LOST & FOUND: The Lord knows right where you are!

"But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate."

Luke 15:22-24

Alan Murphy, was devastated; while on vacation in the United States, Murphy lost his digital camera. That loss would cost him all of his vacation pictures from the trip. Disheartened, Murphy, an Irish insurance underwriter now living in Australia, returned home to Sydney.

However, on his 34th birthday, not quite two weeks later, he learned he would be getting the missing camera and the photos back. "I was over the moon," he says now.

At dusk on New Year's Eve[, 2007], Erika Gunderson got into a taxi in New York City and entered a digital-age mystery.

Sitting on the back seat was a nice Canon digital camera. Gunderson asked the driver which previous passenger might have left it, but the cabbie didn't seem to care.

Thus began the saga of several amateur sleuths determined to unite an unknown individual with a camera lost and found in NYC.

Together the friends spent hours culling the digital images stored in the camera's memory, looking for and following up on minuscule clues as to the camera's owner. Lead after lead was followed to a dead-end when one last look by the last of the detectives revealed the interior of a NYC business not far away.

That final effort would put the Canon back in the hands of its owner.

We were lost, but now we're found; no amateur detectives were needed however. No, the Most High God who created us has known where we were all along. We may be lost to eternal life but God has a light on for us to follow home. Praise Him!

Christianity, Illustrations,
Lost & found, Religion

DAYS OF NOAH II: In the wrong bed trying to look innocent!

"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all."

Luke 17:26-27

A several years ago, Reader’s Digest ran a splendid story which illustrates the similarity between our generation and that of Noah.

It seems a man brought two young dogs to town with him to get farm supplies; one was a German Shepherd, the other a Golden Labrador. He sternly told both dogs to remain in his pickup until he returned.

Later a woman came into the store and asked if anyone owned the dogs which were running in and out of the building next door. Shocked, the man hurried to his truck. When he arrived, he found his dogs faithfully sitting in the truck bed … of the wrong pickup!

Likewise, we're undone; we've no excuse; we're guilty! We shouldn't pretend innocence!

Our generation, the one preceding the Second Coming of the Son of Man, is no different than the one preceding the flood, and is almost identical to the generation just prior to the Son of Man's first coming!

Christianity, Illustrations,
Lasciviousness, Religion

DAYS OF NOAH: I am my father's son-in-law and my mother-in-law is my stepmother!

"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all."

Luke 17:26-27

The April 12, 1993, issue of Newsweek unknowingly reported the signs of the times.

Bill Wyman, of The Rolling Stones, married his son's wife's daughter, a woman 34 years his junior. Her mother married Wyman's son, Stephan, a man 16 years her junior. That makes Stephan his father's son-in-law and his mother-in-law his stepmother.

No wonder Jesus made this prophetic comment: “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man … .” Truly, those days are upon us!

Christianity, Illustrations,
Licentiousness, Religion

NEIGHBORS: Silent discrimination!

"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"

Luke 10:36

Listening to BreakPoint a couple of years ago, I heard Chuck Colson tell a story concerning the membership of a Florida church. Colson had been in the church when the pastor asked, “Do you remember the day the Brown family joined the church?” Many “amens” were heard among the people. The pastor continued, “Wasn’t that a great day for our church? (More amens.) He continued. “What with their financial support, their participation, and their children, it was a good day!”

Then he asked, “Do you remember the other person that joined our church that day?” No one could; they blankly looked at each another. “His name was (insert name)! He joined the same morning as the Browns. We all got busy and put the Browns to work. I visited them! They’ve even become close friends. But we lost track of young (insert name)!”

The pastor then held up a newspaper with a picture of someone on the front page. “This is what has happened to young (insert name); he was arrested for murder last Wednesday.”

The story of King David’s treatment of Mephibosheth is classic and useful for understanding the treatment of others. David set aside all that would differentiate himself from Saul’s only heir. It is imperative we notice Mephiboseth’s demeanor.

To those who humble themselves before Him, to those who acknowledge their Master’s sovereignty, and commit themselves to His rule, He returns their forfeited inheritance, restores their pedigree, and provides that they should dine at His table with Him, not as one to be pitied, but rather as a member of the King’s family!

Who are we then to decide that these are somehow unworthy of our time and attention?

Christianity, Illustrations,
Neighbors, Religion

PERSEVERANCE: Washing Your Car to Success

"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."

Luke 8:15

It was a strange place to have a motivational poster … the Men’s Room at a car wash; then again who’s surprised at anything these days. The message read: “PERSEVERANCE … never give up for that is the place the tide will turn.”

The message is clear: “Keep on trying, you can make it, don’t quit. Persevere in reaching for the things the world offers, they are available to any who will try hard enough.” And you can do this while you’re having your car washed.

On the other hand, God also calls us to persevere; we’re to do this after we have received His free washing. But Jesus has said the tide will not turn unless you are born-again; unless you come to Him as a little child.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Perseverance, Religion

VISION: Gentile Revolutionaries - vs. - Tub-thumpers!

"Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.'"

Luke 14:25-26 [25-35]

The 60s were noted for revolutionary hype; individuals and groups such as Angela Davis, The Chicago 7, Timothy Leary, and Yoko “Oh-no,” with their radical thought and behavior, seemed to dominate the day.

But for pure, undefiled, radical thought moved to action, no one could one-up Dick Fosbury in that tumultuous decade.

Fosbury, an Oregon State University student revolutionized track & field‘s high jump with a technique one writer called “at once simple and sublime.”

While the rest of the world was content to high-jump with a forward-facing straddle, called the "Western roll," Fosbury concluded a backward flop was better. He unveiled his radical technique at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Unfortunately, a black-gloved, black-power statement from the winner’s platform by two American athletes overshadowed his unveiling.

From a sweeping arc approach, the jumper propels his shoulders over the bar first, left followed by right … the rest follows — back, rump, calves, Nikes.

It didn't take long for the "Fosbury Flop" to revolutionize the high jump. The reasons for its abrupt success were simple: less of the jumper's body was exposed to the bar.

By flopping in a vertical line, a jumper limited the absolute length of bar cleared, a claim the straddle or scissors methods could not make. Arching the back after the shoulders cleared at a point on the bar improved a jumper’s odds of success, compared with the traditional stretching out horizontally over the length of the bar.

The flop also allowed jumpers to generate more approach speed, this made the high jump a much more watchable and dramatic event.

Fosbury was a true revolutionary in the 1960s, one who left something for others rather than one who took something away from others.

[Adapted from FOXSports.com’s “the Forgotten Century” in “Flopping into history Dick Fosbury revolutionized high jump with technique that was simple and sublime” by John Crumpacker; Dec 10, 1999; Copyright (C) 1999 Pro Sports Xchange via News Digital Media, d/b/a FOXSports.com.]

In Merriam-Webster’s dictionary it says one who is a vociferous supporter (as in a cause) is a “tub-thumper.” They give the following as an example of its usage:

Aunt Lucille was a tub-thumper for temperance who never passed up an opportunity to sermonize fervently on the evils of the “demon drink” and the virtues of abstinence.

Now Dick Fosbury was not a tub-thumper. I was there! I remember very well his efforts to introduce his revolutionary “flop.” I also remember the celebrity, sports commentators who criticized the flop and Fosbury. I remember more than one “expert” saying, “Give it a couple of years and it will be a vague memory. It's so silly, who will want to do it?”

I was also at San Jose State (College in those days) when Tommy Smith and the other black runner represented our school at the Olympics in Mexico City. And I was there in front of my TV when the evening news showed their pictures, gloved fists raised in the air, heads bowed. In the best sense of the term, they were not tub-thumpers either.

I met Tommy Smith and remember Dick Fosbury, they were both gentle and soft-spoken young men. They were not obnoxious or even annoying in their zeal for what they believed in, they were simply revolutionaries. In many ways they had the paradoxical brick-in-velvet characteristic of Jesus. They knew what they believed in and were willing to stand up and be counted whatever the cost.

Oh how the Bride of Christ needs men of such conviction today, not tub-thumpers … just gentle, committed revolutionaries. Like Luther, Calvin, Moody, Tyndale, Wesley, and many others.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion,Vision

END TIMES: The Really Big Bang!

"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed."

Luke 17:26-30

God has set an apocalyptic stick of dynamite on the horizon of mankind … He lit the fuse in ages past. On the one hand, the closer we get to the end, the better defined is the bomb. On the other hand, the closer we get, the shorter the fuse.

Scientists have it all wrong with their “big bang” theory; it wasn’t at the beginning, it was at the end.

God desires that man will do something for himself and for his fellow man, before the fuse is consumed and the spark enters the explosive. But Jesus has warned that, just as in the days of Noah, the pride of man will not allow them to catch on until it is too late.

The challenge for the contemporary believer is not (1) to become enamored with the titillating value of prophecy, nor (2) to become discouraged by the depressing quality of end-times truth, but (3) to wait patiently, watch eagerly, and work faithfully until the end comes.

I think what bothers me most is that far too many people seem to be waiting and watching but not working … they seem to be following the spark on the fuse rather than hurrying ahead to rescue the perishing.

You see, there are two sides to Noah’s warning: first, the warning that it will be as it was in the days of Noah, when He comes again; second, the warning that we’re not to be like those in Noah’s day, going on as if there was no tomorrow.

Christianity, Eschatology,
Illustrations, Religion

HUMOR: Elephant Feeding!

"But Jesus called them unto him, saying, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God.'"

Luke 18:16 [ASV]

Three mischievous boys went to the zoo on a school outing. They decided to visit the elephant cage. It wasn’t too long before they were picked up by a zoo security officer for causing trouble.

The deputy hauled them off to zoo central for questioning. The supervisor in charge asked them to give their names and tell him what they were doing at the elephant compound.

The first boy innocently said, “My name's Gary, and I was just throwing peanuts to the elephants.”

The second added, "My name's Larry, and I was just helping Gary throw peanuts to the elephants."

The third boy, looking pale, said, My name's Peter.... but all my friends call me Peanuts.”

Children, Christianity,
Humor, Illustrations, Religion

HELL - No, not the one on earth!

ANOTHER GULF WAR! [Luke 16:19-31; Bosom of Abraham, Boundaries, Sheol, Signs]

In March of 1995, two American businessmen crossed the border between Iraq and Kuwait. Though they claimed they didn’t know the border was there … or that they might be arrested … they were arrested.

The border (the one they did not know about) was clearly marked by a continuous, uninterrupted ditch, ten feet deep and ten feet wide with a 15 foot berm on one side. Signs were also posted at several intervals, in several languages.

While stewing in an Iraqi prison, they pleaded for help from the outside. They implored those on the other side of the border they crossed to come to their aid. Help finally came; they were released and sent home.

Similarly, ignoring the gulf between himself and God, the rich man went about his business, disregarding the signs which clearly warned of the danger.

When the time came to pay the Piper, he claimed he didn’t know he could be imprisoned for all eternity, that it was a mistake that he hadn’t understood. He pleaded for assistance from the other side. And so, too, many will come on that same day, saying, “Lord! Lord!”


DEATH AND DARKNESS! [Luke 16:19-31; Other topics - Damnation, Darkness, Death, Eternity, Hopelessness, Perdition]

Carol Fuller was a 72-year-old grandmother living alone in West Hollywood in 1995. During a home invasion robbery she was locked in a closet, her home was ransacked and her car was stolen. All of this took place without anyone knowing. But the worst part followed.

Days later, investigators found her dead in the closet, her fingers worn literally to the bone, trying to claw her way out.

Sadly, Carol Fuller left this world experiencing much the same horror many will experience for the rest of eternity. Try as they might, claw as they might, they will only have death and darkness as their companion.

SANCTIFICATION - Our hand in His hand!

AIMING FOR THE CENTER OF HIS WILL! [Matthew 7:13,14; other topics - Walk, Way (The), Will (of God)]

In order to keep my car in the middle of the lane, I was taught (by a farmer) to “aim” the vehicle down the road.

The Christian walk is like that: God doesn’t want us veering to the right or the left; He wants us on the straight and narrow. Paul says we should focus on things above and in so doing we’ll keep right in the middle of His Way. For me the narrow gate figuratively represents “things above.”

Praise His holy name. (added 2/15/2006)


AIR SPEED! [James 4:4-10]

All winged aircraft have one thing in common, they must maintain air speed or they will go into a stall and nose-over. From time to time, our walk seems to nose-over, our forward progress being insufficient to sustain the "lift" needed. We must

1. be prepared for His presence
2. respond to his presence, and
3. experience His presence!

HEAVEN ON EARTH! [Various; Life (True), Heaven]

Heaven may be compared to the dining hall of a great king. Where, for now, we’re all outside his castle waiting to be let into the Great Hall. Everyone has received an invitation to come to the royal table and join in consuming his royal feast, only not all will accept his invitation. [Mark D. Roberts, After I Believe (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 19]

The interesting aspect is the Christian life this side of eternity future; its like the “Heavenly Cook [letting] us stick our fingers into the batter of heaven while it’s being prepared. The Christian Life happens not just in the future but right now.” (added 2/15/2006)


HUMAN BOOKCASES! [James 1:22-25; other topics - Knowledge; Word; Works]

When I was in elementary school I recall the big deal my mom and dad made over money, how tight it was. But then they bought a set of Collier’s Encyclopedias on an installment plan because they thought my sisters and I could use the knowledge.

The buyer received a complete set of books at the time of purchase, with updates coming every year. You also received a small doubled-shelved, wooden bookcase. It was designed specifically for the books.

I was about 22-years old when those books went for $10.00 at a yard sale. I don’t ever remember opening any of them; I don’t ever remember my sisters opening any of those books.

In fact, I don’t ever remember my mom or dad opening any of those books ... except the first couple of nights, to show us how they were full of facts and knowledge and other useless stuff.

Sadly, many Christians are like that little bookcase. They’re crammed full of information, facts and knowledge ... but it never gets applied.

Christianity is intended to be applied. Like those books filled with all that powerful knowledge, Christians whose heads are full of knowledge are useless, unless some of that learning seeps down into the heart, where knowledge gets applied.

MASTER BUILDER! [Romans 6:19]

A master shipbuilder steps out into his yard and looks around him. There are vast skeletons of ships in the process of completion; there are others nearing completion. But there is nothing in the scene to satisfy, nothing is as he envisions. The big hulls are at present good for nothing. A thousand hammers pounding a thousand rivets into place like a thousand woodpeckers from hell. The yard is strewn with scrap and jigs.

And a short distance is the public harbor, with its fancy and not so fancy boats, of every size and shape; and near it is the grave yard ... decaying, rotting, half-sunk craft ... abandoned and doomed to one day be taken away to a fiery pit.

Yet the owner stands content amid the imperfection. He never thinks of doubting the process he commands. In his mind he knows the ideal, the perfect ship, and he justifies these imperfect vessels by imputing to them that ideal.

God is like that master shipbuilder. The ideal servant exists in His mind. He has the Blueprint; man is jut the image of what is to be. When God looks at him He does not despair, because He knows what the Perfect Man is like and smiles at the thought of His Son.

Attribution: e-Sword Ministries' (2000+ Illustrations)

PARADOX OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH! [John 3:30; Discipleship, growth, humility]

Someone once said they knew when a believer was growing because:

1. he more and more elevated his Lord
2. he less and less spoke of himself and more and more spoke of his God, and
3. he became smaller and smaller in his own eyes … “until, like the morning star, he fades away before the rising sun.” [Bonar]

John the Baptizer understood this timeless truth when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

SPIRITUAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS! [Romans 1:18-20; other topics - Attributes (of God), creation, discipleship, nature, revelation, witnessing]

“Get ready! You’re going to have fewer excuses for getting lost on the road.” This sure sounds like it might be from a tract on the Roman Road, doesn’t it?

No, it isn’t! Actually it’s ad copy from an Internet advertisement for “on-board navigation systems” from the automobile industry. These “NAVS,” as they are called, use GPS (Global Positioning Satellite technology) to locate a position precisely; the same technology used recently by scientists to determine the exact height of the Washington Monument.

As model years pass, more new cars are being offered with onboard navigation systems, which help you map your route to important meetings, or to that favorite vacation spot near grandma’s, or to a restaurant whose address you’ve forgotten. NAVS can even help direct you to a local automated teller machine (ATM) or nearest hospital or your next job interview.

Now there’s no real excuse for getting lost, even if you’re one of those guys who refuses to ask for directions.

God has been far ahead of modern technology. In Romans 1:19 Paul says,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

God’s plan has always been to provide man with a spiritual navigation system. In fact, Paul clearly says just that. God has given mankind all they need to know to know where they are in relationship to Him: general and special revelation - not to mention the conscience, which the Holy Spirit uses to convict us and guide us.


THE LORD’S LEASH! [Luke 15:17a; Discipleship, discipline, obedience, submission (surrender)]

Recently, I took my dog for a walk just as I do every morning. When I leave the entrance of our housing development, I always look both ways to see who else is out walking their dog. A few are pests: both owners and dogs.

Up the block, I saw the man with the golf cart and his little grey poodle; both are regulars. I noticed his dog was off the leash again, so I crossed the street and walked the other way. When I reached Foothill Boulevard, two blocks away, I crossed to the other side and headed home.

That’s when I heard an anxious voice calling a dog. I looked up and saw this vicious, bloodthirsty, 9½ lb. grey speck burning rubber in my direction, a block away, his owner in hot pursuit. I tried to scare the little speck away but he made an end-run, stood up, danced over, put his paws on my dog’s face, and bit him on the forehead. Well, my dog, Buck, doesn’t like to be bit, but he likes boy dogs even less.

I was able to pull the little dog from Buck’s mouth before he swallowed but not before the little fur ball twisted and tore the back of my hand up. As bad as my hand was, what the poodle got for his efforts was much worse.

The moral: don’t covet being off the Lord’s leash or even at the end of his leash (Parents, pay special attention: don’t let your kids off their leash until you’re certain they have the spirit God wants for them.).

Moving farther away from your Master than your Master gives you leash is not wise at all: not only might you get hurt, or killed, but you’ll certainly bring pain and suffering to others. This latter point is worthy of emphasis.

Too often, we are lulled into seeing the Leash of the Lord as “for our benefit alone,” we rarely give thought to the benefits others reap from our being tethered. Consider that my dog was on a leash and we were both minding our own business, yet we were both bitten and I’m out over $100.

Also, consider the consequences to the owner of that little beast; he’s out over $600. And my dog? He’s real upset that I interrupted his meal. And Shadow (that’s the perpetrator’s name)? Well, he is just now able to face the great outdoors.

Look back, beloved, at all the time off the Lord’s Leash and witness the devastation of that time.


THE JOY OF THE JOURNEY! [Romans 6:19-22]

George, let’s call him George, was a very busy and very successful younger man. In fact, he had done so well that he decided to surprise his wife with a trip to Tahiti over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. On his lunch hour, he hurried to his agent’s office and picked up the tickets.

In early December George stopped at the dry cleaners on his way home to pick up his suits and was surprised when the manager handed him an envelop with two unused tickets to Tahiti. After he had purchased the tickets he had put them in his jacket pocket and immediately went back to his normal routine … he forgot the entire event.

Many people are just like George. They pray to God for forgiveness and promise to do better but immediately, they forget what they’ve done and return to their normal routine. Even some genuine believers accept a ticket to eternity, put it away, and never seem to experience the marvelous journey laid out before them.

The salvation event ought to be like the ideal marriage event, where two distinct and independent individuals agree to unite and journey through life together. Instead, far too many salvation experiences are like far too many marriages: the uniting occurs but the couple never experiences the journey’s joy, and often end in separation.

It is true that all we must do is “call upon the name of the Lord” [Romans 10:13], but God never intended the journey to end there, just as a marriage is not supposed to stop on the trip home from the honeymoon.


VOLCANO STEW!

On the isle of São Miguel, in the Azores, a powerful and popular dish, cozido, is prepared in an interesting way: mix beef, chicken, pork, sausages, and vegetables together in an aluminum-cooking utensil, place this in a cloth bag, bury it all in the ground near Lake Furnas, and let it steam naturally for approximately six hours.

The volcano Furnas created Lake Furnas when it erupted thousands of years ago; soil surrounding the lake can reach a temperature of 208 degrees Fahrenheit, providing villagers with an unique natural oven. [Adapted from National Geographic; cited in Reader’s Digest, “Notes From All Over, p.204, nd.]

God could have chosen another way to deal with rebirth, perhaps taking us up to glory immediately. For reasons He and He alone knows He decided to leave us where we were to prepare us according to His receipe and His time. Perfect in the end!

TAGS: Bible, Christianity, Illustrations, Sanctification, Sermons, Religion

SOWING: We're the field hands in the Harvest field of eternity.

FIRST SOW, THEN REAP [Galatians 6:6, 7]

A Wycliffe Bible Translators radio program in Peru is now supported by the tribe it sought to reach, the Huntington Beach, California-based ministry said.

A few years ago a U.S. visitor gave co-translators Pushpi and Yepo, members of the Huaylas Quechua tribe, money to use however they saw fit. They used it to air a weekly radio program in their native language, Quechua. The program, “Alli wallaqu i,” means “good news” and features Scripture reading. After airing the show for two months, Pushpi and Yepo began to say their good-byes to their audience because funding had nearly run out.

Letters, many containing contributions, began to pour in. One girl sold a sheep she had raised and donated the money. Other offerings and letters of appreciation continued to arrive. “This isn’t a program just for Catholics or just evangelicals,” one Quechua man wrote. “It teaches us God’s Word. It’s for everyone.”

A 10-year-old boy said his whole neighborhood listens because it helps them reflect on their lives and “re-teaches us according to God’s Word.” The program is fully supported by the Quechua people.

NOT BEFORE THEIR TIME: [Luke 8:4-8]

You ever garden? I love growing tomatoes - store tomatoes are just awful things, barely suitable for human consumption. I usually grow tomatoes from sprouts I buy at the nursery. Growing tomatoes from seed is a lot of hard work, particularly heirloom varieties, and unless you nurse them like your firstborn, most of your sprouts just won't survive. Often by the time you get good sprouts its too late in the season to get a good crop.

I think that is instructive about how we do church these days. We work so very hard to sprout 'em - but we lose so many of them. And those that try so desparately to grow never seem to find the soil to do it in, good sprouts often die for lack of being transplanted at the proper time. (added 30 March 2006)

HT: Blogotional