QUOTE FOR TODAY...with A BIBLE PASSAGE
“The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day...I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me, and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.” (Charles Swindoll, quoted in Richard G. Capen, Jr., Finish Strong: Living Your Faith in the Secular World and Inspiring Others in the Process, p.121)
"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, Who, though He was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross.
"Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the Name that is above every name..." (Philippians 2:5-9)
Many things happen to us in life. But each of us can choose how we react to the things that happen to us. Jesus chose to give Himself, no matter what. Because He did, He won eternity for all who trust Him with their lives (John 3:16).
Anybody who dares to follow Jesus is freed from worrying about his or her place in the world. Followers of Jesus are guaranteed a place with God now and forever. So, we're empowered to flush self-centeredness, to embrace God-centeredness, and to love our neighbor.
The love of Jesus Christ at the center of our lives enables us to live life with different attitudes. And these new attitudes can enable us to change our worlds, one person at a time.
Among the books I'm reading these days is John Powell's Happiness is an Inside Job. In one section, Powell remembers a column by humorist Art Buchwald titled, "My Friend, the Cabbie, and New York City."
Buchwald's friend was intent on changing the world, starting with New York. He decided to have a different attitude toward those around him and to give people as much praise and affirmation as possible.
After a particularly harrowing cab ride in which this man and Buchwald were passengers, Buchwald's friend told the driver, "You are one of the best drivers I have ever seen. If you had one more coat of paint on your car, you would have hit several of those other cars. But you missed them, and I want to congratulate you."
At first, the cabbie thought that Buchwald's friend was crazy. But when the friend said he meant what he said, the driver broke into a smile that may have lasted the whole day.
Christians have a real advantage in undertaking a program for changing the world like Buchwald's friend: Jesus has already changed our worlds.
He changes us from enemies to friends of God.
He changes us from listless people to people with purpose for living.
He changes us from sinners without hope to forgiven sinners with an eternity of hope.
Jesus is our strong foundation and from that foundation we can freely choose new attitudes of love, affirmation, and praise for the world around us.
Do I always live with this new attitude? No, the old sinful me is still alive. But I feel like a voting public following a November election in which they threw the old rascals out. I know that the old Mark is on his way out. Christ has given me a new me (Second Corinthians 5:17).
That's the way it is for all followers of Jesus. Prayerfully, we ask God to help us live with the attitudes and values of our new and better selves. Every time we do so, evil takes another hit and the lives of those around us are made a little better.
Consciously adopting this attitude, leaning on God to help us be our better selves, also changes us. Last night, my wife, daughter, and I saw Michael W. Smith perform. He sang his song, "Live the Life" which contains the line: "Every act of love will set you free."
I believe that. We need to surrender our lives to Christ and then live lives of surrender, starting with taking on the attitudes of loving servants.
That's God's plan for changing the world, really, and it's fun being part of it!
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
REFLECTIONS ON THE PROVERBS
(Comments on passages from the Old Testament book of Proverbs that have jumped out at me in my studies through the years.)
Proverbs 1:32-33:
For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.
These two verses give the promise of wisdom: those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.
Proverbs 2:3:
...if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding [then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God, v.5]
Here, we’re exhorted to ask for wisdom and understanding. James picks up on this in the New Testament. “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, Who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (James 1:5) God wants to give us the wisdom to understand Him and ourselves and our niches in life. But God will not force anything upon us. He gives us the freedom to ask or to ignore Him.
Proverbs 2:6:
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding...
God is the Author and Giver of wisdom. Receiving wisdom is intrinsically tied to the fear of the Lord (1:7).
Proverbs 3:1-2:
My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.
In the hubbub of life, it is so easy for me to forget God and His wisdom for my life. James talks about this too. “For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.” (James 1:23-25) Pray, soak up God’s Word, live it, go back to praying again. Without the twin disciplines of time with God and living what God teaches us, we too easily fall prey to our own covetousness and the evil around us.
(Comments on passages from the Old Testament book of Proverbs that have jumped out at me in my studies through the years.)
Proverbs 1:32-33:
For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.
These two verses give the promise of wisdom: those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.
Proverbs 2:3:
...if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding [then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God, v.5]
Here, we’re exhorted to ask for wisdom and understanding. James picks up on this in the New Testament. “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, Who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (James 1:5) God wants to give us the wisdom to understand Him and ourselves and our niches in life. But God will not force anything upon us. He gives us the freedom to ask or to ignore Him.
Proverbs 2:6:
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding...
God is the Author and Giver of wisdom. Receiving wisdom is intrinsically tied to the fear of the Lord (1:7).
Proverbs 3:1-2:
My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.
In the hubbub of life, it is so easy for me to forget God and His wisdom for my life. James talks about this too. “For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.” (James 1:23-25) Pray, soak up God’s Word, live it, go back to praying again. Without the twin disciplines of time with God and living what God teaches us, we too easily fall prey to our own covetousness and the evil around us.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe. If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic--there is only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong; but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others." (C.S. Lewis in his classic, Mere Christianity)
"I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe. If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic--there is only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong; but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others." (C.S. Lewis in his classic, Mere Christianity)
REFLECTIONS ON PROVERBS
Over the past several years, I've made a regular look at the Proverbs a part of my routine in life. These maxims, nuggets of wisdom given by God to the Old Testament King Solomon give all sorts of practical, uplifting guidance for the living of life. People like Billy Graham, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, church planter Steve Sjogren, and numerous leaders in business, politics, and the Arts have all made Proverbs an element of their daily lives. So, on a regular basis, I will present outstanding verses from the Proverbs here, along with my reflections on them. Here's the first installment...
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.
For learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young--Let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. (Proverbs 1:1-6, New Revised Standard Version)
Proverbs 1:1-6 This constitutes a “mission statement” for the book of Proverbs. It’s ambitious. I think it’s interesting that in verse 5 it says, “Let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill.” Nobody has ever fully “arrived.” There’s always more wisdom God can give to us.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
Proverbs 1:7 If the first six verses present the book’s mission statement, this verse gives its underlying premise. Awe, respect, reverence, fear for God is the beginning of true wisdom. Conceit, self-will, seeking “wisdom” for my own selfish purposes---all these things squeeze out God. We cannot be wise without a reverence for God, a recognition that God is God and we’re not.
Such is the end of all who are greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its possessors. (Proverbs 1:19)
Proverbs 1:19 Covetousness in the end, kills the coveter--either physically or in some other way in this life and most certainly in the life to come. Coveting is a “foundational sin,” one that leads to other sin--stealing, idolatry, adultery, murder. The words of Proverbs 1:10 offer simple advice, My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Resist temptation. Flee temptation. Depend on God.
Over the past several years, I've made a regular look at the Proverbs a part of my routine in life. These maxims, nuggets of wisdom given by God to the Old Testament King Solomon give all sorts of practical, uplifting guidance for the living of life. People like Billy Graham, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, church planter Steve Sjogren, and numerous leaders in business, politics, and the Arts have all made Proverbs an element of their daily lives. So, on a regular basis, I will present outstanding verses from the Proverbs here, along with my reflections on them. Here's the first installment...
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.
For learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young--Let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. (Proverbs 1:1-6, New Revised Standard Version)
Proverbs 1:1-6 This constitutes a “mission statement” for the book of Proverbs. It’s ambitious. I think it’s interesting that in verse 5 it says, “Let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill.” Nobody has ever fully “arrived.” There’s always more wisdom God can give to us.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
Proverbs 1:7 If the first six verses present the book’s mission statement, this verse gives its underlying premise. Awe, respect, reverence, fear for God is the beginning of true wisdom. Conceit, self-will, seeking “wisdom” for my own selfish purposes---all these things squeeze out God. We cannot be wise without a reverence for God, a recognition that God is God and we’re not.
Such is the end of all who are greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its possessors. (Proverbs 1:19)
Proverbs 1:19 Covetousness in the end, kills the coveter--either physically or in some other way in this life and most certainly in the life to come. Coveting is a “foundational sin,” one that leads to other sin--stealing, idolatry, adultery, murder. The words of Proverbs 1:10 offer simple advice, My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Resist temptation. Flee temptation. Depend on God.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
Changing Your World:
By Being a Witness
Mark 6:1-13 [continued]
Our Bible lesson for this morning finds Jesus sending His twelve closest followers out into the world to call people to turn to Him for life. Jesus does this at a very interesting juncture in His ministry. I suppose some might question His motivational methods. Right after the people of His hometown of Nazareth are so disbelieving that Jesus can’t get His message through to their hearts and because of their failure to trust Him, He’s unable to bring much healing to those in need, He calls His followers together. He tells them, “Okay, guys, it’s your turn. You get to be My witnesses.”
The disciples might have been as inclined to tune Jesus out as most contemporary Christ-followers are when the preacher reminds them that we’re all called to be witnesses. But Jesus bolstered the disciples’ confidence by giving them a strategy for witnessing. It’s a good strategy for you and me as well.
So, here’s Jesus’ five-part strategy for rescuing the dying people you and I encounter every day.
First: We need to make sure we have support. Jesus sent the disciples out in groups of two. Like police officers wading into challenging situations, when you make bold to share Christ, always have a buddy. As witnesses for Christ, at the very least, we need buddies who are supporting us in prayer. I want you to know that every day, I pray for you. I ask that God will help the people of our congregation to resist temptation and sin, to have our reputations protected, and to help us all be faithful in taking the opportunities we have to share Jesus with others.
Second: We need to remember that we go with Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. Jesus told the disciples that they had His power over the unclean spirits of the world. Elsewhere, He says that we have that same authority and that as His followers, we have the capacity to accomplish the same deeds He accomplished while He was on the earth...and more! One of the songs our kids sang for us last Sunday reminds us, “we don’t need excuses” when we are God’s hands and feet! We have Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. And you needn’t worry if you’re not an eloquent speaker. Saint Francis of Assisi was fond of saying, “Preach often and if necessary, use words.” When Jesus is at the center of our lives, He can use our whole lives to help others know Him.
Third: We need to depend on Jesus. Jesus told the disciples not to worry about taking a lot of props with them. One person walking faithfully with God can accomplish everything that God expects of them.
Fourth: Focus on one relationship at a time. I call this the no-flit rule. Jesus told the disciples that when they came to a new town, they were to go to one house and so long as those people welcomed them, to stick around. As it applies to us in our less peripatetic lifestyles, I think that means we’re not to give up on people. We’re to befriend them and pour the love of Jesus into their lives. Every one of us needs to be genuine friends to people who don’t know Christ and so long as they will have us in their lives, we’re to stay the course. We need to love them, support them, encourage them, and be there for them. If we can share Christ with one person and they come to faith, they in turn can pass Christ onto the next person. Jesus’ kingdom grows by just such simple addition and multiplication. We’re to befriend others and then introduce them to our best friend, Jesus. For many months now, I’ve been meeting regularly for Bible study with an unchurched man. I have no idea if it’s changing his life yet. But I am committed to continuing to meet with him. I owe that to Christ and to him.
Fifth: Don’t be discouraged when people reject your witness for Christ. It will happen. The first church office I had as a layperson was chairperson of the elders at our home congregation in Columbus. Part of my job was evangelism and the other part was rounding up the members who had quit coming to church. I decided that I would start visiting people, making appointments to see the lapsed church members and going door to door in the neighborhood near our home church’s building to invite them to worship with us. I had lots of doors shut in my face. And it wasn’t just the non-churchgoing folks who did that! Try to share Christ and you will get some people who reject you. Our Bible lesson shows us that even the folks in Jesus’ hometown turned their backs on Him! But like Jesus, we need to keep on keepin’ on. When people spurn us, Jesus says, we just shake off the dust and move on. There is a dying world in need of the only One Who can give it life: our best friend, Jesus! Good fishermen don’t worry about the ones who got away; they savor the ones they catch!
Babe Ruth once gave his strategy for success as a batter in baseball: “I keep swinging until I hit one.” As successful as Ruth was, he still missed getting on base about seven times out of every ten at bats. Our call as witnesses for Christ is to keep on making friends so that at least some of the time, we can connect the love and hope that only Jesus gives to people who need Him. Even if we sometimes fail at this central mission for our lives, we need to keep swinging. We need to be Christ’s witnesses. Nothing we can do with our lives is more important or more fulfilling!
By Being a Witness
Mark 6:1-13 [continued]
Our Bible lesson for this morning finds Jesus sending His twelve closest followers out into the world to call people to turn to Him for life. Jesus does this at a very interesting juncture in His ministry. I suppose some might question His motivational methods. Right after the people of His hometown of Nazareth are so disbelieving that Jesus can’t get His message through to their hearts and because of their failure to trust Him, He’s unable to bring much healing to those in need, He calls His followers together. He tells them, “Okay, guys, it’s your turn. You get to be My witnesses.”
The disciples might have been as inclined to tune Jesus out as most contemporary Christ-followers are when the preacher reminds them that we’re all called to be witnesses. But Jesus bolstered the disciples’ confidence by giving them a strategy for witnessing. It’s a good strategy for you and me as well.
So, here’s Jesus’ five-part strategy for rescuing the dying people you and I encounter every day.
First: We need to make sure we have support. Jesus sent the disciples out in groups of two. Like police officers wading into challenging situations, when you make bold to share Christ, always have a buddy. As witnesses for Christ, at the very least, we need buddies who are supporting us in prayer. I want you to know that every day, I pray for you. I ask that God will help the people of our congregation to resist temptation and sin, to have our reputations protected, and to help us all be faithful in taking the opportunities we have to share Jesus with others.
Second: We need to remember that we go with Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. Jesus told the disciples that they had His power over the unclean spirits of the world. Elsewhere, He says that we have that same authority and that as His followers, we have the capacity to accomplish the same deeds He accomplished while He was on the earth...and more! One of the songs our kids sang for us last Sunday reminds us, “we don’t need excuses” when we are God’s hands and feet! We have Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. And you needn’t worry if you’re not an eloquent speaker. Saint Francis of Assisi was fond of saying, “Preach often and if necessary, use words.” When Jesus is at the center of our lives, He can use our whole lives to help others know Him.
Third: We need to depend on Jesus. Jesus told the disciples not to worry about taking a lot of props with them. One person walking faithfully with God can accomplish everything that God expects of them.
Fourth: Focus on one relationship at a time. I call this the no-flit rule. Jesus told the disciples that when they came to a new town, they were to go to one house and so long as those people welcomed them, to stick around. As it applies to us in our less peripatetic lifestyles, I think that means we’re not to give up on people. We’re to befriend them and pour the love of Jesus into their lives. Every one of us needs to be genuine friends to people who don’t know Christ and so long as they will have us in their lives, we’re to stay the course. We need to love them, support them, encourage them, and be there for them. If we can share Christ with one person and they come to faith, they in turn can pass Christ onto the next person. Jesus’ kingdom grows by just such simple addition and multiplication. We’re to befriend others and then introduce them to our best friend, Jesus. For many months now, I’ve been meeting regularly for Bible study with an unchurched man. I have no idea if it’s changing his life yet. But I am committed to continuing to meet with him. I owe that to Christ and to him.
Fifth: Don’t be discouraged when people reject your witness for Christ. It will happen. The first church office I had as a layperson was chairperson of the elders at our home congregation in Columbus. Part of my job was evangelism and the other part was rounding up the members who had quit coming to church. I decided that I would start visiting people, making appointments to see the lapsed church members and going door to door in the neighborhood near our home church’s building to invite them to worship with us. I had lots of doors shut in my face. And it wasn’t just the non-churchgoing folks who did that! Try to share Christ and you will get some people who reject you. Our Bible lesson shows us that even the folks in Jesus’ hometown turned their backs on Him! But like Jesus, we need to keep on keepin’ on. When people spurn us, Jesus says, we just shake off the dust and move on. There is a dying world in need of the only One Who can give it life: our best friend, Jesus! Good fishermen don’t worry about the ones who got away; they savor the ones they catch!
Babe Ruth once gave his strategy for success as a batter in baseball: “I keep swinging until I hit one.” As successful as Ruth was, he still missed getting on base about seven times out of every ten at bats. Our call as witnesses for Christ is to keep on making friends so that at least some of the time, we can connect the love and hope that only Jesus gives to people who need Him. Even if we sometimes fail at this central mission for our lives, we need to keep swinging. We need to be Christ’s witnesses. Nothing we can do with our lives is more important or more fulfilling!
Changing Your World:
By Being a Witness
Mark 6:1-13
[Shared with the people of Friendship Church, July 6, 2003]
There’s a true story told of a Russian novelist whose hobby was catching and mounting butterflies. One day while out on an expedition, he spied a specie of butterfly not yet included in his collection. He caught it and came home to his wife, excited about his find. Then, as an afterthought, he mentioned that while out in the rough hills, he’d encountered a man who had fallen and was bleeding badly. “Did you help him?” the writer’s wife wondered. “No,” he said blankly, “I had to catch that butterfly.”
We hear stories like that and we shake our heads. We wonder how people can be so cruel and insensitive. Yet, when I examine my life with something approaching objectivity, I realize that I too can be cruel and insensitive. I sometimes wonder how often in my lifetime I’ve had the ability to give someone encouragement, hope, or life and have failed to do so. How many times have I been so hung up on my agenda that I have overlooked the people around me who have been laid low by life, who are dying in one way or another?
The Bible makes it clear that without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we human beings have no hope for this life or the next. Jesus came into this world to show the compassionate face of God to the whole human race. Although every person is born a slave of sin, Jesus can set us free. When we repent—that means to turn away from sin and turn toward Christ—we receive forgiveness for our sin. The wall that exists between us and the perfect God of the universe from the moment we’re born is torn down for us by Christ. When we trust Jesus as our only God and Savior, we become reconciled to God and we have life with Him forever.
And every person who has received the gifts of reconciliation with God and new life through Jesus Christ has a mission. We’re called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. It’s okay to spend time catching butterflies, or playing football, or writing poetry, or selling software, or installing plumbing, fixing cars, raising children, reading the latest Harry Potter book, savoring a pizza, or any of the millions and millions of other things we might do in the course of our days. But we’re not ever to be so focused on those things that we neglect our highest goal as human beings and our greatest task as followers of Jesus Christ: to rescue people who will die unless they know Jesus too. We are to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.
I know...just the phrase “witnesses for Jesus Christ’ conjures up images of high pressure zealots going door to door with literature or of sidewalk preachers yelling at people to repent. But being a witness for Christ doesn’t have to be a negative thing. A man I know is a successful businessperson and a committed follower of Christ. A co-worker of his had always spurned Christ and the Church. But as this co-worker observed the purposefulness and the joy of his believing colleague and how he seemed to maintain his balance and his hope even when bad things happened, he was impressed. When the co-worker’s life hit a terrible snag, he approached my friend and asked why Christ made such a difference in his life. My friend was able to say that while of course, neither he or his life were perfect, it was Jesus Christ Who made all the difference in his world. Through that man’s witness, that co-worker came to faith in Christ and his life has changed dramatically for the better. Witnesses for Christ are the ones who turn aside from catching butterflies in order to bring life to a world that is dying without Jesus!
[more to come below...]
By Being a Witness
Mark 6:1-13
[Shared with the people of Friendship Church, July 6, 2003]
There’s a true story told of a Russian novelist whose hobby was catching and mounting butterflies. One day while out on an expedition, he spied a specie of butterfly not yet included in his collection. He caught it and came home to his wife, excited about his find. Then, as an afterthought, he mentioned that while out in the rough hills, he’d encountered a man who had fallen and was bleeding badly. “Did you help him?” the writer’s wife wondered. “No,” he said blankly, “I had to catch that butterfly.”
We hear stories like that and we shake our heads. We wonder how people can be so cruel and insensitive. Yet, when I examine my life with something approaching objectivity, I realize that I too can be cruel and insensitive. I sometimes wonder how often in my lifetime I’ve had the ability to give someone encouragement, hope, or life and have failed to do so. How many times have I been so hung up on my agenda that I have overlooked the people around me who have been laid low by life, who are dying in one way or another?
The Bible makes it clear that without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we human beings have no hope for this life or the next. Jesus came into this world to show the compassionate face of God to the whole human race. Although every person is born a slave of sin, Jesus can set us free. When we repent—that means to turn away from sin and turn toward Christ—we receive forgiveness for our sin. The wall that exists between us and the perfect God of the universe from the moment we’re born is torn down for us by Christ. When we trust Jesus as our only God and Savior, we become reconciled to God and we have life with Him forever.
And every person who has received the gifts of reconciliation with God and new life through Jesus Christ has a mission. We’re called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. It’s okay to spend time catching butterflies, or playing football, or writing poetry, or selling software, or installing plumbing, fixing cars, raising children, reading the latest Harry Potter book, savoring a pizza, or any of the millions and millions of other things we might do in the course of our days. But we’re not ever to be so focused on those things that we neglect our highest goal as human beings and our greatest task as followers of Jesus Christ: to rescue people who will die unless they know Jesus too. We are to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.
I know...just the phrase “witnesses for Jesus Christ’ conjures up images of high pressure zealots going door to door with literature or of sidewalk preachers yelling at people to repent. But being a witness for Christ doesn’t have to be a negative thing. A man I know is a successful businessperson and a committed follower of Christ. A co-worker of his had always spurned Christ and the Church. But as this co-worker observed the purposefulness and the joy of his believing colleague and how he seemed to maintain his balance and his hope even when bad things happened, he was impressed. When the co-worker’s life hit a terrible snag, he approached my friend and asked why Christ made such a difference in his life. My friend was able to say that while of course, neither he or his life were perfect, it was Jesus Christ Who made all the difference in his world. Through that man’s witness, that co-worker came to faith in Christ and his life has changed dramatically for the better. Witnesses for Christ are the ones who turn aside from catching butterflies in order to bring life to a world that is dying without Jesus!
[more to come below...]
Saturday, July 05, 2003
ARE YOU WHO YOU WANT TO BE?...NEITHER AM I!
The latest CD release from Switchfoot, “The Beautiful Letdown” has a song in which lead singer Jon Foreman asks, “This is your life, are you who you want to be?”
Maybe it’s because I’m careening toward age fifty in November. Maybe it’s because my family and I are dealing with so many transitions in our lives right, but that question—”This is your life, are you who you want to be?”—smacked me in the forehead when I first heard it and made me ask, “Well, Mark, are you who you want to be?”
I have to say that the answer is Yes...and No.
Yes, I’m happy to be a husband to a patient, loving wife after nearly twenty-nine years of marriage. She’s had to endure my many faults and stupidities for us to achieve that landmark and I’m grateful.
Yes, I’m happy to be the father of two great kids of whom I am so proud.
Yes, I’m happy that God has given me useful work that I enjoy. I’m happy that the congregation I serve as pastor is doing well and that whenever people visit with us at Friendship, they say things like: “This is how religion is supposed to be.”
But no, I am not who I want to be. I get disgusted with myself. Although I know full well the truth of the bumper sticker author who wrote, “Christians aren’t perfect...just forgiven,” I find it vastly more difficult to forgive myself than God does. I can be embarrassingly selfish and incredibly inconsiderate of others, can say harsh things to my family, and in spite of how this little mea culpa may seem, I’m often quick to rationalize every wrong thing that I do.
My sense of disgust with myself extends to my achievements in life...or lack thereof. While I’ve experienced enough life to know that I don’t have the talent to be a modern day Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin, boyhood fantasies I once entertained, I do sometimes stew over dying of “permanent potential.” I know that all of life is a gift from God and that most of the time, I am prone to squander it on selfish, pointless pursuits.
According to the wonderful book, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” by John Ortberg, such thoughts can be dangerous unless we first take the step of putting ourselves in the hands of God. Failing that, self-critical thoughts will only lead us to self-loathing with no hope for healing or positive change. God doesn’t want that to happen to us!
When God came to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, the heart of God was on full display. Through Jesus, we see that God isn’t an angry judge looking for opportunities to “vote us off the island.” God wants us to place ourselves—sins, infirmities, and everything—into His hands. When we do that, God commits Himself to patiently helping us learn to become who both God and we want us to be.
A man named Paul wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament. He wrestled with the reality of his own sins and inadequacies, even attempting various self-improvement regimens. But he writes in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 7: “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something terribly different.”
Are you who you want to be? This side of heaven, none of us will be all we want to be. But Christ is the way to becoming that person, starting today and perfected in the world to come. Thank God!
The latest CD release from Switchfoot, “The Beautiful Letdown” has a song in which lead singer Jon Foreman asks, “This is your life, are you who you want to be?”
Maybe it’s because I’m careening toward age fifty in November. Maybe it’s because my family and I are dealing with so many transitions in our lives right, but that question—”This is your life, are you who you want to be?”—smacked me in the forehead when I first heard it and made me ask, “Well, Mark, are you who you want to be?”
I have to say that the answer is Yes...and No.
Yes, I’m happy to be a husband to a patient, loving wife after nearly twenty-nine years of marriage. She’s had to endure my many faults and stupidities for us to achieve that landmark and I’m grateful.
Yes, I’m happy to be the father of two great kids of whom I am so proud.
Yes, I’m happy that God has given me useful work that I enjoy. I’m happy that the congregation I serve as pastor is doing well and that whenever people visit with us at Friendship, they say things like: “This is how religion is supposed to be.”
But no, I am not who I want to be. I get disgusted with myself. Although I know full well the truth of the bumper sticker author who wrote, “Christians aren’t perfect...just forgiven,” I find it vastly more difficult to forgive myself than God does. I can be embarrassingly selfish and incredibly inconsiderate of others, can say harsh things to my family, and in spite of how this little mea culpa may seem, I’m often quick to rationalize every wrong thing that I do.
My sense of disgust with myself extends to my achievements in life...or lack thereof. While I’ve experienced enough life to know that I don’t have the talent to be a modern day Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin, boyhood fantasies I once entertained, I do sometimes stew over dying of “permanent potential.” I know that all of life is a gift from God and that most of the time, I am prone to squander it on selfish, pointless pursuits.
According to the wonderful book, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” by John Ortberg, such thoughts can be dangerous unless we first take the step of putting ourselves in the hands of God. Failing that, self-critical thoughts will only lead us to self-loathing with no hope for healing or positive change. God doesn’t want that to happen to us!
When God came to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, the heart of God was on full display. Through Jesus, we see that God isn’t an angry judge looking for opportunities to “vote us off the island.” God wants us to place ourselves—sins, infirmities, and everything—into His hands. When we do that, God commits Himself to patiently helping us learn to become who both God and we want us to be.
A man named Paul wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament. He wrestled with the reality of his own sins and inadequacies, even attempting various self-improvement regimens. But he writes in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 7: “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something terribly different.”
Are you who you want to be? This side of heaven, none of us will be all we want to be. But Christ is the way to becoming that person, starting today and perfected in the world to come. Thank God!
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Allowing redundance to be driven into the ground, once again, I post this announcement. If you're in the Columbus area tonight, don't miss this special show to help a family in need...
COMEDY CONCERT TO BENEFIT ARSON ATTACK CHILD SURVIVORS
Reynoldsburg, OH - On June 16th a home was set on fire by arsonists. The family of Five (5) was sleeping. This attack took the life of a mother (Pamela Lee) of 3 children and her 8 year old daughter, Ti'ana Lee. The home was destroyed. Left behind to rebuild their lives are an aunt and the two young sons of Ms. Lee, Tremon and Marquis.
On July 2, 2003 a group of area comedians will be performing a benefit concert at Three Cups Coffeehouse 7524 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg to establish a trust fund in their names for future education, career or business dreams.
Performing at this benefit will be area comedians...
Dan Swartwout
Dawn Holley
Roxane Larimore
Kirk Crawford
and Marty Daniels
The show begins at 7:00 PM. A financial donation will be taken at the door.
Those not able to make it to the show can contact Sally Mowery at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation by calling 614-422-3171 or emailing her at sally.mowery@chase.com.
COMEDY CONCERT TO BENEFIT ARSON ATTACK CHILD SURVIVORS
Reynoldsburg, OH - On June 16th a home was set on fire by arsonists. The family of Five (5) was sleeping. This attack took the life of a mother (Pamela Lee) of 3 children and her 8 year old daughter, Ti'ana Lee. The home was destroyed. Left behind to rebuild their lives are an aunt and the two young sons of Ms. Lee, Tremon and Marquis.
On July 2, 2003 a group of area comedians will be performing a benefit concert at Three Cups Coffeehouse 7524 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg to establish a trust fund in their names for future education, career or business dreams.
Performing at this benefit will be area comedians...
Dan Swartwout
Dawn Holley
Roxane Larimore
Kirk Crawford
and Marty Daniels
The show begins at 7:00 PM. A financial donation will be taken at the door.
Those not able to make it to the show can contact Sally Mowery at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation by calling 614-422-3171 or emailing her at sally.mowery@chase.com.
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Being redundant for web surfers in the Columbus area...
COMEDY CONCERT TO BENEFIT ARSON ATTACK CHILD SURVIVORS
Reynoldsburg, OH - On June 16th a home was set on fire by arsonists. The family of Five (5) was sleeping. This attack took the life of a mother (Pamela Lee) of 3 children and her 8 year old daughter, Ti'ana Lee. The home was destroyed. Left behind to rebuild their lives are an aunt and the two young sons of Ms. Lee, Tremon and Marquis.
On July 2, 2003 a group of area comedians will be performing a benefit concert at Three Cups Coffeehouse 7524 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg to establish a trust fund in their names for future education, career or business dreams.
Performing at this benefit will be area comedians...
Dan Swartwout
Dawn Holley
Roxane Larimore
Kirk Crawford
and Marty Daniels
The show begins at 7:00 PM. A financial donation will be taken at the door.
Those not able to make it to the show can contact Sally Mowery at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation by calling 614-422-3171 or emailing her at sally.mowery@chase.com.
COMEDY CONCERT TO BENEFIT ARSON ATTACK CHILD SURVIVORS
Reynoldsburg, OH - On June 16th a home was set on fire by arsonists. The family of Five (5) was sleeping. This attack took the life of a mother (Pamela Lee) of 3 children and her 8 year old daughter, Ti'ana Lee. The home was destroyed. Left behind to rebuild their lives are an aunt and the two young sons of Ms. Lee, Tremon and Marquis.
On July 2, 2003 a group of area comedians will be performing a benefit concert at Three Cups Coffeehouse 7524 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg to establish a trust fund in their names for future education, career or business dreams.
Performing at this benefit will be area comedians...
Dan Swartwout
Dawn Holley
Roxane Larimore
Kirk Crawford
and Marty Daniels
The show begins at 7:00 PM. A financial donation will be taken at the door.
Those not able to make it to the show can contact Sally Mowery at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation by calling 614-422-3171 or emailing her at sally.mowery@chase.com.
Today's e-mailed inspiration from Pastor Glen VanderKloot is something I just have to share on my blog. If you'd like to receive Glen's daily e-mails, write him at pastor@faithlutheran.com.
****************************************************
A Thought for the Day
10 things God wants you to remember
I will strengthen you.
I will answer you.
I will provide for you.
I will be with you.
I will give you rest.
I will bless you.
I will not fail you.
I believe in you.
I am for you.
I love you.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Bible Verse
1 John 3:1 NIV
"How great is the Love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!"
Prayer
Lord, help me to trust you and your love. Amen.
****************************************************
A Thought for the Day
10 things God wants you to remember
I will strengthen you.
I will answer you.
I will provide for you.
I will be with you.
I will give you rest.
I will bless you.
I will not fail you.
I believe in you.
I am for you.
I love you.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Bible Verse
1 John 3:1 NIV
"How great is the Love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!"
Prayer
Lord, help me to trust you and your love. Amen.
Monday, June 30, 2003
"People of the Lie"
A woman used to delight my family and me with tales from her life, usually chronicling her encounters with ridiculous people. In all of her stories, she was the sensible heroine, the last intelligent life form on the planet, doing battle with people who were either stupid or mean or both.
Charmed by this woman's intelligence, we at first took in her doses of megalomania with good humor. We all tend to flatter ourselves. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," the Bible reminds us. My nearly half-century on this planet has shown me that that's certainly true of me: I do sin and fall far short not only of the way God wants me to live, but even of the way I would like to live. An awareness of my huge imperfections tends to make me charitable toward others' foibles.
But as we became more acquainted with this person, something alarming happened. Her stories and her opinions about others became more cutting, nastier. Her world began to be composed of her and of whoever happened to be kissing her ring at any given time. It was a world that shrank to small dimensions. Those she once embraced as dear friends were dismissed if they got in the way of her agenda.
She also attempted to enlist others in lying for her, coaching them to fib about her whereabouts and availability for those she once called her best friends. When people refused to lie for her, they were crossed off her list of friends.
In fact, it became obvious that lying was this woman's way of life. The seemingly innocent stories that had at first charmed us took on a more sinister air. As increasingly we caught her lying and scheming to lie, we couldn't help but wonder, "What other lies that we once accepted as the truth has she told us?" Or, "What lies might she have told about us?"
Those were jolting questions.
All our interactions with people--whether with the meat-cutter at the supermarket, the co-worker on the assembly line, the pharmacist filling our prescription, or the employee at the day care center--depend on trust. That's why Jesus said that we shouldn't have to go through elaborate rituals to assure that what we say is the truth. "Let your answer simply be yes or no," Jesus said.
I suppose that all of us have lied. Sometimes we may even lie to protect people from being hurt and there may be virtue in that. But as a way of life, deceit is destructive of friendships and of societies.
Psychotherapist M. Scott Peck wrote a best-selling book several years ago called People of the Lie. In it, he asserted that there are people--some of them warming seats in church buildings on Sunday mornings, some considered the pillars of society--who are given over completely to evil. They are like the people Jesus excoriated in John 8, children of the devil who, when they lie, are simply speaking according to their natures.
My family and I have learned from painful personal experience that such people exist and that when we encounter them, the best thing to do is to walk the other way.
Charmed by this woman's intelligence, we at first took in her doses of megalomania with good humor. We all tend to flatter ourselves. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," the Bible reminds us. My nearly half-century on this planet has shown me that that's certainly true of me: I do sin and fall far short not only of the way God wants me to live, but even of the way I would like to live. An awareness of my huge imperfections tends to make me charitable toward others' foibles.
But as we became more acquainted with this person, something alarming happened. Her stories and her opinions about others became more cutting, nastier. Her world began to be composed of her and of whoever happened to be kissing her ring at any given time. It was a world that shrank to small dimensions. Those she once embraced as dear friends were dismissed if they got in the way of her agenda.
She also attempted to enlist others in lying for her, coaching them to fib about her whereabouts and availability for those she once called her best friends. When people refused to lie for her, they were crossed off her list of friends.
In fact, it became obvious that lying was this woman's way of life. The seemingly innocent stories that had at first charmed us took on a more sinister air. As increasingly we caught her lying and scheming to lie, we couldn't help but wonder, "What other lies that we once accepted as the truth has she told us?" Or, "What lies might she have told about us?"
Those were jolting questions.
All our interactions with people--whether with the meat-cutter at the supermarket, the co-worker on the assembly line, the pharmacist filling our prescription, or the employee at the day care center--depend on trust. That's why Jesus said that we shouldn't have to go through elaborate rituals to assure that what we say is the truth. "Let your answer simply be yes or no," Jesus said.
I suppose that all of us have lied. Sometimes we may even lie to protect people from being hurt and there may be virtue in that. But as a way of life, deceit is destructive of friendships and of societies.
Psychotherapist M. Scott Peck wrote a best-selling book several years ago called People of the Lie. In it, he asserted that there are people--some of them warming seats in church buildings on Sunday mornings, some considered the pillars of society--who are given over completely to evil. They are like the people Jesus excoriated in John 8, children of the devil who, when they lie, are simply speaking according to their natures.
My family and I have learned from painful personal experience that such people exist and that when we encounter them, the best thing to do is to walk the other way.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
And this from perennial favorite, Glen VanderKloot's daily e-mailed inspirations, OnLine with Faith, from several days ago:
****************************************************
A Thought for the Day
Is it disillusioning to have icons like Martha Stewart and Sammy Sosa
accused of wrongdoing? The truth is, all of us fall short of what we
should be. Sin is about missing the mark, and God says that all of us
shoot off-target more than we care to admit. (David Mains)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Bible Verse
Romans 3:23:
All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
(Contemporary English Version)
Prayer:
Lord, I know I fall short of your expectations. Forgive me and keep
me from judging others when they fall short. Amen.
****************************************************
A Thought for the Day
Is it disillusioning to have icons like Martha Stewart and Sammy Sosa
accused of wrongdoing? The truth is, all of us fall short of what we
should be. Sin is about missing the mark, and God says that all of us
shoot off-target more than we care to admit. (David Mains)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Bible Verse
Romans 3:23:
All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
(Contemporary English Version)
Prayer:
Lord, I know I fall short of your expectations. Forgive me and keep
me from judging others when they fall short. Amen.
For All You Romantics Out There
In his book, Happiness is an Inside Job, Loyola College professor John Powell writes:
"Of course, expectations have a lot to do with our happiness. It is one of those life lessons that is hardest to learn. To the extent that we think our happiness will come from outside things or even other persons, our dreams are destined for death. The true formula is, H=IJ. Happiness is an inside job.
"Most of us are hopeless romantics. And sadly, romantic hope does not die easily. We continue to dream our unreal dreams. We glorify reality with Technicolor expectations. We build castles in the sky. We keep thinking of life and happiness as a combination lock. Once we learn the right combination, we will have it made. But frustration will always overtake us as long as we put our happiness in the promise of things or in the hands of other humans.
"A few years ago a divorce lawyer submitted the opinion that most divorces result from romanticized expectations. Jack thinks that being married to Jill will be utter bliss. He calls her 'Angel' and 'Sweetie.' She is all he will ever need. He sings her the romantic lyrics of love songs. Then, shortly after the wedding bells have become an echo, the truth sets in: There are unpleasant moods, weight gains, burned dinners, hair curlers, occasional bad bread and body odors. He silently wonders how he ever got into this. He secretly thinks that she has deceived him. He had gambled his happiness on 'Angel Face' and has apparently lost.
"On the other side, before marriage Jill's heart beats a little faster whenever she thinks of Jack. It will be such heaven to be married to him. 'Just Jackie and me and baby make three...in my Blue Heaven.' Then there are cigarette ashes, his addiction to sports events on television, minor but painful insensitivities. Clothes are left lying only in chronological order. Her knight in shining armor has turned out to be a 'one-man slum.' The top of the toothpaste tube is missing. The doorknob he promised to fix still comes off in her hand. Jill cries a lot and starts looking up 'marriage counselors' in the yellow pages. Jack carried her off gallantly into the sunset. From then on it was all darkness.
"Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. Sixty-five percent of all second marriages end in the same traumatic sadness. Disillusion always seems to follow when we expect someone or something else to make us happy. Such expectations are a parade that always get rained on. The place called 'Camelot' and the person called 'Right' just don't exist. The anticipations always seem ecstatic, but they are soon swallowed up in the darkness and disappointment of night. Our mistake begins when we expect happiness. I once saw a cartoon of a huge woman standing over her diminutive, seated husband, demanding, 'Make me happy!' It was a cartoon. It was meant for laughter. It was a distortion of reality. That's why it was funny. No one can make us truly happy or truly unhappy." (pp.2-3, Happiness is an Inside Job)
And now, a few thoughts that Powell's words inspire in me...
The Bible warns that we have to be careful about being led by our hearts: "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse---who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Too many times, we allow our hearts to be in charge of our lives. In fact, we must take charge of our hearts.
Because the heart is devious, it's always pointing us to "shortcuts" to happiness. "If you'll spend your life with that person," you'll be happy, our hearts tell us. Or "If you buy that car...live in that neigborhood...take that job...join that health club..." Blah blah blah. These are all romantic delusions, bound to disappoint.
What we need is heart transplants...Change our hearts and our lives will change. We'll stop putting unrealistic expectations into every relationship and contentment and happiness will come as byproducts. I'm not always "there," contented and happy, but I am 90% of the time.
The key? The Psalms tell us: "Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). A transformed heart will not have delusional desires---although God will plant big dreams in the hearts of those who follow Him. A transformed heart will have as its object becoming all that God intended for us to become and following not where our heart leads, but where God leads. "[S]trive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness," Jesus says. (Matthew 6:33)
People whose hearts are transformed by putting God first in their lives also won't expect other human beings or things in their lives to deliver the happiness, contentment, and fulfillment that only God can give.
As to marriages and our relationships, they may be gifts from heaven, but they will also require work and sacrifice on our parts to maintain. Every person contemplating marriage or jumping off the "fidelity wagon" in order to take up with someone new ought to know that.
Here, the sage advice of noted romantic Paul McCartney, from his song, We Got Married, seems appropriate: "It's not just a loving machine, it doesn't work out if you don't work at it."
"Of course, expectations have a lot to do with our happiness. It is one of those life lessons that is hardest to learn. To the extent that we think our happiness will come from outside things or even other persons, our dreams are destined for death. The true formula is, H=IJ. Happiness is an inside job.
"Most of us are hopeless romantics. And sadly, romantic hope does not die easily. We continue to dream our unreal dreams. We glorify reality with Technicolor expectations. We build castles in the sky. We keep thinking of life and happiness as a combination lock. Once we learn the right combination, we will have it made. But frustration will always overtake us as long as we put our happiness in the promise of things or in the hands of other humans.
"A few years ago a divorce lawyer submitted the opinion that most divorces result from romanticized expectations. Jack thinks that being married to Jill will be utter bliss. He calls her 'Angel' and 'Sweetie.' She is all he will ever need. He sings her the romantic lyrics of love songs. Then, shortly after the wedding bells have become an echo, the truth sets in: There are unpleasant moods, weight gains, burned dinners, hair curlers, occasional bad bread and body odors. He silently wonders how he ever got into this. He secretly thinks that she has deceived him. He had gambled his happiness on 'Angel Face' and has apparently lost.
"On the other side, before marriage Jill's heart beats a little faster whenever she thinks of Jack. It will be such heaven to be married to him. 'Just Jackie and me and baby make three...in my Blue Heaven.' Then there are cigarette ashes, his addiction to sports events on television, minor but painful insensitivities. Clothes are left lying only in chronological order. Her knight in shining armor has turned out to be a 'one-man slum.' The top of the toothpaste tube is missing. The doorknob he promised to fix still comes off in her hand. Jill cries a lot and starts looking up 'marriage counselors' in the yellow pages. Jack carried her off gallantly into the sunset. From then on it was all darkness.
"Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. Sixty-five percent of all second marriages end in the same traumatic sadness. Disillusion always seems to follow when we expect someone or something else to make us happy. Such expectations are a parade that always get rained on. The place called 'Camelot' and the person called 'Right' just don't exist. The anticipations always seem ecstatic, but they are soon swallowed up in the darkness and disappointment of night. Our mistake begins when we expect happiness. I once saw a cartoon of a huge woman standing over her diminutive, seated husband, demanding, 'Make me happy!' It was a cartoon. It was meant for laughter. It was a distortion of reality. That's why it was funny. No one can make us truly happy or truly unhappy." (pp.2-3, Happiness is an Inside Job)
And now, a few thoughts that Powell's words inspire in me...
The Bible warns that we have to be careful about being led by our hearts: "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse---who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Too many times, we allow our hearts to be in charge of our lives. In fact, we must take charge of our hearts.
Because the heart is devious, it's always pointing us to "shortcuts" to happiness. "If you'll spend your life with that person," you'll be happy, our hearts tell us. Or "If you buy that car...live in that neigborhood...take that job...join that health club..." Blah blah blah. These are all romantic delusions, bound to disappoint.
What we need is heart transplants...Change our hearts and our lives will change. We'll stop putting unrealistic expectations into every relationship and contentment and happiness will come as byproducts. I'm not always "there," contented and happy, but I am 90% of the time.
The key? The Psalms tell us: "Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). A transformed heart will not have delusional desires---although God will plant big dreams in the hearts of those who follow Him. A transformed heart will have as its object becoming all that God intended for us to become and following not where our heart leads, but where God leads. "[S]trive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness," Jesus says. (Matthew 6:33)
People whose hearts are transformed by putting God first in their lives also won't expect other human beings or things in their lives to deliver the happiness, contentment, and fulfillment that only God can give.
As to marriages and our relationships, they may be gifts from heaven, but they will also require work and sacrifice on our parts to maintain. Every person contemplating marriage or jumping off the "fidelity wagon" in order to take up with someone new ought to know that.
Here, the sage advice of noted romantic Paul McCartney, from his song, We Got Married, seems appropriate: "It's not just a loving machine, it doesn't work out if you don't work at it."
Friday, June 27, 2003
Here's another thought from the daily e-mailed inspirations of Pastor Glen VanderKloot. Glen is pastor of Faith Lutheran Church of Springfield, Illinois. You can subscribe to OnLine with Faith, the name of these daily e-mails, by writing to Glen at pastor@faithlutheran.com...
****************************************************
Sometimes the roughest road may be the best way to get where you are going.
--Anonymous
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Bible Verse
Proverbs 3:6: Always let him [God] lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow. [Contemporary English Version]
Prayer:
Lord, give me the courage to keep going even when the way is difficult. Amen.
****************************************************
Sometimes the roughest road may be the best way to get where you are going.
--Anonymous
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Bible Verse
Proverbs 3:6: Always let him [God] lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow. [Contemporary English Version]
Prayer:
Lord, give me the courage to keep going even when the way is difficult. Amen.
Thursday, June 26, 2003
My son, Philip, shared this quote with me today. It's from Albert Schweitzer, the Nobel Peace Prize winning missionary-physician. I love it:
"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate."
Albert Schweitzer
When Jesus Christ is one's Lord, it makes the risk of sharing His kindness with others a less daunting thing. Confident of God's amazing grace, we can fearlessly share kindness with others!
"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate."
Albert Schweitzer
When Jesus Christ is one's Lord, it makes the risk of sharing His kindness with others a less daunting thing. Confident of God's amazing grace, we can fearlessly share kindness with others!
We're getting ready for an exciting weekend at the congregation I serve as pastor, Friendship Church. Here's why...
(1) Friday, June 27, from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M., we'll have our monthly 3N Party. This month brings a special wrinkle: Comedian Marty Daniels (my kid brother) will bring his stand-up insanity to the evening. He begins his performance at 8:00 P.M. Cost is one buck...You can't beat that with a stick!
(2) Saturday, June 28, beginning at 9:00 A.M., we'll have a Churchwide Rummage Sale. Friendship folks have rummaged through their closets, garages, kitchens, and dresser drawers for items that are usable but which they no longer need. Proceeds from the sale will support a cookoutreach later in the summer.
(3) Although I will be around throughout the weekend, our youth are leading worship on Sunday morning, beginning at 10:00 A.M. Tara Weyant, a senior at Indiana Wesleyan and one of our very own young people, will share the message.
All of this happens in our brand new building facilities at 1300 White Oak Road...and you are invited!
(1) Friday, June 27, from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M., we'll have our monthly 3N Party. This month brings a special wrinkle: Comedian Marty Daniels (my kid brother) will bring his stand-up insanity to the evening. He begins his performance at 8:00 P.M. Cost is one buck...You can't beat that with a stick!
(2) Saturday, June 28, beginning at 9:00 A.M., we'll have a Churchwide Rummage Sale. Friendship folks have rummaged through their closets, garages, kitchens, and dresser drawers for items that are usable but which they no longer need. Proceeds from the sale will support a cookoutreach later in the summer.
(3) Although I will be around throughout the weekend, our youth are leading worship on Sunday morning, beginning at 10:00 A.M. Tara Weyant, a senior at Indiana Wesleyan and one of our very own young people, will share the message.
All of this happens in our brand new building facilities at 1300 White Oak Road...and you are invited!
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Changing Your World through Faith
Mark 4:35-41
[Shared with the people of Friendship Church, June 22, 2003]
[The themes for the messages I’m sharing with the congregation I serve as pastor these days are suggested by materials provided by the staff of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minnesota]
I know a man whose mother was a professional worrier. One day when this man was a little boy, he was tired and decided to take a nap. (This is an absolutely true story.) While he was sleeping, a storm began. It was a loud one: thunder, lightning, torrents of water pouring from the sky. Mom was in a panic and had the little boy’s siblings in a panic too. “Where’s Todd?” one of the kids asked. “Todd is taking a nap,” another voice answered. Todd’s mom was appalled! So, she went and woke the sleeping boy up. “Todd,” she said in a reproachful tone, “how could you sleep through something so terrible?” “I was tired,” the yawning boy explained. To this day, Todd wonders what good it did for his mom to wake him up and invite him to panic along with the rest of the family.
Panic is a pointless way to react to life. Panic accomplishes nothing. If we want to change our worlds for the better—our own personal worlds and the world in which we live, panic won’t get us there. Nor will fear. But another force, a positive force incited by God within us, can help us change our worlds!
In our Bible lesson for this morning, we have a famous incident involving Jesus and His first disciples. To a point, it’s very much like what happened to Todd as a boy. Jesus has spent a long day teaching and knows that on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a lot of work awaits Him. Exhausted, He tells the disciples to set sail. Even today, the Sea of Galilee is subject to sudden, fierce storms. And that’s what happened during this trip. Our Bible lesson says that the storm was so ferocious that the boat in which Jesus and the disciples rode was being swamped. Most of Jesus’ first followers were familiar with these waters; they were fishermen who knew how awful a Galilean storm could be and presumably, should have been seasoned in handling what happened. The old pros were overwhelmed by this storm, though. They thought for sure they were going to die.
But Jesus was asleep. The disciples were as appalled as Todd’s mother had been. So, they did the same thing that worrying mom did: they woke Jesus up. I think they did that without any expectation that Jesus could do anything about the storm at all. Their low expectations show in their question of Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” “Jesus,” they’re saying, “how can you sleep at a time like this? Don’t you care that we—you included—may be drowned by this storm? Wake up and panic with us!”
Here’s where this true incident gets really interesting. Jesus yells at the wind and sea and says, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stops and the sea calms. Filled with awe, the disciples consider what they have just seen and wonder whether this teacher they’ve been following isn’t just a man, but also God. (That’s why they ask, “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey Him?”) But after calming the storm, Jesus turns to them and asks His own questions: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
What was Jesus saying in asking those questions? Was He saying that if you have faith in Him, you’ll have no storms in your life? Hardly! After all, Jesus was riding in the very boat being swamped by a storm. But maybe that’s the point: If you’re going to have storms in your life—whether they’re emotional, psychological, spiritual, relational, physical, whatever, it’s good to have Jesus along for the ride. He promises to do no less for those who believe in Him and follow Him. “I am with you always,” He tells us.
Nor does Jesus mean that He will make the storm go away always. He did at this particular time. But each and every one of us can name people—people who trusted Jesus with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength—who nonetheless found their lives swamped by the storms that can ravage any member of the human race. Yet, they pressed on and kept trusting Christ. A man I once knew had so many adversities and illnesses before he finally died that he might have been aptly called Job Junior after the Old Testament man who endured so much suffering. But he kept trusting in Christ. He faced everything with a calm I could hardly imagine. From him I learned the truth of that old saying that says, “Sometimes, Jesus calms the storms and sometimes, He just calms us.”
I think Jesus was saying this to His panic-stricken disciples: When we follow Christ, no matter how overwhelming our circumstances, we have all we need to face anything in life. We can even confront death and know that for always and ever, we belong to a God Who gives forgiveness of sin and everlasting life to all who trust in Jesus Christ above all things. Panic and fear in the face of life’s storms won’t help us change our worlds or to change the world around us. But faith in Jesus Christ can do just that!
But it’s fair for us to wonder, can faith really change the world? I believe that it can!
During World War Two, a young couple living in Poland found their world and all their dreams collapsing around them. The husband was sent to fight in the war and didn't return. As years passed, friends of the wife told her that she should proceed with her life because her husband had obviously been killed in battle.
But this young woman’s faith was so strong. God had convinced her that her husband would be returning. And God did bring her husband back. He had been a prisoner of war, but now he was home.
That wasn’t the end of that couple’s storms, though. They wanted to have children, but learned that they couldn’t do so biologically. So, the wife prayed that God would send them a child they could adopt. She promised God that if God would give them a child, they would raise the child to be God's servant.
One night the wife felt as though God were calling her to go outside. It was a cold night. When she looked down the street, she caught sight of a woman pushing a baby carriage. In it was a newborn baby. It turned out that this woman had many children at home and couldn’t afford another mouth to feed. She was on her way to an orphanage.
The wife was convinced that God had brought this little newborn to she and her husband! They adopted her and named her Jasia.
Jasia turned out to be a very intelligent little girl. Her parents raised her to know and follow Christ, but Poland was a Communist country. Atheism was official government policy. The Communist regime though, sought out bright young people like Jasia. The best opportunities came to young people involved with the Communist youth leagues. Jasia became a leader in these groups.
But her parents didn’t give up on their promise to God, though. They basically tricked Jasia into going to a Bible camp. In the midst of a Bible study, Jasia bolted from the camp and ran into the forest. What she heard overwhelmed her in a way reminiscent of the disciples’ reaction that day on the Sea of Galilee. Jasia came to see that she couldn't run from God anymore and offered her life to God to be God's servant.
Eventually, Jasia became a leader in the underground Christian church in Poland. Today she is the Director for Children's Ministry for the Lutheran Church in Poland.
Faith can change the world! Jasia’s parents’ faith changed her world. And through her faith in Christ, God continues to use Jasia change the world around her. She touches the lives of hundreds and thousands of children each year in the churches and camps of Poland.
I want to say a word to you parents today. For many of you, I know, helping your kids have a personal relationship of trust with Jesus Christ is the highest priority of your parenting. And it should be! But sometimes, our children reject faith in Christ. I want to offer you a word of encouragement. It may take years and years for your kids to embrace Jesus Christ. But if they’ve observed you closely and seen you following Christ, no matter how imperfectly you may feel that you have done so, you can be sure that the Good News—message of the great God of all loving us so much that He became one of us and died for us and rose for us to give us new lives—has gotten through in some way. Of course, all of us must decide for ourselves whether we will follow Jesus. But if you’ve shown your kids that Christ is real for you and if you have prayed for them and done your best, you can be at peace. It just may be that when a storm hits in the life of your rebellious child, they’ll remember your faithfulness and decide that they too, want to surrender to the love and grace of the God we know through Jesus Christ.
Faith can change our worlds. That starts to happen when we realize and live with a simple but powerful reality: Jesus Christ is bigger than all our storms!
[The true story of Jasia was told by one of the pastors at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minnesota, and was shared in that congregation's Thematic Worship toolkit.]
Mark 4:35-41
[Shared with the people of Friendship Church, June 22, 2003]
[The themes for the messages I’m sharing with the congregation I serve as pastor these days are suggested by materials provided by the staff of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minnesota]
I know a man whose mother was a professional worrier. One day when this man was a little boy, he was tired and decided to take a nap. (This is an absolutely true story.) While he was sleeping, a storm began. It was a loud one: thunder, lightning, torrents of water pouring from the sky. Mom was in a panic and had the little boy’s siblings in a panic too. “Where’s Todd?” one of the kids asked. “Todd is taking a nap,” another voice answered. Todd’s mom was appalled! So, she went and woke the sleeping boy up. “Todd,” she said in a reproachful tone, “how could you sleep through something so terrible?” “I was tired,” the yawning boy explained. To this day, Todd wonders what good it did for his mom to wake him up and invite him to panic along with the rest of the family.
Panic is a pointless way to react to life. Panic accomplishes nothing. If we want to change our worlds for the better—our own personal worlds and the world in which we live, panic won’t get us there. Nor will fear. But another force, a positive force incited by God within us, can help us change our worlds!
In our Bible lesson for this morning, we have a famous incident involving Jesus and His first disciples. To a point, it’s very much like what happened to Todd as a boy. Jesus has spent a long day teaching and knows that on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a lot of work awaits Him. Exhausted, He tells the disciples to set sail. Even today, the Sea of Galilee is subject to sudden, fierce storms. And that’s what happened during this trip. Our Bible lesson says that the storm was so ferocious that the boat in which Jesus and the disciples rode was being swamped. Most of Jesus’ first followers were familiar with these waters; they were fishermen who knew how awful a Galilean storm could be and presumably, should have been seasoned in handling what happened. The old pros were overwhelmed by this storm, though. They thought for sure they were going to die.
But Jesus was asleep. The disciples were as appalled as Todd’s mother had been. So, they did the same thing that worrying mom did: they woke Jesus up. I think they did that without any expectation that Jesus could do anything about the storm at all. Their low expectations show in their question of Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” “Jesus,” they’re saying, “how can you sleep at a time like this? Don’t you care that we—you included—may be drowned by this storm? Wake up and panic with us!”
Here’s where this true incident gets really interesting. Jesus yells at the wind and sea and says, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stops and the sea calms. Filled with awe, the disciples consider what they have just seen and wonder whether this teacher they’ve been following isn’t just a man, but also God. (That’s why they ask, “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey Him?”) But after calming the storm, Jesus turns to them and asks His own questions: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
What was Jesus saying in asking those questions? Was He saying that if you have faith in Him, you’ll have no storms in your life? Hardly! After all, Jesus was riding in the very boat being swamped by a storm. But maybe that’s the point: If you’re going to have storms in your life—whether they’re emotional, psychological, spiritual, relational, physical, whatever, it’s good to have Jesus along for the ride. He promises to do no less for those who believe in Him and follow Him. “I am with you always,” He tells us.
Nor does Jesus mean that He will make the storm go away always. He did at this particular time. But each and every one of us can name people—people who trusted Jesus with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength—who nonetheless found their lives swamped by the storms that can ravage any member of the human race. Yet, they pressed on and kept trusting Christ. A man I once knew had so many adversities and illnesses before he finally died that he might have been aptly called Job Junior after the Old Testament man who endured so much suffering. But he kept trusting in Christ. He faced everything with a calm I could hardly imagine. From him I learned the truth of that old saying that says, “Sometimes, Jesus calms the storms and sometimes, He just calms us.”
I think Jesus was saying this to His panic-stricken disciples: When we follow Christ, no matter how overwhelming our circumstances, we have all we need to face anything in life. We can even confront death and know that for always and ever, we belong to a God Who gives forgiveness of sin and everlasting life to all who trust in Jesus Christ above all things. Panic and fear in the face of life’s storms won’t help us change our worlds or to change the world around us. But faith in Jesus Christ can do just that!
But it’s fair for us to wonder, can faith really change the world? I believe that it can!
During World War Two, a young couple living in Poland found their world and all their dreams collapsing around them. The husband was sent to fight in the war and didn't return. As years passed, friends of the wife told her that she should proceed with her life because her husband had obviously been killed in battle.
But this young woman’s faith was so strong. God had convinced her that her husband would be returning. And God did bring her husband back. He had been a prisoner of war, but now he was home.
That wasn’t the end of that couple’s storms, though. They wanted to have children, but learned that they couldn’t do so biologically. So, the wife prayed that God would send them a child they could adopt. She promised God that if God would give them a child, they would raise the child to be God's servant.
One night the wife felt as though God were calling her to go outside. It was a cold night. When she looked down the street, she caught sight of a woman pushing a baby carriage. In it was a newborn baby. It turned out that this woman had many children at home and couldn’t afford another mouth to feed. She was on her way to an orphanage.
The wife was convinced that God had brought this little newborn to she and her husband! They adopted her and named her Jasia.
Jasia turned out to be a very intelligent little girl. Her parents raised her to know and follow Christ, but Poland was a Communist country. Atheism was official government policy. The Communist regime though, sought out bright young people like Jasia. The best opportunities came to young people involved with the Communist youth leagues. Jasia became a leader in these groups.
But her parents didn’t give up on their promise to God, though. They basically tricked Jasia into going to a Bible camp. In the midst of a Bible study, Jasia bolted from the camp and ran into the forest. What she heard overwhelmed her in a way reminiscent of the disciples’ reaction that day on the Sea of Galilee. Jasia came to see that she couldn't run from God anymore and offered her life to God to be God's servant.
Eventually, Jasia became a leader in the underground Christian church in Poland. Today she is the Director for Children's Ministry for the Lutheran Church in Poland.
Faith can change the world! Jasia’s parents’ faith changed her world. And through her faith in Christ, God continues to use Jasia change the world around her. She touches the lives of hundreds and thousands of children each year in the churches and camps of Poland.
I want to say a word to you parents today. For many of you, I know, helping your kids have a personal relationship of trust with Jesus Christ is the highest priority of your parenting. And it should be! But sometimes, our children reject faith in Christ. I want to offer you a word of encouragement. It may take years and years for your kids to embrace Jesus Christ. But if they’ve observed you closely and seen you following Christ, no matter how imperfectly you may feel that you have done so, you can be sure that the Good News—message of the great God of all loving us so much that He became one of us and died for us and rose for us to give us new lives—has gotten through in some way. Of course, all of us must decide for ourselves whether we will follow Jesus. But if you’ve shown your kids that Christ is real for you and if you have prayed for them and done your best, you can be at peace. It just may be that when a storm hits in the life of your rebellious child, they’ll remember your faithfulness and decide that they too, want to surrender to the love and grace of the God we know through Jesus Christ.
Faith can change our worlds. That starts to happen when we realize and live with a simple but powerful reality: Jesus Christ is bigger than all our storms!
[The true story of Jasia was told by one of the pastors at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minnesota, and was shared in that congregation's Thematic Worship toolkit.]
Monday, June 23, 2003
"At the risk of being redundant," he said, preparing to repeat himself, "here's an announcement I want to share with you again about an important upcoming event." If you're going to be in the Cincinnati area this coming Friday night, why not come and enjoy the show mentioned below?
PRESS RELEASE
[for immediate release]
Comedian Marty Daniels, developing a reputation for being "clean, smart, and funny," will perform on Friday night, June 27, in the building facilities Friendship Church, 1300 White Oak Road, just west of Amelia. Doors open at 7:00 P.M. and Daniels begins his performance at 8:00 P.M. Cost for the event is $1.00 per person.
A veteran of radio and the music industry, Daniels is wowing audiences with his fun perspectives on life. He manages to get laughs without resorting to profanity or sexual innuendo. What's particularly remarkable is that Daniels is gaining attention for his talent not within what some call "the Christian ghetto," but at mainstream comedy clubs, venues at which coarseness and profanity are often accepted practice.
Marty harnesses the madness of life in ways that leave corporate groups, marriage conferences, and comedy club patrons doubled over in laughter without the guilt. "Okay," the comedian says, "with half the guilt."
Daniels is, as he would put it, "the much younger brother" of Friendship Church's pastor, Mark Daniels. "I'm glad that we're able to present Marty to our community in this way," says Mark. "He's a genuinely funny man and I think it's good for people who may associate Christian faith with prune-faced legalism to know that when Christ makes you confident that God loves you, you're able to laugh...a lot."
For more information about the performance or for directions to the church building, contact the Friendship Church office at 513-752-5265. For more information about Marty Daniels' comedy, go to www.martydaniels.com.
And here's something else from Marty, this for people in the Columbus area...
COMEDY CONCERT TO BENEFIT ARSON ATTACK CHILD SURVIVORS
Reynoldsburg, OH - On June 16th a home was set on fire by arsonists. The family of Five (5) was sleeping. This attack took the life of a mother (Pamela Lee) of 3 children and her 8 year old daughter, Ti'ana Lee. The home was destroyed. Left behind to rebuild their lives are an aunt and the two young sons of Ms. Lee, Tremon and Marquis.
On July 2, 2003 a group of area comedians will be performing a benefit concert at Three Cups Coffeehouse 7524 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg to establish a trust fund in their names for future education, career or business dreams.
Performing at this benefit will be area comedians...
Dan Swartwout
Dawn Holley
Roxane Larimore
Kirk Crawford
and Marty Daniels
The show begins at 7:00 PM. A financial donation will be taken at the door.
Those not able to make it to the show can contact Sally Mowery at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation by calling 614-422-3171 or emailing her at sally.mowery@chase.com.
PRESS RELEASE
[for immediate release]
Comedian Marty Daniels, developing a reputation for being "clean, smart, and funny," will perform on Friday night, June 27, in the building facilities Friendship Church, 1300 White Oak Road, just west of Amelia. Doors open at 7:00 P.M. and Daniels begins his performance at 8:00 P.M. Cost for the event is $1.00 per person.
A veteran of radio and the music industry, Daniels is wowing audiences with his fun perspectives on life. He manages to get laughs without resorting to profanity or sexual innuendo. What's particularly remarkable is that Daniels is gaining attention for his talent not within what some call "the Christian ghetto," but at mainstream comedy clubs, venues at which coarseness and profanity are often accepted practice.
Marty harnesses the madness of life in ways that leave corporate groups, marriage conferences, and comedy club patrons doubled over in laughter without the guilt. "Okay," the comedian says, "with half the guilt."
Daniels is, as he would put it, "the much younger brother" of Friendship Church's pastor, Mark Daniels. "I'm glad that we're able to present Marty to our community in this way," says Mark. "He's a genuinely funny man and I think it's good for people who may associate Christian faith with prune-faced legalism to know that when Christ makes you confident that God loves you, you're able to laugh...a lot."
For more information about the performance or for directions to the church building, contact the Friendship Church office at 513-752-5265. For more information about Marty Daniels' comedy, go to www.martydaniels.com.
And here's something else from Marty, this for people in the Columbus area...
COMEDY CONCERT TO BENEFIT ARSON ATTACK CHILD SURVIVORS
Reynoldsburg, OH - On June 16th a home was set on fire by arsonists. The family of Five (5) was sleeping. This attack took the life of a mother (Pamela Lee) of 3 children and her 8 year old daughter, Ti'ana Lee. The home was destroyed. Left behind to rebuild their lives are an aunt and the two young sons of Ms. Lee, Tremon and Marquis.
On July 2, 2003 a group of area comedians will be performing a benefit concert at Three Cups Coffeehouse 7524 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg to establish a trust fund in their names for future education, career or business dreams.
Performing at this benefit will be area comedians...
Dan Swartwout
Dawn Holley
Roxane Larimore
Kirk Crawford
and Marty Daniels
The show begins at 7:00 PM. A financial donation will be taken at the door.
Those not able to make it to the show can contact Sally Mowery at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation by calling 614-422-3171 or emailing her at sally.mowery@chase.com.
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