musings

IF YOU'VE EVER HAD A JOB INTERVIEW, you would remember how anxious you were. Evaluation is not an easy thing to experience, is it? You don't know what's in the mind of the interviewer---what his expectations are. How does he measure one's effectiveness? What exactly is he looking for? Sometimes they are looking for certain qualities rather than particular skill levels. Here's an example.

One cold morning at 3:00 A.M., a missionary candidate walked into an office for a scheduled interview with the examiner of the mission board. He waited until 8:00 A.M. when the examiner finally arrived.

The examiner said, "Let's begin. First, please spell baker." "B-a-k-e-r," said the young man. "Excellent. Now let's see what you know about figures. How much is 2 + 2?" "Four," replied the applicant. "Very good," the examiner said. "I'll recommend you to the board tomorrow that you be appointed. You have passed the test."

At the board meeting the examiner spoke highly of the applicant. "He has all the qualifications of a missionary.

First I tested him on self-denial. I told him to be at my house at 3:00 A.M. He left a warm bed and came out in the cold without a word of complaint.

Second, I tried him out on punctuality. He appeared on time.

Third, I examined him on patience. I made him wait five hours to see me, after telling him to come at 3:00 A.M.

Fourth, I tested him on temper. He failed to show any sign of it; he didn't even question my delay.

Fifth, I tried his humility. I asked him questions that a small child could answer. He showed no offense. He meets the requirements and will make a fine missionary."

So there you have it. Its not always what you know that's important; its who you are on the inside!

musings

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT? It might have come to you in various ways. But, you know what I mean. You were taken up short by an event or action and it totally changed you, at least for a little while. Let me share an article sent to me by a friend---actually a former supervisor of mine: Rev. Ronald McClung. Perhaps you read about the same incident that he wrote about.

Seems that a certain sheriff redecorated the Dallas County Detention Center after inmates staged a breakout attempt and set fire to the building. Officials foiled the breakout and housed the prisoners elsewhere while workers redecorated.

Upon returning to the detention center, inmates discovered the cells had been painted pink with blue Teddy bears stenciled on them. It's true; I'm not making this up.

Sheriff Mike Tackley explained, "Basically, if they are going to act like children and commit a childish act, then we'll make a childish atmosphere." He went on, "And it's a charming thing--Teddy bears are soothing. So we made it like a daycare and that's kind of like what it is, a daycare for adults who can't control their behavior in public."

Rackley said he was inspired by similar redecorating efforts at jails in Texas and Arizona. "How do you feel tough in a pink atmosphere?" he said.

Apparently the idea is scientifically sound. An article in a Springfield, Missouri newspaper quotes Mike Carlie, a professor of criminology at Missouri State University: "It's certainly viable. There have been positive findings that show that certain colors stimulate and excite, and other colors, I guess you would say, "soothe the soul."

In ancient times, when King Saul became restless and agitated, David the shephered boy would come and play his harp. The soft music had a calming effect on the king I Samule 16:23).

When Saul's mood was bad, music helped him adjust. For prisoners, soft colors do the job. But what we really need is something inside us that transforms our bad behavior into positive actions. Perhaps a deep-seated admission to God that we're "out of sorts" and need His help is a place to start. His Word promises, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (II Corinthians 5:17).

Music can help; colors can help; many things can help with attitude and behavior adjustment. But let's opt for an "inside-out" change.

musings

THE BIBLE SAYS, "Faith without works is daed." In fact, faith and works are as inseparable as sun and sunlight. Faith is the sun, good works are its rays.

To paraphrase James statement, we might say that if someone says he is full of faith and yet is devoid of works, he is only deluding himself.

A man who claims to have faith without works is like a man who puts all his efforts into building the foundationon a house and never builds anything on it.

I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger.
I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar and prayed for my release.
I was naked, and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health.
I was homeless, and you preached to me the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for me.

Real faith always issues in action! It hurries to meet a need. As gloves are to a surgeon's hands, so are Christians in service for God. It is actually "God's hand" doing the work. We are but used by him and therefore have nothing to boast of.

An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word "Faith," and on the other oar the word "Works." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man, being a well-balanced Christian and glad of the opportunity for testimony said, "I'll show you."

He dropped one oar and grabbed the other called Works and began to pull at it. They just went around in circles. Then he dropped that oar and began to ply the oar called Faith, and the little boat just went around in circles again.

After this demonstration the old man picked up Faith and Works, and plying both oars together sped swiftly over the water. And as he rowed, he said to his passenger, "You see, that is the way it is in the Christian life. Dead works without faith are useless, and 'faith' without works is 'dead' also, geting you nowhere. But when they are pulling together they make for safety, progress, and blessing."

musings

PERSEVERANCE--something we should all take with us in this New Year, because as sure as the sun rises, we will face obstacles, difficult tasks, and other challenges in the future. They're just part of life.

I was thinking about this marvelous virtue recently when I came across an article about honey bees. Did you know that to produce one pound of honey, the bee must visit 56,000 clover heads? And since each head has over 60 clover tubes, a toatl of 3,360,000 visits are necessary to give us that pound of honey for the breakfast table. Meanwhile, that worker bee has flown the equivalent of three times around the world.

To produce one tablespoon of honey for our toast, the little bee makes 4,200 trips to flowers. How nice of him to persist---so that we can have the joy of tasting nature's sweet jelly. This little insect makes about ten trips a day to the fields, each trip lasting twenty minutes on average and four hundred flowers. A worker bee will fly as far as eight miles if he cannot find a nectar flow that is nearer.

Doesn't all of this information make you feel a little ashamed because you quit too soon? I know there have been a few times when I didn't persist in some difficult task or duty. Think of the bee the next time you entertain the thought of quitting.

One step won't take you very far;
You've got to keep on walking;
One word won't tell folks who you are;
You've got to keep on talking;
One inch won't make you very tall;
You've go to keep on growing;
One deed won't do it all;
You've go to keep on going.

musings

MSNBC BROADCAST A DOCUMENTARY called, "Supersize Me," a film made in 2004 about the health risks resulting from eating primarily in fast-food restaurants. As part of the movie, they had a piece in which they demonstrated how media advertising has "brain-washed" our children.

The host showed three pictures to some children of elementary school age. The first picture was a familiar portrait of our first president, George Washington. Only one of them was able to identify him and then in a somewhat unsure manner. The next picture was an artist rendering of Jesus Christ. They didn't have a clue who He was! But when they were shown a photograph of Ronald MacDonald, all of them instantly shouted his name. Says a lot, doesn't it?

I think we may be raising a whole generation of biblical illiterates. And the sad thing is that it's not their fault! Sunday school is not a priority for most families. Parents do not take the time to sit with an open Bible and read the great stories to their children. Without a good, solid foundation, we are setting our children adrift in the sea of life. Hence, they will just go with the flow of ideas and opinions. Or, as I recall someone saying, their houses (lives) are being built on sand instead of the Rock!

Getting back to the documentary, certainly we do need to pay attention to what we are putting into our bodies. They are a gift and a temple of God. We are stewards and will one day have to give an account of how we treated them. Undisciplined eating will lead to a poor quality of life and perhaps even an early departure from this one. But we also need to be feeding our souls with the sure truth of God. We are a trinity---made in God's image. We are far more than body and mind. We have an eternal soul that also needs to be fed. Pray for our children that they will not grow up bereft of a knowledge of God and His amazing love.