Success

 “I saw that wisdom is better than folly,

Just as light is better than darkness."

(Ecclesiastes 2:13NIV) 

In our democratic society, we are pressed into a competitive market place for our goods

and services. That is supposed to be what makes America great. Success is often a

matter of having more "stuff". We are building 5,6 and 7,000 square foot houses, owing

bigger boats, luxury cars abound etc. All this is very good for the economy, but is it good

for our souls? 

Aristotle Onassis definition of success was to "... keep climbing higher and higher-just for

the thrill."  

Barbra Streisand said, " success for me is having ten honeydew melons and eating only

the best part of each."  

Because you are reading this Good News today, I pray that your definition is more

closely better represented by Dr. Gary Rossberg's perspective:

    " Success is not just a matter of money, power and ego, but also issues of the heart-

like compassion, bravery, generosity and love. It is an issue of character, not

performance. ...of being the person God wanted you to be, not how much salary you can

pull down. ...".  

If we sit in our homes surrounded by our "stuff" and still feel underachieved; If we sit on

the couch next to our spouse and still feel lonely; we should go back to the simple things

we learned growing up and search our faith for the definition of success. We will find that

Rossberg is very close to the answer. 

Thought for the Week: This week, let us look at our calendars and try to evaluate

where our efforts are taking us. Let us review our goals and our interactions with others.

Let us fit our lives into Rossberg's perspective rather than the more material views of

success. 

Prayer for the Week: Dear heavenly Father, in our world terror seems to be taking over well beyond faith and love. Somehow we pray for an answer as to how it all fits Your plan. We pray for your guidance and somehow for the ability to keep the power of your light above the darkness that seems to be closing around us.

Amen

 

Scientific Reductionism Vs Human Mystery

I crime from a family that spends a lot of time debating and disclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. I like what Sir John Eccles has to say:

 

I maintain that the human mystery is incredibly demeaned by scientific reductionism, with its claim to promissory materialism, to account eventually for all the spiritual world in terms of patterns of neuronal activity. This belief must be classed as superstition... we have to recognize that we are spiritual beings with souls existing in a spiritual world as well as material beings with bodies and brains existing in a material world.   (Sir John C. Eccles - 1903-1997)

John's Bio: Sir John Carew Eccles, AC FRS^[4] FRACP FRSNZ FAAS (27 January 1903 – 2 May 1997) was an Australian neurophysiologist who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloyd Hodgkin.

 

Paul's Macro

“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law….Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

(Galatians 5 vs. 22 & 24 NIV) 

            Please do not take this as a political piece but I am feeling a lot like my life is out of control. Not the daily issues but in computer terms it seems my macro is not what I would like. I guess I am looking for the land of milk and honey, the golden years or to live happily ever after. We are trained to look for that in all those books our mom’s read to us when we were growing up.

            Well, another old time expression is “life begins at 40”. It may not seem like that as you approach that milestone but at 70 or 90 looking back it will feel that way. It is all a matter of perspective. Believe it or not, age 50 through 70 are most often the best years of our lives; enjoy them.

            My macro issues are with what I call the new world economy and what I see happening in the world. I feel quite helpless. It seems that whoever I talk to feels the same way. We all want to end war, be at peace, reduce taxes and live happily ever after. That is the challenge.

            The solution to my issue is that I need to focus on the correct Macro; the spirit of our Christian Faith as opposed to the Government/Political macro. The politicians around the world certainly have changed things with the new world economy and making war over WMDs.  

            They have not impacted the words of the Lord- The real Macro was written by Paul. It is and ever shall be the Macro to live by. 

Thought for Today: We need to focus on our daily lives for survival, there is no truer fact. With that said, today let’s do what we need to do to survive but keep Paul’s letters and the word of our Lord in our daily lives. It will fit in if we let it. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we pray for our world and country. We pray that we can find a way back to Jesus word and Paul’s macro.

Amen

 

           

 

Mile Markers

“Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

(Psalm 40 vs. 12) 

            Numbering our days is a great thought, we often catalog them in our minds and many are hidden in our sub-conscious. Each day of our life is a present and special in some way. Each has a memory, some fade but the great ones stay forever.

            The major ones do not take rocket science to remember. I am an elder and remember where I was for each of the following; Pearl Harbor (27 months old!); when JFK was shot; the twin tower assault; Ted Williams last at bat (a home run at age 41!).

            The un-conscious ones are often more fun when they can be jarred to the front. Recently an old friend from 1955 and I reconnected and reviewed our memories together; high school football experiences, school days, former teachers and of course cheerleaders. He brought back so many memories that one evening while on-line he called me. We talked for a long time!

            This week my mom celebrates her 96^th birthday. She has lots of memories but a severe snow storm three weeks ago led to a jarring of her memory. Three ladies from a fourth grade class she taught in 1947 noticed a post on a social network that she was weathering the storm well. They contacted me and some information was relayed to mom! She remembered all of them and talks about that class and 1947 every time we talk.  She will also get surprised when she opens her 1947 themed birthday present Thursday.

            The Lord is good to us, we may not be wealthy, but we are rich; rich in memories, full of love and happiness and wisdom. The numbering of our days has paid off in a worthy life.  

Thought for Today: Today we will create a memory. Weather it is a major or minor event remains to be seen. Either way let us recognize its contribution to who we will be.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, we thank you for all the great memories and blessing you have bestowed upon us. Today we pray that we serve your will here on earth as we go through our day.

Amen

 

Lincoln on Presidents Day

The quote included below is from Walking with Lincoln.

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure;

then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."

(James 3 vs. 17, 18) 

                President Lincoln presided over a war that was the bloodiest in the history of our country. He could not have done what he did without his extremely strong faith. His bible was often at his side in meetings and had dog eared pages from continual use. It reinforced his belief that he and the union were doing the right thing.

            It brings to my mind the old joke about disagreements in church congregations. It says that the arguments are often fierce because both sides feel that they have God on their team! Well, in church politics we are not making decisions that cause battles where 10,000 plus soldiers die, people get assassinated, brothers fight brothers and the freedom of a race are at stake. Still somehow we do the Lord’s will.

            When Lincoln felt badly, which happened after a traumatic field report, he would lean on the Biblical hope offered to him (and to all of us). Today’s verse was one he used often when he was in need of reassurance.

He would say to his cabinet and all who would listen, “Let us renew our trust in God and go forward without fear and with manly hearts.”

Happy Birthday Abe. 

Thought for Today: Today is the birthday of America’s most loved president. His faith is a strong example to us. We are commanded to be happy Christians, to be the light of the world, to share and contribute through our faith. Today let us shine our light brightly.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father we give thanks today for those great men who have gone before us and contributed to our world. We pray that we are contributing in some small way to accomplishing your will and spreading a world of peace and love.

Amen

Finding Joy

With all the negative news and talk about guns, I thought it was important to think about the Joy in our lives!

 "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy"
(Exodus 20:11). 

            In our present society obligations are building and if you are paying attention you can feel the stress that comes along with it; at work, home and in the kids schools. Often I talk about being the best you can be and refer to the YMCA logo, Spirit, Mind and Body. That is tough when we are busy.

            We need rest physically and mentally. There is rhythm to the seventh day of rest that is a good balance of work and rest. Many people put themselves out trying their own plan. God is saying that once a week we need to take a break. He is saying there is more to life than work. He is also urging us to follow his pattern. Spiritually we need this time to refocus our lives. God wants us to spend one day looking to him and thanking him for being liberated. Listen to what the Lord said to Isaiah:  

    "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
... then you will find your joy in the Lord."

            My retirement part time career is in retail and on Sunday mornings the store opens when the church bells are ringing. Oh that’s the day the sales start too! There are always 20 to 50 people lined up at the door not listening to the church bells! Many of them are Sunday regulars. Yes, I am there every other Sunday after our chapel communion at Spirit of Hope, my church.  A retail store on Sunday morning is truly an un-godly place.

            We need to keep our whole selves in order to be good people; the parents our children need, the employee our companies want and to be the best friend or spouse we can be. That means in SPIRIT, MIND and BODY. When we do that we will find joy in our lives. That is really our life long goal.

Thought for Today:  Take some time to meditate and pray for rest and peace in our lives. Take some time to recharge your spiritual batteries. Take some time to find the Joy.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we pray for people who just can't take time to rest and meditate. May they somehow grow to find joy in the Lord.

Amen

 

Meek or Humble?

"Now Moses was a very humble man,

more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth"

 (Numbers 12:3). 

            Is there a meek person in your life? What do you think or the person who is meek or humble, at work, in the family or at church? Would you like to avoid him? We tend to equate humble or meek with being a wimp! In the case of Moses, he was not passive. He took on an Egyptian overseer, stood up to Pharaoh and hiked the desert for forty years. It is hard to see him as a wimp.

        Humble doesn't mean what we think. It is being humble before God. It is a choice. Deliberately harnessing your strength and tempering it to use in a controlled way. Humble is not weak. It is believing and obeying God when you don't particularly want to; when it is not the path of least resistance.

        Moses was not always enthusiastic about what God wanted. He did not feel capable when God called him to lead the people out of bondage. He didn't exactly say, "right on". It was more like, "Me, you have got to be kidding. Try someone else." (see Exodus 4:10-13).

             God's response... "I will be with you."

            When you are feeling hesitant and inferior, God says, "I will be with you." 

            When you are wondering if you can make it another day with the job stress, he

says, "I will be with you."

            When you're faced with a tough decision and wondering what to do, he says, "I will

be with you."

        Like Moses, you may be a bit reluctant. But he obeyed God. Moses believed

him, did what he said and said what he was told. We can too when we humble ourselves. 

Thought for Today: Let’s be humble before the Lord today! 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we pray that we can do your will in our everyday actions. We pray for the guidance and humility to accomplish that.

Amen