In The Beginning, God!

 

Two brothers, Wilber, and Orville Wright made their first successful flight on December 17, 1903. They sent a telegram to their sister in Dayton, Ohio with the good news. It read: “First sustained flight, 59 seconds. Home for Christmas.” Their sister was elated and took the telegram to the local newspaper. The next day the paper ran an item on page 16, under the obituaries, with this notice, “Local bicycle merchants to spend holidays at home.” Can you believe it? On of the greatest events of the 20^th century, and they missed it, though it was right under their noses! Hasn’t this seemed the case for years? * Many people have great families but do not appreciate them. At the top of most people’s things to be thankful for are family and yet we seldom appreciate them like we should. * The people in Jesus’ day did not recognize Him. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:10-11). * We take our blessings from God for granted and are unappreciative. We are all “rich” by the world’s standards, but instead of being satisfied, we have covetous hearts that demand more and more. How many great blessings are right under our nose, and we miss them every single day? May we all learn to see the blessings around us and stop for a moment to give thanks.

[Proverbs 30:5-9] “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuse in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die. Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

How a book starts, the first words, are the most important. They set the tone and direction of every word that follows. This is why the first sentence of a book, for many authors, is the most difficult to write. “In the beginning, God” is the foundation for everything the Bible continues to teach. Unless one is open to the possibility of God, the word of God will not have much effect upon one’s life. “In the beginning, God” addresses the single most insurmountable obstacle to meaningful faith. To come to God, one must believe that “He is”! (Hebrews 11:6). There is no progress to a better life, much less and abundant life, if one does not accept that “He is”. We could all benefit from starting each day with the thought, “In the beginning, God.” Before our feet hit the floor, when our eyes first open to a new day, we should make it our meditation. Why? Because the world we are about to step into is quite successful at distracting our hearts from the desired impact of these first four words of the Bible. The world is material. God is spirit. Our five senses do not connect with the spiritual world. We cannot see, hear, smell, taste, or touch God. From the first physical sensation at the start of day until our head coming to rest on our pillow at the end, we must live in a material world where there is no affirmation that what is spiritual is also a part of our reality. The world we live in is not all there is. “In the beginning, God” is the introduction to another existence. Another world. Another truth, other than what the world teaches. May we all endeavor to live in the guidance of the thought, “In the beginning, God”.

A weathervane on the roof of a barn bore the phrase “God Is Love”. A stranger asked the farmer one day, “Do you think God’s love is as changeable as that weathervane?” The farmer replied, “You miss the point, sir. It’s on the weathervane to show no matter which way the wind is blowing; God is still love!” God is love, abide in Him (1 John 4:16).

Being Kind To Others

 

FAMILY SURPRISED BY PRESIDENTIAL VISIT Posted by Jan White, East Texas Review | Feb 28, 2012. * There’s a heart-warming story told about how President Dwight Eisenhower surprised a family while he was vacationing in Denver. A newspaper reporter had written an article in the form of a letter to the President to tell him about a little boy named Paul Henry Haley, who was dying of cancer.  Alongside the article in the Rocky Mountain News was a picture of the six-year-old Paul Haley dressed in a cowboy outfit with his arm around his mother. The article began, “I’m writing this story to you, Mr. President, for a young fellow who hasn’t learned to write.  He wants to see you, Ike, and although he doesn’t know it, that’s his dying wish.”  To Paul, President Eisenhower was a “bigger and better man” than even Hopalong Cassidy – a popular cowboy hero. President Eisenhower read the article and said to one of his aides, “Let’s go see Paul Haley.”  The presidential limousine with American flags on the fenders drove up that August Sunday morning in front of Paul Haley’s home. The car doors opened, and the President walked up the house and knocked on the front door.  Paul’s stepfather, Donald Haley, answered the door wearing old blue jeans, a dirty shirt and a day’s growth of beard.  He asked, “Can I help you?”  To which President Eisenhower replied, “Is Paul here?  Tell him the President would like to see him.” Little Paul walked around his dad’s legs and looked into the face of the President, who kneeled down and shook his hand.  Described as “wide-eyed and unbelieving,” Paul walked into the living room with the President.  Eisenhower reportedly smiled and said, “Paul, I understand you wanted to see me.” They visited about five minutes. Then, Paul walked outside and got to inspect the presidential limousine. The President told him that he had a grandson about Paul’s age – Dwight David Eisenhower, II.  He hugged the little boy, they shook hands, and said good-bye.  Then, the President drove away. What a surprise the Haley family experienced that Sunday morning!  After the visit, Donald Haley remarked, “How can I ever forget standing there dressed like I was in those jeans and old, dirty shirt and an unshaven face to meet the president of the United States?”

The spiritual lesson we can learn from this story comes from Donald Haley’s experience.  One day each of us will stand before the authority of the universe, our Creator God.  We do not know the day or time it will happen, but the Bible states that you and I will stand before God to be judged.  Read Hebrews 9:27. But we are all unclean, and “all our righteousness is like filthy rags,” (Isaiah 64:6).  So how can sinful people like us stand before a holy God?  God has proved His love for us, while we were still sinners, when Christ died for us.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson once said, “Jesus Christ is God’s everything for man’s total needs.”

[Matthew 5:1-7:29] Jesus taught us that our relationship with others was the essence of following Him. Look at his teachings in “The Sermon on the Mount,” dealing with our relationships with others. * Be merciful to others (5:7). * Be peacemakers (5:9). * Be reconciled with your brother (5:23-24). * Do not do things to be seen of men (6:1-3). * Watch your judging (7:1-5). * Do unto others as you would have them do to you (7:12). Paul echoed the teaching of Jesus, writing, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

Complaining Does No Good

 

One morning a man woke up at five o’clock to a noise that sounded like someone repairing a ship’s boiler on his roof. Still in his pajamas and bare footed, he stormed out the door into the backyard to investigate. He witnessed a woodpecker on his TV antenna “pounding his little brains out on the metal pole.” Angry at the little creature who ruined his sleep, the man picked up a rock and threw it towards the bird. The rock sailed over the rooftop and in the distance, he heard a crashing sound as it hit his car. In utter disgust, he took a vicious kick at a dirt clod, only to remember, too late, he was still in his bare feet. Uncontrolled anger, as the man soon discovered, can sometimes be its own reward. “An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression” (Proverbs 29:22).

There is a tendency among most of us to complain. We complain about almost anything, almost all the time. The coffee is not hot enough, or it’s too hot. He weather is always too wet, (well not in South Texas), too cold, windy, or hot. Our spouse doesn’t cook the meals we want. Our team missed the playoffs, again! Taxes are too high and government services are too little. The preacher is boring and talks too long. Overhearing some of our conversations, many could conclude that we must be extremely depressed.

After freeing Israel from their slavery in Egypt, God cared for them in the wilderness. Throughout their journeys God provided food and protection. But, during that time of extra-ordinary care, they complained about the food, the water, their leaders, and just about everything else. Their complaining was so intense that God was wanting to destroy them all and start over with Moses’ family (Numbers 14:11-12). We must learn from the mistakes of the past. Paul wanted the Corinthians to learn from the mistakes of Israel during their wilderness wanderings (1 Corinthians 10:1-13).

Both happiness and sadness are choices. We decide to be happy or sad. For many of us it is not a conscious choice, but it is still a choice. If we make the wrong choice, we can always change our decision. We can choose to be positive. We can choose to enjoy life. We can choose to give thanks for the coffee in our cup rather than complain about its temperature. We can choose to give thanks for the food we have rather than complaining about the recipe used to prepare it. As children of God in fellowship with one another, we can choose to appreciate one another’s strengths instead of complaining about each other’s failures. Each and every one of us will have personal problems. Each one of us also has talents and strengths. Each one of us is loved by the Lord. James wrote that we should not whine about each other, bringing judgment against ourselves (James 5:8-9). Choose to be positive and be happy in the joy of the Lord.

[Philippians 2:14-16] Never once did our Lord have a path free from trouble. When He went into the wilderness, He was tempted of the devil. When He tried to rest, the multitudes followed Him. When He taught in the synagogue, the hearers became angry and sought to throw Him off the brow of a hill. When He gave others rest for their souls, He had no place to lay His head. When He sought peace in the garden, they came with swords and staves, and led Him away to the halls of judgment. When He did His best to be kind and loving in the face of mockery, they took Him as a sheep to slaughter and drenched Calvary with His precious blood. And yet, in spite of it all, He never grumbled about His burden. Jesus did not complain at all! He just went about doing good. Let us be like Him! The busiest are the happiest. Cheerful, active labor is a blessing. The busy, the active, the happy, the cheerful, don’t have time to complain. “…Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?” (Lamentations 3:37-39). Lord, forgive.

The Four Chaplains Did It

 

In a recent article, Phillip Morrison retold the story of four chaplains in the U.S. military who died in heroic fashion on the same day. George Fox, Alexander Goode, Clark Poling, and John Washington had just graduated from Army Chaplains School at Harvard and were headed to Europe for their first WWll assignments. Shortly after midnight on February 3, 1943, their ship, the U.S.A. Transport Dorchester, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Newfoundland. As these chaplains helped the 904 troops on board seek to escape the sinking ship, they realized they were out of life vests. All four removed their vests and gave them to soldiers. The last recorded view of these four heroes was of them arm in arm singing hymns, as they went down with the ship. Such unselfish sacrifice led Congress, by unanimous vote in 1988, to declare February 3^rd to be “Four Chaplains Day.” This historical account made me ask myself for whom would I be willing to die? Would I give my life for my wife? How would I respond if the doctor said that a medical treatment that would save my son or daughter from a fatal cancer would cost me my own life? It has been said that our service men sign a blank check as they enter military service - willing to pay any price to defend our country. The early Christians were willing to die defending Jesus and advancing His kingdom. That sacrifice is being repeated by thousands in our world today. Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends.” We must never forget that Jesus did just that, and that He calls us to willingly sacrifice all things for His Cause.

An interesting phenomenon has occurred across North America for several winters. Individuals and groups have made some things to help those who are cold and in need. The things are scarves, and they are turning up in unusual places - wrapped around trees, fire hydrants, light poles, hanging on fences, etc. On a fire hydrant, a note inside the scarf read: “I AM NOT LOST! If you need this to stay warm, then please take it. It is yours. Be warm and do something to help someone else today if you can” Good Samaritans are leaving scarves out for the homeless in Canadian and U.S. cities. Another scarf, wrapped around a parking meter contained a note that said, “I’m not lost. If you are cold, I’m yours. I was made for you to take.” Made for you to take - the scarves “knew” their purpose and were in the process of fulfilling that purpose. From around the country, it is reported that the scarves are gone within hours of being put out for distribution to needy (lost) souls.

[Luke 19:8-10] ‘Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”’ The Lord Jesus knew his purpose while he was on this earth and went about doing it. “…Behold, I have come – In the volume of the book it is written of Me – To do Your will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:5-7; Psalm 40:6-8). He also said to God, “I glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Those who follow God also have a clearly stated purpose in the Old Testament, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (2 Corinthians 5:10-11). Help someone see the purpose God has for us all and help them fulfill it. Help save a lost soul today.