Ecclesiastes 12:10

    Nate Haasis had a stellar career for Southeast High School in Springfield, Illinois, in 2003. He was on pace to set the conference record for career passing yards.   So, in his last game of the season with his team on the losing side on the game, he only needed a few more yards for the record. Yet he noticed that the defense backed 20 yards off the line of scrimmage and made no attempt to defend or tackle the receiver who caught his record-setting pass. The next day, the local newspaper reported that the coaches had made a deal to allow Haasis to set the record, a story both coaches confirmed. Everyone was happy that he had set the record.  Expect for Nate Haasis.  Three days after the game, Haasis decided to write a letter to the director of the conference, requesting that his final pass be omitted from the conference record book. “ I would like to preserve the integrity and sportsmanship of a great conference for future athletes ,” Haasis wrote. Hi...

   Tsutomu Yamaguchi was on a business trip to Hiroshima when the atomic bomb hit the city. Somehow, he survived; 146,000 people didn’t.   Though injured, he escaped the destruction and walked his way home…. to Nagasaki. Three days later he was back to work, where his coworker is berated him as crazy when he said that one bomb had destroyed a whole city. At that very moment the second atomic bomb hit.    He once again survived the blast.   He survived not one but two atomic detonations! He survived not only the horrific blast but the deadly aftereffect of the radiation.  Cancer would eventually claim his life, but not for sixty-four more years. He would live to the age of ninety-three.   Some may look at Yamaguchi and think that he was one of the unluckiest people in the world.   Or is he the luckiest?   As we think about what we are thankful for we often think of the blessings. The good things we experience. But sometimes ar...

   Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument he considered to be the most difficult to play. After a moment, he responded, “Second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who can play second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem.”   Most folks don’t want to be the lesser. That is what is so amazing about John the Baptist. John was the most popular man of his day (Mark 1:5). His reach was so great that it caused men of power to be afraid of him (Matthew 21:25-26, Mark 16:20).   Yet in John 3, his disciples were worried that the crowds were all turning to Jesus. Was John worried about losing his luster? No, he saw it as exactly what must happen. That was his mission.  As he said it in verse 30, " He must increase, but I must decrease .”   His job wasn’t to build himself up, but to build up Jesus.   And that is our mission as well.   In a world that is all about ‘building your brand’ and self-promotio...

  Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Paul wrote: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Galatians 6:9  The Hebrew writer said it like this: Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:35-36    James told us: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him...

    In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Ester Ledecká won the gold medal in the Super G alpine skiing.    Which was odd because she was a snowboarder.   She had done some alpine skiing but was ranked 49 th in the event. She had to borrow some skis from a teammate to even compete.  After she won, she refused to take off her goggles since she had skipped wearing makeup as she had not expected to win the event.   How does that happen?   It turns out her inexperience was her advantage. The rest of the field ran the race the exact same way, but she ended up taking an atypical route that turned out to be slightly faster than what the experts thought was ideal. A new perspective was all it took for her to achieve greatness.   Often in church work, I hear people exclaim; I couldn’t do ‘this or that.’ That is just not my thing! My talent lies elsewhere.  While that may be true, it might also be that your limits are not because you can’t, but be...

    One of the biggest mistakes new Christians make is the assumption that being a Christian means that things will always go perfectly. To be fair, they might think that because many false teachers proclaim that. They imply that if you follow God, you won’t suffer, you won’t struggle, and life will be the best possible.   Yet that isn’t what the Scripture teaches.  Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted . 2 nd Timothy 3:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 1 st Peter 4:12 so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 1 st Thessalonians 3:3   Though even with this knowledge, we can still say that the Christian life is the best possible. It will come with suffering and trials and afflictions, but these will not compare to th...