An Upcoming Teachable Moment

A guy is 72 years old and loves to fish.

He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, 'Pick me up.'

He looked around and couldn't see any one.

He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, 'Pick me up.'

He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.

The man said, 'Are you talking to me?'

The frog said, 'Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your bride!'

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket.

Then the frog said, 'What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride.'

He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, 'Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog.'

There is no doubt that with age comes a measure of experience. The older I become, the more wiser I also become. This is because I see more, experience more, learn more, and do more.

This is why I am thinking of doing something different this Halloween. I usually go out and buy bags of candy and give to those funny and scary looking kids in their costumes with their parents next to them.

But this week, I am thinking of not buying any candy at all. Instead, when a group of kids come to my door, I will take some of the candy from the bag of one kid and give it to others. I will then say, “This is called redistribution of wealth. I know how this feels and so do your parents. Now you should know it as well so you will be better prepared for adult life.”

You see in this way, I actually do not need to buy any candy. All I need to do is to take some from one kid and give it to another, and say, “Trick or Treat!” The “trick” is redistribution and the “treat” is that the others receiving the candy will think I am a very generous person.

Oh, for the first time in my life, I am excited about Halloween.

Will History Repeat Itself?

Here is a little parable that I want you to read. It is a parable that is true to us here in America. At the end, I will make some comments.

You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal". Both families have two parents, two children, and live in California.

Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour with taxes deducted.
Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".

Ready? Now pay attention...

Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; Joe Legal now has $31,231.00.

Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200.00 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $24,031.00.

Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics at a cost of $000 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.
Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $9,631.00.

Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose Illegal pays $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $ 31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for insurance. Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.

Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc. Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month.

Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.

Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family. Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program. Joe Legal's children go home.

Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.

Comments: Later today, take your bible and read 1 Samuel chapter 8. The people of Israel demanded from Samuel a king. They had a king. His name was the Lord God and God was ruling well, but the motive for a king came as a result of wanting to be “like the other nations” (v. 20). There are some powerful people in congress and in the senate, not to mention the influential liberal media who want nothing more than for us to be like other socialistic nations, even those who have been ruled by communism. The days of referring to America has a Christian nation is becoming nothing more than mere noise and rhetoric. Let me ask you this: If the average Christian in your church was like America the way she is now, would you have a Christian church?

I digress, let’s move on. Notice the number of times the word “TAKE” is used in 1 Samuel chapter 8 by the king.

v. 11 – The king will “take” your sons and place them in his army fighting his wars – whichever ones he decides is worth fighting for.

v. 13 – The king will “take” your daughters and make them his servants.

v. 15 – The king will tax you and “take” a tenth of your hard earn rewards and now watch this – GIVE TO HIS OFFICERS AND TO HIS SERVANTS! What do we have here? Simply put: “Redistribution of wealth.”

v. 16 – The king will “take” your best employees and helpers and use them for his work.

V. 17 – The king will “take” (tax) a tenth of your flock (wealth), and YOU YOURSELVES WILL BECOME HIS SERVANTS. In other words, you will become dependent on the government and whoever is in charge.

Note: Being dependent on someone is not necessarily wrong. It all depends on who or what one becomes dependent on. Being dependent on God is a good thing and is crucial for success. Being dependent on man, government, welfare programs, etc., is not good in the long run. The difference? God wants us to be dependent on Him in order to grow and succeed. The government wants us to be dependent on it in order to see ourselves as "helpless victims." The key is the word "victim." Who or whatever turns your life and mindset into a victim mentality, that person or institution does not have your best interest in mind. God wants His people to become His slaves in order to "empower" them for greatness. The government or man in general wants you to become its slave in order to take away any power or freedom you might have. God gives to His people "gifts" in order for them to excel in the body of Christ or the church; government has nothing to give away that has not already been taken from others. I am not suggesting that having government is wrong. But like anything that sinful man wants to greedily corrupt, governments can either serve the people or make the people its slave. The bigger and more wealthier it becomes, the more authoritative and powerful it is.

Note: Remember, in the political arena, "talking is simply stealing performed legally."

After all this “taking” has occurred and the people lose their freedom, their families and their life as they once knew it, then what?

V. 18 – “Then you will CRY OUT in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves. . .”

How in the world did Israel get to this place? Verse 7: The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen the voice of the people in regards to all they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected ME from being king over them.”

History was written for our instruction and admonition. Will we be wise enough to listen, learn and change?

Fried Any Goldfish Lately?

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy – 2 Kings 5:11 NIV

I read in the news the other day about a Houston-area woman who was angry at her former common-law husband and so she fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them.

Pasadena police said it's a civil matter and no charges will be filed. The seven goldfish were purchased together by the couple during happier times.

Police spokesman Vance Mitchell said the man reported on Saturday that the woman took the goldfish from his apartment.

Mitchell said the two argued earlier about some jewelry the man had given her but took back. She wanted the jewelry returned.

Officers who were dispatched to the woman's home arrived to find four fried goldfish on a plate. The woman said she already ate the other three.

You know what I thought as I read this? This story sounds a little “fishy.” But, what a “golden” opportunity to pass on some words of wisdom (both puns intended).

But seriously, remember the story of Naaman in II Kings 5? The prophet Elisha told him to dip in the Jordan River seven times in order to be healed of his leprosy. Naaman didn't want to do it because it was too simple and beneath him. He wanted the prophet to do something spectacular. And when it didn't happen the way he expected it to, he was about to walk away and forfeit the miracle when a wise and bold servant spoke truth into his life. He knew Naaman would do something difficult to get healed. But would he do something simple?

Here is what I have seen through the years of being a pastor and talking to numerous couples. Some couples have such a rotten relationship that they are desperately in need of a miracle. But rather than doing the simple things, such as being kind, communicating, being nice, etc., they are looking for some prophet or experience counselor to come by and wave his or her magic wand over their marriage.

You see folks, the reason we often don’t see miracles isn’t because we are not willing to do the hard things, but we are not willing to do the easy things. It is good old-fashioned obedience that sets the stage for miracles. That is all God asks. If we do the simple things, like dipping in the Jordan River seven times, God will do the difficult things. If we do the natural things, God will do the supernatural things. If we do the obedient thing, God will do the miraculous thing.

Isn’t it true that in the world of athletics, you never outgrow the basics? You have to practice simple skills over and over again. Baseball players spend a great deal of their time throwing the baseball and playing catch. Football players spend a great deal of their time running simple scrimmages. Same is true spiritually. You never outgrow the basics! You have to be great at simple things if you want to experience the spectacular.

Oswald Chambers said it this way: "It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional at ordinary things."

So let’s practice being polite and being nice to one another. You may not need a high price marriage counselor. All you need is to pray more for your spouse, do something simple and thoughtful and stay at it even if it appears to go unnoticed. Believe me, if you are operating out of the box by being nice, it will not go unnoticed.

Start now doing the simple things if you want to experience extraordinary benefits. This would be a lot better than frying up some goldfish and having them for dinner.

For Those Who Are Kicked Off Their Feet

The righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity – Prov. 24:16

I know of two people who are undergoing extreme trials. One of them is in severe pain both physically and emotionally. The other cannot seem to land decent employment and as a result has to move from place to place. Promises are given and promises are broken. Yet both endure but they desire to quit always lingers deep in the recesses of their minds. Every time they get up from being knocked down, they get knocked down again. . .again. . .again and again. It seems like they are always picking themselves up off the ground. I am running out of words to say to them. The typical phrases, “God is preparing you for something better,” “God is helping you to trust Him more,” “All this is designed to increase your faith,” “These trials are temporary. Don’t get discourage, the blessings are coming,” etc. Such things and there are a lot more seem cliché. I even find myself doubting my own words of encouragement. I feel their pain to a degree and I wonder if God is listening and going to do something about their circumstances.

In A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe: The first things to emerge are the baby giraffe’s front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Within seconds, he rolls to an upright position with his legs tucked under his body. From this position he considers the world for the first time and shakes himself. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over the calf. She waits for about a minute, then she does the most unreasonable thing. She swings her long, pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head over heels. When it doesn’t get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again.

The struggle to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts....Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs. Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing. She kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up! In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes, and they’d get it too, if the mother didn’t teach her calf to get up quickly and get on with it!

Like the young giraffe, the righteous too are knocked down again and again. Why? Because there is coming a day of calamity – a day when standing on one’s feet will be absolutely essential for survival. If we do not know how to get up during times without calamity, how in the world will we survive the real test, when there are spiritual prey all around us waiting for us to fall and become weak, vulnerable and turn instantly into a victim?

God does know what He is doing. God is fully in control of what happens to us and is mindful of our pain. God also loves us too much to allow us to fail and become a victim during times of calamity. According to Proverbs 24, the difference between the righteous and the wicked is that during times of calamity (i.e. times of real severe testings), the righteous get right back up again, while the wicked turn into victims. This is God’s way to point to the world who His people are and how better off they are with Jesus in their lives.

Yes, getting knocked down by your own mother may seem cruel, just like getting knocked down by God seems baffling. But the mother giraffe knows something about life that her baby is yet to experience. During those knock down periods, the baby’s willingness to cooperate with its mom and trust that she knows what she is doing to it, will end up saving the baby giraffe’s life out in the wild when calamity is all around it. In the end, the baby giraffe will end up doing the same thing to its young (if it’s a female), because that’s what mother’s do as a way of showing love to its young.

Now how much more does God love His own and wants to see them succeed and rise up in life when the time really counts? My only advice to us all of us when we are knocked down repeatedly is to get right back up – and NEVER forget how you were able to do so.