A Child's Heart, Pt. 4

"Why?" ... "Oh. Why?"
Ever heard a conversation like this? Parents (not to mention babysitters) can get frustrated with a kid's insatiable curiosity, but that curiosity may be one of the most important traits that child has. Curiosity asks questions; curiosity demands answers; curiosity seeks knowledge...and isn't satisfied until it finds it.
God loves it when His children ask questions and seek answers. He wants us to know Him; He desires to reveal the secrets of His Word to us. But are we curious enough to ask the questions?

A Child's Heart, Pt. 3

Similar to, but not exactly the same as resiliancy in a child is forgetfullness. Children seem to have such short memories sometimes! They get hurt or angry or interested...and five minutes later it's as if nothing happened. They forget the pain before the tears even dry on their cheeks; they "hate" someone one minute, and the next they're playing on the monkey bars with them; they get a new toy and it's their "favorite" for seemingly a moment before they're back playing with that toy they've had for a year.
And life is so much happier and simpler. Grudges don't exist, rumors don't fly, bitterness doesn't set in. How much better our lives would be, how much stronger and healthier our relationships with God and man, if we would just remember to forget!

A Child's Heart, Pt. 2

Have you ever seen a baby learning how to walk? Or a group of small children playing? One thing is certain with both of these things: falls. Kids fall, they get scrapes and bumps and bruises. But they're resiliant little suckers, and though they may cry for a minute or two, they bounce right back up and keep on going.
Resiliance is an invaluable trait in this life. We are going to get knocked down, beat up, abused; it's our job to get back on our feet and keep on going. Don't let things keep you out of the race--get up and run on! Be resiliant.

A Child's Heart, Pt. 1

There's a well-known instance in the Bible where Jesus was teaching and a group of children came up to Him; the disciples, thinking they were doing the Lord a favor, shooed the children away, but Christ stopped them. "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:" He rebuked, "for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
That's an interesting statement: "for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
I pondered on that recently and came up with several childlike characteristics that I believe God wants His children to hold on to.
Children possess an incredible ability to display faith. As children we tended to trust before doubting. With the passing of time, though, that trusting nature faded. Our spirits became jaded by the grime of a lying and deceitful world, and we lost that easy faith. But if we are to come to God--in our daily lives as well as for salvation--a child-like faith and trust in Him is our only path. Somehow we have to scrub away that grime, dust off our faith. We have to put total, complete, unwavering trust in our Heavenly Father as we once did in our earthly parents. Only then can we see Him.

It Could Be Worse

Yesterday was all wrong. The morning started by having to get up early and kept that negative motif up right through a party of six leaving me a big mess and ONE dollar! It was ugly, and I was mad through and through. Then I walked around the corner and saw a couple that comes in regularly. They've been coming in for years every Thursday. That sounds meaningless, I know, but let me tell you a bit about this man.
Several years ago, he owned a business and was very active. Then he had a massive stroke. Now he comes in for his Thursday lunch with a cane in one hand, the other curved and knotted up. Some days are better than others, but there are times when it takes him several minutes to walk just a few yards--even to get up. Yet he labors on even on the bad days with a smile on his face and a joke ready to tell everyone who will listen.
I couldn't help feeling better. How on earth could I be mad about my situation?! So I had to get up a little early--I guarantee you somone didn't sleep at all the night before because the pain shooting through their body kept them awake or because they were sitting by the bed of a sick loved one. Yeah, I got some sorry customers and got ripped off and the whole morning was a trial. But the morning ended, the afternoon passed, and I went home. It was over. But that man went home, and his arm stayed curled, his leg stiff and unmovable.
Sometimes we need to step back and look at just how good God is to us. "This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Who's In Your Mirror

In Matthew 15 Jesus was approached by a Canaanite woman; you know...one of those the children of Israel were told to wipe out? Her daughter was ill, probably dying, and she recognized in Jesus hope for healing. But Jesus spurned her. "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." Most of us today would become indignant, probably say something incredibly clever like, "Well, if that's the kind of God you are, I don't WANT to go to your heaven!" But not this woman; she AGREED with Him! And then got what she wanted. Why? Because she acknowledged what she was, and trusted Christ to accept her and look past that.
Too often we never get past that first part. We can't admit that we are wretched, horrible, helpless sinners, so we never even really recognize our need of Him. Know who you are. See yourself as the needy being--the dog--you are.

Most Likely to Succeed, Pt. 4

The Bible says the first shall be last and the last shall be first. When my class gets together to celebrate our ten-year high school reunion chances are everyone will look at the former classmate who makes the most money or has accomplished something special as the most successful. Maybe they will be. But it won't be because of money. No, success isn't determined by anything so temporal.
Anyone who is happy and at peace in their life, who is content with who they are, what they are and what they have--that person is a success. The missionary who no one ever hears about and never has more than the bare necessities; the businessman with millions and three homes who gives freely of his wealth and time. Both can be equally successful. Are you happy where you are? Are you confident that you are in the will of God? If so, you may well be the "most likely to succeed!"

Most Likely to Succeed, Pt 3

You may disagree, and that's fine, but I'm of the opinion that Elvis Presley had the most evocative, if not the best, voice ever recorded. Smooth as Egyptian cotton sheets, rich as double fudge chocolate chip ice cream. And it made him a very, very wealthy man. As a matter of fact, Elvis makes more every year dead than most people will see in a lifetime. He is, I dare say, one of the top five most popular figures in American history.
He died with his terrific, world-reknowned hair mussed, his unbelievably well-known and loved face lying in a puddle of his own vomit.
I think we could say that Elvis Presley, when it was all said and done, was not really a success. He accomplished incredible things, will not be forgotten as long as the world stands, amassed more wealth and possessions than most reading this could imagine. But he died, a miserable man, from a drug overdose. Why? I think Elvis was saved. There's certainly a good bit of evidence that he may have been. And it's well-documented that his true musical heart was gospel music, and that he always wanted to be a gospel singer. But he allowed himelf to be taken off track. Elvis was never in the will of God, I don't believe; not because he sang rock and roll (that's another conversation altogether,) but because he didn't sing what he knew he was supposed to.
To be continued....

Most Likely to Succeed, Pt 2

Success. We get a distinct visual image when we think of it, don't we? For most of the world, the first thought is of Bill Gates, Donald Trump (when he's a billionaire, not when he's bankrupt,) Madonna, George Clooney.... Ahhh, the lifestyle of the rich and famous! More on our own level, and back to the senior superlatives/high school reunion analogy--we might look at our former classmates and say, "He's a doctor, makes six fugures a year, and saves lives. He's the most successful." Or "She started in the mail room of a Fortune 500 company and made VP in record time. Certainly she's the biggest success."
Now, there's nothing wrong with either of those scenarios. And maybe one of those would be the most successful persons in a given group. It is entirely possible for an accomplished doctor or businessperson, even a celebrity to be successful.
But it might be that the real success at my senior class reunion is the guy who works at Lowe's Hardware driving a forklift. Or the girl who got married, had three kids and spends her entire day changing diapers and warming bottles. Success isn't about money or accomplishments.

Most Likely to Succeed, Pt.1

It's been a crazy month and a half with three trips back and forth to different parts of Tennessee and Florida. Yesterday, finishing off the last leg of the latest not-really-vacation, riding home in the second back seat of a fifteen passenger van, I realized that my ten-year high school reunion is only three years away. Time flies. (Which means I better start trying to get in shape for said reunion now!)
Ordinarily that would simply remind me that I'm getting old and that would be the end of it, but this time I wondered also about those silly superlatives we voted on back in the day. Most athletic, most friendly, most academic, most school spirit, best smile, most likely to succeed, most likely to win a free meal by finishing a 72-ounce steak meal complete with baked potato and salad.... Mostly I honed in on the "most likely to succeed" thing. I couldn't even tell you who my class voted most likely to succeed. But I wonder...in three years when my class gets together (if we do,) who will really be the successes? And, more interesting to think about, will we even recognize it? Hmmm....
(to be continued...)