Am I one of God’s blunders, or is he one of mine?

Posted on April 2, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used to say: ‘Is man one of God’s blunders, or is God one of man’s blunders?’ But H. G. Wells, who was never particularly religious, having studied the history of the human race and having spent his life observing human behaviour, came to this conclusion: ‘Religion,’ he said, ‘is the first thing and the last thing, and until a man has found God and been found by God, he begins at no beginning, he works to no end. He may have his friendships, his partial loyalties, his scraps of honor. But all these things fall into place and life falls into place only with God.’
That reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s famous statement: ‘My concern, he said, ‘is not whether God is on our side; my great concern is whether I am on God’s side…’

Posted in Agnosticism, Atheism, Faith, Faithfulness, God, God in us, Going Nowhere, Meaninglessness, Purpose in life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God’s promises are not given to be carried round in our heads

Posted on April 2, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

According to the Prarie Overcomer, Crowfoot, the great chief of the Blackfoot tribes living in southern Alberta, gave the Canadian Pacific Railway permission to cross Blackfoot land from the town of Medicine Hat right through to Calgary. In return, the railroad company gave Crowfoot a lifetime pass to travel on their trains. Crowfoot kept it in a leather case and carried it around with him for the rest of his life. But there is no record of him ever having used it.
He reminds us of so many people who accept and value the great promises of Jesus recorded in scripture, but never act on them; promises like: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ We easily forget that God’s promises are not given to be carried round in our heads, but to be used in our lives.

Posted in Faith, Gift of God, God, God's faithfulness, Promise, Treasure, Value | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A fortune within its pages

Posted on April 2, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Years ago a man living in New Jersey became the sole heir of his aunt’s estate. Her will read: ‘To my beloved Steven Marsh I bequeath my family Bible and all it contains, along with the residue of my estate.’ Well, when the few hundred dollars she’d left him was used up his only income was a small pension, and for more than thirty years he lived in near poverty. Then one day he cleaned out his attic and in a trunk he found the old family Bible he’d inherited. Opening it, he was amazed to find banknotes scattered throughout its pages amounting to thousands of dollars – an amount that thirty years earlier would have provided a substantial income.
But, like so many of us, he’d never valued that Bible, and never opened it to discover the riches that lay within its pages.

Posted in Bible, Scriptures, Spiritual blessing, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight, Treasure, wealth | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Jesus and the Beatles

Posted on April 2, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

In 1966 John Lennon announced that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ, and that Christianity would vanish from the face of the earth. Well, it’s still going, but the Beatles, as a group, only lasted another four years. Now, however, more than four decades on, his former bandmate Ringo Starr says that he has found God. Speaking at an event at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Ringo admitted he lost his way when he was younger, but says that religion now plays an important role in his life. ‘For me, God is in my life,’ he said. ‘I don’t hide from that. I think the search has been on since the nineteen sixties… it’s all about finding yourself …I stepped off the path there for many years and found my way back onto it, thank God.’
I wonder what John Lennon would say to that now?

Posted in Faith, Finding oneself, Futility, Pride, Returning to God, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Darkness, Unbelief | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gambling my soul

Posted on March 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

I heard about a bit of anti-religious graffiti quoting the philosopher Nietsche. It said: ‘God is dead – Nietsche.’ But then someone added another line which said: ‘Neitsche is dead – God.’ Which line had it right do you think? Well, if history is anything to go by then Neitsche’s discredited ideas that so influenced Adolf Hitler have gone, like Nietsche, the way of death. But as for God, like the old hymn says, ‘His truth is marching on.’
But if I’m going to gamble my soul on this question, I think I’d take the advice of another philosopher, Pascal, and say, if Neitsche is right and I am wrong, then I’ve lost nothing and he’s gained nothing. But if he was wrong and I am right, I’ve gained everything and he has lost everything.
As the Bible says: ‘Reverence of God is basic to all wisdom.’

Posted in Death, God, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A message to deliver

Posted on March 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s an old Jewish tradition that God sends each of us into the world with a special message to deliver and with a special act of love to bestow, which only we are equipped to do. That’s why comparing ourselves with others is pointless as well as futile. John Powell, in one of his best-sellers said: ‘A special piece of God’s truth has been put into your hands, and God has asked you to share it with the rest of us.’
That special piece of God’s truth is the person you are at the very core of your being, energised by God’s own spirit. Sadly, many of us never get to see it because we are encrusted with so many layers of self doubt or self delusion. There are few things more important in life than looking again for the person God created us to be and asking Him to help us become it.

Posted in Called and Chosen, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, Purpose in life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The obstacle man

Posted on March 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Norman Vincent Peale, author of ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’, tells the story of someone he called ‘the obstacle man’. He was a company director whose standard response to every imaginative proposal was: ‘Now let’s consider the obstacles involved.’ Eventually, in frustration, one of the other directors challenged him about why he always emphasized the obstacles and never the possibilities.
‘Well, what would you do?’ the obstacle man replied. The other director took a small card out of his wallet and showed it to him. On it were some words from the Bible which said, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ ‘That’s my formula,’ he said. ‘There is power in those words to get me over any obstacle and rebuild any ruin.’
And, you know, the world is full of people who have discovered the same.

Posted in Caution, Faith, Opportunities, Positive Thoughts, Possibilities, Power, Removing Obstacles | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Crown of splendour

Posted on March 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Someone once said there are four ages of man: the first is when you believe in Santa Claus, the second is when you don’t believe in Santa Claus, the third is when you are Santa Claus and the fourth is when you look like Santa Claus. But maybe we shouldn’t get so hung up on age and what can and can’t be done. Golda Meir was seventy one when she became Prime Minister of Israel whereas William Pitt the Younger was only twenty four when he became Prime Minister of Great Britain. George Bernard Shaw was ninety four when one of his plays was first produced but Mozart was only seven when his first composition was published.
The point is age has little to do with achievement for each stage of life brings its own challenge. We need to remember that the Bible says: ‘Grey hair is a crown of splendour.’

Posted in Accomplishments, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, old age, Opportunities | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The holiest Holy Communion

Posted on March 22, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

James W. Moore of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston tells a story about one of his minister friends. His name is Tom and, despite a very heavy schedule, every month he would go to the homeless shelter in his city to work in their soup kitchen. Afterwards he would invite people to the little chapel where he would serve them Holy Communion. On one occasion he came to a homeless man named Josh. Josh looked up and whispered: ‘Skip me.’ ‘Why?’ Tom asked. Josh said: ‘Because I’m not worthy.’ Tom said: ‘Well neither am I. So, I’ll come back to you, and after that I want you to serve it to me.’ Josh said: ‘Is that legal?’ ‘It is in God’s sight!’ Tom answered. Then, when he came back he said: ‘Josh, here is the Body and the Blood of Christ given for you. Take it in remembrance that Christ died for you.’ Then he said to Josh: ‘Now, you serve me.’ Josh took the trays and whispered: ‘Body – Blood – for you, Hang in There!’
In telling this story later Tom Said: ‘I’d never heard the words “Hang in There” in a communion service before. But it was the holiest Holy Communion I’d ever had.’

Posted in Faith, God, God in us, God with us, Holy Communion, Jesus, Unworthiness, Worship | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Add some applause and watch things grow

Posted on March 21, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

One of the most difficult musical instruments to learn is the violin, but in recent times the Suzuki method has taken much of the pain out of it. The first thing it teaches children is a proper stance, and the second is how to take a bow. One instructor explained that ‘If the children just play the violin and stop, people may forget to show their appreciation. But when the children bow, the audience invariably applauds; and applause is the best motivator we’ve found to make children feel good about performing and want to do it well.’
How true that is. Being affirmed does make us feel good. A dash of affirmation will spice up the driest fare; so, for example, if you want to rekindle the flame of love in your marriage, try showing and expressing your appreciation. Add some applause and watch love grow.

Posted in Acts of Kindness, Affirmation, Applause, Appreciation, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, Motivation | Leave a comment