There’s Nothing Like a Good Excuse

Story of the Day for Friday August 30, 2013 

 

There’s Nothing Like a Good Excuse 

 

               Moses said to the Lord, “Look, the Israelites will not listen to me.Why would Pharaoh listen, since I speak with a stammering tongue?” 

Exodus 6:12    

 

While the people of Israel moaned under the crushing weight of slavery in Egypt, God sent Moses on a mission. He was to tell the people a word from God:“I am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” 

Moses told his fellow Israelites the good news. Yet, instead of exuberant shouts of joy, the Israelites ignored him. They were far too discouraged to believe in good news.  

  

Great. You say exactly what the Lord wants, and no one listens. The next time, the Lord wants Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. This time Moses is ready. . . with excuses. “Tried it already.” “Didn’t work.” And, just for good measure, Moses adds, “I’m a lousy public speaker.”    

 

We can’t brag up Moses too much, (because he’s not walking away as the winner of this argument), but these are really good excuses. And, Moses wasabsolutely right. He did go to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh scoffed at him – just as Moses said he would. 

 

Excuses are wonderful things because they absolve us from responsibility.  They defend us against embarrassment and failure.  

But, in the process we become “victimized” by life. Listen to these actual insurance claims and see if you notice a pattern: 

• “A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.” 

• “. . . as I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up obscuring my vision.” 

• “As I approached the intersection, a stop sign suddenly appeared. . . “ 

• “The telephone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.” 

Did younotice it? When those filing insurance claims try to avoid responsibility, their  passivity becomescomical. They are poor, passive victims living in a hostile world where stop signs and telephone poles dart in front of their cars and attack them.  

 

Moses had good excuses for not becoming God’s messenger. But God told Moses to speak; he didn’t tell him to make Pharaoh respond. That’s God’s department. 

Moses did end up doing what God said(with Aaron’s help), and, in the end, everything turned out all right.  

Do you have excuses for not doing what the Lord wants you to do? I hope they’re good ones (and don’t forget that “I already tried it; doesn’t work” is a solid performer). But, at the end of the day, are we trying to persuade God, or just ourselves?    

God’s ways often don’t make sense – to us anyway. But once we know His will, it’s always best to trust him. No excuses. 

(text copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)  (image: http://andreakrobson.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/moses-and-pharaoh_ten-commandments.jpg)

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Well, Join the Crowd

Story of the Day for Wednesday August 29, 2012 

 

Well, Join the Crowd 

 

                    Strive to enter through the narrow doorway. 

Luke 13:24        

 

 

George Evans served as the press agent for a young singer whose career had not yet ignited. But, after spending sixty dollars, Evans catapulted Frank Sinatra into stardom in one night.  

In 1942, Sinatra was booked to sing at the Paramount Theatre in New York. In order to generate enthusiasm forSinatra, Evans hired a dozen teenage girls and paid them five bucks a piece to follow his instructions.  

The girls were paid to sit in the front row at the concert and swoon. They rehearsed in the basement of the Paramount. Some of them practiced fainting in the aisles when Sinatra sang his slow songs, and others rehearsed jumping up and screaming, “Oh, Daddy!” when Frank sang Embraceable You. Evans then made sure the concert hall was packed by passing out free tickets.  

That night, a dozen girls earned their five dollars. About twenty girls, who weren’t paid to faint, also passed out. The crowd went hysterical. The next time Sinatra performed at the Paramount, a promoter recalled, “They went nuts. Absolutely nuts!”  

Frank Sinatra became an overnight sensation, and soon was the most popular singer of his day.  

 

George Evan’s stunt may be ethically dubious, but I admire his genius in understanding how easily people are swayed by the behavior of the crowd. None of us likes to admit that we tend to conform our behavior to those around us, but we do.  

 

The Asch Paradigm, developed in the 1950s, was pivotal in our understanding of conformity.  Solomon Asch of SwarthmoreCollege developed a simple experiment. He gave students a “vision test.” Participants were shown a vertical line, and then a group of three lines of various lengths. They simply had to identify which of the three lines matched the length of the first line. When subjects were given the test privately, only one of out 35 ever gave an incorrect answer.  

But things got interesting when Asch gave the same test to a group. The first several participants were confederates. They were told, in advance, the answer Asch wanted them to give. The last student asked didn’t know this.  

At first, the confederates would give the correct answer. Then, they were cued to deliberately give the wrong answer – to say a vertical line matched the first line, when it, obviously, did not. What would the unwitting student say when the rest of the group gave the wrong answer?  Seventy-five percent would conform their answer to that of the group.  

 

Jesus wants us to be thoughtful about life and not be swayed by the opinions of others. Have you ever felt as if youwere being manipulated to conform to the decisions of a group? Well, join the crowd. No, wait – that’s not what I meant . . . 

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/columbusdayriots-1024×814.jpg)

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The Value of Leaping and Dancing

Story of the Day for Wednesday August 28, 2013 

 

The Value of Leaping and Dancing 

                        Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 

                                                                                                                 Acts 3:6             

 

Doug Storer, in his book, Amazing But True Facts, writes about the sinking of the Dutch steamship, Tambora, in May, 1901. When the ship hit a reef and sank near a small island in the East Indies, the island natives rowed to the wreckage to salvage what they could find.  

A Chinese merchant, who made regular trading visits, visited the area a few months later. The merchant met a native who wanted to buy a needle and thread and offered to trade a large fishbone for them. The Chinese trader had no interest in buying a fishbone, but the native was so insistent that the merchant finally agreed to examine the fishbone which the man had in his hut.  

The native only had a fishbone to trade because, unfortunately, he arrived late on the scene of the sunken Dutch steamship and all the valuable items had already been taken. All he found was a box of brightly colored paper.  

When the trader stooped into the man’s hut to see his fishbone, he could hardly believe what he saw: insulating his hut, the native had plastered $40,000 in Dutch banknotes to his walls.  

 

One of the biggest challenges of life is sorting out the relative value of things. Bill Hybels, in his book, Honest to God?, cites a study in which college freshman, in 1967, were asked whether it was more important to be well-off financially or to discover a meaningful philosophy of life. The vast majority chose a meaningful philosophy of life. By 1986, however, eighty percent said it was more important to be well-off financially.  

 

In Proverbs it says that God’s wisdom is more valuable than rubies. All the same, just about everyone would prefer to be foolish and wealthy – which (I must be stern here) – is foolish.   

If you amass enough rubies you can buy cool stuff like a white truffle from Tuscanyor a riding lawnmower. And God doesn’t have a problem with rubies. He really doesn’t. Material things only become a curse when we cherish them above giftsof greater value.  

 

A beggar spotted Peter and John as they were entering the gateway into the temple. The beggar didn’t get what he wanted, but was given more than he could have dreamed. He was thinking about a fishbone but was about to discover the Dutch treasury.  

A silver coin does have value, but not as much as the ability to leap and dance in the temple court.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://amandafarrar.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/fotolia_5037869_m.jpg)

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Sounds Kind of Gross

Story of the Day for Tuesday August 27, 2013 

 

Sounds Kind of Gross 

 

                           As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.  

Proverbs 26:11        

 

On October 26, 1991, the passengers in the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 jetliner stumbled in the inky darkness to the emergency exits. But their real troubles didn’t begin until they exited the plane. As they jumped down the emergency slides, 28 people were injured.  

The jetliner didn’t crash but was sittingquietly in a darkened airport hangar in Long Beach, California. The FAA requires allnew aircraft to satisfy government safety requirements — including the requirement that they must be able to evacuate all passengers within 90 seconds. McDonnell Douglas failed the test — taking 132 seconds. 

As the sound of the ambulances rushing victims to the hospital died away, the airline engineers and FAA officials had time to assess the debacle.  

Back to the drawing board, right? Experts would need time to determine what went wrong and find a way to fix the problem.  

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Instead, hours later, they conducted the identical test a second time. Not surprisingly, they failed the evacuation time requirement again, but far more tragically, scores of people were again injured as they tried to bail out of the jet. One woman was permanently paralyzed from the neck down.  

None of the participants in the second test were allegedly told that 28 people were injured during the first test. At the end of the day, around 50 people were injured.   

 

Ever since we are toddlers we are warned against doing harmful things. We‘re taught to look both ways before crossing the street and not to touch a hot burner.  

God does the same thing. He tells us not to cross certain lines — not because he hates to see people having a good time — but because he knows that certain behaviors are harmful and can cripple joy. 

One way to avoid unnecessary pain in our lives is to listen to what God says. A second way to avoid unnecessary pain in our lives is to ignore what God says, and learn from bitter experience that sin really isn’t worth the effort.  

But the greatest tragedy is when we fail to learn from either God’s wisdom or bitter experience.  

I’m just guessing here, but it seems that guilt leads us to repeat sinful behavior — even though we recognize the misery it causes. Guilt makes us feel we deserve to hurt.  

But God has a better way. He doesn’t want us to live in guilt. Instead, he forgives and cleanses. And even more, the Bible says that God’s kindness empowers us to change our ways.  

 

In Proverbs it says that deliberately returning to the sin that was so repugnant is like a dog that eats something really rotten, throws up, and then later goes back to eat its vomit.  

Sounds kind of gross, but I think that’s the point.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/gma_landing_120720_wg.jpg)

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Sharing a Mutual Love for Potato Chips

Story of the Day for Friday August 23, 2013 

 

Sharing a Mutual Love for Potato Chips 

 

               The head priests and the Bible scholars saw the wonders Jesus did and the children shouting in the temple, saying,”Hosanna to the Son of David!”And they were indignant.  

Matthew 21:15      

 

 

Alina, one of my wife’s former students is now grown up, married, and has two little girls. Last week, her daughter said a bedtime prayer for her Mommy and Daddy, sister, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends.And then she added, “And God, please be with all the potatoes because I know you and me just LOVE potato chips!”  

I’d like to casually toss out the fact that I’m a Bible scholar. If you’re confused about the soteriological implications of proleptic eschatology, I’m your man. And, excuse me while I politely cough, but I also (ahem) . . . read the New Testament in the Greek!  Yes.  

We Bible scholars tend to wince at the prayers and praises of children. They don’t know what they’re talking about.When we scholars compose a prayer, it’s carefully sculpted to reflect a theologically precise view of God. The grammar is impeccable and nuanced. You will never – and I repeat myself for emphasis – you will never find us composing prayers which go romping on about our delight with potato chips.   

 

Yet, ironically, the Bible scholars of Jesus’ day, for all their knowledge of Scripture, couldn’t recognize God if he was standing right in front of them. They knew a lot about God, but they didn’t know him.   

The kids, on the other hand, shattered the solemnity with their boisterous praise to the Son of David. When the theologians objected to this, Jesus defended the kids and pointed to the Psalm which said, “From the mouths of children and nursing infants I have prepared praise.” Jesus liked their worship.  

 

The beauty of a child’s understanding of God is that it is a relationship.  

Yes, it’s important to have correct theology, but not at the expense of knowing God personally. I can easily find myself viewing the Trinity, say,more as a complex mathematical formula than the God who protects me, and loves me, and gives me strength.  

 

Once, when our daughter, Erika, was little she asked for something and we told her we couldn’t buy it because we couldn’t afford it. Later that evening, she came into my office and gave me a dollar to bail us out of our fiscal crisis.   

I wasn’t offended at my little daughter’s unsophisticated view of finances nor didI hand the dollar back to her in disgust at her ignorance. Instead, I was deeply touched by her thoughtfulness and generosity.  

I have a little box on my dresser. And, every now and then, I open it and look at the dollar she gave me.  

 

In the end, it’s all about relationship . . . like sharing a mutual love for potato chips.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image:http://fyiliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/iStock_000003308831XSmall.jpg) 

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Past the Thumb Sucking Stage

Story of the Day for ThursdayAugust22, 2013 

 

Past the Thumb Sucking Stage 

 

                 The end of a matter is better than its beginning. 

Ecclesiastes 7:8      

 

If you want to become a master chef, the first lesson you must learn is how to stand on a chair and turn off the smoke alarm. If you want to master the violin, you must imagine the sound of a cat being swung by its tail and do your best to imitate it.  

 

Beginnings aren’t impressive. When Abraham Lincoln was old enough to write his name, he wasn’t being hounded for his autograph, and there was no sign near Sinking Springs Farm proclaiming: 

  

WELCOME TO HARDIN COUNTY, KENTUCKY 

BIRTHPLACE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Autographs 5 cents 

 

On August 13, 2010, Scottie Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. But who would’ve guessed it from his unpromising beginning?  

Scottie’s family of eleven brothers and sisters was dogged by poverty. He played basketball, but just for fun. It wasn’t until he yearned for a job as a factory manager that he got serious about basketball – because a scholarship was the only way he could afford a college education.  

But Scottie couldn’t land a scholarship. His high school coach finally found him a chance to play for the University of Central Arkansas on a work-study arrangement. He worked summers as a welder to pay for school, and he worked as the team manager in order to play ball.  

Not a great start, but if he wasn’t willing to begin by passing out towels in the locker room, he never would have ended in the Hall of Fame with multi-million dollar contracts.  

 

When the Gospel message reached the seaport city of Corinth, in southern Greece, the newborn believers began by doing what all newborns do: crying, drinking milk and soiling their diapers. But that’s a good thing, because life has begun. 

When Paul writes to these young believers, he’s a little distressed because they should be past the thumb-sucking stage, but he is so excited about what God has begun in this bawdy sailor-town. Paul could write to them, “. . . you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you. I take great pride in you.”  

 

Saint Francis of Assisi said, “Start by doing what is necessary. Then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”  

The point, however, is to start. . . even if it only  means taking the battery out of the smoke alarm.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: https://kaarre.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/64e53-thumb_sucking_closeup.jpg)

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Carry Him in Your Pack

Story of the Day for Wednesday August 21, 2013 

 

Carry  Him in Your Pack 

 

                 Each one should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others. . .  

1 Peter 4:10    

 

When we talk about spiritual gifts, we can easily get the wrong impression.  The emphasis seems to be on the word “spiritual” – distinguishing it from “normal” gifts, such as being a talented musician or mechanic.   

Surprisingly, the Greek word for “spiritual” is not even present in the term.  Instead, if you translate it literally, it comes out like “grace gift.”  The emphasis is not that the gift is “spiritual” or “miraculous,” but that it is a gift of God’s grace to us.   

When God gives us grace, he is giving us something we haven’t earned.  We don’t get it because we deserve it. It’s just a gift.  When God washes us clean from our sin, it’s a gift.  When he promises us eternal joy in heaven, it’s a gift.   

 

As Jesus gave his life in sacrifice to us, he wants us to know the same kind of life.  Whatever talent we have is a gift of grace, which we are not to use to promote our own glory, but to serve other people.   

Using your talents to serve others doesn’t sound especially fun – at least not when you compare it to receiving admiration and becoming the focus of attention. But once you get the hang of what it really means to help others, there is no comparison.   

 

Father and son, Frank and John Schaeffer, wrote a book, Keeping Faith. Marine recruit John Schaeffer explains how, if you drop out of training for medical reasons, you are put in another platoon and pick up where you left off.  But no one wants to leave their platoon.  They have suffered so much together.  They are a band of brothers. 

Schaeffer writes about Recruit Parks.  Parks was a small, skinny kid from New York.  He developed double pneumonia just before the final, tortuous test to becoming a Marine called “The Crucible.” Their Senior Drill Instructor, Staff Sergeant Marshal told the platoon: “Parks is going to finish with us if I have to carry him in my pack!” 

The night before the Crucible, unbeknownst to the Drill Instructors, a few of the stronger recruits took out the heavier items in Park’s pack and put them in their own.   

For the 2 ½ day Crucible, they marched 54 miles with all their equipment.   They only slept four hours a night and received only two meals for the entire ordeal.   

Each squad had to pretend one of their men was wounded and drag and carry him through combat conditions.  Park’s squad designated him as “wounded” and carried him.  They put recruits on each side of him on the ropes course. 

 As they stood at attention and saluted the flag at end of the Crucible, Parks stood with them, weak and pale.  He received his “Stars and Bars” – becoming a Marine with his platoon.  Tears streamed down the cheeks of his comrades.  They carried each others burdens.  And no one was left behind. 

 

Ask those Marines if it’s worth it to use your strengths to help your brother.   

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://www.lifeforcemagazine.com/dec2011/index_htm_files/327.jpg)

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Got Any Steeples?

Story of the Day for Tuesday August 19, 2013 

 

Got Any Steeples? 

 

                 If I don’t understand what someone is saying, I’m a foreigner to the speaker, and he’s a foreigner to me.  

1 Corinthians 14:11   

 

“Got any steeples?”  

“Um,” I said, “got any what?” 

“Got any steeples?” 

Even though I was confident I didn’t have any steeples, I hedged by saying, “I don’t think so.”  

Robert, who was fixing my fence, looked puzzled. “I left some here last fall.”  

When you don’t understand something, and others think you should, there’s no point in blurting out your ignorance. Those who learn from me resort, instead, to sly subterfuge.  

“So,” I asked, “what do you want steeples for?”  

Robert looked at me as if I was a duck that had been whacked over the head with a shovel. 

“To nile the bob whar.”  

To . . .nail the barbed wire! “You want some staples!”  

Robert didn’t answer, but gave me a strange look – as if uncertain whether it was worth his time to engage in conversation with a dazed duck.  

Robert, to put it mildly, was not awed by my intellectual prowess. But, in my defense, you should know that Robert grew up in Oklahoma – which can stunt anyone’s linguistic clarity.  

 

Once, this guy was walking down the street when he noticed a man struggling by himself with a washing machine at the doorway of his house.  

“Can I help?”  

The man smiled, and between heaving breaths, replied, “Yeah, thanks!” 

With one man on each end they lifted and grunted, and pushed, but nothing happened.  

“Sorry,” the Good Samaritan told the man, “I don’t think the two of us can get this washing machine inside by ourselves.”  

“Inside? I’m trying to get it out of my house.”   

 

Ask a non-Christian what we believe, and most will say our faith is about trying to be good enough to get to heaven, and condemning everyone else who isn’t as holy as we are. Have you ever wondered whether all of them reject the mercy of Jesus, or whether, sometimes, they simply don’t know what we’re trying to say?  

 

This evening, I asked my wife if she was awed by my intellectual prowess.  

From the blank look she gave me you’d think I came from Oklahoma, or something.  

(copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)  (image:  http://www.mwn-meshfence.com/Fencing_Staples/Fencing_Staples4.jpg)

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A Time to Agree

Story of the Day for Monday August 19, 2013 

 

A Time to Agree 

 

                    I beg of you . . . that all of you agree with each other so that there might be no more divisions among you. 

1 Corinthians 1:10            

 

How many hours is it before the next sunrise? That, obviously, depends on where you live because the sunrise will vary by 24 hours – depending on your longitude.  

In the 1800s, communities in England had the instruments to accurately calculate high noon. Keeping accurate time in your hometown created no big problem until the railway system increased its speed. On an east to west railroad, every town will reach high noon at a different time. Even the city of London’s time differed by two minutes from one end of the city to the other. 

In the United States, the situation was no better. Each railroad company decided to set a standard time – no matter where it went. But the railroad companies couldn’t agree on what time should be used. So, each railroad operated by a different time. The train station in Pittsburg had six clocks – each one set to a different time – depending on which train you wanted to ride on. In 1883, W. F. Allenfound that there were about fifty different “official” times in use throughout the country.  

During World War I, the U.S. established Daylight Savings Time in order to conserve fuel. When the war was over, some localities continued using Daylight Savings Time and others refused. In one 35-mile stretch of highway from West Virginia to Ohio, the local time would change no less than seven times.  

When communities acted in their own self-interest to determine the time, no one really knew what time it was. Everyone was frustrated and confused.  

 

We often assume it’s in our own self-interest to act in our own self-interest, but this isn’t always the case. John Allen Paulos, in his book, Innumeracy, cites an experiment demonstrating how self-interest works against us.  

He asks us to imagine twenty casual acquaintances brought together by an eccentric philanthropist. No one is allowed to communicate with each other. The philanthropist then explains to the group that, if everyone refrains from pressing a button in front of them, they will each receive $10,000. If, however, some in the group do press the button, they will receive $3,000, and those who refrained from touching the button will receive nothing.  

It is in everyone’s self-interest to avoid touching the button and receiving $10,000 a piece. But, without the ability to talk and cooperate with each other, how likely is it that everyone in the group would act to bring the greatest benefit to themselves (and everyone else)?  

Not likely.  

 

The saddest thing about insisting on what we want is that we won’t get what we want. God has created us so that we gain the greatest good by sacrificing our own best interests for the sake of the needs of others. 

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/7/8/1247071855373/Clocks-set-to-internation-001.jpg)

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A Continual Feast

Story of the Day for Friday August 16, 2013 

 

A Continual Feast 

 

 

                All the days of the afflicted are miserable, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. 

Proverbs 15:15    

 

 

At the Olympics, two athletes reach the podium. Who will be happier: The athlete who won the bronze medal or the athlete who took silver?   

Not too difficult to answer, is it? The athlete who won the silver medal did better than the athlete who won the bronze, so obviously he or she is happier.   

But Richard Wiseman, professor at the University of Herfordshire, UK, suggests otherwise. He believes that those who win a bronze medal are happier about their achievement. Why? The silver medalists looks to the top of the podium, and tends to think, “If only I had done a little better, I could have won the gold. But I fell short.”   

Bronze medal winners tends to look in the other direction. They see that, if they hadn’t outperformed the other competitors, they wouldn’t have made it to the podium at all. The difference in attitude between silver and bronze medalists is not accomplishment, but perspective. 

 

We are not victims of happiness or misery. Our disposition is not determined by outside forces beyond our control, but by our attitude. A Hollywood celebrity can become furious because the chateaubriand was served medium rather than medium rare, while a starving man may burst with joy at finding a moldy piece of bread.  

 

Prof. Wiseman, has written a book called The Luck Factor, where he seeks to discover the differences between people who are considered lucky and unlucky. (Wiseman rejects the notion of luck as a magical, superstitious power. When he talks about “luck” he simply means “fortunate.”) He asked the participants in his study to imagine they were waiting in line at a bank. Suddenly, an armed robber enters the bank, fires a shot, and the bullet hits them in the arm. Wiseman asks them, “Would you consider yourself lucky or unlucky?”   

Those who defined themselves as unlucky people said this shooting would be very unlucky.  Just their luck to be in the bank when a robbery takes place.  But those in the study who considered themselves lucky were far more likely to consider themselves fortunate. “You could have been shot in the head,” they would say.  Some thought about how you could sell your story to the newspapers and make some money.   

Wiseman concluded that much of the good and bad fortune we encounter in life is a result of our thoughts and behavior. In other words, it’s about our attitude.  

An old saying goes: “The same sun that melts the ice, hardens the clay.”  Identical circumstances in life may make some people bitter, and other people better.  

 

God teaches us in this proverb that cheerfulness is an attitude. It comes from the heart. But let’s never forget that the Lord provides the ultimate basis for cheerfulness over misery. All our most vital battles will end in victory because of Jesus.  

And thinking about that is a continual feast 

(copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre) 

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