DOING A LOT WITH A LITTLE - DAY 30

For more of this art go to Biblical Art on the WWW and look for the artist, Isabella Colette.

Do you ever wonder how to get more bang for the buck, more go to the gallon, more bounce for the ounce? One of the secrets of doing more with less is given to us in the miracle of feeding the multitude, with just enough for a boy’s lunch.

Almost apologetically, Andrew announces: “There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people” (John 6:9, Contemporary English Version)? They estimated 5,000 men in the group; how many women and children? No wonder Andrew felt embarrassed to even mention it.

During those wonderfully exhausting and stressful years of raising five children on the modest salary of a pastor and a gifted stay at home mom, who with her homemaking skills got the most out of every dollar; I found myself, at times, slipping into the Andrew syndrome: What a limited budget with so many mouths to feed, how can we possibly make ends meet?

One week as I was preparing to preach on our Lord’s miracle of feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, I made a great discovery. As John records it: “Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God.” Anyone can be thankful after the marvelous miracle of multiplication. Jesus gave thanks before this embarrassing scarcity became an amazing surplus. The story tells us that after everyone had eaten their fill, the disciples gathered up the remaining fragments and they filled twelve baskets.

The trick is to be thankful before the miracle occurs. Isn’t it true that those who are less than thankful seem to need more of everything and have less to show for it? It’s so easy to grumble about what is lacking and fail to celebrate what God has provided as limited as it may look to our financial calculations.

Now, with the children gone and providing for their own children, my focus of gratitude has shifted a few degrees. When I walk into church I want to say with Andrew: “There is a boy here,” and there is a girl there. They are growing up all around us. We dare not look past them as if they didn’t count until they grow up. The young lad in our story counted when he turned his lunch over to Jesus. Do you suppose he thought of holding back a portion for himself? But when he surrendered it to Jesus his little suddenly became a lot. Some of these children are in our church family and believe me; God will use them to change the world.

THE CHRIST OF THE COSMOS - DAY 29

The above article appeared in The Vine and Branches Vol. 24, Issue 4, 2009, published in Ohio. It reminds us that the historical Jesus has become the Christ of faith. Our Jewish carpenter, the lowly Galilean who lived in the first century, has been exalted and glorified by the power of the resurrection to become the Lord of the universe.

If there is life on other planets, in other galaxies; they too have a Savior who offers them eternal life. The One who in the days of his incarnation never left the land of Palestine, never journeyed more than 100 miles from Bethlehem of Judah, his birthplace, is now available to the furthest reaches of space. To infinity and back communion with our cosmic Christ is available to all who remember him in his broken body and his blood, shed for the remission of sins.

I invite you to take that step of faith to believe that the man known in history as Jesus of Nazareth is risen to dimensions of eternity. This is not a small step; it is rather a giant leap in a person’s understanding of the love that drew salvation’s plan, the grace that brought it down to man and the mighty gulf that God did span in the incarnation and glorification of his son.

DIGGING FOR NUGGETS OF TRUTH - DAY 28

Embedded in Scripture and lying just below the surface, one can find nuggets of spiritual truth. With daily diligence, one can dig them out and turn them into the gold of Christian character. This daily devotional guide is intended as a tool to assist in the mining of such treasure. The secret is to dig into the Word of God on a daily basis.

Like the Manna in the Hebrew Scripture, which would spoil if gathered weekly and stored; fresh insights must be gleaned from the Bible every day. This kind of daily discipline can maintain a growing and glowing personal relationship to our Lord and Savior that can not be done in a hit and miss fashion.

During their wilderness wanderings the people of God gathered the Manna every morning before the sun melted it. This devotional guide recommends that we reserve a period of time in the morning to meditate on the daily Scripture reading, ponder the key concept and reflect on the devotional study, closing with a prayer for the day. Because of its flexibility, this exercise can be done in five minutes or extended to a longer period of time. By the time you get through the three hundred and sixty five days, you will have the foundation you need to begin composing your own devotional literature.

There is a river of life flowing through the Scripture. As you pan for gold, you will discover nuggets of truth that will enrich your faith.

A THIRD DIAGNOSIS BY DR PRAISE - DAY 27

DIAGNOSIS: As one who has provided pastoral care for over half a century, I have observed that people are often constricted by the smallness of their self centered world. They need to break out of their boxes of me, myself and mine and be stretched by a grander more glorious vision of God. There is nothing more expansive than contemplating the dimensions of divine love.

PRESCRIPTION: Ephesians 3:18-19 is by no means a bitter pill. Rather it is a mind altering medication. “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

PROGNOSIS: Our containers are too small. In order to be filled with the fullness of God we need larger vessels. Our borders of bias and our parameters of prejudice need to be transcended by something as expansive as the universe. That something is the very essence of God which is love: a selfless, sacrificial love that Jesus brought into this world from beyond time and space.

PRACTICE: Let me suggest this exercise. Bring alongside Ephesians 3:18 the most familiar verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16. Notice how they so beautifully dove-tail. What is the breadth of divine love? “God so loved the world….” We often draw circles to shut people out who are different from us. God draws circles which are inclusive of the whole world and everyone in it. What is the length of love? The answer is again in John 3:16-“that he gave his only begotten son.” God went to great lengths to demonstrate his love for us-he cared enough to send the best. His love reaches as far as the cross. What about the depths of love? “That we should not perish….” God sent his son into a perishing world. Truly there is no bottom to the heart of God. Corry Ten Boom (who survived the holocaust) was fond of saying: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” Let’s practice on the heights of divine love: “…but have everlasting life.” The goal of love is to find us in the depths of despair and lift us to the heights of life eternal.

CHALLENGE: Spend some quality time meditating on the down reach, the up reach, the outreach and the in reach of divine love and let it stretch you out to your full potential. Don’t allow yourself to be limited by the smallness of a time bound, three dimensional world which shuts you in on every side.

A SECOND DIAGNOSIS BY DR. PRAISE - DAY 26

MY SECOND DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS: We often think of body, soul, and spirit as we proceed from the external to the internal. The Bible reverses that order and speaks of spirit (the core of our being) the soul (the functions of mind, emotion, and will) and the body. We need a therapy that starts in our spirit and proceeds outwardly. Outward therapies often do not penetrate deeply enough to reach the problem of pessimism. I would like to recommend the Holy Spirit who releases into the inner depths of our human spirit the joy of Jesus which radiates out in a more positive attitude and which ministers emotional and physical health.

PRESCRIPTION: Today, I would like to write you a script from Hebrews 1:9. It describes our Savior in these terms: “God anointed him with the oil of gladness beyond his contemporaries.” When you close your eyes and think of God do you see a frowning face? Do you visualize an angry deity, who can’t wait for the slightest reason to rain wrath on your head? It’s time to replace that with the smiling face of Jesus. He did not come to take the wind out of our sails, the spring out of our step, or the blue out of our skies. He came that “we might have life and have it more abundantly.” To have just a fraction of his cheerful disposition, his positive personality, rub off on us, would turn our mourning into gladness. “He that has seen me has seen the Father,” our Savior said. To see the Christ through the eyes of faith is to get a whole new vision of the depths of divine love.

PROGNOSIS: As we turn our eyes upon Jesus, we see that our Creator is everything an ideal Father ought to be. We are welcome to climb up on His lap, throw our arms around Him and call him “Daddy.” We can look up to a star-studded sky and affirm, “My Heavenly Father did that!” We can feel warmed by Papa’s love and sheltered in His care.

PRACTICE: Through the week let your heart-sing with joy: “This is my Father’s world and to my listening ear, all nature sings and ‘round me rings the music of the spheres.” Our God is not an impersonal force; a first cause; an unmoved mover; the eternal ground of all being. That works well for the philosophical, the rational level of our minds. But deep within us is a crying need for personal relationship. The God Jesus revealed to us can meet this need. “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.” Jesus told us that not one sparrow can fall to the ground without the Father knowing it and we are worth more than many sparrows.

CHALLENGE: Why should any believer get stuck in the slough of despondency and be mired in the mud of murmuring. With renewed spiritual resources, we can turn our pessimism into praise and glory in the gladness of God’s Son. Let us determine to be loyal to the royal that is within us.

A DIAGNOSIS BY DR. PRAISE - DAY 14

MY FIRST DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS: You have a body but you are a spirit. As you must exercise your body to maintain physical fitness; you must exercise your spirit to maintain a healthy spirituality. One of the best ways to activate and energize your innermost being is with the daily practice of praise.

PRESCRIPTION: Take a big dose of John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Notice, this prescription is for any and every believer. It’s not limited to super-star Christians who are gifted with special enlightenment. This promise is for you. You have locked up within yourself, not just tiny trickles but rivers. Living a life-style of praise is not a matter of getting more of God into your life. Rather, a vital spirituality is a matter of opening the flood gates of your soul and letting out what you already have flowing within you.

PROGNOSIS: Think of a garden hose lying in the sun. When you first turn on the faucet, the water is warm and tastes like plastic. As it flows, it gets cooler and sweeter, loosing that artificial flavor. That’s my prognosis for you fellow traveler. As you become a practitioner of praise so much of the superficiality and staleness in your life will be washed away, bringing refreshment to yourself and others.

PRACTICE: As a general practitioner I subscribe to the therapeutic principle that love will find its way into an open heart. But as a praise specialist, I like to emphasize a reverse therapy. Love will find its way out of an open heart. As love flows out, the stream becomes a river, which carries us along on the current of caring. So find someone that you discern is gifted in some area. Perhaps they don’t recognize their gift but you have observed it in action. Without flattery (which is manipulative) affirm that person in a simple and direct way. You don’t want to spread it on too thickly causing them embarrassment. Just let them know that you appreciate their attitude of kindness which has lifted your spirit.

CHALLENGE: Why should any believer stand on the bank and just observe, while others are splashing and frolicking in a river of living water, which cleanses the soul and inspires praise in the heart? We can find ways to release the indwelling spiritual resources which are flowing just below our level of consciousness.

TRYING IS WINNING - DAY 25

We live in a culture which is profoundly influenced by the professional sports mentality that winning is all important; nothing else matters. If you’re not a winner you can’t attract the fans in sufficient numbers to pay the bills. This philosophy, I believe, prevents many people who are not world class athletes from competing.

Happy Chappy subscribes to a different value system. I believe that the only ultimate failure is to give up on trying. All those who try are winners in my book even if they come in dead last. That’s how I feel about Space-A travel; or anything else for that matter. I may not have the strength to do it at my age. I’m not sure I can motivate myself to face the uncertainties of not having a confirmed reservation. But that should not keep me from trying. So, here I am a few days later, with a wireless lap top computer to make reservations ahead and stay in contact with family and friends. That way, they will know where I am and what I’m doing.

My workouts at the Fitness Center are building my strength and my confidence. I’m giving it the good old college try. That makes me a winner regardless of the outcome. Are you with me?

Here goes an easy one to get me started. I have a reservation to fly to my son’s house and spend time with the grandchildren. Then what? a cruise, bus trip, train ride learning as I go? When I run out of money, I’ll have to come up with another plan.

I have a senior friend who goes from cruise to cruise. She claims it’s less expensive than a rest home and they do it all for you and provide plenty of entertainment when you get board with the ocean. Now that lady has some spunk!

What about timid little me? Can I strap on the back pack and the money belt and with passport in hand face the world? Time will tell. Whatever the outcome, I consider myself a winner. Just keep trying to fulfill your dreams and you will be a winner in your eyes, regardless of how the world sees you. Amen, that will preach!