Excellence

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…

Ecclesiastes 9:10a

Achievement comes to those who look for opportunities and then seize the moment with unwavering zeal.

In the days of our Founding Fathers, Andrew Bradford held an enviable business contract. Despite its shoddy work, his company was endowed with the responsibility of doing the public printing for all of Pennsylvania. One day, Bradford was asked to print an important address the governor was planning to make. Bradford put the document together in his usual careless, unimpressive manner.

Realizing this sloppy product represented the opportunity he had been waiting for, another young printer decided to seize the moment. He elegantly prepared and printed the speech, then forwarded it with his compliments to the governor and to each member of the assembly. The rest of the story is history. This unknown printer—Benjamin Franklin—was soon awarded the contract for all of Pennsylvania’s public printing.

Benjamin Franklin not only seized the moment but gave special attention to the quality of his work. These characteristics were the foundation for a long list of Franklin’s further achievements.

Scripture urges us to take our work seriously. We are to do all things well, and all things to the glory of God.

With love,

Mike

The Gift of Community

Why did God establish the church? One reason the church exists is to provide a community of believers who take care of each other. When I am beginning to stray from God, my fellow believers draw me back. They help me know when my life is getting to the boiling point. They serve as an early warning system for my spiritual condition.

Several years after Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer died from a heatstroke during football conditioning drills in 108 degree heat, three NFL teams began offering their players a "radio pill."

Teams paid between $30 and $40 apiece for the pills, which last 24 to 36 hours.

A crystal sensor in each pill has a frequency geared to the player's body temperature. When the player's body temperature rises, so does the frequency.

A trainer punches in a player's jersey number and waves a digital device in front of him to determine if the player is "getting too hot" and needs intervention.

Like athletes who don't know they have overextended themselves and need intervention, Christians can stray from God and be oblivious to their spiritual condition. Praise God, He made provision even for this. He placed us in community with other believers. As we enter into relationship and share our spiritual journeys, we can become spiritual trainers for one another and maintain robust spiritual health.

With Love,

Mike

Choosing Your Way

Victor Frankl wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

Think of all the things you can't control: how people will respond to you, your health, the choices your children make, how other people drive, the stock market, terrorism, war, and the list goes on. You may have some influence over a few of these things, but not complete control.

The one thing you can control is how you will respond to the situations you face. You can respond with anger, doubt, and self-pity—or with faith, hope, and love. Your attitude is completely under your control.

Again and again in the Psalms we encounter David in difficult situations—surrounded by enemies, struggling with sin, sinking in despair—and again and again we see his absolute resolve to think right: Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

You and I can't control what happens today, but we can control our actions. Don't let your situations get the best of you today; no matter what you face, you can choose your own way.

With Love,

Mike

The Things of Heaven

There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired: "Where do you come from?"

"I come from heaven!" replied the swan.

"And where is heaven?" asked the crane.

"Heaven!" said the swan, "Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?" And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane.

Finally the crane asked: "Are there any snails there?"

"Snails!" repeated the swan; "No! Of course there are not."

"Then," said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, "you can have your heaven. I want snails!"

Many look at John’s description of the New Jerusalem and Heaven, and it all seems so unreal to them that they just dismiss it. They have set their sights on the things of this earth that give them pleasure here and thus reject any notion of the unspeakable joys of heaven. In so doing, they are just as silly as the crane that digs through the slime and mud looking for snails, when they could have the riches of heaven.

Let’s not be guilty of this. Let’s set our hearts on the things that really matter – the things of heaven.

With Love

Mike

Freedom & Civility

The United States of America turns 247 years old on July 4, 2023. That’s a long time for a nation to remain free. But, when you look at our history in the context of world history America is just a child among the nations. Egypt, China, Japan, England, and Greece all make America’s history seem short.

We are so young, and yet we stand tall among these nations because of the principles on which we were established: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It is good for us to celebrate freedom and liberty & I celebrate today with you the freedoms which God has blessed this great nations of ours.

However, let me temper our celebrations with a caution: With freedom comes great responsibility. We are not free to live excessive lives. We are not set at liberty to pursue selfish ends. Our independence should not make us infidels. As Paul so eloquently puts it: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature.”

What is true for the church is true for the nation: Liberty demands civility. Freedom requires righteous behavior. On this Independence Day, we celebrate both freedom and civility.

With Love,

Mike

Getting Yourself Together

The young mother was ready for a few minutes of relaxation after a long and demanding day. However, her young daughter had other plans for her mother’s time.

“Read me a story, Mom,” the little girl requested.

“Give Mommy a few minutes to relax and unwind. Then I’ll be happy to read you a story,” pleaded the mother.

The little girl was insistent that Mommy read to her now. With a stroke of genius, the mother tore off the back page of the magazine she was reading. It contained a full-page picture of the world. As she tore it into several pieces, Mom asked her daughter to put the picture together and then she would read her a story. Surely this would buy her considerable relaxing moments.

A short time later, the little girl announced the completion of her puzzle project. To her astonishment, she found the world picture completely assembled. When she asked her daughter how she managed to do it so quickly, the little girl explained that on the reverse side of the page was the picture of a little girl. “You see, Mommy, when I got the little girl together, the whole world came together.”

If your world seems out of sorts, it may be that the way to improve your situation is to begin with yourself. When you get the girl or the boy together, the world looks better.

But how do we do that? I only know of one way to get the boy together. I must be crucified in Christ and allow Christ to live in me. When that happens, it’s amazing how much better my world looks.

With Love,

Mike

Compassionate Evangelism

There's a wonderful legend about Saint Francis, the kindly thirteenth century monk, who one day informed his brethren that he planned to go into the nearby village on a preaching mission. He invited a novice to go along. On their way, they passed an injured man, and Francis promptly stopped, saw to the poor fellow's needs and arranged medical care for him.

They went on and soon passed a homeless man who was near starvation. Again, Francis stopped his journey and ministered to the hungry, homeless man.

So it went throughout the day; meeting people in need, and Francis lovingly caring for them as best he could. At last, the sun was low in the sky, and Francis told his novice friend it was time for them to return to the monastery for evening prayers. But the young man said, "Father, you said we were coming to town to preach to the people."

Francis smiled. "My friend, that's what we've been doing all day."

That is evangelism at its most faithful. True evangelism is ministry to people in their need. Evangelism is done when we are not worrying about numerical growth or adding to one's own conversion record or winning acclaim within the denomination. Evangelism is sharing the love of God in tangible ways among His children.

With Love,

Mike

He Will Never Let Go

There is a beautiful and important scene in the movie Dr. Zhivago. The Comrade General is talking with Tanya. He asks her, “How did you come to be lost?"

She replies, "Well, I was just lost."

He asks again, "No, how did you come to be lost?"

Tanya doesn't want to say. She says simply, "I was just lost. My father and I were running through the city and it was on fire. The revolution had come and we were trying to escape and I was lost."

The Comrade General asked more emphatically, "How did you come to be lost?"

She still didn’t want to say. Finally she answered, "We were running through the city and my father let go of my hand and I was lost." Then she added plaintively, "He let go." This were the words she didn't want to say.

The Comrade General said, "This is what I've been trying to tell you, Tanya. Komarov was not your real father. Zhivago is your real father, and I can promise you, Tanya, that if this man had been there—your real father—he would never have let go of your hand."

That is the difference between a real father and a false father, is it not? A real father would never let go of his daughter's hand. That is also the difference between a real God and a false one.

We have a real God, a real Father in heaven. And He is the God who never lets go. If you ever doubted it, just look at the cross. Satan tried to separate Him from His beloved children, but Jesus went all the way to Calvary to maintain His hold on their hands. You can count on it. He is your Father, and He will never let go.

With Love,

Mike

The Detective and the Theory

There are many people who believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real person. After all, his “biography” is as easy to find as is Winston Churchill’s! From 1887 to 1927, sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote of the famous detective known for his heightened skills of observation. Holmes was both memorable and beloved—and entirely fictional. Yet, there are a great number of people who would claim the clues suggest otherwise. As Holmes himself said, “The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession.”

The process of gathering and interpreting information is never ending. From childhood we learn patterns of life around us and create theories on how it all works. For instance: pans on the stove burn fingers. This is one theory a child might form after a firsthand encounter with the stove. But as data becomes more complete, a child’s theories are readily adjusted—namely: certain parts of a pan on a hot stove burn fingers.

The temptation Sherlock Holmes speaks of—forming theories upon insufficient data—seems to grow with age. Strangely, as adults, we are often less willing to adjust our theories than we were as children. The biases we bring to the investigation often prevent us from recognizing data as insufficient or flawed. For instance: God cannot exist, because if God did exist my mother wouldn’t have died so young; or if God did exist, tsunamis and hurricanes wouldn’t kill people, or if God did exist, I wouldn’t still be struggling with my finances. How would we respond to a child who insisted that if broccoli were good for her, it would taste like candy?

“If God exists,” we essentially ask, “why wouldn’t God be like the God I want to believe in?” or “Why wouldn’t God be revealed in the way that I need God to be revealed?” We unreasonably hold the answers without actually recognizing what questions we are asking. “I maintained that God did not exist,” noted C.S. Lewis of his years as an atheist, “I was also very angry with God for not existing.”

The clues of a creative and personal God are all around us. Christ’s humanity is unique in its ability to change and transform lives. I, too, know the desperation of clinging to the answers that keep us from really seeing the evidence. But this is not seeing. The apostle Paul states, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that we are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:20)

Will we investigate the evidence of God with a mind to see what is really there? Perhaps there is indeed something to the call of Jesus to receive the kingdom of God like a little child.

With love,

Mike

Revealing Jesus

The Bible declares that Jesus Christ is to be revealed to all the earth. At times, we wonder if this is even possible, and yet we often find evidence of it happening in unexpected places. We see it, for instance, in the life of Bono, the lead singer for the rock group U2.

A few years ago, Bono was asked if the claim of Jesus' divinity is farfetched. His response was interesting and encouraging:

No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook.

Christ says: ‘No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher. Don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: ‘I'm the Messiah.’ I'm saying: ‘I am God incarnate.’

And people say: ‘No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take…. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you.’

And he goes: ‘No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah….’

So what you're left with is: either Christ was who he said he was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson…. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had “King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: ‘Okay, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain!’

The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase – for me, that's farfetched.”

I’m excited that people in the popular media are attempting to reveal Jesus. It’s great to hear a prominent person speak out for Jesus. It is even more exciting, however, when I see Jesus revealed in the life of an everyday, individual Christian. That’s when I thank God for the incredible power of the Gospel. That’s when I know that Jesus Christ will be revealed to all the earth.

With Love,

Mike

Praise

John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet, in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic.

One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley's heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished conditions that he didn't even have a bed. Yet he was an unusually happy person, filled with gratitude to God.

Wesley, being immature, thoughtlessly joked about the man's misfortunes. "And what else do you thank God for?" he said with a touch of sarcasm.

The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, "I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all, a constant desire to serve Him!"

Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness.

Many years later, in 1791, John Wesley lay on his deathbed at the age of 88. Those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in every circumstance. Despite Wesley's extreme weakness, he began singing the hymn, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath."

Take time this week to give God the praise due His name.

With Love,

Mike

Two Million Dollar Mistake

John D. Rockefeller was the American industrialist who built the great Standard Oil Empire. Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man who demanded high performance from his executives.

One day, one of those executives made a two million dollar mistake. Word of the man’s enormous error quickly spread throughout the executive offices, and the other men began to make themselves scarce, not wanting to cross Rockefeller’s path.

One executive didn’t have any choice, however, since he had an appointment with the boss. So he straightened his shoulders and walked into Rockefeller’s office.

As he approached Rockefeller’s desk, he looked up from the piece of paper on which he was writing. “I guess you’ve heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend made,” he said abruptly.

“Yes,” the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to explode.

“Well, I’ve been sitting here listing all of our friend’s good qualities. I’ve discovered that in the past he has made us many more times the amount he lost for us today by his one mistake. His good points far outweigh this one human error. So, I think we ought to forgive him, don’t you?”

Rockefeller was willing to forgive a man based on the man’s good prior performance. As unexpected as that might have been, God offers us something that is far more unlikely in terms of human logic. God forgives us even when we do not have the benefit of prior good performance. He is willing to forgive those with the very worst performance.

Romans 5:8 puts it this way:

8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We didn’t just make an error – we were His enemies! Yet Jesus died for us, showing the incredible forgiveness extended to us by God.

I thank God for His gracious forgiveness of a sinner like me – one who cannot point to any prior performance to warrant our Lord’s grace.

With Love,

Mike

Our God is a Personal God

In the summer of 1985, thirty-year-old Julie Gold, an aspiring singer/songwriter, was working odd jobs in New York City when she received word from her parents in Pennsylvania that they were shipping the family piano to her as a birthday gift. The day after it arrived, Julie sat at the keyboard and in two hours wrote a song that became a popular hit in 1990, especially among the American troops serving in the Gulf War. The song won a Minute Man award from the US Army for inspiring troops during the war and eventually earned a Grammy for Song of the Year. The song was entitled, “From a Distance.” Here are some of the lyrics:

“From a distance the world looks blue and green

And the snow-capped mountains white.

From a distance the oceans meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight.

God is watching us. God is watching us.

God is watching us from a distance.”

While Julie Gold’s song won a Grammy, the message it sends is not the message God would have us hear. Julie’s song was about a distant God – and impersonal God – a passive God who watches but does not act. How different from the God the psalmist wrote about in Psalm 95.

“He owns the depths of the earth,

And even the mightiest mountains are his.

The sea belongs to him, for he made it.

His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.

We are the people he watches over, the sheep under His care.”

Julie’s song is about a God who watches from a distance. The Psalmist’s God is a God who acts – who engages with us personally, who wants to relate to us intimately, and who wants to be our Father. Personally, I prefer the God I find in the Psalms. How about you?

With love,

Mike

Reasons to Give

Jesus sat down near the place where the offerings were collected and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. There were some who made a spectacle of their giving. A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. The motives for giving were many that day, just as they are today.

In a Wall Street Journal article titled "Charitable Explanation," Arthur Brooks examines giving in America. As much as a third of the quarter-trillion dollars Americans give away each year is collected in the month of December. Eighty-five million Americans participate.

Even so, giving is not a collective national trait. "While 85 million American households give away money each year to nonprofit organizations," notes Brooks, "another 30 million do not." There is a Giving America and Non-Giving America, he says, and what distinguishes them is not income. In fact, he reports, "America's working poor give away at least as large a percentage of their incomes as the rich, and a lot more than the middle class. The charity gap is driven not by economics but by values." Giving is apparently a matter of perspective.

As Jesus watched the people in the temple giving their offerings, he called his disciples to notice the gift given by the widow. "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." (Mark 12:43-44)

What is it that motivates a woman to give when it is so rational to save? If we are merely products of time and chance, programmed for survival of the fittest, why would we give at all? Arthur Brooks offers one more statistic: "Americans who weekly attend a house of worship are 25 percentage points more likely to give than people who go to church rarely or never. These religious folks also give nearly four times more dollars per year than secularists, on average, and volunteer more than twice as frequently."

When Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us, I don't think he said it with the kind of despair I sometimes find within me when I look around and see how vast is the need of a hurting world. I think he said it as if it were a promise that He, too, would be near. In the cup of cold water delivered to the least of these, in the reaching out to our neighbors, in the giving to others because God has given to us, He is there among us. He is with the hand extended to the one hurting; He is behind the eyes of the one in need. As we give to these, we give to Jesus, and we are reminded that everyone in need matters to Him.

With Love,

Mike

The Whole World Stinks

Wise men and philosophers throughout the ages have disagreed on many things, but many are in agreement on one point: “We become what we think about.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius put it this way: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”

In the Bible we find, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

One Sunday afternoon, a cranky grandfather was visiting his family. As he lay down to take a nap, his grandson decided to have a little fun by putting Limburger cheese on Grandfather’s mustache. Soon, grandpa awoke with a snort and charged out of the bedroom saying, “This room stinks.” Through the house he went, finding every room smelling the same. Desperately he made his way outside only to find that “the whole world stinks!”

So it is when we fill our minds with negativism. Everything we experience and everybody we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our mind.

I’ve encouraged those who are unhappy with their marriage partner to begin to change their thoughts about their spouse. Forming the habit of dwelling on positive characteristics will improve one’s attitude toward his or her mate. Focusing on positive aspects of the place where you work or the good things about your coworkers will improve your attitude about your job.

When you change your thoughts, you change your world. Try it and see for yourself!

With Love,

Mike

Someone in Need

Pat McMahon, a talk-show host in Phoenix, once interviewed Mother Teresa for his program. He was so impressed with her that afterward he told her that he wanted to do something for her. "I'd just like to help you in some way," he said.

She said to him, "Tomorrow morning, get up at 4:00 a.m. and go out onto the streets of Phoenix. Find someone who lives there and believes that he's alone, and convince him he's not."

I believe in the type of ministry Mother Teresa talks about here. But we must also remember that we don't have to venture into the inner city during the wee hours to find those who believe they are alone. You and I see them everyday. We may have attended church with some of them this week. Some of them live next door or work in your building. The world is full of people who have lost all meaningful connection with others, and who, convinced they are alone, live empty and isolated lives.

It is up to each of us to make a difference. I think of the story in Mark 2, when Jesus was preaching to the crowded room. A paralyzed man was brought to him, and when his friends couldn't get him through the door, they climbed the house, made an opening in the roof above Jesus and lowered their friend down. Mark writes...

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:5)

The man was healed that day, and his sins were forgiven, because his friends cared enough to show him that he was not alone. It was their faith, and their faithfulness, that brought a miracle into this man's life.

Look around you. Someone nearby believes that he or she is alone. They need someone who can help carry them at least part of the way to wholeness. It could be you who gets them there.

With Love,

Mike

The Power of Dirt

One day a farmer's old mule fell into an empty well. The farmer was disappointed to lose his good mule, but he concluded that the mule couldn't be rescued, because the well was too narrow and too deep to retrieve the animal. He decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving, and his only option was to fill the well with dirt.

The farmer grabbed a shovel and began to fill the well with dirt, one shovel full at a time. It turns out that the animal wasn't as close to dead as the farmer had guessed. When he felt that first pile of dirt hit his back, he instinctively shook it off and trampled on it. Another pile landed on him and he shook it off and trampled it. This went on all afternoon: shake the dirt off, trample it, and step a little higher, shake the dirt off, trample it, and step a little higher. Finally, after a few hours of this, that mule had risen to a new height; he was able to step triumphantly out of the well.

The dirt that was meant to bury the mule actually saved his life!

This illustration reminds me of the biblical story of Joseph. His brothers had the idea of throwing him in a well. They were tempted to kill him, but they ultimately decided to sell him into slavery, settling on destroying his life rather than ending it.

God, however, had a different plan for Joseph -- a plan that would make him the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. Instead of dying in a well or living as a slave, God destined him for wealth and power and prestige. And God eventually gave him the opportunity to save his brothers from starvation.

Years later, long after Joseph had reconciled with his brothers, they were still afraid he would seek revenge; but Joseph had a different perspective on his life. He said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good." (Genesis 50:20)

When you're down, you can be sure that there will always be someone willing to throw a little dirt on you. Remember that mule: shake it off and trample it; it will help you step up. This difficult situation may appear to have the power to destroy you, but by God's grace, it will actually serve the purpose of taking you to the next level.

With Love,

Mike

Easter Celebration

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Much has been made over the date the world has chosen to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. While it is true that much of the modern trappings surrounding today’s celebration are more closely linked to paganism than to Christianity, many devoted Christians manage to make the date a true Christian celebration of the Risen Lord.

Among those who managed to keep his observance of the holiday focused on Jesus was the famed British minister, W. E. Sangster. This great preacher began to lose his voice and mobility in the mid-1950’s. His disease caused progressive muscular atrophy. He recognized the end was near, so he threw himself into writing and praying. In the midst of his suffering he pleaded, “Let me stay in the struggle, Lord. I don’t mind if I can no longer be a general, but give me just a regiment to lead.”

Sangster’s voice eventually failed completely, and his legs became useless. On Easter morning just a few weeks before his death, he took a pen and shakily wrote his daughter a letter. In it he said, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice with which to shout, ‘He is risen!’ –but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.”

May every Easter bring many new voices that shout for the first time, “He is risen!”

With Love

Mike

Appreciation

John Bowes, chairman of the parent company of Wham-O, the maker of Frisbees, once participated in a charity effort. He sent thousands of the plastic flying discs to an orphanage in Angola, Africa. He thought the children there would enjoy playing with them.

Several months later, a representative of Bowes' company visited the orphanage. One of the nuns thanked him for the wonderful "plates" that his company had sent them. She told him the children were eating off the Frisbees, carrying water with them, and even catching fish with them. When the representative explained how the Frisbees were intended to be used, the nun was even more delighted that the children would also be able to enjoy them as toys.

On one level, this story is rather amusing. On another, it is very sad. There are people who would prize even our cast-off items, who would be grateful to eat what we throw away.

One important lesson I’ve taken from the story is just how very appreciative I should be of what I have. God has blessed me abundantly.

It’s very easy for those of us who live in a society of abundance to fall into the trap of the perpetual pursuit of “more” and the resulting attitude of dissatisfaction. Instead, my lips should be filled with gratitude and praise for Him as I survey the many gifts – material, spiritual, and relational – that I have received from His hand.

The apostle Paul said, “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (I Tim 6:8).

Not a bad lesson for me. After all, when I eat my dinner today, I won’t have to eat if off of a Frisbee.

With Love,

Mike Tucker

Gratitude is a Verb

Fulton J. Sheen wrote: "An interesting phenomenon in children is that gratitude or thankfulness comes relatively late in their young lives. They almost have to be taught it; if not, they grow up thinking that the world owes them a living."

A friend once told me that she didn't want to force her son to say "Thank you" unless he really felt like it saying it. She said, "If I teach him to say 'thank you' when he doesn't feel thankful, I'm teaching him that it's OK to be a hypocrite."

That's not even close to what gratitude is. Our feelings have nothing to do with why we express it. Gratitude is not an emotion, it's an action. The act of saying "thank you" is for the benefit of the other person. It's about their feelings, not yours.

The same is true when it comes to saying "Thank you" to God. Thankfulness is the proper response to the goodness of God. We say "thank you" because he is good, not just because we happen to feel good at the moment.

This is why the Psalms so often refer to the "sacrifice of thanksgiving" -- it's an act of obedience, not just an emotional outburst. David said, "I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord." (Psalm 116:17)

It also helps us understand Paul’s admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Like children, believers need to learn how to be thankful. Most of the time, when we consider all the good things God has done for us, we'll feel thankful. Even when our feelings don't cooperate, we need to properly express gratitude, offering God a sacrifice of thanksgiving for the kindness and mercy he has shown us.

With Love,

Mike