Perfect Timing

I recently stayed at a motel that offers free breakfast. You never know exactly what that means, since the definition of “breakfast” differs from one motel to the next. I was pleased to find a nice selection of tasty options. My favorite was the do-it-yourself waffles. I usually hesitate to take on that kind of a project myself. My wife is so much better at that kind of thing. However, she was not available to help me, so I bravely read the directions on the waffle-maker and attempted to make my own breakfast.

The timer on the waffle-maker was set for two-and-a-half minutes. By following directions to the letter, I had a perfect waffle in two minutes and thirty seconds. If I had to decide on my own how long to cook it, the waffle may have been far from perfect. I might have impatiently taken it out too early, only to find it gooey and uncooked on the inside. If I had become distracted, say by pouring my coffee, I might have ended up with a burnt waffle. By trusting the timer, everything worked out fine.

Sometimes we find ourselves questioning God’s timing. We think that we aren’t ready for the opportunity that has presented itself. Or, more often, we wonder if God has forgotten about a need or desire that we have been praying about.

We need to trust God’s timing. A friend of mine used to say, “God is seldom early, but never late.” I have found this to be true. We may not understand God’s timing until later—perhaps not until eternity—but we must believe that he will ultimately accomplish what he intends to bring about. And he will do it in his perfect timing.

 

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Songs of Thanksgiving

“Every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong, so I’ll have to say “I love you” in a song.”—Jim Croce.

Have you ever noticed how you can say things in a song that you could never say otherwise? Music somehow enhances our ability to express ourselves, especially when deep emotions are involved.

It’s no wonder then, that the Bible places such a heavy emphasis on music and singing. This type of worship gives us a much-needed avenue for expressing our gratitude to God for the many ways he has blessed us. Remember this if you ever find yourself hoping that the song service will end soon!

“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.”—Psalm 147:7.

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Best Word

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling became such a popular author that for every word he wrote, his publishers paid him 10 shillings. When they heard about this, some college students, as a joke, sent him 10 shillings along with a letter asking him to send them his best word. Kipling wrote back, “Thanks!”

Perhaps the best word we have to give God is “Thanks!”

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”—Colossians 3:17.

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What Are You Supposed to Say?

A friend once brought her 4 sons to our house for Halloween. My wife and I invited these trick-or-treaters inside so we could comment on their costumes. The youngest, 3 years old, was dressed as a ghost.

When they were ready to leave, the mother wanted to make sure that her sons had thanked us for the candy, so she asked them, “What are you supposed to say?” The 3-year-old looked up at us and said, “Boo!”

Maybe we all need to be taught a little better how to say thanks. It often takes time and effort to develop a grateful heart. As we learn better to appreciate the many blessings that we have in Jesus Christ, hopefully we will become better at expressing our gratitude to our heavenly Father who loves us so much.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”—1 Thessalonians 5:18.

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Name Them One By One

A story is told about a minister who was visiting a leper colony. He was leading the worship, and there was time for one more congregational song. A woman who had kept her face turned away from the platform turned toward the worship leader, revealing a face that had been ravaged by leprosy. She raised her stub of a hand and asked, “Can we sing “Count Your Blessings”?

Overcome by emotion, the minister fled the stage. He was followed by a fellow minister who tried to comfort him. “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again!”

“Oh, yes I will,” he responded, “but never the same way.”

Count your blessings today.

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Untarnished

Some people feel that the reputation of the entire university at Penn State has taken a huge hit because of the sex scandal that has recently unfolded. Several individuals have been charged with wrong-doing. Some would say that the sins of a few have given the whole university a black eye.

Others, however, disagree. Amy Fietlson, a 19-year-old sophomore at Penn State says, “I don’t think that our name is tarnished at all. The integrity of a few individuals who have been involved with this school is definitely tarnished, but for the rest of us that had no way of preventing it or had no involvement in it, we are not tarnished at all. Our integrity remains.”

In Revelation 3, Jesus sent a message for the church at Sardis. He chastised some of them and told them that they needed to repent and to spiritually “Wake up!” (v.2.). However, he goes on to say, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” (vv.4-5).

Some people who claim to follow Jesus behave in a devilish manner. Their sins do not stain the reputation of those who are living godly lives. The church, the sparkling bride of Christ, remains untarnished.

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Truly Thankful

Two men were walking across a field. They didn’t realize that there was a mean bull in that field. Soon the bull realized that the two men had invaded his territory. The huge beast, with its menacing horns, charged toward the men, who started running for their lives.

“You’d better start praying!” one man urged.

“I don’t know how!” the second man frantically responded.

“Did your mother pray when you were little?”

“Yes!”

“Then pray like she did!”

The frightened man prayed in a loud voice, “O Lord, for what we are about to receive, may we truly be thankful!”

We are receiving many wonderful blessings from our loving heavenly Father. May we truly be thankful!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…”—James 1:17.

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Centuries of Gratitude

Leroy Lawson

The following words are credited to Leroy Lawson.

The words are spoken, but they aren’t enough. Some other expression is needed, something more tangible. That’s where the meal comes in, and the congregating of loved ones, and the expending of all the energy devoted to making the day different from other days. You need to do, not just say your thanks. You need a celebration, a representative activity, to make it work. You are seeking a way to give thanks together, to commune.

So in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving together in a kind of national communion. And in the church, we celebrate sacred Communion, which is always thanks-giving.

Thus like Jesus, before drinking from the cup and eating of the bread, we say thanks. We use plain words, but they are overlaid with centuries of gratitude.

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Too Nice?

Billy Graham

My last blog was about how our society has changed its religious views since Billy Graham was in his prime. In searching for a picture of a young Billy Graham preaching, I wanted to show him holding the Bible with a pleasant look on his face and, I don’t know, maybe a halo around his head. I wanted him to look like Jesus, who was always smiling and never offended anybody.

However, many of those photos I found portray a more stern-looking Billy Graham than I like to remember. He often had a harsh look on his face, and even appeared to be angry about something.

How could this be? Is there a vast conspiracy out there, trying to make Billy Graham look bad? Or, is this the way he really looked when he preached those sermons that led to the salvation of countless thousands of people?

On second thought, maybe it is appropriate to have a serious look on your face when you are talking about how sin leads to the eternal destruction of people who aren’t saved. Perhaps a harsh expression is needed to go with some harsh words as we call for people to repent and leave their lives of sin in order to follow Christ.

Jesus actually did say some pretty offensive things occasionally. He once rebuked his friend Peter quite sternly (Matthew 16:23). Try reading Matthew 23 out loud sometime, just as you imagine Jesus might have said those stinging words.

Paul told Timothy to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Maybe we are too nice these days. Perhaps the biblical rebuke needs to make a comeback. Could there be any correlation between society’s downward spiral and our reluctance to tell the truth the way Billy Graham did a few decades ago?

Are we too nice? What do you think?

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Changing Religious Views

Billy Graham

A few years ago, I was too sick to preach on Sunday. It is the only time in 20 years of preaching that I have had to miss a Sunday morning sermon due to illness.

I wasn’t too sick to watch television, so I heard a few sermons that day. The one I remember best was an old recording of Billy Graham in his prime. The beloved evangelist clearly, boldly and passionately laid out the straight-forward gospel that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. This is the message that Graham has so consistently proclaimed for decades, and he is one of the most respected men in America.

Fast forward a few decades. Mr. Graham, now in his 90s, is enjoying retirement. His son, Franklin, has made his mark as a preacher also. However, Franklin Graham is not nearly as beloved as his father, even though he preaches the same gospel message—that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

As a matter of fact, Franklin Graham has been reviled by many for staying faithful to the truth. He has been called a homophobe and an intolerant bigot who hates Muslims.

Why do we see such different reactions to the same message? It’s because the religious views of our nation have changed drastically over the past few decades. Tolerance now trumps truth. Billy Graham is no longer the greatest individual spiritual influence in our nation. Perhaps that distinction now goes to Oprah (a scary thought)!

As our culture changes its view on religion, we have a choice to make. We can change along with it. Or we can determine to cling to the truth with all of our might.

Let’s cling to the truth!

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”—Acts 4:12.

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