Opportunity

This is a great illustration of the power of opportunity. The point of this story by Dick Innes is that we all have the opportunity to accept eternal life. But more than that, we all have the opportunity to let God use us to do extraordinary things, if we only let ourselves be open to it.

"Then [King] Agrippa said to Paul, 'Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.'" - Acts 26:28

Years ago, Walter took his friend Arthur to see some land in open country where cattle were idly grazing. Walter explained about his dream for developing this area. He told his friend that in time the area would be surrounded by many restaurants, hotels and convention centers. He told Arthur that his plan would take all of his money and he needed others to develop the surrounding area. He wanted his friend to have the first opportunity to buy into this project. But Arthur thought to himself, "Who in the world is going to drive twenty-five miles for this crazy project?" He said to Walter that he would think about it and decide later on. "Later on will be too late," Walter cautioned Arthur. "You'd better move on it right now." "And so Art Linkletter turned down the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become Disneyland. His friend Walt Disney tried to talk him into it. But Art thought he was crazy."

Life's like that. King Agrippa had the opportunity to accept Christ and become a Christian. He turned it down. Judas had one of the greatest opportunities in all history to become a follower of Jesus. Instead, he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Unbelievable! The two thieves who were crucified with Jesus also had the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life. One accepted. The other didn't.

Life offers all of us many opportunities. We all have the opportunity to become followers of Jesus and to be a part of what God is doing in the world today. That choice is ours. Today.

As God's Word says, "Now is the accepted time ... now is the day of salvation."- 2 Corinthians 6:2 . . . Dick Innes; Opportunity Lost

What will be your legacy?

The following story recounted by Stan Toler is an amazing study in contrasts of how your integrity or lack of it can influence countless people.

In a publication called The Cross and the Flag, the power of integrity's legacy was chronicled in the lives of two men. One was Max Jukes, who lived in New York State. He was an unbeliever. Jukes had 1,029 known descendants, of whom 300 died prematurely. Of those who survived, 100 were sent to prison for an average of 13 years each; 190 were prostitutes; and 100 were alcoholics. Over the years, the Jukes family cost the state $1.2 million and made no contribution to society. The second man, Jonathan Edwards, lived in New England at about the same time as Max Jukes. He believed in God and became a prominent Christian minister. Edwards had 729 known descendants. Three hundred became preachers; 65 were college professors; 13 were college or university presidents; 60 became authors; three were elected to congress; and one became a vice president of the United States.
Integrity cannot be faked; the future will bring it to light. The most vital issue for any person to settle is this one: "What is my level of integrity?"
The answer to that single question will shape a person’s legacy for generations to come. . . Stan Toler

A Tithe Story

Here is a story by Ben Maxson that caught my eye. It gives a great example of a spirit of giving that we should all aspire to.


I was on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific when I heard the story of a twelve year old boy who had learned what the Bible teaches on tithing. One day he came to the local church elder with a large fish he had caught. He explained to the elder that it was his tithe and asked for instructions as to how to give it to God.
The elder explained that he could sell it at the market or dry it and then sell it. Then he could return the tithe to God through His church. Then the elder remarked that it had been a good day for fishing since he had caught ten fish.
"Oh no," said the boy. "This is the first one. The other nine are still in the ocean. I'm going after them next." . . . A Tithe Fish Story by Ben Maxson

More CS Lewis

I like CS Lewis so much, that I thought I would post a few more of his thoughts.

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way.”

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.

CS Lewis on Pain and Perseverance

In church recently we talked about Perseverance through suffering. CS Lewis has a lot to say on this topic:



God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.



God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.



We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.



If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.



The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.

Fundamentalists?

I was reading a post recently by my good friends The Bru's where they mentioned a church group described by the media as "fundamentalist" who were protesting the funeral of the Marine who was recently found murdered. They apparently believe that the war in Iraq is our punishment for the homosexuality in our culture, if I understand what I am reading correctly. Now, there is always the chance the they have been misquoted in some way, but generally speaking, that is probably their beliefs. The problem is, those beliefs are NOT fundamentalist.

The media loves to portray any religious behavior that is weird as fundamentalism, but if you think about what the word means, it means believing the fundamentals of a religion. In the case of the original use of the term, it was used by Orthodox Protestant Christians who were concerned about all of the things that were watering down the word of God. These basic fundamentals should probably include: The Virgin Birth, the Trinity, the simultaneous Godhood and humanity of Christ, Christ's sacrificial death atoning for sin, all of the things that you would normally see in a Bible-based church's statement of faith.

What do we normally see and hear from the media about fundamentalism? All of the strange beliefs that are not spelled out in the bible: Hatred of people, worship with snake handling, non-use of medicines or doctors, etc.

I am a fundamentalist. Just not the way the media chooses to define the word.

Mark Twain on the Scriptures

Mark Twain had this to say about the Bible:

Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.

I think this is a pretty insightful quote. I'm not sure what Twain's perspective is on the Bible, if he was a believer or not, because this could be taken as a criticism of the Bible. Whatever his viewpoint, I think it can be understandable by Christians as well. When we read and understand the ideas of forgiving our enemies 77 times 7 times, of turning the other cheek, of the fact that the last shall be first and the first shall be last, those are the concepts that bother us and disturb us. There are far more people disturbed by "love your neighbor as yourself" and its implications than an obscure prophetic passage in the Old Testament.

Quotes from the Founding Fathers (And Honest Abe)

I came across these the other day while surfing the net. I make no statements about the relationship these men had with Christ. Jefferson I'm pretty sure was not a Christian from other words I have read by him. Whether they were Christ followers or not, the quotes are interesting things for former presidents to say. While using the Bible as a handbook for life is an admirable thing, I hope they went further and actually met the person the whole book is pointing to - Jesus Christ.


It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. --George Washington

I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. It is the best Book which God has given to man. --Abraham Lincoln

I have always said that a studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands. --Thomas Jefferson.

So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year. --John Quincy Adams

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

Have you ever heard the phrase "God helps those who help themselves?" Many people believe that it is from the Bible, but it is actually a quote from Benjamin Franklin. Think closely about the phrase for a moment. When I read it, it tells me that God either doesn't exist or he isn't interested in providing any help for us, neither of which are scriptural ideas.



Instead we see time and again throughout the scriptures that God is the One who we are to turn to in times of difficulty and trouble. The Psalms are full of the prayers of people crying to God. In Philippians 4:6 we are urged to bring our requests to God.

While Ben Franklin was a wise man, he like many of our founding fathers believed in the great American ideals of self-sufficiency, while as Christians we are called to give up control to the Lord.

Science and God

I heard this joke recently. I'm not sure of its source.

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. They picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him. The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost?"
God listened patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well! How about this? Let's have a man making contest."
To which the man replied, "OK, great!"
But God added, "Now we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
God just looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"