Illustrations 17

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Past

Don't Be a Hostage

"Don't let the future be held hostage by the past." --Neal Maxwell

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The Past Cannot Be Re-lived

"The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there." --L. P. Hartley

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Living in the Present

"The job won't get done by going back in time." --Francis Anfuso

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Definition of Nostalgia

Nostalgia: Living in the past lane.

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God Has Plans for the Future, Not the Past

"Whatever God has for you, it's not behind you." --Beth Moore

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Patience

Trying to Be Patient

One afternoon I took my children to the movies. My son Scott, who was seven years old at the time, was anxious for the movie to begin. As the different advertisements appeared on the screen, Scott leaned over and whispered, "Dad, when's the movie going to start?"

"In a few minutes."

One minute later he again asked, "Dad, when is it going to start?"

"In just a little bit."

After he asked the third time, I said, "Scott, don't ask me that question again. Just sit there and wait."

My son, who was a quiet and obedient child, fidgeted and tried to be patient. Finally he leaned over and whispered a different question. "Dad, can you make time go faster?"

Many times we say to God, "Father, can you make time go faster? I'm so tired of waiting. I'm anxious for my prayer to be answered. Please make it arrive sooner." (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, 108)

Idling Your Motor

"Patience is idling your motor when you feel like stripping a gear." --Bill Gothard

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How Patience Can Help You

"Once God develops the attitude of patience in you, life becomes easier so petty things don't bother you anymore." --Kent Crockett

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Peace

Absence or Presence

"It's not the absence or presence of problems that determines one's peace of mind; it's the absence or presence of God." --Unknown

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Peace is in Your Mind

"Peace is not the absence of conflict; it's the absence of inner conflict." --Unknown

Inner Calm

"God doesn't always still the storm, but He can calm the sailor." -- Unknown

Persecution

Truth and Persecution

"Wherever you see persecution, there is more than a probability that truth is on the persecuted side." --Hugh Latimer, English martyr, Book of Living Quotations

Persistence

Two Days Before the Great Discovery

Just two days before Columbus sighted land, his men were on the verge of mutiny. They had sailed the longest voyage ever out of the sight of land and wanted to turn back.

The entry in Columbus' Journal, October 10, 1492, stated:

"Here the people could stand it no longer and complained of the long voyage; but the Admiral cheered them as best he could, holding out good hope of the advantages they would have. He added that it was useless to complain. He had come to the Indies, and so had to continue until he found them, with the help of our Lord."

Two days later they discovered America.

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Persisting Makes It Easier

"That which we persist in doing becomes easy to do; not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that our power to do has increased." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just One More Time

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." --Inventor Thomas Edison

Perspective

If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer—the silver or the bronze?

If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer—the silver or the bronze?

A study of Olympic medal winners produced some unexpected results. Most people would assume the silver medal winners would be happier than the bronze medalists since they received a higher honor, but that wasn’t the case. The bronze medalists, who came in third place, were found to be happier than the silver medalists, who finished in second place.

The former Olympians explained how they felt about their medals. The third-place winners were thrilled just to have won a medal. The silver medalists, on the other hand, felt like losers because they didn’t come in first place.

What happens to you is not nearly as important as how you perceive what happens to you.

[Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind, But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 1-2]

Perspective

Perspective is not what we see, but the way we see it.

[Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind, But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 14]

The Way We See It

Perspective is not what we see, but the way we see it.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind, But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 14)

The Right Perspective

For centuries, people believed the sun revolved around the earth. They had proof—the sun rose in the east and set in the west. And it looked so small compared to our planet. Scientists balked when Nicolaus Copernicus suggested the earth revolved around the sun. It never occurred to them that they might be seeing with the wrong perspective.

Truth prevailed. People corrected their perspectives to line up with the facts.

Some people today actually believe the world revolves around them. They see themselves as the center of the universe and bristle when God’s Word suggests otherwise.

How do you know when you’re seeing with the right perspective?

You’ll know when your life revolves around the Son.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 145)

Another Vantage Point

You are sitting in your living room watching a football game on television. The referee throws a penalty flag against your team. You yell, “Hey ref! Are you blind? That wasn’t a penalty!” You know he made an incorrect call because you watched the play from your point of view.

Then the camera shows a replay from a different angle. When you view the play from another vantage point, you discover that the referee actually did make the correct call. You were mistaken because you couldn’t see the entire picture from your limited perspective.

To get the right perspective in life, we need to view our circumstances from heaven’s point of view. If we will look at our situation from God’s perspective, we’ll interpret what happens to us in a different light.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 147)

Unable to See Blessings

Cursed is the person who is surrounded by blessings but is unable to see them.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 159)

Your Concept of God

Everything we do for God is based upon our concept of God. (Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, p. 60)

Father of the Fatherless

Karen’s alcoholic and abusive father abandoned his family when she was two years old. Every Father’s Day her mother made her write a card to the father she never knew. Her father never responded. Although Karen’s father never accepted her, she found a different way to fill the void. She learned at church that God could be her father.

Whenever she went out to play on her roller skates, she yelled, “Hey, God! Look at me!” She felt a special awareness of His presence, as if God were smiling from heaven. Rather than focusing her attention on the man who abandoned her, she directed her affection toward God, who is a father to the fatherless (Ps. 68:5). Although she never received approval from her earthly father, Karen found security through her Heavenly Father.

[Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind, But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 50]

The Silver or Bronze Medal?

If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer—the silver or the bronze?

What happens to you is not nearly as important as how you perceive what happens to you.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 1-2)

Discouraging the Union Army

During the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee had a shortage of soldiers. His army could be devastated if the Union army discovered this weakness. Since he could not increase the number of soldiers, he decided he could make his army look larger than it actually was.

He loaded troops on trains and transported them to different places. At every train station, the same Confederate soldiers were unloaded from the trains. It appeared that new troops were being transported in to be added to the Rebel army.

The Union forces became confused and afraid because they believed the South had a much larger army than they actually had. General Lee hadn't made his army any larger or more powerful. He was simply using a psychological tactic to discourage the Union army. And it worked. (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, 76)

Satan tries to make our problems look bigger than they really are, trying to discourage us.

I Hate Bees!

A little boy was playing outside and was stung by a bee. He went into his house crying and said to his mother, "I hate bees! I wish God had never made them." The mother eased his pain, then sat him down at the table and gave him some toast and honey.

The little boy said, "This is great!"

"You really do like honey, don't you?" the mother responded,

"Like it?" the little boy replied, "I love it!"

The mother then said, "The same bee that stings also produces the honey you are enjoying right now."

Her son thought for a minute and said, "I never realized there was a good side to that bee!"

We can view a bee as an enemy that stings or as a friend that produces honey. And that's the way it is with everything in life. We can choose to look at the plus side in every situation, or we can choose to look at the minus side. The difference will be one of living a life of depression or a life of rejoicing. (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, 83-84)

If You Want the Rainbow

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." --Dolly Parton

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A Closer Perspective

"Thanks to the invention of the telescope, planets that are 100 billion miles away look to be only 50 billion miles away." -- John Wagner

Pessimism

A Pessimistic Commentary

A Pessimist’s Commentary on Psalm 23

By Ima Whiner

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

“Shall not want”? Give me a break. I want lots of things. I’d like to have a nicer house, a better job, and a pay raise. I want people to do what I say when I say. And I wouldn’t mind winning the lottery either.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

I have a problem with the words “makes me.” That sounds a bit legalistic to me. First you say I can’t want things; now you’re making me do things.

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

I don’t want to be guided down the paths of righteousness. I prefer the more scenic routes. How about leading me to Hawaii for a change? What about Vegas? I’m getting a little tired of the paths of righteousness. The next thing you know, you’ll be leading me through a dark valley.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

What am I doing walking through the valley of the shadow of death? I thought I was supposed to be lying down in green pastures. Did you take a wrong turn, or what? And you call yourself a Shepherd?

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

To tell you the truth, a rod and staff are not my idea of comfort. A rod and reel I’ll take. A back massage would be even better. Skip the rod and staff.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Great. Out of all the restaurants in the world, you choose the one where my enemies like to eat. I’m sure I’ll relish every bite of that meal!

You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

I don’t want any oil on my head. I prefer shampoo. And for goodness sake, can’t you stop pouring before my cup overflows? What kind of waiter are you anyway? How would you like to have hot coffee spilled all over your hand?

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I don’t want to be confined to a house forever. That sounds like a prison. It might be nice to step outside once every thousand years or so. I never will understand why so many people love the 23rd Psalm.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 34-35)

Pessimism Creates the World You See

A man decided to start a hot dog business. He bought a cart, filled it with hot dogs, and pushed it down a busy city street during the lunch hour. He sold out, so he ordered more from his supplier. As the weeks passed, he kept expanding his business and became a successful vendor.

One day his son came home from college and gave him some advice.

“Dad, don’t you know what’s going on in the business world? Things are bad. We’re in a depression.”

His father replied, “We are? I guess I’d better cut back on my supply of hot dogs.”

So he did. He reduced his inventory, ordering only minimum quantities. Because he kept running out, his frustrated customers stopped buying from him. Several months later he shut down his business.

That night he called his son at college and said, “Son, you were right. We are in a depression!”

The way you choose to see the world creates the world you see. Pessimists expect the worst to happen, which often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 37)

The Way Pessimists See Things

A pessimist looks at a half-full glass and sees it as totally empty.

Give With the Right Attitude

When a pessimist went in to donate blood, she was turned away.

The nurse explained, "I'm sorry, but we don't need any 'B Negative' blood."

Pleasing God

Changing Audiences

We have let the world define greatness for us. Our society has built itself on the philosophy of the devil instead of on the wisdom of God. As long as we believe Satan’s big lie that our lives are insignificant unless we are on top, we will live in constant state of dejection, worthlessness, and strife.

To overcome this incorrect way of thinking, we must change audiences. Which audience are we trying to please: people in this world, or God in heaven?

(Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, pp. 141-142)

Training for Ministry

When I first enrolled in seminary, I made an appointment to talk to the dean of men to see if I could get a room in the dormitory. When I walked into his office, the first thing he asked was, "Are you applying for the janitor's job?"

"No," I said. "I'm here to see if any rooms are available in the dorm."

"I'm sorry, the dormitory is full. We’ll put you on the waiting list. But if you know anyone who wants a job as janitor, please send him to see me."

I told him that I wasn't interested and thanked him for his time. When I left his office and walked outside, I prayed, Lord, please provide a room for me. God stopped me on the sidewalk and spoke to my heart, "Go take the job."

Take the job? I prayed for a room, not a job. But I knew in my heart I needed to obey. Immediately I did an about-face, walked into the dean's office, and said, "I'll take that janitor’s job." He hired me on the spot.

At first, I had to battle my pride. I thought about how over-qualified I was—I had a college degree and was working on my Master's. I was given a seminary janitor's shirt and a little pushcart stocked with soap, gloves, toilet paper, toilet bowl cleaner, and a brush. Every day I pushed that cart down the hallway, cleaned toilets, scrubbed showers, and emptied trashcans.

It wasn’t long before I discovered that cleaning those bathrooms in the men's dorm was part of my spiritual education. I learned to do those jobs that no one else wanted. As I cleaned those toilets every day, I made a surprising discovery. God spoke to my heart more clearly than I had ever heard Him before. I meditated on Scriptures as I worked, and God gave me insights into his Word. I then realized that cleaning toilets was part of my training for ministry. If I wasn't willing to serve God as a custodian, how could He trust me with other responsibilities?

I spent my entire three years in seminary cleaning toilets and attending classes. I'm convinced that half of what I learned in seminary was in the classrooms and the other half was in the bathrooms. I also learned to respect and thank janitors for the work they perform. God used that job to teach me that in whatever tasks He calls me to do in life, I am actually serving Him. (Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, pp. 144-145)

Praise of God vs Praise of Men

"The praise of God goes to places where the praise of man doesn't go. The praise of men goes to places where the praise of God doesn't go." --Mike Adkins

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