Blog – Page 7

Come On, You Can Do It

June 26, 2016

Earlier this spring a hummingbird built a nest in a bush just 14 inches from my sister’s dining room window. She laid one egg and guarded it carefully. Thanks to cell phone camera technology, my sister was able to get some amazing photos.
After the egg hatched, she made a video of the mother bird feeding the baby. Ensuing photos and videos documented the baby’s growth. Mama was kept busy all day catching insects and drinking nectar, then depositing them in the hungry baby’s mouth. Eventually the baby grew so big that there was no room in the nest for Mama. If you don’t see the video here, click on the title above.
But the show really got interesting when it was time for Baby to learn to fly. Of all the videos, my favorite is the one where Mama was first teaching Baby how to flap his wings. First she flew in front of him as if to say, “Look now! Flap flap! See?” Baby watched with fascination. Then Mama flew around him, flapping energetically as if saying, “You can do this too! See? Flap flap.”
Baby emerged from the nest a bit, but still didn’t flap until Mama gently tapped the top of his wing. “Come on, you can do it!” And then, very tentatively at first, he began to move his wings. Each day the wings grew stronger, and the length of flapping time increased, until the day came when baby flew away, leaving the nest behind.
I especially enjoyed this particular video because it made me think of how God encourages us when he leads us into something new. First he shows us the possibility. “Look, flap flap. Watch me.”
Our hearts are stirred. “Wow!” we say. “That is really amazing.” Then comes the tap on the shoulder. “Come on, time for you to try it.” At first we may only be able to manage a few weak flaps, but as we continue, our wings grow stronger until the day we’re ready to leave our comfort zone and move into what God has for us.
Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Whether it is a new venture, or just a new way of thinking about some area in our lives, the process is the same as when the mama bird taught her baby to fly. God shows us the possibilities, and we may find them fascinating. But we won’t get far sitting in our nest waiting to be nurtured. We must respond to His gentle tap on our shoulder and begin exercising our faith muscles. Before long, we will be on our way, doing what God wants us to do.

Geared Up Right

April 23, 2016

Last weekend a friend and former colleague was in a serious motorcycle accident. He was out for a ride with his motorcycle group, sailing along in the sunshine, when he took a sudden turn into a patch of gravel. The bike slid, and he went down. Result: five broken ribs, two fractured ribs, and a broken shoulder blade. Following motorcycle accident protocol, the EMTs had him airlifted to the nearest Class 1 trauma center.

He’s in the hospital now and in a lot of pain, but he is alive. He had no head injuries or broken limbs, thanks to a wide assortment of protective clothing and equipment. His completely demolished helmet now hangs on the wall of the motorcycle shop to demonstrate its effectiveness in protecting him. The engine guards, metal bars designed to keep a rolled-over bike from crushing the rider’s legs, did their job too. (You can see them behind the front wheel, with their black plastic covers.) And his layers of protective clothing kept his skin from being scraped and torn to shreds.

Recounting the accident and its aftermath, he told me the paramedics, the helicopter pilots, and the ER staff all made the same comment: “He was geared up right.” He had used and worn every possible protection, just in case the unthinkable happened. Medical personnel see so many accident victims who were careless in their preparations, and they see the heartbreaking results of those riders’ mishaps.

Of course this brought to mind the spiritual armor God has given us as described in Ephesians 6:13-17: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the good news of the Gospel, and the helmet of salvation, to protect us against attacks of the enemy. But I think being geared up right involves more than that. When I go out to “do my day,” what kinds of attitudes am I wearing? Am I looking for opportunities to bless others, or making decisions based on what’s in it for me? Am I ready to share God’s love and grace, or to judge and criticize? Am I being a light in the darkness, or a carrier of doom and discouragement?

In Colossians 3:12 and 14 we are told, “You must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… Above all, clothe yourselves with love…” If I take a sudden turn into a patch of gravel, my response will quickly show what kind of gear I have chosen to put on. Although I may encounter some painful situations, walking in godly attitudes will protect me and keep me from doing and saying things that could make matters even worse. And whatever happens, I’m sure to recover much more quickly if I have gone into the situation geared up right.

The Fun Way to Live

April 2, 2016

A refrigerator is a blessing. I can’t imagine having to live way back when, without this convenience that we take for granted. It’s a marvel – until the power goes out or the fridge breaks down. But even then, we know the situation is temporary and the handy appliance will soon be up and running again.

One November day during my first year in my condo, the fridge died. It wasn’t a very good one and was small for the space allotted in the kitchen. It was nothing like the nice one I had in my previous home. In fact, I was pretty sure someone had pulled a switch before I moved in and this wasn’t even the refrigerator that had been in the unit when I initially looked at it. But it did keep the food cold – until it decided it didn’t want to any more.

I took advantage of the chilly weather to use my balcony for temporary food storage, filling laundry baskets with food and carting them out there

When this happened, I was reminded of the scripture in Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.” So I said, “Lord, I love you and I am called according to your purpose. I can hardly wait to see how you’re going to work this together for good for me.”

The owners of the unit asked me if I would go to the appliance store and find a refrigerator like the one that had broken down, buy it, and make arrangements for delivery. I could deduct the price from my next rent check. In a moment of inspiration I said I would be glad to, but could I buy one that I really liked instead, and pay them the difference between the replacement model and the model of my choice? They agreed to that.

As it turned out, a refrigerator exactly like the one I had left behind was on sale that weekend. The difference between the small replacement fridge and the nice one with all the bells and whistles I wanted was only $400. So, for $400 I had a brand-new $1,4000 fridge! And then, when I purchased the condo a few months later, that nice new refrigerator was already there. The new refrigerator more than made up for the inconvenience of storing food on my balcony for a few days. God really did make that whole situation work together for good for me.

When something goes wrong, it is very tempting to get upset and say, “Why is this happening to me?” But God is always looking for opportunities to bless us. When we’re really thinking clearly, we’ll remember to say, “Lord, I can hardly wait to see how you’re going to make this work to together for good to me.” What a fun way to live!

How Many Apples in a Seed?

February 20, 2016

Robert H. Schuller once said, “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.”

This is mind-boggling when you really think about it. Seeds are one of my favorite objects in the natural world that illustrate spiritual truths. Each seed is like a tiny computer, containing within it all that’s needed to produce a complete plant. Planted in the right conditions, it will sprout and grow. Some seeds can lie dormant for years, but when they’re finally planted they will grow.

While contemplating this, I thought about an Andrew Wommack teaching tape that had lain dormant in the back of a drawer for fifteen years, until 2006, when Ashley and Carlie Terradez borrowed it from Carlie’s parents and popped it into the cassette player in their car. The truths on that tape came alive in their hearts and minds, and changed their lives. Their new understanding of the Bible, and of the true nature of God, led to the miraculous healing of their terminally ill three-year-old daughter, Hannah. Since then, the story of Hannah’s healing has blessed and encouraged millions of people.

Ashley and Carlie are now part of Andrew Wommack’s ministry, and Carlie runs the weekly Healing School where thousands of people have been healed of all kinds of sicknesses and infirmities, and have then gone on to minister healing to others. It would be impossible to count the lives that have been changed since that tape was planted in Ashley and Carlie’s cassette player.

Actually, the tape was more like a piece of fruit, and each truth contained on it was a seed. Ashley and Carlie’s hearts were the good soil that enabled the seeds to produce a bumper crop. And those fruits contained seeds that produced more and more fruit.

We could take the analogy further back to the ministry partners whose financial support enabled Andrew to produce and distribute that teaching tape. We never know how far reaching our gifts into the kingdom may be. How encouraging! “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

Video: Hannah’s Healing

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