To Illustrate

Tolerance or Love

Which is harder? Tolerance says, “You must approve of what I do.” Love responds, “I must do something harder: I will love you, even when your behavior offends me.”

Tolerance says, “You must agree with me.” Love responds, “I must do something harder: I will tell you the truth, because I am convinced ‘the truth will set you free.'”

Tolerance says, “You must allow me to have my way.” Love responds, “I must do something harder: I will plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk.”

Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks. Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity. Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.

Josh McDowell in Focus on the Family Magazine (Aug 1999) Love for enemies, Truth, Unity) Romans 12:9-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Colossians 3:12-17

Can Anybody Hear Me?

Robert Kupferschmid, 81, had no flying experience. In an emergency, however, he learned quickly how to land a plane.

Kupferschmid and his 52-year-old pilot friend, Wesley Sickle, were flying from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana, in June 1998. During the flight, the pilot slumped over the controls. He was dead. The Cessna 172 single-engine plane began to nosedive and Kupferschmid grabbed the controls. He got on the radio and pleaded for help.

Nearby were two pilots who heard the call. Mount Comfort was the closest airport, and the two pilots gave Kupferschmid a steady stream of instructions, climbing, steering, and the scariest part, landing. The two experienced pilots circled the runway three times before this somewhat frantic and totally inexperienced pilot was ready to attempt the landing.

Emergency vehicles were called out for what seemed like an approaching disaster. Witnesses said the plane’s nose nudged the center line and bounced a few times before the tail hit the ground. The Cessna ended up in a patch of soggy grass next to the runway. Amazingly, Kupferschmid was not injured.

This pilot listened and followed those instructions as if his life depended on it—because it did. Imagine what would take place in the lives of believers if we listened to and obeyed the Word of God with the same earnestness.

Gregg Donnelly, Maple Plain, Minnesota. Hearing God’s voice, Obedience, Spiritual direction) Proverbs 8:32-34; Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 11:28; James 1:22-25

What One “Survivor” Couldn’t Live Without

Cast me not away from thy presence.

One of the castaways on the summer TV phenomenon “Survivor” was a 24-year-old youth ministries major from Seattle Pacific University. With 15 others marooned on a deserted island in Malaysia, Dirk Been wanted to be the lone survivor and winner of one million dollars. The “lone” part was the problem.

When advised that each contestant could bring one “luxury” item to the remote island in the South China Sea, Dirk took his Bible. “I couldn’t imagine not having my quiet time with the Lord for a single day, let alone 39,” he said.

Being forced to eat beetle larvae was not the most difficult ordeal Dirk faced. The hardest aspect of being stranded was having no one around who shared his beliefs. “The other members of the Tagi and Pagong tribes couldn’t understand where I was coming from.” Confronted by the rising tensions of tribal politics, and insufficient food and sleep, he said, “I didn’t have someone I could really open up to and pray with. The spiritual isolation was tortuous.”

But Dirk remembered the support of family and friends at home praying for him each day. The day before he left for the island, about 70 members of his church in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, gathered around him to pray for his health and safety. “It was awesome!” Dirk recalls. “And it didn’t end there. Even though I was alone and lonely as the sole Christian on the island, I felt the presence of the Lord in incredible ways.”

Greg Asimakoupoulos Naperville, Illinois (Church, Devotion, Fellowship, Solitude)Psalm 51:11; John 14:18, 26

Love’s Third Phase

After Philip Yancey and his wife reached their 25th wedding anniversary, he reflected on their experience:

Before marriage, each by instinct strives to be what the other wants. The young woman desires to look sexy and takes up interest in sports. The young man notices plants and flowers, and works at asking questions instead of just answering monosyllabically. After marriage, the process slows and somewhat reverses. Each insists on his or her rights. Each resists bending to the other’s will.

After years, though, the process may subtly begin to reverse again. I sense a new willingness to bend back toward what the other wants—maturely, this time, not out of a desire to catch a mate but out of a desire to please a man who has shared a quarter-century of life. I grieve for those couples who give up before reaching this stage.

Philip Yancey in Marriage Partnership (Winter 1999) (Control, Intimacy, Marriage, Unselfishness)Rom. 15:1-7; Eph. 5:21-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7

Hungry for God?

Six green beans sat on his daughter’s plate, untouched. Mike Benson says that sort of thing usually didn’t bother him, but that night it did. “Eat your green beans,” he told the eight-year-old.

“Dad, I’m full to the top.”

“You won’t pop,” he responded.

“Yes, I will pop!” she said.

“Risk it!” he said. “It will be okay.”

“Dad, I could not eat another bite.”

Mike knew they were having her favorite dessert, so he asked, “How would you like a double helping of pumpkin pie with two dollops of whipped cream on top?”

“That sounds great!” she responded as she pushed her plate back, ready for dessert.

“How can you have room for a double helping of pumpkin pie with two dollops of whipped cream, and not have room for six measly green beans?”

She stood up from her chair and pointing to one side of her belly said, “This is my vegetable stomach. Over here is my meat stomach. They are both full. Here (pointing to the other side) is my dessert stomach. It is empty. I am ready for dessert!”

What we eat reveals what we hunger for.

Phillip Gunter, Round Rock, Texas. (Spiritual hunger, Spiritual disciplines) Psalm 42:1; Jeremiah 29:13; John 6:26-27

Unexpected Rules for Life’s Race

It was a strange bicycle race. According to the story I read, the object of this race in India was to go the shortest distance possible within a specified time. At the start of the race, everyone cued up at the line. When the gun sounded all the bicycles, as best they could, stayed put. Racers were disqualified if they tipped over or one of their feet touched the ground. And so they would inch forward just enough to keep the bike balanced. When the time was up and another gun sounded, the person who had gone the farthest was the loser and the person closest to the starting line was the winner.

Imagine getting into that race and not understanding how the race works. When the race starts, you pedal as hard and fast as you possibly can. You’re out of breath. You’re sweating. You’re delighted because the other racers are back there at the starting line. You’re going to break the record. You think, This is fantastic. Don’t let up. Push harder and faster and longer and stronger.

At last you hear the gun that ends the race, and you are delighted because you are unquestionably the winner. Except you are unquestionably the loser because you misunderstood how the race is run.

Jesus gives us the rules to the eternal race of life. The finish line is painted on the other side of our deaths, right in front of the throne of God himself. There you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. The winning strategy for this life and for all eternity is caring about others and not about ourselves. It is letting others go first and not pushing to the front. It is giving without the expectation of getting in return. It is to be humble, like Jesus.

Leith Anderson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota from his sermon, “The Height of Humility” (9/12/99) (Kingdom of God, Rewards, Values)Matthew 5:1-12; Matthew 23:12; Philippians 2:1-11

Why It’s Called “Living in Sin”

More Americans are chosing cohabitation over marriage. Better than half of today’s newlyweds live together before tying the knot, compared to 10 percent in 1965. “Living in sin,” as it used to be called, was illegal in every state before 1970. Further research has found that while unmarried cohabitors have sex more often than married couples (once more per month), there’s also more cheating by both partners, as well as more domestic violence and more cases of depression. Some sociologists doing this research are urging young adults to reject the argument that cohabitation is good preparation for marriage.

U.S. News & World Report (3/13/00) Submitted by Jerry De Luca Montreal, Canada.(Marriage, Relationships, Sex, Immorality)1 Cor. 7:2,9; 1 Thes. 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4

Throw Out the Lifelines

From the TV game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” you’re familiar with the “lifelines” each contestant may use when uncertain about the answer to a question. They symbolize the way many people think about life’s ultimate questions.

50/50: Some people hope they will make it to heaven. They think they have at least a 50/50 chance. They’re trying to do enough good things to get in.

Phone a friend: Some people do what their friends do and think what their friends think, and are counting on their friends to be right about ultimate truth.

Ask the audience: Others accept the majority view. If New Age is in, they follow it. If 60 percent of the country rejects the Bible, they reject the Bible.

What’s your lifeline?

Gary Sinclair, Mahomet, Illinois. (Authority of Scripture, Salvation, Truth) Acts 4:12; Romans 3:9-26; 1 John 5:12

God Knows You

On hearing of the death of Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, creator of the comic strip “Shoe,” fellow cartoonist Walt Handelsman of The New Orleans Times-Picayune wrote:

“I once received a call from (editorial cartoonist) Mike Peters, complimenting me on a cartoon and saying that he and Jeff MacNelly had just been talking about how much they liked it. When I got off the phone I told my editor that that was the highlight of my career—just knowing that Jeff MacNelly knew who I was.”

It’s hard to explain, but to have someone great know who you are brings a sense of significance to life. God, the greatest One in the Universe, knows us by name. In fact, he knows everything about us. And he loves us.

from USA Today (6/9/00) (Fulfillment, Significance)Exodus 33:17; Psalm 139; Isaiah 45:3; Matthew 10:29-33

Knapsack Sacrifice

Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton headed an Antarctic expedition attempting to reach the South Pole in 1908. They came closer than any before but, 97 miles short of the pole, had to turn back.

In his diary Shackleton told of the time when their food supplies were exhausted save for one last ration of hardtack, a dried sort of biscuit, that was distributed to each man. Some of the men took snow, melted it, and made tea while consuming their biscuit. Others, however, stowed the hardtack in their food sacks, saving it for a last moment of hungry desperation.

The fire was built up, and weary, exhausted men climbed into their sleeping bags to face a restless sleep, tossing and turning. Shackleton said that he was almost asleep when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of his most trusted men sitting up in his bag and looking about to see if anyone was watching.

Shackleton’s heart sank within him as this man began to reach toward the food sack of the man next to him. Shackleton watched as the man opened the food sack and took his own hardtack and put it in the other man’s sack.

Harold J. Sala, Heroes (Promise, 1998)(Giving, Hunger, Integrity, Sacrifice)John 15:12-13

Playing Hurt

The star of our city’s NHL team was given unusual recognition by the local paper. The measure of this man’s stature as a hockey player was not his salary, number of goals scored, or minutes on the ice. Rather, the local sportswriter nominated him for greatness because of his ability to “play hurt.”

Consider the symptoms of this athlete after receiving a hard check in the first period of play in a recent hockey game: he couldn’t take a deep breath, he had bad bruises on his torso, and his shoulder and rib cage felt as though they had been through a meat grinder. His own description of his injuries made me cringe: “I couldn’t breathe. I was lucky my head didn’t land in the boards. I would have been dead, almost.”

He was finished for the rest of that game.

Now, consider the prognosis for this athlete: he was expected to return to the lineup after missing one game. Two, at most.

To athletes, playing hurt is a badge of honor, reflecting the measure of their inner drive. The team needs them. They have to compete in the event. The work has to go on.

That’s also true in life.

Gary Preston, Character Forged from Conflict (Bethany House, 1999) (Character, Pain, Perseverance, Victory)Romans 5:3-6; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 2:3; James 1:2-4

You Are Worth Far More

A speaker started his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. “Who would like this?” he asked. Hands went up throughout the audience.

“I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this.” He crumpled the bill. “Who still wants it?” The same hands went up in the air.

“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped the twenty and started to grind it into the carpet with his shoe. He picked it up, all wrinkled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Again, hands went into the air.

“You have all learned a valuable lesson,” the speaker said. “No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are priceless to him.”

Brett and Penny Kays Brownstown, Michigan. (God’s love, Human worth)John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Romans 8:32

Faith, the Healer

My daughter, suffering from anorexia and bulimia, was undergoing treatment at Baptist Medical Center. On one particularly difficult day she was told to drink a glass of milk, but just couldn’t. Her doctor was called in. He sat down beside her on the bed and said, “You are a Christian, correct?”

She answered yes. He said, “Do you remember the man Jesus healed near the pool of Siloam? Jesus put mud on his eyes to bring about his healing. But what really healed him?”

She thought for a moment and then answered, “His faith.”

“Good!” he said. “Now drink your mud.”

Steve T., Florence, Kansas (Faith, Healing, Prayer)John 9:1-7; James 5:13-16

10 Signs Life Is Out of Control

You know technology has taken over when:

1. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
2. You call your son’s beeper to let him know it’s time to eat. He e-mails you back from his bedroom, “What’s for dinner?”
3. Your daughter sells Girl Scout cookies via her Web site.
4. You chat several times a day with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven’t spoken with your next door neighbor yet this year.
5. Your grandmother clogs up your e-mail inbox asking you to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she can create a screen saver.
6. Your reason for not staying in touch with family is they do not have e-mail addresses.
7. You consider second-day air delivery painfully slow.
8. You hear most of your jokes via e-mail instead of in person.
9. You’re reading this.
10. Even worse, you’re going to forward it to someone else.

Source unknown (Communication, Family, Technology) 2 John 12

Unbelievably Good News

A missionary friend of mine serves in a restricted access country. For many years the government of this country has taught the people that there is no God. My friend had the opportunity to interact on a regular basis with a nonbeliever of that country who is a highly educated professional.

After developing a friendship with the professional, my friend had the opportunity to share the gospel story with him. My friend was taken aback by the man’s response: “What you have told me cannot be true. If it were true, it is such good news that someone would have told this to me before.”

Ken Taylor, New Orleans, Louisiana (Evangelism, Gospel, Great Commission)Psalm 22:25-31; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 1:16

For Want of a …

A bank worth $21 billion was disconnected from the Internet for failure to pay a $35 bill. The venerable Wall Street firm, J. P. Morgan & Company, found itself without a Web site or an e-mail connection to the outside world because it had failed to renew the registration of the domain name that serves as its address on the World Wide Web.

Throughout the day, clients were unable to visit the Web site or exchange e-mail messages with the firm’s bankers and traders. All that frustration could have been averted if Morgan had sent a check for $35 for the annual registration fee to Network Solutions, a domain-name registrar in Herndon, Virginia. It pulled the plug on Morgan six weeks after Morgan’s bill came due and after sending the firm at least three bills.

The New York Times (6/14/00) (Disciplines, Relationships, Stewardship) Luke 16:10

Deaf to God

May 18, 1980 is one of those dates. Many of us in the Northwest can remember where we were and what we were doing when Mount St. Helens erupted.

A freshman at Western Washington University, I recall standing outside the performing arts center looking south toward the sky, eerie and red, ablaze with the sun’s reflection on tons of airborne volcanic ash. The explosion, like a nuclear blast, was heard as far away as 600 miles. It killed 57 people.

Can you imagine being right next to it? Standing near, as many did, at the head waters of the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers, which in short order flooded with debris from the mountain’s blast?

A number of people were rescued within a few miles of the mountain, and they testified to the most amazing thing. They did not hear the explosion! Some, a mile or two away, thought that the darkened sky from the immediate blast was cloud cover and rain.

How could that be?

They were in a “zone of silence.” Scientists explain that the incredible upward thrust of the exploding mountain also sent the sound of the event upward into the atmosphere where it bounced back to earth (several times), but in intervals outward and away from ground zero. Although people were in the volcano’s shadow, they didn’t know of the eruption unless they were looking at the mountain at that moment.

This reminds me of when Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt. 13:13). It was possible to stand right in front of Jesus and yet not hear his words. Likewise, today it is possible not to hear the gospel message that is being preached far and wide.

Jon Mutchler, Ferndale, Washington (Gospel, Hearing God’s voice, Silence) Isaiah 6:8-13; Matthew 13:11-23

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