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People get hurt in odd ways. Every year, kitchen knives injure460,000 Americans. 100,000 are hurt by power saws. 20 are strangled by draperycords. And 4000 of us are injured by pillows. That’s right . . . pillows. Amajor league pitcher once injured himself while washing his car. Another playerfell off his treadmill and missed two months. Yet another athlete sufferedsevere burns when he fell asleep in his tanning bed. I heard about a guy whocracked a rib because he laughed too hard. But I’ve noticed that many are hurt in other strange ways,sometimes critically. Have you ever slipped over gossip? Have you cut someonewith your words? Have you sliced someone with sarcasm? Perhaps a friend hasstumbled over your cruel look or critical spirit. These create wounds that healvery slowly. Beware of power saws, drapery cords, and pillows. But especiallywatch out for your tongue, your attitude, and your sarcastic ways. These canall become weapons of mass destruction.
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Jim
Rohn profoundly said, "Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a
teaspoon. At least take a bucket with you so the kids don't laugh at
you." God has placed an ocean in front of each of us. It is an ocean of
blessing, an ocean of opportunity. It is an ocean of promise and
change. God's job is the ocean. Your job is to decide how much you
want. You can enter with a teaspoon, content for a little. Your spoon
will be full, and you might think that is all there is. Or you can
bring a bucket to God's ocean. God can fill a bucket just as quickly
and completely as He fills a spoon.
You
may think you are too small to carry the bucket. Hear the words of
Betty Reese: "If you think you are too small to be effective, you have
never been to bed with a mosquito." I think Betty is saying that
everyone is big enough for God to bless. Konrad Adenauer puts it like
this: "We all have the same sky, but we don't have the same horizon."
Let the same God who created the ocean design your horizon. Go to the
ocean today. But be prepared. Leave the spoon at home. Bring the
biggest bucket you can find.
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I heard about a man who said to his wife, “I’m the boss here! I’m in charge! I am the leader and the man of the house!” His wife responded, “You’d be more convincing if you came out from under the bed and said that!” Most men are more consumed with leading than loving. We need to learn from the affluent, older gentleman. They asked him why he went to visit his ailing wife of 55 years, every single day, in the nursing home. “She doesn’t even know who you are,” they told him. He replied, “No, but I know who she is!”
Men, do you know who she is? Don’t be like the man who said he took his wife to Hawaii for their 25th anniversary. When asked what he was going to do for his 50th, he said, “I may go back and get her!” Your wife deserves better than that. There once was a very wise king named Solomon. The Bible contains a book of love letters between Solomon and his wife. In just eight chapters, Solomon praised her 40 times. Focus less on leading and more on loving. And if you left your wife in Hawaii, don’t wait 25 years to go back to get her!
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When Colin Powell worked for President Reagan, they were discussing a particular defense policy. Reagan stated his position. Powell adamantly disagreed. Reagan let Powell do it his way. Powell’s plan failed miserably. At a press conference, Reagan was attacked by the press for the obvious failure. With Powell looking on, Reagan said, “I take full responsibility for the failure.” When he looked to the side, the general had tears in his eyes. As Powell left the room, he told one of the cabinet members, “I’ll do anything for that man.”
When was the last time you stood by someone, not because they were a success, but because they were a failure? I have a dear friend who lives 325 miles away. He made a bad choice in his life. I drove 325 miles one day and took him to a basketball game. When the game was over, I took him home, then drove 325 miles back to Gainesville. He called the next day. “You forgot to preach to me,” he said. “Nope,” I replied. “You needed a friend more than a sermon.” Go find someone who has failed. Then go to them. Don’t say a word. Just stand by their side.
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Thomas Edison. The name is synonymous with brilliance. The man invented hundreds of things. But he is best known, of course, for the light bulb. While we take the light bulb for granted, they never dreamed of such a thing before Edison. But did you know that he failed in his attempt to make the first light bulb? Then he tried again. Again he failed. 1000 times, Edison failed. Can’t you imagine his friends asking old Tom what he was doing? He’d say, “I’m inventing the light bulb.” They’d say, “What’s a light bulb?” On and on he kept at it.
Then one day the light came on, in his head, then in the bulb. I would explain the workings of a light bulb to you, but my space is limited! Suffice it to say that if not for the persistence of old Tom, we’d all be in the dark today. Here’s the lesson. Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Find something you’re good at. Then go for it. Sure, you’ll fail. Muhammad Ali once said, “My goal when I step into the ring is to get up more than I go down.” So chase your dream. One day the light will come on. You may never be as famous as old Tom, but the world will be a brighter place.
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In
the 1980s, Ross Perot spoke of the national budget deficit as “the
crazy aunt living in the basement that nobody wanted to talk about.” Do
you have any “crazy aunts”? I have two of them, Aunt Alma and Aunt
Lala. I’d tell you what makes them crazy, but if it got back to them,
they might do something crazy. But when Ross Perot talked about “crazy
aunts,” he meant something other than women who bake beans for the
family reunion. He meant anything that holds us back, that keeps us
from realizing our full potential.
Let’s
identify some “crazy aunts.” How about television, particularly the
channels you watch when nobody sees you? What about the time you spend
on-line at the office? Maybe your “crazy aunt” is a hidden addiction to
tobacco, gambling, or an unhealthy relationship. “Crazy aunts” come in
all shapes and sizes. If you don’t believe me, you ought to see Alma or
Lala! Nobody sees your “crazy aunts” because they live in the basement.
You think they are locked up. But you are never really free from their
control.
You
are like the convict in Australia who escaped from prison. He grabbed
onto the bottom of a laundry truck, and held on for dear life. Five
miles later the truck came to a stop, and he crawled out from
underneath the truck. He discovered he was now in another prison. You
and I need to deal with our “crazy aunts.” Don’t trade them in for
other “crazy aunts.” Dig down deep in your basement. Only when you are
free from your “crazy aunts” will you be free indeed.
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Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli were the two greatest figures of Europe’s great Reformation. One day, Zwingli found himself at odds with Luther. Seeking a way to react to their differences, he found his answer on the side of a Swiss mountain. He spotted two goats walking toward each other on a narrow path. One was climbing the mountain, while the other was coming down. The path became too narrow for them to pass one another, side by side. They backed up and lowered their heads, as if to attack. But then the climbing goat lay down on the path. The descending goat stepped over his back. The climbing goat then arose and continued to the top of the mountain. Zwingli observed that the goat was able to make it to the top because of his willingness to bend lower.
Isaiah 53 compares us to sheep. But sometimes we need to be more like goats. The only way the goat could reach the top was through humility and service. What about you? What mountains are you trying to climb? Dr. Edwin Young, pastor of Second Baptist in Houston, says, “We must learn to walk on our knees.” To climb high, you must bow low. Learn to walk on your knees. Learn to serve. Learn to put others on your back. Learn from the goats.
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I
have freakishly wide feet. I don’t mean “wide feet.” I mean “freakishly
wide feet.” When I go to the shoe store, I buy a box of shoes, throw
away the shoes, and then wear the box. When I go swimming, I make ducks
jealous. The problem is, in my line of work, people look at you funny
if you walk around wearing boxes on your feet. I pretty much need to
wear shoes, painful as that may be.
So
I buy freakishly wide shoes. They still aren’t wide enough. They take
awhile to break in. Then I wear them and wear them and wear them out.
The soles are the first to go. Still, I wear my freakishly wide shoes.
Then the heels go. Still, I wear them. The color fades. No problem.
Eventually, holes develop. I ignore the holes. But then it rains. My
feet get wet. But it is still better than breaking in a new pair. But
with cold weather comes cold feet. That is where I draw the line. There
is nothing worse than getting “cold feet.” Only when my feet hurt badly
enough do I change shoes. And the process starts all over.
We
all have leaky shoes, don’t we? But we tend to prefer old problems we
understand, over new solutions we don’t understand. We prefer the pain
we know to the healing we don’t know. Nobody likes change. That’s why
we do it so little. We only change when the pain becomes unbearable.
Where are your shoes leaking? I don’t expect you to change shoes at the
first sign of trouble. But when it gets bad enough, when you get
desperate enough, change can happen. And that leads to unspeakable
breakthroughs and victory.
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The
Olympics are upon us, starting on 08-08-08. Do you remember your first
Olympics? Some of us go back to Mark Spitz in 1972. Others remember
George Foreman waving his American flag after winning the gold in
Mexico City in 1968. Still others recall Jesse Owens taking his gold
medals with Adolf Hitler in the audience in 1936. But let’s go back
even further than that. 2000 years ago, the Spartans were known for
their great Olympic warriors. Their wrestling teams were always the
best. But they had an interesting way of celebrating their victories.
When
a Spartan won a victory, his reward was that he could stand next to the
king in battle. A particular Spartan wrestler at the Olympic games was
offered a considerable bribe to abandon the struggle, but he refused.
Finally, after a terrific effort, he won his victory. Someone said to
him, “Well, Spartan what have you got out of this costly victory you
have won?” He answered, “I have won the privilege of standing in front
of my king in battle.”
We
all like to win. And we all like recognition. We all know what it is to
win something, be recognized, and receive a reward or medal. But life’s
greatest victories are those recognized only by the King. Whatever
battle you are in today, whatever enemies you face, remember that you
never fight alone. And you will not be rewarded alone, either. The
greatest reward of all is the privilege of standing in front of the
King in battle.
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Let’s talk about seals. No, not the kind you see at the zoo. I’m talking about the kind of seal that seals. You don’t buy stuff at the store unless it is properly sealed, do you? The seal maintains the integrity of the product. It keeps the fruit fresh. It preserves the produce and protects the pills. When our kids collect Halloween candy, we forbid them to eat anything that isn’t sealed.
The Bible talks about two significant seals. The first was the seal of Jesus’ tomb. Crucified as a criminal and buried as a pauper, our Lord’s body was sealed by the Roman government. When the soldiers rolled the heavy stone in front of the tomb, they “set a seal on the stone” (Matt. 27:66). Archaeologists describe the seal as two ribbons stretched in front of the entrance, glued together with hardened wax that bore the Latin inscription Senatus Populusque Romanus, meaning “Stay away! The contents of this tomb belong to Rome.” That was one seal that was meant to be broken.
But there is another significant seal in Scripture . . . the seal of the Spirit. Ephesians describes it like this: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Jesus said “the thief comes to steal.” He wants to steal you joy, your peace, your hope. Don’t let him. Remind him that you are protected and preserved, sanctified and secure. Quote a little Latin to the devil. Tell him “Senatus Populusque en Christos,” or “Stay away! The contents of this soul belong to Christ.” Remind him that you are signed in the blood, saved in the heavenlies, and sealed with the Spirit!
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