The essence of spirituality

Posted on March 6, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

I know of a woman who was locked into a loveless marriage with a man who was so demanding that he wrote out a list of things he required of her, and insisted that she read them every day. Some years later he died, and she married another man who loved her dearly. One day, she came across that list of demands her first husband had drawn up. It brought back painful memories. But suddenly it dawned on her that, even though her present husband didn’t make such demands, she was willingly doing everything her first husband’s list required, because she was devoted to this man who loved her so dearly.
So it is with the Gospel of Christ. Whereas in so many religious systems spiritual life is regulated by the demands of religious regulations, Jesus showed that the essence of spirituality is to love the God who loves us, and the rest follows.

Posted in Demands, love, Oppression, Spiritual Insight, Spirituality | 1 Comment

The high price we pay for prejudice

Posted on March 6, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

One sweltering summer’s day, the Cohen brothers showed Henry Ford a car, standing in the blazing heat, and invited him to test an invention they said would revolutionise the car industry. He got in, pressed a white button, and immediately felt a blast of cold air which quickly cooled the interior. He was greatly impressed and asked them how much they wanted for the patent. They told him a million dollars and an agreement that the name Cohen Brothers Air-Conditioning be stamped next to the Ford logo. Henry Ford, though, was notoriously anti-semitic, and refused to have a Jewish name next to his. So, they haggled some more and eventually agreed on a price of five million dollars and an agreement that only the brothers’ first names would appear: Norm Hi and Max.
It just goes to show what a high price we pay for prejudice.

Posted in Cost, Prejudice | Leave a comment

Chewing on the rope

Posted on March 6, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

A few years ago, a fishing boat began to sink in heavy seas off Vancouver Island. Its two-man crew abandoned ship and took refuge in a life raft. But then they realised that the life raft was tied to the sinking boat by a nylon rope, and was in danger of being pulled under too. But neither of them had a knife to cut the rope, and so, for the next hour, they took it in turns to chew that rope in the hope they could get free. Finally, minutes before the boat sank, they succeeded in chewing through it, and they survived.
Their plight illustrates the situation many of us are in, tied by worry to things that threaten to pull us under, and unable to cut ourselves free. But when the Bible urges us to cast all our cares on God, and to pray about all things, it’s simply reminding us to keep on chewing at that rope until eventually we become free too.

Posted in Anxiety, Faith, Trust in God, Worry | Leave a comment

Don’t worry about what’s outside the space

Posted on March 6, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

I came across an interesting piece written by a man who was touring Italy and, as most tourists do, visited the magnificent cathedrals and admired the art treasures within them. At one such cathedral he found an artist kneeling before a huge wall, upon which he’d just begun to create a mosaic. Nearby lay thousands of pieces of coloured ceramic. The visitor asked the artist how he would ever finish such a large project. The artist answered that he knew how much he could accomplish in one day, so, each morning, he’d mark off an area to be completed that day, and didn’t worry about what remained outside that space. That was the best he could do; and if he faithfully did his best, one day the mosaic would be finished.
And that’s also the best advice for those of us who are worried about making something worthwhile of our lives.

Posted in Acceptance, Accepting, Accomplishments, Achievement | Leave a comment

Piercing ourselves trough with many sorrows

Posted on March 6, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

CNN once carried a story of a sixty-two-year-old man, who was rushed to Cholet General Hospital in France, suffering stomach pain. His family told doctors the man had a history of mental illness and a penchant for swallowing coins, but nothing could have prepared the doctors for X-rays of the man’s stomach. It was filled with three hundred and fifty coins he had swallowed. The doctors performed surgery to remove the mass, but the man died of complications twelve days later. Now, there aren’t too many of us who are in the habit of swallowing coins, but millions of people are making themselves spiritually and emotionally sick with money and materialism. No wonder the Bible warns that the love of money is a primary root of all evil, causing people to stray from their faith and pierce themselves through with many sorrows. There’s more to life than money.

Posted in Greed, Money | Leave a comment

The part of our wealth that brings the deepest joy

Posted on March 6, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

When the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited Los Angeles a few years ago, a physician named Gerald Jampolski heard her speak. He was attracted by the spiritual power that emanated from her, and asked her if it would alright if he accompanied her on her coming tour to Mexico. He told her that whenever he was around her he felt the presence of God.
She replied, ‘Dr. Jampolski, I’m happy for you to join me, but you said you wanted to experience inner peace. Find out how much it costs to fly to Mexico and give that money to feed and clothe someone in need, and you’ll find the inner peace you seek.’
He followed her advice and discovered that she was right.
That portion of our wealth that brings us the deepest joy and lasts the longest is always that which we give away.

Posted in Generosity, Generous spirit, Giving, God, Peace, Spiritual Insight | Leave a comment

The practice of thanksgiving is our most transforming resource.

Posted on February 19, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

In every generation the wisest people have known that the surest way to change one’s quality of life is to change the way we think. Our ability to change our outer environment may be limited, but the way it affects us depends on the way we think. That’s why the Bible constantly talks about thanksgiving – developing an attitude of gratitude.
Courtland Sayers expressed it beautifully in this poem:
Five thousand breathless dawns all new;
five thousand flowers fresh in dew.
Five thousand sunsets wrapped in gold;
one million snowflakes served ice cold.
Five quiet friends, one baby’s love;
one white sea with clouds above.
One June night in a fragrant wood,
one heart that loved and understood.
I wondered when I waked that day –
in God’s name–how could I ever pay.
The practice of thanksgiving is our most transforming resource.

Posted in Attitude, Gratitude, thankfulness, Transformation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Trouble is inevitable, but misery is optional

Posted on February 19, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

Abraham Lincoln is credited with the saying that ‘most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.’ Now, that may be an oversimplification, especially when we think of refugees fleeing from unimaginable horrors, or people subject to chemical imbalances that provoke black depression; but for most of us it is true that our happiness is largely determined by our attitude. For Barbara Johnson, author of the bestseller Stick a geranium in our hat and be happy, the transformation came when, having lost both of her sons, she was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. It was just one storm too many and she nearly broke. But it was then she learned one of life’s great truths – trouble is inevitable, but misery is optional.
And so it is for us. We can’t avoid the storms, but we chose whether they break us or make us.

Posted in Endurance, Faith, Faithfulness, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's love, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble | Leave a comment

White-knuckle sailing

Posted on February 19, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

For me, one of life’s great pleasures is sailing, and I always hope for a steady ten to fifteen knot wind. Five to ten knots of wind is pleasant, less than five knots is boring; but the one thing I don’t like is when the wind exceeds twenty knots. In the size of boat I sail they call that ‘white-knuckle sailing.’ But I have sailed a few times in winds like that – even in forty knot gale-force winds. And the strange thing is that when I gather with my sailing mates to talk about sailing, those are the stories we always share. Why? Partly to show off, of course; but also because they are our most memorable experiences and made us better sailors, showing us what we were capable of. And so it is with life.
We all want life to be easy, but it’s the storms that put iron into our souls and, for people of faith, become the most tangible reminders of God’s presence.

Posted in Character, God's presence, Tested, Trials and testings, Troubles | Leave a comment

What tides of grace flowed from that attic bedroom.

Posted on February 19, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

William Barclay tells the story of a servant-girl whose personal search for meaning in life resulted in a profound experience of the presence of God. But the demands of serving in a large house gave little freedom to do much more than attend Sunday worship. Yet she always seemed so positive about her relationship with God, even though she had so little time to serve Him. She explained it this way: ‘When I go to bed I take the newspaper to my bed with me; and I read the notices of the births and I pray for all the little babies; and I read the notices of marriage and I pray that those couples will be happy; and I read the announcements of death and I pray that the sorrowing may be comforted. That’s how I play my part in the work of God’s kingdom.’
Only eternity will reveal what tides of grace flowed from that attic bedroom.

Posted in Faithfulness, God in us, God's pleasure, Joy, Life, Life's journey | Leave a comment