All posts by 5Q

What You See Is What You Get

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“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”1

Politics: Without character and ethics, capitalism and democracy cannot survive for the long haul. Lying, cheating, cooking the books, irresponsibility, self-centeredness are self-destructive. We always reap what we sow—even if it is eventually.

Same is true with politics. Perhaps as never before we urgently need capable politicians; and I am thankful for those who are genuine, responsible, honest, and have at heart the best interest of the people they serve—not necessarily giving them what they want, but always seeking to provide, wherever possible, what they genuinely need. Today, unfortunately, the word “politics” has become a dirty word because of those politicians who are more interested in serving themselves and doing all they can to stay in power by catering to the wants and special interests of the majority of their constituents—or to please those who give them the most financial support. Then there are those who shamelessly blame others for the very problems that they themselves helped to create; those who lie, get caught, and call it a misspeak; those who look to dig up dirt to destroy their opponent; and others who spin their reports to make them say what they want them to say.

Unfortunately, some people are like this too. We’re like “two birds that fly over our nation’s deserts: One is the hummingbird and the other is the vulture. The vultures find the rotting meat of the desert, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do.”2

If we look for the good in others, that’s what we’ll find. If we look for dirt, that’s what we will find. The same principle applies to people’s view of God. If we want to see him we can—everywhere we look. If we don’t want to see him, we won’t. The fact remains, people see exactly what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, find what they want to find, and do what they want and choose to do.

As Frederick Langbridge said, “Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.” What you look for is what you will see and what you will get.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be honest with myself and with you so that I will see more clearly the truth as it is and not as I want it to be. And, while not being blind to deception, help me to look for stars and not for mud. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV).

2. Author unknown.

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Winning with Dignity and Honor

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“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”1

It’s rather depressing how the news media thrives on presenting negative news because that’s what sells—or at least that’s what we’re led to believe. But as Michael Josephson suggested in an issue of Character Counts, “let’s stop thinking about the handful of ex-college coaches who were fired for dishonorable conduct and the one sportsman who belittled his profession and destroyed his own good name (and possibly his promising career) through illicit sexual behavior—and remind ourselves of the noble side of sports.

“When leader Lance Armstrong’s bike went down [in a Tour de France grueling bicycle race] after a collision with a spectator, his closest challenger Jan Ullrich and other lead cyclists slowed to wait for him to get back into the race. They were honoring an unwritten code of honor. According to Diane Pucin in the L.A. Times, Ullrich said, ‘If I would have won this race by taking advantage of someone’s bad luck, then the race was not worth winning.’ Apparently, the world’s best cyclists understand the difference between being declared the winner and really winning.”2

That’s what I call admirable and is wonderful to see. I surely wish that our news media would major on this type of stories and help inspire our youth to more noble deeds of honor, valor and kindness, and thereby help make the world of today a much better place in which to live.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to work, compete in sports or games, and live with honor and thereby maintain a high level of self-respect and bring glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 12:9-11 (NIV).

2. Michael Josephson, “Honorable Men and Honorable Competition” 315:4 Character Counts, www.charactercounts.org.

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What You See

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“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”1

Here’s a test. You’ve heard of tongue-twisters . . . well here’s an eye-twister (which may be difficult for those whose primary language isn’t English). See if you can read the following:

“Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deosn’t raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?”

(Now I know why I am such a poor proof reader—especially of my own writing.)

The mind does a similar thing in other areas of life. That is, we see things not they way they are, but the way we are. For instance, if I am a negative person, I will see negative things in what others do—things that may not even be there—and be critical about them. If I am a supersensitive person, I will read into what others say or do and overreact—not on the basis of what they have said or done, but on the basis of who and what I am. On the other hand, if I am a loving person, I will overlook the petty faults in others and be accepting and forgiving of them, for love does “cover a multitude of sins.”

Indeed, what we see is who we are or who we are is what we will see.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to be a loving person and, while not being blind to evil, help me not to be negative or supersensitive, but to overlook the petty faults of others. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 4:8 (NASB).

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There Is No God

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“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”1

“All of the wonders around us are accidental. No almighty hand made a thousand-billion stars. They made themselves. No power keeps them on their steady course. The earth spins itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun. Infants teach themselves to cry when they are hungry or hurt. A small flower invented itself so that we could extract digitalis for sick hearts. The earth gave itself day and night, tilted itself so that we get seasons. Without the magnetic poles man would be unable to navigate the trackless oceans of water and air, but they just grew there.

“How about the sugar thermostat in the pancreas? It maintains a level of sugar in the blood sufficient for energy. Without it, all of us would fall into a coma and die. Why does snow sit on mountaintops waiting for the warm spring sun to melt it at just the right time for the young crops in farms below to drink? A very lovely accident.

“A human heart will beat for 70 or 80 years without faltering. How does it get sufficient rest between beats? A kidney will filter poison from the blood, and leave good things alone. How does it know one from the other? Who gave the human tongue flexibility to form words, and a brain to understand them, but denied it to all other animals? Who showed a womb how to take the love of two persons and keep splitting a tiny ovum until, in time, a baby would have the proper number of fingers, eyes and ears and hair in the right places, and come into the world when it is strong enough to sustain life?”2

Furthermore, “Without the moon being the size that it is and just the right distance from the earth, we would have no tides in the oceans to keep the algae stirred up and constantly moving, thereby keeping the algae alive and creating most of the oxygen in our atmosphere!”3

And some would claim there is no God! And all this—and millions of other miracles of nature—all happened by chance?

Regarding agnostics and atheists, theirs is not so much an intellectual problem, but a moral responsibility problem. If they choose to believe in God, they know that they will be morally responsible and accountable. It is much easier, more convenient, and more self-centered to believe there is no God. Indeed, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (See the article, “Where Is God” online at: http://tinyurl.com/where-god)

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have left evidence of your handiwork in every direction I look—including in the heavens that declare your glory. And when I look within my own heart, I sense an awareness of a divine presence and know that it is you; and knowing that—I know I can communicate with you. Help me to see beyond my doubts, and trust beyond my fears, and ‘be still and know that you are God.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 14:1.

2. Jim Bishop. Cited on KneMail www.oakhillcoc.org.

3. Fred Mueller.

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Songs Never sung

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“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”1

Don Emmitte wrote, “One of the best autobiographies I have read is that of Loren Eisley, All the Strange Hours. Eisley is one of America’s greatest naturalist and scientist. In his book he tells of an incident early in his academic training, in fact in his first English class of college. It was a traumatic experience, one which changed the direction of his life. In his first theme assignment, the professor called him to stay after class and said, ‘You didn’t compose this; it is written too well.’ He had labored long and hard over the assignment, and it was indeed his work. But Eisley was shy. He did not talk back to his professor in those days. He simply turned away. He did not write another piece until well into his middle years.

“Oh, he did write, and distinguished himself as a writer of many letters, articles, and books. Who knows, however, how many articles, letters, or books were lost in those early years while he still labored under the curse of that professor’s belligerent words. In fact he further writes in his book, that it was this experience that turned him from a career of literature and art to science. One wonders what might have been!”

I had a similar experience about 20 years ago when I started to write some poetry. I shared one with a friend. He pointed out how poorly it was written. Consequently, it was a number of years before I wrote any more poems. One of these I shared with another friend . . . a very gifted artistic friend! She loved it and others that I showed her. What a difference! I felt that somebody believed in me. After that I wrote many poems. Recently one was accepted by a well-known company for publication . . . it sold thousands of copies. My earlier rejection inspired the following poem:

Unsung Songs

How many songs never sung,
poems never written,
pictures never painted,
stories never told,
romantic words never spoken
locked inside a lonely heart–
the prison of another’s making–
are left unexpressed
because somebody
shamed us,
abandoned us,
or perhaps silenced us
with a cruel word,
a thoughtless deed,
and said or just implied
we were not good
or not quite good enough?
And, tragically,
we believed them.

© Copyright, Dick Innes

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to discern between what is a true evaluation and what is false and to accept the true and ignore the false. Help me to use the true, even if it is negative, to motivate me to keep doing what you have put in my heart to do, to learn how to do it better, and to never give up until I have mastered what you have gifted me to do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 3:13 (NIV).

Note: A beautiful printed copy of “Unsung Songs” is available online at:

http://tinyurl.com/songs-unsung

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The Prison of Perfectionism

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“There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has liberated me from the law of sin and of death.”1

A Daily Encounter reader writes, “As a Christian I try to flee from sin because I don’t want to displease God and I don’t want to suffer the consequences. However, I am repeatedly reminded that I am not perfect and that I cannot live up to God’s standards. So I am constantly frustrated because on one hand, I’m told that I should resist sin, and on the other hand, I’m told that I will always sin . . . Ahhhhh! Then it is inevitable that I will suffer consequences for my sins no matter how I try to resist them, right?

“I am afraid to live, because the more I read the Bible, the more I realize how flawed I am. Out of fear of ‘falling short’ I avoid situations. For example, I would love to be married one day, but I am afraid to meet a young lady because of the temptations that come along with falling in love. That isn’t living.”

“Dear Don,” (not his real name), “Thank you for your honesty which is very honorable. However, if I may say so, it sounds to me like you might be a perfectionist or have very strong perfectionistic tendencies. And that’s why you’re ‘beating yourself up.’ If this is true, it probably goes back to your childhood where you felt you were never quite good enough to please either one or both of your parents, and now you have projected these same feelings onto God your heavenly parent (Father).

“Yes, God wants us to grow and overcome sin, but he doesn’t beat us up in the process. We beat ourselves up. God understands our sinful nature and we don’t change that by being a legalist . . . that is by trying to live by the law and not by God’s grace. Legalistic living leads to utter frustration and a deep sense of failure. Because of this, sad to say, many abandon their Christian faith because they can’t live up to the unrealistic expectations they have of themselves while all the while thinking it is God’s expectations.

“Basically, we need to grow and become more whole. For only to the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle, attitudes and actions become wholesome. If you are a perfectionist, you need to keep reminding yourself that it is you and not God who has unrealistic expectations of you, and get into a good counseling and recovery program, otherwise you will be beating yourself up for the rest of your life—and that will keep you in awful bondage.

“Also, ask God to confront you with the truth about yourself so you can see and understand why you have all these unrealistic expectations, and to lead you to the help you need to overcome.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to have a realistic view of myself and not think either too highly or too poorly of myself. Help me to see myself as you see me and accept myself the way you accept me. And where I have weaknesses, please help me to accept these and find the help I need to overcome them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 8:1-2 (ASV).

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Hurry Hinders

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“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”1

I recently read how “an ethics professor at Princeton Seminary asked for volunteers for an extra assignment. About half the class met him at the library to receive their assignments. The professor divided the students into three groups of five each.

“He gave the first group envelopes telling them to proceed immediately across campus to Stewart Hall. He told them that they had 15 minutes and if they didn’t arrive on time, it would affect their grade. A minute or two later, he handed out envelopes to five others. They were also to go over to Stewart Hall, but they had 45 minutes. The third group had three hours to get to Stewart Hall.

“The students weren’t aware of it, but the professor had arranged for three drama students to meet them along the way. Close to the beginning of their walk, one of the drama students had his hands on his head and was moaning aloud as if in great pain. About half way to Stewart Hall, on the steps of the chapel, the seminary students passed a man who was lying face down as if unconscious. Finally, on the steps of Stewart Hall, the third drama student was acting out a seizure.

“In the first group of students, those who had only 15 minutes to get across campus, no one stopped to help. In the second group, two students stopped to help. In the last group, the one that had three hours for their assignment, all of the students stopped to help at least one person. The professor had clearly shown these seminarians that hurry hinders ministry.”2

Even when I was a student in college I had a quote taped to my desk which read, “Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.” Of this I constantly need to remind myself as battling busyness for me is a constant challenge.

As another has said, “Come apart and rest awhile before you come apart.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to find a way to cut back on my over-busyness so I have more quality time with my family and am available in times of emergency (regardless of how busy I happen to be) to help another who needs a helping hand. Please help me to become more and more like Jesus in every way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus to his disciples in Mark 6:31 (NIV).

2. www.eSermons.com.

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The Power of Music

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“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”1

Today we remember how. . .

“Music has power to unite people. On September 11, 2001, members of Congress gathered on the Capitol steps to sing ‘God Bless America.’ At that time, the House and Senate members saw the black plume of smoke rising from the Pentagon across the Potomac River. One year later in 2002, the House and Senate held a solemn joint meeting in New York’s Federal Hall. It was only the second meeting of Congress held outside Washington in the past two centuries. These lawmakers went to New York City to show their solidarity with the people there. Once again, the power of music united them as they held hands and sang ‘God Bless America’ with a high school choir.

“Music has power to move people. Consider the hauntingly beautiful melody we know as ‘Taps.’ Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield composed this music in July 1862 at Harrison’s Landing in Virginia. Butterfield was dissatisfied with the custom of firing three rifle volleys at the conclusion of burials during battle. Butterfield probably altered an older piece known as ‘Tattoo,’ a French bugle call used to signal ‘lights out.’ The words of ‘Taps’ are: ‘Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lakes, From the hills, From the sky. All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh.’ Who has not been moved by the power of this music?

“Music has power to heal people. ‘Music can be a powerful catalyst in the healing process,’ writes Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect. This book cites many examples ‘in which sound and music are used to help patients suffering from everything from anxiety to cancer, high blood pressure to chronic pain and mental distress.’2

“Three thousand years ago, David played his harp to let the power of music heal the depression and fear of King Saul.3 As William Congreve (1670-1729) said, ‘Music has charms to soothe the savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.’”4

And music has power to worship God. One of the many marvelous God-given gifts is the gift of music. And, as the Apostle Paul admonishes, let us use this gift to worship and thank God for the unfathomable gift of his love, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to save us from the tragic consequences of our sins.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gift of music. Please put a song in my heart and may it never be far from my lips—a song of thanksgiving, praise to and worship of you for all your wonderful works—and especially for the gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in my place to save me from my sins and a lost and hopeless eternity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 5:19-20 (NIV).
2. www.msnbc.com/news, June 13, 2002.

3. 1 Samuel 16.
4. This article, cited on www.sermons.com, is from Religion in Daily Life by the Rev. Edward Chinn, D.Min.

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Smother Mothers

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“So when they [Mary and Joseph] saw Him [Jesus], they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’”1

Seven-year-old Tommie was as cute as a button. In Vacation Bible School this past summer he was very attentive, bright, mixed with the other kids and related to them extremely well; that is, until his mother came in, sat with him among the kids, and kept her arm around him. Tommy immediately withdrew.

Smother mothers’ love for their kids is more need—not for the child but for themselves, the mothers. This is extremely unhealthy for the child.

I have a close friend whose mother was an emotional smother mother. She set him up in the home to be the “little father/husband” because she needed him to lean on and to meet her needs. Until my friend got away from her and into therapy to work through and resolve his fear of being smothered, he was afraid to love a woman. In his conditioned unconscious mind, to be loved by a woman meant to be smothered. For much of his life he kept running from love.

And as for Tommy, unless his mother stops clinging to him out of her own need, he, too, is being programmed for failure in love. He may never be able to love a woman for fear of being smothered. Mothers need to let go of their sons so they are able to identify with their father or other significant male if no father is around. Otherwise they never learn to fully accept themselves as men, neither are they able to fully love a woman nor be a supporting husband or father.

The same principle applies to clinging, smother fathers. Children need to be allowed to grow up and be trained to become self-sufficient, independent teenagers so they can become healthy, secure, and inter-dependent adults.

So many adults today still have the emotional umbilical cord attached to their mothers. They need to cut it themselves so they can be freed from their mother-control to become their own person.

As we see in today’s Scripture lesson, while Jesus was still dependent on his parents, he had cut the emotional umbilical cord by the time he was twelve years of age—which was the age for introduction into adulthood in the culture in which Jesus grew up.

Our job as parents is, among other things, to start letting go of our children even in tiny ways from earliest childhood so that by the time they are young adults they are liberated to become adults in their own right. If we smother a young tree, it will become stunted and die. If you smother a child, it too, will become stunted and die (or remain severely handicapped) emotionally.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if I am a smother parent in any way, please help me to see the error of my way and, as your human parents had to let go of over-controlling you, help me to stop smothering and over-controlling my children, so that they are free to become mature adults in their own right. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: Be sure to read the poem “Children Learn What They Live” by Dorothy Law Note online at: http://tinyurl.com/children-live-with.

1. Luke 2:48-49 (NKJV).

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What Are You Still Carrying?

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“If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil.”1

The story or legend is told how two monks, when traveling back to their monastery in inclement weather, came to the fjord of a river. There they met a young woman who was afraid to cross the river. Seeing her dilemma one of the monks offered to carry her across the river on his back which offer she accepted.

Later that evening the monk who didn’t help the young lady accused the monk who did of breaking the rules of their monastic order. “You know we are to have no dealings with the opposite sex,” he said, “and you were wrong in doing what you did.”

To which the other monk quietly replied, “I carried her only across the river. You are carrying her still.”

When we fail to resolve our anger, and keep nursing our grudges, we not only give a “mighty foothold to the devil,” but we also hurt ourselves, damage our physical well-being, and do serious harm to our close relationships. As another has said, when we nurse our grudges and fail to forgive those who have hurt us, “It’s like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

So, is there anything you are still carrying? Any grudges, resentments, bitterness, hurts, unresolved grief? If so, I urge you to follow the advice of the Scriptures and resolve these issues right away. And, if necessary, see a qualified counselor to help you to do so. Your health and relationships depend on it.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the advice you give in your Word, the Bible, to help us live healthy, fulfilling, and meaningful lives—and maintain quality relationships. Help me to live by your instructions. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 4:26-27 (TLB)(NLT).

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