Blog Archives

THE LIVING DEAD

1/30/2017

In my last post, titled DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY (and listed below), I referenced a short piece from my files called “TEN RULES FOR HAPPIER LIVING”. Before I continue (and as it is very brief), I repost it here. as you read it, pay particular attention to number ten on the list.

1.   Give something away (no strings attached)
2.   Do a kindness (and forget it)
3.   Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience is a priceless guidance)
4.   Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel)
5.   Laugh often (it's life's lubricant)
6.   Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not enough)
7.   Pray (or you will lose the way)
8.   Work (with vim and vigor)
9.   Plan as though you'll live forever (because you will)
10. Live as though you'll die tomorrow (because you will on some tomorrow)

Little did I know just how much how God was going to drive that point home over this past weekend.

On Saturday evening, we hosted our 15th annual Wild Game Supper at our church. Our speaker this year was Dr. Sammy Gilbreath. In addition to being an avid outdoorsman, Dr. Gilbreath serves as the Evangelism Director of the Alabama State Baptist Convention. Suffice it to say that the Lord has given him a tremendous gift for communicating the Gospel.

I share this because he stayed over on Saturday night and spoke during our Sunday morning worship service. The title of his morning message was, of all things, “LIVE LIKE YOU ARE DYING!” How is that for timing?!

In this brief message, he shares his testimony of having to confront his own mortality much sooner than he had ever expected. The message he shares is well worth viewing. It is short, candid, and quite thought-provoking. For all these reasons, I thought I would post it here today.

If your time permits, I encourage you to watch it. (It is less than 30 minutes in length.) Having done so, take to heart the things he has to say. Their relevance is undeniable.

To view the message “LIVE LIKE YOU ARE DYING” (the same message as preached this past Sunday at our church, only here preached earlier at the First Baptist Church of Gardendale, Alabama back on February 1, 2015 (apparently a sports emphasis Sunday), click here:

http://www.truthcasting.com/Gardendale-First-Baptist-Church-AL-2-1-15-Message-Live-Like-You-Are-Dying--114381.sermon.

Dr. Gilbreath is right. Ultimately, we are all dying! So make the most of the time God gives you in this world... live each and every day to its fullest! For when our time in this world comes to an end, as it surely will, it will be too late to live otherwise.

As the Apostle Paul puts it in his New Testament Letter to the Ephesian believers (chapter 5, verse 15-17, New Living Translation): “Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

And then, as both the Apostle Paul and Dr. Gilbreath would surely admonish, go do God’s will!

VIDEO SOURCE: http://www.truthcasting.com/Gardendale-First-Baptist-Church-AL-2-1-15-Message-Live-Like-You-Are-Dying--114381.sermon.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/5.htm.
SEE ALSO: https://alsbom.org/sammygilbreath/.

DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

1/26/2017

My daughter and her husband brought our new grandson to visit us this week. He is now ten weeks old; and other than short trips to the doctor and back, this is the first real trip he has ever taken. I am happy to report that he made the trip well, both coming and going.

As I held him in my arms, I marveled at this wonderful little creation of God! A whole new person - in many respects, as yet untainted and untroubled by the world in which he is destined to spend the entirety of his earthly life.

I was also reminded of a clipping I had in my files. I do not know the origin of this little piece. But with this new year, like the new life of my grandson, just now unfolding, it seems especially appropriate to post it here today.

I hope it speaks to you as it does me. It is titled:

TEN RULES FOR HAPPIER LIVING:

1.   Give something away (no strings attached)
2.   Do a kindness (and forget it)
3.   Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience is a priceless guidance)
4.   Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel)
5.   Laugh often (it's life's lubricant)
6.   Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not enough)
7.   Pray (or you will lose the way)
8.   Work (with vim and vigor)
9.   Plan as though you'll live forever (because you will)
10. Live as though you'll die tomorrow (because you will on some tomorrow)

It seems likely that whoever wrote this piece experienced the things of which he or she spoke. I myself have experienced several of them. (As stated, experiencing number four on the list was what triggered this blog post.)

Given that the world can be a cold, hard, and at times, lonesome place; and given that life can be quite difficult without the infusion of a little joy along the way, I plan to make it my goal to experience, not some, but all of the things on this list.

Why not join me? Don't worry, you will inevitably be happy that you did!

SOURCE: From an unknown source on a clipping in my files. But also available online. See, for instance:   http://www.deplicque.net/ten-rules-for-happier-living.html.

ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE

1/22/2017

Famed expositor Dr. John MacArthur is one of several Christian authors who have shared a classic illustration about the importance of faithfulness in church attendance. It is titled “The Lonely Ember”, and reads as follows:

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.

After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.

As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

It has been said that the New Testament shows us the founding of the church (in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, verses 13-19):

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bed bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

It has also been said that the New Testament shows us the flourishing of the church (in the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 41-27). After the Apostle Peter finished preaching on the day of Pentecost, the Bible records:

41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

But alas, the New Testament shows us a little of the faltering of the church (in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 23-25):

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Scholars tell us that the Book of Hebrews was written in the latter decades of the first century – most likely after the first Roman persecution of Christians under the Emperor Nero in 64-67AD, and before the second Roman persecution of Christians under the Emperor Domitian in c. 81AD.

Hebrews 10:32-35 show us that one persecution had already unfolded – perhaps that of 64AD. Hebrews 13:3 indicates that one is being endured even then, perhaps the aftermath of the events of 67AD. And Hebrews 12:3-4 ominously foretells that an even worse persecution awaits them – perhaps that about to unfold under Domitian. It is worth noting that the Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Roman Coliseum and where Christians would one day be fed to the lions, is very likely being constructed even as the Book of Hebrews is being written – c.72AD-80AD.

Under such tremendous pressure, it appears that a great many Christians were ceasing to be faithful to the church. For this reason, God obviously directed the unknown author of the Book of Hebrews to admonish them to be faithful to His church.

I share all of this for two reasons. First and foremost, Christians need the church. Christianity was never meant to be practiced in a vacuum. No believer is an island unto him or herself! Coming together as a church family, we find enhanced opportunities for worship, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and evangelism.

Second, the church needs Christians. Any church family is no stronger than the commitment level of its individual members. Indeed, without individual Christians coming together, there could be no church! And when those members have a strong level of commitment, the church thrives – irrespective of the circumstances. But when those members have a weak level of commitment, the church herself stumbles and struggles.

And so, my friend, if you are a believer, remember these two things: you need the church and the church needs you! Without a fire, the ember soon burns out; and likewise, without its various embers, a fire itself also soon dies out!

May Christians ever be faithful to the church! And may the church ever be faithful to those Christians who comprise her!

STORY SOURCE: This story has been related by numerous communicators over the years. See for instance: ttp://www.inspirationalarchive.com/texts/topics/evangelization/lonelyember.shtml.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/. (Just key in any Bible verse in the search bar.)
SEE ALSO: http://thirdmill.org/seminary/lesson.asp/vs/HEB/ln/1.

SMILE AWHILE

1/19/2017

In his book titled Growing Strong, renowned communicator Charles Swindoll made the following observation about the famed preacher Charles Spurgeon:

"Spurgeon was a character. His style was so loose he was criticized again and again for bordering on frivolity in the Tabernacle pulpit. Certain incensed fellow clergymen railed against his habit of introducing humor into his sermons. With a twinkle in his eye, he once replied: "If only you knew how much I hold back, you would commend me... This preacher thinks it less a crime to cause a momentary laughter than a half-hour of profound slumber."

I could not agree more. Life can be hard. It can drain us. It can weigh us down. It can tire us out. For these reasons, it is good to look for and find a little humor along life’s way. A smile, after all, is a facelift that most everyone can afford.

It is for these same reasons that I like to post a little periodic humor here on my own website as well. So, my friend, if you’ve heard a hard week, if you’ve grown weary of the stress and the turmoil of life, then sit back and enjoy this little ditty titled “Farmer Joes Accident”:

Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company (responsible for the accident) to court. In court, the trucking company’s fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe. "Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?" said the lawyer.

Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the..."

"I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'"

Farmer Joe said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."

Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans."

"Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, 'Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her - how are you feeling?'"

For what it’s worth, I hope you now have a little smile on your face, and that you are also feeling a tad better than before as a result!

After all, in Proverbs 17:22, the Bible tells us that: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”

QUOTE SOURCE: Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life,) Multnomah Publishing, 1983), p. 101.
JOKE SOURCE: http://www.allcleanhumor.com/jokesarchive/arc96.shtml.

HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN

1/16/2017

As I pen these words, one of my favorite movies is showing on television: Wolfgang Peterson’s 2004 epic, Troy, which is a condensing of the ten year war between ancient Troy under King Priam and his sons, Hector and Paris, and the combined city-states of ancient Greece under Agamemnon, King of Mycenae.

As students of history will remember, Agamemnon’s brother, Menelaus, King of Sparta, had his wife, Helen, swept away by Paris. The result was the launching of a thousand ships and a decade long war that eventually saw the citizens of Troy overthrown, not by force, but by deception, as the Greeks supposedly sailed away, leaving a giant wooden horse behind. Just as the Greeks had hoped, this “Trojan horse” was then taken inside the city of Troy by its citizens as an offering to their gods.

After the feasting had died down, and while the Trojans slept, Greek soldiers led by Achilles emerged from hiding within the horse and opened the gates to the city, whereupon the Greeks poured in and sacked the city.

This well-known story is the basis of Homer’s epic Greek poem, The Iliad. After the battle is over, one of the Greek kings who had participated in the battle, Odysseus, sets sail on a ten year journey home. His adventures form the basis of Homer’s second epic poem, The Odyssey. I highly recommend the PG-13 version of Troy; and sorely wish Peterson would produce a follow up film based on The Odyssey.

One of my favorite parts of Troy is the opening scene, wherein Menelaus is in the process of completing the conquest and unification of ancient Greece. He and his army have succeeded in bringing every polis in except Thessaly. As the scene unfolds, the Thessalonian army under King Triopas is situated on one side of a valley and the Greek army under Menelaus is on the other.

Weary of bloodshed, Menelaus proposes his best warrior, Achilles, against Thessaly’s best soldier, Boagrius, who is a giant of a man. After the lead up involving taunts and challenges, Achilles swiftly and surprisingly defeats the much larger man, whereupon, the Thessalonians surrender to King Menelaus and are absorbed into the unified Greek army.

Historians tell us the historical battle of Troy took place sometime between the 11th to the 14th century BC. Sometime in the 11th century BC, likely 1025BC or thereabouts, a similar battle unfolded along the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles inland at a Valley called Elah.

Here, another giant of man named Goliath, a Philistine form Gath, whom the Bible tells us was over nine feet tall (c. 9’9” by best estimates). He was the champion of the Philistine army, which was encamped on one side of the valley. Opposite them was the army of ancient Israel led by King Saul.

As was the case in Thessaly, the champion of the Philistines taunts the opposition and asks for just one man to come out and fight him. That challenge is answered, not by King Saul or any of his warriors, but by a young Israelite lad named David. First Samuel, chapter seventeen, tells us how the events unfolded that eventful day.

Rather than fight him with traditional armor and weaponry, David takes on the giant armed only with his trusty sling and five smooth stones, with which has earlier dispatched both a lion and a bear while guarding his father’s sheep.

With his very first shot, he fells the giant and then uses the giant’s own sword to finish him off. Thereafter, the Philistine army is completely routed and the Israelites prevail. It is not many years before young David sits on the throne of Israel as King.

How was a young teenager able to take down such a tremendous opponent? Because, by his own testimony, he had trusted God to deliver the giant into his hand. As David himself told the giant Goliath (in I Samuel 17:45-47):

45...“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

You see, my friends, David knew a profound secret: that little is much in God’s hands! And we should learn a valuable lesson from this. For it is a principle demonstrated time and again in Holy Scripture. Whether it is…

a little boy’s lunch consisting of just five loaves and two fishes that Jesus uses tow feed 5,000 people lunch (Matthew 14, John 6), or…

a mere 300 men led by Gideon who are able to defeat a massive army consisting of “Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples” (Judges 7), or…
a rod in the hand of Moses (Exo. 4:1-5, 17, 20) or…

an ox goad in the hand of Shamgar (Judges 3:31) or…

a jawbone of a donkey in the hand of Samson (Judg. 15:14-16) or…

two small copper coins in the hand of a poor widow (Mark 12:42-44)…

we must never forget that we are weak; but God is strong! And in His strength, we can prevail, no matter what we are up against.

As the Apostle Paul reminded the Philippians (chapter four, verse thirteen): “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” To this, Christians say, “Amen and amen”. For with the Apostle John (I John 4:4), we affirm that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
http://biblehub.com/niv/1_samuel/17.htm;
http://biblehub.com/philippians/4-13.htm;
and http://biblehub.com/1_john/4-4.htm.

GETTING IN SHAPE

1/12/2017

January is typically the time for setting New Year’s resolutions. Alas, all too often, it soon proves the time for breaking them as well! The classic examples for most people are those of exercising and getting into shape.

The Bible declares the human body to be the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and encourages us, therefore, to honor God with our bodies. Unfortunately, many of us have plenty of reason to fall under conviction around the first of every year about what we have done to God’s Temple over the recent holiday season.

Of course, the powers that be know all of this – especially those on Madison Avenue. For this reason, gym memberships, exercise machines, diet plans, and the like are all heavily marketed to us over the airwaves around this time of year. And millions of dollars are spent on these things based on good intentions.

Let's face it, however. As we all know, by around the middle of February, many of these same exercise machines are being used to hang sweaters and other delicate laundry items as they dry. By July, these machines have usually been relegated to the carport; and sometime around September, they can be found discounted by the dozens at neighborhood garage sales!

If you are not the type to commit to a regular exercise program, do not worry. I have some good news for you today. According to a new study, you may not need to. I recently came across a calorie guide titled “Daily Exercise for the Non-Athletic”, which cites a medical association report as follows:

"Proper weight control and physical fitness cannot be attained by dieting alone. Many people who are engaged in sedentary occupations do not realize that calories can be burned by the hundreds by engaging in strenuous activities that do not require physical exercise."

Here is the guide to calorie-burning activities and the number of calories per hour they consume.

Beating around the bush..................................................................................75
Jumping to conclusions..................................................................................100
Climbing the walls..........................................................................................150
Swallowing your pride......................................................................................50
Passing the buck..............................................................................................25
Throwing your weight around (depending on your weight).......................50-300
Dragging your heels.......................................................................................100
Pushing your luck...........................................................................................250
Making mountains out of molehills.................................................................500
Hitting the nail on the head..............................................................................50
Wading through paperwork............................................................................300
Bending over backwards..................................................................................75
Jumping on the bandwagon...........................................................................200
Running around in circles...............................................................................350
Eating crow....................................................................................................225
Tooting your own horn.....................................................................................25
Adding fuel to the fire.....................................................................................150
Opening a can of worms..................................................................................50

Of course, this entire list is facetious. And yet, if we would be honest, we realize that if doing these things was all it took to be healthy, most of us would be in tip-top shape!

On a serious note, we know that there are many things we can do or not do that contribute to the health of our physical bodies. But humorous pieces like this remind us that we are more than mere physical beings. Along with our bodies, we have minds, and souls, and spirits.

And just as with our bodies, we soon discover that there are things we can do or not do that contribute to the well-being or lack thereof of these aspects of our personhood as well.

So, my friend, take care of the body that God has given you. It is the only one you will ever get in this world. But remember that you also have a mind and a soul and a spirit, and that these things need attention as well.

In the New Testament Gospel of Mark (chapter 10, verses 25-28), the following conversation unfolds:

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Here we learn that men and women are much more than mere physical beings. Here we also learn that life - genuine life, full life, eternal life - involves exercising the full measure of our being, by using each of the aspects that comprise us to love and glorify our Creator.

In light of this, as you make your plans for getting into better shape for the coming year, why not include some ideas for exercising your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as well as your body? You’ll likely be glad you did. And so will your Heavenly Father!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
http://biblehub.com/niv/1_corinthians/6.htm and http://biblehub.com/niv/luke/10.htm.
JOKE SOURCE:
http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/e/exercize.htm.

TRUE CHAMPIONS!

1/9/2017

This past Monday night, in a thrilling last second touchdown capping 21 points scored in the fourth quarter, the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to become the 2017 National Champions in NCAA Football, avenging a loss to Alabama in last year's 2016 Championship game.

Along the way, they forestalled Coach Nick Saban's quest to reach lofty heights in the coaching profession by joining the great Paul Bear Bryant, who alone has six National Titles to his credit. Needless, to say, the air is mighty thin at that great height! Whether one was pulling for Alabama or for Clemson, it was quite a game.

To be honest, irrespective of who is playing, I love watching championship games. One generally gets to see the best of the best on display; and although Alabama has arguably become a college football dynasty under Coach Saban, Clemson is presently in the process of asserting their own potential for dominance. And yet, as impressive as the play was on the field, what happened at halftime was really noteworthy.

All season long, the College Football Foundation has supported the “Extra Yard for Teachers” initiative, the purpose of which is to elevate the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering quality teachers.

This culminated in the recognition of 50 teachers during the halftime activities. And for that, I offer up a hardy “Amen!”

In my files, I have a copy of a January, 1992 Reader’s Digest story about the tremendous significance of a single teacher on the life of a child. It quotes syndicated columnist Carl Rowan, who wrote the following in his autobiography, Breaking Barriers, about a teacher who greatly influenced his life. As he relates it:

Miss Thompson reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper containing a quote attributed to Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. I listened intently as she read: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us."

More than 30 years later, I gave a speech in which I said that Frances Thompson had given me a desperately needed belief in myself. A newspaper printed the story, and someone mailed the clipping to my beloved teacher.

She wrote me: "You have no idea what that newspaper story meant to me. For years, I endured my brother's arguments that I had wasted my life. That I should have married and had a family. When I read that you gave me credit for helping to launch a marvelous career, I put the clipping in front of my brother. After he'd read it, I said, 'You see, I didn't really waste my life, did I?'"

Like Mr. Rowan, I am indebted to those who have taught me. In truth, I need to do more to let them know how much I appreciate their influence on my life. And for this reason, I have decided to make seeking out and thanking several of the various teachers who helped to mold me, at all levels, one of my new year’s resolutions.

In the New Testament Gospel of Luke (chapter 17, verses 11-19), Jesus heals ten lepers. Later on, only one returns to thank Him. Nine apparently never do. I want to be the one in ten who shows gratitude to those select individuals whose influence on my life is arguably only surpassed by parents and pastors. If you have not already done so, I hope you will plan to join me. Together, let’s show some long overdue appreciation.

STORY SOURCE: Quotation originally printed in Reader's Digest, January 1992. Taken from Carl T. Rowan, Breaking Barriers: A Memoir (Boston, MA: Little Brown & Co, 1991). Recounted widely in other publications and also online. See for instance: King Duncan, The Amazing Law of Influence (Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2001), pp. 73-74, as posted online at: https://books.google.com/books?d=OnQ28EckVYUC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=carl+rowan+breaking++barriers+quote&source=bl&ots=C
GBdlNlF-1&sig=Ez-y UOa_t6Ypp7fHuA4_7qsm89I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRrbnh17bRAhVprlQK
HVoODSMQ6AEIVDAO#v=onepage&q=carl%20rowan%20breaking%20%20barriers%20quote&f=false.

SNOW JOB

1/5/2017

January is the month when the snow typically begins to fall here in East Tennessee. Even as I write this blog, we are anticipating one inch of snow tonight, to be followed by two more inches tomorrow night.

Whenever I hear of snow, many things customarily come to mind. Among them are many happy memories with my friends and family. Down through the years, we have romped and stomped and sledded about, and we have also carved snow angels and built snowmen and then gone inside to enjoy a great big bowl of home-made strawberry flavored snow ice cream. For these reasons, if for no other, then I say: “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

These days, I also tend to reflect on the rather well-known phenomenon of the uniqueness of individual snowflakes. You see, for some time, scientists have known that even though a given snowfall might contain trillions upon trillions of individual snowflakes, no two of them are ever exactly alike. And one of the first individuals to study this marvelous aspect of nature was a man named Wilson Bentley.

A few years back, best-selling author and widely read blogger, Mark Batterson, wrote a best-selling book titled Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God (published in Colorado Springs, Colorado by Multnomah Press, 2008). On pages 15 and 16, while addressing the importance of following one’s God-ordained passions, he relates the story of Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley and how he lived and died. He writes:

I want to die the same way Wilson Bentley died.

Wilson grew up on a farm in Jericho, Vermont, and as a young boy he developed a fascination with snowflakes. Obsession might be a better word for it. Most people go indoors during snowstorms. Not Wilson. He would run outside when the flakes started falling, catch them on black velvet, look at them under a microscope, and take photographs of them before they melted. His first photomicrograph of a snowflake was taken on January 15, 1885.

He then quotes Wilson directly:

“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”

Before concluding with these thoughts:

The first known photographer of snowflakes, Wilson pursued his passion for more than fifty years. He amassed a collection of 5,381 photographs that was published in his magnum opus, titled Snow Crystals. And then he died a fitting death - a death that symbolized and epitomized his life. Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley contracted pneumonia while walking six miles through a severe snowstorm and died on December 23, 1931.

And that is how I figured out how I want to die. No, I don't want to die from pneumonia. But I do want to die doing what I love. I am determined to pursue God-ordained passions until the day I die. Life is too precious to settle for anything less.

Mark is exactly right. Not only are individual snowflakes unique. So are we as individual human beings. Each of us is uniquely made in the image of Almighty God, and each of us is uniquely endowed by our Creator with a unique set of gifts and passions. And it behooves each of us to give our lives to the pursuit of these God-given unique passions for all we are worth. For that is one of the best ways we have of bringing glory to the supremely unique One Who not only created us, but Who also redeemed us!

Why not add this to your list of things to think about the next time the snowflakes start to fall? In the long run, it will give you something far more rewarding than even a great big bowl full of strawberry flavored snow ice cream!

SOURCE:

Mark Batterson, Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God (Colorado Springs, Colorado: Multnomah Press, 2008), pp. 15 and 16.

Mark is a gifted communicator who serves as the lead pastor of National Community Church in our nation’s capital, Washington, DC. Meeting in movie theaters and at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station, NCC is widely recognized as one of the most innovative churches in the country. Mark lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children. His web site is www.markbatterson.com.

SEE ALSO:

On page 50 of her book titled Pursue the Intentional Life (Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 2013), Navigators affiliated Bible Teacher, Jean Fleming, also speaks of her admiration for Wilson Bentley:

When I picture God's rejoicing over his people with singing, I think of Snowflake Bentley. Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, a New England farmer born in 1865, couldn't get enough of snowflakes. For forty years, he ran around in the snow, raucously joyful, catching snowflakes on chilled slides and photographing them, seeking to capture for others the beauty he saw in those one-of-a-kind masterpieces of frozen crystals. Over his lifetime, he photographed more than five thousand individual snowflakes. His notes were effusive: "No. 785 is so rarely beautiful." He wrote of the "feast of [their] beauty." As I imagine Snowflake careening in the snow, giddy with joy, I marvel with the psalmist, "LORD, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow" (Psalm 144:3-4). I'm like a vanishing, vaporous breath, and God cares for me.

FORWARD HO!

1/2/2017

Back in the day, a popular television series titled Wagon Train was noted for the catchphrase: “Forward Ho!” This was said whenever the members comprising the wagon train would set out on their respective journey. It was also said by my wife and me as we set out for our journey over the recent Christmas holiday.

This latter journey encompassed nearly 1100 miles in six days, as we first traveled from East Tennessee over to Nashville to see our children, then down to Alabama to see my sisters and their families, and then on to Atlanta to see my mother, all before heading back to Alabama, and then back to Middle Tennessee, and then once again back home to East Tennessee.

Of course, it goes without saying that the overwhelming majority of this trip took place as my vehicle was heading forward. Only a very miniscule percentage of the trip took place while my vehicle was in reverse. In fact, what few times the vehicle was in reverse was only for the necessary purpose either of backing out of a driveway or a parking spot.

Think about it for a moment. Vehicles are designed to go forward, not backward. While they have reverse gears, these do not allow them to proceed in that direction for any sustained period of time or speed. Conversely, most modern vehicles are simply intended to go forward. And their very structure demonstrates this.

Most vehicles generally have only one reverse gear; but often have as many as three or four forward gears. The driver’s seats always face forward. With the exception of one or two obscure models (such as the unforgettable Subaru Brat and those old model Ford and Chevrolet station wagons), the passenger seats do as well.

The front windshield is normally much larger than the rear window. The rear view is normally only afforded through very small mirrors inside and out. And at night, the headlights illuminate about ten to twenty times as far out to the front as do the backup lights.

Add all of this up and you soon reach the obvious conclusion: automotive vehicles are designed to go forward, not backward. And the same is true for human beings!

As 2017 unfolds, I challenge you to go forward, not backward. I challenge you to focus more on what is ahead of you than what is behind you. On where you need to go, instead of where you have been.

Sure, you may need to stop on occasion. You may even need to back up a brief time or two. But do not spend the next twelve months headed in the wrong direction. It is not safe and you will simply never get where you need to be going!

Instead, as the bumper sticker on my sister’s car used to state: “Get in, Sit Down, Buckle Up, and Hold On”! Having done this, then floor it! Put the pedal to the metal and go! Make progress in your life! Get somewhere! And in the process, glorify the One Who designed you for that purpose to begin with!

In the first chapter of the Apostle Mark’s New Testament Gospel (verse 38), Jesus says to His disciples: “Let us go somewhere…” I echo that sentiment! Let’s all go somewhere in life in the coming year. Let’s all make some progress with the life God has given us! Surely realizing our God-given potential in this way will glorify the very God Who gave us eyes that look to the front and feet that move us in that direction.

In fact, if you will but take a moment to listen, you may just hear a voice from Heaven gently calling out and saying, “Forward Ho!” If you do, then by all means… “Head ‘em up and move ‘em out!”

Happy trails, my friend!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/mark/1-38.htm.