Articles
"Not a One!"
Not a One!
By Paul R. Blake
(I wish I had written this story; I love it! - prb) Little Chad was a shy, quiet little boy. One day he came home and told his mother that he'd like to make a valentine for everyone in his class. Her heart sank. She thought, "I wish he wouldn't do that!" because she had watched the children when they walked home from school. Her Chad was always behind them. They laughed and hung on to each other and talked to each other. But Chad was never included. Nevertheless, she decided she would go along with her son. So she purchased the paper and glue and crayons. For three weeks, night after night, Chad painstakingly made 35 valentines.
Valentine's Day dawned, and Chad was beside himself with excitement. He carefully stacked them up, put them in a bag, and bolted out the door. His mother decided to bake him his favorite cookies and serve them nice and warm with a cool glass of milk when he came home from school. She just knew he would be disappointed, and maybe that would ease the pain a little. It hurt her to think that he wouldn't get many valentines--maybe none at all.
That afternoon she had the cookies and milk on the table. When she heard the children outside, she looked out the window. Sure enough, there they came, laughing and having the best time. And, as always, there was Chad in the rear. He walked a little faster than usual. She fully expected him to burst into tears as soon as he got inside. His hands were empty, she noticed, and when the door opened she choked back the tears. "Mommy has some cookies and milk for you," she said.
But he hardly heard her words. He just marched right on by, his face red, and all he could say was: "Not a one. Not a one."
Her heart sank.
And then he added cheerfully, "I didn't forget a one, not a single one!" (Author Unknown)
It’s not about ourselves, folks; it’s about others. It is not what we get out of church services, but what we put into them. It is not about what we think life owes us, but rather what we owe the Lord.
Jesus didn’t come into this world to be waited on; He came to serve. We cannot pretend to be His disciples if our first concern is what we get out of it. For the true Christian, it is not “I deserve my rights,” but rather, “how can I help meet your needs.”
What word is common in the language of contemporary mental health: self-actualization, self-esteem, self-interest, love yourself, be good to yourself, self-fulfillment, ad infinitum et ad nauseum? SELF! Me-ism gone to seed. This manner of reasoning may seem plausible to the worldly, but it is alien to the mind of Christ.
The little child in the story above perfectly illustrates our service to God and our fellow human beings, that is, we receive so much joy and fulfillment from what we give to others that we have little time or interest in dwelling on what we think others might owe us. And the little lad’s mother’s fear demonstrates what so many expect, that is, one will be hurt or even damaged if he does not get what he thinks is his due. May this world soon be peopled with little boys who are ecstatic because they remembered to give everyone a valentine, and may there be fewer folks who are upset because they might have been overlooked.
A Consuming Desire
What's the greatest novel ever written? Many readers would vote for Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, which, depending on the edition, can run well over 1,000 pages. Even after his novel was finished, Tolstoy continued to write—often until he was on the brink of exhaustion, unable to sleep, and on the verge of a breakdown.
One day a friend asked him why he kept writing and driving himself to the edge of exhaustion. He reminded Tolstoy that he was a wealthy Russian count with servants at his beck and call, and that he had a secure future. Tolstoy explained that he kept writing because he was the slave of an inner compulsion and had a consuming desire deep within his bones. He felt that he had to keep writing or else he would go mad.
The apostle Paul experienced a similar compulsion, except that his drive was God-motivated. As he explained to his friends in Corinth, "the love of Christ compels us" (2Cor. 5:14). His was a burning passion, an emotional fire, a spiritual force that made him share the good news of Jesus and His death and resurrection. Such dedicated zeal has characterized many of our Lord's followers throughout the years. May a spark of that fire burn in our own hearts. (Vernon C. Grounds)
Broken by the Plow
Why must I suffer disappointment, sorrow, and tribulation? What have I done that God should send me trials? Is He displeased with me? These questions are constantly asked by God's dear children.
Much of this fear and questioning is due to our misunderstanding of God's dealings with His own. He has His good reasons. And one of those reasons is for our spiritual discipline. We should be far more afraid of being left alone than of God's chastening, for He wastes no time on worthless objects that give no promise of fruitfulness.
On the shores of Lake Michigan are great barren sand dunes that have never felt the point of a plow. But in the rich lowlands beyond them, the farmer is constantly cultivating the soil. The farmer knows what he is doing, so he keeps on breaking up the soil. The deeper the plow works and the more the sharp harrow, the more precious the crop will be when harvest time comes.
God's plow goes deep, but it is only that in the end we may forget the plowing and rejoice in the blessing of bearing much fruit for Him. "No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Heb. 12:11).
A Moments Wisdom
--Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.
--The more love we give away, the more we have.
--Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the dumb can understand.
--Happiness is a by-product of goodness.
--The Bread of Life never becomes stale.
--He who would have friends must show himself friendly.
--Christianity must function or it will fizzle.
--Fooling with sin is only indulged in by fools.
--The sunlight of love will kill all the germs of jealousy and hate.
Upcoming Sermons
10/23/22 AM - I Will with God’s Help; PM - Homilies from the Hypocrites
10/30/22 AM - May the Lord Give You Peace; PM - The Making of a Fool
11/6/22 AM - Equal in God’s Eyes; PM - Singing Service: Congregational Choice of Songs
11/13/22 AM - Is God Too Strict?; PM - Seven Social Sins
11/20/22 AM - Frightening the Faithful; PM - Titus, the True Son
11/27/22 AM - “Not!”; PM - “Without a Parable, He Did Not Speak to Them”
