In the mid 1930's an unlikely horse became a racing sensation. Its name was Sea biscuit and was the perfect hero for the depression era when so many people saw their dreams end up on the scrap pile. Sea biscuit was an undersized underachiever that no one thought could succeed. Just another casualty in a tough and cruel world.
But the horse was rescued from the reject bin and becomes a legend, and recently the subject of a movie.
One of the main characters in the movie Sea biscuit, is a broken-down, unemployed cowboy named Tom Smith. Millionaire Charles Howard, who is about to engage in a horse racing enterprise, has a campfire interview with Smith, and asks why he bothered rescuing an old, lame horse that was sentenced to death because of a broken leg.
Tom replies, "You don't throw a whole life away just ?cause it's banged up a bit." Every horse is good for something, Tom claims.
And God says that about every person: "You don't just throw away a whole life because it's banged up a bit."1
And so God calls on Jonah to go to Nineveh, a great city in which God says, the inhabitants " do not know their right hand from their left." He is saying, they are ignorant and their . . .
Dr. Harold McNabb
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On Pentecost island in Vanuatu, there used to be a coming of age ritual similar to bungee jumping. In fact this is where bungee jumping originated. The elders built a tower from bamboo poles; and then using vines, they make ropes which they attach to the ankles of the young participant. The young man then makes a head-first leap from the tower and plunges about forty or fifty feet toward the ground. The vines break the fall at the last second and the young fellow is spared becoming an upside down fence post. Or they don't.
You jump and survive, and you are considered a man.
I am really glad that we don't do anything more daunting than passing a driver's license test..
Other cultures have their own process for life's transitions.
A question I am sometimes asked is, "how did you feel called into ministry?".
At times I have asked myself the same question, and all I can say is it was a building conviction inside which I acted upon and that in spite of my own questions, has been confirmed strongly enough that I continue.
Very few receive a dramatic lightning bolt of certainty, though it does happen.
The gospels tell us of the calling of several of Jesus followers, and for each of them, its a different experience.
I suppose we remember the calling of James and John best. Jesus sees . . .
You jump and survive, and you are considered a man.
I am really glad that we don't do anything more daunting than passing a driver's license test..
Other cultures have their own process for life's transitions.
A question I am sometimes asked is, "how did you feel called into ministry?".
At times I have asked myself the same question, and all I can say is it was a building conviction inside which I acted upon and that in spite of my own questions, has been confirmed strongly enough that I continue.
Very few receive a dramatic lightning bolt of certainty, though it does happen.
The gospels tell us of the calling of several of Jesus followers, and for each of them, its a different experience.
I suppose we remember the calling of James and John best. Jesus sees . . .
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I know that Lent is supposed to be the season of repentance and applying more discipline to our lifestyle, but New Years brings its spate of resolutions. Here are some that a friend of mine in Illinois sent by email:
~ Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
~ Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.
~ Procrastinate more.... Starting tomorrow.
~ Get in a whole NEW rut!
~ Buy an ?83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system. Get the
windows tinted. Buy some fur for the dash.
~ Create more loose ends.
~ Focus on the faults of others.
~ Whine about your own faults.
~ Never make New Year's resolutions again.
There is something about turning a page on the calendar, or entering a new year that reminds us that time is passing but also reminds us that here is the opportunity for a whole new beginning.
Those resolutions about diet and getting into shape also have a sense of a newly disciplined lifestyle, which is never a bad idea, but often needs to be connected with some other motivation to make it stick.
John the Baptist is the poster boy for the self disciplined life-style. In fact . . .
~ Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
~ Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.
~ Procrastinate more.... Starting tomorrow.
~ Get in a whole NEW rut!
~ Buy an ?83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system. Get the
windows tinted. Buy some fur for the dash.
~ Create more loose ends.
~ Focus on the faults of others.
~ Whine about your own faults.
~ Never make New Year's resolutions again.
There is something about turning a page on the calendar, or entering a new year that reminds us that time is passing but also reminds us that here is the opportunity for a whole new beginning.
Those resolutions about diet and getting into shape also have a sense of a newly disciplined lifestyle, which is never a bad idea, but often needs to be connected with some other motivation to make it stick.
John the Baptist is the poster boy for the self disciplined life-style. In fact . . .
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By now if you are connected by email to the internet you will have received at least five Happy New Year greeting cards.
That's not counting all the personal greetings if you were with other people last night. So can you stand it if you hear once again, Happy New Year! ?
I hope you have a happy New Year.
You might think, well if I do, it's about time.
Which is an interesting phrase. Not the Happy New Year, but the "it's about time".
I suppose Happy New Year is interesting, too, but it's pretty straight forward.
The writer of Ecclesiastes had an interesting take on time and the seasons of life. We know it well:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance...
That is a passage that I find very . . .
That's not counting all the personal greetings if you were with other people last night. So can you stand it if you hear once again, Happy New Year! ?
I hope you have a happy New Year.
You might think, well if I do, it's about time.
Which is an interesting phrase. Not the Happy New Year, but the "it's about time".
I suppose Happy New Year is interesting, too, but it's pretty straight forward.
The writer of Ecclesiastes had an interesting take on time and the seasons of life. We know it well:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance...
That is a passage that I find very . . .
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"Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Luke 1:28-30
In the sixth month of her cousin Elizabeth's pregnancy, Gabriel, the angel of God comes to Mary.
Like the shepherds who hear of Jesus birth, she is frightened.
No doubt.
Just think about it. Here is a teen age girl like any teen age girl going about her business. She was not a school girl, but would have been helping out with the household chores. Perhaps she was sweeping or doing laundry for her mother.
Maybe she was alone so the angel could talk with her privately. Perhaps on her way home from some errand, alone in her thoughts when the angel appears to her.
How would he appear? As an angel in glowing tunic, or like they did with Abraham and Sarah, as ordinary travelers?
However he appeared, what he said clearly frightened Mary. He says, "Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you."
So you are a young girl going about your business and . . .
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Luke 1:28-30
In the sixth month of her cousin Elizabeth's pregnancy, Gabriel, the angel of God comes to Mary.
Like the shepherds who hear of Jesus birth, she is frightened.
No doubt.
Just think about it. Here is a teen age girl like any teen age girl going about her business. She was not a school girl, but would have been helping out with the household chores. Perhaps she was sweeping or doing laundry for her mother.
Maybe she was alone so the angel could talk with her privately. Perhaps on her way home from some errand, alone in her thoughts when the angel appears to her.
How would he appear? As an angel in glowing tunic, or like they did with Abraham and Sarah, as ordinary travelers?
However he appeared, what he said clearly frightened Mary. He says, "Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you."
So you are a young girl going about your business and . . .