Jogger Shot in City Park

A while back I had some time off from my church responsibilities so I went with my wife to a conference she was attending. As she spent time during the day at her seminars and workshops, I explored every bookstore I could find and enjoyed the miles of walking trails that this city offered. When I told my wife what I had planned to do, she responded by reminding me to “…please be careful.” I smiled and playfully made a sarcastic remark. She smiled back and sincerely stated, “honey, I just want you to be safe.” One day then, after walking several miles, I stopped for lunch a nearby café. As I picked up the local paper, I got chills as I read the headline, ‘Jogger shot in city park.’ I instantly felt uneasy and vulnerable. Very quickly, my wife’s prophetic words echoed in my mind. I realized that she hadn’t been lecturing me, she simply wanted me to be safe in an unfamiliar place. I got the point! Ezekiel 34:23-31 speaks of things that will happen to ‘sheep’ who remain in the right pasture. They will have protection, provision, be blessed, be rescued, live in peace, and will be kept safe. None of these, however, are promised to those sheep who are enticed and wander away to reside in other pastures. In the unfamiliar places in our lives, let’s remember to do all we can to remain safe, alert and under the care of the right voices and the right shepherd.

The Unopened Door

A bride and groom spent their wedding night in the bridal suite of an elegant hotel. As usual, everything ran late and by the time they arrived, they were exhausted. Upon entering their luxurious suite, they were surprised to find only a sofa, some chairs and a table, but no bed. Fortunately, the sofa was a hide-a-bed, but like most it had saggy springs and a lumpy mattress. At that late hour, they were too tired to complain and thus spent a terrible night on a terrible excuse for a bed. Early the next morning, they marched down to the front desk and demanded an explanation for their dilemma. Listening calmly, the manager asked, "Did you open every door in the room?" After calming down themselves, they returned to their room and discovered that the door they assumed was a closet was, in fact, the way into a beautifully furnished bedroom, complete with a heart-shaped jacuzzi and complimentary flowers and chocolates. What they had desired was there all along, they simply had to choose to open the right door. The management had everything in place as promised, the couple just became too impatient and too demanding too quick. Let's be careful not to do the same with our Proprietor.

The Burning Hut

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed and prayed for God to rescue him, but to no avail. He eventually built a little hut to sleep in and to protect him from the elements. One day after he was out looking for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened! He was angry and in disbelief. Later that day, however, he saw a ship approaching the island, coming to rescue him. With excitement he splashed out into the water to meet his rescuers and shouted out "How’d you know I was here?" They replied, "We saw your smoke signal."

It’s easy to get discouraged when tragedy strikes. But never lose heart or hope. Remember this... The next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be the very thing that will rescue you! Scripture says, “Now, for a little while, you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Christ is revealed.” (I Peter 1:6-7)

The Full Meal Deal

Here’s a scene that many of us know very well. It’s around noon on Thanksgiving Day, and we’re eating our turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie. We get to that point where we decline any more
food because, instead of the turkey, we’re the ones who are stuffed. We put up our hand to our host and assuredly say, “I’m so full I probably won’t eat again until tomorrow.” But some of the leftovers often remain on the table during the afternoon, and before you know it you are grazing again. A few hours later you devour a turkey sandwich and just one more “small” piece of pie
with whipped topping. We’re reminded here that when we eat, we’re only temporarily full. Jesus shares with us how we can permanently be filled in a spiritual sense with him: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mt 5:6). In the context of this verse, to hunger means to have a starving spirit. It is having a desperate hunger for the things of God. It’s saying, “If I don’t have it, I can’t make it.” It indicates a deep hunger for all of righteousness and for all of what Christ has to offer, not just little tidbits. Are you hungry enough for the full meal deal?

3 Buckets and a Sponge

Look at your life as a sponge and imagine three buckets beside you. The first bucket is full of water and represents the living water of Christ. The second is one-quarter full of water, and the third is empty. As the sponge, you fully immerse yourself in the first bucket, the living water, and let it fill up every available space. Once full, you then squeeze and empty yourself into the second bucket, which obviously needs more water to become full. You repeat this process several times until the second bucket is full and now prepared to share its water. You then immerse yourself in the second bucket, and pour the water into bucket number three, which has an even greater need than the second bucket did. As this is repeated several times, bucket number three slowly becomes filled as well.How is it that all three buckets are now full? Little wonder that Jesus himself says, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Because Christ provides an eternal spring, the first bucket will never run out of water. You can immerse yourself in it again and again. Then buckets number two and three and four and five can be filled as well.

24 Mailboxes

Somewhere in my teen years it had seemed like a good idea to my friends and I to go out and demolish twenty-four mailboxes and have a blast doing it. It was fun, and we had the neighborhood bragging rights—until a dreaded phone call a few days later informing me that we “got caught.” After recovering from that horrible feeling of my heart sinking into my stomach and just sort of sitting there for several weeks, it was time to face the music. As I stood there and faced the judge, I fully realized that I was completely at his mercy. He had done his homework and knew a good bit about me. He asked me if I had been drinking and why in the world I would do such a thing. I assured him that I hadn’t been drinking and as to why, I said, “It just kind of happened.” After bracing myself for a lecture and the sentence, something magically and mercifully happened. He went on to share a story from his own youthful years about the time when he was walking out of a roller-skating rink and bashed out someone’s car lights with his skates. He said he wasn’t sure why he did it, but figured that it “just kind of happened.” He had determined that I wasn’t likely to be a lifelong criminal and gave me a reduced sentence that consisted primarily of going back to those I had wronged, paying for new mailboxes and agreeing that I would “sin no more.” Mercy is good, and the mercy flowed that day.

Flashlights

A large, old tree may naturally become weak and begin its descent toward the ground. Imagine the futility of seeing this tree begin to fall toward your house with you standing beneath it, yelling and shouting at it, attempting to redirect its landing spot by telling it precisely where it should come to rest. Sorry, but it will lie wherever it wants to, and you can’t do anything about it. Isn’t this so indicative of life? Good news comes and bad news comes just the same. Things happen and surprises occur without any help from us. We don’t know how and when these things will come, but only that they will indeed come. As we read verses like Ecclesiastes 11:2-4, the point is clear…If we wait around for perfect weather, the seeds will never be planted. If we wait for the perfect situation to give our 'bouquets of blessings,' we’ll probably never do it. As Christians, we are not called to make excuses. We can't be hearers only, but rather, actual doers of the word. Because Christ has not left us in the dark, our job then is to be a shining light into someone else’s darkness, all for the glory of God. Who do you know that's living in the dark? Shine on!