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"Helping Others Communicate"

TO DO OR NOT TO DO, THAT IS THE QUESTION

4/27/2017

 
In a previous blog post titled MAKING THE MOST OF ONE’S LIFE from 04/15/2013, I spoke of my great admiration for Theodore Roosevelt.  His life's creed was put forth in a speech given before the Hamilton Club in Chicago, Illinois on April 10, 1899: 

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.”

Roosevelt certainly practiced what he preached.  Thus, in my previous post, I described him as “indefatigable”. Let me remind you what all he packed into his short sixty-one years of earthly life…

A graduate of Harvard University, he wrote and published over 25 books.  An articulate orator as well, he once delivered a 90 minute speech right after being shot in his chest, and before ever going to the hospital!  He was a cattle rancher and a big game hunter (both in the western U.S. and on African safaris).  He also led an intrepid expedition to the headwaters of the Amazon River.

He served as Police Commissioner of New York City, as a member of the National Guard, as the Assistant Secretary of the U. S. Navy, and as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U. S. Cavalry, where he famously led his famous charge up San Juan Hill.

He was elected Governor of the State of New York, as well as Vice President, and then later on served as the 26th President of the United States of America.  As President, among other things, he established the U.S. Park Service, the U. S. Forest Service, and led in the building of the Panama Canal.  He also oversaw the construction of the world’s largest Navy and sailed it around the world to announce that America was now a world power.


For his accomplishments, he has received many accolades, including the Medal of Honor, the Nobel Prize, and even had his likeness carved on Mt. Rushmore.  He also has a United States Naval Aircraft Carrier named for him.
 

And yet, ironically, in spite of all the things he did by which he is remembered, that one thing with which he is most often associated came about as a result of the one thing which he did not do.  Allow me to explain.

Do you have a Teddy Bear in your house?  More than likely, you do.  In fact, if you have more than one child, as my wife and I do, then you have likely had more than one Teddy Bear down through the years.  And we all owe this to the one thing that Teddy Roosevelt did not do!

An article titled “The Real Teddy Bear Story” (posted on the website of the Theodore Roosevelt Association at
www.theodoreroosevelt.org) tells us how the famed “Teddy Bear”, so closely associated with President Roosevelt, actually originated:

How did toy bears come to be named after President Theodore Roosevelt?

It all started with a hunting trip President Roosevelt took in 1902 in Mississippi at the invitation of Mississippi Governor, Andrew H. Longino. After three days of hunting, other members of the party had spotted bears, but not Roosevelt.

Now what? The President's bear hunt would be a failure! The next day, the hunt guides tracked down an old black bear that the dogs had trailed quite a distance and attacked. The guides tied the bear to a willow tree and called for the President. Here was a bear for him to shoot!

But Roosevelt took one look at the old bear and refused to shoot it. He felt doing so would be unsportsmanlike. However, since it was injured and suffering, Roosevelt ordered that the bear be put down to end its pain. Word of this hit newspapers across the country, and political cartoonist Clifford Berryman picked up on the story, drawing a cartoon showing how President Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear while hunting in Mississippi.

The original cartoon, which ran in the Washington Post on November 16, 1902, shows Roosevelt standing in front. The guide and bear are in the background, and they’re about the same size. Later, similar cartoons appeared, but the bear was smaller and shaking with fear. This bear cub then appeared in other cartoons Clifford Berryman drew throughout Roosevelt’s career. That connected bears with President Roosevelt.

The Teddy Bear tie came when a Brooklyn, NY candy shop owner, Morris Michtom, saw Clifford Berryman’s original cartoon of Roosevelt and the bear and had an idea. He put in his shop window two stuffed toy bears his wife had made. Michtom asked permission from President Roosevelt to call these toy bears "Teddy's bears". The rapid popularity of these bears led Michtom to mass-produce them, eventually forming the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

At about the same time, a Germany company, Steiff, started making stuffed bears. Margaret Steiff earned her living by sewing, first by making stuffed elephants, then other animals. In 1903, an American saw a stuffed bear she had made and ordered many of them. These bears, which also came to be called Teddy Bears, made the international connection.


More than a century later, teddy bears have never lost popularity, and all can be traced to that one hunting trip in Mississippi.

I share this with you today because each of us will eventually come to the end of this life.  And when that time comes, we are accustomed to think that we will each be remembered for what all we have done.

But let me pose another perspective today.  Could it be that we might also be remembered as much for what all we did not do?

When given the opportunity to do what was good, what was right, what was praiseworthy, did you do these things? If you did, that is wonderful!  But what about all the times when you were given the opportunity to do those things which were not good, which were not right, which were not commendable?  Did you do these things? Or did you say “No, I will not undertake any such action which is clearly beneath the level of dignity expected of me!”?

The simple truth is that virtue not only consists of doing what is good, right, and decent, but also of not doing what is bad, wrong, and indecent! 

Little wonder then that the Holy Bible spends as much time admonishing us about what not to do as about what to do.  Thus, the same Book that tells us:  “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.” (Psalm 112:1) also says “”Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (Psalm 1:1).

Like two sides of a coin, these two approaches to life - what we choose to do and what we choose not to do - go hand in hand! They are equally important, for one cannot effectively do one without effectively not doing the other.

In light of this, I leave you with these two questions...  When you come to the end of your life, for what will you be remembered? Just as important, when you come to the end of your life, for what will you not be remembered?

SOURCES:
TEDDY BEAR STORY:

http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/site/c.elKSIdOWIiJ8H/b.8684621/k.6632/
Real_Teddy_Bear_Story.htm
.
SCRIPTURE: 
http://biblehub.com/psalms/112-1.htm
and http://biblehub.com/psalms/1-1.htm.

FEELING STRONGER EVERY DAY!

4/24/2017

 
Perhaps you can relate to what I am about to say. I am the sort of person who does not usually get sick all that much.  In truth, though I have never officially checked with those who keep such records, I have probably accumulated a small store of sick days down through the years.
 
Perhaps because I do not get sick very often, I am the sort of person who, when well, cannot really remember how I feel when I am sick.  Conversely, when I am sick, I find I cannot remember how it ever felt to be well. 
 
Having been under the weather for nearly a week with a spring time cold, all I can say is that I am now much improved.  In fact, to borrow a line from the pop music group, Chicago, it seems as if I am feeling stronger every day!
 
As I reflected on these things this afternoon, I was reminded of my grandfather, who was a Baptist preacher.  Like most pastors, he had quite a collection of humorous stories in his repertoire.  I heard him tell several of them down through the years.  One of his favorites was about an old farmer down in Alabama.  I can just hear him telling it now…
 
A farmer in southern Alabama was on his way to town in a wagon and was hit broadside by a truck. One mule was knocked 35 feet off into a field and the other was knocked 20 feet off into a ditch. The farmer got up and walked away saying he was okay. Later, however, he sued the truck driver.
 
At the trial, the lawyer for the truck driver inquired, “And just how is it that you are suing my client, seeing that at the scene you said you were okay?” The farmer's reply was, “Well, there were extenuating circumstances...”
 
“Indeed!  Pray tell, enlighten us as to just what these extenuating circumstances were!” quipped the lawyer.
 
“Well,” said the farmer, “As I lay there on the roadside by my wrecked wagon, the sheriff walked over to one of my mules and said, ‘This mule has a broken leg. He’ll never live.’ Then he pulled out a pistol and shot him graveyard dead. Then he said the same about the second mule and shot him too. After this, he walked over to me and asked, ‘How are you doing?’ Now, I won’t lie to you, Mr. Lawyer, I looked him square in the eyes and said, ‘Sheriff, I ain't never felt better in my life!’”

 
While I have never faced this sort of pressure to get better and to do it in such a rapid manner, I can say that I know the pressures that build up when one is sick and away from his or her duties.

For this reason, let me say that I truly appreciate all the church staff members and committed lay people who helped take up the slack in my absence.
 
But now, thank Heaven, I am feeling much better!  And I will be back and resume my responsibilities right away. For, like that old farmer, I find that I’ve never felt better in my life!
 
STORY SOURCE:  Actually, now that I am older, I have tracked down and collected up many of these humorous “preacher stories” myself. This particular one can be found in various forms all over the internet.  A good example is here: 
http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=146507, page 56, number 21.

LAID UP

4/21/2017

 
The story is told of an old man who went to the doctor complaining of a terrible pain in his leg. The ensuing conversation unfolded something like this:

“I am afraid it’s just old age”, replied the doctor, “there is nothing we can do about it.”

“That can’t be” fumed the old man, “you don’t know what you are doing.”

“How can you possibly know I am wrong?” countered the doctor.

“Well it’s quite obvious,” the old man replied, “my other leg is fine, and it’s the exact same age!”


For my part, I can relate to the preceding illustration on at least three counts.  To begin with, I am becoming an old man.  I turned fifty-five this year, technically becoming a senior adult in the process.  What is more, my daughter and son in law produced for my wife and me our very first grandchild. I try not to think of myself as old; but these two factors mitigate heavily in favor of it.

Second, I have had more than one conversation with my doctor this week.  And while I did not like what all he has had to say, I know that he is right in his opinion. Those conversations have all been about the fact that, third, I have been laid up the last few days with a major springtime cold.

In fact, this is the reason that I am a day late in posting my blog. In truth, this time yesterday, when I would normally have been blogging, I was zoned out on a combination of antibiotics and cough medicine.  I will be again in short order.  But I have postponed my prescribed daily dosage this evening long enough to compose a quick thought or two.  Otherwise, once I swallow my meds, I will be drifting off into la la land.

Of course, spring and fall colds are nothing new for me.  The older I get, the more I find myself affected by the change of seasons.  The drastic temperature changes, compounded by high levels of pollen, mold spores, ragweed, and/or similar allergens, have begun to impact me severely - striking like clockwork each year around March/April and October/November.

It is for this reason that I am all the more thankful to live when I do and where I do.  While sickness will always be a part of life in this world, it is a blessing to live in this modern day and age, when we understand not only what causes so many of the afflictions we face but also how these can be remedied. Our forebears must have suffered terribly from things that are, by comparison, mere annoyances to you and me today.
 
What is more, I have travelled enough of this world to know that, even now in the modern era, there are a great many places in this world where people do not enjoy the medical benefits that we so often take for granted right here in the good old USA.

Of course, no matter how good our system of healthcare is, illness will always be a part of earthly life.  We live in a fallen world, and our physical bodies are frail and subject to bouts of sickness.  Ever has it been since Genesis chapter three; and ever will it be in this world.
 
But I am thankful for the promise that there is coming a day when, as the Apostle Paul says in his first New Testament letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 15, verses 52-53), that: 

“the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable will clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”
 
And praise the Lord, in that time and in that place, there is laid up for us as believers a perfect body, one that will never be subject to ailment again. 

As the gifted composer, Jim Hill, put it:

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
 
Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.


And whenever one is fighting a headache, sore throat, fever, and/or cough, as I have been doing over the last few days, the second verse has special meaning:

There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.


Indeed, what a day, glorious day that will be!

STORY SOURCE: 
http://www.funnp.com/jokes/funny_sick_jokes.html.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/sounds/Hymns/what_a_day_that_will_be.htm.

CHOCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

4/17/2017

 
The folks over at www.easterhumor.com live up to their name. Indeed, they do have a good sense of humor - especially as concerns Easter. 

For example, they have piece posted there titled “The Rules of Chocolate”.  So, if you find yourself with a little leftover Easter candy, especially chocolate, as a good many people do at this time of year, then the following advice might just be good for you…

The Rules of Chocolate

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

The problem: How to get two pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

Money talks. Chocolate sings.


Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Therefore eat chocolate.

Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Because no one wants to quit.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

And finally…


Chocolate is a health food. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived either from sugar beets or cane, both vegetables. And, of course, the milk/cream is dairy. So eat more chocolate to meet the dietary requirements for daily vegetable and dairy intake.

Admittedly, this blog post has significantly less spiritual application than I normally try to include.  But I do ask for a little leniency, especially as I am writing this while in a chocoholic stupor! 

After all, it is a sin to be wasteful!  And the last thing in the world I want to do is to waste perfectly good Easter candy.  Even if it means typing with sticky fingers!

JOKE SOURCE:   
http://www.easterhumor.com/jokes/chocolate.html.

COLOR ME VICTORIOUS

4/13/2017

 
Last night, our church undertook a "Tenebrae" service.  All across Christendom, believers observe such services on the evening before (or else early on the morning of) “Maundy Thursday”, which is the day within Holy Week when Our Lord was crucified.
 
Having hung on the cross, Christ then died on “Good Friday”. Taken from the cross and placed in a tomb, He remained there throughout the balance of Friday and through what is termed “Holy Saturday”, before emerging in glorious resurrection on the morning of the third day, “Easter Sunday”.

So the purpose of a Tenebrae service is to mark the beginning of Christ’s sufferings for the redemption of all mankind. Thus, the word “Tenebrae” is Latin for "darkness".  The service itself is characterized by a succession of candles being extinguished until the worship center is left completely dark, thereby symbolizing how the light of the world was extinguished in death as a full and complete sacrifice for the sins of all men and women.

For me, the most significant part of the service is when the red drape on the cross is removed and replaced with a black one. That is powerful imagery.

Take a look at the four crosses below…

For those not familiar with liturgical matters, here are what the various colors represent.  Often, on “Palm Sunday”, churches drape crosses with purple, signifying royalty as Christ was received into Jerusalem as king amidst cries of “Hosanna” by the people.

By “Maundy Thursday”, the same crowd who had hailed him as king now shouted “Crucify Him!”  Thus the cross is draped in red. On “Good Friday”, the drape is changed to black, signifying Jesus’ death.  And then, of course, on “Easter Sunday” morning, the drape becomes white, boldly declaring the resurrection of our Lord and Savior as well as His full and complete victory over sin, over death, and over Hell!

Think about it.  When next we see Him, Our Lord and Savior will be wearing white!  And He will snatch us away to be with Him in that place He has now gone to prepare for us!  There will we be with Him forever!

No wonder the Apostle John was compelled to conclude his Apocalypse with these wonderful, wonderful words (Revelation 22:20 KJV):
“Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus”!

SOURCES:
SCRIPTURE: 
http://biblehub.com/kjv/revelation/22.htm.
PICTURES: 
https://www.wakeunion.com/meaning-of-cross-drape-colors.html.

AS I SEE IT

4/10/2017

 
In his blog post of September 25, 2015, gifted communicator Skye Jethani wrote the following about NASA’s famed Skylab space station:

In 1974 Colonel William Pogue became the first American to go on strike–in space. The astronaut was part of the last, and longest, manned mission aboard the Skylab space station. About halfway through the 84-day mission, Colonel Pogue and the other astronauts requested ground controllers adjust the work schedule for more rest. “We had been over-scheduled,” Pogue said. “We were just hustling the whole day. The work could be tiresome and tedious, though the view was spectacular.”

Ground control refused. The work was too important, they said, and time was limited. Some worried the astronauts’ request was a sign of depression or physical illness. Pogue insisted neither was the case. They just wanted more time to look out the window and think, he said.

Eventually the disagreement between the crew and the controllers became so intense the astronauts went on strike. Finally a compromise was reached to give the crew more time to rest during the remaining six weeks of the flight. Pogue later wrote that having more time to look out the window at the sun and earth below also made him reflect more about himself, his crewmen, and their “human situation, instead of trying to operate like a machine.”

Isn’t Sunday supposed to be a time to cease from our work, gaze out the capsule window, and contemplate our lives and calling from a cosmic perspective?

How right the Skylab astronauts were.  Imagine having a God’s eye view on things and nearly missing it due to the busy-ness of life.  How right Skye was to draw the conclusion he did.  And how appropriate this whole illustration is - especially during Holy Week leading up to Easter.

You see, Holy Week runs from Palm Sunday to Easter, commemorating the last week of Jesus’ earthly life as it does. Churches all across Christendom plan extra activities and services corresponding to the events that unfolded on each of those significant days as recorded in the gospels.
 
Beginning with Palm Sunday and extending through to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunrise – the week is often full of just such special programs, gatherings and celebrations. Now, to be sure, there is nothing wrong with these significant and meaningful services. Unless, that is, they inadvertently force us into a position of becoming so busy that we all but miss out on God’s perspective on Easter!

This week, if you as a believer find your schedule a little busier than usual, embrace that as an opportunity, not just to meet other’s expectations or even merely to fulfill traditions, but rather as a sincere opportunity to ponder Christ’s atoning sacrifice and to be challenged by the significance of all that entails!

The Psalmist once said (Psalm 119:18):  “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your word.”  My challenge for you today is to pray a similar prayer.  And then, when God answers it and gives you the opportunity, take some time to view things from His perspective.  Especially concerning Easter, take time to view things from God’s’ perspective.  It will surely change your own!

SOURCES:
ILLUSTRATION: 
https://skyejethani.com/work-is-the-new-sex-part-2/.
(SKYE JETHANI’S BIO IS HERE: 
http://skyejethani.com/about/.)
SCRIPTURE: 
http://biblehub.com/psalms/119-18.htm.

EATING MY WORDS

4/6/2017

 
I can remember them all too well - those rare trips to Riverdale, Georgia that we periodically took as a family when I was a child. Whenever these trips did occur, oh, how my sister and I begged to go either to McDonald’s or to Burger King to get a hamburger and fries.

Now, if that sounds strange, remember that back in the day (the late 1960s and early 1970s), not every little town in America had fast food franchises.  Of course, as the industry grew across our nation, my hometown would eventually get each of these restaurants, though this was not until years later.  So, for us, it was quite a treat to visit an adjacent county seat town and experience fast food.

Of course, part of our desire was fueled by the explosion of marketing in that same time period.  To this very day, I can still sing the radio and television jingles in my head with ease.

McDonald’s Big Mac Burger was celebrated in a classic commercial with the catchy little verse:  “Two all-beef patties, special, lettuce cheese, pickles, onion, on a sesame seed bun!” Not to be out done, Burger King came out with its own memorable little ditty: “Have it your way!  Have it your way!  Hold the pickle; hold the lettuce; special orders don’t upset us. All we ask is that you let us serve it your way!”

Perhaps it is because of these very commercials that so many people in my generation know the ingredients of some of the nation’s leading hamburgers.  And yet, according to an article I have in my files, it seems as if more people remember the ingredients of America's favorite hamburgers than remember the ingredients of America's favorite book – the Holy Bible.

A few years ago, a re-make of the classic 1959 Hollywood movie, The Ten Commandments, was released. Coinciding with this event, Kelton Research conducted a poll of 1,000 people to determine basic knowledge of the actual Ten Commandments. The results were distressing to say the least.

Eighty percent of those polled knew that a Big Mac had two all-beef patties and 62 percent knew that it had pickles. But less than 50 percent could remember even seven of the actual Ten Commandments as found in the Bible.

Bu there was more.  Further polling of random individuals on the street only added to heartbreak. When questioned about knowledge of the Ten Commandments versus knowledge of popular culture, most people polled could easily remember the names of all four of the Beatles rock group, but a great many could not even remember one single commandment. Ouch!

In addition to the Ten Commandments, The Bible also contains a little known but intriguing passage about the prophet Ezekiel. Chapters 2, verse 9 down to chapter 3, verse 4 of his eponymous Old Testament work contain this story:

9Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, 10which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words… 1And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. 4He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.

Little wonder, then, that the testimony of another Old Testament Prophet, Jeremiah (in chapter 15, verse 16 of his own work), was:

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.”

Interesting, the name Ezekiel means "God strengthens" and the name Jeremiah means "God is high up".  Thus, each man bore the name of God.  And there you have it.  God's commandment to those who bore His name was this:  "Eat My Words!"

As Christians, we also bear the name of the God.  Specifically, we bear the name of the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we have also been commanded to consume the Word of God.

For it was Jesus, Himself, according to the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, verse 4, Who told us that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!  Therefore, just as was the case for the Prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah, it behooves us to consume as much of the Word of God as we can possible digest!  Our spiritual life depends upon it!

Now all of this clearly begs some rather obvious questions… Just how often do you and I consume God’s Word?  For that matter, how much of it have we ever consumed?  Are we frequent enough partakers of God’s Word that we know its contents?  If not, do we at least know the menu whereby we can then partake and consume some portion of it?

Or do we find ourselves guilty of knowing far more of what the world proffers than of what God does?  To be perfectly candid - are we more familiar with what all the world has to offer than with what the Lord has to offer?

And based on our responses to these questions, what do we plan to do about any of this?  What should you plan to do about any of this?  What should I plan to do?

Be advised as you make your decisions, my friend.  The old adage is true:  we are what we eat!

STATISTICS SOURCE:  Information from article originally appearing in the Houston Chronicle 10/19/07.  Reproduced widely on the internet since.

JINGLES SOURCES: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK2qBbDn5W0
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJXzkUH72cY.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: 
http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/15-16.htm and http://biblehub.com/niv/ezekiel/2.htm and http://biblehub.com/niv/ezekiel/3.htm.

SEE ALSO: 
http://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/4.htm.

LASTLY, FOR US AGING BABYBOOMERS, HAVE SOME FUN WITH THESE SITES  REMINISCING ABOUT THE WAY WE AS CHILDREN PARODIED OUR FAVORITE COMMERCIALS BACK IN THE DAY:


http://playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/mcdonalds-is-your-kind-of-place
and html.
http://bussongs.com/songs/mcdonalds.php.

“IT’S IN MY BOOK”

4/3/2017

 
On my recent trip to Turkey, I was privileged to be a part of a group that was conducted by a licensed and competent indigenous guide named Mel.  In addition, our little group consisted of several college professors with expertise in Biblical studies.  Among them was one particular world class scholar: Mark Wilson, PhD.

Dr. Wilson is an American who lives and works in modern Turkey, directing both the St. Paul Center and the Seven Churches Network, each of which is located in the city of Antalya. He has travelled the length and breadth of the country documenting Biblical sites.  Along the way, he has also written the definitive book on these sites:  Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor.

Trust me when I say that this book absolutely lives up to its title, proving itself to be one of the most authoritative and comprehensive guides to ancient Jewish and Christian sites in Turkey ever written.  Let me tell you how I can assert this.

Knowing in advance that Dr. Wilson would be with us for the trip, I ordered a copy of his book.  It arrived about two weeks before the first day of the trip. Each passing day, I kept planning to begin reading it; but alas, I also kept finding myself preoccupied with various other activities and matters.
 
Zig Ziglar once said that if we could and would approach every work day the way we do the last day or two before we leave for vacation, then our desks would soon be cleared off!  I can certainly relate to that.  (If you are like me, and you know you are going to be out of pocket for a few days, then you will likely find yourself quite busy addressing a multitude of issues in order that you can get out of town with a clear head!)

All of this is to say that I placated myself by saying that I would read Dr. Wilson’s book in route to Turkey.  After all, the trip over consisted of three flights, totaling nearly fifteen hours.  But, once on the plane, I soon found myself deciding it best to get some sleep, as we were scheduled to land and immediately begin an eleven day marathon of non-stop travel.  I decided I would catch up on the book in my hotel room.

Sadly, once ensconced in my room, I discovered to my chagrin that I had left my book at home.  Try as I might to locate it, it was nowhere to be found in my luggage.  Fast forward a day or two and I soon had much to regret. 

Dr. Wilson can read inscriptions in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew like he is reading the newspaper.  Every place we visited, he would show us 2000 year old inscriptions and give a short summary of the significance of whatever ruin we happened to viewing.  And then, invariably, he would say something like:  “We don’t really have time to go into any more detail here; but you can read my book.  I cover this in great depth on pages such and such…”

As I looked around, virtually every other participant was jotting something in the margin of their books.  Of course, I too was jotting down my own notes at every place we visited, only in a small notebook.  But mostly these were designed to drive me to explore deeper in Dr. Wilson’s book when I did finally get home.

Then, each evening when we got back to our hotel room, my roommate would sit around for hours reading his copy of Dr. Wilson’s book and saying things like: “Oh, so that’s what he meant.” Or “Well, now that makes sense!”  For my part, I had to simply grin and bear it all.

And then something wonderful happened. On the last night we were there, as I was repacking my suitcase for the return trip home, I found my copy of Dr. Wilson’s book.  It had been in a side pouch all along!  I had just overlooked it.  Needless to say, I was overjoyed.  I read more in a single sitting that one evening than I have in quite some time.  And the next day, as everyone had done, I asked Dr. Wilson to sign my book; which he gladly did.

I share this with you because it has served to remind me of another authoritative book written by One Who is infinitely smarter than me.  I refer, of course, to the Bible, God’s Holy Word.  Like so many Christians, I possess not one, but multiple copies of this single book.  And even though my Lord repeatedly say to me, “Read my book!”, all too often I find myself too busy to spend time in His Word.  And still He says:  “Read my book!” 

I have been reminded once again that life is a fairly short journey.  And as I travel the road of life, I can take time to learn more from God’s Word, or I can remain ignorant of the truths He desires for me to know.  But if I choose the latter, it will certainly be to my own detriment. 

The same is true for you, my friend.  Listen and you will surely hear God’s voice.  And part of what He will likely say is this: “Read my book!”
 
SOURCES: 
Dr. Mark Wilson’s biography is online  at the Seven Churches Network web site: 
http://sevenchurches.org/about/.
If desired, Dr. Wilson’s book, mentioned above, can be purchased here.
Saint Paul Cultural Center: 
http://www.stpaulcc-turkey.com/.
See also:  http://stpaulcc-turkey.com/index.php/turkey-tour-consultation.
TUTKU Tours, Turkey:  http://www.tutkutours.com/.

    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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