Archive for May, 2023
Childhood as a Classroom
Inside of each of us is our little boy or girl self. They often come out through the portal of our memory to play in the realm of our recall. Indulge my little boy self a moment to reflect.
The school was sponsoring an outdoor re-enactment to raise funds. It was the Pied Piper of Hamelin. My older brother was cast and costumed to be a rat. On the day of the big event he broke his collarbone. The cast needed a replacement. I fit his costume and some said the role. Thus began my short lived acting career.
The set included tables with long table cloths that overhung to the ground on all sides. Darrel Tate, my fellow rat, and I were under a table awaiting our big moment which involved coming out on cue. When the piper came around the corner of the building playing the clarinet, no one played a flute, we were to scamper out and follow him to the back of the campus. There was no river, so we were to jump into the ditch.
The lilting notes of the clarinet filled the air and rats ran out from beneath tables as prompted. Two bewildered mothers didn’t see their little rats. Finally my mom raised the table cloth and there sat my older friend, Darrel, and me staring at each other. Darrel’s mother had told him to watch the little Price boy and to come out when he did. Guess what, my mom said, watch the little Tate boy and come out when he comes out. Thus, the stalemate. Following a friendly nudge by our mom’s we scampered out and caught up with the rat pack just in time to jump in the ditch. All’s well that ends well.
Subconsciously, that experience has lived with me as a motivating influence to know life’s cues and act timely, understand your role, and act independently responsibly.
Learn the wisdom of the great minds of Bible characters who’ve been there, and be a living demonstration of what it means to take responsibility for your actions. Your life takes meaning when you take responsibility for it.
Solomon wisely cautioned against inaction: “I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.…” (Proverbs 24: 33) Lethargy is a bandit robbing us of opportunities.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
Action requires faith in God and trust in His word to accomplish great things for the kingdom. The faint-hearted will always struggle with taking action. “Git ‘er Done” is more than a comic line, it is a launch pad for faith/acts.
Bookmark that in your memory.
The Man in the Arena
On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt gave what would become one of the most widely quoted speeches of his career. The former president—who left office in 1909—had spent a year hunting in Central Africa before embarking on a tour of Northern Africa and Europe in 1910, attending events and giving speeches in places like Cairo, Berlin, Naples, and Oxford. He stopped in Paris on April 23, and, at 3 p.m. at the Sorbonne, before a crowd that included, according to the Edmund Morris biography Colonel Roosevelt, “ministers in court dress, army and navy officers in full uniform, nine hundred students, and an audience of two thousand ticket holders,” Roosevelt delivered a speech called “Citizenship in a Republic,” which, among some, would come to be known as “The Man in the Arena.” Following is the most popular extract.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
This shouts encouragement of involvement and is a denunciation of lethargy. The late great coach Vince Lombardi expressed a similar thought in athletic terms “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart our in a good cause and lies exhausted on the filed of battle — victorious.”
If this philosophy typifies your lifestyle, “And whatever you do, [you] do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3: 23, 34)
Regarding any worthwhile adventure
it is better to try
and fail than to fail to try.
A worthy theme song is found in these words of an old hymn: “Give of your best to the Master; Give Him first place in your heart; Give Him first place in your service; Consecrate every part. Give, and to you will be given; God His beloved Son gave; Gratefully seeking to serve Him, Give Him the best that you have.”
The Way Home
The prophet Jeremiah was called at age seven. His name meant “Yahweh hurls,” and indeed God did. His ministry extended over a period of about 50 years. Much of Jeremiah’s prophecy was about impending judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem, however, it always included a call for national repentance and the promise of possible restoration. Jeremiah offers some sound advice: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6: 16)
This was not an encouragement to revert to old ways of doing things. It was an appeal to recover the successful principles that caused Israel to be a great nation in the past, and indeed they were.
Their dire circumstances left them in need of wisdom. One place they could find it was in the old paths, that is, to look to their history and forefathers, to learn from what God had done in and through them before.
Today, as then, old paths are not considered to be good paths. There is a tendency to disregard them simply because they are old. Old is out. New is in.
They were instructed to take a stand regarding the benefits and blessings of the past, meaning don’t simply blow them off as outdated.
They were to “see” their value. That means to look at what benefitted from them. An objective consideration of what those old ways achieved would reveal a positive result. As seen in the proper light they would be seen as the good way.
Finally, to benefit from such a review the old ways had to be walked in. That is figurative speech meaning they must be applied and followed.
America can greatly benefit by taking the same sequential steps today.
History revisionists are robbing us of potential blessings. In keeping us from knowing the precepts and principals that made America great, we are bereft of their inherent blessings.
To benefit from the old paths, God told them to walk in them, to actually obey and follow His word and work in history.
The response to God’s instruction through Jeremiah was a sad one, “We will not walk in it.” Thus, they forfeited their opportunity for renewed blessings. May we avoid their error.
The path to follow is defined in God’s holy word, the Bible. Start by reading the word and asking Him how to apply it in your life. Each time an instruction is given let your response be, “Yes, Lord, yes as you say so will I do.” Let your Bible reading and study help you to gain a better comprehension of His will. Don’t stop with simply knowing it, resolve to comply with it.
“Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6: 16)
Sign here: “I will Lord____________________________.”
A Directed Path
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3: 5, 6
In life many frustrations and tragedies are experienced. Our limited understanding often fails to give us a clear comprehension of why. This frequently results in bitterness and cynicism.
Though you don’t understand all things, if you know the one who administers all things you know you can trust Him in even the most bleak circumstances. You can be sure that when your trust is in the Lord you are in trustworthy hands.
Any event in life can make you either bitter or better. The choice is yours.
Jesus is not one of life’s electives. His purpose is not to be a frill on your life. He is the God of eternity. Choices should be made in His sight. Actions should be subject to His scrutiny. The storms of life can rock such a faith, but they can’t sink it. Therefore, trust in the Lord with ALL your heart…
Acknowledge, that is, admit that every event in life is under His hand. We must submit our wills to His will. This requires trust. It keeps ego in check. It brings a tranquil mind.
“Be not wise in your own conceits….” (Romans 12: 16)
On the road to Damascus, Saul was entrenched in his own opinions when he met Jesus. Jesus de-fogged Paul’s life. As the sun melts the frost on a window and allows it to become a clear medium through which to emit light, a knowledge of Christ enlightens our understanding.
This text is not a prohibition against using our full mental facility. Discrete planning is expedient. It simply encourages having Biblical wisdom and spiritual guidance to determine goals.
“Lean not…” was a metaphor which came from the practice of a king who appeared in public leaning on his friends. Lean on Jesus. Don’t rest on your understanding alone. Avoid ego at all costs. It is a rotten crutch.
Jesus will be “health to your navel.” (VS 8)
In Hebrew antiquity this expression referred to what they considered the seat of strength. It means He will become the central force of your strength.
He will be as “marrow to your bones….” When the marrow dries, the bones weaken. As marrow is to bones, so He will be to you.
As health is to nerves, and as strength is to the bones, so is the Lord to life. It is He, our beloved Lord, who will guide our path, that is, our way of life.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5, 6)
Trust and Obey
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3: 5, 6
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” The way? There is cause to marvel that there is any way. That there is “a” way gives cause to rejoice. Good news! There is a right way and the Scripture defines it for us.
There is no promise that it is the EASY way. However, it is the “right” way and ultimately it will prove to be the most gratifying and satisfying.
Therefore, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart….” (Vs. 5a)
Psychologist Erik Erickson says that the capacity to trust is the very foundation of emotional health. Parents should keep that in mind in rearing their children. A child first learns to trust or mistrust depending on the parent’s reliability or lack of it.
In a culture where absolutes are few and the mandate for mediocrity is “everything is relevant,” that is, situation ethics prevails, trust comes hard. “How can I trust?” is a legitimate question. Start by finding that which is proven trustworthy.
In reality there are only two objects of trust: God or self. How many times have you promised yourself something and you didn’t deliver? Such as: I am going to stay or my diet. I am going to start studying. Change a habit. Finish a project.
The solution? “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:5
Trust has two aspects. First, there must be the decision to trust. Next, there must be developed the habit of trust. First comes commitment and then comes habitual trust. Trust follows commitment. Trust was a wrestling term. Notice wrestlers. They grab one another and won’t let go. The term actually means to “body slam.” That is not casual contact. It is an impact of consequence. It means to cling to God like tape to paper.
Trust is based on knowledge. “Those who know your name will put their trust in you.” (Psalms 9: 10) The name used for “God” here is “Yahweh,” meaning the “God of Covenant.” By using this title it means He is a faithful God who keeps His promises. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to know Him better.
The Hebrew word translated “trust” means “to set ones confidence and hope upon.”
As a wife looked over her husband’s shoulder at his appointment calendar, she said, “God loves you, and everybody has a wonderful plan for your life.” True! There is true joy in finding God’s path and walking it with faith in Him.