On the brink

If you look closely at the picture above, you will see a truck perched on the edge of the cliff, ready to go over it. Scary place to be, but sometimes we find ourselves in dangerous situations. I remember working on my soon-to-be in laws farm during the hay season; it was the end of the day and the hay wagon was stacked nine tier high and we were headed down a very steep hill. I don't remember why, but my future mother-in-law was having trouble with the brakes and we just kept going faster and faster. Thinking we were going to crash, I went over to Linda (who later became my wife) and hugged her tightly as we waited for the crash. Somehow, Linda's mom managed to put enough force on the brakes of that old tractor for us to stop, but all I remember is seeing her literally standing upright on them. Later, I learned she had also put on the emergency brake but all that really mattered was she knew what to do at the right time. In the book of Esther we see another dangerous situation with a lady with the courage to do what was necessary to save her people.

Est 4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
Est 4:2 He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.
Est 4:3 And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Est 4:4 When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
Est 4:5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.
Est 4:6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate,
Est 4:7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
Est 4:8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.
Est 4:9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
Est 4:10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say,
Est 4:11 "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law--to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days."
Est 4:12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said.
Est 4:13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
Est 4:14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Est 4:15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,
Est 4:16 "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish."

English Standard Version

Well, Esther didn't perish and saved her people from certain destruction. The enemies of the Jews were destroyed and the lineage of the Christ was preserved. Towards the end of the book there is much rejoicing by the Jews over their deliverance and its easy to see why they would be happy. I imagine that whoever drove that truck in the picture was happy to escape as well. Being on the brink of destruction is a very scary thing indeed; but for those who follow God, its nice to know that we don't have go through danger alone. Somehow that makes all the difference in the world!

STOP

Stop, it is among the first words we teach our children. How often have I had to repeat it several times before one of my children would listen. Adults sometimes won't listen either and perhaps that is why they put up this forceful sign. Jesus had to use hard language to teach hard hearts; this passage from the book of Matthew is a good example:

Mat 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Mat 23:29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
Mat 23:30 saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
Mat 23:31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
Mat 23:34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
Mat 23:35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

English Standard Version

God had sent prophets, wise men and scribes and they were rejected, so as a last resort HE sent Jesus to teach them. They needed to STOP placing emphasis on the externals of religion and START changing inwardly! If you have ever looked in the mirror and realized the word hypocrite could apply to you in any way.... then you just stopped. Now start over again and proceed with caution, PLEEEASE!

What are you really worth?

They may pay more than the NYPD, but it would seem they don't know the difference between a "then" and a "than". This sign does raise an interesting question: what are you really worth? I once worked for a pottery in central New Jersey and the plant manager told me that hiring employees was like buying a loaf of bread: "You pay what you have to in order to get the people you want". In the business world there are often a lot of different salaries for the same job, but what about the spiritual realm? The apostle Paul put it this way in his letter to the Philippians:

Php 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
Php 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Php 2:7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Php 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Php 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You are worth enough to have Jesus humble himself for you; so each one of us is worth a great deal indeed. Don't ask me to put a monetary value to your real worth, but one thing is for certain.... its more than Exxon can pay.

Gold "Wonder"

Imagine sitting in the driver's seat of this baby! Gold, imagine that, Gold! I can picture myself sinking into gorgeous leather seats and listening to Gustav Hosts' "The planets" via a sound system that really rocks! Mercedes Benz are known for their quality, so I can't even think that something would go wrong! But, face it, EVERYTHING BREAKS DOWN; your car, your brand new super-duper TV and that fancy new recliner too. It is not wrong to own fine things; just don't let fine things own you. I like the way Jesus puts it:

Mat 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
Mat 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

English Standard Version

Put your priorities where they will reap benefits in a hundred years and I think that will work out just fine. The cost of this Gold Wonder can be calculated, but I wonder how you go about putting a price on the love you leave behind after you leave this life and the true value of the life to come?

Grandeur

This picture of the Alps reminds me of the ones Walter Hewitt showed me in 1980. Walter and his wife Lillian had taken what seemed like thousands of similar pictures. I still remember the wonder in his voice as he described the surroundings; those pictures were amazing! I went home that night feeling a little overwhelmed by all I had seen and Walter’s excitement made me realize once again how small we as human beings are and how great the works of the Almighty. However, not everyone believes in God and many are in violent opposition to him. Think for a moment about this passage from the book of first Corinthians:

1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
1Co 1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
1Co 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
1Co 1:22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
1Co 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
1Co 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
1Co 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
1Co 1:29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

English Standard Version

If you examine the best of your attributes, someone else is always better. If you work around those who possess true genius, you will feel stupid, but, just by being around them you WILL become smarter, guaranteed! Now, if this is true from an Earthly perspective, consider the spiritual implications. If you learn to appreciate the true grandeur God has placed in the world around us, then how much more will you grow as you begin to understand something of the nature of God. Now, that is a high mountaintop indeed, something worthy of the climb and that will give joy in each step along the way!

Wonder

Someone is having a bad day and from the looks of the monument in the background, I think he was just hit with a big dose of reality and the wonderment that exists in childhood has been somewhat tarnished. This wonder is the stuff of imagination that enables us to soar above the doldrums of everyday life and greet every new day with excitement and expectation. Our dreams may or may not have foundation in reality, but they do make living worth while. When a dream dies, it is a sad thing, but usually something better takes its place. God does this for us in ways we really can not begin to comprehend because he knows us better than we know ourselves. Consider the following passage from the book of Psalms:

Psa 139:1 Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
Psa 139:2 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
Psa 139:3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether.
Psa 139:5 You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
Psa 139:6 This knowledge is beyond me. It's lofty. I can't attain it.
Psa 139:7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;"
Psa 139:12 even the darkness doesn't hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
Psa 139:13 For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.
Psa 139:14 I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.
Psa 139:15 My frame wasn't hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth.
Psa 139:16 Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Psa 139:17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
Psa 139:18 If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.

The World English Bible

The boy may be crying now, but once he stops, I hope he can dream once again, and let his spirit be uplifted by the complex simplicity of the glory of life, which unfolds into wonder. As I understand it, a life worth living begins by searching for the creator of all things and ends with finding all things in him; now, that is truly wonderful!

Fear

I don’t think it would be a good idea to get this dog any more angry than he already is. Maybe someone gave him the wrong dog food or did not put his water dish out or one of a thousand things, but make no mistake, this dog means business. Even though he is small, he is a fearful sight indeed! We often associate fear with negative things, but it can have positive aspects as well. Fear can prevent you from doing something very dangerous or perhaps even stupid. It can give you strength in time of danger and cause you to reconsider your actions. Fear can be good! Fearing the WRONG THINGS leads to phobias and fearing the RIGHT THINGS might just save your life. Jesus spoke about fear; listen to what he told his disciples:

Mat 10:16 "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Mat 10:17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,
Mat 10:18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.
Mat 10:20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Mat 10:21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,
Mat 10:22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Mat 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Mat 10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
Mat 10:26 "So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Mat 10:27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
Mat 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Mat 10:30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Mat 10:32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
Mat 10:33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Mat 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Mat 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

English Standard Version


The worst men can do is to kill you, but God can “destroy both soul and body in hell”. This sounds just a little bit more severe than dying, doesn’t it? The irony of this life is that if you lose it for God, then you keep it forever; you just have to love God more and fear men less. God cares about us enough to warn us and so I think it would be a pretty good idea if we perked up our ears. Oh, yes and watch out for nasty little dogs too!

Relationship

Go ahead; follow the directions on the picture! The rings move depending upon the relationship of your eyes to the graphic, and yes, it is weird. To me, it brings up an interesting point; that is, our relationship towards something affects how we perceive it. As a teen, if someone wanted to talk to me about the Bible, I might reply with something like: Don't talk to me about that religion junk, its all the same and I just don't want to hear it. Well, the truth is, I probably would have used words that I don't use anymore and with an attitude that would scare you. The good news is, I haven't talked like that in decades and Lord willing, never will again. How could I be like that as a teen and what changed me? Well, take a look at the following passage from the book of Corinthians and you just might have a clue:

2Co 4:1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
2Co 4:2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
2Co 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
2Co 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2Co 4:5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
2Co 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

English Standard Version

The answer is: I was just too wrapped up in myself to care about anybody or anything that didn't conform to what I wanted, when and how I wanted it. Once I was willing to stop the egocentric nonsense, my life changed. Then it changed again and again and kept on changing until this very day. When I step back and view my life as a whole, I can see that the change began when I changed my attitude about God and his relationship to me. Make no mistake, I am not perfect, but I do think about things from a different perspective and that perspective is based on a relationship with God through Jesus. Step back and consider your own relationship to God and I think you will see what I mean.

Genuine beauty

This is Farah Fawcett Majors, then and now. Time and illness have changed her appearance to be sure; but I can't help but wonder if she feels the same inside now as she did on the picture on the left. I posted this picture for one reason; namely for the married men out there who remember their spouse as she was when they married her. Age doesn't have to destroy beauty, because true beauty is found in the inner spiritual nature of a person. Consider this passage from the book of first Peter:

1Pe 3:1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives--
1Pe 3:2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
1Pe 3:3 Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing--
1Pe 3:4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
1Pe 3:5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their husbands,
1Pe 3:6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
1Pe 3:7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

English Standard Version

Genuine beauty does not age because it is love personified; a love that goes beyond outward appearances and seeks the ultimate good of others at its own expense. This involves understanding, consideration, concern and a thousand other things I could never put into words, but I think you get the idea. Often it means submitting to the will of the other, but I assure you it is worth it. One more thing, if you show genuine love to those who have genuine beauty, both become stronger and just grow and grow and grow, to the point where you can't even imagine life without your loved one; and that is beautiful!

Reality hurts!

I don't know who placed this ad, but they certainly have a different way of attracting a mate. I think its a young man, because of the context, but today you never know. Perhaps "he" is hoping that anyone who reads this will think that he is just being hard on himself, but what if he is really, really and I do mean really, UGLY? Is there hope, or is he just wasting his time? For that matter, if we are to be really honest with ourselves, we can find a lot of things wrong with us! Most of the time we just don't like to think about it. Sin is like that; we can't see our own shortcoming because we really don't WANT TO LOOK; but when it comes to others, well, that's a different story. Think about this and then read the following passage from the book of John:



Joh 8:1 Jesus went to the mount of Olives:
Joh 8:2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him; and he sat down and taught them.
Joh 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman taken in adultery: and when they had set her in the midst,
Joh 8:4 They say to him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Joh 8:5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou? Joh 8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
Joh 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he raised himself, and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Joh 8:8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Joh 8:9 And they who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even to the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Joh 8:10 When Jesus had raised himself, and saw none but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are those thy accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

The Webster Bible



I really would like to know what Jesus wrote on the ground, but we only have his words. When faced with his words, their own sin was just too much for them to think about, and all of them backed off. The woman was left alone with Jesus. He didn't condemn her, but told her to change. Reality hurts, but when you come to grips with your situation, then the thing to do is just to do something about it. The man who placed the ad may have realized that although society may consider him UGLY, perhaps someone responding to his ad might just be willing to look a little deeper. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't throw a stone at him; why? because I am fat, NOT STUPID!