Life Lessons

Life is like a classroom. God is the teacher and we are the students. The class we are all taking is called "Life - And How To Survive It." It seems like there is an endless opportunity to learn valuable lessons - seemingly everyday. Why just yesterday at work . . .

Before we get to today's lesson, let's digest some background information. The office I work at is being renovated. Yesterday the water service to the building was shut off to the fire protection sprinkler system could be modified. We knew that ahead of time. Most of us that is.

A friend of mine there at work usually fills up his Chicago Bears cup at the drinking fountain and he was doing so yesterday as I walked by. He held the cup and pressed the button . . .

"Wow!!"

The air that had gotten into the pipes shot a stream of water out of the drinking fountain all the way up to the ceiling! The 10-foot ceiling. We both laughed. That was the days lesson. When air gets into the water system, under pressure, watch out!

Lessons are taught with the intention they be learned. So, did I learn the air in the waterline lesson? You be the judge.

The reason I was passing my friend at the drinking fountain was because I was on my way to the bathroom. I entered one of the stalls and did my business. When I was done I reached down to flush the toilet and . . .

Being as old as I am I have gotten pretty good at learning life's lesson. I have learned that, unless you learn a lesson, you are bound to repeat it. So, did I learn my lesson?

Just before I flushed I remembered my friend at the drinking fountain. I stepped to the side and THEN flushed the toilet. Smart man! The incredible air-assisted flush was something to behold. And I gratefully beheld it from a distance.

There are many lessons available to be learned everyday. Most of them have been recorded in the book of Proverbs so we don't have to learn them on our own. The hard way.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” - Proverbs 1:7

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” - Proverbs 14:12

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” - Proverbs 30:5

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” - Proverbs 16:3

There are many lessons that we need to learn in this life. Some of them are critical. Some, not so much. But the most important lesson we can learn is that God loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son do die for the lessons we did not learn (the sins we have committed).

God loves us whether we learn our lessons or not. But I think He rejoices when He sees us learn our lessons because that means we are growing. And that, after all, is why we are here, isn't it? The learn life's lessons and to grow to become more like Jesus.

Read His Word. Read His teachings. Learn. Grow. And praise God from whom all blessings flow.

You Love Me Anyway - Sidewalk Prophets
Proverbs Chapters 1-5 - Pastor Chuck Smith

Aww Poop!!

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems like nothing is going right? My wife had one yesterday. Her computer didn't work. The person who could fix it wasn't there. Her "friend" at work had booked too many people for appointments and people were getting frustrated, including my wife. Sometimes we get to the breaking point, we get frustrated. And why? Well, usually it's our own fault. We don't prepare.

Here's a sad picture for you. Actually, it could be good or it could be bad. All depends (no pun intended) when you noticed the empty toilet paper rolls in the dispenser - BEFORE or AFTER you sat down. It is always good to be prepared . . . and observant.

Stuff like this happens to me more than I'd like to admit. I fill up my car's gas tank and go inside to pay, only to discover I left my wallet at home. Or getting in line at the toll booth to cross the Mackinac Bridge before discovering you don't have enough money to pay the $4 toll.

I was in the Boy Scouts. I am supposed to "be prepared." It's their motto!! Yet I fail at these simple life lessons almost daily. Why? Honestly? I think it's because I am distracted by all other the other stuff I have going on in my life. I don't have time to think. I don't have time to prepare.

Have you ever read the story of Noah and the ark? You probably do so I'll just hit the high points.

"13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark." - Genesis 6:13-14

If I was Noah I probably would have said, "Seriously? Right now? I don't have time for this!" But Noah obeyed God and began preparing for the flood. There were no clouds in the sky. There was no sign of rain. Everyone was having fun and partying in town. Nobody was ready for what was about to happen. They were about to get stranded on the toilet without any T.P.

Here's a little verse that can serve you well if you obey it:

"22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him." - Genesis 6:22

And so it was that Noah was prepared when the flood came. I wonder if Noah took toilet paper on board with him? Or what ever they used back then. Hmm. Unanswerable question I guess but somehow I think he was prepared.

So how do we prepare ourselves for situation like running out of essential things? That's easy. Prepare ahead of time. And just how are we going to be ready for life's tricky little situations? Read your Bible!

"28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—  29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,  30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?  31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?" - Luke 14:28-31

This life we are given is not always easy. It's not supposed to be. Life is full of challenges and situations to test and try us. God designed it that way for a reason. So we will learn and grow in our faith and in our character. We are not supposed to just go through life assuming things will just fall into our laps. We are here to learn!

Remember to prepare yourself for the day. Not only THIS day but also for the day that Jesus returns. On that day we do NOT want to be left staring at two empty toilet paper rolls when the poop hits the fan. It will be too late then. We must prepare ourselves now. Your reading assignment for today . . .

Matthew 24:3-14

This is The Gospel . . .

"By this gospel you are saved...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time..." - 1 Corinthians 15:2-6

Listen To The Sound

My wife is away on vacation this week. Usually, we tend to go places together but one week out of the year we take separate vacations for a short amount of time. She goes to Door County on a shopping, hiking and reading trip. I attend Lifest, a Christian music festival - an eating, worshiping, sleep deprivation trip. Each of us is doing something we like, but something the other spouse does not.

Although I like hiking and reading, shopping is WAY down there on my list of fun things to do. On the other hand, rock music doesn't thrill my wife either. Nor does hanging around with a bunch of teenagers. So we have chosen to spend some temporary time apart, to better enjoy our times together. Does that make sense?

As I write this I am sitting in a screen tent at Lifest. The sound of a mini-generator running next door, a distant train whistle, and the constant thumping of the bass drum sound check from the main stage. Pretty quiet compared to Thursday night's Newsboys concert.

There HAVE been moments when it has been quiet too. There was one at 3:47 AM and another at 4:23AM but other than that there is always some kind of noise present.  Do you have a lot of "noise" in your life? To me noise is something you don't necessarily want to hear.

My alarm clock is "noise." The generator running next door to our tent is "noise." What about last night's speeches here at Lifest? Noise? No. More like . . . music." Tony Nolan, Michael Tate and Matthew West all gave amazing talks last night. Reminders of the sweet music of God and His Word.

So how can we get rid of all the "noise" in our lives. Several three-word combinations come to mind.

1. "Turn It Off!" - Many things can actually be turned off . . . like the annoying generator next door. I am seriously just about to get up to practice what I preach! With love of course.
2. "Drown It Out!" -Replace the "noise" with something else. I think this reason is why we see so many people walking around with headphones and ear buds in their ears. Listening to something other than what the world wants to hear.
3. "Turn It Up!" - Some people love the "noise." I am not one of them, but there ARE people who actually love the annoying "noise." And actually, they like to make the annoying noise themselves. They tend to compound the noise.
4. "Rebel Against It" -  Some people don't like the noise and let people know about it. They have their own opinion of how much "noise" there should be. Unless the ambient noise level matches their expectations, they complain and attack. They don't like things that are different than them. And they let people know about it.
5. "Rejoice In It!" - We have all had people in our lives who are rather negative. They produce a kind of "negative noise" all on their own. We could fight back in anger but what's the point? If we can find joy in the "noise" it is much easier to survive

Everyone makes their own kind of "noise." How we choose to deal with it defines who we are as a human being.

Recently, someone attacked me for what I believe. My faith was "noise" to them. So what did I do? First, I tried to convince them that my faith wasn't "noise" at all. That failed. See Point 4 above. So I chose to embrace this person's "noise" as a learning experience - a means of growth in an entire world of "noise."

We Christians are here to learn and to grow. We are often given "noise" so God can see how we handle it. When things don't go your way, what do you do? Whine and complain? Just try to ignore it? Or do you try finding the silver lining and use the "noise" to your advantage.

How we react to the struggles we have in this life define us. We can tell a lot about ourselves if we examine how we react in "noisy" situations. We need to examine ourselves and ask these question in ANY noise-filled moment in our lives:

"How is God going to use this to teach me something?"

"What can I learn from this that will help me grow in Christ?"

God's will for us is to grow into the image of His Son. We all learn and grow through experiences. If the end result of some "noise" we are encountering is that we will become more like Jesus on the other end of things, how can we do anything else other than to embrace it!

We all make "noise." Examine yourself. Is the noise YOU are making a pleasing aroma to the Lord?

"14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?" - 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Listen To The Sound - Building 429