Accepting Failure

Are you a perfectionist? Many people are! And how could we get along, without those sincere, hard‑working, conscientious people who are forever "doing their best" and striving for "perfection".

And yet, sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that "succeeding", and doing a "perfect" job is expected of us! Who do we think we are...God? Only God is perfect, and some of us are dangerously on the ragged edge of "playing God" in our perfectionism.

Better for us, if we accept from the beginning that we are imperfect, and that we cannot be a success in everything, and that we are going to fail sometimes; but that God loves us any- way, and (hopefully) others will too, even when we fail! We do not have value because we succeed or fail, but we have value in God's eyes, because we are human, and imperfect, and sinful creatures.

Someone once said, "Nothing fails like success!". In a sense, it is true. We learn only a very little from our successes; but it is from many failures, that we learn and grow.

I find this a great comfort, that I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to "succeed"! I just have to rejoice in my son-ship, with a heavenly Father who loves me just as I am in my human condition.

Romans 5:8 says, "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

I don't think anyone should be satisfied with a poor job, or sloppy workmanship, but I am grateful that the mess that I sometimes am, is still O.K. with God. Could I ask you to judge me kindly, and say that it's O.K. with you too?

Just Suppose

I was just thinking..."suppose God had waited until Moses was perfect before He called him to deliver his people?"

I recall in the Scriptures how Moses hemmed and hawed, finding every excuse in the books to let God know he couldn't do the job. But God didn't let something like stammering and a faltering speech get in the way. He used Moses anyway!

Suppose God had waited until Peter had been perfect before Jesus called him for a disciple. Peter had a lot of weaknesses. He was over‑confident, he had racial prejudice (which Paul pointed out later); he let Jesus down when he needed him most. What a poor selection! But God made good use of a poor prospect, anyway!

And just suppose God waited until you or I were perfect, before he allowed us to do the work of ministering in His Church. The church would fold up right now!

But, fortunately for all of us, God doesn't wait for perfect people. He can use weak, sinful, imperfect specimens to do the job. And that's what the Church of Jesus Christ is...a motley bunch of inadequate, imperfect folk (who realize what they are), but men and women who just do their best, knowing that God is working with them to join His perfect power with their stumbling weaknesses.

If you thought you needed to wait until you were better, to join the church, or to work in the Lord's Kingdom, put your mind at ease. The Lord has "in‑service" training for anyone who trusts Him enough to just take a chance with God, and jump in.

Are You The Same Old You?

I talked with a woman once who said, "I go to church faithfully. I listen, I understand, I believe. But when I get home, I'm the same old me!"

How true! We are caught up with hopes and beliefs and faith during special moments of worship and inspiration. But when we go back to the grind of life, we feel like the same old person again.

And yet this is not quite true. I am not quite the same "me". Because every experience in life does change us! We cannot be exposed again and again to the Savior, and not be changed by Him. Here is the value of regular worship, and the attitude that seeks a blessing when we go.

Somebody asked a church member one day what the minister had said. She thought for a moment, and then said she didn't remember. "See" said her friend. "It doesn't do you any good. Why not stay at home?" The church member pointed at her wicker basket and asked, "What if I asked you to fill up that basket with water, and bring it to me?" Said the other, "why the water would all run out!" "That's right," said the other, "but it would be a cleaner basket, wouldn't it?"

Do you despair of growing in grace, of being better? Don't give up, just because you fail now and then. Do you sometimes wish you had never been made? Just remember: You're not made yet. You're just in the process of being made, and this is all part of the Maker's process.

Go to church. Keep growing in the faith. Eagerly seek Him, and that same old "you" will become a transformed “new you".

What If God Sued Us?

I've been thinking about suing God! Everybody else is suing somebody...why not me? It seems to me that God really didn't make me as bright as some of the folks I know. I think He might have neglected me somewhat!

I heard once about a lady who sued God for letting lightning strike her home. As far as I know, God never showed up for the trial...As far as I know, the lady never collected either.

But on the other hand, I wonder if God shouldn't have a few law‑suits pending on His own? After all, we took His beautiful world, and turned it into a waste‑land. We burned up His fuel oils. We muddied up His beautiful rivers and streams. We allowed His children in many parts of the world, to go hungry, because we never cared enough to teach them to farm their barren lands.

Looks to me like God has a pretty strong case against us. We've taken the good bodies He gave us, and filled them with black coffee, and deadening alcoholic drinks. We've turned the noses He gave us into smoke‑stacks. We've eaten all the fat-producing desserts, and left the spinach behind.

How can God put up with us? We are law‑breakers, spoilers, destroyers, contaminators, offenders.

But there is good news. In spite of it all, He cares. He doesn't sue us...He saves us through His great love. He saves us for all eternity, if we come to Him. We are not worthy, but still He pours out His love. What a wonderful, marvelous God we have!

Try Writing Your Own Obituary

One morning in 1888, Nobel, inventor of dynamite, the man who had spent his life amassing a fortune from the manufacture and sale of weapons of destruction, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error...Alfred's brother had died, and a French reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother.

Naturally any person would be disturbed to see his own obituary in the paper, but it was especially so to Alfred Nobel, because he saw himself as the world had seen him, "the dynamite king". As far as the public was concerned, the entire purpose of his life was to make money from destruction. He was a merchant of death.

As he read his obituary with horror, Nobel resolved to change his image before the world, and the result was that the most valued of all prizes is now given for one who works hardest for peace. It is called the "Nobel Prize".

What do you suppose the public would include in your obituary? It's a strange question, but makes us think whether we have made it clear to all what our central concern in life really is.

"Here is a man who loved the Lord" would be a good epitaph. Or "Here is one who loved all people" would be another. Or what about the phrase, "In kindness she moved, in mercy she walked, in humility she lived."? Why not write your own obituary? Make it the way you want it to sound, and then ask God to help you live so it can come true.

Nobody has to be a stinker! There is absolutely no reason anyone has to have a reputation for being evil, or a bully, or cruel. It is only as we will to do His will, that we achieve the great change in life that transforms our lives and makes it possible for our loved ones and even our enemies to say noble things about us in our passing.

I wouldn't want to be caught dead with some of the things folks might say about me. How about you? Maybe it's time, we started to make some changes right now while we still have time.

Try Kissing A Frog

Did you ever try to kiss a frog? Not easy, is it? Maybe not even much fun! But all around our neighborhoods are froggy people, feeling slow, and low, and ugly, and droopy, and down in the dumps! Maybe you feel that way too now and then. What is a person to do?

In the Church, when we talk about "the Priesthood of Believers", we mean quite literally that we are to be "priests" to one another...or to minister to one another...to be really caring folks!

So...down the great river of life, come froggy people, on drifting lily pads, feeling frightened and disgusted, and too froggy to budge.

Once upon a time, there was a frog. But he really wasn't a frog. He was a prince, who looked and felt like a frog. A wicked witch had cast a spell upon him, and only the kiss of a beautiful maiden could save him. But cute chicks don't really enjoy kissing frogs, and there he sat, un-kissed and unhappy. Miracles do happen now and then, however. One day, a beautiful young lady grabbed him up and gave him a big smack. And there he was, a handsome prince. Now, you know the rest...they lived happily ever after!

Bruce Larson, the author of this interesting illustration, asks the question, "What is the task of the church?" and he gives as his answer, "to kiss frogs, of course."

The apostle Paul said: "bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) Is it possible, that if we just looked around, we might find a prince or a princess in a froggy mood, who needed to be kissed? Sounds romantic, doesn't it? But it also sounds like one of the hardest things, and yet one of the most Christian things we could be doing!

Strike An "A"

Have you ever heard someone say, "That gives me good vibrations?" Have you ever considered that life, all of life is designed to move and vibrate according to a certain frequency? After all, music is like that. So also is electricity, sound waves, and radio and T.V. The very chairs we sit on, the tables we work at, the pencils we hold, the telephones we speak through, all of them are seething movements of molecules, energy in motion!

Everything is moving, vibrating, according to the created principle of the Creator! What if my life is out of sequence? What if my sins have changed the harmonies? What if I am making a discord in God's amazing symphony?

Once upon a time, there was a sheep‑herder who wrote to a New York Radio station. He explained that he lived a simple life in the country, with only his dog and sheep for companions. "I get my greatest pleasure from my radio and my violin," he wrote. "But recently my violin has become badly out of tune. Would it be possible for someone there to strike the note 'A' on the piano so that I could hear it on my radio, and tune my violin by it?"

The disc jockey read the letter to his audience and announced that the program would be delayed for a few moments so that he could strike the note "A" on the piano for the man to tune his violin.

What happens when I get out of tune with my Creator? Then I need to "be still" and wait for that Some One to pluck the strings of my heart, and put me back in tune again.

My Church provides worship for me this week. I need that! I need the good vibrations of the Savior to start me moving right again. My life tends to get discordant, angry, out‑of‑shape, moving in the wrong direction! Study of the Scriptures, faithful attendance in worship, more time in prayer, and a new tuning of the strings of my heart puts me in sync with Eternal love, and the frequencies of the Savior.

The Psalmist was right..."the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away". "The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish." (Psalm 1:6) It's just a matter of logic: goodness works...evil does not! Vibrate in tune, or rattle away into oblivion!

The Supreme Judgment

There is a strange story in the New Testament (John 8) about a woman brought to Jesus, accused of adultery. Her accusers wait for Jesus to do what the law says he must do...namely condemn her to stoning. Instead, he tells them, "He who is without sin, go ahead and throw the 1st stone." And then he stoops to write in the sand.

Did Jesus actually write something that day? We have no record of any writings by Jesus. Some say that he wrote each man's besetting sin in the sand, and as they saw it, they were stricken by guilt and left.

Perhaps he wrote in the sand simply to cool his anger against the Pharisees. How they irked him! But the sand was more than likely his way of letting them ponder a bit. But the woman too, saw the scribblings in the sand. Here she stood, condemned to die. At any moment, a stone could come hurtling through the air. The law was on their side. Who was this person before whom they had brought her?...a judge...and yet he wasn't judging her.

If Jesus had condemned her...had he said, "You sinful, unregenerate woman!", then she might have justified herself. "It wasn't my fault...he forced me into it. Why don't they bring him? A person has to live...you have to eat!."

But Jesus wasn't condemning her. Could she run away? And yet her sins would run with her. Sin does that! You can run away from the person you have sinned against, but you cannot run away from the sin itself.

What an amazing thing...the wages of sin for this woman, were death. The law said so. But Jesus insists that grace is always greater than the law, and that forgiveness of sins, brings a person from death into salvation.

Whereas others condemn, we who are Christian must learn to forgive. Forgiveness in our world is so limited, so partial, so arbitrary. But God does not dole out forgiveness by degrees, or piece‑meal, but through Christ, He blots out our whole debt.

Each of us stands before Christ, condemned. Our accusers are on every hand. Our own memories arise up to speak of our shortcomings. We are worthy of death. There is a spiritual law that says so. But what a marvelous release from the guilt which fills us as we look into the wonderful eyes of Jesus, and hear him say, "Neither do I condemn you...go and sin no more."

Getting Your Magnitudes Mixed

In Matthew's gospel, Jesus told the story about those who were invited to the marriage feast, and he said: "but they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business," etc. (22:5)

We are prone to exaggerate the importance of our own problems. It is like holding a penny in front of your eye, and blotting out all that is beyond it. And yet, get that penny but a few feet away, and it is almost invisible.

Sometimes we make mountains out of mole‑hills...that spot on the rug, that broken plaster above the door, the blemish on the side of your face. Tiny things that upset us, and keep us from centering in on the really important things.

But there are also times when we minimize greatness...when we take mountains and turn them into mole‑hills. Such people never see the Lord, high and holy and lifted up. When they go to church, all they seem to notice are the mistakes of the organist. They are critical of the way the choir is dressed, and are disturbed by the cry of a small child.

Some do not ever find power in worship, because they surround themselves with little things that are of no consequence. They do not want to confront the enormity of the knowledge of God, because it will tax their imagination, it will stretch their spiritual grasp, it will tug at their heart‑strings, and they are much more content to grovel in their present condition of half‑hearted righteousness.

To know God and the greatness of fellowship with Him, is this not the Mt. Everest of human experience. And yet it is possible to make a mole‑hill out of it. So intent are we to consider the intricacies of our business, and the demands of our day by day activities, that God is lucky if He gets a passing "howdy" from some of His constituents.

And if we do this with God, we are likely to do it with other things as well...to hate instead of love...to speak lies instead of the truth...to see evil instead of good...to bend to iniquity, instead of walking in righteousness. Here are mountain peaks which some folks carve down to mole‑hills.

Some things we ought to minimize: our complaints, the slights that are cast our way, minimize our fears, and our worries. But don't cut your horizons down to your level...leave some big mountains in the landscape.

Jesus said that in the invitation from the King, some "made light of it, and went their way." What a commentary on crudeness...to make light of the invitation of the king. And yet is this not what some of us are doing as we lightly pass by the invitation of God to feast at His banquet table?

Bull Session Supreme At Nazareth

John the Baptist, before his death, pointed to Jesus and said to his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God. Follow him."

Two of them...John, and Andrew, did. Together with Jesus, they walked and talked along the pathways and when they reached the home of Jesus in Nazareth, Jesus said, "Why don't you stay?" And they did.

I don't know what they talked about that night, but I can imagine...lying on mats, or seated in a circle about a fire. The Bible doesn't tell us, but it must have been vital talk, for as the result of this wonderful bull session, John said, "Surely this is the Messiah". And Andrew, filled with excitement, went and told his brother, "We have found the Christ."

What did they talk about?...surely they talked about God, for although every Jewish boy knew the law, and the prophets, questions of the sincere heart were still unanswered. God was still a mystery. Why doesn't God do something about his world? And Jesus answered, "God has done something...Into His world, He has spoken His Word. You know it. You have been familiar with it from your childhood. It is eternal. It was in the beginning. It is true. It was with God. It is authoritative. It is God. God's Word gave the light, and that light has shined into the world. It shines in the darkness and the darkness has never been able to put it out.

It would almost seem that the 1st chapter of John's Gospel may have come directly from that night‑time conversation.

What has God done in His world? What better way to save a world in darkness, than to send the Light of His truth? How better to relieve the icy atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust, than with the warm Gospel of love?

Perhaps we need to do more bull‑sessions about our belief in God. Too sacred you say? Too much chance of getting off on the wrong track? Too much likelihood of making God seem earthy and bringing Him down to our level?

The answer is that God is not on precarious footing. He will not be put down by our little thoughts. The anvil will not be spoiled by our insignificant hammers. Better to get a hazy glimpse than no glimpse at all. And God loves to be brought down to earth where He can walk with us and talk with us and tell us we are His own.

Christianity is real and is practical. It makes sense. It ought to be part of our every day language. It can be talked about over the coffee cups as well as over the theologian's table. Our faith is reasonable. Jesus Christ came to make the things of God real. But does the Word take on flesh through you and me? That's the real question for today's conversations.

Hitherto And Henceforth

If my mother were still living today, she would have a black‑board in her kitchen. And on it would be a favorite Bible verse, or a special thought for her day.

I remember two words she put there: "Hitherto" and "Henceforth". When I asked her the meaning, she said, "Hitherto the Lord has helped us" (I Sam. 7:12)...and "Henceforth he shall." That was the kind of God she believed in. And that became my faith as well.

I stand between the "Hitherto" and the "Henceforth". And my praise becomes the great "nevertheless"! No matter what happens, no matter how bad things may become...I will trust him, and I will praise His name. And give thanks to God that He is God.

We have a coffee cup we received from the Dr. Schuler T.V. program that on one side reads: "Life's not fair." And on the other side it reads, "but God is good." And sometimes life isn't fair...but that does not stop me from trusting, from praising, or giving thanks. "Hitherto" the Lord has helped me..."Henceforth" He shall. This I believe.

Our Church Has Filters

For years, smoking has been suspiciously alien to human needs and physical health. "There are dangers here," all reports have said. But the tobacco companies replied, "No danger. All the harmful things have been filtered out!"

Every preacher will sooner or later, preach a sermon on "Love". It is the theme behind every theme in every sermon. All the Gospel is summed up in it. "God so loved the world."

But in reality, the Church has often lived a life totally un‑related to the kind of love Jesus talked about. So much of the time, we have gone around sputtering at, and spitting at, and clawing at each other, much like cats in the back alley.

Why is the Church at times devoid of love, when it is the proclaimer of love? Why is there more of a welcome sometimes, at the corner tavern, than in the Church pew? Why is there more sympathy from the man on the street, than from some committed church‑goers?

Perhaps we are dealing with people in a make‑believe world. We have heard the dynamite of the Gospel, but like the cigarette ads, we too have a built in filter. We filter out the really significant parts of the Gospel until what gets through is really kind of a sentimental, mushy, harmless emotional feeling. It is something that doesn't hurt us, but neither does it help us.

And so, Christianity becomes a kind of harmless thing that everybody believes in, but nobody does much about.

In Romans, Paul said that we are to be indebted to no one except the debt to love them. (Ro. 13:8) And we are to owe everyone more than we can possibly pay. Love is not only one duty to add to our other duties, it is the framework into which all other duties will fit.

Love is the most comprehensive of all principles. We need to bring everything we do and say before the bar of love!

There is a story about an old violinist. He was a poor man, but he possessed an instrument with the sweetest, mellow tones. As he played it, it always awakened responsive chords. When he was asked to explain it, he would hold his violin, tenderly caressing its graceful curves, and say: "Ah, a great deal of sunshine must have gone into this wood, and what goes in, must come out!"

Let us never forget that a great deal of love: the love of God, and the love of parents and friends, has been poured into these careless lives of ours. And we must let it come out!

The Power Of A Child

Today's news headlines again and again describe the plight of tiny children. The adult world takes such unfair advantage of them. They are often disregarded as insignificant in the world around them.

"Any news?" asked a villager one February morning. "Oh, nothing", another replied, "Only a boy baby was born at the Lincoln's last night".

In 1809 most people would have thought that the greatest thing happening that year, was that Napoleon was the master of all Europe. And yet, only God and a few mothers here and there realized the possible power of the new born in the births that year of Darwin, Lincoln, Gladstone, Tennyson, Edgar Allen Poe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Cyrus W. McCormick.

When the Boy Scout movement began in America, a big camp had been arranged which was to include the youngest boys‑‑boys of eight years.

At seven o'clock on the first evening one of the little boys came to the officer who was chief of the camp and said, saluting,

"Please, sir, my mother said if I came to camp, I was to go to bed at seven o'clock."

"Very well," replied the chief, "go to bed!"

"And please, sir, my mother said that if I came to camp, I was to say my prayers."

"Very well, my boy, say your prayers!"

"Please sir," said the scout, with his hand still raised in salute,"I always say my prayers at my mother's knee; can I say them at yours?"

"The chief was so touched that he took the boy aside in the woods, and there they prayed together. From that time the Boy Scout movement became a religious movement, although it had not started along those lines."‑‑Taylor Smith

Who can measure the potential of one single life? Even a child might outweigh the strength of one modern Atlas.

The Kingdom Is An Uphill Road

There is a statement in the Bible that reminds me that I must work out my own salvation " with fear and trembling."(Phil. 2:12) Why does it say that? I have confidence in my God. I have an assurance that all is well. Why should I have "fear and trembling"? Why this uncertainty?

Perhaps it is because finding the Lord, making Him part of our lives is always a progressive thing. When we are absolutely sure that we have Him all, then we are most certain to lose Him. If we experience the Lord today, and then lie down in our spiritual endeavors, we discover upon arising that we may have lost Him.

This is the one thing that most of us lack...that insatiable, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. To want the Lord, with all of our mind and heart, and soul and strength. And not only to want it once, but to desire it forever...this is the acid test of the Christian.

The story is told that a man one time came to Gautama Buddha seeking the true way. Buddha led him down to the river. It was at bathing time, and the seeker assumed that he was to undergo a ritual of purification. When they were some distance out in the stream, Buddha suddenly grabbed the man and held his head under water. Finally, in a last gasp the fellow wrenched himself loose, and his head came above water. Quietly Buddha asked him, "When you thought you were drowning, what did you desire most?" The man gasped, "Air." Back came Buddha's reply, "When you want salvation as much as you wanted air, then you will get it." (Sockman‑‑The Higher Happiness)

When we are content with our faith. When we believe that all is well...when we are sure that we are a Christian and the gates of heaven are simply waiting to open up before us...then perhaps all is not well. Beware, lest the Lord come as a "thief in the night" and find us unprepared to deliver our souls for scrutiny before the Almighty.

And so, this comes as an unending task. Each morning, we must approach the Great Supervisor for new instructions; each evening, we must end our day by committing the solemn trust of life to Him who never sleepeth. Each Sunday, we must enter the Holy of Holies to feed therein upon the Bread of Life, and to learn new lessons at the Master's feet. The Kingdom of God is reached on an uphill road, and he who falls asleep at the wheel is not wise. "My little children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God."

"I Went To School Once!"

Once upon a time, I went to school too! Good old one room country school…nothing like it anymore! Kids just don’t learn like they used to!

Of course, today, everything is being done on computers, and we are taking pictures of Saturn over one billion miles away; and television is beamed on satellites around the world; and what used to be world geography to us, is now daily newspaper material!

Too bad, the kids today couldn’t have the advantages we had of those gas lamps and outdoor plumbing. Boy, were those the good ol’ days!

Come to think about it…they weren’t all that good! Maybe I am rationalizing a bit. Education today can’t be all bad! After all, doctors go back for more of it…ministers have requirements for continuing education…school teachers must take extra classes to keep in shape!

Is it possible my skills as a Sunday School teacher could be improved with a little extra training? Would I as a church member benefit by recent understandings of Scripture? Is it possible that I’m just getting too judgmental about others, and really need to do some growing myself, in order to keep up with this rapidly changing world?

How about a little up-to-date school for some of us too? Who wants to let the kids get all the credit? Think I’ll check into one of the fine Sunday School classes today, or find a Bible course that meets my needs, or a Lab School to sharpen my skills. After all, education isn’t just for kids!

It's School Time Again

I’m for the kids! Jesus was too, you know. He said, “let the children come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom!”

It occurred to me that our kids aren’t getting ready to go to work! They are at work! School is just as much going to work for them as punching the clock is for us. Theirs is almost an 8-hour day. And by the time they ride the bus for an hour each way, it is more than that.

Consider the environment of a school child for 12 years: The child sits in a desk, lined up in rows, with 20-30 other children. Any office with desks and secretaries that close to each other would bring a protest of violation of human space and rights! Day after day, the children sit in that same room, looking at a blackboard in front of them, or to their side. Bulletin Boards break the monotony. An American flag is to one side; a school clock is somewhere in the room; a pencil sharpener is there for all to use. There is surely a world globe, and a few other typical items. Almost the same monotonous items in every classroom for 12 years! In recent years, the addition of computers has changed a major part of the environment.

Day after day, a child raises his or her arm eagerly to answer questions the teacher may ask. Day after day, that arm is cushioned in the hand while the student waits for recognition…an arm is a heavy thing to hold! There is probably no carpet on the classroom floor. The room is most certainly not air-conditioned…sometimes overly hot…sometimes overly cold!

Consider the lines that child must go through: a line waiting for the bus, a line waiting for a drink, a line to go into the lunch room, a line in the fire drill, a line waiting for the bathroom. A child has a regimented day, perhaps not as much as years ago in the school room, but it still is: up early in the morning, be there on time, stay there, with only a few times out of the classroom for a short science class, or gym, or lunch break. And then, home at night, with the possibility of home work. And then back at it again the next day and the next and the next!

Children are not preparing for life’s work. They are doing it! And thank God, for dedicated teachers who can take this regimented day, and make it a shining star!...and can take these young laborers, and turn them into excited searchers for truth!

Jesus loved the children. He said they were not to be minimized. And we as adults must not “turn them off”. We must set them an example of conduct, and charity, and faith, and life-style in keeping with God’s will, rather than against it. It might involve prayer at school, but it most certainly must involve prayer at home.

A humble statement of contrition:
If the Church is the Body of Christ, we have
splintered it so seriously that Jesus Christ
would never recognize it, and that's the sad
story of our divisions. How can the Christian
Church proclaim peace in the world, when it
does not find peace within its own walls? I
pray for personal forgiveness, for my own
judgmentalism, as well as forgiveness for all
of us who have failed to walk in the humble
steps of the Savior.

How To Die Well

What is it like to die? Does it hurt? Can we do it? Do we need any help? Will we be scared? Many years ago, I asked those questions before going into surgery, not knowing what the end results might be. My life continues, and I am grateful.

A fellow pastor by the name of John Bouldin had the funeral service of a 38 year old man by the name of Jim McGlaughlin who had written his own funeral service.

In it, he said if he had life to live over again, he would want

"To love the unlovely...

To touch the untouchables...

To pray for those who had persecuted him...

To do good, especially to those who had done evil against him...

To be more concerned about mercy, and have less concern about money...

To pray more and play less...

To give himself to worship rather than to worry...

To be kind to all...

To be more generous with what God had given him...

To help lift the fallen...comfort the sorrowing...

heal the broken hearted...

To see that to live on a God‑standard is more important

than to live on a gold‑standard, and to

Put first things first."

"He then said:

You say you want peace of mind? You can have the Master's peace.

You say you want joy? You can have the Master's joy!

You say you want power? You can have the Master's power.

It's an exchange‑‑your little all for His great all. Try it."

And then, in conclusion, Jim added:

I hope to clasp your hand and smile into your face,

when you too have come up higher

where one has only one true delight—

to share life with Jesus.

Do not think of your loss; think of my gain.

Do not be sad because I have died; truly, I've just begun to live.

Do not mourn because I died so young; I had five more years

than Jesus did on earth.

Do not just sit and weep for me; save your tears for those

who don't know Jesus.

Do not go into mourning for me; rise up and use your strength

and devotion so that the hearts of others may sing.

Do not think you have lost me; I have just moved a little higher

and I'll be here to smile and say "welcome" when you pass

through the curtain.

And say...be sure to come or I'll be disappointed."

Thank God for Jim. Thank God for all who can look into God's marvelous future and simply trust. That's the way I hope to die.

Getting A New Perspective

Every so often, we need to get a new point of view. We have pushed back the frontiers of first one science and then another, until we stand awed and inspired by the immensities and complexities of the world around us.

Science, instead of removing us from God, has sometimes drawn us closer to Him. It has forced us to our knees to behold...the still unexplored...the still unknown parts of this mighty universe.

A minister said that once each year, he preached on astronomy. He didn't know much about it...but it made him think big! And it does!

Who can comprehend the vastness of outer space? For example, if you could ride a light beam (186,000 miles per sec.), you would pass the sun in 8.6 min. Continuing at this same rate of speed, you would reach the nearest star (little Proxima Centauri) in about 4 years. And then, still moving at the speed of light, it would take you 99,996 years to reach the edge of the Milky Way (which is our own galaxy). Beyond this, there are at least 500,000 other galaxies already chartered, and more being discovered all the time. That's a "wow" in my book!

And then, look in the opposite direction and there are equally amazing discoveries in the micro‑world. The atom, eg.,...so tiny, that 2,000,000 of them in a row, would cover a space no larger than the tiny dot over the letter "i" on my printer.

In the midst of this, we are tempted to ask with the Psalmist, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" (Ps. 8:4)

Does this put us in our place, and yet it gives us a place. God, who has made the galaxies of outer space has also arranged the minuteness of inner space. Can we then believe that He has ignored or overlooked the all‑important activities of those He has chosen to call His children?

He created us. He gave us a place. He has exalted us to a high degree, but He has also humbled us, lest we lose our sense of values and balance.

In a world already existing for over 2 billion years, can incidents that happen to you and me for one day or for one year, or even for one lifetime, actually affect God? Where upon the records of the universe, will be recorded the disappointments of John Smith, or of Joe Blow, who became discouraged one day in May and almost gave up the battle?

And yet the assurance keeps coming, that although what happens to me, doesn't seem to matter much, and the world goes on pretty much as usual without my small contribution...that it is recorded! And it does make a difference, and that God does care, and that He cares for you and for me.

I rejoice that the God who made us, is big enough to know the disappointments of each person, and if we put our trust in Him, He will set us high upon a Rock, and put a new song in our hearts, and will help us not to stumble or fall.

When My World Falls Apart

Does the Lord lead us?...every step of the way? Do we really believe that? Perhaps we cannot accept this...cannot be truly sure, until we can learn to thank God even when our world starts to fall apart!

The Bible writers seemed to fully believe this. And it is hard for us to understand their way of speaking, unless we see their point of view.

Maybe this illustration will help. Back in the year 1965, I learned a great deal about pain and suffering. I was in the hospital for three major surgeries in 6 months. Until that time, I could visit people in the hospital, and not fully appreciate what they were feeling. I thought I could, but not really!

But now, I began to feel that I had shared somewhat in the suffering of mankind. Paul once said, "We must learn to give thanks to God in all things." And I wondered, could I thank God for this? I would not have asked Him for it. I would not ask for it again. But having had it, it became a blessing in my life.

And so, I can look back upon it and say, "Thank you, God, for giving me pain, and suffering...for exposing me to this difficult experience."

At this point, I could even say, "The Lord led me into suffering. He led me into pain...that I might know how to praise Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

I don't believe that it was the Lord's intentional will that I should go to the hospital and have suffering...but under the circumstances of need, it became not only within His will, but directly a part of it, that I should go to be made well.

And so I say, "The Lord gave me a burden, so that I might better understand the burdens of others."

Has your world fallen apart recently? Have things gone from bad to worse? Then just hang in there...God hasn't deserted you. The day will come when you will be able to look back with perspective, and say, "Thanks be to God...for now I see life differently than ever before. I may even be wiser and richer now because of this burden I've been forced to bear."

How To Live All Day Long

How do you live all day long? It isn't easy is it? There are times when a person despairs...when he cries out, "My God, My God...why?"

A despondent man went to an old sage. He said to the wise man that he wanted to be released from life, because it was too hard. The sage picked up some herbs of healing that he had...gave them to the man and said: "Go find 7 persons to whom you can give this herb. After you have helped them, return to me, and I will give you release from life."

The story goes that the man did so, but by the time he had returned, he no longer wanted release. He wanted to live. In the healing of others, he himself had been healed!

A doctor announced that he was a "Cure‑for‑the‑Blues‑Specialist". When a person came to his office, he gave him a card with the formula: "When you feel yourself getting blue, something for somebody else go do." It wasn't great poetry, but it was a good philosophy.

There is seldom a day goes by, without some pain or hardship for you to bear. But, if it is true of you, just remember, that it is happening to everyone else too.

When you see your own problems, and cry your own tears, and feel your own pain, the day is hard indeed. But if you help to carry the load of others, somehow your own becomes a bit easier to bear.

Someone has defined "sympathy" as: "your pain in my heart!" The Psalmist reminds us that there is One who is forever sharing our burdens. "Blessed be God, who daily bears us up." (Ps. 68:19) God takes our pain in his heart. He bears us up. The apostle Paul says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (II Cor. 1:3)

Awhile ago, an Alka‑seltzer commercial had a man saying, "I can't believe I ate the who‑o‑o‑le thing!" If we live each day with the comfort and under‑girding of the Almighty, we will be able to live the who‑o‑o‑o‑le day, and do it well.

You Cannot Live In Tomorrow

It is good to dream and plan wisely for tomorrow. But we cannot live on that street today. Worrying about the future will only sap our strength for this moment.

Jesus said: "do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." (Matt. 6:34)

As we look back, we discover that the Past has changed us greatly, and the Future will change us some more. So, welcome to the Future. In a sense, the Christian has an Aladdin's lamp, and we ask, "Show us tomorrow." And the answer comes back, "Emmanuel: God with us!"

We know not what the future holds, but we do know Who holds the future. And we are content. The past has changed us, and the present is full of change, but there is One who never changes.

The hymn‑writer has said it well:

"Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not...abide with me."

God daily imparts His grace to us. We need no rehearsals. The play is already going on. And each day that we live is a time to live, to love, to serve, to weep, and to laugh. We must not wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow may never come.

And so, today is a gift carefully wrapped. It may have surprises crammed into the corners and crevices, but God is sufficient, and I must not worry.

There is an ancient poem, based on the Sanskrit (of 1200 B.C.) that goes like this:

Look to this Day!
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And Tomorrow is only a Vision;
But Today well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!

No terrorist has the power to spoil my day.
The daily news may trouble me,
But those who have the power of faith,
Are working with the Creator of HOPE
And HOPE does not disappoint us.

Is Everything Vanity?

Is it wrong to enjoy the good things of life? There was a "Playboy" of the Old Testament who wrote:"There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in his toil." (Ecclesiastes 2:24)

He was honest. He could not see much for the future. Heaven and hell were not ideas with which he was familiar. Death for the writer was mostly a nothingness. And so he believed that life was meant to be enjoyed while you had it.

Perhaps he has a good lesson for us to learn. Why do we get so tense with one another...so upset...so irritable? Is it not because we have our noses to the grindstone and do not take time to just enjoy the moments that we have, and the friends that we can enjoy. Sometimes we do not even have fun with our children while we have them. At times we ignore good health while we have it. We are always pushing for that time in the future when we can enjoy ourselves and that time never comes.

What does life mean? Are there things of significance, of value? One of the conclusions that Ecclesiastes comes to is that we ought to learn to love life...not indulge life, or glorify indulgence, but to glorify Him who gave us life. You see, life was meant to be enjoyed. Jesus said, "I am come that you might have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

Ours is not to be tearful preaching, but cheerful teaching. Ours is not to be doleful proclamations, but soulful exclamations. We are to love life!

We make the tragic mistake of believing that our task is to make a living, whereas our task is to make a life that is worth living. We might even say: "What shall it profit a man to make a darn good life in the future, and not be able to have good living now?"

Is it wrong to enjoy the good things in life? No. The question is: do we know what the good things in life really are?

Enjoy your children while you have them. This is good. To be obsessed with only your security for the future is vanity.

Enjoy your neighbors. This is good. To be so busy with day by day pursuits that you do not learn to know them is vanity.

Enjoy your faith. This is good. To put it aside as a luxury to be had when you are older, or as a chore to perform, is to miss the glory of life. It is vanity and emptiness.

Enjoy the privilege of giving, of sacrifice. This is good. To hoard and to keep everything to yourself is like cancer. It eats out the heart and meaning of life and is vanity.

Enjoy your God. This is good. There is an old creed that says: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever." All else is vanity.

The Aroma Of Christ

I'm not sure I ever thought of myself as an aroma. Paul in II Cor. 2:15 said, "we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved."

There are a few people I might call "stinkers", and at times, I might even concede that I qualify for that name too, but to be a good "aroma"...that is quite a challenge.

Paul also goes on to say that we are to be a "fragrance from life to life" (vs.16) so that through our example, others might find new life. Unfortunately we can also be a"fragrance from death to death". Because of my failures and my weaknesses, other folks may stumble and fall. What a horrible thing!

Unlike those in the animal world, we do not have the power of tracking others through smell. Our pets can apparently do it to an amazing degree, as well as most creatures in the animal Kingdom.

But what if I could leave such a fragrance of love, such an aroma of forgiveness, such a redolence of compassion, such an odor of mercy, that my journey through history would leave a vapor trail suggesting the spirit of Christ? That would be my highest privilege, my greatest tribute, my most resounding epitaph on the spiritual trail markers for my children and the world to see.

I may not qualify as one of the great movers of history, but if I could be registered among those who revealed the "aroma of Christ"...that would be all I desire.

Running With The Horses

Jeremiah the prophet, believed he had heard the Lord giving him a direct command:

"Before I formed you...I knew you
Before you were born, I consecrated you.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations..." (Jer. 1:4)

But although he spoke the words of the Lord with conviction, using imaginative devices and illustrations, he was hated by the people and despised. He complained to the Lord that things weren't going well and he was tired, but the Lord's response was as follows:

"If you have raced with men on foot, and
they have wearied you, how will you
compete with horses? And if in a safe land
you fall down, how will you do in the jungle
of the Jordan?" (Jeremiah 12:5)

Not very encouraging, was it? Almost like saying, "Cheer up, the worst is yet to come!"
Someone has defined happiness as "a state of going somewhere, one‑directionally, without regret, or reservation." This was Jeremiah, and the pioneers of the early faith.

The zeal of the early church pioneers was incredible. John Wesley in his diary wrote: "Leisure and I have taken leave of one another." Christian Newcomer made more than fifty trips on horseback across the Appalachian Mts., his last after he had passed his 80th birthday. Many of the early pioneers of the Church literally lived on horseback. They were very ordinary people who above all things wished to be faithful. They were footmen, who through the years had learned to run with even the horses!

The Church can use more such persons today, who run not only with their fellow brothers and sisters, but have been conditioned to run against the devil himself.

God made an oyster to be safe in its shell. It was destined to be safe, but doomed to forever being an oyster. God took human‑kind, and placed all the protective bone on the inside, exposing raw nerves to a cruel world. We were not destined for safety, but destined to subdue the world, and bring all mankind to the love of God.

Some of us are still looking for an oyster shell. Above all else, we want to be comfortable. No so, Jeremiah and the great pioneers. They were conditioned by the grace of God to run with the horses, taking the jibes and taunts of life. They got the victory. May we also run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

The Authentic Person

Is everyone a hypocrite? Are we playing with life and religion? Are we wearing masks and going
through the forms? What is vital Christianity? What about integrity and authenticity? Are we being honest? How much of the time are we pretending? Can we be genuine?....Can we "tell it like it is?"

Young people think the adult generation is hypocritical...two‑faced...shot full of holes. It undoubtedly is! But so will it be probably when they get older too. It was so in Jesus' day. And Jesus was the young upstart who had the audacity to "tell it like it is"!

Jesus' followers didn't observe the rules. And they didn't I suppose, because Jesus didn't! But the rules they broke were the man‑made variety...not God's rules! When they ate, they didn't go through all the ceremonial rites, or the certain prescribed way of washing their hands. The Scribes and Pharisees asked, "Why? Why don't you go through the formula? Why don't you follow the rules? Why don't you play the game...like the rest of us?"

And Jesus caught them at it, and exposed the game they were playing. They were playing at religion. And Jesus attacked the hypocrites because they were so self‑righteously convinced of their goodness. Their blindness actually set them in opposition to God!

Everybody plays roles, and this is not necessarily bad, but as Christians, we are also subject to playing games. We make spectacular pronouncements for justice and equality and go on living as though it weren't so. We worship the Prince of Peace, and yet teach man‑made acceptance of bombing villages and people. We worship the Creator who made the earth with its abundance for all, and yet teach the doctrines of men, keeping this abundance for a few. We worship the Father of all races, and teach the commandments of mankind that tell us to keep other races in their place. The tragedy is that we are consciously sincere in these matters. but we are unconsciously insincere as well.

We are the "almost Christians" or as T.S. Eliot described it...We are the "Hollow Men"..."stuffed men...heads filled with straw, and dried voices". We live on the outside as Christians, but inside we are almost nothing at all.

The disciples followed Jesus, because he was real...genuine...authentic. The fact that he overlooked some of the man‑made traditions somehow didn't seem too important. In Jesus, they saw the kind of men they were meant to be. In his presence, they became aware of sham and hypocrisy and self‑centeredness in their own lives.

In the presence of Jesus, and the fellowship of the loving community of the Church, we can believe that we are accepted and forgiven. And with that assurance, we can be honest, drop the masks, and forget the pretend roles we feel obligated to play. And then, stripped of pretense, we become free enough to be ourselves as God made us...whole persons....no longer playing at religion, no longer counterfeits, but real, genuine, and authentic.

Good Grief

How inappropriate can you be? How can grief be good? And after tragedy strikes, and the newspapers share all the shocking details, who would dare to say "Good Grief".

On the other hand, even as lights seem to be going out all over the world, we Christians have the audacity to say, "God is not dead, nor has He left us alone."

War is bringing agony to much of our world, fire storms destroy hundreds of homes, a plane crash results in the loss of all lives, an earthquake kills hundreds of people, and destroys an entire city. More people die of AIDS this year, than ever before. On and on the tragedies continue.

Does grief bring us to our knees? Does the burning of churches in the south, unite people? Out of black Fridays, can there sometimes be glorious Sundays?

As a people, we are often in grief. But God has a way of turning it into "good grief"...of changing sorrow into greatness, of transforming sadness into gladness. The tears of a people are for the cleansing of their eyes.

Strange, isn't it, that the really great and significant things that take place in our world, cluster around tragedy and self‑sacrifice. What do we do with tragedy? We turn it into "good grief". That's what we must do! The apostle Paul said "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us." (Ro. 5:3)

I'm not happy about "grief". But when I confront it through the Lord's eyes, I am able to find my way through.

The Good News Becomes The Bad News

Through the years, Christians have been rejoicing in the "Good News". "That's what the Gospel is all about", they say.

That's true. The good news is that God loves us, and that He has sent Christ into the world to reconcile the world to Himself. But along with that comes the fact that He has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.

This gospel says that we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord, and that I must be reconciled to them. But I don't want to claim some of my neighbors as part of my family. I don't want to love folks whose jobs cut into my pay check. I don't want to accept freaks who paint their hair and wear rings and jewels in every part of their body. I don't like people who talk differently than I do. I have no interest in being friends with people of different color. I just want to live my own life, and let the rest of the world go by.

But here is the bad news!....Christ calls me into a caring and reconciling relationship. I have to try to learn to love even those who are hard to love. I must try to reach out to people who are different, and folks who look at life in a different way than I. I don't have to agree with them,
But I have to try to love them.

Woe is me! There goes my complacency. If Jesus was willing to live and die for me...then the least I can do is try to live for Him. That's the good news for today...but sometimes, I must confess, it puts me to the test.

What Really Moved Jesus?

At a meal one day, in Simon's house, with a group of super‑critical religious leaders, Jesus sat alone and misunderstood. Every word he said was challenged and twisted by those who were trying to dis‑credit him.

To the amazement of all at the table, a woman of the street came in, and taking an alabaster jar of costly ointment, she poured it out upon Jesus' head.

We do not know what Jesus had done for her...but she needed to do something for him. It was as though she saw the storm clouds gathering. It was like the shadow of the cross upon him.

Why did she do it? Was it an impulse? Did she want to do something to show that she cared? Some have said she may have been in love with Jesus. She didn't pour out just a few drops of this valuable ointment...and say, "I guess that should be enough for the occasion." No, it all went.

Her unblocked impulse moved Jesus. It was not smothered with caution. She was lifted clear out of arithmetic into love...where one no longer counts the cost.

The record says that Jesus was moved, deeply stirred by this extravagant action. We remember a few other times: a Centurion asking for his son's recovery. Jesus was impressed by his faith. Or the widow who put her whole living into the treasury box...the widow's mite. Jesus spoke in glowing terms about her gift.

And now this. There was a kind of excitement in Jesus as he spoke about it. The only measurements some people have for values are those of the market place. This oil...what a waste!..."it could have been given to the poor," they said. But they really didn't care so much about the poor...it just sounded good.

To some people, worship is waste. What good is it? Beauty is unnecessary. You can't eat it! It butters no bread...It builds no barns...It yields no compound interest. To these persons, a life of sacrifice is always a waste. The life of David Livingstone...what a waste! Or Dr. Schweitzer..."think of what he could have done with those 4 Doctor's Degrees, instead of going as a missionary. What a waste!"

Perhaps we have a clue here as to why Christ had to die...because there are so many in our world, who care more for things than for people.

Come Fly With Me

Have you watched the birds, and the soaring eagles, and sometimes thought, "How
wonderful to be able to soar above the grime and slime and weariness of this old world, and see life from a different perspective."

A good friend gave me lessons years ago, and I finally did the big "solo" thing. "I could fly!...but I couldn't afford financially to continue, so I haven't done much since."

John Gillespie Magee, Jr. in "High Flight" said it so well:

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter‑silvered wings;
Sun-ward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun‑split clouds‑‑and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of‑‑wheeled and soared and
swung...
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high un-trespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

I'm not an angel, but the Bible tells me that I was made "just a bit lower than the angels". I may not have wings yet, but the potential is there.

This world is my home, but it is not my only home, and there is another dimension to this flat existence. A lot of my life is lived with my nose to the grindstone, and that's where it has to be much of the time. Nobody promised me a rose garden. But one of these days, I'm goin' to fly!

And Sunday after Sunday, I practice the process...of loving, and giving, and forgiving, and
caring, and lifting my eyes to Him who can deliver me from this bondage of death, until with Jesus, I can fly.Our Faith has regular "Fly‑ins". Our Lord invites you and me to take the ground course, and "lift‑off" is possible, whenever we need Him, and whenever we cry out in desperation.

Come fly with the Lord Jesus. Here is the only air‑line that can give you an eternal guarantee.

Selfishness Is Dangerous

Sometimes I get scared when I think of the dangers of selfishness. What does it do to my personality? What does it do to my family? How can I teach them to give, and to give gladly and generously…to learn to trust in something other than materialistic things?

This is one of the tasks of the Christian Faith. I must learn “FAITH” for myself, before I can teach it to my children. I must learn to give to God without penny-pinching in the assurance that when I give up my “hoarding” and give up my faith in “material things”, I begin to launch out in faith with a God who has assured me that He will ”open the windows of heaven, and pour down an overflowing blessing”. (Malachi 3:10b) An old rhyme goes as follows:

“If I get mine.
And God gets His
Then everything will be just fine
But if I get mine
And keep His too
What do you think God will do?”

And someone has added the answer, “We believe God will collect!”

I’m not sure I know how God “collects”, but I do believe I understand the spiritual law of giving. A lake that receives but does not give out is a stagnant lake. By that same token, a life that receives without giving back just as generously, becomes a dead soul!

I do not want to make the mistake of not giving! I believe God has given me the privilege of giving to keep me from becoming absolutely selfish. Here then, is a law of my being…”giving is living.” Have I really understood the “health-cure” my church offers me when it asks me to give?

As a Christian, I have never felt strange about asking people to give. Not to do so, would be an act of unconcern on my part!

I praise God, and give thanks to Him
for the gift of reading. If you would be
interested in reading more of my
material, call toll-free 1-888-280-7715
and order any or all of the books listed
along the edge of my BLOG.