Myra

            Myra Blalock was a dear, sweet woman. I say, “was”, because Myra passed away a couple of months ago.

            Last week, our church office received a phone call from Myra’s former boss. She effusively praised Myra. From the boss’s description, Myra authentically illustrated her faith through her work.

            Myra’s employer had been wrestling with how she was going to replace someone so valuable. That is why she called Myra’s church—was there someone else there who might be interested in Myra’s old job?

            Do you hear what Myra’s employer was asking? She was trying to account for someone who had stood out so much in the workplace. She was hoping that perhaps the group that helped form Myra’s faith could help her find someone else who would also be impactful.

            I love Myra’s story. It is a great testimony.

            What about us?

            Are we offering our best at work?

            If we are Christians, are we blessing those in our workplace so much that our employers seek to find the community that is helping to form our faith?

Risks

            I came across this poem, and it reminded me of how risky God’s call of faith must have sounded to the Christians in the book Hebrews:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

The hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing does nothing,

            but has nothing and is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or live

Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave; he has

            forfeited his freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

––Author unknown

A Successful Flop

            Dick Fosbury was not a very good athlete, but he liked sports. He tried several before settling on the high jump in track and field.            

            He tried many of the well-known methods: the western roll, the straddle, and the scissors. At last he did something weird; he approached the bar with great speed and jumped—head facing up and back facing down—with his head leading the way over the bar. Initially, several officials protested, but since Fosbury jumped off of one foot, the jump was ruled legal.

            Great success did not arrive quickly. Fosbury spent years working on his technique. No one—no one—felt inspired to imitate it. Many ridiculed him for it.

            At last, during college, he became one of the top fifty high jumpers in the world. In 1968, he made the U.S. Olympic team. Incredibly, in the Olympic games in Mexico City later that year, Fosbury won the high jump setting an Olympic record of seven feet four inches.

            Little by little, the style caught on. In 1972, Juri Tarmak, won the Olympic gold medal deploying the straddle technique. Since then, every winning jumper has used the Fosbury Flop. For years, it has been the standard in high jumping.

            There are times a leader is so far ahead of the pack that people cannot comprehend where he is going. For God’s leader, it is essential for him to listen to voice of God. 

            This is where Hebrews chapters ten-twelve can encourage. In times when the Christian leader is ahead of everyone else, let him not preoccupy himself with their feedback. Instead, let him play to the audience of God and the cloud of witnesses (those who have gone on before in the faith.) They will cheer him on.

Blessings of Radical Obedience

            May Nelson lived in Australia. One morning, she was walking with her three small children on a dusty road when suddenly she commanded, “Children, stand still!”

            Fortunately, the children stood absolutely motionless, even though they did not know why. A few seconds later, they observed a 6 foot long, deadly snake slithering only a few inches away from the shoes of the oldest child.

            Since the children stood completely still, the poisonous snake slithered past and disappeared. Had the children asked “why?” instead of instantly obeying their mother’s command, the result could have been catastrophic.

            One of those children was Allison Nelson. She would grow up to become a world-famous concert pianist.

            God desires instant, radical obedience like this. In Genesis 22, Abraham offers God this kind of radical obedience when he took his son, Isaac, to the altar. To this day three world religions honor him for it—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More importantly, God does too (see also Heb. 11:17-19.)

Source: THE NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY—LEVITICUS/NUMBERS by Roy Gane

Impeding Progress

1 Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go (Heb. 12:1a.) CEV

It is said that the army of Alexander the Great was advancing on Persia. The moment arrived when all might be lost. The problem? The soldiers had accumulated so much plunder from previous victories; the possessions were beginning to weigh them down. They were no longer like soldiers—they were like a traveling pawnshop!

Alexander recognized the issue. He ordered that all of the booty be piled up and burned.

This did not go over well with the soldiers… initially. In time, they understood their commander’s astuteness. One historian has written, “It was as if wings had been given to them—they walked lightly again.” The army proceeded once more to victory.

The writer of Hebrews was seeking to motivate the Christians to do symbolically the same thing. They were weighed down by false values, which translated into a defeated lifestyle. He challenged them to take inventory, and to throw everything away that hindered their walk with Jesus.

Might we be wise to do the same?

Source: Our Daily Bread, July 3, 1992

Being in the Minority

            Being in the minority may not be that bad of a thing. I was reminded several years ago by a fellow’s bulletin article of some famous people who were in the minority:

            Noah (not many joined him on the ark)

            Joseph (only God-fearer I know of during his early years in Egypt)

            Gideon (God sent the majority home)

            David (against Goliath, he was on his own)

            Elijah (took on the 450 prophets of Baal—and the crowd)

            Jesus (on the cross, few stood by him)

            Reading Hebrews, I have been struck by how the minority group of Christians wants to leave the church to join the majority. Bad idea!

            The question is never numbers; it is always names. If we are standing on God’s side, numbers never matter.

The Cost of Ideas

            Ideas have consequences. Be ready to accept the consequences of what you believe.

            Robert Ingersoll was an American agnostic who lived in the 19^th century. He owned a remarkable and celebrated library, which included many atheistical books.

            A reporter once asked him what his library cost him. Ingersoll thought for a moment and answered, “The governorship of Illinois and possibly the presidency of the United States.

Source: Edmund Fuller

Little Things

                  The date is the early nineties. It was the first game to be played in the new Chicago Stadium. The superstructure built for the 21st century cost $175 million. The first game ever played in the building was a basketball game between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz.

            As you might imagine, opening night was special. There were dignitaries and special guests. There were fireworks. 

            Finally, the moment arrived for the opening tip-off. The players took their positions on the floor, likewise, the referees. The crowd yelled with anticipation. Everyone was set. There was one minor problem. Someone forgot the basketball.

            The game was delayed for several minutes, while someone left to look for a basketball.

                 Now think about it: a $175 million arena, athletes making millions, 1000s of dollars spent on tickets, 1000s of dollars spent for uniforms…. Everyone-players, refs, coaches, fans, management-was in proper place. And, the game had to be suspended—for a ball.

            Sometimes, it's the little things that count. You can have a basketball game without fans, without a big arena, without players earning big money, without fancy uniforms, but you just can have a basketball game without a ball.

            In Christianity, you can have big, expensive church buildings, you can have sound Biblical doctrine, you can have knockout assemblies, you can have big offerings, but if you don't have a fundamental faith in Christ that is transforming you into His disciple, you cannot have Christianity.

            (Let me err on the side of caution--I may have found this story in an old bulletin article back in the nineties. If so, I apologize to the original writer for not giving proper credit.)

He Believed; Therefore, He Spoke

 13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself (II Cor. 4:13).

            I have enormous respect for Richard Wurmbrand. In his book, TORTURED FOR CHRIST, Wurmbrand recounts how he and others spent years in a Communist prison in Romania.

            Wurmbrand himself served fourteen years in prison. During some of those years, he was placed in a cell beneath the earth’s surface. Can you imagine spending several years without seeing sunlight? In time, images such as flowers and grass faded from Wurmbrand’s memory.

            Those who guarded Wurmbrand tortured him. Some sought to dehumanize Richard by urinating on him. He was severely beaten, and suffered other atrocities at the hands of his captors.

            Above all, speaking about Jesus was anathema. To do so was to submit to savage punishment. That did not stop Wurmbrand. He formulated a means of communication using exposed water pipes. With a spoon, Richard tapped out good news about Jesus in Morse code.

            In spite of the fact that he was hungry and hurting, Richard Wurbrand shared the gospel with his fellow prisoners. I am amazed by his faith.

            Like the Apostle Paul, Richard believed; therefore, he spoke.

The Next Step

A few years ago in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, I read a remarkable story. In the spring of 1978, the New England Whalers of the WHA fired their communications director and radio play-by-play man. He was 45 years old and unemployed.

He decided to look into finding a way to provide coverage of the University of Connecticut basketball games using the more than 12 cable operators located in the state.

As he talked with these operators, they kept mentioning a distribution technology. With time on his hands, he checked into it and found that RCA had a satellite in space for two years and was looking for customers.

He discovered that he could provide UCONN basketball games not only to the state of Conn., but also to the entire U.S. for a cheap price. For that reason, Bill Rasmussen decided to offer 24-hour-a-day programming because it was cheaper to do so than to not.

Because RCA did not demand the rent up front, Rasmussen borrowed $9000 from credit cards and began a network. The network began by broadcasting on a limited basis daily and 24 hours on weekends. One year later, it was broadcasting 24 hours a day. This was how ESPN was born.

We Christians sing a song taken from Psalm 119:

THY WORD IS A LAMP UNTO MY FEET AND A LIGHT UNTO MY PATH…

As has been written, the lamp of Psalm 119 was not a flashlight. Rather, it was more like a lantern or a candle. A person could see just enough ahead to take the next step or two, but no farther.

Bill Rasmussen did not begin with a grand vision—“I will be the founder of ESPN!” No, he was initially seeking to fulfill a much more modest goal. A step here, and a step there, and look where it led him!

The apostle Paul was not looking to lay the religious and philosophical foundation for western civilization. He was simply seeking to take the gospel to the Gentiles.  He followed God, step by step.

In reality, our call is not to carry out a grand vision for God. Our call is simply to honor God in this next step. Will we?

Will Science Eradicate Faith?

I have noticed, the past few years, many fear the impact of new technology and scientific discoveries on the spiritual. I used to fear myself. The past few years, I find myself feeling more optimistic. There are several reasons for this. One comes from observing the astronauts in the space program.

Back in the sixties, when the U. S. was racing the Soviet Union to the moon, a substantial number of people believed the advancement of the space program would eradicate the religious influence in our nation. However, many of the astronauts sabotaged this hope.

In some cases, the astronauts publically and unashamedly demonstrated the influence faith had in their lives. Surely Christmas Eve, 1968 was an irritating day to the atheist. As the Apollo 8 astronauts were completing the first human orbits around the moon, they sent a television broadcast watched by people around the world. In the midst of this triumph of science and technology, the three astronauts, moved by their experience, took turns reading the Genesis’ account of the Creation.

Other moments of faith were not seen by world, but offer us a glimpse into the soul. The faith of Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin was not affected by his training. Instead, he carried with him a communion set to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission. During a rest period on Sunday afternoon, July 20, 1969, Aldrin took time to observe the Lord’s Supper on the moon.

These are just two examples of what was rather common. Technology and science have not dragged most of these men and women away from faith. Rather, they have enhanced their faith. In some cases, the astronauts’ experiences even created faith.

I choose to view their stories as templates for our future. I remain steadfastly optimistic that as we are blessed by the discoveries of the future, we will feel compelled to grow more grateful to God.