New

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Mike Benson

THERE IS A certain convict that I have been corresponding with for several years down in Texas that recently got a “new” typewriter…
He had completely worn out the old one.
It was not very easy to correct his errors on the old machine and the letters he would type were full of typos most of the time. I was taken back by the cost of the new one…$110…quite a price to pay for anything in prison, and it was very elevating to my own soul to hear how joyful he was at being able to buy it.
I wrote him a letter and told him that every once in a while all of us need a little new in our lives.
Makes me wonder…
Why don’t we sweep out the old grudges from our lives, rip the pages of regret out of our life book, focus on how much good God has done for us, plant a seed of hopefulness in our neighbors, write a special memory on the wall paper of someone’s heart? Replace the fears of tomorrow with the good we can do today. Make a difference where we stand. Do the little things that matter. Hope more, love more, find new ways to serve, get out of ourselves and into the lives of others.
What stirs you? What is your passion? What makes you get up early, go to bed late, work harder, stay longer, risk more, cry less, laugh more? What if there was no way for you to lose? No way to be disappointed, no “on the other hand,” nothing but good consequences at the end of the day?
What if you could “buy” a dream, make a wish come true, be the person you’ve always known you could be? How hard would it be to put some “new” in your life by changing just one simple thing – your attitude?
What if we looked forward to helping others instead of considering it a chore, that’s right a chore, don’t think I’m the only one that ever had the thought, “I could be doing something I want to do instead of helping so and so.” I’m not. Neither are you.
What kind of “new” could you and I put in our lives that would give us the joy that this convict feels with a new typewriter? Could it be as simple as looking each day for someone to serve in some way even if it is small? Yep that would do it for me. I could get up for some “new” in my own life, a change in my attitude, an opportunity to serve others and the good part is those “others” are all around me.
I think perhaps we are so conflicted about what we should be doing and dont do that it makes us all start searching for something different or new to put joy in our lives whwen all along the “new” is simply to write on our own internal typewriters a “new name” to serach each day. I must do better. Ken Upchurch (Ken is a shepherd with the Kensington Woods church of Christ in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.)
KneEmail: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Bible reading for 01.22.10: Matthew 14:22-36; Exodus 4-6
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Conflict

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Mike Benson

IN HIS BOOK The Making of a Leader, Robert Clinton states that “conflict is a powerful tool in the hand of God and can be used to teach a leader lessons that he would not learn in any other way…”
For Clinton, conflict is a learning process that is crucial in the development of a leader within the church. He points out that “God will use conflict to point out areas of character needing modification, to point out or confirm areas of strength, or to point out areas of character entirely missing.”
KneEmail: 1 “Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.” Acts 6:1-2
Bible reading for 12.15.09: Revelation 6; Amos 1 – 3
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Attitude

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Mike Benson

VICTOR FRANKL COULD have been forgiven if he had displayed a bad attitude…
As a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, he was witness to some of the most indescribable horrors in human history.
How, then, did Frankl avoid the fate of pessimism and bitterness? He wrote: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way.”
Our attitude is a matter of choice? Few ever come to that realization. They merely take the mood that comes with the events of their day and act correspondingly. If someone cuts me off in traffic, I’ll be in a foul mood for awhile. If I get that promotion, I’ll be on top of the world. If not, stay out of my path!
What can a person do to test Frankl’s theory of choosing one’s attitude? Here are some ideas from one who was described as having a heart like God’s (Acts 13:22):
• Practice Praise: “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” said David in Psalm 34:3 (NKJV). When we take time to realize how much greater God is than the problems of our world, we’ll be encouraged. Life won’t seem so dismal to one who is a child of the Omnipotent Father!
• Try Thankfulness: In Psalm 103:2, David gave this admonition: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” After writing that, he listed some of his many blessings. It will work the same for us. When we count our blessings, we remember that God has not forgotten us. Every day his mercies toward us are rich.
• Break Out The Blinders: Hear David again in Psalm 101:3: “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” Is television filling our souls with discouraging images of problems or with scenes of wickedness? Would our attitudes improve if we spent time meditating on good, wholesome ideas and images (cf. Philippians 4:8)? “Garbage in, garbage out” was first applied to computers, but it also explains many a bad attitude.
Christians should demonstrate attitudes that are markedly different from those of the world. Jesus said so in John 15:11: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” Ask someone close to you: “Does my joy show?” If it doesn’t, it’s time to choose a better attitude – with God’s help. Tim Hall at http://www.forthright.net
KneEmail: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8
Bible reading for 12.04.09: 1 John 3; Ezekiel 47, 48
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Weary

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Mike Benson

THE WORST DEFEAT in a college football game came on October 7, 1916, when Georgia Tech played Cumberland College of Tennessee…
The final score was 222 to 0. The much smaller Cumberland players were mauled.
Cumberland had discontinued its football program before the season, but was not permitted to cancel its game against the Engineers. The fact that Cumberland’s baseball team had crushed Georgia Tech earlier that year 22-0 (amidst allegations that Cumberland used professional players) probably accounted for Georgia Tech coach John Heisman’s running up the score on the bulldogs.
Cumberland received the opening kickoff and failed to make a first down. After a punt, the Engineers scored on their first play. Cumberland then fumbled on their next play from scrimmage, and a Tech player returned it for another touchdown. The Bulldogs fumbled again the next time they had the ball, and Tech took two plays to score its third touchdown. Cumberland lost nine yard on its next possession, then gave up a fourth touchdown two plays later.
The Engineerss led 63-0 after the first quarter and 126-0 at halftime. Tech added 54 more points in the third quarter and 42 in the final period. Cumberland’s longest play during the game was a 10-yard pass (on 4th and 22). Tech scored on every one of its drives.
THOUGHT: Sometimes our situation seems hopeless. We’ve dropped the ball and we don’t feel like picking it up again and running with it. We’ve been knocked down time and time again, and we just want to quit the game. But what we feel like doing and what we should do are two different things.
KneEmail: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV
Bible reading for 10.07.09: Philippians 3; Isaiah 28, 29
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Humor

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Mike Benson

WHICH OF US is not guilty of cutting other people down just for the laughs…?
We enjoy our biting sarcasm and our abilities to ridicule, our stinging quips, our sharp put-downs. The best humor, of course, is joking at our own expense. But we pass up this healthful humor to be thought witty in our daily give-and-take banter. We miss opportunities to encourage others so we can build up our reputations for cleverness.
In an ironic and cynical age, all of us fall into patterns of insult and derision. Mocking the mighty above us or the miserable beneath us becomes a popular sport. With a wisecrack, we betray. Only a thorough sense of our own sinfulness keeps us from taking others too lightly and ourselves too seriously. Beware of the man who can’t laugh at himself. Howard E. Butt, Jr.
KneEmail: “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather give thanks.” Ephesians 5:4
Bible reading for 09.10.09: 2 Corinthians 3; Proverbs 8, 9
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Integrity

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Mike Benson

THE STORY IS told of a father who took his two boys one afternoon to play miniature golf…
The father walked up to the man at the ticket counter and said, “How much is it to get in?” The young man replied, “Three dollars for you and three dollars for any kid who is older than six. We let them in for free if they are six or younger. How old are your two?” The father replied, “This one is three and the other one is seven, so I owe you $6.00.”
The young man at the ticket counter said, “Hey mister, did you just win the lottery or something? You could have saved yourself three bucks if you would have told me that the older one was six; I wouldn’t have known the difference.”
The father replied, “Yes, that may be true, but the kids would have known the difference…” (Steve Higginbotham)
KneEmail: “The integrity of the upright will guide them…” Proverbs 11:3
Bible reading for 08.13.09: Romans 13; Psalms 87-88

Encourager

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Mike Benson

HAD IT NOT been for a confident and encouraging wife, Sofia, we might not have listed among the great names of literature the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne…
When Nathaniel, a heartbroken man, went home to tell his wife he was a failure and had been fired from his job in a customhouse, she surprised him with an exclamation of joy.
“Now,” she said triumphantly, “you can write your book!” “Yes,” replied the man, with sagging confidence, “and what shall we live on while I am writing it.” To his amazement, she opened a drawer and pulled out a substantial sum of money. “Where on earth did you get that?” he exclaimed. “I have always known you were a man of genius,” she told him. “I knew that someday you would write a masterpiece. So every week, out of the money you gave me for housekeeping, I saved a little bit. So here is enough to last us for one whole year.”
From her trust and confidence came one of the greatest novels of American literature, The Scarlet Letter.
THOUGHT: When most people who’ve achieved great things tell their stories, they mention those who encouraged him along the way. (David Jeremiah)
KneEmail: “Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.” Acts 11:22-24
Bible reading for 08.12.09: Romans 12; Psalms 84 – 86
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Garden

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Mike Benson

AS A MAN Thinketh by James Allen is arguably the best non-inspired book ever written on the power of thought…
Allen compared the mind to a garden and its owner to a master gardener. A good character is not the product of chance any more than a beautiful garden could happen by accident. Integrity is a natural result of continued effort in right thinking.
The overarching theme of As a Man Thinketh is that individuals control the development of their character through controlling their thoughts. At the very moment one chooses his thoughts, he also chooses his destiny. Allen’s garden analogy well-illustrates this cause and effect relationship. Just as plants come from seeds, actions grow from thoughts. The challenging part is getting the right seeds into the garden of the mind. Useless seeds find their way there all by themselves, but useful ones must be purposely planted. Good thoughts must be deliberately sown and carefully nurtured to produce the fruit of righteousness. Bad thoughts must be eradicated in the same way one removes weeds to preserve a well-kept garden. Good thoughts cannot produce bad acts and bad thoughts cannot produce good acgts. The law of sowing and reaping is as true in the mental and moral realm as it is in the plant world (Galatians 6:7-8). Holiness, like husbandry, requires planning, effort and diligence. (Aubry Johnson)
KneEmail: “Keep your heart will all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23; cf. Romans 12:2
Bible reading for 08.11.09: Romans 11:19-36; Psalms 81-83
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Bounce

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Mike Benson

GENERAL GEORGE PATTON argued, “Success is measured by how high you bounce when you’ve hit bottom…”
Simon Peter is a perfect illustration of this truth. He forsook his Lord and Friend in the garden. He even denied that he knew Jesus when identified by a young maiden around the fire. He hit bottom. However, he didn’t stay on the bottom. He bounced, and he bounced high. He would preach the gospel powerfully on Pentecost just a short time later (Acts 2). He would be a catalyst in the growth of the early church (Acts 3-12).
The question is not whether we are going to fail; but rather, how high we are going to bounce once we do. (Wade Webster)
KneEmail: “Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble’” (Matthew 26:33).
Bible reading for 08.03.09: Romans 6; Psalm 63 – 65
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Ally?

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Mike Benson

A CALIFORNIA SCHOOL system refuses to say what action, if any, it will take after it received complaints about a kindergarten teacher who encouraged her students to sign “pledge cards” in support of homosexuals…
During a celebration of National Ally Wee, Tara Miller, a teacher at the Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science in Hayward, California, passed out crds produced by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to her class of kindergartner.
The cards asked signers to be “an ally” and to pledge to “not use anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) language or slurs; intervene, when I feel I can, in situations where others are using anti-LGBT language or harassing other students and actively support safer school efforts.
THOUGHTS: 1) It was WRONG to indoctrinate these innocent hearts and minds by teaching them to endorse perversion. 2) We certainly would not want our children, or anyone for that matter, to speak unkindly of others. 3) Since God’s Word speaks against homosexual behavior, will we one day be held accountable by man for upholding and defending what it says? 4) Whom should we obey — God or man?
KneEmail: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
Recommended reading: http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/53-the-sexual-orientation-controversy
Bible reading for 07.23.09: Acts 24; Job 33, 34
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Category Archives: Character

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