Ray of Sonlight

February 27: AN HUMBLE LEADER

In a long letter received in late May 1782 by George Washington, Colonel Lewis Nicola—respected officer who had served ably in the Revolutionary War–complained about the inadequacy of Congress. The nation's treasury lacked the funds to pay off foreign loans and support the Government, let alone pay the soldiers. To forestall complete chaos, Nicola suggested that America become a monarchy, with the commander-in-chief as king. Washington's proposed title? George I of the United States.

Washington responded at once: "If you have any regard for your Country, concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, banish these thoughts from your Mind." What an example of humility, in sharp contrast to the pride and arrogance found today in the city named for this great man.

—http://www.examiner.com/historic-destinations-in-knoxville/the-spirit-of-cincinnatus-george-washington-and-the-triumph-of-the-self#ixzz1mw0PMc73, accessed July 17, 2013.

George Washington knew exactly what his role was to be in this new republic. He realized that to declare himself, or even allow himself to be acknowledged, king of the new nation would signal the beginning of the end of its existence.

Likewise, Moses knew his role in God’s plan. In his earlier years, he chaffed at God’s purposes. Now he meekly accepted God’s plan and moved forward, fully aware of his own weakness, but embracing what God wanted to do in and through his life.

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 26: TRUE MEEKNESS

According to Bill Farmer's newspaper column, J. Upton Dickson was a fun-loving fellow who said he was writing a book entitled Cower Power. He also founded a group of submissive people. It was called DOORMATS. That stands for "Dependent Organization of Really Meek And Timid Souls—if there are no objections." Their motto was: "The meek shall inherit the earth—if that's okay with everybody." Their symbol was the yellow traffic light.

Mr. Dickson sounds like he'd be a lot of fun, doesn't he? What is disturbing about all of this, though, is that many people assume that the ridiculous ideas behind DOORMATS and Cower Power represent the quality of meekness set forth in Matthew 5:5. Many, even in the church, think that to be meek is to be weak. But the opposite is true.

What the Bible is talking about is a powerful virtue. The slogan "strong enough to be gentle" comes close to defining it. True meekness is best seen in Christ. He was submissive, never resisting or disputing the will of God. His absolute trust in the Father enabled Him to show compassion, courage, and self-sacrifice even in the most hostile situation. —Daily Bread.

What is the best definition of meekness? In following the Greek use of the word, we would visualize an animal which has been well-trained. Without training, the animal is a source of unbridled energy, brutality, and destruction. With training, the animal has just as much strength. However, now the strength is under control. In short, this is what meekness is—not weakness, as we so often think. My favorite pictorial illustration of meekness is of a small girl leading an enormous horse, using only a bridle.

The palm tree is another good example of meekness. It has strength to endure the force of a hurricane. But it is flexible to the point it is not broken by the same wind. Its roots grip firmly, as they have spread to grasp the quickly dissipating water supply. A palm is anything but weak. Nonetheless, it is a good example of being meek.

But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. —Psalm 37:11 NKJV

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 25: WHEN WE DON’T UNDERSTAND

Our part is not to understand all the plans of God. Our part is to trust the plans of God—to follow His plan, His process, and His people—when we don’t understand.

Dear Lord, it seems so very hard

To see beyond this strand.

So, help us, Lord, to trust in You

When we don't understand.

So many times we're troubled

As things don't go our way.

Remind us just to look to You

Each hour of every day.

Disappointments often come

To all who walk life's road.

Without Your understanding, Lord,

We'd fall beneath the load.

Our hopes and our ambitions, Lord,

So often go all wrong.

We find our day all filled with gloom

When we expect a song.

Our friends and loved ones try to help

Us see our problems through.

When they can't see what's in our heart

We can always count on You.

Yes, often we don't understand

The things that come our way.

But we can always count on You

To help us through each day.

When human efforts all have failed

To guide us through this sand,

Lord, help us turn our hearts to You

When we don't understand.

—Norman R. Lindsay

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. (Psalm 42:11 NKJV)

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 21: TRUE TO OUR COUNTRY

Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. (Genesis 41:49 NIV)

Dr. Howard Hendricks, renowned Bible teacher writes: We are in danger of seeing the family as an end in itself, rather than as a means to an end. I see the family as a divinely appointed tool, an instrument to impact a hungry and thirsty society with the reality of Jesus Christ in human experience.

In the family you've got the greatest intimacy, the greatest potential for fulfillment. Christ wants us to make the family a model of what He's able to do in human experience. The family is responsible for reaching out to society, getting outside of itself and offering Christ to others.

Everywhere you go, we've got a new Christian program to get kids or young people or adults away from the non-Christian world. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these programs. But it's pretty hard to be effective if you're not at a place where the salt makes contact and where the light can be seen.

—http://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/transcripts/topical/series/fd_4.htm, accessed July 17, 2013.

As we learned with Abraham pitching his tent between Bethel and Ai, we must keep ourselves in contact with those outside the Ark of safety. At the same time, we must keep ourselves constantly refreshed in the presence of the Lord. This is the only way we will be able to remain salt and light to this world.

Let us be dependable to those around us. Let us be true to our country. In the same manner as Joseph, if we are true to our dreams, God may use us to provide for our family and our nation, and help restore our world. We may never know how far the waves will ripple from our remaining true to our visions and dreams.

Thus, dreams and visions are given

By God's Spirit to each, so it seems.

So the challenge I will leave with you:

Be true to your visions and dreams.

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 20: TRUE TO OUR COMPANIONS

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children (Genesis 50:19-21 NIV)

Christina Onassis: “Happiness is not based on money and the greatest proof of that is our family!” —People Magazine, Dec. 5, 1988.

Do money and social position really satisfy? Just read the tragic account of Christina Onassis who died at the age of 37. Commenting on her life, her stepsister Henrietta Gelber said, "She was one of those people who would never be happy." "She would become impatient. It had all come too easily—all the money, houses all over the world, few real responsibilities." "She lacked a sense of achievement," says Gelber. "What she was striving for was just to be a normal human being with normal family relationships, which was virtually impossible in her situation. She has houses all over the world, but she never really had a home." —http://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/11546932/, accessed July 17, 2013.

Everyone needs a home—not just a house, no matter how grand it may be. We need a place to belong. The story of Christina Onassis could be repeated thousands of times around the globe, today. So many people have everything money can buy; but they still are unhappy. They have no real family, no place where they can simply be themselves.

God designed us to be part of a family. The size and shape of our families may differ. But we all need a family in which we can be nurtured and challenged to be everything God created us to be.

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 19: TRUE TO OUR CALLING

Some people don't understand what business they are in. For example, the stagecoach operators of the 1800s thought they were in the stagecoach business. Likewise, railroad owners didn't realize they were in the transportation business; they thought they were in the railroad business. Had they realized they were in the transportation business, they would have invested in the airplane.

The telegraph people thought they were in the telegraph business. Around 1886, they could have bought all the telephone patents for $40,000. Obviously, these people didn't know they were in the communications business.

George Morrow, a computer guru, responded to an article in the Harvard Business Review called 'Market Myopia,' “I used to think these guys were really dumb because they didn't know what business they were in. Then I asked myself, 'What business am I in?'” He didn't have an answer. Do you? —George K Morrow, InfoWorld, Q&A section.

The migration of the monarch butterfly is not uncommon to witness in late summer. Scientists have recently found 16 sites in central Mexico, as small as one acre, where millions upon millions of butterflies from North America spend the winter. No one knows how butterflies find their way to these tiny plots of land. Each new generation that migrates has never been there before. Something programmed into their tiny bodies directs them to a place they have never seen, but which they somehow know they must find.

—http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/monarch-migration.html, accessed July 17, 2013.

These butterflies are one more example of God's creatures being drawn along by the mind of their Creator. Somehow, they know exactly where they are to go. They illustrate the examples of faith found in Hebrews 11, the kind of faith we see in Joseph. He remained focused and deliberate. He knew exactly where God designed for him to go with his life. He remained true to his calling.

[God] gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. (Acts 7:10 NIV)

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 18: TRUE TO CONVICTIONS

A man by the name of J.H. Crowell went to work on a sailing vessel at the age of 16. He was the only Christian among a crew of 12. Before leaving home, he had promised his mother he would continue his devotions and pray three times a day. When the other sailors discovered his piety, they taunted him and poured buckets of water upon his head, but they could not put out the fire in his soul!

One day they bound him to the mast and beat him with 39 stripes, but still he prayed. Finally they tied a rope around his waist and threw him overboard. Realizing he might drown, he asked God to forgive his tormenters, and pleaded with them to send his body home to his mother. "Tell her I was faithful and died for Jesus!" he said.

When they thought he was dead, they pulled him back on deck, but to their surprise he regained consciousness. Conviction from the Holy Spirit came upon some of the sailors, and two of them were gloriously saved. Later the captain and several others were also converted. This unusual experience highlights the wonderful power of faithfulness. —http://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/11544381/, accessed July 17, 2013.

A young Oriental student decided to mock his elderly teacher. He caught a small bird and cupped it in his hands behind his back. He then approached the sage with this plan in mind. He would ask the old man what he had in his hand. If he answered correctly, he would then ask the teacher if the bird was alive or dead. If the old man said, "Alive," he would crush the bird. If he answered, "Dead," he would release the bird.

Upon approaching the teacher, the young student said, "What do I have in my hand, old man? The man responded, "A bird, my son." "Is he alive or dead, old man?" the boy prodded. The sage replied, "The answer to that question, my son, is in your hands."

—http://www.creekwoodcc.org/lw_In%20Your%20Hands.htm, accessed July 17, 2013.

Likewise, the answer to your dreams is in your hands. Will you allow the difficulties, the detractors to keep you from pursuing your dreams? Or will you be true to your convictions and allow God to bring your dreams to reality?

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 17: TRUE TO OUR CAUSE

Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." ¹⁰When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" (Genesis 37:9-10 NIV)

Joseph was nothing, if not determined, when it came to his dreams. He certainly had a number of excuses to forsake his dreams. But he did not. He clung tenaciously to those dreams; because he knew they came from God.

When we know we have seen the hand of God in our dreams and visions, we are much more determined to remain focused on those dreams. When we lose sight of their origin, we begin to waver and become distracted.

Joseph recognized God’s hand in his dreams and understood the importance of the plan God had to use Joseph to care for his extended family. Being true to his dreams meant being true to his cause.

Johann Gutenberg was not satisfied with the status quo. What did he do? He simply combined two previously unconnected ideas to create an innovation. He refused to limit his thinking to the singular purpose of the wine press or to the solitary use of the coin punch. One day he entertained an idea no one else had ever thought of: “What if I took a bunch of coin punches and put them under the force of the wine press so that they left their images on paper instead of metal?” From that womb the printing press was born. The Word of God was then able to be produced for the masses. What limits in your thinking is God challenging today? —http://www.basicfamouspeople.com/index.php?aid=7698, accessed July 17, 2013.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

Let us be determined to cling tenaciously to our dreams, no matter what may come along to turn us away from them. Let us be true to our cause.

THINK ABOUT IT.

February 15: OUR NEW NAME

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. ^KJVRevelation 2:17

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. ^KJVRevelation 3:12

God loves us too much to leave us as weak, untrustworthy, inconsistent failures. The only way He can assure we will become what He desires for us is to make us like His Son. And because we bear the image of the Son, we shall also bear the name of the Son. God's plan for us is to give us a new image, to make us over into the image of His Son; then He stamps His name upon us.

Furthermore, we will be so very proud to bear the name of our Elder Brother, Jesus. Much like the child emulating his older brother, we desire to be like Jesus. Someday, according to the above words from the Revelation and from the following passages as well, everything will be new, different, righteous, and pure.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2 NIV)

A father and his young son were walking down the streets of Chicago. Their walk took them past the place where a skyscraper was being constructed. Glancing up, they saw men at work on a high story of the building. "Father," said the little boy, "What are those little boys doing up there?" "Those are not little boys, son. They're grown men." "But why do they look so small?" "Because they're so high," his father answered. After a pause the boy asked, "Then, Father, when they get to heaven there won't be anything left of them, will there?" —Source Unknown.

This young lad stumbled onto a significant reality. The nearer we come to Christ the less others see of us and the more they see of Christ. I wrote a poem for my parents on their 50th anniversary which illustrates this point. It ended with this phrase:

When two persons, walking hand in hand

Stroll into the setting sun,

Just before they fade in the fleeting rays,

Those two appear as one.

—Norman R. Lindsay

THINK ABOUT IT.

LOVE NEVER QUITS

Love never quits when the rent isn't paid;

When the dishes aren't done or beds aren't made.

Love never quits when the cupboard is bare;

When he buys a new car or she restyles her hair.

Love never quits when the kids wear you thin.

When the meatloaf is burnt—is that really a sin?

Love never quits when your wallet is flat;

When his hair's getting thin or he's getting too fat.

Love never quits, we're a pattern, you see,

Of how Christ loves the church—you and me.

His love doesn't quit, though often we do!

He loves us, will love us, all our life through.

—Norman R. Lindsay

When all the prophecies have run their course, when all the marriage seminars have come and gone, when all the crises and events of life have had their day—these three will remain: Faith, hope, and love. If these three characteristics are the foundation of a fruitful life and marriage, then it is wise for us to reflect on them for a few minutes.

Faith, according to the writer of Hebrews, is the substance, the stuff, the tangible portion, of our hopes, and evidence, the proving of those things which are unseen. To put it in terms we experience each day, faith, very simply, is to trust someone or something that I do not necessarily understand.

Marriage is much like that. For a marriage to be strong; there must be faith—even when we do not understand. Not only must we have faith in God, we must have faith in each other. There are many things I do not understand about Judy. Nonetheless, I fully trust her character.

This is where faith and hope join hands. Hope says I want to believe Judy will be trustworthy in a particular aspect. Faith is convinced she will! And each time my trust in her is proven in a specific item, my faith in her grows.

There are many things I can hope. I can hope Judy will always love me. I can hope that she will never be unfaithful to me. I can hope she will want to remain my best friend for as long as we live. Hence, I join my hope to my faith and face the future with expectancy.

Agape, as we all already know, refers to that unconditional love which implies a commitment to love—no matter what. And I might add, there is a reason Paul says when all else is gone, the three things which remain are faith, hope, and love—the greatest of these being agape love. Because, without a commitment which is unconditional, we would not stay the course on those other areas of necessity for a healthy marriage. No matter how many hardships come our way, our love will last—because we have unconditional love for each other. We have committed yourselves to love each other for the rest of your lives. This is why the experts say love is a choice, a decision—not a feeling.

Please take the time, over the next few days, to share your hopes and concerns with each other. Moreover, I would urge you not to make this an empty exercise. Instead, make it a stepping stone to a healthier marriage.

THINK ABOUT IT.