Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, "Hitherto the Lord has helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel (I Samuel 7:12-13).
The last Monday in May is Memorial Day, a holiday that was originally intended to honor the memory of those who have served in the United States military and have died. Though that is still the primary purpose of Memorial Day, it has become a holiday in which we honor the memory of all of our deceased loved ones.
This weekend I helped my elderly mother place flowers at the graves of about a dozen family members, one of them being Ebenezer Bunce, my great, great grand father. Ebenezer was a pastor in the United Brethren Church. Ebenezer's name brought home to me the significance of what we were doing--remembering, honoring and being thankful. Ebenezer means, stone of God's help. It was a monument intended to help the Israelites remember how God helped them! Every monument in the cemetery is an Ebenezer. Who would I be without Ebenezer Bunce? Who would I be without the influence of my Dad? What kind of a country would we have were it not for the ultimate sacrifice of those who have died for it in military service? What kind of country would we have were it not for those whose lives were salt and light as they served Jesus Christ? God used every one of them. Their grave stones are Ebenezers!
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Monday, May 25, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
BEWARE OF THE FACTOIDS*
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).
Though it has always been true, in the age of the Internet it is even more true, beware of the factoids! I read in a column by Wesley Pruden that the term "factoid" was coined and defined by Norman Mailer, so if that is not a fact do not blame me. A "factoid" is something that , "looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact."
Of course, politicians are the ones who make the most use of factoids, but so do scientists, sociologists, lawyers, teachers, preachers, counselors, etc.. Factoids are used to make the wrong look right and black look white. Facts are used to reveal and teach the truth. My dad often warned me, "Figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure." So it is always wise for a person to check the "facts" because they might be factoids!
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from an earlier post.
Though it has always been true, in the age of the Internet it is even more true, beware of the factoids! I read in a column by Wesley Pruden that the term "factoid" was coined and defined by Norman Mailer, so if that is not a fact do not blame me. A "factoid" is something that , "looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact."
Of course, politicians are the ones who make the most use of factoids, but so do scientists, sociologists, lawyers, teachers, preachers, counselors, etc.. Factoids are used to make the wrong look right and black look white. Facts are used to reveal and teach the truth. My dad often warned me, "Figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure." So it is always wise for a person to check the "facts" because they might be factoids!
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from an earlier post.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
THE SAFETY OF RISK TAKING*
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people" (Luke 5:10).
What is your top prayer request? Is it "God, keep us safe" or "Watch over us and protect us" or "Keep my life rolling smoothly"?
God is good, but He is also dangerous and He calls those who follow Him into danger. It is one of life's great paradoxes that following the Lord into great danger is the safest place you can be.
Perhaps one of our top prayer requests should be, "Father, help me to take risks for Jesus."
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from a previous post.
What is your top prayer request? Is it "God, keep us safe" or "Watch over us and protect us" or "Keep my life rolling smoothly"?
God is good, but He is also dangerous and He calls those who follow Him into danger. It is one of life's great paradoxes that following the Lord into great danger is the safest place you can be.
Perhaps one of our top prayer requests should be, "Father, help me to take risks for Jesus."
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from a previous post.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
I BELIEVE . . . *
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
The first time I remember hearing the song, I Believe, was on the Lawrence Welk television program way back in the 1950's. The lyrics go something like this:
I believe for every drop of rain that falls, A flower grows . . .
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, A candle glows . . .
Though those are only the first two lines, it is an inspirational song to me and it still reminds me that when things appear to be hopeless, God is still there. Out of the floods and out of the darkness He will bring beauty and light!
Allied soldiers found in an abandoned house, shortly following World War II, similar words scrawled on a wall; probably written by a holocaust victim:
I believe in the sun, even when it does not shine. I believe in love, even when it is not shown. I believe in God, even when He is silent.
When it seems as if God is silent, He is still working--working for the good of those who love Him. When it seems that evil is unstoppable, do not give up the faith for with out faith in God all hope is lost!!!
And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from an earlier post.
The first time I remember hearing the song, I Believe, was on the Lawrence Welk television program way back in the 1950's. The lyrics go something like this:
I believe for every drop of rain that falls, A flower grows . . .
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, A candle glows . . .
Though those are only the first two lines, it is an inspirational song to me and it still reminds me that when things appear to be hopeless, God is still there. Out of the floods and out of the darkness He will bring beauty and light!
Allied soldiers found in an abandoned house, shortly following World War II, similar words scrawled on a wall; probably written by a holocaust victim:
I believe in the sun, even when it does not shine. I believe in love, even when it is not shown. I believe in God, even when He is silent.
When it seems as if God is silent, He is still working--working for the good of those who love Him. When it seems that evil is unstoppable, do not give up the faith for with out faith in God all hope is lost!!!
And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from an earlier post.
Friday, May 08, 2009
PROBLEM SOLVING 2
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being . . . (Psalms 51:6a).
Not everyone who comes to a counselor with a problem wants a solution. There is a payoff in having the problem and the counselee simply desires confirmation that the problem does not have a solution. Actually, there are many problems that do not have a clear solution, but there are courses of action that are clearly better than others in managing the problem. Simply wallowing in the woe-is-me victim status is the payoff for those who do not want to change. They receive sympathy and pity from the well-meaning people-helper--that is the payoff. So they remain stuck in their problems.
Job, of the Bible, was a true victim. He suffered at the hand of satan quite a string of tragedies. There are relatively few Job's. There are many people who seem to have a never-ending run of bad luck which prevents them from accomplishment, "The car broke down so I couldn't make it to the job interview," or "I have sent out ten resumes, but no one answers" kind of thing. And so they see themselves as victims of life's unlucky lottery. Of course, the truth is that by taking responsibility one can develop his organizational and communication skills that would prevent these kinds of things from happening.
Many people see money as the solution to life's problems--even many churches do, what a shame. Certainly, money is power, but money cannot solve a non money problem. Money cannot solve a spiritual problem and money cannot solve a character problem. The real problem behind most of our external problems is spiritual. We do not trust God, We do not want to obey God, and we do not want to accept responsibility. We would rather be victims because victims are not responsible.
. . . therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart (Psalm 51:6b).
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Not everyone who comes to a counselor with a problem wants a solution. There is a payoff in having the problem and the counselee simply desires confirmation that the problem does not have a solution. Actually, there are many problems that do not have a clear solution, but there are courses of action that are clearly better than others in managing the problem. Simply wallowing in the woe-is-me victim status is the payoff for those who do not want to change. They receive sympathy and pity from the well-meaning people-helper--that is the payoff. So they remain stuck in their problems.
Job, of the Bible, was a true victim. He suffered at the hand of satan quite a string of tragedies. There are relatively few Job's. There are many people who seem to have a never-ending run of bad luck which prevents them from accomplishment, "The car broke down so I couldn't make it to the job interview," or "I have sent out ten resumes, but no one answers" kind of thing. And so they see themselves as victims of life's unlucky lottery. Of course, the truth is that by taking responsibility one can develop his organizational and communication skills that would prevent these kinds of things from happening.
Many people see money as the solution to life's problems--even many churches do, what a shame. Certainly, money is power, but money cannot solve a non money problem. Money cannot solve a spiritual problem and money cannot solve a character problem. The real problem behind most of our external problems is spiritual. We do not trust God, We do not want to obey God, and we do not want to accept responsibility. We would rather be victims because victims are not responsible.
. . . therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart (Psalm 51:6b).
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Thursday, May 07, 2009
PROBLEM SOLVING*
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 4:6).
One of the counselor's undeniable truths of life is: There is no pain-free or cost-free way of dealing with a problem. Much of the time people expect the counselor to find an easy-does-it cure or a win-win solution, but this is an unrealistic expectation of the counselor. The only pain-free cure is a miracle. I do believe in miracles, but one of the characteristics of miracles is that they are rare, so one should expect to deal with pain when doing problem solving!!!
The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian is not to make life pain-free, but it is to encourage fruit production (Galatians 5:22-24) and sometimes it takes a little cutting and pruning to accomplish that (John 15:2). So, the cost of problem solving is pain, but the growth that will result will be worth the pain. Your counselor, the Spirit of God, will walk along side of you, encouraging you and strengthening you as you deal appropriately with problems.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from an earlier post.
One of the counselor's undeniable truths of life is: There is no pain-free or cost-free way of dealing with a problem. Much of the time people expect the counselor to find an easy-does-it cure or a win-win solution, but this is an unrealistic expectation of the counselor. The only pain-free cure is a miracle. I do believe in miracles, but one of the characteristics of miracles is that they are rare, so one should expect to deal with pain when doing problem solving!!!
The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian is not to make life pain-free, but it is to encourage fruit production (Galatians 5:22-24) and sometimes it takes a little cutting and pruning to accomplish that (John 15:2). So, the cost of problem solving is pain, but the growth that will result will be worth the pain. Your counselor, the Spirit of God, will walk along side of you, encouraging you and strengthening you as you deal appropriately with problems.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
*Revised from an earlier post.
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