Category Archives: Change

One

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I JUST SPENT $43.87 at the dollar store…
How could I spend so much money at a place where things cost only one dollar? I went in to buy paper cups and craft sticks for a church project and Spanish moss if they had any pretty gift bags.
Turns out the store had all of these things — and much more. Like this cool nail file that has green sparkly flowers on one side. Paper towels, sunglasses, a magazine that’s only slightly out-of-date. Chewing gum. I even found a darling yellow hat for my granddaughter. And this purple pill organizer that lets me put all my supplements for the week in one place.
Wait. I’m beginning to see how I could spend $43.87 at the dollar store. I did it one dollar at a time.
Little things tend to add up. A cookie here, some ice cream there — a pair of jeans that won’t zip. A week too busy for devotional reading, a day so crowded that there’s no time for exercise, an evening when one TV show turns into hours spent staring at the tube — then I wonder why I’m feeling sluggish, physically and spiritually.
But it works in a positive way too. One little act of kindness, one smile at a hassled clerk, one card sent to brighten someone’s day — and the world doesn’t seem as hostile, as hopeless. So here’s to little things. Well managed, they can have big results. Mary Lou Carney
KneEmail: “For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?” Genesis 30.30
Bible reading for 07.06.11: Acts 14; Job 32, 33
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Fish

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fish3.jpgA PAST ISSUE A of Action magazine caught my attention some time ago…
It carried an article about a gentleman from the Philippines by the name of Leopoldo Ducany.
One afternoon, Leopoldo’s wife had brought him a fish which she had purchased at the local market. She asked him to clean it in order that she might prepare it for supper. The meal-to-be was wrapped in a year-old newspaper. As he tore away the paper, Leopoldo noticed an ad for World Bible School. The ad prompted a response, and before long, he was regularly receiving Bible correspondence materials.
At the conclusion of the series of lessons, Leopoldo requested baptism and was added to the body of Christ (Acts 2:47; Galatians 3:27). He made this decision to follow the Lord despite the obvious anti-church sentiment held by Communist rebels in his region.
THOUGHT: I have a thought. If we can (a) reach a man on the other side of the world with (b) a year-old newspaper wrapped around a dead snapperfish, then (c) don’t you think we can reach our local communities with the saving message of Christ…? Mike Benson at http://www.forthright.net/fidelity/evangelism_a_fish_story.html
KneEmail: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19; cf. Acts 1:8).
Bible reading for 06.16.11: Acts 2.22-47; Nehemiah 4-6

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Degrees

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apolloNORMALLY, WITH NO phone or e-mail interruptions, I look forward to redeeming the time on a plane by writing, reading, or doing correspondence…
But after the battery on my computer ran out, and sitting next to someone for what seemed like forever, I finally struck up a conversation with my next-door neighbor. He was an engineer from the Houston area.
“Petroleum engineer?” I asked.
“No, I work for NASA,” he admitted.
And of course, for the next hour I’m sure that’s something he wished he hadn’t confessed. Like most people my age who grew up watching the build-up of manned space flight to Neil Armstrong leaving his footprints on the moon, I was an astronaut “wannabe” as a kid.
Here at last was my chance to talk to a genuine missle scientist and ask all my questions about space flight! He was patient and shared some incredible behind-the-scenes stories, including his role in the last Apollo space flight. But at one point I hit a nerve when I brought up what I thought was a simple “margin of error” question.
“What are the tolerances you build into the tragectory when you blast off and head to the moon?” I asked him. “For example, after you blast off, could you be just a little off, say like a couple of degrees off on your flight path, without it being such a huge problem?”
Out came his briefcase and his hybrid handheld calculator that would make a Texas Instruments T3000 blush and feel like a slide rule. In wnet the “very approximate” distance of 217,614 miles from earth to the moon (depending on the time of year and apoge of the moon’s orbit around the earth, of course). Fingers flew furiously for a few moments as some Einsteinian calculation continued.
“Be just two degrees off from when you blast off, and roughly talking into account the time and distance traveled,” he said as he turned his calculator toward me, “and you’ll miss not only your point of orbital entry, but you’ll miss the moon by a measly 11,121 miles.”
I wrote down that number on a torn off page of a USA Today that served as an impromptu notepad. “11,121.” I finally left my new NASA friend in peace, but I’ve never forgotten his conclusion or what it can tell us about the most important relationships and areas of our lives.
Add in enough time and distance, and be just two degrees off and you’ll miss your target by miles. I think that thought impacted me so much because it seemed to answer why and how the church of Ephesus had lost her first love. Just be two degrees off from a right heart attitude, add in enough time and distance, and an entire church can end up miles from God’s heart. John Trent, “How a 2 Degree Change Can Ruin or Renew Your Life,” HeartShift, 16-17
KneEmail: “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place–unless you repent.” Revelation 2.4-5
Bible reading for 06.13.11: John 21; Ezra 6-8
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Through

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grieving_woman2.jpgTHE KEY WORD is through…
God promises you will get through the waters of grief, the river of sorrow, the furnace of pain. Somehow you will get through. What you experience today will not last forever.
One encouragement here is God knows who you are. He is your Creator, and he calls you by name (Isaiah 43.1). You are His, and He will take care of His own. In time of sorrow you feel unimportant and unknown. God knows you, and you are important to him.
God also knows where you are. He knows when you’re fighting the current of the river of sorrow, when you’re walking through the firey furnace of suffering. Others may not know what you’re experiencing. One the outside you may have everyone believing you’re fine. But inside you’re about to drown. God knows — and He is there for you.
When Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the furance, the king watched (Daniel 3.22-26). And what he saw amazed him: the men were not harmed, and a fourth person was with them in the furnace.
God knows how you feel: alone, afraid, uncertain about the future, isolated, maybe rejected. God made you with your emotions, and he knows how they can overwhelm and control you. God will never condemn you for the way you feel. Tell him how it feels — He will listen.
God knows what you need. You need someone to share the pain, to walk through this long valley with you. He promises His presence. He also promises His love. God gave you His Son to conquer death and give hope.
Live on promises, not on explanations. Even if God explained by your loved one died, the answer wouldn’t end the heartbreak or quench the questions. Instead of explanations, God gives promises, which keep you moving ahead, giving hope and new strength.
You’ll get through your grief. It won’t end today or next month. But there is an end. Just face today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Don’t burn today’s energies on tomorrow’s problems that aren’t here yet.
You’re going to make it through. David W. Wiersbe, “Going Through,” Gone But Not Lost, 77-78
KneEmail: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43.2
Bible reading for 03.03.11: Mark 8.22-38; Numbers 28 – 30
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Change

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abuse2.jpgI CANNOT OVERSTATE how frightening it is to lose a sense of control or influence…
People will even chose to stay in familiar situations that they know are not working rather than face the ambiguity of the unknown. Many times, a battered wife will remain for years, even a lifetime, with a physically violent husband. Women have reported that, among other reasons, they have stayed with brutal husbands because breaking out of the relationship was even more frightening than the beatings. Even though the situation may be physically and emotionally abusive, such women have at least learned what to expect, and there is an odd comfort in being able to anticipate the future–even a negative future.
Before you discount the “battered-wife” syndrome as an unusual predicament that doesn’t reflect your situation, ask yourself when you last stayed in a bad situation longer that you should have. For most of us, the unknown is so terrifying that we will remain with what we have long after it is apparent that it is punishing to do so. Daryl Conner, “The Process of Change,” Managing at the Speed of Change, 89
KneEmail: 15 “When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” Genesis 19.15-16 (emphasis mine–mb)
Bible reading for 01.25.11: Matthew 16; Exodus 12, 13
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Illegal

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AMONG HOT-BUTTON political issues, illegal immigration certainly ranks toward the top…
I am not naive enough to think I have all the answers, nor am I interested in discussing the political aspects in this article.
I do find some interesting similarities, however, between this subject and a current controversy within the Lord’s body.
Some American citizens espouse an “open borders” policy. Most of them would modify their position to keep out narco-terrorists and others who would overtly harm us.
But short of that, they do not believe that anyone should be denied entrance into the country. They insist that illegal immigrants are hard-working, law-abiding folks, despite the fact that crossing the border illegally prevents any accurate application of the description “law-abiding.” Those advocating open borders paste the label “anti-immigrant” on fellow-citizens who oppose their view.
This reminds me of some of my brethren who insist that anyone with some sort of faith in Jesus is a brother or sister in Christ, a fellow-citizen of Messiah’s kingdom. They know better than to extend the right hand of Christian fellowship to atheists or others who would blatantly deny Christ. However, we are too narrow, intolerant, and exclusive, they complain, when we contend that only those who have believed and obeyed the gospel of Christ are actually to be recognized as Christians (Acts 2:37-38,47).
After all, some who have been sprinkled for baptism or prayed the sinner’s prayer for salvation, or have otherwise deviated from the pattern in the New Testament, are good, hard-working, devout people. They obey New Testament teaching in numerous other ways. Sometimes they might work harder than most who have obeyed the gospel.
Other Americans maintain that those wishing to become citizens must comply with the lawful process Just so, we find brethren within the church who, like myself, stand firmly on the proposition that one wishing to be a citizen in Messiah’s Kingdom must believe and obey the gospel of Christ (Acts 22:16).
We love and admire many good things about people in the denominational world. We do not wish to keep them from citizenship. Indeed, we fervently pray they will obey the gospel; we tearfully plead with them to do so without delay! (Acts 17:30).
But we have neither the desire nor the ability to modify the word of the Lord. We would be cruel, indeed, to pretend that someone is saved when, in fact, that person is still lost in sin.
Unlike becoming an American citizen, entrance into Messiah’s Kingdom involves no waiting in line, filling out endless paperwork, or obtaining approval from some bureaucrat. We can confess Christ this very moment and be immersed in water for the remission of your sins ( Romans 6:1-4). We will enter into a saved relationship with God, and the Lord will add us to His church. Joe Slater at: http://www.forthright.net/guest_writers/illegal_immigration.html
KneEmail: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:11
Bible reading for 09.22.10: Galatians 1; Ecclesiastes 10 – 12
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Miraculin

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amiracle.jpg “Miraculin…”
If you haven’t heard of it before, you’ll no doubt hear of it in the future. In fact, you will probably be invited to a “miraculin” party someday.
“Miraculin” or “miracle fruit” is a small berry that grows on a plant in West Africa that looks like a rhododendron. The technical name is the “Synsephalum dulcificum” plant. It looks somewhat like a cranberry, or when unripe a coffee bean, and has a slightly citrusy taste.
But the “miracle” about this “miracle fruit” is not what it tastes like. The miracle is what it makes everything else taste like. Hold the berry in your mouth for thirty seconds, chew it up but keep it on your tongue, and feel a kind of tingle. After swallowing the berry take a big bite of a lemon or lime or grapefruit. Instead of sour, those fruits taste incredibly sweet. For about an hour, which is about how long miraculin lasts, you can turn raw lemons into lemonade with no sugar. Your salami sandwich can taste like Sara Lee.
Or: Eat a miracle berry then toss down a big shot of vinegar. To your confused taste buds the vinegar tastes as sweet as Mountain Dew.
Oh, I forgot something. When the vinegar hits your throat it burns all the way down. The glycoprotein molecule called “miraculin” only binds to the tongue’s taste buds, fooling the receptors into identifying acids as “sweet.” Your throat still knows an acid when it feels one.
Now do you know why these berries, now in capsule form, are the new thing in parties?
If you bite into a big lemon wedge and instead of puckering you up it floods your mouth with super sweetness, it is not just your tongue that is confused. Your brain doesn’t get it either.
Thought: Many try to change the various “realities” of life, but there are some facts that all must come to grips with sooner or later. We are born, we life for a brief time, and then we die (Heb. 9:27). All will one day be judged for their lives by the everlasting God. We may not like reality, but the facts are the facts. Whether you ever try a miraculin berry or not, do not let the true realities of life escape you.
KneEmail: “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6
Bible reading for 09.14.10: 2 Corinthians 7; Proverbs 19-21
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