Blog Archives

ENCORE, ENCORE…

2/27/2014

This past Sunday in my morning message, I mentioned the growing phenomenon of “Encore Careers”. This has to do with finding a meaningful way to invest the latter years of one’s life, as opposed to simply shutting down, as it were, and pursuing only leisure activities.  A good place to start reading about this whole matter is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encore_career.

An official webpage can be found at: http://www.encore.org/. While there, note the book available, written by Marci Alboher and titled The Encore Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life.

About a decade ago, another book came out by Steve and Janie Sjogren titled 101 Ways to Reinvest Your Life (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 2003). As the title suggests, the book lists more than a hundred ideas for reinvesting one’s life in the latter or retirement years.

I thought I would post their suggestions here today for those who may be intrigued by this whole concept, and who are possibly considering how they might apply themselves to make a difference with the remainder of their lives.  The authors grouped them by category.

Being eleven years old, some of the terminology might seem a little dated. For instance, #3 might now say "Marketplace Chaplain", #4 might now be changed to say "Smart Phone Coach", and # 38 and/or #62 might today say "Blogger". Nonetheless, they are still good solid ideas that will get most any interested person thinking in the right direction.

So, having acknowledged that material available on the official encore web page listed above may have more up to date nomenclature, here are the fine suggestions first put forth over a decade ago by the Sjogrens:

BUSINESS
1.     Business "Launcher"
2.     Small-Business Coach
3.     Outreach Director to the Business Community

TECHNICAL
4.     Personal Digital Assistant Consultant
5.     Computer Repair Technician
6.     Website Designer
7.     Web Radio Station Owner
8.     Computer Skills Instructor
9.     Website Translator
10.   Computer Purchase Consultant
11.   Information Technology (IT) Coordinator

MINISTRY
12.   Airplane Pilot (for Church/Mission Organizations)
13.   Habitat for Humanity Worker
14.   Small-Groups Starter
15.   Small-Groups Coach
16.   Baptism Director
17.   New-Believer Director/Coach
18.   Newcomer Director
19.   Church-Planting Coach
20.   Director of Ministry to People in Need
21.   Alpha Course Director/Consultant
22.   Door-to-Door Intercessor
23.   Prayer Warrior
24.   Hospital Visitor
25.   Wedding Minister/Coordinator
26.   Funeral Minister/Chaplain
27.   Pastor on Call
28.   Missionary
29.   Missionary Encourager

SPORTS
30.   Sports Instructor
31.   Athletics Coach (for Students)

PASTORAL CARE
32.   Professional Listener
33.   Hospital Waiting-Room Attendant
34.   Church Planter
35.   Internet Minister
36.   Fire and Police Chaplain
37.   RV Park Minister
38.   Internet Evangelist

TEACHING
39.   English as a Second Language Teacher
40.   Secretarial Skills Instructor
41.   Exercise Class Instructor
42.   Craft Class Leader
43.   Literacy Worker
44.   Reinvestor Coach
45.   Missions Mentor
46.   Household Financial Coach
47.   Household Etiquette Coach
48.   Nutritional Coach
49.   Leaders of Tomorrow Mentor
50.   One-to-One Discipler
51.   Servant Evangelism Activist/Coach
52.   New Moms' Group Coach
53.   Professional Grandparent
54.   Marriage Enrichment Coach
55.   Premarital Seminar Leader
56.   Divorce Recovery Seminar Presenter
57.   Parenting Mentor
58.   Homeschool Network Teacher
59.   Teacher of Teachers
60.   Job Skills Teacher (to People in Need)
61.   Special Skills Teacher (to Groups)
62.   Idea Broker

PRACTICAL CARE
63.   Professional Grocery Shopper
64.   Cook
65.   Color and Makeup Consultant
66.   Appliance Repair Technician
67.   Pool Cleaner
68.   Landscaper
69.   Reader (for the Blind)
70.   Animal Caretaker
71.   Grass Cutter/Snow Remover
72.   Volunteer Coordinator
73.   Health-Care Assistant
74.   Food and Clothing Ministry Liaison
75.   Politician/Political Activist
76.   Writer/Editor
77.   Information Researcher
78.   Foreign Language Interpreter
79.   Health-Care Provider (for People in Need)
80.   Flower and Vegetable Gardener
81.   Music Therapist
82.   Missions Coordinator
83.   Car Mechanic
84.   Taxi Service Provider
85.   Roving Disaster-Relief Worker
86.   Cleaning Angel
87.   Roving Mobile Car Technician
88.   Telephone Contact Coordinator
89.   Home Secretarial Worker (for Busy People)
90.   Tax-Filing Helper
91.   Professional Organizer
92.   Artist
93.   Shut-In Meal Driver
94.   Community Festival Coordinator
95.   School Assistant
96.   Videographer

FINANCIAL
97.   Fund-Raiser
98.   Insurance Company Liaison
99.   Car Buyer (for the Busy, Widowed, or Divorced)
100. House Buyer
101. Best-Deal Researcher

After a lifetime of experience in the workplace, most everyone has something to offer. Why not consider using what all the Lord has taught you to assist and improve the lives of others? The outcome will invariably be a win/win for everyone involved, including you.

For truly, as Jesus Himself said (in Acts 20:35), "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

AND THE WINNER IS…

2/24/2014

Last Sunday, I made reference to the 1959 movie, Ben Hur.  Little did I realize at the time that, with the Academy Awards on the horizon, this very movie would be shown on television in the coming week.

I do not know if you may have seen it or not; but it is a Hollywood classic, well worth the time of watching.

And while the movie itself is fascinating, the story of how the novel it is based upon came to be is even more so. As I cannot improve upon it, I thought I would post the following piece from https://bible.org/ today. It is titled The Rest of the Story (Ben Hur).

If you were born after 1950, you might not know the story of Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. This classic book, written by a Civil War general, Lew Wallace, in 1899, was turned into a movie starring Charleton Heston, which won the Academy Award for best movie in 1959.

It is a towering story of love, of suffering, of the struggle of good against evil, and finally of triumph. Judah Ben Hur, the story’s hero, grows up with his boyhood friend, Marsalla. They are ancient, Mideastern Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Judah is, of course, a Jew, and Marsalla, a Gentile. Judah is the heir of a very great and wealthy house in Jerusalem. Marsalla is a promising military man who trained in Rome as a soldier, then returned to Jerusalem as the leader of the Roman occupation forces.

During a parade, a tile falls from the roof of Judah Ben Hur’s house and strikes the new Roman rule. Judah is falsely arrested and sent to row as a slave in a Roman military ship. Marsalla knew it was an accident and could have prevented Judah’s arrest, but because of his lust for power, didn’t. In addition, Judah’s mother and sister are imprisoned in Jerusalem.

Judah hates Marsalla, and while in the belly of the military ship, providing the power for naval warfare, he vows that he will live, return to Jerusalem and free his mother and sister. Slaves in such ships rarely lived for more than a year. Judah had been rowing for three years when, in the heat of a naval battle, his ship was sunk. He saved the commander of the ship; and as a reward, was given his freedom and adopted by the commander, who was the top naval officer in the Roman navy, a very powerful and wealthy man.

He returns to Jerusalem with all the wealth and power of his new identity, and confronts the astonished Marsalla, who assumed he had been dead for years. Ben Hur demanded that Marsalla find and release from prison his mother and sister. Marsalla finds them in prison, but they have leprosy, so he whisks them away to the leper colony outside Jerusalem to live out a pitiful existence.

Ben Hur is told that they are dead. His hate for Marsalla grows, and in a chariot race in which Marsalla and Judah Ben Hur are the primary figures, Marsalla is killed. With his dying breath, Marsalla, out of spite, tells Judah the truth about his mother and sister.

Judah’s hate now no longer has an object to focus on. He generalizes his hatred and becomes a bitter shell of his former self. Finally, in desperation he goes to the leper colony to get his mother and sister to take them to Jesus, this great preacher who has been performing miracles. When they get to Jerusalem where they think they will find Him, they discover that He has just been crucified.

Now, all hope is gone, and despair settles over them. However, in the hours and earthquakes rocked the city, Judah’s mother and sister are healed of the leprosy, and Judah’s heart, along with his mother’s and sister’s, is turned to Jesus. Their faith, their health and their lives are restored.

It is a towering story, deeply moving, and an exquisite portrayal of the power, grace and love of Jesus. Why did I tell you about Ben Hur? Because of this interesting twist. As Paul Harvey would say, this is “the rest of the story.” When Lew Wallace set out to study the life of Christ, he was not a Christian. In fact, writing a story such as Ben Hur was the farthest thing from his mind.

Wallace was antagonistic toward Christianity, and determined he would study the life of Christ so thoroughly, and then write so convincingly, that he would be able to kill the story of Christ. He wanted to prove that Jesus, if He had lived, was not God, but merely a man, that He never rose from the dead, and that Christianity was a hoax.

So he studied. This great and enormous subject drew him further and further into his research until the evidence overwhelmed him. He dropped to his knees and cried out to Jesus to be his Savior and Lord. Then, instead of writing a book to prove to the world that Jesus was not God, he wrote Ben Hur, to try to prove to the world that Jesus was God.

Excerpted from:   Max Anders, Jesus, Knowing Our Savior (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), pp. 98-100.

And now you know why I love the movie (and the book), Ben Hur.  I hope it speaks to you as much as it does me.

SOURCE: https://bible.org/illustration/rest-story-ben-hur.

IS THAT REALLY IN THE BIBLE?!

2/16/2014

Just how well do you know the Bible? Sadly, we live in a day and age when fewer and fewer people are genuinely familiar with the Bible, its contents, and/or its teachings.

This is reflected in the fact that a great many phrases popular in our culture have been attributed to the Bible, even though they may or may not have originated there.

A careful study will often show that Scripture supports the purposes of some of these sayings while it actually contradicts others. So, how about a test of your own Biblical literacy?  Can you say for certain which of the following sayings are actually found in the Bible?

◦Moderation in all things.
◦Once saved, always saved.
◦Spare the rod, spoil the child.
◦To thine ownself be true.
◦Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
◦God helps those who help themselves.
◦Money is the root of all evil.
◦Cleanliness is next to godliness.
◦This too shall pass.
◦The eye is the window to the soul.
◦God works in mysterious ways.
◦The lion shall lay down with the lamb.
◦Pride comes before the fall.

Not quite sure? Then, how about the following concepts? Did they actually originate in the Bible?

◦The Three Wisemen
◦The Sinner's Prayer
◦Wedding Vows
◦The Seven Deadly Sins

Not sure here either?   Well, don’t despair. The folks over at “Blue Letter Bible” have thoroughly researched each of these. Their answers may surprise you. Check out the discussion at: http://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/sayings.cfm.

In the meantime, remember that the best way to know what the Bible does actually say is to read it for your own self.  After all, doing so is free and will not cost you a dime!

Chances are that you already have internet access or else you would not be reading this right now. Any of the following web sites provide excellent Bible translations and other study tools.

Bible Hub by Biblos
http://biblehub.com/

Bible Gateway (Over 100 translations)
http://www.biblegateway.com/

Bible Study Tools (Greek and Hebrew Language Tools)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/

General Bible Study Tools
http://bible.org/

Why not take advantage of these sites?   You might just be glad you did. Not to mention what you might discover along the way!

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MARRIAGE

2/12/2014

A couple of weeks ago, I preached a message on marriage. At that time, I shared an illustration by Dr. D. James Kennedy titled “The Ten Commandments of Marriage”. Dr. Kennedy is now deceased; but he was the long time Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Many people have requested a copy of this insightful little piece. In light of this, and especially as Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, I thought I would post it here today.

My source is a book compiled by Morris Chapman and titled The Wedding Collection: 26 Basic Wedding Ceremonies for Pastors (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Books, 1991). Dr. Chapman includes Dr. Kennedy's piece in this book.

Of course the original Ten Commandments themselves are found in the 20th chapter of the Old Testament book of Exodus (verses1-17). I will recount them here first for purposes of re-familiarization. And I have chosen the King James Version as that is how a good many people have historically seen them in print.

1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Dr. Kennedy used this passage of Scripture to come up with what he called the “Ten Commandments of Marriage”. He did this as a way of stressing how our relationship to God should have a bearing on the way we relate in turn to our spouses.

I. "Thou shalt have no other human being before your husband or your wife."

No other human being should come before your mate - no one, neither father nor mother, son nor daughter, brother nor sister, friend nor acquaintance.

II. "Thou shalt put no thing before your husband or wife."

You should put no thing between each other. No house should ever come before your spouse. Whether house, car, pleasure, money, or fame - nothing."

III. "Thou shalt not belittle, criticize or fault find, but rather encourage your spouse in all ways."

Since God's Word teaches us to make no idols, it follows that we are to honor each other's name. Honor each other and seek to put each other first above any other person on earth.

IV. "Thou shalt remember her/his day, to keep it special."

Set time aside for the two of you so you may not grow apart but even closer. Your spouse and your children are worthy of your time and your undivided attention.

V. "Thou shalt give honor not only to your father and mother, but to those who become your father-in-law and mother-in-law."

As you two become one, you marry into another family. Wise is the husband or wife who does not take it upon himself or herself to find fault with those who are related to their spouse.

VI. "Thou shalt not destroy the spirit within your spouse."

Husbands, do not destroy your bride's dreams and hopes for the future which she now places in your hands. Most of man's earthly happiness depends upon his wife. Most assuredly God will bless a man in this life, yet John Wesley discovered that, regardless of a noble cause, a woman can make a man most miserable. Wives, covenant that you will not be such a person. Both of you must honor and build up the personhood of the other.

VII. "Thou shalt give your passions only to each other, not to another."

You should not give away your passions to another in word, in thought, or in deed. This person beside whom you stand on your wedding day is to be your lover as well as your helpmate and your best friend.

VIII. "Husband, steal not from your wife that which is her privilege to give. Wife, receive what he gives to you with gratitude".

The spirit of gratitude can greatly bless a home. If your minds are filled with thoughts of gratitude, and if you look on that which you do have and not that which you do not have, you will be blessed.

IX. "Thou shalt not bear false witness to each other."

Be honest with each other. Dishonesty and an unwillingness to talk through differences build a silent wall which is not easily dismantled. The real self, then, refuses to be disclosed, and a couple may gradually begin to drift apart.

X. "Thou shalt not seek greener pastures, whether they be those things physical or material."

Do not engage in selfish fantasies. Be content with the one whom God has given to you, and God will bless your lives together.

Well said, Dr. Kennedy. My strong suspicion is that if more couples actually practiced such an approach, we would probably see far less difficulties in our nation’s marriages and families.

LIVING AND LEARNING

2/9/2014

Back in 1954, Dorothy Law Nolte was a teacher and counselor for the Torrance, California Unified School District. She also wrote a weekly column on family matters for The Torrance Herald.  As is often the case for those who write, she found herself facing a publication deadline; but she was also strapped for material. Anyone who has ever written can understand that predicament.

But to her credit, she rose to the occasion and penned what has become one of the most beloved poems on raising children in the entire world:  Children Learn What They Live. Her short poem has been noted as a simple but powerful guide to parenting the old-fashioned way – by instilling values through example. Indeed, it has been called a childrearing “mantra for millions of parents”.

Her inspirational work literally took on a life of its own, becoming ubiquitous. Copied repeatedly and passed from hand to hand, it was printed on plaques and posters and hung in schools everywhere.  It was even distributed to millions of new parents by a maker of baby formula.

In fact, her obituary notes that it “was photocopied, circulated, anthologized, and affixed to refrigerator doors worldwide for nearly two decades before she claimed rightful authorship of it in the 1970's”.

I thought I would post it here today.

CHILDREN LIVE WHAT THEY LEARN

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn . . .
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight . . .
If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive . . .
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself . . .
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy . . .
If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilt . . .

BUT

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient . . .
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident . . .
If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative . . .
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love . . .
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is . . .
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice . . .
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him . . .
If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live . . .

WITH WHAT IS YOUR CHILD LIVING?

In 1993, Dr. Nolte rewrote her poem in plural form using “children” and "they" so as to make it gender neutral, and thus inclusive of both boys and girls. It appeared that year in Jack Canfield's and Mark V. Hansen’s now famous book: Chicken Soup for the Soul in the following version:

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Years later, in 1998, Dr. Nolte, along with fellow psychotherapist Rachel Harris, turned her classic poem into a book - one into which each of the 19 couplets of the poem is developed into a chapter: i.e., on jealousy, shame, praise, recognition, honesty, fairness, tolerance, etc…

The book, titled Children Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Values, did quite well, being translated into 18 different languages and selling over 3 million copies worldwide.

In fact, it was so successful that, in 2005, Dr. Nolte followed it up with a sequel titled Teenagers Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Integrity and Independence. Both books are still available from Workman Publishing.

Of course, the poem has time-honored antecedents in our Western cultural tradition, both written and oral. In Proverbs 22:6, the King James Version of the Bible states: “Train up a child in the way he should go;  and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” In the original Hebrew, the word for “train up” is “chanak”, and it comes from a root word meaning “mouth, palate, roof of the mouth, and/or taste”.

Translation:  you are what you eat! Thus, we must be careful what we feed our children; for that is invariably what they will one day become! Dr. Nolte was right: a steady diet of criticism, hostility, fear, pity, ridicule, and jealousy will most likely only produce condemnation, fighting, apprehensiveness, feeling sorry for self, shyness, and guilt within a child.

Conversely, a steady diet of  tolerance, encouragement, praise, acceptance, honesty, fairness, security, and friendliness will usually produce patience, confidence, appreciation, love, truth, justice, a willingness to have faith in himself and those about him, and an understanding that the world is a relatively nice place in which to live.

And that makes not only for a better child, but for a better world indeed!

SOURCE:  Duen Hsi Yen has a web page devoted to tracing the history of the above poem in its various iterations. Check out: http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/Kristone.html.

NOTE:  Dr. Nolte’s obituary, also containing a summary of how this famous poem came about, can be found online here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/arts/20nolte.html?_r=0.

THE TREASURE WE POSSESS

2/6/2014

In my last post, I talked about the somewhat painful process of sorting through my library and preparing to let some of my books go. Trust me; for a bibliophile such as me, this is never an easy task.

I have always had a certain affinity for books.  I can relate to the statement once made by Abraham Lincoln that used to be displayed on the wall at Border’s books: “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.”

I was asked this week what my favorite book is. The answer, as might be expected from me as a Pastor, is the Bible. It should not come as a surprise that I love and treasure this book. Or that I have numerous copies, including multiple English translations, Hebrew and Greek and Latin versions, and several foreign language editions.

Moreover, a substantial portion of my own ministerial library consists of books written about the Bible. Commentaries, concordances, language and other reference books comprise several feet of shelf space in my library. In fact, my entire eleven years of higher education essentially revolved around this one book.

But the Bible held a special place for me long before I became a Pastor. Among my earliest memories are the layout of our living room in the home where I grew up. On the coffee table in a place of conspicuous honor sat this venerable book.   It was the only book I ever saw my dad carry, let alone read. My mom’s Bible is marked up with notes reflecting a lifetime of study and devotion.

Among my own Bibles are the one I received when I was baptized at age nine. I also have a Gideon Bible given to me in the fifth grade, as well as several used in my teenage and college years. As an adult, I have collected Bibles as well. I have several from days gone by, including a few that have quite a bit of age on them.

It is no exaggeration to say that this one book has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. And its influence on me has been immeasurable. In fact, I cannot imagine a life without the impact of this particular book.

It is little wonder then that I have been so moved by the short video sent to me earlier this week by a fellow staff member.  It is from Justin Taylor’s blog dated January 31, 2014, and is titled: “What Does It Look Like to Open Your Own Bible for the First Time?”

It is less than one minute long.  But it will be one minute out of your busy day that is well spent - and hopefully not soon forgotten.  Please check it out here:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2014/01/31/
what-does-it-look-like-to-open-your-own-bible-for-the-first-time/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=
Feed%3A+between2worlds+%28Between+Two+Worlds%29.

(If this link does not work, you can watch it here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvranRtlKk.)

Wow! I don't know about you; but all I can say is: “I am so blessed.” I cannot imagine not having had a Bible for my entire life. And yet, I can think of an even worse tragedy:  that of having had a Bible for years and years and years and having taken it for granted, rarely if ever reading it, let along putting its teachings into effect in my life.

I conclude this short post just as Justin concludes his for that day, with a quote from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

HELLO, OLD FRIEND!

2/2/2014

I have been busy, as of late, organizing my library.  This process was long overdue; and in truth, I had been putting it off for quite some time. But my recent trip to India got me to thinking about what I should do with the books that I have managed to accumulate over a lifetime of ministry.

Traditionally, most pastors have passed their libraries on to the next generation of preachers.  In truth, this is where a fair portion of my own library came from. I had more or less assumed that one day I would do the same thing. But things have changed a bit lately.

The advent of digital formats (and e-readers especially) has meant that many younger pastors no longer desire to accumulate large collections of physical books. I do not necessarily blame them. If I had of come along a little while later in history, I might have preferred to have built a digital library as well.

In India, however, things are still much as they once were here. There is limited access to the internet and to digital material. This is especially the case in rural India. As a result, young pastors there still value physical books.

And because of this, I have felt led to pass the bulk of my theological library one day on to young pastors in India, who are largely unable to acquire a library on their own.

But whatever the reason, the exercise itself has been rewarding. I have come to realize that I have any number of books that I really do not use and arguably do not need.  So I am allowing myself the freedom to part with them – something I would not even have dreamed of doing just a few short years ago.

Another benefit of this process has been the rediscovery of certain long lost books within my library. Indeed, coming across a book you once valued and consulted regularly is like happening across a long lost friend. One such book I have rediscovered is a book of Robert Frost’s poems.

Just a small paperback, it was technically a seminary textbook.  We were required to read the poems it contains out loud to one another in class as a way of mastering the art of reading in public.  In theory, this helped us with pacing, inflection, enunciation, and any number of related factors.

Among the poems in this book is one in particular that I have come to love, having read it many, many times personally, and having also used it in the pulpit on multiple occasions.

Moreover, the meaning behind it has taken on increased significance for me as I have aged (and hopefully matured). I thought I would post it here today. It is written in Iambic Tetrameter and titled The Road Not Taken.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I first heard this beautiful poem as a college student.  It was shared by the Dean at Mercer University during orientation. As entering freshmen, we were rightfully being encouraged to go our own way, and not just to follow the crowd.

At that time, I was somewhat intrigued by the poem; but I failed to appreciate the full significance of Frost’s words. This was probably because I was closer to the beginning of my life’s journey back then; whereas I am now closer to the end of that journey.

In any event, we eventually realize that what once seemed like relatively insignificant decisions on the road of life very often prove to have substantial consequences. And as we do, hopefully we are reminded to thank God for how He guided us through life, even when we did not recognize and/or appreciate His prodding. In fact, we shudder to think where we might have wound up without His gentle nudging.

Little wonder then that the Word of God (in Isaiah 30:21) gives us this admonition: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

And when that little voice speaks to you, it is best to trust and obey.  For “somewhere, ages and ages hence”, you will invariably be glad you did.