people loved it.

The next day, he tried shaking the bars, screaming, and running around. The crowds started growing.  By the third day, he was really enjoying his job and began swinging on the vines. But he swung too far, went over the wall, and landed in the middle of the lion’s cage.

The lion turned and walked toward him rather quickly. The man knew that if he called for help, people would discover he wasn’t really a gorilla. But if he kept quiet, he would be the lion’s lunch. So he screamed, “Help!”

“Shut up, stupid!” the lion whispered back.  “You’ll get us both fired!”

Laurie then adds these insightful words:  

There are a lot of people like this in the church today.  They are putting on a show.  They are pretending to be something they are really not.  You may be a good representative of Jesus Christ, or you may be a bad one.  Either way, you are His representative!*

I was convicted by these words.  I was also reminded of the Apostle Paul’s own words in his second New Testament letter to the Corinthians (II Cor. 5:20):  
“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”   I am somewhat intrigued here by the word “ambassador”.  
 
In the original language of the New Testament, (Koine Greek) this word is “presbeuomen”, and means one who is authorized to speak as an emissary, representing another king and his kingdom.  As such, this person was expected to be someone who was well respected, and known for being trustworthy, loyal, and knowledgeable, especially in the opinion of those they represented.  (Cf.:  
http://biblehub.com/greek/4243.htm.)
 
As Christians, we have been called to fill this very sort of role on behalf of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We literally represent Him to a lost and dying world.  We must ever be mindful, therefore, that the opinion the world forms of  Jesus, as well as the conclusions they reach about Him, will very often be drawn from their interactions with those of us who claim to be His followers.

In light of this, may we represent Him well!  And may we do this, above all, through authenticity, integrity, and sincerity.

*SOURCE: 
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/archive/devotion/
2009-01-31.html
.  Harvest Christian Fellowship’s web site is: http://www.harvest.org/; and Pastor Greg’s personal blog site is located at: http://blog.greglaurie.com/.

BIGGER THAN THE BIG GAME

1/22/2014

 
The web site for Reader’s Digest carries the following story, once told by Joseph L. Fromm.  He states:

A buddy of mine, Mike, had season tickets to the Detroit Lions' home football games.  One year, they had such a miserable record that he couldn’t give away two tickets to a game he wasn’t able to attend.  

While parking at a mall, he decided to leave the tickets under his windshield wiper.  “And that worked?” I asked. 
 

“Not exactly,” said Mike, “I returned to find six more tickets to the same game.” (http://www.rd.com/jokes/funny/sports/our-15-favorite-football-jokes/#ixzz2rHe5ugCR).

In truth, it has not been much of a year for football fans here in Tennessee either.  To begin with, the Titans did not do very well.  (And it cost the head coach, a likeable man, his job.) Neither did the Volunteers, who  did not even make a bowl game.  For that matter, the Southeastern Conference itself did not fair all that well either, coming up short in several bowl games.  
 
But in spite of all this, most everyone here in East Tennessee is brimming with excitement as we await the approach of Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, February 2, up at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.  Why is this?  It is not necessarily that people in these parts are big Seattle Seahawks or Denver Broncos fans.  But Peyton Manning did go to the University of Tennessee.  And, as a result, people around here are definitely Peyton fans!
 
For my part, I did not yet live here in Tennessee when Peyton played ball at the University of Tennessee.  But I am still quite impressed with him - and not just for his football skills.  A wonderful article, titled
Peyton Manning, the Quietly Christian Quarterback, came out earlier today in the Christian Post.  It helps in part to explain why I am so impressed with him.   
 
In this article, writer Jeff Schapiro details the deep and abiding Christian faith of Peyton Manning.  His opening statement sums up the entire article:   
“Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning doesn't publicly discuss his faith as frequently as some other Christian athletes; but he has said that he wants his actions to speak louder than his words.”

From there, Schapiro goes on to detail many of the ways that Peyton Manning chooses to express his faith by his actions, many of which are well known to those of us who do live here in East Tennessee.  You can read more  about all these things  at:  
http://www.christianpost.com/news/peyton-manning
-the-quietly-christian-quarterback-113220/
.  A similar article is here: http://mindingthetruth.com/2013/12/30/peyton-manning
s-christian-faith/
.
 
You may also want to check out Peyton’s actual book, Manning (New York:  Harper entertainment, 2000), coauthored with his father, Archie Manning, and writer John Underwood.  On pages 362-364, he speaks plainly about his faith in Jesus Christ: 
 
Like my dad, I make it a point when I speak to groups to talk about priorities, and when it’s school kids, I rank those priorities as: faith, family, and education, then football. For me generally it had always been the big four: faith, family, friends, and football. And I tell all of them that as important as football is to me, it can never be higher than fourth. 

My faith has been number one since I was thirteen years old and heard from the pulpit on a Sunday morning in New Orleans a simple question: “If you died today, are you one hundred percent sure you’d go to heaven?” Cooper was there and Eli [Peyton's two brothers] but it didn’t hit them at the time the way it did me. It was a big church, and I felt very small, but my heart was pounding.

The minister invited those who would like that assurance through Jesus Christ to raise their hands, and I did. Then he invited us to come forward, to take a stand, and my heart really started pounding. And from where we sat, it looked like a mile to the front.


But I got up and did it. And I committed my life to Christ, and that faith has been most important to me ever since. Some players get more vocal about it—the Reggie Whites, for example—and some point to Heaven after scoring a touchdown and praise God after games.

I have no problem with that. But I don’t do it, and don’t think it makes me any less a Christian. I just want my actions to speak louder, and I don’t want to be more of a target for criticism than I already am…


Christians … make mistakes, just as non-Christians do.  My faith doesn’t make me perfect, it makes me forgiven, and provides me the assurance I looked for half my life ago. I think God answered our prayers with Cooper, and that was a test of our faith. But I also think I’ve been blessed—having so little go wrong in my life, and being given so much.

I pray every night, sometimes long prayers about a lot of things and a lot of people, but I don’t talk about it or brag about it because that’s between God and me, and I’m no better than anybody else in God’s sight.


But I consider myself fortunate to be able to go to Him for guidance, and I hope (and pray) I don’t do too many things that displease Him before I get to Heaven myself. I believe, too, that life is much better and freer when you’re committed to God in that way. I find being with others whose faith is the same has made me stronger. J.C. Watts and Steve Largent, for example. They’re both in Congress now. 
 

We had voluntary pregame chapel at Tennessee, and  I attend chapel every Sunday with players on the team in Indianapolis. I have spoken to church youth groups, and at Christian high schools. And then simply as a Christian, and not as good a one as I’d like to be.

How do I justify football in the context of “love your enemy?” I say to kids, well, football is most definitely a “collision sport,” and I can’t deny it jars your teeth and at the extreme can break your bones. But I’ve never seen it as a “violent game,” there are rules to prevent that, and I know I don’t have to hate anybody on the other side to play as hard as I can within the rules.

I think you’d have to get inside my head to appreciate it, but I do love football. And, yes, I’d play it for nothing if that was the only way, even now when I’m no longer a child. I find no contradiction in football and my faith.


Ah, but do I “pray for victory?” No, except as a  generic thing. I pray to keep both teams injury free, and personally, that I use whatever talent I have to the best of my ability. But I don’t think God really cares about who wins football games, except as winning might influence the character of some person or group.

Besides, if the Colts were playing the Cowboys and I prayed for the Colts and Troy Aikman prayed for the Cowboys, wouldn’t that make it a standoff?


I do feel this way about it. Dad says it can take twenty years to make a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it. I want my reputation to be able to make it through whatever five-minute crises I run into and I’m a lot more comfortable knowing where my help is.

And to that, brother, I'll just say "Omaha!"
 
NOTE:  Peyton will not be the only Christian quarterback playing in the Super Bowl this year.  Seattle’s Russell Wilson is also a believer.  See: 
http://www.christianpost.com/news/seattle-seaha
wks-russell-wilson-players-agree-with-assistant-coach-jesus-is-bet
ter-than-super-bowl-112892/
.

FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

1/20/2014

 
W.A. Criswell was the longtime Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas - a position he held for over fifty years.  He is noted for having delivered several key sermons, one of which is titled “The Old time Religion”.  In it, he told the following story.  
 
There was once was an old-time Bible-believing preacher on whom some boys played a trick. It seems they took some glue and glued some of the pages of his Bible together. 
 

Well, the following Sunday, the old preacher took out his Bible to preach, and turned to the story of Noah.  He then commenced to read about Noah’s wife:  “And in those days, Noah was one hundred forty seven years old and he took unto himself a wife, and she…”  
 

He then turned the page and read on, “… and she was forty cubits broad, seventy cubits high, and a hundred cubits long, made out of gopher wood, and daubed on the inside and out with pitch.”

Well, the old Bible-believing preacher scratched his head for a minute, and then said, “Brothers and sisters, that’s the first time I ever saw that in the Word of God.  But, if the Bible says it, I believe it!” 
 

Then he added, “That just goes to prove that other marvelous text in the Bible, which says we are all wonderfully and fearfully made.”*

Both Dr. Criswell and that old Preacher were right!  Each and every one of us is indeed “fearfully and wonderfully made”! Psalm 139 affirms this great truth.  Verses 13-18, in particular, give us the origin of this phrase:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.


How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand -              when I awake, I am still with you.

The third Sunday in January is the day on which a great many in our country  annually recognize and celebrate the sanctity (or sacredness) of human life.   Why not take time this week to reflect on the great many blessings that you enjoy as a  result of having been born a human being?  

For, as such, according to the Bible, you have been created in the image of Almighty God.  You have been endowed with a body, soul, and spirit.  You have been redeemed by the precious blood of God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.  You have been showered with mercy, guidance, and strength for the living of each new day. And, most exciting of all, you have been promised a home for all eternity in that most wonderful of places called Heaven!  
  
By the way, if you are interested in knowing more about just how fearfully and wonderfully you have been made, please check out the following book by Philip Yancey and Paul Brand:  Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing, 1980).  The back cover says:

Mysterious, intricate, pulsing with energy... The human body is an endlessly fascinating repository of secrets. The miracle of the skin, the strength and structure of the bones, the dynamic balance of the muscles . . .your physical being is knit according to a pattern of incredible purpose.

In Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, renowned surgeon Dr. Paul Brand and best-selling writer Philip Yancey explore the human body.  Join them in a remarkable journey through inner space - a spellbinding world of cells, systems, and chemistry that bears the impress of a still deeper, unseen reality. 
 

This "Gold Medallion Award" winning book uncovers eternal statements that God has made in the very structure of our bodies, presenting captivating insights into the Body of Christ.

This classic work was so successful that it inspired a sequel titled
In His Image (Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing, 1984). The back cover of this second volume states: 
 
The Voice of God is a Heartbeat Away…  In Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul  Brand revealed how God's voice is encoded in the very structure of our bodies.  In His Image takes up where its predecessor left off, beckoning us once again inward and onward to fresh exploration and discovery. 

Yancey and Brand show how accurately and  intricately the human body portrays the Body of Christ.  In  five sections - Image, Blood, Head, Spirit, and Pain - the acclaimed surgeon and
the award-winning writer unlock the remarkable, living lessons contained in our physical makeup. 


This "Gold Medallion Award" winning book will open  your eyes to the complex miracle of the human body, and the even more compelling spiritual truths that it reflects.

Both of these works are very informative.  More importantly, they are inspirational, reminding us of the awesome creative power of our God.  They are well worth anyone’s time to read.

*SOURCE:  An entire website has been devoted to preserving  the life, ministry, and legacy of W.A. Criswell. This particular sermon is found there:  
http://www.wacriswell.com/sermons/1998/the-old-time-religion/.

TRUE VALUE

1/17/2014

 
In his new book, Mud and the Masterpiece (Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 2013, pp. 64-65), John Burke, Founding Pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas, tells the story of one time professional baseball pitcher, Matt White.

A decade ago, Matt had an aunt who had been struggling for years to make ends meet.  When her health started to decline, she was forced to sell her fifty acres of property to pay for health care.  So, partly as an act of kindness,  Matt traveled to Massachusetts where he himself purchased the land from his aunt - for the assessed value of $50,000.  Later, while he was out exploring the land with the idea of building a house, he discovered numerous stone outcroppings and rock ledges.

Intrigued, he contracted a geologist, who then surveyed the land.  It turned out that the stone was actually something known as Goshen stone, which is a fairly rare type of mica that is especially useful for sidewalks, patios, landscapes, and the like. 

At that particular time, mica was selling for around $100 a ton. The value of the mica on the surface alone was appraised at $50,000, or the price of the parcel of land.  But Mr. White had approximately twenty four million tons of it underneath his fifty acre tract.  Some experts insist that, based on the estimated amount of mica that still lies beneath the land, its true value is closer to $2 billion. 
 
Not surprisingly, this news prompted more than a few of White's teammates to give him a new nickname: "The Billionaire."  He went on to set up a family run business called Swift River Stone. During its first year of operation, it made $600,000. According to the official company website, even now, years later, sales of Goshen Stone appear fairly steady. 

Burke uses this as a wonderful illustration about the value of human life.  We are all, each and every one of us, people who have been made in God's image.  Now, most people are only valued for what is seen on the outside.  Jesus, however, looked beyond the surface appearance and saw the great value of people on the inside – as individual souls uniquely created in the image of Almighty God and esteemed valuable enough, when
lost, to redeem at the cost of His own Son. 
 
This Sunday is “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”.  As such, it is a good time to remind each of us, as followers of Jesus Christ, that we, the church, must also see the dignity and value beneath the surface of each and every person we encounter.  I can only hope we will - for their sake and ours; but especially for His.

John Burke’s site is:
  http://www.johnburkeonline.com/about/. His book is available there.   Swift River Stone can be found at: http://www.swiftriverstone.net/index.html.

READ MY BOOK!

1/12/2014

 
It was years ago, as a teenager, when I first heard the following anecdote.  Like many, I found it rather amusing at the time; and I still do today. 
 
An older preacher told the story of a young minister interviewing for his first pastorate.  The pulpit committee had invited him to come over to their church for the interview.  The committee chairman asked, "Son, do you know the Bible pretty good?" 

The young minister said, "Yes, pretty good."  The chairman asked, "Which part do you know best?"  He responded saying, "I know the New Testament best."  "Which part of the New Testament do you know best?" asked the chairman.  The young minister said, "Several parts."  The chairman said, "Well, why don't you tell us the story of the Prodigal Son?"  The young man said, "Fine."

He proceeded thusly: "
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell upon stony ground; and the thorns choked him half to death. 

"The next morning Solomon and his wife, Gomorrah, came by, and carried him down to the ark for Moses to take care of.  But, as he was going through the Eastern Gate into the Ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there forty days and forty nights, and he afterwards did hunger.  And then the ravens came and fed him. 
 

"The next day, the three wise men came and carried him down to the boat dock and he caught a ship to Nineveh.  And when he got there he found Delilah sitting on the wall.  He said, "Chunk her down, boys, chunk her down."  And they said, "How many times shall we chunk her down, till seven time seven?"  And he said, "Nay, but seventy times seven."  And they chunked her down four hundred and ninety times. 

"And she burst asunder in their midst.  And they picked up twelve baskets of the leftovers.  Now, let me ask you all a question.  In the resurrection, whose wife shall she be?" 

The committee chairman suddenly interrupted the  young minister, and then said to the remainder of the committee, "Fellows, I think we ought to ask the church to call him as our minister.  I know he's awfully young, but he sure does know his Bible!"*

A number of years later, as a Pastor, I told this from the pulpit myself.  As anticipated, I got a pretty good laugh.  However, as I have now retold it, in varying contexts down through the years, I have begun to notice a disturbing trend:  less and less people laugh!  
 
Why is this?  Well, it could be because they have all heard it before.  But I have observed that people still laugh at many other “oldie but goodie” type jokes that are told over and over again.  No, I fear something else is at play here.  I fear fewer and fewer people laugh because, in reality, fewer and fewer actually know their Bible!  
  
The simple truth is that people used to read the Bible; but now they don’t!  And the consequence of this is that they increasingly lack even a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible, its stories, and its teachings.  And when one does not know his or her Bible, the subtleties of the humor in the above piece are completely lost.

What about you?  Did you find any humor in the above piece?  If not, why not?  Had you heard it already?  Or did much of the humor it contains just go unnoticed because of a lack of basic Bible knowledge on your part?

Of course, the purpose of the reading the Bible is not just to gain knowledge of or familiarity with its content.  The purpose is to read it and then to apply its principles, thereby allowing your life to be transformed.
 
So, why not make 2014 the year that you finally read the Bible for yourself, familiarizing yourself with its contents?   After all, it is fairly easy to do.  Just pick it up and start reading.  But far more importantly, after reading it, why not then begin to apply its teachings to your life?  More than just becoming a smarter person, you will then become a better person.  And that is no laughing matter!

NOTE:  Robert D. Luginbill, PhD, runs an excellent webpage on the importance of understanding both the right and the responsibility we each have as a follower of Christ in regard to reading and studying the Bible for ourselves.  Check it out at:  
http://ichthys.com/readbible.htm.  I think you will be glad you did.
 
*JOKE SOURCE:  The original author is unknown.  However, this story, which has been around a long time, is available widely in various forms on the internet.  One such website is found here:
http://jokes.christiansunite.com/Bible/The_New_Pastor.shtml.

HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO

1/9/2014

 
One Sunday morning in October of this past year, I shared the following story in my morning message.

A man awoke one morning to find a puddle of water in the middle of his king-size waterbed.  In order to fix the puncture, he rolled the heavy mattress outdoors and filled it with more water so he could locate the leak more easily. 

The enormous bag of water was impossible to control and began rolling on the hilly terrain.  He tried to hold it back; but it headed downhill and landed in a clump of bushes that poked it full of holes. 
 

Disgusted, he threw out the waterbed frame and  moved a standard bed into his room.  The next morning, he awoke to find a puddle of water in the middle of the new bed.  The upstairs bathroom had a leaky drain. 
 
 
After the service was over, a man approached me and asked if the story was true or not.  His exact question was:  "Did that really happen?  Or was it just a 'preacher story'?" 

Well, I am happy to report that it was not just a "preacher story". It came from Reader’s Digest magazine, March, 1993, p. 123. The original version was written in first person, by someone who apparently had known the man, had witnessed the episode, and had then sent in the story about what all had happened to him.

I found it quoted in a blog by Scott Aughtmon, Lead Pastor of the Pathway Church in Palo Alto, California, as found at:
http://pathwaypaloalto.blogspot.com/2007/07/series-heroes-ex
tra-ordinary-living-for_17.html
.
 
I share it again today as food for thought, especially as the new year continues to unfold.  It is natural (and proper) at this time of the year to undergo a process of evaluation in an attempt to determine what things we should let go of and what things we should keep.

And yet, while this is a worthwhile process, it is important to make certain that we do not get carried away.  Spring cleaning (or in this case, mid-winter cleaning) is a good thing.  We just need to make certain not to go overboard in our enthusiasm and
discard something we might later realize that we should have kept.
 
Years ago, as a child, I remember hearing people talk about the importance of not "
throwing out the baby with the bath water". The origin of this phrase had to do with the bygone custom of washing a baby in a wash tub in the kitchen.  After the process was over, mothers would naturally throw the dirty bath water out - usually by slinging it out across the yard.  Needless to say, it was essential to remove the baby from the tub first.

As  we move through life, it will be always be important to discard some things.  After all, we cannot carry everything with us for our whole lives.  This applies to possessions, to be sure, but also to memories, feelings, grudges, attitudes, hurts, and a whole hosts of similar things.  However, we must make certain as we discard these things that we do not let go of those essential relationships, convictions, values, etc… all of which we rightfully hold dear.
 
So please pray for me, as I will you, that God will give us both wisdom in order to know what all we should value, and thus keep; as opposed to what all we should properly and freely discard.  And as the new year unfolds, perhaps we will each find ourselves more suited, and better fitted, to serve our Lord.

“TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I LOVE YA, TOMORROW!”

1/6/2014

 
This past Sunday, in my New Year's message, I referenced an article by Brent Beshore which was actually written for Forbes.com at the end of 2012 regarding the unfolding of 2013.  But his point is well made and applicable to any year, including the unfolding 2014. The article is titled 12 Failed Predictions for 2013 Inspiration, and can be found online at:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentbeshore/2012/12/31/12-failed-predictions-for-2013-inspiration/.
 
After  referencing the many predictions for the unfolding year, most of which have to do with impending economic and/or ecological disaster, Mr. Beshore reminds us  that
“highly respected thought leaders have always incorrectly predicted the future”.  
 
Ultimately, Mr. Beshore argues that the future is not written in stone.  The outcome is not inevitable.  So we need to be careful about falling prey to the naysayers, for these people always have been and always will be with us.   Perhaps the best reason to ignore them, he says, is that history shows us that the most promising breakthroughs have always been met with high levels of skepticism.

To help block out the naysayers, he then goes on to list his “Top 12 Most Spectacular Failed Predictions” as glaring examples.  For my part, I want to repost them here today.

1.  “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

2. “Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.” - Dr. Lee DeForest, Inventor of the TV.

3.  “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” - Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

4.  “640K ought to be enough for anybody.” - Bill Gates, 1981.

5.  “The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.”  - Yale University management professor critiquing Fred Smith’s paper proposing what became FedEx.
 
 
6.  “Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.


7.  “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” - Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

8.  “Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.” - Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872.

9.  “If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one.” - National Cancer Institute, 1954.

10. “Sensible and responsible women do not want to  vote.” - Grover Cleveland, U.S. President in 1905.

11. “I’d shut [Apple] down and give the money back to the shareholders.” - Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell, Inc., 1997.

12. “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” - Western Union Internal Memo, 1876.
 
Mr. Beshore concludes his article by reminding us that, as it is often said, “haters gonna hate.”   Some people are just going to be negative.  It is a given in life.  So accept it.  But don't stop there.  

He then states,
“When someone tells you that you can’t do it, remember these quotes, charge forward, and just focus on making it happen.  Cheers to an innovative and productive (new year).

I wholeheartedly concur with his admonition.  As believers, it will always be important to remember that God has a very specific future in store for each and every one of us.  The message that the Prophet Jeremiah once shared with the Children of Judah when they were in captivity in ancient Babylon is as applicable to us today as it was to God’s people over 2500 years ago (29:11-14):  
 
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 
 
I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”


It may just be that 2013 did not quite turn out the way you had planned.  Looking back, you may have gotten a bit off  course, or perhaps even become captive to some situation or substance. As a result, like the people of God so long ago, you may now find yourself in bondage in some proverbial Babylon.  But, praise God that does not have to be the end of the story!  
 
You see, in Jeremiah’s day, as the people of Judah sat languishing in captivity in Babylon, an all pervasive attitude of doom and gloom prevailed.  The naysayers abounded, as they repeatedly declared that Judah was now finished, that all hope was lost, and that God's people had no future.

And yet, even though many people doubted it at the time, Jeremiah’s prophecy did in fact come true.  After seventy years, the people of Judah were released from captivity, just as suddenly as they had been taken into it.  

The Persian Empire overthrew the Babylonians.  This new superpower then allowed the Jews to return to their home land. In short order, God’s people had rebuilt His temple, Jerusalem’s city walls, and their own homes.  In so doing, they rebuilt their lives and their future.

So, remember, as the Apostle Peter tells us, "the Lord is not slack concerning His promises" (2 Peter 3:9, KJV).  He will do that which He says He will do.  Of this, you can be certain.  And because of this, we can believe in the truthfulness and relevance of Jeremiah 29:11 even today.  
 
Thus, my prayer for you is that the coming year will be a better one than the last.  In short, that tomorrow will be better then yesterday.  And also that God will show you the future He has in store for you, as well as the path He would have you to travel in order to realize that future.   

As He does, I hope you will choose to believe and follow Him, and not the naysayers.  For I assure you that He, and not any of them, knows the future.  He alone not only knows it; He alone controls it.  And He wants to give it to us.  Amen.

THE DAWNING OF ANOTHER YEAR

1/1/2014

 
In his classic book, Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1990), Kenneth W. Osbeck tells the story of Frances R. Havergal and “one of the finest New Year’s  prayers of consecration ever written”.  

Ms. Havergal was a very gifted vocalist and musician who also spoke seven different  languages fluently.  She also managed to memorize the entire New Testament, as well as  significant portions of the Old Testament.

More importantly, she learned to dedicate herself and her talents totally to God.  Perhaps this was the key to understanding her productivity and proficiency in life.

Osbeck relates the following story.  Under the heading, “A Happy New Year.  Ever Such May It Be!”, she included the following words to a poem she penned in her 1874 New Year’s greeting card to her friends.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face.
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast,
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.*

Osbeck points out that Ms. Havergal had already become known throughout England as
“the consecration poet” before this poem was ever released.  He then adds this insightful observation:  “It was said of her that she always lived  her words before she wrote them.  Her life was one of constant and complete commitment to God.”  

Little wonder, then, that her newest poem would be received so thoughtfully by her friends, and would eventually be made into a great hymn of the church.

Of course, all of this leads us to a significant question on this first day of 2014:  “Just how consecrated are we to God?”  Have we (you and I) dedicated this new year to God?  If not, should we?  Above all, will we?

*Portions of Osbeck’s book can be found online at:  
http://book
s.google.com/books?id=mPqN_R-waqUC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&d
q=Frances+R.+Havergal+another+year+is+dawning&source=bl&o
ts=wXbkMxhEwD&sig=ZZXJk-jUC3hUjFvhSzmXFVkkMWg&hl=en&
sa=X&ei=jSnEUuHrJ8nOyQH8yIHYCw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=one
page&q=Frances%20R.%20Havergal%20another%20year%20is%20
dawning&f=false
.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

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