SIX BIG LESSONS

SIX TINY STORIES WITH SIX BIG LESSONS

1) Once upon a time, all the villagers decided to pray for rain, and on the day of prayer all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That’s FAITH.

2) When you throw a baby in the air, she laughs because she knows you will catch her. That’s TRUST.

3) Every night we go to bed without any assurance of being alive the next morning, but still we set our alarms  to wake up. That’s HOPE.

4) We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That’s CONFIDENCE.

5) We see the world suffering evil, but still we get married. That’s LOVE.                                      

6) An old man’s shirt read, “I am not seventy years old. I am twenty with fifty years’ experience.” That’s ATTITUDE.

Those are six very good lessons to learn. Sadly, so much of our life is spent wondering six (or more) other things:

1) Will I succeed? 2) Will I be loved? 3) Will evil prevail? 4) Will I have enough? 5) Will people ever learn? 6) Does God really exist and love me?

God helps us understand by the little lessons we learn in life. True, the big occasions will teach us some things, but the small ones shape our learning, reason and faith as we meet them each and let the good lessons seep into our soul.

We humans will always see life as a series of small daily acts, but God sees the Big Picture. He knows where we are headed and how we will get there.

He gives us FAITH to see each day as a gift and helps us TRUST that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He gives us HOPE that we may not despair and CONFIDENCE to face each day without fear. He shows us His LOVE in Jesus Christ on the cross and gives us the ATTITUDE of joy in knowing what faith in Christ will bring us.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

A MOTHER'S REQUEST

Mother's Day, 2015

Dear Child,
        Mother’s Day is coming up, and I thought I should tell you what I want. This way there’s no guilty panic or last minute purchasing of flowers at the closest gas station. So this is what I want, this year and every year after.
        I want you to be a decent human being. I want you to be who you are, but don’t be an idiot. I want you to work hard at everything you do, because life is too short not to give it everything you’ve got. I want you to know that you can choose the right thing when the devil offers you his cookies. 
       I want you to ask for help when you need it. I want you to help others when they need it. I want you to learn how to cook, do your own laundry, pay your bills and know how to clean a bathroom. When you mess up, and you will more than once, I want you to own it and do your best to fix it. It’s the mess-ups that make the victories sweeter. 
       I want you to travel, because the world is huge and you are one part of it. I want you to know that even if I may hate what you do, I will never stop loving you. I want you to play nicely with others. I want you to feed your curiosity. I want you to find a way to do what you enjoy, and realize that it might look different than you originally thought. 
        I want you to respect every human being’s right to be who they are. At times I want you to be more interested in someone else than in yourself and help others like you help yourself. I want you to know that you are flawed and you are extraordinary. There is no one else like you. 
       I want you to know that I would lay down my life for you any day of the week. I want you to know you’re blessed by our great God who has created you and forgiven you. I want you to know love, even if it means getting hurt. I want you to be good to others and to yourself. You will learn life can be hard, but with God’s help you can handle it. Always know that I will love you, no matter what.

Love, Mom

P.S. I wouldn’t mind getting a card now and then.

HELPING EACH OTHER

(From my new devotional, Day By Day With Jesus, to be published this fall)

 

When I lived in California, I learned about Cinco de Mayo, when Hispanics celebrate their Mexican heritage by remembering an unlikely victory of the Mexican army over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Jesus said, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) This is an encouraging Bible verse. If you’re tired, come to Jesus. If the weight of the world is on your shoulders, come to Jesus. If life is crushing you, come to Jesus. Come to Him and He will give you rest. All things have been given to Jesus by the Father. Because He is truly human, He understands the burdens of our world. He understands the burden of human sin and the devastation it causes.

Sin has the power to destroy families, churches and the world. But Jesus has defeated sin. Satan has been beaten by the cross! We do not have to carry the burden of our sins any longer. Jesus did that for us fully on Calvary, and when God finishes something, it is finished! We do not have to do it over again. There is no burden Jesus cannot help us carry.

Some boys in a small town were playing on abandoned railroad tracks. One boy was clumsy and the others made fun of him. They all decided to see how far they could walk on a single track. The big boys each walked a long way before falling off. The clumsy fellow barely walked a few steps before he fell, so they laughed at him. But one said to him, ”Hold my hand!” And the two boys walked the tracks together, holding hands side by side, one on one track and one on the other. Together they walked three times as far as those who walked alone. Two together did what one could not do alone.

Jesus walks beside us too. He holds our hand when we are shaky and leads us when we are unsure or weary of the world. He will even carry us when we are too tired. It’s His promise, and Jesus never goes back on his promises.

Watch to see how you can help someone today.

INVITING STRANGERS IN

        In 2012, Chick-fil-A made national headlines when its president Dan Cathy spoke publicly in support of traditional marriage. Reaction by media and some politicians was predictable. Groups tried boycotting the Christian owned company, but it backfired. Chick-fil-A grew in popularity.
        In early 2015, a terrible ice storm hit the south. The press showed miles of cars stranded on frozen interstates, with buses holding school kids up to 24 hours because of the ice. But during that storm, few people heard about the actions of a Chick-fil-A restaurant along Birmingham’s Highway 280. Owner Mark Meadows closed early and sent his employees home. But the employees discovered they weren’t able to get home with all of the stranded motorists and clogged roads. Their store was 1½ miles from the interstate and 280 was a parking lot.
        So Meadows and his employees fired up the kitchen and made chicken sandwiches as fast as they could, taking hundreds them out to stranded motorists. Some of the drivers tried to pay, but Meadows and his employees refused to take a penny. “This company is based on taking care of people and loving people before it's worried about money or profit,” said one worker.
         But that wasn’t all Meadows and his crew did. They pushed cars and helped motorists, even allowing some people into their restaurant overnight to sleep in booths or on benches. The next morning, the workers prepared chicken biscuits and coffee, again refusing any payment even though they’d been up most of the night.
        During that 24 hour period, that Chick-fil-A restaurant opened its kitchen, doors and hearts to hundreds of people in need. As one person who was helped said, “Mark Meadows and his staff lived up to the words of Jesus,  ‘I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in’.” (Matthew 25:35)
        None of this was reported in the media.

Amazing how God’s love can be shared when needed, isn’t it?

WHY FORGIVE A KILLER?

         A recent TV show was about a young woman who's family had been killed by a drug-crazed maniac when she was only 6 years old. The murderer was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Twenty five years later the murderer asked to see her and tell her he was terribly sorry. She was still very bitter and told him she would never forgive him. The only way he could show he was truly sorry, she said, was to kill himself. She left the prison smiling because she’d finally told him what she wanted.
         Watching this show, I was left with an empty feeling, one of disappointment. The writers gave us their view of Christian forgiveness in the wake of terrible crimes, “Don’t do it! Hurt him back!" Although I have no idea how she would have felt, it seemed that evil somehow had won the day. Satan made bitterness her solution. Forgiveness had been withheld and we were supposed to feel the woman was vindicated by her personal verdict of death on the murderer.
          Forgiveness is not excusing what another person has done, it is giving up all claim on the one who has hurt you. It is surrendering your right to hurt the offender back. Forgiveness is choosing a new way to live. It is a conscious decision not to let the offender or the offense control your life.
         Forgiveness does not need the offender’s confession or repentance. After the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, some parents were told since the killers both were dead, it wasn’t necessary to forgive them. That's a mistake, because the offender may not be sorry, or available. Forgiveness is an act of free choice by the offended to the one who has caused offense.
         Forgiveness can also be for the offender, but it’s first done for the offended. Forgiveness is conscious decision so the offended can go on living. It is also a way to show mercy. Withholding forgiveness locks us into a prison we don’t deserve or need.
         When Jesus hung on a cross, it was after a night of arrest and confinement, a morning of betrayal and beating, the humiliation of the crowds and the pain of crucifixion. Yet His first words were, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus knew forgiveness was needed, and He did it. He did it for sinners, and as a human being He did it for Himself.

Who do you need to forgive?

A DEAD MAN'S WISH

Do you remember your first car? Do you remember how much it cost, its shape, model or color? I was thinking of this recently, and it led me to recall all the cars I’ve owned in my years of driving. Twenty-one cars may seem like a lot, but nearly all of them were used and often didn’t last long.

Recently there was a television series called “Strange Inheritance” in which each show told of the amazing things people have left to their heirs. One episode told of a wealthy man’s collection of 3,000 cars, most of which were unique and valuable. Estimates were that this collection was worth over one hundred million dollars.

But the collector had requested in his will that the collection not be broken up or sold off piecemeal. So what could his heirs do with them? Even if you are wealthy, what do you do with 3,000 valuable cars? How could you care for them or even store them?

Over the years I have been asked by well-meaning people to do things after their death that I’ve not been able to fulfill. I have also helped a few people deal with a final request that has placed them in difficult situation. In nearly every case I have urged them to do what was best for them, not only for the deceased person.

It is best that people not place their heirs in a quandary after they are gone. The request of a dying person may seem a sacred thing, but if a certain special request presents major problems to the heirs, they should fulfill it only if they are able, or it is legally required, and in the best interests of all. Not all requests need to be fulfilled.

Jesus invited a man to follow, but he said, “Let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus responded, “Follow me and let the dead bury their dead.” (Matthew 8:22) Following Jesus is more important than following the wishes of someone who has died. When possible, honor your loved one’s wish, but only when it does not endanger something more important.

What is the best way to honor those who have gone before us?

THE WAR IS OVER

Dear Friends,
         On December 17, 1944, 21 year-old Lt. Hiroo Onoda left for the Philippines to join his fellow Japanese soldiers in fighting the Allies. Onoda was given orders to lead his platoon in guerilla fighting, and he was ordered not under any circumstances to surrender or to take his own life. To the last man, he was to command and keep fighting the enemy. Lt. Onoda took those orders more literally than any commander could have given them.
        When the Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945, Lt. Onoda's work was over, but he refused to believe it and continued guerilla warfare, even when all but a few of his men were killed. In the ensuing years when leaflets were dropped several times saying the war was over, Onoda believed it a hoax and never came out of hiding.
        Finally, in 1974, 51 year-old Lt. Onodo, lone survivor of his platoon, came out of the jungle and surrendered to his former commanding officer. He was pardoned by Philippine Pres. Marcos for killing 30 people and wounding nearly 100 others during his extended warfare. It took Lt. Hiroo Onoda 30 years to believe that World War Two was actually over.
        When Jesus said, "It is finished!" His work as Savior was over. Some of His disciples didn't believe it, but in the coming weeks He showed Himself alive to hundreds, including His own disciples, and all were witnesses to His resurrection. They didn't all believe right away, so it took the Holy Spirit's coming in Pentecost to breathe life into that faltering group of followers. Without His resurrection, we would have no hope for heaven and there would be no Church. "If Christ is not raised, then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins," said Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:17)
        Easter is not just a time to be glad a long winter is over, nor is it the mere christianizing of a pagan spring festival. It is recalling that Jesus rose from the dead and knowing He truly is the Son of God whose death sets us free from the condemnation for our sins. Easter is the Christian's reason to be glad in the midst of life's struggles, and to know God loves and accepts us as His children. God loves us just the way we are, and He helps us change for the better. He helps us open our eyes to the reality of our sin and our need for His mercy, and then helps us live a new life - for Him!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed - Hallelujah!