DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER

Dear Heavenly Father,

Your love, grace and mercy are absolutely amazing!

Sincerely,

Your Grateful Children

CHARACTER COUNTS

CHARACTER COUNTS

Since we know that death is inevitable, carefully consider this. At the end of our days, what is it that you and I would have written as an epitaph on our graves? Recently, I came across an interesting story that speaks quite eloquently about the meaning and legacy of life.

Wilbur and Orville Wright made their mark in history for carrying out the first successful air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. Although they came from a very close family, their father, who was a bishop in the United Brethren Church, was initially skeptical about their aviation ventures.

Unfortunately, Wilbur died quite early, at the age of 45. His father left a record of this tragic event in his personal diary, which reads as follows:

May 30, 1912

This morning at 3:15, Wilbur passed away, aged 45 years, 1 month, and 14 days. A short life, full of great consequences. An unfailing intellect, imperturbable temper, great self-reliance and as great modesty. Seeing the right clearly, pursuing it steadily, he lived and he died.

Take note that there was no mention at all of Wilbur’s great pioneering successes in the field of aviation. You see, for Wilbur’s father, it was not making that first successful air flight that made Wilbur great. It was his loving relationships and outstanding character.

More than anything that you and I could possibly achieve in this life, it is our character that actually counts. My friend, live right…before God and man.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

BEAUTIFIED BY GOD

BEAUTIFIED BY GOD

We were purposefully created in the image and likeness of a marvelous and majestic God.  Throughout our lives, we are continually touched and transformed by His grace and mercy – as long as we willingly surrender to the restoring power of His redemptive love.  Although there are moments when we appear to be ‘ugly’ and radically different in character than the Creator’s original design, our God has a definite plan and process in mind.  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

In many ways, we have profound similarities to the scarab beetle.  While most people find beetles and bugs to be somewhat creepy, the jewel scarab might just turn you into a beetle lover.  They live in the jungles of Honduras and their colors are so amazing that they have great value and sell for up to $500 each.  Scarabs are colorfully adorned in flaming red, radiant gold and bright silver that resembles a luminous chrome.  Even beetle haters find jewel scarabs to be absolutely dazzling and beautiful!

But their origins are radically different from their latter lives.  That is, the jewel scarab’s beauty does not come automatically.  They have rather modest, even ugly beginnings – emerging as soft, mushy, grey-white grubs growing inside rotting tree stumps.  They remain in place for a year or so.  During the rainy season, the adult scarabs emerge from their trees, with that soft body and pale appearance.  However, within hours their bodies harden and their splendid colors start to show.  Jewel scarabs only live for another three months or so, but what a glorious and magnificent existence.  They are among God’s most attractive creations!

People are just like scarabs.  There are moments when we may not feel (or appear to be) beautiful or attractive.  I’m not referring to our bodies, rather our minds, our characters, our thoughts, our emotions and our decisions.  Nevertheless, if we are willing to submit to the ongoing creative process of God, over time, with effort and submission, we emerge as beautiful, dazzling, shining creatures, gloriously bearing the spiritual image of our Creator.

It’s a process.  It’s a process.  It’s a process. 

In case you didn’t hear me, IT’S A PROCESS.

So hang in there while the Divine Architect completes His work in you and your family.  The finished product that God is strategically formulating in the body/mind/spirit of every believer is reminiscent of my life-verse, Philippians 1:6. “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” 

Never be afraid to admit to any person whom you encounter along this journey called life: “Please be patient with me…God is not through with me yet.”  Indeed, much like the jewel scarab beetle, your Creator is gradually configuring and conforming you to the image of Christ.  And, you will shine!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

FEAR'S EDGES

FEAR’S EDGES

We find ourselves at the start of a brand-new year, 2019.  Time really does fly, or so it seems.  In our days of varsity football, the late Coach Joe Gladys would give us Greyhounds a challenging pep talk before we entered the gridiron to commence our sports competition.  While his talks were always different, they contained one common theme.  ‘What are we going to do to make sure we are operating at peak performance?’

As we embrace life in 2019, it is imperative that we approach each day and every task with courage and consistency.  We must refuse to live in the shadow of FEAR, which is a highly adept and lethal assassin of dreams and potential.  Consider the following story, courtesy of Scott Higgins.

Philip Island, in Victoria Australia, plays host to one of the greatest nature experiences possible.  On the shores of Philip Island are the burrows of thousands upon thousands of fairy penguins, extraordinarily cute tiny birds that stand only 30 centimeters or so tall.  Every morning the adult penguins head out to sea to catch fish.  At the end of the day, they return to land to bring back food for their chicks.  Watching them moving from the water to their burrows is both funny and fascinating.  The penguins surf in on the waves, then gather in groups at the water’s edge.  Their burrows are 100 meters or so distant, with the open space of the sandy beach standing between them and home.

All of a sudden a group of penguins will take off, waddling as fast as their little legs can carry them across the beach.  But then, having traveled only 10 or 15 meters, they suddenly turn around and waddle back toward the water.  They wait, then try again.  One group finally makes it, but another performs this strange ritual of turning back.  And on it goes until eventually all the penguins have crossed the beach and met up with other chicks in the burrows.

What’s really going on here?  Why this strange stop-start-and-return ritual?  The answer is quite simple.  At sea, the birds are fast swimmers and able to dive deep.  So at sea, they are safe from predators such as eagles and hawks.  In their burrows, they are safe because they are below ground.  However, out on the open beach, they are very vulnerable, completely exposed.  On the beach, they can only waddle slowly and thus they are easy pickings for predators.  And so, as they cross over the beach sands, the moment they see a shadow or anything out of the corner of their eyes, they turn back and race for the safety of the water.

It seems that we humans are a lot like those fairy penguins.  When confronted with challenging situations, we find ourselves standing uncertainly at the water’s edge.  We know where we’ve got to go.  We know we’ve got to cross the beach and head back toward our home burrow, but it all seems so daunting, so terrifying.  You see, whenever we step out of the water and start waddling across the beach, we leave our safety and comfort zone behind.  There we find ourselves in ‘no-man’s land’ where it feels so uncertain, dangerous and downright disconcerting.  However, in order to get home we must leave our safety zone and strike out into THE FAITH ZONE where we will encounter both risk and reward.

My friend, it’s called LIFE.  Here’s your question for the remainder of 2019: Are you up to the challenge of abandoning anxiety and fear in order to experience the power and embrace the potential of whatever lies ahead?  My friend, have a fulfilling and fruitful year.  No fears.  Only faith.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

JUST DON'T COMPLAIN

JUST DON’T COMPLAIN

The late Maya Angelou, a highly acclaimed American poet and author, was raised by her grandmother from age three to seven.  It was a period of calm and stability in an otherwise traumatic childhood.  Grandma ran a general store and the thing that really riled her was the constant complaining of people.  They would complain about the heat, the cold, or a myriad of miscellaneous issues that Maya’s grandmother considered to be totally trivial.  

After any ‘complainer’ exited her store, Grandma would call Maya over and say, “Sister, did you hear Brother or Sister So-and-So complaining?  There are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich, white and black, but they will never wake up again.  Any of those dead folks would love to have even five minutes of the weather this person was grumbling about.  So you just watch yourself about complaining.  What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like something is to change it.  If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.  Just don’t complain!”

Sounds like good advice.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

MY POSITION, MY CONDITION, MY OBSESSION

MY POSITION, MY CONDITION, MY OBSESSION

I treasure the ministry wisdom of the late Reverend Dr. E. V. Hill.  In one of his classic sermons, he issued this profound declaration of truth: “My POSITION is that I’m IN CHRIST.  My CONDITION is that sometimes I FAIL.  But my OBSESSION is to make my CONDITION the same as my POSITION.” 

I am confident that most Christians may easily relate to Dr. Hill’s life experience and perspective.  Certainly, the Word declares that we believers are “in Christ.” (II Corinthians 5:17) Thus, through the miracle of the new birth, we become God’s renewed creations and spiritual workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10) To wit, in Dr. Hill’s words, “My POSITION is that I’m IN CHRIST.”

However, since we exist in the form of frail, fallen and finite humanity, we are subject to both the original and occasional departure(s) from the perfect will of God.  In a word, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Hence, our human CONDITION precipitates an ongoing failure to fully comply with God’s Will and Word.  As Dr. Hill so succinctly stated it: “Sometimes I fail.”

Nevertheless, true believers refuse to become paralyzed at that point, i.e. we will not be subject permanently to the sinful nature of our flesh.  Rather, we strive and make every attempt to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.” (II Peter 3:18) So instead of accepting bondage to our old sinful nature, we are totally committed to the process of SANCTIFICATION, which produces continual spiritual growth and liberation from the power, practice and penalty of sin. (Romans 6-8 – I Corinthians 1:30 – I Thessalonians 4:3-4 – Ephesians 5:25-27 – John 17:17) Thus, Dr. Hill’s conclusion sums up our spiritual intention and goal: “My OBSESSION is to make my CONDITION the same as my POSITION.”

My friend, have you become comfortable with a state of continual domination and/or defeat by the devil?  In other words, do you have the tendency to excuse ungodly attitudes and actions as the inevitable weakness of the flesh?  Or, on the other hand, have you received, recognized and deployed the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit?  The Apostle Paul states it far more succinctly and eloquently than I:

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. (II Corinthians 4:7, New King James Version)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (II Corinthians 4:7, New International Version)

But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves. (II Corinthians 4:7, The Amplified Bible)

After all is said and done, it’s not about our ability, nor our capacity to cling to the right path and honor the Word of God.  It’s all about JESUS CHRIST!  Indeed, it’s all about “CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27b, NKJV) Paul sums it up this way: “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV) Amen?  Amen!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

YES, JESUS LOVES ME!

YES, JESUS LOVES ME!

The first Christian song most children learn is “Jesus Loves Me.”  If a best-hits list existed for preschoolers, this simple but precious song would have to be at the top of the charts.  Yet few people know how “Jesus Loves Me” originated, not as a song, but as a part of one of the 1860s’ best-selling novels.

At that time, Anna Warner was well aware of the coming civil war in America.  She lived with her father and sister on Constitution Island.  Their home was next door to the United States Military Academy at West Point; and, from her front porch she constantly heard rumors of war.  Yet, even in the face of uncertain times, Anna taught Bible classes to the cadets every Sunday.  She realized that if the southern states withdrew from the Union, many of the boys she knew could be killed or wounded in battle.  Even as it broke her heart to consider the possible plight of those young men, she fully comprehended the importance of leading each of them to Christ.  With an urgency brought about by a nation on the brink of war, sharing Christ’s love became her primary mission in life.

Besides her teaching, the forty-year-old Anna was also a writer.  Along with her sister Susan, she had written several novels, using the pseudonym Amy Lothrop.  In 1860 the two sisters wrote a book, “Say and Seal,” that became the nation’s best-selling work of fiction.  Written for the masses and the moment, their book would quickly pass from the public’s fancy.  Yet, thanks to one very special scene on but a single page, the essence of that book and Anna’s faith would live long after the novel had been forgotten.

In one chapter, a child lay dying.  Nothing could be done to ease his pain or give a second chance at life.  As his end grew near, the novel’s main character, Mr. Linden, attempted to comfort the small boy.  Gazing into the child’s eyes, he slowly recited a poem that began, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” The words of the poem made the boy’s last moments of life much easier.  These simple lines also moved thousands of readers to tears.  Hauntingly beautiful and composed straight from Anna’s faithful heart, “Jesus Loves Me” quickly sprang out of her book’s pages and became one of the most beloved poems of the era.  

No one can calculate how many times that poem was repeated in the homes of children whose fathers were engaged in the Civil War, recited from countless pulpits, in Sunday school classes, and even at the White House.  Anna’s poem had touched the hearts of millions with verses meant only to calm the soul of a dying fictional character.

One of the scores of readers who memorized the poem was William Bradbury.  A teacher of voice and organ, he formed a piano company in 1854 with Ferdinand Lighte and Henry Newton.  Besides heading up his business, this gifted musician set his faith to music by composing songs.  By the beginning of the Civil War, Bradbury started a music company to publish and distribute his works.  During that time, he read and fell in love with “Jesus Loves Me.”

As an accomplished composer of Christian music, Bradbury had already lent his talent to such hymns as “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” “He Leadeth Me,” and “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand.”  Bradbury was deeply moved by Anna Warner’s poem, so he decided to compose a melody to accompany the lyrics.  A lover of children’s voices, as well as a proponent of music education in schools and churches, Bradbury allowed the child in his own heart to spring forth when writing the musical notes for “Jesus Loves Me.”  Then, to complete the work, he added the simple chorus: “Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so.”

The marriage of Warner’s words and Bradbury’s music is one of the most beautiful gospel efforts of all time.  Yet the song “Jesus Loves Me” might have been quickly forgotten if Bradbury’s music company hadn’t published it.  Through the music publisher’s distribution network, the new children’s song quickly worked its way across the North and South.  And in the face of the most horrible fighting this nation has known, both sides sang about a Savior who died, arose and watched over everyone with equal love and compassion.  It was a poignant message for a very troubled time.

Today, few know of the writings of Anna Warner or recognize the name of William Bradbury.  Yet, even though the writer and composer are somewhat forgotten, nearly everyone knows their song.  Children and adults alike sing “Jesus Loves Me.”  How many millions have clung to this message on lonely nights or rocked babies to sleep while singing this simple song!  “Jesus Loves Me” is the foundation on which many children first come to know Christian music and the love of the Savior who inspires it.  This message keeps them singing the gospel throughout their lives:

Jesus loves me!  This I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong.

Jesus loves me!  This I know, as He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee, saying, ‘Let them come to Me.’

Jesus loves me still today, walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me!  He who died, Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin, let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me!  He will stay close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee.

Yes, Jesus loves me…
Yes, Jesus loves me…
Yes, Jesus loves me…
The Bible tells me so.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!