American Teens Hold Deistic Beliefs

Researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina interviewed more than 3,000 teenagers about their religious beliefs and have released findings in a new book. The social scientists concluded that American teenagers believe:
• A god exists who created the world and watches over human life.
• God wants people to be nice to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
• The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself.
• God does not need to be involved in one's life except when needed to resolve a problem.
• Good people go to heaven when they die.
Commenting on the research, Gene Edward Veith writes, "Even these secular researchers recognized that this creed is a far cry from Christianity, with no place for sin, judgment, salvation, or Christ.
"Instead, most teenagers believe in a combination of works righteousness, religion as psychological well-being, and a distant, non-interfering god.
"Or, to use a technical term, 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.'"

Source: World (25 June 2005)

Comparison: Too Much House

Several years ago, Millard Fuller of Habitat for Humanity held a workshop at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with 200 pastors in attendance. The assembled pastors quickly identified greed and selfishness as the reason the church never has enough money to assist others in need.
Millard then asked a seemingly innocent question. "Is it possible for a person to build a house so large that it's sinful in the eyes of God? Raise your hand if you think so."
All 200 pastors raised their hands.
"Okay," said Millard, "then can you tell me at exactly what size, the precise square footage, a house becomes sinful to occupy?"
The pastors were silent. Finally, a quiet voice spoke up from the back of the room. "When it's bigger than mine."

Source: Preaching to Skeptics and Seekers (Abingdon, 2001)

Seeking: Karma or Grace?

In the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assaya, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2 discusses the radical implications of God's grace.
"It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between grace and karma.
"[Karma says] what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called grace to upend all that 'as you sow, so you will reap' stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff …
"It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity."

source unknown

Accepting Challenges

The highly regarded HBO miniseries Band of Brothers follows a company of U.S. paratroopers through the preparation and experience of invading Europe on D-Day. Based on real life interviews with survivors, the series captures both the intensity of war and the heroism of the troops.
Lieutenant Richard Winters is a powerful example of a leader who understands his calling. While leading his troops into their most celebrated and challenging task of the war, combating the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge, Winters is approached by an exhausted soldier leaving the front line.
"Looks like you guys are going to be surrounded," the soldier says ominously.
Without hesitation Winters replies, "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded."

Band of Brothers DVD 6 (Warner Brothers Home Video, 2001)

Priorities: What Now, Raymond?

After nine seasons, the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond broadcast its final episode in May 2005. Due to the series, the star, Ray Romano, went from struggling stand-up comedian to one of the highest-paid actors on TV.
At the conclusion of the last day's filming, Romano spoke to the studio audience, reflecting on his past and his future. He read a note his brother had stuck in his luggage the day he moved from New York to Hollywood nine years earlier. It said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?" A tearful Romano looked up and told the audience, "Now I'm going to work on my soul."

Biography A&E (13 May 2005)

Coach Carter

Set-up: The film is the true story of Ken Carter (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson), a successful sporting goods store owner, who in 1999 became head basketball coach for a high school in impoverished Richmond, California. Dismayed by the attitude of his players and their dismal performance on the court, Carter sets out to change both by imposing a strict regime including respectful behavior, dress code, and good grades as a prerequisite for participation.
Scene: One player quits the team, only to return later with a desire to be reinstated. Timo asks Coach Carter what he must do to play. Carter informs him that he must complete 2,500 push-ups and 1,000 suicide drills by Friday—a task even the coach calls impossible.
By Friday, Timo is short of both goals. Although impressed by the effort, Carter asks him to leave the gym. Timo has failed.
Unexpectedly, another player, Jason, who previously had a personality conflict with Timo, steps forward. "I'll do push-ups for him," he tells the coach. "You said we're a team. One person struggles, we all struggle. One player triumphs, we all triumph. Right?"
Coach Carter, speechless but satisfied that his team is finally responding to his efforts, watches Jason drop to the floor and begin doing push-ups. One by one the entire team joins to help Timo reach his goal.
Conclusion: Christ has not merely redeemed individuals, but has assembled us into a united and interdependent body—the church. The apostle Paul reminds us that when one part of this body suffers, every part suffers with it. And if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. This should motivate us to carry one another's burdens and rally around those in the church who are facing particularly difficult challenges.

source unknown

Focus

My eight-year-old daughter Ananya was about to do her homework, but her mind was elsewhere. She sharpened her pencils. She arranged the eraser, sharpener and ruler in a row. Then she collected the pencil shavings in a pile.
"Let's read the first problem," I suggested, but she began doodling.
"Well, have you heard the story of the bird's eye?" I asked. Her ears perked up. I began...
Long ago in India, there lived a martial arts teacher named Drona. He ran an academy in the middle of the forest where he taught the art of archery. Students traveled for miles and miles to learn from him. A boy named Arjuna wanted to be the best archer in the world. So he decided to study at Drona's academy. He lived in the cottages for students.
Drona showed his students how to hold a bow and arrow. He told them to focus, "Look at where you want your arrow to go. Nowhere else." He told them to concentrate, "Think only of what you want your arrow to do. Nothing else."
Arjuna listened intently. He practiced and practiced and practiced. One night while Arjuna was eating his dinner, a gust of wind blew out the oil lamp. Arjuna continued eating.
"I can eat in the dark because I know where my mouth is," he said to himself, "I don't need to look at anything else."
He decided to practice archery in the dark. He relighted the lamp and used it as a target. He thought, "I know where my target is and I don't need to look at anything else."
He picked up his bow and arrows and began shooting. TWANG! TWANG! The sound of bow strings filled the air. When Drona heard the sound, he came out of his cottage. The sight of Arjuna practicing archery delighted him. He blessed Arjuna, saying "May your arrows never miss their targets."
Soon other students grew jealous of all the attention Arjuna was getting. "Why do you think Arjuna is the best among us all?" they asked the teacher. That evening Drona made an announcement.
"Tomorrow, there will be an archery competition to find out the best archer," Drona said. "When the sun climbs over the horizon, be ready with your bows and arrows."
The students polished their bows. They sharpened their arrows. Next morning they gathered in the yard. Glossy bows and pointed arrows gleamed in the sun. The wind was still but the students' hearts fluttered with excitement. Drona stepped out. In his hands was a bird made of clay. He laid it on a tree far from them.
"See that clay bird perched on the tree ahead of us? Aim at its eye," he said.
Then he called the first student. The student plucked an arrow from the quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked.
"I see the sun, the clouds, the trees," the student replied as he released the string. The arrow shot forward and landed yards away from the tree.
The second student took his position. He plucked an arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string.
"What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked.
"I see the tree, the branches, the leaves," the student replied as he released the string. The arrow shot forward and landed near the roots of the tree.
The next student came forward, plucked an arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked.
"I see the bird, its legs, its wings," the student replied as he let the string go. The arrow shot forward and grazed the wings of the bird.
Finally it was Arjuna's turn. He plucked an arrow from his quiver, placed it on the bow, and pulled the string. "What do you see ahead of you?" Drona asked.
"I see the eye of the bird," Arjuna replied.
"What else do you see, Arjuna?" Drona asked.
"Nothing. I only see the round black eye of the bird," Arjuna replied as he released the string. The arrow shot forward with a swoosh. It pierced the center of the eye of the clay bird.
"And that's the end of the story," I announced. Ananya thought for a few moments.
"Hmmm.. I see. So I'm Arjuna, my pencil is the arrow, and the homework problem is the bird's eye?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "It's a story from Indian mythology."
She didn't even hear me. She was busy with her homework.

source unknown

Souls for Sale

Salon.com reports that 18-year-old Sterling Jones "put his soul up for auction on eBay". Within a few days, eBay removed Jones' offer and alerted him that eBay did not allow the auctioning of human souls.
"According to eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove, there's no proof Jones can make good to the winning bidder: 'This gentleman would have to make a pretty strong case to us that he could deliver his soul.'"
Wired magazine reports the more successful attempt of a 29-year-old university communications instructor to sell his immortal soul. After a 10-day bidding war, a New York real estate agent purchased it for $1,325. The seller said, "In America, you can metaphorically and literally sell your soul and be rewarded for it. That's what makes this country great."

source unknown

Steve Martin on Criticism

"Before you criticise a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticise him, you'll be a mile away and have his shoes."
- Steve Martin -

Gossip-free Beauty Parlour

Determined to defy the belief that juicy conversation is as common as hairdryers in a beauty shop, Mildred Fister's beauty parlour in Jefferson, Iowa, has an unusual rule—no gossip allowed.
"In my shop, there is absolutely no talking about other people," Fister says. "Talk about you and yours if you like, but in the meantime, no gossip."
Fister tries to be a friend to everybody who comes in. And because of the no-gossip policy, they know she can be trusted.
"Sometimes people don't have anybody to talk to," she says. "So they confide in me. They tell me things about themselves. They know I'll never repeat what they say."
As one Iowa reporter noted, that's better than gossip—that's friendship.

Source: Des Moines Register (May 8, 2005)

CEO's Toughest Question

60 Minutes reporter Dan Rather interviewed Jack Welch, the outspoken former CEO of General Electric and author of a new book called Winning. At the end of the interview, Rather asked Welch, "What's the toughest question you have ever been asked?"
Welch thought for a moment, then he responded, "Do you think you'll go to heaven?"
"How did you answer the question?" Rather asked.
"It's a long answer," the CEO replied, "but I said that if caring about people, if giving it your all, if being a great friend counts—despite the fact that I've been divorced a couple of times, and no one's proud of that. I haven't done everything right all the time.
"I think I got a shot. I'm in no hurry to get there and to find out any time soon."

Derrick Lewis, LaGrange, Georgia

see: John 14:6; Romans 3:23

Memorable Lines

Erasing Guilty Memories
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a young couple deals with painful memories by turning to a company that uses a non-invasive, scientific procedure to erase their past relationship. A bonus feature on the DVD is a commercial for the company. It opens with a doctor in a white lab coat.
Doctor: Remember the Alamo. Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. But why remember a destructive love affair? Here at Lacuna we have perfected a safe, effective technique for focused erasure of troubling memories.
(Images of brain scans appear with the words "Revolutionary Patented Eternal Sunshine Procedure." A middle-aged woman, with her head under a brain scan machine, is shown with a happy look on her face.)
Doctor: Our patented, non-surgical procedure will rid you of powerful memories and allow you a new and lasting peace of mind you never imagined possible. Don't forget, with Lacuna, you can forget.

(Focus Features, 2004)

Erasing memories - is also erasing identity. Aren't we all shaped by our mistakes and struggles, at least as much as by our successes?

Ray

Set-up: The late pianist, singer, and composer Ray Charles is the subject of this award-winning biographical film. Staring Jamie Foxx, Ray is about the challenges, successes, failings, and addictions of the famous blind musician. The film reveals how Ray compensated for his blindness by learning to hear what others could not—a skill that would contribute to his musical talent.
Scene: As a 10-year-old boy, Ray enters his home and trips over a rocking chair. He falls, cries out in pain, and calls to his mother for help. His mother instinctively steps forward, but then stops herself, quietly steps back, and returns to her work. Ray, lying on the floor, continues to cry for his mother's help.
Believing he is alone, Ray is forced to listen more carefully for help. First he hears men chattering outside and a hen clucking. He stops crying, turns his head, and slowly gets up. He hears more people talking, a cow mooing, and metal clanking. He turns his head in the direction of a kettle of boiling water.
Stretching out his arms, he walks toward a crackling fireplace and feels its heat, pulling back his hand when it comes too close. His mother watches him carefully, concerned with his every move. Ray listens intently as a horse and carriage go by.
He then hears a cheeping grasshopper close by and walks toward it. He bends down and, fumbling a bit, encloses his hands around the grasshopper. Smiling, he picks it up and puts it to his ear. His mother is taken aback and gives a low gasp.
"I hear you, Mama. You're right there," Ray says.
His mother now has tears streaming down her face. She tells him, "Yes, yes, I am." She kneels in front of Ray and embraces him.
Conclusion: God is often silent even when we cry out to him from our pain. But we should not mistake God's silence for his absence. By not responding to his cries for help, Ray's mother revealed the depth of her love for him. She wanted him to grow and learn through his struggle, not simply find comfort.
God wants to use the painful circumstances of our lives to teach and form us, and sometimes the best instruction and guidance comes through silence. But God is always with us, watching our discoveries, and celebrating our growth.

Graham Best, Coquitlam, British Columbia

Whitewashed Tombs

The Queen Mary was the largest ship to cross the oceans when it was launched in 1936. Through four decades and a World War she served until she was retired, anchored as a floating hotel and museum in Long Beach, California.
During the conversion, her three massive smoke-stacks were taken off to be scraped down and repainted. But on the dock they crumbled. Nothing was left of the 3/4-inch steel plate from which the stacks had been formed. All that remained were more than thirty coats of paint that had been applied over the years. The steel had rusted away. When Jesus called the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs," he meant they had no substance, only an exterior appearance.

source unknown

Bumper Sticker Hypocrisy

A police officer pulled a driver aside and asked for his license and registration. "What's wrong, officer?" the driver asked. "I didn't go through any red lights, and I certainly wasn't speeding."
"No, you weren't," said the officer, "but I saw you waving your fist as you swerved around the lady driving in the left lane, and I further observed your flushed and angry face as you shouted at the driver of the Hummer who cut you off, and how you pounded your steering wheel when the traffic came to a stop near the bridge."
"Is that a crime, officer?" "No, but when I saw the 'Jesus loves you and so do I' bumper sticker on the car, I figured this car had to be stolen."

source unknown

Faulty Clock Turns Village Upside Down

There is an old tale of a village that bought a fancy tower clock. Some time after it was installed, a visitor to the town discovered that all the people were sleeping during the day and working at night. When he questioned them about this, they answered, "We have the most unique town in America. After we got our new clock, we began to notice that the sun kept rising earlier and earlier every morning. Finally the daytime hours were dark and the night hours were light. We are petitioning the President for special recognition as the only town in America with such a situation."
As it turned out, of course, the new clock had been running slower and slower, all because sparrows were roosting inside it. The people allowed themselves to be controlled by this manmade device.
The tyranny of the clock robs us of our enjoyment of life and sometimes makes us tyrants over others. Daily hassles become the norm—"Hurry, or we'll be late! You've only got five minutes!"—Is this the abundant life Christ offers?

Ruth Ann Ridley, "Learning to Live in the Limits," Discipleship Journal (Jan/Feb 1983)

Ghorbandordi’s story

Ghorbandordi Tourani was born in 1952 to a Turkmen family in the city of Gonbade Kavous in Iran (a town east of the Caspian Sea). He was one of eight children; he had six brothers and one sister.
His father was a very fanatic Moslem who belonged to an Islamic group called Sunni Hanafi. He did everything he could to bring up his children according to Islamic ways and principles.
Ghorban was eager to study Islamic theology in Egypt, once he finished high school. His ambition was to become a religious Sunni Islamic leader. But his father was not able to support him financially to go to Egypt. Despite that apparent failure, Ghorban would always read Islamic books and was searching for God in those books. But he was never able to get to find God through his readings. As a result in frustration and anger he got involved in some criminal activities and fighting with others. Because of his failure to find God, he was almost persuaded that there was no God and subsequently was drawn into communist philosophy.
He eventually got married and had 3 daughters and one son (4 to 25 years old). In 1983, while his wife was pregnant with their third child, he decided to go to Turkmenistan in order to get a better job. At that time Turkmenistan was under the reign of Communists. Sometime after he arrived in Turkmenistan, because of the aggressive character he had developed, he entered into an argument and a fight with someone. In self defense Ghorban killed that person with a knife. As the result of he was arrested and was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. He went through difficult times in prison. He became known as the most evil prisoner. Even while he was in prison, he was several times punished by prison authorities because of aggression towards other inmates, but nothing would change his character.
In 1988, Ghorban attempted to commit suicide in the prison. He was taken to the hospital straight away. The doctors did not have any hope that he would survive. But he miraculously pulled through; surely God had another plan for his life.
Whilst he was still in prison, a group of evangelists went to the prison where he was kept, and shared the message of the gospel with the prisoners. Ghorban rejected their message vehemently.
Sometime after that a prisoner was transferred to his cell. It happened that this person was a Russian Christian who was put into prison because of his Christian faith. His name was Constantine. He became a friend to Ghorban and started to share the message of the Gospel with him with a Christian love. He asked Ghorban:
“Do you know that Jesus is the son of God and the savior of this world?”
In response Ghorban told him: “There is no God at all. Now you say Jesus is the son of God?”
For a long time he opposed his message, but the more he got to know Constantine, the more he was impressed by the love and peace he had.
Constantine asked the evangelists who would visit the prison sometimes, to bring a New Testament for him so that he could give it to Ghorban. When he got hold of the New Testament, he gave it to Ghorban and told him:
“Read this book to get to know the Jesus I share with you about. Then you will realize whether it is worth fighting against him or not?”
Ghorban accepted to read this book. While he was reading the story of Jesus, he was so much impacted by his life. There was an amazing thirst and love in his heart to read all through the New Testament. He managed to finish reading the whole book within two weeks. This book had so much touched his heart. He then went to Constantine and shared his willingness to become a Christian. His friend then prayed for Ghorban and he gave his life to Jesus and accepted him as his personal savior and Lord.
After he became a Christian, Ghorban went to the head of the prison and asked him if he could have evangelistic meetings in a cell in the prison. The head of the prison was so much amazed by all the changes that had taken place in his life that he told him:
“Because the God you worship has changed your life in such a dramatic way, I will give you permission to have meetings in the prison.”
Constantine was surprised by the permission that was given to Ghorban and told him:
“All these years that I have been in this prison I and other Christians have never been given such an opportunity to have Christian meetings in the prison as you have been given. You are a new believer but God has started using you in such a mighty way. He then had a prophecy for Ghorban as follows:
“After you are released from the prison go back to Iran , to your nation Turkemens , and God will use you amongst the Turkmens and in house church ministry”
In 1998, when Ghorban was released from the prison, after 15 years, he went back to Iran, to his city, Gonbade Kavous. He saw a 15 year old girl in his home who was his daughter (when he left Iran to go to Turkmenistan, his wife was pregnant with this girl and he had not seen her at all for 15 years.)
Ghorban shared the message of salvation with his family and friends and relatives. He also shared with them all the Christian truths he had learnt from his friend, Constantine about Christianity and all that the Holy Spirit had revealed to him as a result of reading the word of God in prison.
As a result of his evangelism, 12 Turkmen gave their lives to Jesus within the first couple of years. He then moved to the capital city in Iran, as he needed to receive help from a church to learn how to disciple and teach the new converts. He eventually got to know a key pastor in one of the churches who was willing to help Ghorban in his ministry amongst his nation.
This pastor visited Ghorban and the house church in their city several times and was a great help and encouragement both to Ghorban and all the belivers. This leader was so amazed by the way God had started working amongst the Turkmen people and remembered that one of the martyrs of the church in Iran, Bishop Haik Hovsepian, during his life had such a great burden for this nation and had prayed a lot for the salvation of the Turkmens. He himself had even been to Gonbad-e-Kavos several times. Now his prayers were answered.
Ghorban was then asked to attend a Bible training program for further Biblical education to be more equipped for pastoral and teaching ministries. Over the last 7 years, God’s work amongst the Turkmen people have grown and many Turkmens became Christians as a result of Ghorbans’ ministry in his city.
Ghorban was a very brave and fearless Christian. He would boldly share about Jesus in different places, in the streets, shops and bazaars….. he was convinced that he should not keep his faith to himself but should share it with others everywhere.
Several times, he was threatened by the religious people amongst his community. Even once his own brother slashed his face with a knife because of his Christian faith. But despite all these oppositions he always wanted to share about Jesus no matter what the cost. He had a great passion in his heart for the salvation of the Turkmen Nation.
This precious brother paid the ultimate price on the 22nd November 2005. He was arrested by an unknown group who beat him up and tortured him with a knife until he was dead. They did this because they were against his Christian faith. And then they threw his bleeding dead body in front of the door of his house. The message is obvious, loud and clear, there is a heavy cost for all Moslems who want to follow Jesus Christ. There is danger facing all those who like Ghorban are followers of Christ.
After he was killed, the secret police went to his home and searched through all his belongings and took the Christian materials he had. After that they also interrogated other Christians from his group. The suffering and persecution continues.
We believe he has been the first Turkmen Christian martyr amongst his people in Iran.
There is a hand written text from Ghorban that describes his Love for Jesus and his willingness to give his life for him. You will find attached the Farsi text with his own hand writing.
Following is the translation of the text:
Dear Lord, Jesus, let me come to your presence,
So that I can touch your nailed feet.

Dear Lord Jesus, let me worship you in humility
And to kiss your nailed and wounded hands and feet,
You were hung on the cross in Golgotha and nailed with 4 nails, whilst your blood was pouring out,
In this desperate situation, how could you still love your created beings?

You were willing to even embrace those who crucified you.
You were tortured because of me, yes because of me. Not only me, but also for my father and mother…..
Because of me you suffered the most severe pains on the cross for 6 hours
I wish, I was not sinful so that you would not suffer because of me,

How much I was willing to be there and to pull the nails out of your beautiful hands when you were on the cross,
How desperate are my thoughts when I think I might have been able to help you not to suffer a lot.
Lord Jesus, please let me glorify your holy name in every moment of my life on this earth. I am willing to give my life that belongs to you, for the sake of you and your church.
Maranata, Praise God, Halleluyah.

source unknown

The Life Saving Station

Theodore Wedel told the story of A Crude Lifesaving Station
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, they went out day or night tirelessly searching for the lost.
Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding areas, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.
Some of the new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea.
And so they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they redecorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.
Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired life boat crews to do this work, on their behalf.
The mission of lifesaving was still given lip-service but most were too busy or lacked the necessary commitment to take part in the lifesaving activities personally.
About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people.
They were dirty and sick, some had skin of a different colour, some spoke a strange language, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's lifesaving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal pattern of the club.
But some members insisted that lifesaving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the life of all various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.
As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. They evolved into a club and yet another lifesaving station was founded. If you visit the seacoast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but now most of the people drown!

source unknown

Rosa Park’s Words

The time had just come when I had been pushed as far as I could stand to be pushed, I suppose. They placed me under arrest. And I wasn't afraid. I don't know why I wasn't, but I didn't feel afraid. I had decided that I would have to know once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen, even in Montgomery, Alabama.

- Rosa Parks, 1913-2005 -

NASCAR Crew Chief Makes Important Decision

It was a small adjustment that could make a big difference. Sure, it was against NASCAR rules, but almost everyone else was doing it. So crew chief Tim Shutt crawled under the No. 20 car of Mike McLaughlin, who races on the NASCAR Busch circuit.
"Joe [Gibbs, team owner] is adamant that we don't cheat," says Shutt, a relatively new believer who encountered Christ at a Christian retreat for participants in the racing industry. "Most teams figure that as long as you get away with it, it's not cheating."
"I said to Mike that morning in practice, 'If we're no good in practice, I'll put this piece—the illegal piece—on. Probably 30 other teams are doing it." I was justifying it.
"I got up under the car, I got halfway through putting it on, and that verse, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God,' came flashing in red in front of me, and whoa, that was it. I said, 'I'm leaving this up to you, God.'" Shutt didn't put the piece on the car.
McLaughlin won the race. It was Talladega, one of the biggest races of 2001.
"When we won, the first thing that came to my mind was that verse," Tim says. "God wanted to show himself to me."

Victor Lee, Sports Spectrum; reprinted in Men of Integrity (May/June 2002)

The Imp and the Crust

A poor peasant set out early one morning to plow, taking with him for his breakfast a crust of bread. He got his plough ready, wrapped the bread in his coat, put it under a bush, and set to work. After a while when his horse was tired and he was hungry, the peasant fixed the plow, let the horse loose to graze and went to get his coat and his breakfast.
He lifted the coat, but the bread was gone! He looked and looked, turned the coat over, shook it out – but the bread was gone. The peasant could not make this out at all.
“That’s strange,” thought he; “I saw no one, but all the same some one has been here and has taken the bread!”
It was an imp who had stolen the bread while the peasant was ploughing, and at that moment he was sitting behind the bush, waiting to hear the peasant swear and call on the Devil.
The peasant was sorry to lose his breakfast, but “It can’t be helped,” said he. “After all, I shan’t die of hunger! No doubt whoever took the bread needed it. May it do him good!”
And he went to the well, had a drink of water, and rested a bit. Then he caught his horse, harnessed it, and began ploughing again.
The imp was crestfallen at not having made the peasant sin, and he went to report what had happened to the Devil, his master.
He came to the Devil and told how he had taken the peasant’s bread, and how the peasant instead of cursing had said, “May it do him good!”
The Devil was angry, and replied: “If the man got the better of you, it was your own fault – you don’t understand your business! If the peasants, and their wives after them, take to that sort of thing, it will be all up with us. The matter can’t be left like that! Go back at once,” said he, “and put things right. If in three years you don’t get the better of that peasant, I’ll have you ducked in holy water!”
The imp was frightened. He scampered back to earth, thinking how he could redeem his fault. He thought and thought, and at last hit upon a good plan.
He turned himself into a laboring man, and went and took service with the poor peasant. The first year he advised the peasant to sow corn in a marshy place. The peasant took his advice, and sowed in the marsh. The year turned out a very dry one, and the crops of the other peasants were all scorched by the sun, but the poor peasant’s corn grew thick and tall and full-eared. Not only had he grain enough to last him for the whole year, but he had much left over besides.
The next year the imp advised the peasant to sow on the hill; and it turned out a wet summer. Other people’s corn was beaten down and rotted and the ears did not fill; but the peasant’s crop, up on the hill, was a fine one. He had more grain left over than before, so that he did not know what to do with it all.
Then the imp showed the peasant how he could mash the grain and distill spirit from it; and the peasant made strong drink, and began to drink it himself and to give it to his friends.
So the imp went to the Devil, his master, and boasted that he had made up for his failure. The Devil said that he would come and see for himself how the case stood.
He came to the peasant’s house, and saw that the peasant had invited his well-to-do neighbors and was treating them to drink. His wife was offering the drink to the guests, and as she handed it round she tumbled against the table and spilt a glassful.
The peasant was angry, and scolded his wife: “What do you mean, you slut? Do you think it’s ditchwater, you cripple, that you must go pouring good stuff like that over the floor?”
The imp nudged the Devil, his master, with his elbow: “See,” said he, “that’s the man who did not grudge his last crust!”
The peasant, still railing at his wife, began to carry the drink round himself. Just then a poor peasant returning from work came in uninvited. He greeted the company, sat down, and saw that they were drinking. Tired with his day’s work he felt that he too would like a drop. He sat and sat, and his mouth kept watering, but the host instead of offering him any only muttered: “I can’t find drink for every one who comes along.”
This pleased the Devil; but the imp chuckled and said, “Wait a bit, there’s more to come yet!”
The rich peasants drank, and their host drank too. And they began to make false, oily speeches to one another.
The Devil listened and listened, and praised the imp.
“If,” said he, “the drink makes them so foxy that they begin to cheat each other, they will soon all be in our hands.”
“Wait for what’s coming,” said the imp. “Let them have another glass all round. Now they are like foxes, wagging their tails and trying to get round one another; but presently you will see them like savage wolves.”
The peasants had another glass each, and their talk became wilder and rougher. Instead of oily speeches they began to abuse and snarl at one another. Soon they took to fighting, and punched one another’s noses. And the host joined in the fight, and he too got well beaten.
The Devil looked on and was much pleased at all this.
“This is first-rate!” said he.
But the imp replied: “Wait a bit – the best is yet to come. Wait till they have had a third glass. Now they are raging like wolves, but let them have one more glass, and they will be like swine.”
The peasants had their third glass, and became quite like brutes. They muttered and shouted, not knowing why, and not listening to one another.
Then the party began to break up. Some went alone, some in twos, and some in threes, all staggering down the street. The host went out to speed his guests, but he fell on his nose into a puddle, smeared himself from top to toe, and lay there grunting like a hog.
This pleased the Devil still more.
“Well,” said he, “you have hit on a first-rate drink, and have quite made up for your blunder about the bread. But now tell me how this drink is made. You must first have put in fox’s blood: that was what made the peasants sly as foxes. Then, I suppose, you added wolf’s blood: that is what made them fierce like wolves. And you must have finished off with swine’s blood, to make them behave like swine.”
“No,” said the imp, “that was not the way I did it. All I did was to see that the peasant had more corn than he needed. The blood of the beasts is always in man; but as long as he has only enough corn for his needs, it is kept in bounds. While that was the case, the peasant did not grudge his last crust. But when he had corn left over, he looked for ways of getting pleasure out of it. And I showed him a pleasure – drinking! And when he began to turn God’s good gifts into spirits for his own pleasure – the fox’s, wolf’s and swine’s blood in him all came out. If only he goes on drinking, he will always be a beast!” The Devil praised the imp, forgave him for his former blunder, and advanced him to a post of high honour.

– Leo Tolstoy (a folk tale retold)

The Pendulum

In college I was asked to prepare a lesson to teach my speech class. We were to be graded on our creativity and ability to drive home a point in a memorable way. The title of my talk was, "The Law of the Pendulum." I spent 20 minutes carefully teaching the physical principle that governs a swinging pendulum. The law of the pendulum is: A pendulum can never return to a point higher than the point from which it was released. Because of friction and gravity, when the pendulum returns, it will fall short of its original release point. Each time it swings it makes less and less of an arc, until finally it is at rest. This point of rest is called the state of equilibrium, where all forces acting on the pendulum are equal.
I attached a 3-foot string to a child's toy top and secured it to the top of the blackboard with a thumbtack. I pulled the top to one side and made a mark on the blackboard where I let it go. Each time it swung back I made a new mark. It took less than a minute for the top to complete its swinging and come to rest. When I finished the demonstration, the markings on the blackboard proved my thesis.
I then asked how many people in the room BELIEVED the law of the pendulum was true. All of my classmates raised their hands, so did the teacher. He started to walk to the front of the room thinking the class was over. In reality it had just begun. Hanging from the steel ceiling beams in the middle of the room was a large, crude but functional pendulum (250 pounds of metal weights tied to four strands of 500-pound test parachute cord.). I invited the instructor to climb up on a table and sit in a chair with the back of his head against a cement wall. Then I brought the 250 pounds of metal up to his nose. Holding the huge pendulum just a fraction of an inch from his face, I once again explained the law of the pendulum he had applauded only moments before, "If the law of the pendulum is true, then when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and return short of the release point. Your nose will be in no danger." After that final restatement of this law, I looked him in the eye and asked, "Sir, do you believe this law is true?" There was a long pause. Huge beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and then weakly he nodded and whispered, "Yes." I released the pendulum. It made a swishing sound as it arced across the room. At the far end of its swing, it paused momentarily and started back. I never saw a man move so fast in my life. He literally dived from the table. Deftly stepping around the still-swinging pendulum, I asked the class, "Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?" The students unanimously answered, "NO!"
Faith is about what response we make - to many situations. Are we relying on our own skills, our own ability to read the future, our own willingness to negotiate the difficulties? Ultimately it is the response that we make to God. When trouble strikes, who do we turn to for help? As we plan the future, who do we allow to guide us? The biggest response we make is ignorance.

source unknown

Baseball Pitcher Schilling Sustained by God

In the first game of the best-of-seven, 2004 American League Championship Series between baseball's New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, Boston's ace pitcher Curt Schilling was in pain. An ankle injury kept him from being able to plant his foot and throw the ball with his usual skill. Schilling was removed from the game after allowing six runs in just three innings. Teammates feared Schilling's injury would end his season and their hopes to get to the World Series.
But in the sixth game against the Yankees, Schilling surprisingly took the mound again. Facing elimination if they lost, the Red Sox watched Schilling throw an amazing seven innings in which he only gave up four hits and one run. Every time the TV camera focused on Schilling's ankle, viewers could see blood seep through his sock. Doctors had stitched his ankle tendon into place to allow him to pitch. The Red Sox won the game, and afterwards a FOX Sports reporter asked him about his performance.
Schilling answered, "Seven years ago I became a Christian, and tonight God did something amazing for me. I tried to be as tough as I could, and do it my way Game 1, and I think we all saw how that turned out. Tonight it was all God. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do this alone. And I prayed as hard as I could. I didn't pray to get a win or to make great pitches. I just prayed for the strength to go out there tonight and compete, and he gave me that. I can't explain to you what a feeling it was to be out there and to feel what I felt."

FOX Sports coverage of the 2004 ALCS (19 Oct 2004)

Messages from the Grave

Inventor Robert Barrows of Burlingame, California filed an application for a patent on a remote-controlled, video-equipped tombstone, which can relay a message left by the grave's inhabitant. Stories can be told and computer equipment linked up in the tombstone to the Internet.
Making everlasting Memories (MeM) of Cincinnati, Ohio, features a biography of the deceased, along with writings, images, and a slide show as well as tributes. All of these features are included on a website called LastWishes.com.
The result is that e-mail messages, audio clips, and video clips (made before death) can still be "sent" by the deceased.

Rekha Shetty, "Tomb With a View" AARP Magazine (Nov/Dec 2004)

Francis and the Sultan

In 1219, Francis of Assisi traveled to the Holy Land to bring the gospel to the Muslims. Given a pass through enemy lines, he met with Sultan Melek Al-Kamil. A sickle-shaped sword presented to Francis by the sultan as a memento of their encounter can still be seen in Assisi...
Francis of Assisi was sorely troubled. A great army of his Christian countrymen had come to Egypt to fight the Mohammedans. They were on a crusade to win the Holy Land from the Turks. They were killing many people. Francis saw people starving; he saw little children dying. It was not right. What could he do to stop the terrible massacre?
Francis decided to go to Cardinal Pelagius, the Christian commander of the army.
“Please, Lord Cardinal,” he said, “stop the fighting. People are starving. People are dying without even having heard that Jesus loves them. And they are dying because of us Christians.”
But Cardinal Pelagius would not listen. “We are killing these people for a good reason,” he said. “We must conquer them so the church will be powerful. When the church is strong it will be able to conquer evil.”
“The Lord Jesus did not ask us to strive for worldly power,” replied Francis. “God uses the weak, not the powerful.”
“Ridiculous!” cried Cardinal Pelagius angrily. He dismissed the poor man from Assisi without a further word.
Since the Christian commander would not listen to him, Francis decided to go to the enemy commander, the great Muslim Sultan Al-Kamil, to plead for peace. The Sultan was a cruel man. He had vowed that no Christian would ever leave his presence alive. But Francis was not afraid of him. Death would of course only bring him into the presence of his Lord.
Calmly Francis started out one morning walking toward the enemy camp.
The Sultan’s soldiers did not take Francis seriously. He looked so small and so poor and unimportant in his threadbare cloak that they let him pass. When Francis smiled at them and asked, “Cairo? Al-Kamil? Soldan?” they just laughed and showed him the way to the Sultan’s palace.
Just as Francis neared the gates of the palace, the Sultan, bedecked with jewels and followed by his retinue and crowds of people, came galloping down the road.
“Soldan! Soldan!” shouted Francis to attract his attention.
The foreign pronunciation of the word Sultan caught Al-Kamil’s attention. As a ruler he had learned to speak Latin. He pulled his horse to an abrupt halt and looked at Francis with his piercing black eyes.
“Did you come from the Christian camp?” asked Al-Kamil.
“Yes, yes, I did,” said Francis, smiling happily.
“I knew it!” cried the Sultan. He turned to his guards. “This fellow is a Christian!”
The guards, with daggers between their teeth, leaped upon Francis.
“Stop!” said the Sultan. “Don’t kill him just yet. Bring him into the palace. I want to find out first what brought him here.”
Soon Francis sat on the floor in front of the great Sultan.
“So!” exclaimed Al-Kamil, “did they send you over here to kill me?”
“Oh, no,” said Francis. “No one sent me. I just came myself to ask you to end the war. Our commander won’t listen to me, so I came to you.”
The Sultan couldn’t believe his ears. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before.
“What is your name, and where do you come from?” he asked.
“My name is Francis, and I came from the town of Assisi in Italy,” answered Francis.
“Well, Francis of Assisi, what do you want me to do?” asked the Sultan, amused. “Should I hand Egypt over to the enemy and let my people starve?”
“No,” said Francis earnestly. “Egypt belongs to you. But you must do something else that would put an end to the war.”
“What is that?” asked the Sultan.
“You must become a Christian,” said Francis simply.
The Sultan broke into a gale of laughter. “Become a Christian!” he howled. “You know I will torture you, don’t you? Aren’t you afraid to suffer?”
“Our Lord suffered for us. Why should I not suffer for him?” said Francis.
“Your God suffered?” asked the Sultan, surprised.
“Yes, he suffered more than we can understand. He laid down his life for us. That is why we love him so much.”
“Fair enough,” said the Sultan, “but why should I love him when he did nothing for me?”
“Oh, but he did it for you, too,” cried Francis. “He loves you. He knows you. You are his beloved child.”
Francis spoke with such conviction that the Sultan became thoughtful. “What does your God require you to do?” he asked.
“Nothing, except that we love him,” said Francis. “He wants us also to love everyone and share what we have with others.”
“Ah,” said the Sultan. “A long time ago we had a teacher in our midst who spoke about your faith as you do. But we have never found Christians to be like that. Christians are untruthful and cruel. They fight among themselves like wild animals. The stories about your faith are not true.”
“Unfortunately there are evil Christians,” said Francis. “Human nature is weak. But God’s mercy has no limits. Through him the most wicked can become holy. That is not possible anywhere except in Christianity.”
The Sultan sighed. “You may go now,” he said. “I will not kill you. Indeed, I will even reward you for the interesting conversation I have had with you. Take all the gold you can carry.”
“Gold!” exclaimed Francis, horrified. “I don’t need gold.”
“Well,” said the Sultan, “that is the first time I have ever seen a Christian who does not want gold! What do you want then?”
“I would very much like to visit the Holy Land where our Lord lived when he was here on earth,” said Francis. “Would you allow me to do so?”
A crafty look came into the Sultan’s eyes. “Yes,” he said. “I will even send a slave with you to take you as far as our borders. Remember, however, the slave belongs to me and you must send him back.”
Francis nodded. “I will send him back,” he said.
The Sultan turned to one of his guards. “Have one of the Christian slaves brought,” he said. “He shall accompany this man to our border.”
“But the slave will escape!” gasped the guard.
“Do as I tell you,” shouted the Sultan. “We will see,” he said to himself, “whether this Christian can be trusted. We will see whether he will send the slave back.”
Francis and the Christian left the palace of the Sultan together.
On many days the great Sultan Al-Kamil, with a wistful look in his eyes, asked his servants, “Has the slave that I sent with the Christian Francis of Assisi returned?”
“No, not yet, O great Ruler.”
The Sultan stared out of the window. “I thought this man was different from the rest. I thought he was a real Christian. But I was wrong. They are all alike. All are false. All are untruthful. There is no such a person as a true Christian.”
Just then a guard came in, bowing low. “Oh, great Ruler, I just want to report to you that the slave has returned,” he said.
“Ah,” said the Sultan. “So Francis of Assisi kept his word after all. Good! You may go.”
Some time later, the Christian army was defeated. The commander, Cardinal Pelagius, who had hoped to make the church powerful, now stood in bitter humiliation before the Sultan, Al-Kamil. “Let our twelve thousand men go home,” he begged.
“Listen to me,” said the Sultan. “I vowed that not one of you Christians should remain alive. I would kill you all. Nothing you could say would have changed my mind. But some time ago a man by the name of Francis of Assisi came to me from your camp. I think highly of him.”
Cardinal Pelagius looked up, startled. He vaguely remembered that foolish little man.
“He is the one and only man whose deeds showed me that the words about your faith are true,” continued the Sultan. “For his sake, and for his sake alone, mind you, I will spare your lives. You may all go—you, as well as all my Christian slaves. I want Francis of Assisi to remember me well.”

from “Blessed Are The Meek” by Zofia Kossak, transl. Rulka Langer (New York: Roy, 1944)

True Friendship

If the church is to be restored to its rightful place of relevance to and preeminence in supporting the care and cure of souls, we must equip and encourage people to offer themselves to others in relationships of spiritual friendships and companionship. Friends who enjoy spiritual intimacy never settle for gossip or simple information exchange. Instead they use the data of events as springboards for the sharing of perceptions, feelings, values, ideas and opinions of the spiritual life

- David Benner Sacred Companions…the gift of Spiritual Friendship -

Work

A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting his living

- Henry David Thoreau -

Morality

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure."

- H.L. Mencken -