Daily Stop & Thinks

Humility

If you’re a horrible decision maker and want to become better, become humble. (Mike Lee, minister)

When you review the reasons things aren’t going well, have you realized it may be because you’ve made some bad decisions—some poor choices, perhaps? Sometimes it’s pride that causes us to blame our troubles on others or on the circumstances we can’t control. When we acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers, it may be the beginning of better decisions.

True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life (Proverbs 22:4).

Enjoy Life

Life is like an ice cream cone…you have to learn to lick it. (Charlie Brown, “Peanuts” cartoon)

Is life like an ice cream cone because it’s gone so quickly? Or because it’s really so tasty? Or because, if you don’t deal with it properly, you’ve lost the potential good of it? If you didn’t learn to lick an ice cream cone, you’d surely have a mess and miss out on all the good it promised. We have to learn how to deal with life to really enjoy it.

To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

Knowledge Plus

Scholarship is not simply the production of knowledge. . . [In former times] scholars chiefly engaged in the transmission of knowledge for the purpose of formation. (Chris Gehrz, college professor)

They say that knowledge is doubling every 12 hours or so. Wow, how can we keep up with it all? We can’t. But as Gehrz suggests, there’s something equally important with accumulating information. The information we gain must be passed on to learners who will do more than merely absorb more facts. The goal is life transformation; learning that produces change.

Supplement your. . . moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness (2 Peter 1:5, 6).

Teamwork

I am a member of the team, and I rely on the team. I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion. (Mia Hamm, USA women’s soccer star)

Tom Wilson, another professional athlete put it this way, “Many of us are more capable than some of us . . . but none of us is as capable as all of us.” Many corporations and organizations are organizing their employees into various teams. Working as a cooperative team member, rather than as an individual, will achieve much more for the team and for the larger group.

We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other (Romans 12:5).

Yes, there are many parts, but only one body (1 Corinthians 12:20).

Easter

But from this earth, this grave, this dust, my God shall raise me up, I trust. (Walter Raleigh, 16^th-17^th century English writer)

For the Christian, the resurrection of Jesus is not only the keystone of his faith in the saving work of Jesus on the cross, but, as Raleigh testifies, it is the guarantee of the believer’s resurrection. Admired by many non-Christian movements as a great prophet and good teacher, Jesus is much more, and Easter is the prime evidence of his role as the Savior sent from God.

Christ died for our sin. . . he was buried. . . he was raised. . . according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

[He] was declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).             

No Regrets

Giving up is the birth of regret. (Deshanna Barber, USAR officer & former Miss USA)

We’ve all been tempted to give up at one time or another. Perhaps it was a project that wasn’t going well or an athletic event that we didn’t finish well. The decision we make at that point is critical. Barber suggests that if we give up, we’ll eventually regret it. Evaluate your failures carefully. Planning well and starting over may lead to success and no regrets.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up (Galatians 6:9).

Good Friday

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. (Victor Hugo in Les Misérables)

Today the Christian world is honoring the day when Jesus died. One might well imagine how his disciples were mourning, thinking that the promise of his coming kingdom was now not to be. In spite of his having warned them of this day, they had not understood, and it was not until Sunday that their joy was restored when the sun rose to reveal that the Son, too, had risen.

Until then [Sunday] they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead (John 20:9).

Pressing On

There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. (Bruce Lee, actor and martial artist)

Have you ever tried rock or mountain climbing? If you have, you’ve probably looked up to see what looked like the final peak only to find it was merely a plateau and there was a lot more climbing to do. If your goal is to reach the top, you can’t stop on the mesa. You have to move on to achieve your goal. In reality, there may be limits, but press on to reach your goal.

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God . . . is calling us (Philippians 3:14).

Work

Like what you do, and then you will do your best. (Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician)

Johnson’s story is fascinating. Overlooked because of her ethnicity and gender, she succeeded because she loved her work and saw its value. She and her team provided essential data that made space flights successful. When we’re stuck in work we don’t like, we often do less than our best, and the results often fail. Pursue work that you love and you’ll enjoy the results.

So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. . . To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 2:10; 5:19).

Improvement

I would encourage all of us to think of something we may have done poorly . . . and try to improve on it. (Windows Tips)

The writer was referring to athletics, and he continues, “Sure we might not get the metaphorical ‘first place’ but we might possibly do better, and how great would that feel?” When your initial effort was not good enough, keep trying and working hard to improve. The reward of a better result will encourage you to achieve even more.

I know all the things you do. . .  And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. (Revelation 2:19).

Imitation

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. (Judy Garland, late actress)

It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Garland offers a wise caution. Don’t try to be a Kobe Bryant; you’ll most likely never reach his status as a basketball star. Or, cellist Pablo Casals. Be the best yourself you can be; follow the Apostle Paul’s counsel.

And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Try It!

I don’t think you know how much you can do until you try. (Chita Rivera, singer and actress)

Do you remember a conversation like this: “Eat your broccoli.” “No, I don’t like it.” “Have you ever tasted it?” “No.” “Well, just taste it.” How can you know if you like it if you don’t try it? Sometimes we respond like that when we’re faced with a new task or challenge. If we’re unwilling to try it, we’ll never know how well we might have done. “Just try it”!

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8).