Transitory prejudices don’t matter

Posted on September 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The Eiffel Tower is one of the world’s most famous landmarks. Its creator, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, designed it for an international exposition in eighteen eighty nine. But not everyone was as proud of his creation as he was, and many Parisians wanted it to be torn down as soon as the exposition was over. Today, of course, we find it hard to believe that people actually called it a monstrosity. But history has vindicated Alexandre Eiffel, and today he is praised.
His story reminds us that it’s not the transitory opinions and prejudices of the crowd that matter, but rather what we know to be noble and beautiful. That’s why the Bible says, ‘Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things…and the God of peace will be with you.’

Posted in Negative thinking, Popular opinion, Positive Thoughts, Prejudice | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘The objective is not to make people wicked but to make them indifferent.’

Posted on September 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

In C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters, the Devil gives some advice to his nephew, a demon named Wormwood, on the techniques of tempting people. The Devil tells him that the objective is not to make people wicked but to make them indifferent. So he advises Wormwood to keep people from thinking about anything important, especially anything to do with the good of their souls, but only to be concerned about their comfort. Then he says, ‘I, the Devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with people who do not care.’
And that reminds us that the path to spiritual decay usually starts not with overt wickedness, but simply with indifference. Jesus called it having eyes that cannot see, and ears that refuse to listen.

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New heart brings new love

Posted on September 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

US Senator Bill Frist, who is also a famous heart and lung transplant surgeon, tells the story of a twenty four year old Australian who received a heart transplant from a teenage boy killed in an accident. One of the side effects of the transplant is that he suddenly developed a craving for Burger King onion rings, whereas he’d never been interested in them before. Some months later he met the donor’s father, who told him about his son, including that his son’s favourite food had been Burger King onion rings. Well you can imagine the effect that had on the man who now had that boy’s heart beating in his own body.
It reminds me of those words of scripture that describe spiritual renewal as God putting a new heart within us so that we may be changed inwardly to love the things that he loves.

Posted in Heart, love, New Heart, New love | Tagged | Leave a comment

Kennedy and God

Posted on September 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

When the late President Kennedy’s son Patrick, suffering from a lung ailment, was fighting for his life, his father went to see him in a part of the hospital specially cleared of all visitors. On his way there he passed an open door and saw two little girls, both of whom had been badly burned. He was so deeply affected by what he saw that he stopped to write a personal note to each child. Then, after several minutes he went to see his own son who died the next day.
The image of the world’s most powerful leader, taking time to care about two unknown children while his own son was dying, bears an uncanny resemblance to the message of the Gospel and illustrates God’s love for us. ‘This is real love,’ the Bible says, ‘not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.’

Posted in Compassion, God, God's love, Suffering, Suffering love, Sympathy and Support | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Beautiful music is the art of the prophets.’

Posted on September 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Those of us who live with teenagers know that music can cause intense suffering. But despite this, music is one of our most accessible sources of blessing. Martin Luther said: ‘Beautiful music is the art of the prophets.’ And speaking of Mozart, Sir Georg Solti said: ‘Mozart makes you believe in God.’
Many of us have found that music, at its deepest level, can touch our inmost being in the same way that prayer, at its deepest level, does. Both allow emotions to pour out that are too deep to be faced by the conscious mind. Poets, philosophers and psychologists still ponder the link between beauty and the spiritual. But whether you can explain it or not, both of them – music and prayer – are there for us to experience if we choose to; a way for each of us into the presence of God.

Posted in Access to God, Blessings, Music, Music of life, Spiritual blessing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Remember to Forget

Posted on September 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The late Dr Sangster once preached a sermon with the intriguing title: Remember to Forget. He got the idea from a line in Immanuel Kant’s journal, which simply said: ‘Remember to forget Lampe.’ Lampe was his manservant who had been with him for decades, and the old philosopher had come to depend on him for so much. But then he discovered Lampe had been systematically robbing him for years, and so he dismissed him. But despite this he missed his old companion and found himself continually saddened that he was no longer around; hence his journal entry, Remember to forget Lampe.’
Forgetfulness is a problem we all face with age. But there are times when the ability to forget is a blessing, because it releases us from our own fear of failure and from resentments that twist us inwardly. Those are the times we also need to ‘Remember to forget.’

Posted in Forgetting, Memories, Negative thinking, Remembering the past, Remembrance | Leave a comment

Memories that never leave us

Posted on September 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Some years ago I had a flashback memory that upset me deeply. When I was seven there was a boy in my class from a very poor family. He had no friends in the class. On a day when we were allowed to bring a toy to school I brought an extra toy car and gave it to him. I can still remember the joy in his eyes. He was playing with it when my best friend told me I should have given that car to him because the other kid already had a book. So, under the weight of peer pressure, I took the car off that boy and gave it to my friend. And forty years later, when I had the flashback, all I could see was the pain in that kid’s eyes, and I knew I couldn’t go back and change it.
That memory speaks to me of a deep spiritual reality: the consequences of how we treat people in this life we carry with us into eternity

Posted in Conscience, consequences, Guilt, Memories | Leave a comment

Is Jesus like Joe?

Posted on September 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Tony Campolo tells a story about Joe, the town drunk, who was converted in a street outreach mission. Following his conversion everything changed. Joe would spend his days at the mission, doing whatever needed to be done. To those hardened men, Joe became the very expression of God’s love. One evening, at the end of a church service, one of the men came forward and knelt at the communion table and began to pray out loud that God would help him change. He kept saying over and over again, ‘Oh God, make me like Joe!’ The preacher leaned over and said, ‘Son, wouldn’t it be better if you prayed make me like Jesus?’ The man looked up with an inquisitive expression and asked, ‘Is He like Joe?’
The greatest achievement is when people look at us and think they see Jesus .

Posted in Christlikeness, Conversion, Spiritual blessing, Spiritual growth, Transformation, Transformed mind | Leave a comment

Dying without ever having lived

Posted on September 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The Dalai Lama was once asked what surprised him most about humankind. He replied that it was man, because he sacrifices his health to make money, then sacrifices his money to get his health back. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future. He lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.
Henry David Thoreau said much the same. ‘You must live in the present… Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. [but] There is no other land.’
The secret of living, according to Jesus is to: ‘Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and not to get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.’

Posted in Death, Life, Life's journey, Living Life | Tagged | Leave a comment

Taking stock

Posted on September 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

It’s important every now and then to take stock of our lives and ask ourselves, where am I going? Am I still on track? One of the most enduring images of the Christian life is that of a journey through this brief and transient life to our true destiny in the eternal Kingdom of God. It’s a journey of faith whose guiding star is the conviction that ‘God is, and rewards those who diligently seek Him.’ Faith taps into that deep well of spiritual reality that lies, often hidden, within us all. Faith is the intuitive understanding that those spiritual realities are true and accessible.
But faith is not gullibility – believing every nonsensical thing that religious charlatans try to sell us. Nor is it just an intellectual acceptance of obvious facts. Faith is our own spiritual perception of what our innermost being tells us is true.

Posted in Faith, Life, Life's journey, Spiritual comfort, Spiritual Insight | Leave a comment