GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: June 27, 2020

Fair or Not?

The sooner you learn that life is not fair, the better off you’ll be… (Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State)

Rice continues, “…because you’ll spend less time railing against life’s unfairness . . . and more time figuring out how. . . to deal with things that you’re not very good at.” We often feel that we’ve been cheated or overlooked. But, as Rice says, we won’t get far that way; instead, we need to move on to do what we do best without undue concern for how others might respond.

It matters very little how I might be evaluated by. . . any human authority. . . It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide (1 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Stop & Think: June 26, 2020

Work

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. (Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet)

Writing as a poet, Atwood uses picturesque language to make a point more clearly than a simple statement in prose might. Basically, she’s saying, you should always work hard so that at day’s end something of value may be the result. If you come to quitting time and don’t feel you’ve accomplished much, just be sure you’ve given it your best and wait for good results.

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much (Ecclesiastes 2:24; 5:12).

Stop & Think: June 25, 2020

Aim High

Not failure, but low aim, is crime. (James Russell Lowell, 19th century editor and diplomat)

We may look at a business that has closed as a failure; someone must be blamed for not keeping the enterprise going. The lessons learned from the lack of success in keeping the work afloat may be of far more value than if the work had struggled on into the future. Perhaps the goal was too high; but as Lowell says, that’s no crime. Keep working to attain higher goals.

But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me (Philippians 3:12).

Stop & Think: June 24, 2020

Example

Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll understand! (Quoted by Benjamin Franklin)

A great reminder to teachers. The 3-step process is teaching or doing it alone, showing the learner how to do it, and working with him in doing it. Then the learner will be able to move out on his own to reproduce what he has learned. When we limit ourselves to just teaching by lecture or rote memorization, we limit the student’s opportunity to learn well by example and practice.

And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching (Titus 2:7).

Stop & Think: June 23, 2020

Self-Control

I think chocolate makes my clothes shrink! (Coffee mug adage)

This is an example of a humorous attempt to avoid facing reality. We know that if we really want our “shrinking clothes” to fit, we need to do something about diet and exercise. Every day there seems to be a new diet fad advertised, but the real problem basically is our lack of self-control. Discipline in diet and exercise would no doubt solve the “chocolate problem.”

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence . . . knowledge . . . self-control . . .  patient endurance . . .  godliness . . . brotherly affection, and . . . love for everyone. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Stop & Think: June 22, 2020

Your Mind

What goes into a mind comes out in a life. (Greg Groeschel, motivational speaker)

What do they say in the computer world? GIGO: garbage in, garbage out. If bad data is entered, bad data will come out. In Mark 7:20 Jesus similarly remarks, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.” If you’re concerned about how you come across to others, remember what your life reveals about you is the result of what you’ve taken into your mind.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Stop & Think: June 21, 2020

Prayer

Lord, help me slow down andnotrushthroughwhatido. (Humorous prayer)

Sometimes we can be very contradictory people. As in another silly prayer, “Lord help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.” We pray for patience, but we want it right now. We pray for strength, but we’re not willing to follow through on the exercises that might improve our vigor.  Prayer is not a frivolous activity; it doesn’t change God, but it should change us.

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results (James 5:16).

Stop & Think: June 20, 2020

Happiness

Sometimes life knocks you on your [bottom]… get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems; it’s the ability to deal with them. (Steve Maraboli, behavioral scientist)

Do we really need a scientist to give us that help? We have experienced the hard knocks of life, and most of us have learned to get up again and keep going. Maraboli reminds us of something we may not have learned yet: happiness is far more than just having fewer problems. It’s the result of strong character and a positive outlook on life—plus faith in a sovereign God.

Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you (Psalm 86:4).

Stop & Think: June 19, 2020

Worry

Worry, by nature, is the product of a lack of faith and trust in God. (John MacArthur, pastor, author)

Jesus said, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” Despite these wise words, people over the centuries have continued to trust in their own wisdom and skill, but problems still arise—and they worry. Remember the continuing promise:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need (Luke 12:25-26, 31).

Stop & Think: June 18, 2020

Mysteries

Mystery is not the absence of meaning; it is the presence of more meaning than we can fully comprehend. (Dennis Covington, American author)

We seem to love mysteries. Whodunit movies, TV shows, and books are very popular across generations. More importantly are the conundrums we face in real life. We want to know what’s behind the unknown. As Covington notes, however, we probably wouldn’t understand the puzzle, even if we had the solution. And there are mysteries that only God can reveal.

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

Stop & Think: June 17, 2020

In the Storm

We are all in this together… we are all in the same boat. (Amanda Miles, young author)

How often have you heard something like that about our recent sequestration? But Amanda sees it differently: “Although we may all be in the same water, we are not all in the same boat.” Pastor Rick Warren put it this way, “Some are in yachts, some in rowboats and some are barely hanging on to a piece of driftwood” Choose your boat carefully to weather the storm safely.

When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation (Proverbs 10:25).

Stop & Think: June 16, 2020

Reason

We must start by teaching our kids not what to think but how to think. (John Stonestreet, Worldview author & speaker)

Stonestreet continues, “In the information age, accumulated facts and information are confused with expertise or, even worse, wisdom.” Many people seem to think that the more you know, the smarter you are. Maybe that’s true regarding knowledge, but the accumulation of data and information alone doesn’t provide common sense or wisdom. Reasoned thinking is essential.

I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things (Ecclesiastes 7:25).