What If It’s True? [v47]

JANUARY 2003

WHAT IF IT’S TRUE?…Over the Christmas holiday, Arielle, Tyler and I went to see “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”—what a powerful epic achievement! Computers have made creating these fantasylands and creatures so easy that it becomes difficult, even for grownups, to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not. Today we can’t really believe our own eyes. Even when we know those 10,000 Uruk-hai armored beasts in a climactic battle at Helm’s Deep aren’t real, they sure seemed to be.

Remember when you found out the truth about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy? Or that Christopher Columbus was not the first person to discover America? Maybe you found out that you were adopted, or you learned a deep, dark family secret. Maybe you had a life changing experience through a death, illness, or even a crime.

All these things can shatter your current belief system in an instant. All of the sudden, the rules that you run your life by change…rapidly. Mentally and emotionally, you have to slam on your brakes, and re-evaluate your entire life—the decisions you made, and the consequences of your actions. Suddenly, the old stuff does not support you anymore. You feel like the carpet was just pulled out from underneath you.

This is a most uncomfortable place to be. You feel like you are grasping for non-existent answers. The old does not work, yet you have nothing new with which to replace it. At least nothing new with which you want to replace it. You suddenly do have a new belief system, but you do not like what it is, and you wish it would go away—then you could go back to your old comfort zone where everything was neat and orderly, and for the most part, mentally and emotionally safe. You had ready answers for almost anything that was presented to you.

Has there been something in your life that, when you found out the truth about it, “rocked your world?” Even though finding out that Santa wasn’t real might have been ‘traumatic’ back then, can you think of a revelation of truth that “stopped you in your tracks” or “cut you to the core?”

The Christmas holiday presents many ‘traditions’—a jolly, fat man in a reindeer-powered sleigh visiting every home in the world in just one night to deliver presents; a Christian bishop who is believed to have shown special kindness to children; a time to reflect and show kindness to one another, exchange gifts, and have too much eggnog; or to show reverence for the baby Jesus, God incarnate, who was born in Bethlehem.

What if the Bible is true and Jesus is who He claimed to be? Would you be ‘uncomfortable’ or need to re-evaluate? Would it “rock your world”? Would it change the ‘way’ you live life?

Earlier this year, I attended a gathering of friends in a home for the purpose of interacting on significant issues of life. I very much enjoyed and having ‘real’ discussion about important life issues.

I so much enjoyed meeting new people and sharing my thoughts, I am planning such a ‘get-together’. Sometime in late February, on a weekday night, we will meet once a week for a total of four weeks.

If you or someone you know has been looking for a comfortable, non-threatening environment to investigate one’s personal priorities of life and some of the issues concerning God, this may be what you have been looking for.

[Contact me for more information or to tell me you and/or a friend would like to attend: mbesh@comcast.net]

As the old song says, “Is it just for the moment we live? What’s it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?” Haven’t we all, in a time of introspection, questioned our values and beliefs, the reasons for why we are here on Earth, and if there is “anything” after we leave here.

Socrates’s line, that “the unexamined life is not worth living,” was addressed not to the philosophers’ trade union but to the citizens of Athens, and in that sense to all of us—which is probably why the big questions keep popping up on their own. What is the relation of mind to body; spirit to mind; the nature of truth, joy and contentment— the meaning of it all.

Isn’t joy and contentment one of the over arching ‘themes’ of Christmas? If you don’t have it to the extent you would like, are there things one can do to attain it?

I believe it always helps to discuss things with others that have a similar interest—whether it be talking about current events, the latest “epic” movie release, or deep personal issues—to get different perspectives helps us examine what is at the ‘core’ of our being—what ‘drives’ us—and understand what is truly significant in our lives and how to bring about lasting joy.

Have you met anyone that seems to always be joyful even in tough circumstances? Though only a movie, “The Two Towers” shows that, intense violence notwithstanding, there can be a sense of ‘peace’ through comradeship as humans defend themselves against overwhelming odds. Even though it looked grim, Aragorn assures a young man fighting beside him, “There is always hope.” And Sam’s undying optimism is made clear as Frodo tells him, “Nothing ever dampens your spirits.”

Some have said that happiness is based on people, places, or things—and since people change, places deteriorate and things break or get lost—happiness is a temporary state of mind at best. Joy, on the other hand, is a decision which changes how you look at everything in life.

Come join our discussion group in February for an opportunity of honest investigation and personal evaluation of your core beliefs and reasons for living. You may even begin a friendship like Sam and Frodo—one that is compassionate, trustworthy, and maybe with someone that can personally relate to some of the searching questions you have.

Blessings….
Mark

[P.S. Contact me for specifics about the planned discussion group at: mbesh@comcast.net]

LIFE’S DEEP THOUGHTS (v47) for JANUARY 2003

If you have a ‘neat’ story or some thoughts about an issue or current event that you would like me to try to respond to, I would be glad to give it a try…so, send them to me at: mbesh@ameritech.net

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SHORTCHANGED
A baker suspected that the farmer who was supplying his butter was ‘shorting’ him. He carefully checked the weight for several days, and his suspicions were confirmed. Highly indignant, he had the farmer arrested. At the trial the judge was satisfied, and the baker chagrined at the farmer’s explanation—the farmer did not have any scales, so he used a balance—and for the weight on one side of the balance he used a “one-pound” loaf of bread brought daily from the baker!  [Zig Ziglar]

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The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.  [D. L. Moody]

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HE WAS A SAINT!
Two brothers were very rich, but they were evil. Both lived a wild existence, and used their money to cover up the dark side of their lives. On the surface, however, few would have guessed it, for these consummate cover-up artists attended the same church, and contributed large sums to various projects.

Then, their pastor retired, and a new one was hired—a young man who preached the truth with zeal and courage. Before long, the church membership had grown so much that they needed a larger worship center. Being a man of keen insight and strong integrity, this young pastor had also seen through the hypocritical lifestyles of the two brothers.

Suddenly, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.

“I have only one condition,” he said. “At the funeral, you must say my brother was a saint.” The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check.

The next day, at the funeral, the young pastor stood before the casket and said with firm conviction, “This was an evil man, wicked to the core. He cheated on his wife and abused his family. He was ruthless in business and a hypocrite at church…but compared to his brother he was a saint!”
[Leadership Magazine]

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BECOMING A BUTTERFLY
“How does one become a butterfly?”

“You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

“You mean die?”

“Yes and no! Life is changed, not taken away. Once you are a butterfly, you can really love the kind of love that makes new life. It’s better than all the hugging that caterpillars can do.”
[Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus]

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To walk in the truth is more than to give assent to it. It means to apply it to one’s behavior. He who “walks in the truth” is an integrated Christian in whom there is no dichotomy between profession and practice. On the contrary, there is in him an exact correspondence between his creed and his conduct. Such conformity of life to the truth on the part of his children brought John [the Apostle] greater joy than anything else. To him truth mattered.  [John R. W. Stott]

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The soundest reasoning leads to the wrongest conclusions when the premises are false.
[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]

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DEEP THOUGHT:
Insecurity is building your life on what can be taken away [Bill Gothard]

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Hope you enjoyed some of these insights—share them with your friends and colleagues—so we can have a larger ‘pool’ to receive from, and more to share with!

Also, remember to include your name as the “source,” if some of this wisdom is of your doing—I would like to give credit where credit is due!

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  [John 8:32]

Mark

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Disclaimer: All the above jokes & inspirations are obtained from various sources and copyright are used when known. Other than our name and headers, we do not own the copyright to any of the materials sent to this list. We just want to spread the ministry of God’s love and cheerfulness throughout the world.

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