{"id":21183,"date":"1999-10-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1999-10-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/1999\/10\/01\/to-illustrate-plus-8\/"},"modified":"1999-10-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1999-10-01T00:00:00","slug":"to-illustrate-plus-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/to-illustrate-plus-8\/","title":{"rendered":"To Illustrate Plus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morality<\/strong>\nExodus 20:1-17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I<\/strong>n response\nto the statement “There are clear guidelines about what’s good or evil\nthat apply to everyone regardless of their situation,” the percentage who\nsaid they<\/p>\n\n

Completely agree 37%<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mostly agree 46%<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mostly disagree 12%<\/strong><\/p>\n

Completely disagree 4%<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have no opinion 1%<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Results of a national Gallup survey, \ncited in<\/em> Emerging Trends (Jan. 1999)\n(Absolutes, Ten Commandments)<\/p>\n\n

Death<\/strong>\nPsalm 90:10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

P<\/strong>ercentage\nof hospital deaths that are “negotiated” (either patients or their families\nhave to make decisions about whether to continue treatment): 70<\/p>\n\n

U.S. Catholic (Jan. 1999)<\/em>\n(Decisions, Responsibility)<\/p>\n\n

Heaven<\/strong>\nPhilippians 1:21-23<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

A<\/strong> woman\nwas diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to\nlive. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and\nasked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes.<\/p>\n\n

She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral service, what Scriptures\nshe would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She requested\nto be buried with her favorite Bible.<\/p>\n\n

As the pastor prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something\nelse. “There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.<\/p>\n\n

“What’s that?” said the pastor.<\/p>\n\n

“This is important,” the woman said. “I want to be buried with a fork in\nmy right hand.”<\/p>\n\n

The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.<\/p>\n\n

The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck\ndinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would\ninevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite\npart of the meal because I knew something better was coming—like velvety\nchocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie.<\/p>\n\n

“So, when people see me in that casket with a fork in my hand and they ask,\n‘What’s with the fork?’ I want you to tell them: ‘Keep\nyour fork. The best is yet to come!'”<\/p>\n\n

Brett Kays<\/em>\n (Hope, Resurrection)<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n
THANKSGIVING<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\nFeasting on a Turnip and Mud<\/strong>\n Ephesians 5:20<\/strong> \n\t I<\/strong>n\n The Sacred Journey<\/em>, Frederick Buechner writes:\n

[One] winter I sat in Army fatigues somewhere near Anniston, Alabama,\n eating my supper out of a mess kit. The infantry training battalion that\n I had been assigned to was on bivouac. There was a cold drizzle, and everything\n was mud. The sun had gone down.<\/p>\n\n

I was still hungry when I finished and noticed that a man nearby had\n something left over that he was not going to eat. It was a turnip, and when\n I asked him if I could have it, he tossed it over to me. I missed the catch,\n the turnip fell to the ground, but I wanted it so badly that I picked it\n up and started eating it anyway, mud and all.<\/p>\n\n

And then, as I ate it, time deepened and slowed down again. With a\n lurch of the heart that is real to me still, I saw suddenly, almost as if\n from beyond time altogether, that not only was the turnip good, but the mud\n was good too, even the drizzle and cold were good, even the Army that I had\n dreaded for months.<\/p>\n\n

Sitting there in the Alabama winter with my mouth full of cold turnip\n and mud, I could see at least for a moment how if you ever took truly to\n heart the ultimate goodness and joy of things, even at their bleakest, the\n need to praise someone or something for it would be so great that you might\n even have to go out and speak of it to the birds of the air.<\/p>\n\n

(Creation; Goodness of God)<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Freedom with Law<\/strong>\nJames 1:25<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I<\/strong>n The Mennonite Brethren Herald<\/em> (2\/19\/99), Jim Holm writes:<\/p>\n\n

When I was in third grade, I was condemned to live under a law—the law of\nnear-sightedness. My eyes went bad, and today I am considered legally blind.<\/p>\n\n

I am not free. I am in bondage to this law. There is no escape.<\/p>\n\n

But one day I discovered an even greater law that can overcome the law of\nnear-sightedness. It is called the law of corrective lenses. When I submitted\nmyself to the law of corrective lenses, the law of near-sightedness was overcome.\nDid it go away? No, it is still there. But it was overpowered by a greater\nlaw, which enabled me to see.<\/p>\n\n

Now here is the ironic thing: You would think if I want to be free, I’d\nthrow the glasses away. But that is not freedom. Only by submitting to the\nlaw of glasses do I become free.<\/p>\n\n

(Submission, Obedience)<\/p>\n\n

Honor<\/strong>\n1 Corinthians 12:21-27<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

T<\/strong>he 1997 graduating\nclass of Witts Springs, Arkansas, had a valedictorian and a salutatorian.\nUnlike other graduating classes, the two top graduates were the only graduates.<\/p>\n\n

Witts Springs, population 100, also produces few athletes from a student\nbody of 41 in grades 7-12. But they manage to produce athletes that take\nteam play to a new level.<\/p>\n\n

In a basketball game with rival Leslie, Witts Springs trailed by over 30\npoints with just two minutes to go. The fans began to chant, “Put in Scotty.”\n“Scot-TEE! Scot-TEE! Scot-TEE!” Coach Nash obliged and inserted senior guard\nScotty Harmon. Harmon has cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n\n

Harmon received a pass, alone and unguarded on the perimeter, and flung the\nball toward the hoop. He missed. His teammates scrambled for the rebound\nand gave Scotty a second chance. He missed again, which started another fight\nfor the ball.<\/p>\n\n

“The kids know when Scotty’s in there, their game is over,” Coach Nash\nsaid. “They’re doing it for him now. The atmosphere changes. If\nthey’re worn out, they’ll break their necks to get that rebound.\nOur kids will go above everybody to get the ball to Scotty.”<\/p>\n\n

On his fourth try, Harmon sunk a three pointer. Fans on both sides of the\ngym cheered wildly. The scoreboard said Leslie 89, Witts Springs 58, but\neverybody left a winner, especially Scotty’s teammates.<\/p>\n\n

Larry Pillow in the <\/em>Arkansas Democrat Gazette\n(2\/7\/99)<\/em>\n(Body of Christ, Team)<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n
CURRENT QUOTES WORTH DISCUSSING<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\t\n

CHECKED YOUR CHAUFFEUR LATELY?<\/strong>\n “For the first time in American history, whatever is happening in religion\n is being driven by the media instead of ecclesiastical institutions.”<\/p>\n\n

Phyllis Tickle, religion editor of <\/em>Publishers\n Weekly, commenting on the explosive growth in sales of\n books on religion and spirituality, in\n <\/em>Life@Work (Nov\/Dec 1998)<\/em><\/p>\n\n

MAY THE CURIOSITY BE WITH YOU<\/strong>\n “I put the Force in the movie (Star Wars) in order to awaken a certain kind\n of spirituality in young people—more a belief in God than a belief in any\n particular religious system. I wanted to make it so that young people would\n begin to ask questions about the mystery. Not having enough interest in the\n mysteries of life to ask the question, ‘Is there a God or is there not\n a God?’—this is for me the worst thing that can happen. I think you\n should have an opinion about that. Or you should be saying, ‘I’m\n looking. I’m very curious about this and am going to continue to look\n until I can find an answer, and if I can’t find an answer then I’ll\n die trying.’ I think it’s important to have a belief system and\n to have a faith … “<\/p>\n\n

Filmmaker George Lucas, in Time (4\/26\/99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n

HOW TO CHEAPEN A FREE GIFT<\/strong>\n “In Hollywood, the seat of Western civilization, ‘God’ may be a\n non-event, but angels are a different story. Touched by an Angel … [may]\n represent nothing less than the birth of a new media religion—redemption\n that costs nothing, stories that warm the heart but do not convict the soul.”<\/p>\n\n

Hollywood producer Coleman Luck, in <\/em>Internet\n for Christians Newsletter (3\/1\/99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Faith<\/strong>\nMatthew 16:13-19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

“T<\/strong>he most extraordinary\nthing about the 20th century was the failure of God to die. The collapse\nof mass religious belief, especially among the educated and prosperous, had\nbeen widely and confidently predicted. It did not take place. Somehow, God\nsurvived, flourished even.”<\/p>\n\n

Paul Johnson in <\/em>The Quest for God (Harper Collins); \ncited in <\/em>Reader’s Digest (Dec. 1998)<\/em>\n(Atheism, Death of God)<\/p>\n\n

Incarnation<\/strong>\nJohn 1:14-18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I<\/strong>n his book The\nJesus I Never Knew<\/em>, Philip Yancey shares an episode from his youth when\nthe concept of “the Word becoming flesh” dawned on him with profound meaning:<\/p>\n\n

“I learned about incarnation when I kept a salt-water aquarium. Management\nof a marine aquarium, I discovered, is no easy task. I had to run a portable\nchemical laboratory to monitor the nitrate levels and the ammonia content.\nI pumped in vitamins and antibiotics and sulfa drugs and enough enzymes to\nmake a rock grow. I filtered the water through glass fibers and charcoal,\nand exposed it to ultraviolet light.<\/p>\n\n

“You would think, in view of all the energy expended on their behalf, that\nmy fish would at least be grateful. Not so. Every time my shadow loomed above\nthe tank they dove for cover into the nearest shell. They showed me one emotion\nonly: fear. Although I opened the lid and dropped in food on a regular schedule,\nthree times a day, they responded to each visit as a sure sign of my designs\nto torture them. I could not convince them of my true concern. To my fish\nI was deity. I was too large for them, my actions too incomprehensible. My\nacts of mercy they saw as cruelty; my attempts at healing they viewed as\ndestruction.<\/p>\n\n

“To change their perceptions I began to see would require a form of incarnation.\nI would have to become a fish and ‘speak’ to them in a language\nthey could understand.”<\/p>\n\n

Greg Asimakoupoulos\n<\/em>(Fear of God, Goodness of God)<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n
HEARING GOD’S VOICE<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\nYou’ve Gotta Know How to Listen<\/strong>\n 1 Kings 19:9-13<\/strong> \t\n

I<\/strong>n\n Character Forged from Conflict<\/em>, Gary Preston writes:<\/p>\n\n

Back when the telegraph was the fastest means of long-distance\n communication, there was a story, perhaps apocryphal, about a young man who\n applied for a job as a Morse code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper,\n he went to the address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large,\n noisy office. In the background a telegraph clacked away. A sign on the\n receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form\n and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.<\/p>\n\n

The young man completed his form and sat down with seven other waiting\n applicants. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room\n to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other\n applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. Why had this man been\n so bold? They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons\n yet. They took more than a little satisfaction in assuming the young man\n who went into the office would be reprimanded for his presumption and summarily\n disqualified for the job.<\/p>\n\n

Within a few minutes the young man emerged from the inner office escorted\n by the interviewer, who announced to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank\n you very much for coming, but the job has been filled by this young\n man.”<\/p>\n\n

The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and then one spoke\n up, “Wait a minute—I don’t understand. He was the last one to come\n in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job.\n That’s not fair.”<\/p>\n\n

The employer responded, “All the time you’ve been sitting here,\n the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse code: ‘If\n you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’\n None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. So the job is\n his.”<\/p>\n\n

(Guidance, Spiritual perception)<\/p>\n\n<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Idolatry<\/strong>\n1 John 5:21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

O<\/strong>ne hundred decoys\nwere placed on the Izu peninsula of Japan to attract endangered albatrosses\nand encourage them to breed. For more than two years, a 5-year-old albatross\nnamed Deko tried to woo a wooden decoy by building fancy nests and fighting\noff rival suitors. He spent his days standing faithfully by her side. Japanese\nresearcher Fumio Sato, talking about the albatross’s infatuation with\nthe wooden decoy, said, “He seems to have no desire to date real birds.”<\/p>\n\n

So it is with all people who put their affections upon the gods of this world\ninstead of placing their love in the Lord God.<\/p>\n\n

World (2\/20\/99)<\/em>\n(First Commandment, Love)<\/p>\n\n

Marriage<\/strong>\nHebrews 13:4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

T<\/strong>he number of U.S.\nadults married and living with their spouse declined to an all-time low in\n1998 due to increasing levels of divorced and never-married adults. The\npercentage who were<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
<\/td>\n 1970<\/strong><\/td>\n 1998<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Widowed<\/strong><\/td>\n 1%<\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Married, with spouse<\/strong><\/td>\n 68%<\/td>\n 56%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Divorced<\/strong><\/td>\n 19%<\/td>\n 24%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Never married<\/strong><\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n 10%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Married, separated<\/strong><\/td>\n 9%<\/td>\n 7%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Widowed<\/strong><\/td>\n 1%<\/td>\n 3%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Cindy Hall and Web Bryant, <\/em>USA\nToday (3\/3\/99); Source: Census Bureau\n<\/em>(Divorce, Family)<\/p>\n\n

Significance<\/strong>\nEcclesiastes 1:1-11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

“I<\/strong> see clearly\nthat I have achieved practically nothing. The world today and the history\nof the human anthill during the past five to seven years would be exactly\nthe same if I had played Ping-Pong instead of sitting on committees and writing\nbooks and memoranda. I have therefore to make a rather ignominious confession\nthat I have in a long life ground through between 150,000 and 200,000 hours\nof perfectly useless work.”<\/p>\n\n

—Author and publisher Leonard Woolf\nquoted in <\/em>Wireless Age, (Sept\/Nov 1998);\ncited in <\/em>Current Thoughts and Trends\n(Feb. 1999)\n<\/em>(Emptiness, Work)<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n
WEAKNESS<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\nHow God Uses a Cracked Pot<\/strong>\n 2 Corinthians 4:7-12<\/strong> \n

A<\/strong>n old folk tale: A house servant had\n two large pots, which hung from each end of a pole that he carried across\n his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. At the end of the long walk\n from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only\n half full. The other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion\n of water.<\/p>\n\n

For two years the servant delivered each day only one and a half pots\n full of water to his master’s house. The perfect pot was proud of its\n accomplishments, but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,\n and miserable over accomplishing only half of what it had been made to\n do.<\/p>\n\n

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, the cracked\n pot spoke to the servant one day by the stream.<\/p>\n\n

“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”<\/p>\n\n

“What are you ashamed of?” asked the bearer.<\/p>\n\n

“For these past two years I have been able to deliver only half my\n load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way to\n your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you don’t get full value\n from your work.”<\/p>\n\n

The servant said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want\n you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” As they went up the\n hill, the cracked pot noticed the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the\n path. When they reached the house, the servant said to the pot, “Did you\n notice the flowers grew only on your side of the path, not on the other\n pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw,\n and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path,\n and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them.\n For two years I have been able to pick beautiful flowers to decorate my\n master’s table.”<\/p>\n\n

Each of us has flaws. But if we allow it, the Lord will use our flaws\n to grace his Father’s table.<\/p>\n\n

Phillip Gunter<\/em>\n (Grace, Ministry)<\/p>\n\n<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Valleys<\/strong>\nRomans 5:3-4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

M<\/strong>ountaintops are\nfor views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.<\/p>\n\n

—Billy Graham cited in <\/em>Just Between Us\n(Character, Fruitfulness)<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Movies<\/strong>\nIsaiah 5:20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

R<\/strong>eality according\nto Hollywood: All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French\nBread.<\/p>\n\n

The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place.<\/p>\n\n

The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.<\/p>\n\n

A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will\nwince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.<\/p>\n\n

Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames.<\/p>\n\n

Persons knocked unconscious by a blow to the head will never suffer a concussion\nor brain damage.<\/p>\n\n

It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting.<\/p>\n\n

Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds—unless\nit’s the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.<\/p>\n\n

All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts\nso you know exactly when they will go off.<\/p>\n\n

It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone\nconversations.<\/p>\n\n

Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.<\/p>\n\n

It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial\narts; your enemies will patiently wait to attack you one by one by dancing\naround in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.<\/p>\n\n

These aren’t the only ways that movies twist reality.<\/p>\n\n

Brett Kays<\/em>\n(Morals, Reality)<\/p>\n\n

Silence of God<\/strong>\nIsaiah 45:15<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I<\/strong>n an article titled\nthe “All the Right Moves” in Fast Company<\/em> (May 1999), chess master\nand sought-after mentor Bruce Pandolfini says:<\/p>\n\n

“My lessons consist of a lot of silence. I listen to other teachers, and\nthey’re always talking … I let my students think. If I do ask a\nquestion [‘why are you making that move?’] and I don’t get\nthe right answer, I’ll rephrase the question—and wait. I never give\nthe answer. Most of us really don’t appreciate the power of silence.\nSome of the most effective communication-between student and teacher, between\nmaster players-takes place during silent periods.”\nGod, too, teaches eloquently with silence.<\/p>\n\n

(Discipleship, Prayer)<\/p>\n\n

\n \n \n
ADVERSITY<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n“Shake It Off and Step Up”<\/strong>\n James 1:2-4<\/strong> \n

T<\/strong>he parable\n is told of an old dog that fell into a farmer’s well. After assessing\n the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog but decided that neither\n the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead he planned\n to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.<\/p>\n\n

When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical.\n But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought\n struck him. It dawned on the dog that every time a shovel load of dirt landed\n on his back he should shake it off and step up. This he did blow after blow.\n “Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step\n up!” he repeated to encourage himself.<\/p>\n\n

No matter how painful the blows or how distressing the situation seemed,\n the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up! It\n was not long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly\n over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually\n benefited him—all because of the way he handled his adversity.<\/p>\n\n

If we face our problems and respond to them positively, refusing to\n give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along\n to bury us usually have within them the potential to bless us! Forgiveness,\n faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the biblical ways to shake it\n off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves.<\/p>\n\n

Bruce Shelley<\/em>\n (Attitude, Overcoming)<\/p>\n\n<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal.\nClick here<\/a> for reprint information on Leadership Journal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morality Exodus 20:1-17 In response to the statement “There are clear guidelines about what’s good or evil that apply to everyone regardless of their situation,” the percentage who said they Completely agree 37% Mostly agree 46% Mostly disagree 12% Completely disagree 4% Have no opinion 1% Results of a national Gallup survey, cited in Emerging Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[663,664,156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3737,3933,4134,4167,4552,4688,4948,5042,5046,5074],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-21183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_publications-1999-leadership-journal","tax_publications-fall_1999-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-death","tax_ctp_tags-faith","tax_ctp_tags-heaven","tax_ctp_tags-hope","tax_ctp_tags-obedience","tax_ctp_tags-preaching","tax_ctp_tags-sermon-preparation","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-direction","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-formation","tax_ctp_tags-statistics"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nTo 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