Blog Archives

THE SHADOW OF DEATH

8/28/2014

I recently attended the funeral of a precious saint who went to be with the Lord after a long and fruitful life here on earth.  The minister who spoke based his remarks on a much beloved and meaningful passage form God’s Word: the 23rd Psalm.

As most people know, the words to this very familiar passage read as follows:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:1-6, KJV)

Known as the Shepherd’s Psalm, the many aspects of this beautiful song of praise are noteworthy. In fact, Phillip Keller has written a book wherein he explores the statements in this passage in great detail. First published by Zondervan way back in 1970, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 has now sold over 1,000,000 copies. It is well worth the reading.

For me, the passage has its greatest meaning in how it addresses the power that death holds over believers. The Psalmist presents the notion of death as merely that of a shadow passing over us.  Even as a young Pastor, having utilized this passage of scripture in numerous funerals myself, I never really understood the impact of those words until I came across the following story about the acclaimed preacher, Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, who was widowed at a fairly young age. The story goes that...

The death of Dr. Barnhouse's wife left him and a six-year-old daughter in the home. He had real difficulty working through his own grief, but the hardest part was to comfort and explain the death to his daughter. He later recalled that all of his education and theological training left him at a loss.

One day he and the little girl were standing on a busy corner at a downtown intersection waiting for a light to change. Suddenly a very large truck sped by the corner, briefly blocking out the sun and frightening the Iittle girl.

To comfort her, Dr. Barnhouse picked her up, and in a moment, the wisdom of God broke through and he was able to explain to his daughter: "When you saw the truck pass it scared you, but let me ask you, had you rather be struck by the truck or the shadow of the truck?" She replied, "Of course, the shadow."

He went on to explain that when "your mother died, she was only hit by the shadow of death because Jesus was hit by the truck (death)."

I praise God for what His Son endured on an old rugged cross in order that all who believe on His name can overcome death and experience glorious eternal life. As the Apostle Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians (15: 50-57),

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

SOURCE:  Donald Grey Barnhouse, Th.D, was a preacher, evangelist, theologian, radio pioneer, and published author. He served as the longtime Pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1927 until his death in 1960.

This particular story has been used by numerous authors down through the years, including Erwin Lutzer (One Minute After You Die, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1997, p. 61) and Max Lucado (Traveling Light, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001, p. 122).

It is also available widely on the internet. See, the following examples: http://biblestudyplanet.com/run-over-by-shadows-2/; http://www.christianity
today.com/moi/2001/001/january/taking-hit.html; and https://bible.org/illu
stration/shadow-death.

Another site (http://www.family-times.net/illustration/Troubled/200318) includes the testimony of one Lou Nicholes, missionary and author, who says he actually heard Dr. Barnhouse share this story personally:

I remember hearing Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, relate about his first wife’s death. He, with his children, had been to the funeral service, and as he was driving home, Dr. Barnhouse said that he was trying to think of some words of comfort that he could give them. Just then a huge moving van passed them.

As it passed, the shadow of the truck swept over the car, and as the truck pulled out in front of them, an inspiration came to Dr. Barnhouse. He said, “Children, would you rather be run over by a truck, or by its shadow?” The children said, “Well, of course Dad, we’d much rather be run over by the shadow! That can’t hurt us at all.” Dr. Barnhouse said, “Did you know that two thousand years ago the truck of death ran over the Lord Jesus in order that only its shadow might run over us?”

Nicholes' missionary credentials and endeavors can be found on his own author's bio page: at Xulon Press: http://www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bo
okdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781594671067/.

There are also several sites that have audio recordings of Dr. Barnhouse preaching.  Cf.: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/dr-barnhouse-and-the-bible/player/death-where-is-your-sting-181403.html.

I find these latter references especially interesting in light of certain internet discussion threads on sites purporting to vet the history of such items, but which so often only prove to serve as formats for the posting of derogatory comments about the worth of the story and/or the value of its contents. Cf.: http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=0
02132;p=0.

My own immediate source for this story is: James Hewett,  Illustrations Unlimited:  A Topical Collection of Hundreds of Stories, Quotations, and Humor for Speakers, Wriers, Pastors, and Teachers (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988), p. 148. Dr. Hewett was for years the Senior Pastor of Presbyterian churches in Walnut Creek, California, and Saratoga, California. He was also formerly the editor and publisher of Parables Etc. and The Pastors Story File, two monthly newsletters of illustrations for speakers.  (See my earlier blog entry of 12/20/2102.)

ALL IS WELL

8/25/2014

Each year, at the end of the summer, we have an evening concert at our church featuring the combined adult, student, and children’s choirs.  Like a good many churches today, our worship style is best described as blended. But this past Sunday night, we focused primarily on the great hymns of the Christian faith.

Among the hymn selections featured was my own personal favorite, It Is Well With My Soul, written by a man named Horatio Spafford back in 1873.  The words, so beautifully crafted, have been a blessing to millions of people worldwide...

IT IS WELL

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Author Connie Ruth Christiansen, writing on the web site, http://www.sharefaith.com/, recounts the story of how this magnificent hymn of the faith came to be written.

Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.

At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.

In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business.

Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had encountered a collision.  All four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.

With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna in England. It was on this trip that he penned those now famous words, “When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well, with my soul”.

Philip Bliss (1838-1876), composer of many songs including Hold the Fort, Let the Lower Lights be Burning, and Jesus Loves Even Me, was so impressed with Spafford's life and the words of his hymn that he composed a beautiful piece of music to accompany the lyrics.  The song was published by Bliss and Sankey, in 1876.

For more than a century, the tragic story of one man has given hope to countless thousands who have lifted their voices to sing, “It Is Well With My Soul”.*

Thus, as much as anyone ever has, Horatio Spafford seems to have understood the significance of the Apostle Pauls’ immortal words to the Christians at Philippi (Philippians 4:6-7, KJV):

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

For this reason, not only Horatio Spafford, but anyone can say, “Even so, it is well with my soul!”

*SOURCE: http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Music/hy
mns-the-songs-and-the-stories/it-is-well-with-my-soul-the-song-a
nd-the-story.html.

NOTE: A scan of the original manuscript of the hymn, written in Spafford’s own handwriting, can be found online at: http://kosinskistudio.com/spafford_hymn/html/manuscript.html.

BACK IN CIRCULATION

8/21/2014

Oliver Cromwell was a famous English military and political leader who led the Parliamentarian forces to victory against the Royalists in the English civil war. Later on, he served as “Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland” from 1653-1659.

During his rule over England, owing partly to the cost of the war, the government began to run precariously low on precious metals, particularly for use in common coinage. Lord Cromwell, as he was known, sent his ministers throughout the length and breadth of the land to see if they could find any bullion anywhere. After investigating, they reported that the only silver they could find was in the statues of the saints standing in all of the churches.

Ever the radical, Lord Cromwell is purported to have replied: "Very well, then. Melt down those saints and put them into circulation!"

This brief story has been recounted in numerous publications and web sites down through the years. Little wonder, as it so perfectly encapsulates the crucial task of Christians the world over. For while it is commendable that Christians everywhere frequent the sanctuaries of their local churches, it is far more critical to the success of Christianity’s essential mission that these same saints get out of their sanctuaries and into their world.

As one insightful writer has put it…

(Cromwell’s) brief but direct order states the essence of the practical goal of authentic Christianity:   not rows of silver saints crammed into the corners of cathedrals, but melted saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity. On campuses, where students carve through the varnish of shallow answers. In the shop, where employees test the mettle of everyday Christianity.

At home, with a house full of kids, where R&R means run and wrestle. In the concrete battlegrounds of sales competition, seasonal conventions, and sexual temptations, where hardcore assaults are made on internal character. On the hospital bed, where reality never takes a nap. In the office, where diligence and honesty are forever on the scaffold. On the team, where patience and self-control are checked out.

The cost factor of being a saint occurs on Monday and Tuesday and throughout the week. That's when we're melted down and put into circulation. Sunday religion may seem sufficient, but it isn't. And pity the person who counts on it to get him through.*

Using a similar analogy, Jesus also stressed the importance of His followers getting out into the world where they can do the most good.  In his famed “Sermon on the Mount” in the Gospel of Matthew (5:14-16), He said…

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

In light of this, fellow believers, let’s all get out and circulate a bit.  Invariably, both we and our world will be better off if we do.

*SOURCE: Dallas Seminary's Daily Devotional, 05-30-2006, as quoted at: http://www.housetohouse.com/HTHPubPage.aspx?cid=3383.

MORE OR LESS

8/18/2014

In the notorious Boot Hill Graveyard at Tombstone, Arizona stands a famous headstone with the following inscription: "Here lies Lester Moore, four slugs from a .44, no Les, no more". Findagrave.com tells us how it came to be…

“In the late 1880s, Lester Moore worked as a Wells Fargo Station Agent in the Mexico-United States border town of Naco, Arizona. One day a man named Hank Dunstan arrived at the Wells Fargo station to pick up a package he was expecting. When Moore handed him a badly battered and mangled package, Dunstan became enraged over the condition of it and an argument ensued. The argument quickly became heated and both men reached for their guns. Moore was shot four times from Hank Dunstan's gun.

Before Moore died, he managed to fire off one shot of his own, hitting Dunstan in the chest and Dunstan died from his injury. Lester Moore's body was transported to the nearby town of Tombstone, where he was buried in the Boothill Graveyard. There he became forever known for the epitaph inscribed on his headstone.”

The humor, of course, is found in the line, ”No Les, no more”, which is a take on his name “Lester Moore”.  But it also resonates with us because we all struggle with the business of having less or having more.

Ironically, in the busy modern world, many have discovered that having more is actually akin to having less; and conversely, having more is actually akin to having less! Irony of ironies; but nonetheless quite true.

My last couple of posts have been devoted to sharing helpful items provided by other writers from their own blogs and/or web sites.  I wanted to add one more today.  Bernice Wood runs a web site titled “Living the Balanced Life”. It is devoted to first defining and then living out one’s priorities.

She shares her story of how she was able to achieve the seemingly ideal life. But she also shares how that life took its toll on her. Most importantly, she shares how she was eventually able to overcome her struggles and find peace.

Today, she is a certified life-coach, speaker, and writer who runs more than one web site and blogs regularly. One of her blog categories is devoted to managing one of life’s greatest resources, which is one’s time. Under this category, three specific posts, all quite short, offer some very good advice.  These include: (1) 8 Ways to Slow  Life Down; (2) 8 Reasons We Don’t Have Enough Time; and (3) 4 Reasons You Should Do Less. These posts, along with several similar ones, contain sound advice on time management. Check them out at: http://thestressedmom.com/category/timemanagement/.

To be sure, Les Moore would have probably liked to have had more understanding from his customer, Mr. Dunstan.   We all want our careers to go as smoothly as possible. But, in the end, that which he would probably have preferred even more was some additional time!  Ms. Woods came to grasp this. Others have as well.

And if you are at the point in your life where you have begun to discover that time and the proper use of it are some one of your most valuable assets, be sure to consider some of the practical advice offered by writers like Ms. Woods. And remember as well the admonition from one of our country's wisest philosophers, Benjamin Franklin, who once said: "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of!"

Or, as the Apostle Paul admonished us some two thousand years ago in his New Testament letter to the Ephesians (5:15-16), we should each "look carefully" to how we live out our lives, "not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time."

SOURCES: Ms. Woods’ two web sites are http://livingthebalancedlife.com/ and www.thestressedmom.com. The above referenced articles can all be found at: http://thestressedmom.com/category/timemanagement/.

Keep scrolling down at the bottom of the page for the link to “Older Entries” in order to find additional posts, such as “Where Did the Day Go!?”

Lastly, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19899 has both the story and pictures of Les Moore's grave.

STATING THE OBVIOUS

8/14/2014

Marc and Angel Chernoff describe themselves as “passionate writers, admirers of the human spirit, and full time students of life”. Together, they run a web site titled “Marc and Angel Hack Life: Practical tips for Productive Living” in which they share inspirational advice and practical tips for daily living.

This unique and inspirational site contains over 600 articles on happiness, productivity, emotional intelligence, relationships, and general self-improvement. Little wonder then that it has drawn more than 100 million page views and more than 112 thousand subscribers since it was first founded back in 2006.

Their stated goal is simply to help their readers “think better, feel better, and live better”. To accomplish this, they attempt to write and post three “fresh and insightful personal development articles” every week. They also make the following statement: “We promise you will not find a regurgitation of someone else’s point of view on our site. Regardless of the topic at hand, these views are our own.”

Having spent time perusing their site, I can attest to its value. And I wholeheartedly recommend their body of work.  Today, I wanted to re-post one of their many pieces. It is one that I have found especially meaningful. Located on their web site, it is titled...

"10 PAINFULLY OBVIOUS TRUTHS EVERYONE FORGETS TOO SOON"

You know how you can hear something a hundred times in a hundred different ways before it finally gets through to you? The ten truths listed below fall firmly into that category – life lessons that many of us likely learned years ago, and have been reminded of ever since, but for whatever reason, haven’t fully grasped.

This, my friends, is my attempt at helping all of us, myself included, “get it” and “remember it” once and for all…

1.  The average human life is relatively short.

We know deep down that life is short, and that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know.  It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step. You expected there to be one more stair than there is, and so you find yourself off balance for a moment, before your mind shifts back to the present moment and how the world really is.

LIVE your life TODAY!  Don’t ignore death, but don’t be afraid of it either.  Be afraid of a life you never lived because you were too afraid to take action. Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside you while you’re still alive. Be bold.  Be courageous. Be scared to death, and then take the next step anyway.

2.  You will only ever live the life you create for yourself.

Your life is yours alone.  Others can try to persuade you, but they can’t decide for you. They can walk with you, but not in your shoes. So make sure the path you decide to walk aligns with your own intuition and desires, and don’t be scared to switch paths or pave a new one when it makes sense.

Remember, it’s always better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of the one you don’t.  Be productive and patient. And realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard for what you believe in.  This is your life, and it is made up entirely of your choices. May your actions speak louder than your words. May your life preach louder than your lips. May your success be your noise in the end.

And if life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it.  Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land, be brave enough to step up to the edge of the unknown, and listen to your heart.  (Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the “Passion and Growth” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)*

3.  Being busy does NOT mean being productive.

Busyness isn’t a virtue, nor is it something to respect. Though we all have seasons of crazy schedules, very few of us have a legitimate need to be busy ALL the time. We simply don’t know how to live within our means, prioritize properly, and say no when we should.

Being busy rarely equates to productivity these days. Just take a quick look around. Busy people outnumber productive people by a wide margin. Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time. They’re heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc. They barely have enough free time for family get-togethers and they rarely get enough sleep.  Yet, emails are shooting out of their smart phones like machine gun bullets, and their day planners are jammed to the brim with obligations. Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. But it’s all an illusion. They’re like hamsters running on a wheel.

Though being busy can make us feel more alive than anything else for a moment, the sensation is not sustainable long term. We will inevitably, whether tomorrow or on our deathbed, come to wish that we spent less time in the buzz of busyness and more time actually living a purposeful life.

4.  Some kind of failure always occurs before success.

Most mistakes are unavoidable.  Learn to forgive yourself. It’s not a problem to make them.  It’s only a problem if you never learn from them.

If you’re too afraid of failure, you can’t possibly do what needs to be done to be successful.  The solution to this problem is making friends with failure. You want to know the difference between a master and a beginner? The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.  Behind every great piece of art is a thousand failed attempts to make it, but these attempts are simply never shown to us.

Bottom line: Just because it’s not happening now, doesn’t mean it never will. Sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right. (Read The Success Principles.)

5.  Thinking and doing are two very different things.

Success never comes to look for you while you wait around thinking about it.

You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do. Knowledge is basically useless without action. Good things don’t come to those who wait; they come to those who work on meaningful goals. Ask yourself what’s really important and then have the courage to build your life around your answer.

And remember, if you wait until you feel 100% ready to begin, you’ll likely be waiting the rest of your life.

6.  You don’t have to wait for an apology to forgive.

Life gets much easier when you learn to accept all the apologies you never got. The key is to be thankful for every experience – positive or negative.  It’s taking a step back and saying, “Thank you for the lesson.” It’s realizing that grudges from the past are a perfect waste of today’s happiness, and that holding one is like letting unwanted company live rent free in your head.

Forgiveness is a promise – one you want to keep. When you forgive someone you are making a promise not to hold the unchangeable past against your present self. It has nothing to do with freeing a criminal of his or her crime, and everything to do with freeing yourself of the burden of being an eternal victim.

7.  Some people are simply the wrong match for you.

You will only ever be as great as the people you surround yourself with, so be brave enough to let go of those who keep bringing you down. You shouldn’t force connections with people who constantly make you feel less than amazing.

If someone makes you feel uncomfortable and insecure every time you’re with them, for whatever reason, they’re probably not close friend material. If they make you feel like you can’t be yourself, or if they make you “less than” in any
way, don’t pursue a connection with them.  If you feel emotionally drained after hanging out with them or get a small hit of anxiety when you are reminded of them, listen to your intuition. There are so many “right people” for you, who energize you and inspire you to be your best self. It makes no sense to force it with people who are the wrong match for you.

8.  It’s not other people’s job to love you; it’s yours.

It’s important to be nice to others, but it’s even more important to be nice to yourself.  You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. So make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you.  Know your worth, even if they don’t.

Today, let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as incomplete as you think you are.  Yes, let someone love you despite all of this, and let that someone be YOU. (Read Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It.)

9.  What you own is not who YOU are.

Stuff really is just stuff, and it has absolutely no bearing on who you are as a person.  Most of us can make do with much less than we think we need. That’s a valuable reminder, especially in a hugely consumer-driven culture that focuses more on material things than meaningful connections and experiences.

You have to create your own culture.  Don’t watch TV, don’t read every fashion magazine, and don’t consume too much of the evening news. Find the strength to fill your time with meaningful experiences.  The space and time you are occupying at this very moment is LIFE, and if you’re worrying about Kim Kardashian or Lebron James or some other famous face, then you are disempowered. You’re giving your life away to marketing and media trickery, which is created by big companies to ultimately motivate you to want to dress a certain way, look a certain way, and be a certain way.  This is tragic, this kind of thinking. It’s all just Hollywood brainwashing. What is real is YOU and your friends and your family, your loves, your highs, your hopes, your plans, your fears, etc.

Too often we’re told that we’re not important, we’re just peripheral to what is.  “Get a degree, get a job, get a car, get a house, and keep on getting.” And it’s sad, because someday you’ll wake up and realize you’ve been tricked. And all you’ll want then is to reclaim your mind by getting it out of the hands of the brainwashers who want to turn you into a drone that buys everything that isn’t needed to impress everyone that isn’t important.

10.  Everything changes, every second.

Embrace change and realize it happens for a reason. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.

What you have today may become what you had by tomorrow. You never know. Things change, often spontaneously. People and circumstances come and go. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. It moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day. It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.

Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives.  A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth. Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event. And these events are always happening.

However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So when life is good, enjoy it. Don’t go looking for something better every second. Happiness never comes to those who don’t appreciate what they have while they have it.

(*NOTE:  The items in parentheses reference other items the authors have written and which are available on their web page.)

This excellent challenge (and many similar ones) are available online at: http://www.marcandangel.com/. Surf on over there today and spend a few minutes reading. It will be well worth your time!  And while there, be sure to check out their new book titled  1,000+ Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently, as well as their free subscription e-mail service, which is designed to bring a little encouragement in to your life each day. They also have links listed for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram.

A short sampling of their huge archive of blog posts includes the
following titles:
30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself
6 Things Happy People Never Do
9 Warning Signs You’re in Bad Company
10 Little Habits that Steal Your Happiness
30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself
20 Things to Start Doing in Your Relationships
12 Things Successful People Do Differently
50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do
10 Choices You Will Regret in 10 Years
8 Things to Remember When Everything Goes Wrong
30 Challenges for 30 Days of Growth
7 Smart Ways to Deal with Toxic People
10 Signs it’s Time to Let Go
5 Ways to Stop Feeling Insecure in Your Relationships
10 Simple Truths Smart People Forget
12 Things Happy People Do Differently
50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind
30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Their 30th Birthday
18 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was 18
7 Things You Should Stop Expecting from Others
12 Dozen Places To Educate Yourself Online For Free
10 Habits You Must Quit to Be Happy,
and, one we all probably need to read from time to time, titled...
19 Signs You’re Doing Better than You Think.

INCONVENIENT TRUTHS

8/11/2014

Tyler Campbell is a beloved former staff member at the church where I am privileged to serve.   Today, he serves as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Perry, Florida.  He is a gifted young communicator who is extremely well read.  In a recent blog post dated July 07, 2014, he shared the following piece taken from Think Theology by Able Baker.*

21 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOUR PASTOR AND FAMILY

1. He cannot afford the books he just bought to help him serve you better.

2. He has worked over five weeks in a row without a day off several times this year and the only ones who know are his wife and kids.

3. Yes he probably knows all the gossip about you (though he will say he has heard nothing) and loves you like family anyway.

4. He is always on call. If he has been a pastor for five years he has been on call over 40,000 hours.

5. His children, and wife, hate the phone.

6. He has probably visited or received help from the food bank this year.

7. He can’t sleep without some kind of medication.

8. He is probably on or has been on some kind of anti-depressant.

9. He is probably not telling the truth about certain personal theological changes because he’s afraid you will fire him.

10. He and his wife cannot afford childcare and a date at the same time. So they have probably not been alone together for months.

11. He is the loneliest person in the church no matter how many friends he has. He can only allow certain people to become very close to him and if he’s smart it’s not a person in the congregation.

12. He wants to hide after every sermon.

13. His hardest day is Monday (most pastors’ day off).

14. He has performed many weddings, funerals for free and counseling sessions for free. Most of the time, it’s the wealthy and middle class families that don’t pay or pay very little.

15. He wears the same clothes all the time for several years because he cannot afford new ones.

16. His most feared question is "Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?"

17. He loves to hear about your trip to Hawaii unless his wife is around.

18. If he seems defensive a lot, he is probably being attacked a lot.

19. He is human and wrestles with how to reconcile his humanity with your expectations.

20. He knows that most marriage counseling will end in the couple leaving the church.

21. His kids have never heard dad say “maybe tomorrow ” to you like he has said it to them hundreds of times.

Tyler notes that it only took him a few short years of serving in full-time ministry to ascertain just how true these 21 things are. He states that either his own family has experienced them or else he has met other pastors who have had such experiences.

Still, he says, “Realizing that these things are true, all the while being warned of this in seminary and being told stories from those in ministry much longer than I, it is still a hard pill to swallow in knowing these realities for pastors and pastor's families.”

Statistics clearly indicate that the vast majority of people who initially commit to fulltime Christian ministry will not stick with it. And John Bisagno, long time Senior Pastor of the first Baptist Church of Houston, Texas, has estimated that only one in twenty who begin a career in ministry will actually complete it. Little wonder when they face so many obstacles and so much discouragement from the outset.

In light of this, I challenge you to make the current state of professional ministry a matter of personal prayer.  More than this, please seek ways to inspire, affirm, and support your Pastor. Something as a little pat on the back, an encouraging note, or even as seemingly insignificant as a passing compliment could make all the difference in his day.  And perhaps even in his career!

*SOURCES: Able Baker’s original source article for this is here: http://thinktheology.org/2014/06/26/18-things-you-might-not-have-known-about-your-pa/.

Tyler’s blog can be found here: http://www.tylerjcampbell.com/. His twitter feed is at: https://twitter.com/TylerJCampbell. First Baptist Church of Perry, Florida can be found here: http://www.fbcperryfl.org/.

FIRMLY PLANTED

8/7/2014

Those who know me well know that I am meticulous in my yard work.  For me, cutting one’s grass is akin to getting a haircut. Here is my reasoning. My son, who is in the military, spends a full thirty minutes in the barber’s chair every other week. He will tell you that whenever one gets a haircut, the deed is only half done.

Not to be gross, but after having received a haircut, a man should then proceed to  have his neck shaved, his eyebrows trimmed, his ears and even his nostrils checked and cleaned for wayward hair, etc… It is arguable that only then is he to be considered well groomed.

And it works much the same way for a person's yard.  First, one cuts the grass with the riding mower.  Then one trims closely around and trees, decorations, etc… with the push mower. After this comes the “weed-eater” for an even closer trim.  Then, the driveway needs to be edged, as well as any roadside curb, etc…

After this comes the blower, to clean up any clippings.  Lastly, “Round-up” or some other weed killer is to be applied to make certain even the tiniest vestige of shagginess has been eliminated.  Only then has one finished the yard properly. Only then is that yard to be considered well groomed. Now, I admit that I am a bit fastidious in all of this. But, then again, I do get complimented on my yard on a fairly regular basis.

Recently, while working through my weekly yard routine, I came across a little plant that had sprung up in the wrong place.  In the middle of my pine straw bed was a tiny little pine tree, boldly
declaring that it had now chosen its domain and had firmly planted itself in the middle of its newfound dominion for all to see.

Not to be bullied, I quickly asserted my dominance as I bent over and grabbed it by its pretentious little one inch tall head, and then yanked it completely up out of the grown. As I had intended, my victory was now complete. This audacious assault on my kingdom by such an inconsequential young upstart had been thoroughly thwarted!

And then, something happened that completely changed my perspective.  As I prepared to fling the remnants of my defeated foe off into the woods, I caught sight of something that made me rethink my actions.

True, this little pine tree was not one inch tall.  But, with its root system still intact, including its three inch long tap root, it was all of four inches long.  For some reason, this sparked within me a sense of respect.  And I reconsidered my actions.

By comparison, most of the weeds I pull up are just troublesome little things that have no real justification for me giving them any respect.   Their roots systems prove this.  When extracted, their roots show that they are shallow indeed. Often, the weeds are two to three inches above ground and only a half inch or so beneath. Thus, they show themselves to be without any firm anchor.

It is apparent then that their little lives are intended to be totally self-serving. They intend to live only for the moment, to be here for a short time, to extract what they can from their environment, and then to die. In the process, they arguably use up valuable space and precious resources while serving no redemptive purpose. In fact, they only prove to make their surroundings uglier for all their efforts.

Not so with this little pine tree.   It had already spent far more time investing in its root system than in its trunk and foliage. It obviously intended to be there a while.  Furthermore, it intended to make something of itself.  It intended first to go deep so that it could later go high! And as it did, it intended to have staying power. It was determined not to be a mere annual, but a perennial bloomer!

I realized that, as a result, one day, if it was allowed to pursue its goals, it would indeed grow tall and full.  And in the process, it would provide benefit to other living things as well. One day, perhaps, it would help hold the soil. It would provide food and shelter for birds and squirrels.  And who knows, it might even provide shade for some finicky future homeowner as he laboriously scours his yard for troublesome and pesky weeds that have dared to trespass upon his realm.

So, I took my little tree and brought it inside. I placed it in a cup with potting mix and water. Later, I replanted it in a suitable position. And these days, as I pass by my newfound friend, I observe with tremendous satisfaction its continued growth and development. And as I do, I wonder what it will look like one day when it finally has grown into its full glory. I may never live to see that day; but I have seen it in my mind’s eye already, and that it is good enough for me.

Of course, being a Minister of the Gospel, I could not help but be reminded of the very first Old Testament Psalm, which states: "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to
destruction."

Herein lies a great irony. As I have viewed my little tree, so does the Lord view me!  It was completely within His power to thwart me and my life before it ever unfolded. Yet, because I was willing to go down before I went up, because I was willing to be humble before Him, He showed me mercy. He then plucked me up out of my pretentiousness and precariousness, and graciously re-planted me in an ideal place with wonderful potential for growth and a meaningful life.

And through His grace, I hope not to wither, but to grow and blossom and to produce fruit that is beneficial to others along the way.   As Jesus said (in Matthew 13:31-32): "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."

And all this for no other reason than because almighty God took pity on me! And what He has done for me, He has done for all, including you. I hope you are aware of this. I hope you are willing to surrender to the will of the One who knows best when and where to plant your life.

And that whenever His gracious hand reaches down and encompasses you, that you will completely surrender yourself to Him and wholly abandon yourself and your fate to His will. Take it from one who has experienced this process first hand; you will not be sorry that you did!

ONE FATEFUL DAY

8/4/2014

Barbara Tuchman (January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an eminent American historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author. She wrote eleven books in all; but it was her 1962 work titled The Guns of August (and later re-issued as August, 1914), for which she is best remembered. It is a best-selling history of the prelude leading up to and then the unfolding first month of World War One.

Of course, at the time she penned this now classic work, few outside the world of history cared. The globe had been through two World Wars, the Korean conflict, and a then burgeoning Cold
War. Most people in America were war weary, as the unfolding 1960’s and the reaction to the Vietnam conflict would soon demonstrate.

These days, interest in Ms. Tuchman’s book is at an all-time high. It has been reissued several times down through the years, and is also now available in digital and audio formats. Indeed, www.audible.com and www.iTunes.com have introduced a whole new generation to her thorough investigation of this most critical time in world history.

Today, August 4, 2014, marks the 100th anniversary of the technical beginning of World War One. Nations from all over Europe are marking the start of the First World War.  Heads of State from most all of the warring powers have gathered in the place where it all began. The King and Queen of Belgium are hosting delegates and dignitaries from around the world as they have gathered on a now forested hill overlooking the historic city of Liege. It was here that German soldiers set off the actual conflict by brazenly invading a neighboring country.

Charlotte McDonald-Gibson, writing for www.Time.com, sums it up quite well:  "The tumble into the Great War began with the bullet that assassinated Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th 1914, putting the empire and its ally Germany on a collision course with Serbia and Russia, eventually dragging in Britain and France."

"No amount of diplomacy or warnings of a coming catastrophe were able to prevent the spiral of nationalism and paranoia. On August 4th, 1914, German soldiers crossed into Belgium, hoping for a swift advance to Paris. This triggered a British pledge to protect the small nation’s neutrality, and by 11pm that night Germany and Britain were at war."*

Of course, the world was soon to learn the true cost of this rapidly unfolding calamity. Before it was all over, what had started out as a seemingly small, regional fight mushroomed into a genuinely global conflict. More importantly, before the four year-long struggle was resolved, nine million combatants and another seven million civilians had died.

Worse yet, technological innovations unfolded which were to usher in a whole new era of human slaughter – literally on a mass scale. Chemical warfare, machine guns, tanks, battleships, submarines, and airplanes (involving both dogfights and aerial bombardment) and were all introduced in earnest for the first time.

And worse of all, the so-called peace that came about as a result of the end of the conflict was to serve only as a simmering pressure cooker for the next two decades. Eventually, that pressure was to come to a head all over again, as all the major warring powers and many more undertook a second, even more terrible World War from 1939-1945.

That conflict, now almost universally seen as a continuation of the First World War, saw the involvement of more than 100 million other people from more than thirty different countries.  Of these, an estimated 73 million people died.  Little wonder, then, that August 4, 1914 is considered such a fateful day in human history.

In all of this, I am reminded of another fateful day in human history.  The exact calendar date is lost in pre-history.  But the story itself is recorded in another best-seller: the Bible. We are told that, on that fateful day, an eternal conflict unfolded. Just like with World War One, it all began with a seemingly inconsequential step. First Eve, and then Adam, violated their agreement with their Creator by disobeying Him and trespassing upon the fruit of the forbidden tree (known as tree of the knowledge of good and evil).

What seemed like such a small step by two little people was to unleash a whole series of events which were to prove catastrophic for all of ensuing human history. Just as no country and no person on earth in the twentieth century was unaffected in some way by “the Great War” of 1914-1918, even so there is no person in all of human history who has not been impacted by Adam and Eve’s decision to sin against God.

Indeed, all the propensities of men and women toward evil throughout their entire history, including war and killing, can be traced to this first ever violation of God’s law. Every succeeding sin in all of human history came from that very first one.

This is why the Bible tells us (in the Old Testament in Psalms 14 and again in the New Testament in Romans 3:10) that… “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”   And also why the Bible further states (in Romans 3:23) that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Of course, there is a terrible price to pay for this.  Romans 6:23a tells us that “the wages of sin is death”. This is the Apostle Paul’s way of summarizing the curse of death that God placed upon mankind for sinning against Him in the Garden of Eden. And how terrible is that curse!  All of God’s creation groans as it now travails under the penalty of mankind’s disobedience.

And yet, God, in his grace, mercy, and love, did not abandon us to our fate. In Romans 5:8, Paul tells us that “…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Which is why Paul further states (in Romans 6:23b): “ …but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Thus it is, as Billy Graham has so often said, that we can have “peace with God”.

You see, my friend, it is not God’s desire to pursue and punish a rebellious mankind for all of history. Or even for all of eternity. Therefore, He has offered us peace - with Him, with ourselves, and with our fellow man. But the terms are His, not ours. And these are his terms, directly from the book of Romans (10:9-13)...

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But this same Jesus also admonished us not to call him Lord and then not live our lives in accordance with his will  (Luke 6:46). Indeed, He told us to count the costs before we commit our lives to Him (Luke 14).  For ultimately, to be a follower of Jesus is to die to self and to declare that we live for our lord and for His will (Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 14, John 3) rather than for ourselves and for our will. For this reason, the Apostle Paul talks about being crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and dying daily to self (I Corinthians 15:30).

Admittedly, these are tough terms. But, all who accept these peace terms will surely be blessed. They will be forgiven and then they will live daily in a state of restoration, having been redeemed by God’s Son. And when their earthly life is over, they will then enjoy a perfect world for all eternity – one in a new Heaven and a new Earth, one akin to that which God had intended before sin ever entered into this world.

Regrettably, those who do not will experience what the Bible calls “the second death”. Their physical death in this life will then be followed by a second, spiritual death. As a result, they will never get to experience the wonders of eternal life that God intended for men and women as beings uniquely created in His image.

All of this is to say that I hope you, dear friend, have accepted God’s peace terms. I hope that you have embraced the grace and forgiveness of God offered through His Son, Jesus Christ. If not, then today would be a perfect time to do just that.  And if this is so, then for you, today could indeed be “a fateful day”, not only in terms of world history, but in terms of all of eternity!

*SOURCE: http://time.com/3079369/world-war-one-centenary-europe/.