Creative Questioning

Albert Einstein, who discovered the theory of relativity, asked, "What would a light wave look like to someone keeping pace with it?"

Bill Bowerman, inventor of Nike shoes, questioned, "What happens if I pour rubber into my waffle iron?"

Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express, reasoned, "Why can't there be reliable overnight mail service?"

Godfrey Hounsfield, inventor of the CAT scanner, asked, "Why can't we see in three dimensions what is inside a human body without cutting it open?"

And Masaru Ibuka, honorary chairman of the Sony Corporation who came up with the idea for the Sony Walkman, queried, "Why don't we remove the recording function and speaker and put headphones in the recorder?"

Asking the right questions is one of the fundamental keys for opening the mind to new ideas, some of which have made profound changes for mankind.

However, whenever people come up with new ideas, they need courage to overcome the criticisms of negative people who seem to feel that their calling in life is to discourage creative thinkers and productive change.

For instance, shoe makers called Nike's idea for waffle shoes stupid. Godfrey Hounsfield's CAT scan idea was seen as "impractical." Masaru Ibuka was asked if he was crazy when he proposed the idea for the Sony walkman and Fred Smith wrote a paper at Yale suggesting the idea for Federal Express--and got a "C" grade!

We, too, need to question doctrines we are taught to make sure they are not just outmoded traditions of man and be constantly open to and actively seeking better ways of doing things for improving the quality of life for ourselves and others. And, most of all, we need to be open to what God is doing, or wanting to do, in our own life, in our community, and in our nation--and get in on his plans.

Dear God
help me not to accept everything I hear
but to test it to see if it is true.
And help me to be open to change
where change is needed
and where I need to change
and help me to be a change agent for you

In Whom Is Our Trust?

Some years back, Professor John Passmore in speaking about Australia's capital city, Canberra, said it was one of the most highly planned and well laid out and ordered cities in the world. (It was designed by American Walter Burleigh Griffin.) It was an attempt to build "an ideal urban environment for the future."

However, in spite of all the best-laid plans of men, Canberra has had [at least in the past] one of the highest suicide rates in the country, the highest unemployment rate, and the highest rate of marriage breakdown.

In our contemporary society we have sharpened the mind, strived for technological and scientific excellence, built the greatest means of transport and communication systems in the history of the world. But like ancient Egypt, we have put our trust in our own strength and that of the things we have developed, and have ignored the spirit and not relied on God.

Unless we turn back to God, we will inevitably go the same way as ancient Egypt and other civilizations, who forgot God, went.

Freezing Spirits

John Elliott says. "When you're freezing to death you actually feel warm all over, and don't wake up because it feels too good."

Life can be like that too. Millions of people, whose lives are filled with the pleasures and occupied with the pursuits of the world, are lulled to sleep spiritually, warm and cozy in their complacency, oblivious to the fact that they are heading pell-mell towards a lost eternity without God and without hope.

Dear God ..
please use me ..
to help awaken those ..
who are spiritually asleep ..
and unaware ..
that they are on their way ..
to a lost eternity ..
without ..
You ..

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer ..

A Persistent Duck

In Vancouver, British Columbia (reported Reuters), when a family of ducklings fell down a Vancouver sewer grate, their mother did what any parent would do. She got help from a passing police officer.

Vancouver police officer Ray Peterson admitted he was not sure what to make of the duck that grabbed him by the pant leg while he was on foot patrol on a Wednesday evening in a neighborhood near the city's downtown.

"I thought it was a bit goofy, so I shoved it away," Peterson told the Vancouver Sun newspaper.

The mother duck persisted, grabbing Peterson's leg again when he tried to leave, and then waddling to a nearby sewer grate where she sat down and waited for him to follow and investigate.

"I went up to where the duck was lying and saw eight little babies in the water below," he said.

Police said they removed the heavy metal grate with the help of a tow truck and used a vegetable strainer to lift the ducklings to safety. Mother and offspring then departed for a nearby pond.

God will also test us to see if we are determined and desperate enough to turn to Him for help. The half-hearted never make it.

Dear God ..
thank you that ..
when I am serious ..
about turning to You for help ..
You always hear ..
and answer the prayer ..
that comes from my heart.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer ..

The Importance of Little Things

Whether it's little acts of kindness, little words of encouragement, little acts of unkindness or little acts of thoughtless deeds, little things play a big role in, and are a major part of, our lives. Their impact can far outweigh the size of the words or deeds.

Furthermore, "Men trip not on mountains, they stumble on stones."

"Oh be careful little hands what you do!
Oh be careful little hands what you do,
God is up above,
He is looking down in love,
So be careful little hands what you do."

That song may sound silly, but it isn't.

Remember it's the little acts of kindness and love that enrich our own lives as well as the lives of those we touch.

Dear God,
help me always
to remember
that it's the everyday 'little things'
that, added together, form the character
and value (or otherwise) of my life.

Help me to also remember
'Be careful little hands' (and tongue)
what you do and say.

Thank you for hearing and answering my
prayer.

Warning Notice Ignored

A few years ago, three young tourists when visiting Yosemite  National Park were swept over the 317-foot Vernal Fall. One of the tourists, a young woman, was no doubt drawn by the alluring beauty of the raging waterfall and the fast moving Merced River below after a record winter snowfall. Tragically she slipped on a rock above the falls. Two friends reached out to rescue her and the trio was swept over the edge.

At the bottom of the trail leading to the Vernal  Falls there is a sign warning about the fast moving water. Also, when entering the Yosemite Park, visitors are given a news paper warning about water hazards and to stay away from fast moving water.

Furthermore, at the top of the Vernal Fall there is a guard railing and a metal safety barricade marked with a warning. Tragically the victims of this tragedy ignored all the warning signs, climbed over the barricade, and fell to a horrific death.

How foolish we say, and yet, I wonder how many warnings in life we ignore.

The greatest tragedy of all is when we ignore all the warnings in God's Word, and especially so if we ignore God's warnings about life after death.

Whatever you do, do not be like the tourists who disregarded all the warning signs in the Yosemite National Park and fell to a horrific death, and disregard God's repeated warnings.

Dear God ..
please open the eyes ..
of my understanding ..
so that I will clearly see ..
all your warnings in your Word ..
and give me the wisdom ..
to accept your gift of forgiveness ..
for all my sins ..

What I See Is Who I Am

Ken Crockett, in his book, "I Once Was Blind, But Now I Squint", shares the experience of Pastor Ed Manning who told "about a situation when a woman approached him to ask a question. As she drew closer to him, he tipped his head back to look through the bottom lenses of his bifocals to focus on her more clearly. 'There you go again!' the woman exploded. 'You stick your nose up in the air every time I talk to you! Who do you think you are? I'm sick of your arrogant attitude!'

"Manning was taken aback by her outburst of anger. 'You don't understand,' he explained. 'I'm not sticking my nose up in the air at you. I just can't see you when you get near me. I'm tilting my head back so I can see you through the bottom half of my bifocals.'"

Sound familiar ?

Blaise Pascal said, "We view things not only from different sides but with different eyes." Or to put it another way, "We see things not the way they are, but the way we are."

For instance, if I have unresolved anger, I will see things through angry, critical eyes. If have unresolved fears, I will view things through fearful eyes. If I have a negative attitude, I will look at things through negative eyes. If I am insecure, I will see things through insecure eyes. If I am a jealous person, I will view things through jealous eyes. If I am a cheat, I will see things through cheating eyes, and so on.

Whatever I see--the way I see it will always be twisted to match my distorted perception of reality and in so doing I will rationalize my every thought and justify my every action. A very unhealthy and self-defeating way to live.

If we are going to see things the way they are, we need to see the plank in our own eye and get rid of that. It is true, what I see is who I am. It is equally true, if I am a loving person, I will see things through loving eyes.

Dear God, please open my eyes
so that I will see clearly
who I am
and help me
to get rid of any specks
and all planks in my eye
so I will see the truth as it is
and not as I distort or want it to be.

Never Missing a Wrong Note

Before Ansel Adams became famous as a landscape photographer, he studied piano and showed some talent.

At one of his first recitals he played Chopin's Nocturne in F Major. "In some strange way," he said, "my right hand started off in F-sharp major while my left hand behaved well in F major. I could not bring them together. I went through the entire nocturne with the hands separated by a half-step.

The next day, someone walked up to him and jokingly commented, "You never missed a wrong note."

Such mistakes are easily overcome. But some mistakes we make in life can have long-lasting serious consequences. With these mistakes, however, the good news is that God's mercy is always available to all who confess their sins and failures and ask for his forgiveness.

Have you forgiven all who have ever hurt you? And have you experienced God's forgiveness? If not, why not do that today.

Digging Up the Past

In 1642 England was caught up in the Civil War with Cromwell and the roundheads. Five years later King Charles the First was captured, tried and sentenced to death. He was executed on January 30, 1649. Fifty-nine men put their signatures to the death warrant.

When Charles II was restored to the throne some eleven years later, he wanted to avenge his father's death. However, by that time, some had died and others were living abroad. They were arrested, taken back to England, and ordered to stand trial.

As for those who had died, the bodies of fifteen signatories, many of whom had been dead for years, were exhumed and then hung on the gallows.

That's exactly what resentment does. It digs up the past. It is caused by nursing grudges and failing to forgive. This is because buried and/or unresolved anger, hurt, grief, bitterness, etc., work like emotional cancer that "rots the bones," destroys relationships, and keeps one bound by the past.

As I've quoted before, "Failing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." So get rid of your feelings of hatred unresolved anger and resentment. Don't just pretend to be good.

Dear God,
please deliver me
from the sin of nursing grudges
and holding on to all negative emotions
so that I can become
a happier, healthier person

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.

I Am the Greatest

"Muhammad Ali is considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He won 56 out of his 61 professional fights and knocked out 37 opponents.

His most famous catch phrase was, 'I am the greatest!'

"One day, Ali was seated in an airplane when the flight attendant came up the aisle to make sure that all the passengers had their seat belts fastened. Reaching Ali's seat, she asked him to buckle up.

"'Hmph!' the champ sneered, 'Superman don't need no seat belt!'

"The flight attendant smiled sweetly and replied, 'Superman don't need no airplane, either.'

"Ali fastened his seat belt.

"The greater our success, the greater the risk of us thinking too highly of ourselves."

Shaping Life

Benjamin Franklin said: "Well done is better than well said."

Thomas Jefferson; "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. In other words, the harder I work, the luckier I get!"

Eleanor Roosevelt: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Albert Einstein: "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity."

Anonymous: "Leaders are like eagles; they don't flock … you find them one at a time."

Anonymous: "A religion that does nothing, gives nothing, costs nothing, suffers nothing, is worth nothing."

Jacob Riis: "When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it.

Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it--but all that had gone before."

Such are the ways of God in helping to "shape" us into the person He sees we can become.

Dear God
Please give me
a wise, understanding, and listening heart
to learn your ways of grace, truth, wisdom, and love.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayers ..