Karate for Christ of Michigan
Reaching youth and their families thru martial artsI am altitudina…
Heights are not my friend. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20, KJV) and that’s good enough for me. When I board an airplane, I prefer an aisle seat where I can read and pretend we’re still on the ground. Forced to sit by a window, I close it and do the same.
Given my distaste for elevation, I learned this morning that I’ve been flying the wrong airlines all these years. It seems Alaska Airlines hands out prayer cards with its meals. For more than 30 years, the airline has included small cards with verses from the Psalms along with the meals it distributes to passengers. One example is this statement printed over a beach scene: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.” Another depicts a mountain with the words, “I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O most high.”
For many years, positive comments outnumbered negative feedback. Back in 2004, the airline celebrated the practice and declared that the cards were “here to stay.” Lately, however, opinion has shifted. The airline has been receiving a growing number of complaints from flyers who were offended, so officials have decided to end the practice. A spokeswoman explained, “Some customers were comforted by the cards and some didn’t feel religion was appropriate on the plane and preferred not to receive one.”
Here’s my question: When is religion more “appropriate” than when you’re 30,000 feet in the air with no visible way to stay up there?
You may not share my fear of flight, but you have your own worries this morning. For every fear we feel, God has given us “his very great and precious promises” to claim (2 Peter 1:4). For instance, are you facing a difficult decision today? God says, “I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13).
Are you worried about the future? “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today” (Exodus 14:13). Are people opposing you? “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Are worries stealing your peace? “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
I encourage you to name your fear this morning, specifically and honestly. Then find a biblical promise to claim, and stand on the word of God. The psalmist declared, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid” (Psalm 118:6). Have you made the same decision yet today?
Dr. Denison’s cultural commentary originally appeared at www.denisonforum.org. It has been reposted here with permission of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.
A little more than a year ago, a college dropout named Jared Loughner opened fire on the congresswoman and the crowd gathered to meet her in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed, including a nine-year-old girl and a federal judge. Giffords was shot in the head, but is making a remarkable recovery. She will resign her office this week to focus on her therapy.
If the tragedy had never occurred, Rep. Giffords’ presence at last night’s address would likely have gone unnoticed by any but her most loyal constituents. She would not have received personal attention from President Obama, nor would she be the focus of this essay. Her courage may be the most enduring legacy of her political service. Her example will inspire victims of tragedy who would not otherwise know her name.
Walt Disney noted that some men make difficulties, while difficulties make some men. You never really know what you can do until you must. Pain reveals the truth about our character. C. S. Lewiswas right: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Winston Churchill added, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” Such courage is your most powerful witness to a skeptical culture.
Think of the pivotal figures of biblical history. What common theme unites them? One built an ark when it likely had never rained, enduring the scorn of the masses. Another stood before Pharaoh with nothing but a rod in his hand and faith in his heart. A shepherd faced a giant; prophets spoke God’s word at the peril of their lives; fishermen died for their Lord; the Son of God could have called ten thousand angels to his side but chose to suffer a horrific death for us.
Why do you need their courage today? The Lord who empowered and sustained them is ready to do the same for you. When David was captured by the Philistines, he prayed: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4). Is God waiting for you to make his prayer your own?
Kyle Williams, …
Kyle Williams, Billy Cundiff and forgiveness
If Kyle Williams had not fumbled two punts, the San Francisco 49ers might be playing in this year’s Super Bowl. If Billy Cundiff had not missed a 32-yard field goal, the Baltimore Ravens might be joining them. This morning, there’s more to both stories.
It seems the scoreboard operator in the Baltimore-New England game had the wrong down displayed, which caused Cundiff to rush his preparations and may have contributed to his missed kick. Meanwhile, New York Giants players are now admitting that they targeted Williams for vicious hits earlier in the game because they knew he had suffered four concussions in the past. They claim that these hits contributed to his fumbles.
Does this new information change the way you view Cundiff and Williams?
A counselor once told me that there is often one thing we don’t know about other people that would help us understand their behavior. For instance, is it fair to blame people for mistakes they don’t know they’re making? Last weekend I was walking in our neighborhood when I came upon a broken sprinkler head imitating Old Faithful at Yellowstone. None of the geyser was landing anywhere near the lawn it was intended to water. My first reaction was to blame the homeowners for such waste, but upon reflection it became obvious that they didn’t know what I knew about their sprinkler system or they would have fixed the problem.
In that moment, this question flashed into my mind: What do other people see in my life that I don’t? What mistakes, failures, and follies are clear to you but not to me? Yesterday morning, one of Janet’s curlers attached itself to the back of her blouse. She couldn’t see what was visible (and rather humorous) to me. Later that day, I followed an SUV onto the Dallas North Tollway–its fuel door was wide open, the gas cap swinging in the wind, but the driver was oblivious to what was obvious to me.
Two lessons follow. One: I should offer more grace to others than seems warranted. It is our tendency to judge others by their actions but ourselves by our intentions. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings” excuses my rude behavior but not yours. Many of the imperfections I see in others are not their choice.
Two: I should seek more mercy for myself than seems needed. My Father is aware of sins I have forgotten or ignored. David, who knew something about sin and forgiveness, asked, “Who can discern his errors?” Then he prayed, “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me” (Psalm 19:12-13).
Because I commit both “hidden faults” and “willful sins,” every morning I ask the Spirit to bring to my mind anything I need to confess to God. He never fails to show me a failure I would not have recognized. As I confess what comes to my thoughts, my Father forgives me and restores me to himself. I commend this “moral inventory” to you.
Who needs your sympathetic grace today? Is it possible that you need your Father’s mercy more than you know?
Dr. Denison’s cultural commentary originally appeared at www.denisonforum.org. It has been reposted here with permission of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.
No Surprisesby …
No Surprises
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 9:1–4
For more than three decades, Saul controlled his own life. His record in Judaism ranked second to none. On his way to make an even greater name for himself, the laser of God’s presence stopped him in his tracks, striking him blind. Like that group of shepherds faithfully watching their sheep years earlier on another significant night outside Jerusalem, Saul and his companions fell to the ground, stunned.
That’s what still happens today when calamity strikes. You get the news in the middle of the night on the telephone, and you can’t move. As the policeman describes the head-on collision, you stand frozen in disbelief. After hearing the word “cancer,” you’re so shocked you can hardly walk out the doctor’s office doors. A friend once admitted to me that, after hearing his dreaded diagnosis, he stumbled to the men’s room, vomited, dropped to his knees, and sobbed uncontrollably. Life’s unexpected jolts grip us with such fear we can scarcely go on.
For the first time in his proud, self-sustained life, Saul found himself a desperate dependent. Not only was he pinned to the ground, he was blind. His other senses were on alert and, to his amazement, he heard a voice from heaven say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Saul was convinced he had been persecuting people—cultic followers of a false Messiah. Instead, he discovered that the true object of his vile brutality was Christ Himself.
We live in a culture that regularly confuses humanity with deity. The lines get blurred. It’s the kind of sloppy theology that suggests God sits on the edge of heaven thinking,Wonder what they’ll do next. How absurd! God is omniscient—all-knowing. This implies, clearly, that God never learns anything, our sinful decisions and evil deeds notwithstanding. Nothing ever surprises Him. From the moment we’re conceived to the moment we die, we remain safely within the frame of His watchful gaze and His sovereign plan for us.
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
DON’T LEAVE IT…
DON‘T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK!
There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christensen, a studious man who taught at a small college in the westernUnited States. Dr. Christensen taught the required survey course in
Christianity at this particular Institution. Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major.
Although Dr. Christensen tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.
This year, Dr. Christensen had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor’s class.
One day, Dr. Christensen asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. ‘How many push-ups can you do?’ Steve said, ‘I do about 200 every night.’ ’200? That’s pretty good, Steve, ‘Dr. Christensen
said. ‘Do you think you could do 300?’
Steve replied, ‘I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.’
‘Do you think you could?’ again asked Dr. Christensen. ‘Well, I can try,’ said Steve.
‘Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it?
I need you to tell me you can do it,’ said the professor.
Steve said, ‘well… I think I can…yeah, I can do it.’
Dr. Christensen said, ‘good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.’
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the BIG, extra fancy kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the year, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christensen’s class.
Dr. Christensen went to the first girl in the first row and asked, ‘Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?’ Cynthia said, ‘Yes.’
Dr. Christensen then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?’
‘Sure.’ Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christensen put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.
Dr. Christensen then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, ‘Joe, do you want a donut?’
Joe said, ‘Yes.’ Dr. Christensen asked, ‘Steve would you do ten
push-ups so Joe can have a donut?’
Steve did ten push-ups!. Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.
Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christensen came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the
professor asked, ‘Scott do you want a donut?’ Scott’s reply was, ‘Well, can I do my own push-ups?’
Dr. Christensen said, ‘no, Steve has to do them.’
Then Scott said, ‘Well, I don’t want one then.’ Dr. Christensen shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?’ With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.
Scott said, ‘HEY! I said I didn’t want one!’
Dr. Christensen said, ‘Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.’ And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.
Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration
coming out around his brow.
Dr. Christensen started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christensen asked Jenny, ‘do you want a donut?’
Sternly, Jenny said, ‘no.’ Then Dr. Christensen asked Steve, ‘Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?’ Steve did ten….Jenny got a donut.
By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say ‘No’ and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.
Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on
the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Dr. Christensen asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten
push-ups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.
Dr. Christensen started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be
able to make it.
Dr. Christensen went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr. Christensen, ‘do I have to make my nose touch on each one?’
Dr. Christensen thought for a moment, ‘Well, they’re your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.’ And Dr. Christensen went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, ‘NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!’
Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, ‘No, let him come.’
Professor Christensen said, ‘You realize that if
Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?’
Steve said, ‘Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.’
Dr. Christensen said, ‘Okay, Steve, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?’
Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘give me a donut.’
‘Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?’ Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.
Dr. Christensen finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters.
Steve’s arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy
breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheer leaders, and very popular. Dr. Christensen went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, ‘Linda do you want a donut?’
Linda said, very sadly, ‘No, thank you.’
Professor Christensen quietly asked, ‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?’ Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.
Then Dr Christensen turned to the last girl, Susan. ‘Susan, do you want a donut?’
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. ‘Dr. Christensen, why can’t I help him?’
Dr. Christensen, with tears of his own, said, ‘No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task, and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work.
Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.’
‘Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?’ As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christensen turned to the room and said. ‘And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, pled to the Father, ‘Into Thy hands I commend My spirit.’
With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.’
Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.
‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ said the professor, adding ‘Not all sermons are preached in words.’
Turning to his class, the professor said, ‘My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.’
‘Wouldn’t you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?’
Share this with someone. It’s bound to touch their
heart and demonstrate Salvation in a very special way.
