Ecclesiastes 12:10

  It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding.  To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two.   Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God?   In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

  A man comes into a doctor's office and frantically asks the doctor, “Do you have a cure for hiccups?” The doctor stands up and slaps the man right across his face. The stunned man says, “Why did you do that?”. The doctor smirks and responds, “Well, do you still have the hiccups?” The confused man replies “I never did, it’s my wife who has them, she is out in the car”   Proverbs 18:13 tells us, “ He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him .” I’m afraid too many of us are like that doctor and are quick to dole out solutions before we really know what the problem is. So many problems and people in our world are more complex than we realize at a cursory glance. If we are quick to judge and quick to speak, we might also be quick to harm.   Before we make a fool out of ourselves, it might be better to listen and think before we react. It may save more face than our own. 

    In July of 1993 an offshore oil rig northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland had a catastrophic failure. The entire rig caught fire and eventually exploded. The cause was attributed to a safety valve that had been removed and not replaced. Why would anyone do that? It was part of a safety inspection to see if the rig was a safe work environment.   Many times, our attempts to ‘fix’ things make them worse. We may think that our judging of things will make them better. They rarely do.   Consider what the Scriptures teach in James 5:9, “ Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. ”   Our complaints often lead to discouragement disputes and blowups without ever doing anything to help the thing we are complaining about. Instead trying to be the judge, a position we are not qualified for, let’s be a helper or a fixer.  Instead of pulling things apart, ...

  Robert Rosenthal came to teachers with a new test called the Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition . This test he informed the instructors could accurately predict kids that would excel in the coming year. The test was administered and the teachers were given the names of potentially high-achieving students.  Rosenthal expressed to them that these kids were special and that even if they might not done well in the past they showed unusual potential for growth.    The test proved itself right. Those students it selected scored better and improved more. The 1st graders gained 27 IQ points as for only 12 for the rest of the class. In 2nd grade, the potentially high achievers gained 17 points versus only 7 by the rest of the class.   The result might be right but the test wasn’t.  Rosenthal selected the kids at random.  Nothing was different about them.   What really changed was how they were viewed by their teachers. Instead of seeing them as ...

 I forgive you.   Three of the most powerful words in all of language.  Forgiveness is a treasure some folks are desperately searching for. A treasure that in a lot of the world is very hard to find.   I think about what Hebrews says about Esau in chapter 12 and verse 17, “ For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”  For Esau no matter how much he wanted to find repentance and to get back what he lost, he never got the chance.  For many forgiveness is unavailable.   That is why it is so powerful when not only do we forgive but also show others how to find forgiveness. Everyone has a past, but not everyone has a future, at least not a future with hope and forgiveness. Yet they can find it, if we will help them. That is why the Bible is so clear on our requirement to forgive. " But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is...