TRUST GOD, AND DO SOMETHING! 

As long as you’re willing to live with the problem, you won’t solve it! Sometimes a situation that infuriates you, or unlocks your compassion, is a situation God’s calling you to tackle. Nehemiah couldn’t bear to think of Jerusalem in ruins, so he rallied God’s people and rebuilt it. David, tired of Goliath’s threats, put his life on the line and defeated him. Elijah couldn’t tolerate idolatry so he took on the prophets of Baal, and won! If you’re tired of the status quo, God may be calling you to change it. If so, He has promised, “Do not…be dismayed…I will help you.” Henrietta Mears taught at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood and influenced leaders like Billy Graham, Bill Bright, and former Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson. Disappointed by the lack of good educational material, she started her own publishing house–in her garage! Later it became Gospel Light Publications, one of the most effective in the world. When she couldn’t find a good single-volume introduction to the Bible, she wrote one. To this day it remains a best seller. Motivated by the lack of good retreat facilities for Christians living in crowded Los Angeles, she found the perfect spot in the San Gabriel Mountains. After praying in faith and negotiating, she got her retreat. It’s now Forest Home,a top-notch conference center. Always, at the point of her greatest frustration, Henrietta would take a step of faith–and find a bridge was always there. In fact, on her deathbed, when somebody asked, “If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?” She replied, “I’d trust Christ even more!”

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In The Odyssey, when Odysseus returns home disguised as an old man, his family doesn’t know him. Then his childhood nurse sees a scar she remembers from his infancy. Until then, even she doesn’t recognize him. When Thomas heard Jesus was alive, he said, “I will not believe it until I…put my finger where the nails were.” Jesus’ scars were proof positive He’d been crucified and resurrected. When Thomas checked them out for himself, he responded, “My Lord and my God” (v.28). It’s the first time Scripture records a disciple directly addressing Jesus as God, and it came in response to seeing His scars. 

We all have scars. Dr. Will Willimon says: I’ve a friend who spent…his childhood in an orphanage. His mother took him there as a boy, left him out under a big cedar tree, told him she’d return that afternoon, but didn’t. He’s now middle-aged. One day I was to meet him for lunch and I was late…I found him in a state of agitation, pacing about, perspiring, visibly upset… Later he said, ‘I can’t help it. I get bent out of shape when a friend is late, because my mother kept me waiting…and never returned.’ He was all grown up…but he still had scars…You’ve got your scars, some visible, some invisible, some more visible with age. The Risen Christ also has scars to prove his love for you. If you don’t know him, or like Thomas, if you aren’t sure you believe, he’ll show you his scars ‘that you may believe…and…by believing you may have life in his name’” (Jn 20:31).

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Max Lucado writes: “I’d read the passage a hundred times, but never seen it. Maybe I’d passed over it in the excitement of the resurrection…the women’s surprise when they find the stone moved…that beautiful phrase by the angel, ‘He is not here, he is risen.’ But go a bit further…and enjoy this jewel…’Go…tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee’…all of heaven had watched Peter fall, and wanted to help him get back up. ‘Be sure and tell Peter he’s not left out…one failure doesn’t make him a flop’…Not many second chances in the world today…ask the kid who didn’t make the Little League team…the fellow who got the pink slip…the mother of three who got dumped for a ‘pretty little thing’…Nowadays it’s ‘Around here we don’t tolerate incompetence,’ or ‘Not much room at the top,’ or ‘Three strikes and you’re out,’ or ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world.’ Jesus has a simple answer…’Be sure to tell Peter he gets to bat again.’ It’s not every day you get a second chance. Peter must have known that. The next time he saw Jesus he got so excited that he jumped into the Sea of Galilee! It was also enough to cause this backwoods Galilean to carry the gospel of the second chance to Rome where they killed him. If you’ve ever wondered what would make a man willing to be crucified upside down, maybe now you know. It’s not every day you find someone who’ll give you a second chance–much less someone who’ll give you a second chance every day. In Jesus Peter found both.” And you will too! 

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BE LED BY GOD, NOT OTHERS (2)

God will help you to be all you can be, but He will never help you to be somebody else. When you try to be somebody else, you lose yourself in the process. God wants us to fit into His plan, not yield to pressure and try to fit into someone else’s. It’s all right to be different; different is okay! Find out what you’re good at, throw yourself into it whole-heartedly and you’ll start to experience true joy. Besides, when you try to do what somebody else is good at, you generally fail, right? That’s because God hasn’t assigned you to do what they are doing, or at least not in the way they’re doing it. But that doesn’t mean you’re not good at anything. Here’s an important key: focus on your potential, not your limitations. We all have limitations and we must accept them. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a fact of life. Actually, it’s wonderful to be different without feeling like there’s something wrong with you. Spiritually mature people know that God loves them as they are and has a purpose for their life, so they’re not threatened by the abilities and accomplishments of others. They enjoy what other people do, because they enjoy what they themselves do. Paul writes: “Let us not become…competitive…envying and…jealous of one another” (Gal 5:26). In the end, what matters most is being able to say as Jesus said, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (Jn 17:4). Any time you can say that, you did it right!

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BE LED BY GOD, NOT OTHERS (1)

 

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, we read: “Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner.” Martha served, Mary sat listening to what Jesus had to say, and Lazarus talked to the guests. So, there’s room at God’s table for all kinds of people. Let’s take a closer look at: 

Martha.  Marthas are generally in the background with their sleeves rolled up, making sure everybody’s fed and watered. They rarely seek the spotlight, and often we don’t appreciate them until they’re missing. The problem with Marthas is, they’re inclined to make the mission more important than the Master. They need to remember that worship is also service. 

Mary.  Marys tend to forget there are bills to be paid and meals to be cooked. Sometimes they act so heavenly minded, they’re no earthly use. They need to realize that service is worship too. But we need Marys; they bring passion to our worship, and you can always count on them to intercede with God on behalf of others.

Lazarus.  “They flocked to see…the man Jesus had raised from the dead…because of him…many…believed in Jesus” (Jn 12:9-11). Lazarus had a story so amazing that those who heard it became instant converts. He reminds us that we each have a story to share about God’s grace and mercy. When was the last time you shared yours?

So, if you’re a Martha, God sees your labor of love. If you’re a Mary, He delights in your worship. If you’re a Lazarus, He promises to honor your testimony. There’s a place at the table for all of us!

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ACCORDING TO FRED SMITH (2)

Here are some more Scriptures Brenda Smith learned from her dad:

“A true friend sticks by you” (Pr 18:24).  When Fred was initially hospitalized a host of well-wishers came by to visit, but eventually dropped off when they didn’t know what to say. It was friends who stood by them over the long haul who sustained them. 

“The Lord sees the good people and listens to their prayers” (Pr 34:15).  The Psalmist said: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry…he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Ps 40:1-2). Fred Smith said, “Many nights I lay awake unable to move or sleep, but…when I was tempted to lose hope, prayer renewed my strength.” A psychiatrist who interviewed aspiring astronauts reported that, faced with total isolation, many candidates became frustrated, whereas those who knew how to pray and sense God’s presence had fewer problems. Prayer works when all else fails–but don’t wait till things reach that stage.

“When you are old…I will take care of you” (Isa 46:4).  Someone said, “Old age ain’t for sissies.” While you are getting older physically, you don’t have to get old in your outlook. We live in a “disposable” culture that dismisses seniors as set in there ways and out of touch. Fred Smith proved otherwise. He demonstrated that while aging isn’t convenient or comfortable, it can be productive. By focusing on the “can do’s” instead of the “used to do’s,” you not only follow the example of Christ, you create a blueprint for the next generation. 

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ACCORDING TO FRED SMITH (1)

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson usually greeted Henry David Thoreau by asking, “What has become clearer since last we met?” The late Fred Smith liked to ask that question too. A lifelong friend of Billy Graham, Zig Ziglar and Ken Blanchard, Smith mentored a generation of leaders. But more importantly, he was the real deal at home. He believed the words: “Tell your children and grandchildren…the incredible things I am doing” (Ex 10:2). Fred’s daughter Brenda shares some Scriptures she learned from her dad. Let’s look at them:

 

“Love never fails”  (1 Co 13:8).  When Fred’s doctors said he was dying, Brenda said, “No, I’ll take him home and he’ll live.” She did, and he did. Many older people who die of “natural causes” actually die of loneliness. Love is still our healthiest environment; it’s God’s greatest gift to us, and ours to one another.

 

“Tribulation produces perseverance” (Ro 5:3).  Don’t miss the good in the bad. Trials can be negative or positive, depending on how you use them. Type A people expect life to run on their schedule, but tribulation has its own agenda and pace, and patience is the only antidote.  

 

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled” (Ro 12:11).  The director of big company confirms that engineers who retire without a plan to stay busy, often die within sixteen months. By not staying involved in life you are subconsciously giving yourself permission to die. Fred Smith’s philosophy was: you can’t let up, and keep up. Paul said, “As long as I’m alive…there is good work for me to do” (Ph 1:22). And there is for you too. 

 

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EZRA  1 – 4

WHO ARE YOU REALLY?

Do you worry that if people knew the “real” you, they wouldn’t like you? Or that if you let down your guard you’d be left twisting in the wind? If you grew up in the 60′s, you may remember the song “Eleanor Rigby.” It’s about the self-imposed isolation that comes from trying to blend in with the crowd. It talks about “the face that [we] keep in a jar by the door.” Trying to look “normal” every day can be exhausting. The Bible says Jesus “laid aside his garments…to wash the disciples’ feet.” He was willing to become transparent and let them see who He really was. One author writes: “I must tell you–after playing football and spending hours in musty locker rooms–it’s much easier to undress when others are undressing, than it is to walk into an executive boardroom and disrobe. This would be true even if the room was filled with the same men you work out with. It’s not who they are, it’s that your comfort zone is destroyed when you feel like you’re the only one who’s naked. Jesus taught a powerful lesson. He rose from supper and began to disrobe in front of men who were still fully clothed. Our problem is…we don’t want to be seen as the only one with problems and needs. But fear of being different can lock you in a prison of pretense. Jesus took a step few would dare to. He laid aside His garments (image) before those He’d labored to inspire. Real ministry starts the moment we stop trying to impress each other and say, ‘This is who I really am!’”

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After losing everything he held dear, Job looked back and longed for the days when God’s friendship “graced [his] home…[his] children were…around…[and] everything was going [his] way” (Job 29:4-6). Maybe you can remember days like that in your own life. We’ve been conditioned to think of friendship in terms of the benefits it confers, but being God’s friend comes at a price. As Rebecca Barlow Jordan points out, it “costs…time, selflessness, thoughtfulness…absolute trust–and very often suffering. Those who are intimately close, feel the hurts and joys of the ones they love more than anyone else…True intimacy means a death to our own selfish desires.” Abraham was called God’s friend, but the friendship came at a price. We read, “[Abraham] believed God” (Ge 15:6) when He asked him to leave his home, set aside any preconceived notions of how his life would go and move to a strange land. At ninety-three, “[Abraham] believed God” would still make good on His promise of a son and heir. Then Isaac was born and God upped the ante by asking his “friend” to make the supreme sacrifice: to do something He demanded from nobody else in Scripture…except Himself. The Bible says: “By faith Abraham…offered Isaac as a sacrifice…even though God had said…’through Isaac…your offspring will be reckoned” (Heb 11:17-18). Then just as Abraham was preparing to plunged the knife, in an act foreshadowing the death of God’s Son, God honored Abraham’s faith and provided a substitute. When you decide to walk with Jesus, the One Who called us “friends,” the journey is rough at times, but His friendship will never fail you.  

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