The Bible is filled with many heroes for us to use as examples. However, sometimes we find the best examples live among us. Quite often, the best example you could ever have is your mother or father. Consider the case of John Chrysostom’s mother, Anthusa.
Anthusa lived from c. 330 to 374 A.D. in Antioch. Widowed at the age of 20, she is remembered for her influence in the life of her son, John Chrysostom, one of the greatest preachers and leaders of the 4th-century church. Her contemporaries tell us Anthusa was cultured, attractive, and from a wealthy family. Yet she chose to not remarry after her husband's death, deciding instead to devote herself to rearing her two children, John and his sister.
John later wrote that his mother not only taught her children to know and love the teachings of the Bible, but also that her very life was a model of biblical teaching. A student of law, rhetoric and the Scriptures, John was ordained by Bishop Meletius and later became bishop of Constantinople. A zealous missionary himself, he inspired numerous others to serve as missionaries. And he always emphasized that a crucial factor to effective evangelism is for Christians to be living examples of Christ-centeredness. Surely he learned something of this from his mother Anthusa.
Parents, it is important to remember that you are the most likely example your child has to follow. Make certain it is a good example.
With Love,
Mike
Man of Character
Anyone who has ever built a house knows how frustrating it can be when sub-contractors fail to keep their word. The entire process is held up because someone does not perform when they promised to perform.
What if God had experienced that problem when Noah was building the ark? Scripture might have sounded something like this:
And the Lord said unto Noah: "Where is the ark which I commanded thee to build?" And Noah said unto the Lord: "Verily, I have had three carpenters off ill. The gopher wood supplier hath let me down--yea, even though the gopher wood hath been on order for nigh upon twelve months. What can I do, O Lord?"
And the Lord said unto Noah: "I want that ark finished even after seven days and seven nights."
And Noah said: "It will be so."
And it was not so. And the Lord said unto Noah: "What seemeth to be the trouble this time?"
And Noah said unto the Lord: "Mine subcontractor hath gone bankrupt. The pitch which Thou commandest me to put on the outside and on the inside of the ark hath not arrived. The plumber hath gone on strike. Shem, my son who helpeth me on the ark side of the business, hath formed a pop group with his brothers Ham and Japheth. Lord, I am undone."
And the Lord grew angry and said: "And what about the animals, the male and female of every sort that I ordered to come unto thee to keep their seed alive upon the face of the earth?"
And Noah said: "They have been delivered unto the wrong address but should arrive on Friday."
And the Lord said: "How about the unicorns, and the fowls of the air by sevens?"
And Noah wrung his hands and wept, saying: "Lord, unicorns are a discontinued line; thou canst not get them for love nor money. And fowls of the air are sold only in half-dozens. Lord, Lord, Thou knowest how it is."
And the Lord in His wisdom said: "Noah, my son, I knowest. Why else dost thou think I have caused a flood to descend upon the earth?"
Thankfully, the story of Noah and the Ark reads very differently. Noah was a man of character. How about you?
With Love,
Mike Tucker
FORGIVENESS TAKES WORK
God's act of forgiveness toward us is a one-time event. We ask once, he forgives, he forgets, and that's the end of it. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Our forgiveness of others should be the same, but it's not always easy. Sometimes forgiveness is a process that has to be repeated again and again.
Maybe as many as ten years ago—or even twenty—someone hurt you. You forgave them and, for all practical purposes, forgot about it...until something happened to re-open the wound. It could be a conversation, a circumstance, a chance event, or any number of other things that causes you to find yourself struggling again with unforgiveness. It's not that you weren't sincere in your first (or second, or third) attempt to forgive them, it's just that the hurt will not go completely away.
A few years ago a business associate took advantage of me financially. I forgave him and made an effort to move on. Sometime last year, I was racing through an airport to make a connecting flight, and I saw him. He saw me, too, I'm sure, but he diverted his eyes and kept moving past me. All of a sudden the resentment from the past came rushing back. As I took my seat on the plane, I realized I would repeat the process of forgiving this person, or it would nag at me for the rest of the day—or maybe even the rest of the month.
I have no doubt I was sincere in my desire to forgive him completely. But sometimes the bonds of bitterness aren't easily broken. Sometimes we have to forgive someone again and again before it is settled completely in our own mind.
Jesus told Peter that we are to forgive our brother "seventy-times-seven." I always assumed he was referring to "seventy-times-seven" separate offenses. The fact is he could have been referring to a single event.
Don't let past hurts hold you back. Reliving the pain from last month, or last year, or your previous church, or from junior high, isn't worth the price you have to pay. It keeps you from focusing on what God has called you to do today: serve him with joy, and love him with all your heart.
With Love,
Mike
Real Gold
Mining companies still work in places where the yield of gold is just one ounce for one ton of worked dirt. It takes a lot of work to find gold on this planet because there isn’t much of it. If you melted down all of the gold that has ever been mined, it would fit into a cube measuring twenty yards on each side.
Gold is so limited that the international monetary system is no longer based on gold but paper currencies like the dollar. In fact, the full gold standard only lasted from the 1870s to World War I.
But what is scarce on earth is abundant in heaven. When John caught a glimpse of heaven he said, “The great street of the city was of pure gold” (Rev. 21:21). It’s another vivid reminder that what we frequently pursue and consider to be of greatest value is nothing more than pocket change to God.
With Love,
Mike
Leading by Example
Does anyone pay attention to your example? Is anyone watching your life?
According to the Bergen (N.J.) Record, in 1996, the zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark, put a human couple on display for a short time in an effort to make visitors think more about their connection with the natural world. Henrik Lehmann and Malene Botoft lived in a see-through apartment in the primate display.
Their 320-square-foot habitat had a living room with furniture, a computer, a television, and stereo. The kitchen and bedroom were part of the display. Only the bathroom was excluded from public view.
Unlike their neighbors, who weren't allowed out, the two humans occasionally left their fishbowl existence to shop and water the flowers on their porch back at home.
A few weeks after the display opened, Lehmann said: "We don't notice visitors anymore. If I want to pick my nose or my toes now, I do it."
We would do well to remember that people are watching the way we live. "In everything set them an example by doing what is good." Titus 2:7
With Love,
Mike
Living as Neighbors
In Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place, the autobiographical account of the family who provided refuge during the Nazi persecution of Jews across Europe, this identity was both living and active. In the words of Mr. ten Boom, "The master of this house demands that we open the door to anyone that knocks." Fittingly, he was referring to himself, even as he was referring to the Master who first alluded to the image. This line he offered to the many who objected to his behavior. To the Jews, he simply opened the door.
The ten Booms were living as Christ's Body, which meant that they must live as a true neighbor to those in need. When Mr. ten Boom decided to wear a Jewish star after it was ordered that all Jews must thereby distinguish themselves, he made the decision to live among neighbors, to see fellow human beings, not people with differences, not people beneath him, nor men and women facing an adversity that had nothing to do with him. "If we all wear them," he said to a man standing in line for his star, "they won't be able to tell any difference."
Our greatest task as Christians is not arguing, reasoning, defending, or preaching, but living as Christ's Body, living the words we profess with a love for both Word and neighbor, and a clear vision of the God who spoke them both into existence.
Before their arrest and subsequent sentencing to the concentration camp, the ten
Boom's pastor pled with them to follow an easier ethic: "It is the law," he said referring to illegality of harboring Jews. "And Christians must obey the law. Think of what you are risking for one Jewish baby." But Mr. ten Boom knew there was yet a higher law, "We are meant to obey the law of the state--if it does not go against our higher law of God."
Like the ten Booms, the Confessing Church that stood up to Hitler's regime was not trying to being relevant or contemporary, liberal, conservative, or rebellious; they were trying to be confessional. Saying no to Hitler, they were being who they claimed to be. They were living the reality of gospel they professed with their mouths. In the words of a dying Bestie ten Boom, "There is no pit so deep that Christ is not deeper still."
Christ calls us today to allow the Gospel to live itself out in our lives. He calls us to live as neighbors.
With Love,
Mike Tucker
Kingdom of Heaven
There is no better way to teach sacred truth than through parables. Many of the most effective communicators of sacred truth have learned this technique. One of the best in recent times was C. S. Lewis.
Lewis’ classic, "The Lion, The Which, and Wardrobe" is an excellent illustration of how a parable can be used to teach valuable lessons about the Kingdom of Heaven. There are six other books in the series. At the end of the series "The Last Battle" Lewis contrast the "new Narnia" with the "old Narnia." He writes:
It is hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia, as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it, if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking glass. And as you turned away from the window, you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different -- deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard, but very much want to know. The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can’t describe it any better than that: if you ever get there, you will know what I mean.
Jesus’ stories about the Kingdom of Heaven reveal to us something of God’s Kingdom on earth today, as well as the Kingdom to come. They do an excellent job of this, but as Lewis tells us, when we get there we will know for ourselves.
With Love,
Mike Tucker
Don’t Take No for an Answer: The Power of Persistence
Woman, your faith is great. Your request is granted.” -- Jesus
Do you ever get tired of pursuing a goal? I do. Sometimes, even when the goal is a worthy one, I become weary and am tempted to quit – especially when it feels like I’m being shut out. No matter how hard I try or how loudly I speak, it seems no one is listening.
Recently, I’ve been reminded of the value of perseverance. Sometimes you just have to keep on asking for what you need.
A story came across the Reuters news wires about a family of ducklings that fell down a sewer grate in Vancouver. Their mother did what any parent would do. She got help from a passing police officer! The mother duck grabbed the policeman by the pant leg while he was on foot patrol. He shoved what he thought was just a goofy duck away, but she persisted, grabbing his leg again when he tried to leave, and then waddling to a nearby sewer grate where she sat down and waited for him to follow and investigate. Finally, the officer came to where she sat and saw eight little baby ducklings in the water below.
The rescue began. Using a tow truck, police removed the heavy metal grate. Then they used a vegetable strainer to lift the ducklings to safety. Soon, mother and offspring departed for a nearby pond.
The gospel writer Matthew tells of an encounter between Jesus and a Canaanite woman who desperately wanted healing for her child. She demonstrated incredible perseverance, even in the face of what seemed like heartless rejection.
They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, “Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit.”
Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, “Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.”
Jesus refused, telling them, “I’ve got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.”
Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. “Master, help me.”
He said, “It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to dogs.”
She was quick: “You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.”
Jesus gave in. “Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!” Right then her daughter became well. Matthew 15:22-28 The Message
While Jesus’ reaction to the woman strikes us as uncharacteristic, he reacted this way as an object lesson to His disciples, revealing the cruelty of the Jews’ typical attitude toward the Canaanites and all Gentiles. Despite this, the woman persisted. She would not stop seeking Jesus’ help until she got it.
That is exactly what Jesus wants us to do. Be persistent in pursuing your goals. Persevere in getting the help you need. Do not be intimidated by authority figures. And remember, we have a Friend who can help us even when all human endeavors fail. Christ is waiting to help you today.
With Love,
Mike
Praying for Bread
Huckleberry Finn first heard about prayer from Miss Watson, who told him that prayer was something you did everyday, and that you would get what you asked for. So he tried praying for hooks for his fishing line, but when he didn't get what he asked for, he decided, "No, there ain't nothing in it."
Prayer is a strange activity. There are times when it almost comes naturally to us, while at other times, like Huck, we say we "couldn't seem to make it work."
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He replied: "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.'"(Luke 11:1-4)
The Lord's Prayer is not just the good advice Jesus had to offer about praying; it is His praying. In giving His followers this prayer, Jesus was following a common rabbinic pattern. When a rabbi taught a prayer, He would use it to teach his disciples the most distinctive, concise, essential elements of His own teachings. Thus, disciples would learn to pray as their teacher prayed, and from then on, when a disciple's prayer was heard, it would sound like His teacher's prayers.
When Christians pray the Lord's Prayer today, we rehearse the lessons He most wanted us to learn.
Unlike fishing hooks, the prayer for daily bread is foundational. News of world food shortages, the prevalence of malnourishment, and volatile food prices remind us that cries for basic provision are appropriate and necessary. In other words, bread is not merely the private concern of those who need something to eat. Our daily bread is something that affects friends, neighbors, and communities.
Christ's prayer for daily bread, then, is not just a prayer for food and clothing, but also for good neighbors, good rulers, and good conscience as we face need and want together.
Our prayer for daily bread can be a reminder that we do not live in a vacuum before God. Rather, we live in communities where we are responsible for one another. Praying for daily bread, we are simultaneously the wealthy who can respond to the needs around us in gratitude for all that God has given us and the impoverished who cry out for the daily bread we need and the God who sustains us. We are both the rich and the poor. In difficult days, in plentiful days, might ours be a united cry to God: Give us this day our daily bread.
PRAYING ALWAYS
“Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Ephesians 6:18
In Lloyd John Ogilvie’s book, Quiet Moments With God, I found this meaningful prayer.
“Dear God, so often in my prayers I present You with my own agenda. I ask for guidance, and strength, and courage to do what I’ve already decided. Usually, what I have in mind is to receive from You what I think I need to get on with my prearranged plans. Often I present my shopping list of the blessings that I have in mind for my projects, many of which I may not have checked out with You in the first place. Sometimes I have little time to talk to You or listen to You. Any blessing I receive is empty unless I also receive a deeper fellowship with You.”
--Lloyd John Ogilvie
Ogilvie’s books have brought encouragement to me in times of trouble, answers in times of questioning, hope in times of hopelessness, and challenge in times of complacency. One of the things I most treasure about this particular book is the help it has brought me with my prayer life. I have always struggled with prayer, but this book reminded me that the secret to prayer is simply praying at all times. “Praying at all times” worked for Dr. Ogilvie. I want it to work for me, too.
Here is the rest of Dr. Ogilvie’s prayer. I think I will make it mine for today.
“Help me to think of prayer throughout this day as simply reporting in for duty and asking for fresh marching orders. I want to be all that You want me to be, and I want to do what You have planned for me. May this morning prayer be the beginning of a conversation with You that lasts all through the day. Help me to attempt something I could not do without Your power. You are my Lord and Savior. Amen.”
With Love,
Mike
VOYAGE AND RETURN
A British journalist by the name of Christopher Booker says that all of literature can be classified into seven basic narratives. Booker identifies each category in his book The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. One such category he describes is the "Voyage and Return" plot. In this category, Booker places Alice and Wonderland, Peter Rabbit, Gone with the Wind, and others stories that chronicle a hero who travels away from the familiar and into the unfamiliar, only to return with new perspective.
Booker also identifies Jesus's parable of the Prodigal Son as a “Voyage and Return” plot. The younger son demands his inheritance, travels to another country, squanders his money until he has nothing left, and finally decides to come home again, pleading for mercy. When told or heard like this, it is a story that fits neatly into Booker's category. Journeys to faith and to the Father are often stories of coming and going and returning again.
But is this an accurate understanding of the parable of Jesus? Is the story of the prodigal son really about the son? Is our membership in the body of Christ about our coming and going or Christ's?
My story of life as a Christian also includes some elements of wandering to and from faith. If I myself am the main character, this is the story I must tell.
Thankfully, I am not. And Jesus's parable of the prodigal son is one more reminder of this. The parable of the prodigal son is only a "voyage and return" narrative in the way Booker describes it if the son is the subject of the story. Jesus tells us that it was while the son was still "a long way off" that the father saw him and "was filled with compassion for him" (Luke 15:20). Literally, this father was moved by this compassion. The Greek word for compassion conveys an inward movement of concern and mercy, but this man was also clearly moved outwardly. The father runs to the son, embraces him (literally, "falls upon his neck"), and kisses him.
This is not a story about the wayward son who runs to the father but the father who runs to his wayward son even before he knows whether the son is repentant! In fact, the father runs without any promise that the son is even home to stay. Jesus gives us a story whose merciful ending has far more to do with the actions of the father than any action of the son.
So it is with our own stories. Your place in the body of Christ is never valid because of who you are, but because of who Christ is. If we must use Booker's headings to describe the journey of faith, the voyage was Christ's, so that we might forever return to the Father.
With love,
Mike
STARS OF WONDER
God moves in mysterious ways. The Christmas event gives us the best opportunity see the truth of this cliché through the roles played by the cast of characters in the story. Like shooting stars, many of the characters enter and leave the stage without much fanfare, shining their light briefly before quickly vanishing.
John the Baptist is one such example. From his miraculous conception to his father's muteness, the Scriptures leave no doubt that he was a unique child. All who knew about him could not wait to see what he would become (Luke 1:66).
Jesus would say later that John was greater than any prophet who had existed up to that point. But the whole purpose of his existence was reduced to the occasion of announcing the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah. Like a shooting star, John's light fizzled out when the Messiah entered the scene. A petty potentate snuffed out John’s life, but not before John fulfilled his purpose. John’s role on the stage was quite short-lived.
Another such character was Simeon, to whom God had given the promise that he would live to see the birth of the Lord's Christ. Taking the child in his arms, Simeon could not help but offer praise to the director of the entire production for dismissing him in peace. One could also mention Anna, an eighty-four-year-old woman who had prayed and fasted in the temple ever since her seven-year marriage came to an end with the death of her husband. She, too, had a role to play in the drama of the birth of Jesus: her shining moment was the solitary event of holding Baby Jesus in her arms and saying something about him!
The minor roles played by these characters in the Christmas story teach us that though the world is indeed a stage on which we make our entrances and exits, as Shakespeare claimed, God takes special interest in every role. Although my part may not seem as glamorous as the roles played by others, it is an indispensable piece of the larger puzzle in the mind of God.
One more thing! "Shooting stars" are not stars at all. They are broken pieces of rock or metal that burn up once they come into contact with the earth's atmosphere, eventually landing upon the earth as dust. Just like the moon, the light they reflect is not their own, but unlike the moon, they are used up in the process of lighting up the sky. What a fitting metaphor for characters like John the Baptist, Simeon, Anna, and countless others throughout history, who have been content to be used up for the sake of the Kingdom of God! Even though they do return to the earth as dust, the earth itself will eventually have to give up their bodies, for the Babe of Bethlehem clothed himself with dust so that the person of dust may be eternally clothed with glory.
Merry Christmas!
Mike
LIVE BRAVELY
Philippians 4:12-13 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
When day-to-day problems, mistakes, and failures become discouraging, encourage yourself by thinking of the many successful people who overcame personal handicaps.
“I thank God for my handicaps,” declared Helen Keller. Blind and deaf from birth, she became a prolific writer.
Gene Littler overcame cancer to make an incredible comeback in golf. Before him, Ben Hogan amazed the golf world. He won the Masters, the PGA, and the National Open golf championships after a severe auto accident. Doctors thought Hogan would have a lifetime of difficulty walking and thought he would never play golf again.
Napoleon responded to his extremely short stature to become a giant in military conquests.
They teased and tormented him, called him the “ninety-seven pound runt” as a boy. He worked endlessly to build his muscular physique. Charles Atlas created a physique that has been used as a model by numerous famous statues in America.
David Sarnoff, head of Radio Corporation of America, once declared, “Nothing worthwhile has been attained except by overcoming obstacles.”
Norman Vincent Peale also knew obstacles had to be overcome. Shy, tongue-tied, and suffering from feelings of inferiority, he became one of America’s great preachers and religious leaders. He responded to his weakness, faced the challenge, and took control of his life.
The masterpiece Messiah was written when Handel was debt-ridden, spiritless, and failing in health. His creditors were threatening to throw him in jail.
Physical deformity, baldness, and “hefty physique” didn’t stop Socrates from becoming a philosopher whose impact is still felt today.
Franklin D. Roosevelt served the United States as its president from the confines of a wheelchair.
Now tell me how it is that God cannot overcome your obstacles in order to use you for His glory! By His grace and for His glory, you can do all things.
With Love
Mike
MISSING THE OBVIOUS
A customs officer observes a truck pulling up at the border. Suspicious, he orders the driver out and searches the vehicle. He pulls off the panels, bumpers, and wheel cases but finds not a single scrap of contraband, whereupon, still suspicious but at a loss to know where else to search, he waves the driver through.
The next week, the same driver arrives. Again the official searches, and again finds nothing illicit. Over the years, the official tries full-body searches, X rays, and sonar, anything he can think of, and each week the same man drives up, but no mysterious cargo ever appears, and each time, reluctantly, the customs man waves the driver on.
Finally, after many years, the officer is about to retire. The driver pulls up. "I know you're a smuggler," the customs officer says. "Don't bother denying it. But I can’t figure out what you've been smuggling all these years. I'm leaving now. I swear to you I can do you no harm. Won't you please tell me what you've been smuggling?"
"Trucks," the driver says.
It’s easy to miss the obvious. It’s amazing how often this happens to me!
Millions have missed the most obvious thing about Christmas: they’ve missed Christ. The lights, frenzied shopping, holiday food, music, and more make it easy to overlook the most important thing about Christmas.
This year make certain you don’t miss the obvious. It’s easy to get caught up in looking for what’s wrong with Christmas: Christ wasn’t born on December 25th; many of the seasonal celebrations we witness don’t focus on Jesus; Christmas has become a season driven by commercialism. All of these things are true.
But we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loved us enough to give up His throne in glory and come to be born as a babe in a manger. He loved us enough to live among us and die to save us.
Don’t miss the obvious – don’t miss a Savior who loves you.
Love,
Mike
MAN OF SORROWS
"Please….Mr. Lion….Aslan, Sir?" said Digory. "Could you….may I….please, will you give me some magic fruit of this country to make my mother well?"
Digory, a child character in one of the C.S. Lewis Narnia books, had brought about much disaster for Aslan and his freshly created Narnia. Still, Digory had to ask for this gift for his mother.
Lewis writes, "Up till then the child had been looking at the lion’s great front feet and the huge claws on them. Now, in his despair, he looked up at his face. And what he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and, wonder of wonders, great shining tears stood in the lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the lion must really be sorrier about his mother than he was himself."
The story of Aslan and Digory becomes more poignant when one realizes that Lewis was a boy about the age of Digory when his mother lay dying of cancer, and he was helpless to save her.
"My son, my son," said Aslan. "I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another..."
The prophet Isaiah described Christ: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).
As Jesus knew tears, so the heart of God is one that also knows grief. He is a Father who has lost a Son. "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4). Indeed, we do not grieve alone.
Mike
THANKSGIVING
During this Thanksgiving season, our hearts and minds turn to the blessings that we have received. For most of us, they are abundant, and we have much for which to be thankful. But the enormity of the blessing is clearest to us when we are able to contrast it with times of meager existence.
The Pilgrims endured incredible hardship when they came to the New World seeking a life of freedom. After three months at sea on the Mayflower, they landed to face a brutal winter. They were physically and emotionally ravaged, there was no food, and they possessed no resources for surviving the elements.
Nearly half of the company died, and those who survived existed on the brink of death as they battled against exposure, sickness, and starvation. They were unfamiliar with the new environment, and gardens proved fruitless. They rationed every bite of food, and at one point, only five men were well enough to care for the sick.
Despite it all, they continued to worship, and they gave thanks to God every day along with the earnest petitions they offered up for His presence and help. One Sunday morning, they received tangible evidence that God had heard their prayers. Their worship service was interrupted by an unexpected guest, an Algonquin Indian chief, who assessed their hopeless situation. He left and then returned with a helper named Squanto.
You know the story. Squanto spoke perfect English and taught the Pilgrims how to hunt, trap, and plant Indian corn, a staple that would save their lives. What followed was a marvelous shared feast of thanksgiving.
But the Pilgrims’ hardships were far from over. The plentiful autumn was followed by another treacherous winter and a terrible drought. To make matters worse, their supplies were completely depleted when more colonists arrived on the ship Fortune.
At their lowest point, the Pilgrims were reduced to a daily ration of five kernels of corn for each person. In utter desperation, they fell to their knees and prayed for eight hours without ceasing. Again God heard their supplications, and fourteen days of rain followed. A second day of thanksgiving was declared.
Eventually, as the months and years passed, God helped the Pilgrim company to become firmly established and to thrive in their new home. But it is said that ever after, when they came to a feast of thanksgiving, they placed five kernels of corn at the plate of each person who came to celebrate. It served as a bold reminder of the tough times – the times when they survived only by the direct hand of God.
As you approach this Thanksgiving Day, you may be looking back on a year filled with joy and abundance, or you may have experienced a year of hardship. For most of us, it has probably been a mixed bag – times of plenty and times of sorrow. Whatever the situation, as we sit down to a feast this Thanksgiving, perhaps we would do well to think of the five kernels of corn. Not only will we be reminded that God is present during the bleakest of times, but we will be more appreciative of the enormity of the blessings in the good times.
With Love,
Mike
FORGIVEN TO FORGIVE
During the Holocaust, countless children were exterminated at the Ravensbruck concentration camp. When the camp was liberated, a note, written by an unknown prisoner, was found on the body of a dead child.
"O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us -- remember instead the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this. And when those who have inflicted suffering on us come to judgment, let all the fruits which we have borne be their forgiveness." [From "The Hidden Jesus" by Donald Spoto]
Sound familiar? How about the words spoken by Jesus on the Cross? "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
Or, what about Stephen's prayer when he was martyred? “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’" (Acts 7:60)
Compared to these offences the things we endure are comparatively minor, and yet, if you're like me, there are times when forgiveness is still very difficult. It feels so much better, at least for a while, to hold the grudge and wallow in our bitterness.
Still, we are called to a life of forgiveness. As Christians, we only have one option. We only have the option of forgiveness. Easier said than done!
Remember that we will never be more like Jesus, we'll never be more holy, than when we say, "Lord, do not hold this against them...Father, forgive them."
With Love
Mike
WAITING
In ancient cities, sentinels kept vigil on the city walls throughout the night. Long, difficult hours of waiting and watching characterized the sentinel's evenings. The watcher's role was vital for the protection of the city and the welfare of its citizens. Morning, nonetheless, meant great relief, both for the watchmen who kept vigil throughout the darkness and for the people within the city walls.
Biblical writers often juxtaposed the role of the watchman and the work of the prophet. Through long, dark hours of slavery and exile, stubbornness and despair, the prophets kept watch, calling out evils, calling forth awareness, peace, and repentance.
"This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' I appointed watchmen over you and said, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But you said, 'We will not listen.'" (Jeremiah 6:16-17)
The book of Isaiah expands the imagery of the sentinel's watch even further, suggesting watchful eyes throughout the kingdom of God, servants who hold vigil day and night, watching for light though presently surrounded by darkness.
"Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion." (Isaiah 52:8)
An old man in Jerusalem named Simeon was one such sentinel. All that is known of him is that he was righteous and devout, and he looked forward to the consolation of his broken land. Led by the Spirit, he went to the temple one day to offer the customary sacrifice when he noticed an infant in the arms of a young, peasant woman. Taking the baby in his arms, he began to sing:
"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (Luke 2:29-32)
A watchman who kept vigil through long years of darkness, Simeon saw the infant Christ and used the language of a slave that has been freed to describe it. There is a sense of immediacy and relief, as if the light of morning has arrived after years of shadow, and he is finally free to leave his post.
We, too, labor through long nights, straining to see more. But in so doing, Christ himself transforms our watching and our waiting bringing light where death stings, tears discourage, and darkness haunts.
"I wait for the Lord," sings the psalmist, "my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." (Psalm 130:5-6)
The night is indeed long, but the great light is real.
With Love,
Mike
NEW EACH DAY
Patrick Henry, whose primary contribution to the history books is the phrase "Give me liberty or give me death," made another memorable statement.
He said, "I know of no way of judging the future but by the past."
Repeat this before a group of your friends, and you'll see many heads nod in agreement. It has the ring of good common sense.
Be careful, though. This axiom might be true when it is applied to politics or history or investing, but it provides a lousy foundation for developing relationships. And it certainly doesn't reflect the way God relates to us.
God gives us a chance to let go of the past and start over -- each and every day. Jeremiah wrote in the book of Lamentations, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
God doesn't judge our future by our past. He didn't do it with David or Moses or Peter or Paul or countless other Bible characters. As the Psalmist wrote, He does not treat us as our sins deserve. Every day is a new day.
A good way to start the day with God is to remember that you've just been given brand new mercies -- the chance to start the day with a clean slate.
It's also a good way to start the day with others. God doesn't allow our past to prevent us from a having a great future, so enjoy the fresh start – and pass the gift along to others as well.
With Love,
Mike
THE AROMA OF HIS LOVE
The Coliseum in ancient Rome was the sight of great brutality and slaughter, yet the games were immensely popular with the citizens. Gladiators fought for the amusement of the crowds, often forfeiting their lives for the applause of those in attendance.
Attending the games in those days must have been quite an experience. The hot Italian sun beat down on the Coliseum, which held more than 50,000 spectators. Live animals were often included in the games and spectacles presented there, so the odors from the floor of the Coliseum were less than pleasant. When coupled with the fact that regular bathing was not a common practice among many of the citizenry, there was probably quite a stench to the arena. The mingled smell of animals, sweat, blood, and body odors was undoubtedly quite overwhelming.
Frequently the emperors, in order to gratify the citizens of Rome, would cause sweet perfumes to be rained down upon them through the awning that covered the amphitheater. Huge vessels of perfume were opened, and their contents were emptied on the awning and allowed to drip on the crowds below.
As long as the jars were sealed, the perfume had no effect on the odors of the Coliseum, but when the contents were poured out and the drops of perfumed rain began to descend, everyone was refreshed, and the aroma must have lingered on recipients for hours afterward.
Such is the love of God. It is like sweet perfume to the inhabitants of a world marred by sin’s stench. There is a richness and a fullness in His love, but it is not perceived until the Spirit of God pours it out like the rain of fragrance over the heads and hearts of His children.
Once we are touched by the great love of God, its sweet scent lingers and is spread to everyone with whom we come in contact. What a privilege He has given us, allowing us to bless others by simply carrying the aroma of His love in our lives.
With Love,
Mike