It Turned Out Good

Bible Reading:  Jonah 2

 Key Verse: Verse 9 - “But I will sacrifice unto thee   with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I   have vowed.    Salvation is of the LORD.”

 Key Words: with the voice of thanksgiving 

Everyone knows the story of Jonah – how he attempted to flee from the presence of God, went down to Joppa and got on a ship headed for Tarshish, and how God sent a storm, and Jonah was cast overboard and swallowed by a great fish.

In our Bible reading from Jonah 2, Jonah is now praying for God’s deliverance.  That which appeared to be bad turned out to be good.  Jonah was delivered and he went to Nineveh and preached.  The city repented and turned to God.

I have found that often in life, that which appears to be bad is actually good, and that which appears to be good is often bad.  Let me explain.

A wise old Chinese gentleman lived on the troubled Mongolian border.  One day his favorite horse, a beautiful white mare, jumped the fence and was seized on the other side by the enemy.  His friends came to comfort him.  “We’re so sorry about your horse,” they said.  “That’s bad news.”

“How do you know it’s bad news?” he asked.  “It might be good news.”

A week later, the Chinaman looked out his window to see his mare returning at breakneck speed, and alongside her was a beautiful stallion.  He put both horses into the enclosure, and his friends came to admire the new addition.  “What a beautiful horse,” they said.  “That’s good news.”

“How do you know it’s good news?” replied the man.  “It might be bad news.”

The next day, the man’s only son decided to try riding the stallion.  It threw him, and he landed painfully, breaking his leg.  The friends made another visit, all of them sympathetic, saying, “We’re so sorry about this.  It’s such bad news.”

“How do you know it’s bad news?” replied the man.  “It might be good news.”

Within a month, a terrible war broke out between China and Mongolia.  The Chinese recruiters came through the area, pressing all the young men into the army.  All of them perished – except for the Chinaman’s son, who couldn’t go off to war because of his broken leg.

“You see,” said the gentleman, “the things you considered good were actually bad, and the things that seemed to be bad news were actually for our good.” 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Thank God for all things, even that which appears to be bad.

         ✞ Ask God to develop in you a “no-quit” attitude, and a thankful spirit to go along with that attitude.

            ✞ Never run from rough situations, they usually turn out to be some of your greatest blessings.

 

Thanksgiving Proclamation

Bible Reading:  Psalm 148

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.”

 Key Words: Praise ye the LORD 

The Psalmist David is now drawing to the end of his earthly life.  All of his days are now filled with praise and thanksgiving as he looks back over his days upon this earth, and he remembers the many blessings of God.

As we draw near to the day we designate as Thanksgiving – a day when we remember the blessings of God and hopefully thank Him for those many blessings, I am reminded of the First National Thanksgiving Proclamation, which reads as follows:

“Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!

“Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.”

~George Washington, 1779

I trust that today and everyday we will remember the blessings of God, and be thankful for them.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse  

What to do:

            ✞ Ask each family member to name one thing and one person they are thankful for, and why they are thankful.

Ten Apples

Bible Reading:  II Chronicles 29:20-36

Key Verse: Verse 31 – “Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.”

Key Words: thank offerings 

Hezekiah as king accomplished a number of things.  He was king when God defeated the Assyrian army.  He was king when God gave him fifteen years of additional life; but in our text Hezekiah, the king, had led the nation back into temple worship.  The people had been worshipping false gods, but through Hezekiah’s dedication to God the altars of the false gods were destroyed and worship of Jehovah was returned.  As a result of this change, Hezekiah had the priests cleanse themselves and had the people give an offering of thanksgiving to God.

Our giving, as well, is a reflection of our gratitude toward God. 

The following story sadly illustrates many believers’ gratitude toward the blessings of God.

“Once upon a time there was a man who had nothing, and God gave him ten apples.

He gave him the first three apples to eat.

He gave him the second three apples to trade for shelter from the sun and rain.

He gave him the third three apples to trade for clothing to wear.

He gave him the last apple to give back to God in order that he could show his gratitude for the other nine.

The man ate the first three apples.

He traded the second three apples for shelter from the sun and rain.

He traded the third three apples for clothing to wear.

Then he looked at the tenth apple.  It seemed bigger and juicier than the rest.  He knew that God had given him the tenth apple so that he might demonstrate his love and gratitude by returning it to God.  But it was so much bigger and juicier than the rest; and he began to reason within himself, ‘God has all the other apples in the orchard, he’ll not miss this one.’  So the man ate the apple and gave God the core.”

Now, the moral of this story is this: It is not about the apple – it is about you and me and our attitude of gratitude.  Do you demonstrate thankfulness to God through your giving?

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Lay aside a minimum of ten percent of everything you receive and give it to God (through your local church).

            ✞ Teach this principle to your children.

Bless the Lord

Bible Reading: Psalm 104

Key Verse: Verse 35 – ““Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.”

Key Words: Bless thou the LORD, O my soul 

The psalmist starts the psalm and ends the psalm with the same words, “Bless [thou] the LORD, O my soul.” 

The psalmist is thanking God for His creation.  In verses one through four, we see days one and two of Creation while in verses five through nine, we have day three.  In verses ten through eighteen we see days four and five.  Then in verses nineteen through thirty we have day six, and in verses thirty-one through thirty-five we have day seven.

The point being that even in the day-to-day events of life, we have so much to be thankful for that we really take for granted.

There is an imaginative story of that morning when the sun did not rise.  Six o’clock came and there was no sign of dawn.  At seven o’clock there was still no ray of light.  At noon it was as black as midnight and no bird sang.  There was only the hoot of the owl and the swoop of the bat.  Then came the black hours of the black afternoon.  No one slept that night.  Some wept, some wrung their hands in anguish.  Every church was thronged to its doors with people upon their knees.  Thus they remained the whole night through; then millions of eager, tear-wet faces were turned toward the east.  When the sky began to grow red and the sun rose once more there was a shout of great joy.  Now millions of lips said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”  Why were these people so thankful?  Just because the sun rose after one day of darkness.  The very constancy of God’s blessings sometimes seems to kill our gratitude.  Whereas the wonderful thing about the mercies of God is that they are fresh every morning and new every morning.

We all should cry out daily, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞Ask God to guide you through His Word and help you to be Biblically correct.

            ✞Understand that political correctness can and will lead to a humanist philosophy.

 

Forgive Me When I Whine

Bible Reading:  Numbers 11:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and  consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.”        

Key Words: the people complained 

How quickly we forget the blessings of God!  Israel had been led out of Egypt by God.  They had crossed the Red Sea safely – on dry ground, I might add.  They had watched as the army of the enemy had been consumed by that same sea.  God had provided food and water; their clothing and shoes were seemingly everlasting.  God had provided for them a land flowing with milk and honey, but yet they whined.  They whined for the same reasons we whine.  We focus on what we don’t have rather than on what we do have. 

I read the following and found it to be a blessing.  I trust you will as well.  The author is unknown.

 

Forgive Me When I Whine

Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely maid with golden hair;

I envied her – she seemed so gay, and how I wished I were so fair;

When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle;

She had one foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, she smiled.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine; I have two feet – the world is mine.

And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who served me had such charm;

He seemed to radiate good cheer; his manner was so kind and warm;

I said, “It’s nice to deal with you; such courtesy I seldom find;”

He turned and said, “Oh, thank you sir.”  And then I saw that he was blind.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine; I have two eyes – the world is mine.

Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue;

He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do;

I stopped a moment, then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”

He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine; I have two ears – the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I’d go, with eyes to see the sunset’s glow,

With ears to hear what I would know. I am blessed indeed.

The world is mine – oh, God forgive me when I whine.

Oh Lord, forgive us when we whine!!!

                                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

            ✞ Put up an “I will not whine” sign in a prominent place.

            ✞ Write down all the reasons you have to whine, and then visit the cancer ward of                     Children’s Hospital.  You will stop your whining in a mega-second.

            ✞ Everyday thank God for your health. 

Investing Your Life In Others

Bible Reading: Romans 16

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:”

 Key Words: I commend unto you 

As you read Romans 16, you read a seemingly long list of names that mean absolutely nothing to the casual reader; but you have to go beyond the surface and look deeply into the lives of these thirty-six people and see how Paul had invested his life in them, mentored them, prayed for them, watched after them – and now here they are, all serving God because Paul had invested his life in others. There is no greater joy than investing your life into others for the glory of God.

In his autobiography, Breaking Barriers, syndicated columnist Carl Rowan tells about a teacher who greatly influenced his life.  Rowan relates: “Miss Thompson reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper containing a quote attributed to Chicago architect Daniel Burnham.  I listened intently as she read: ‘Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.  Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.  Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us.’  More than thirty years later, I gave a speech in which I said that Frances Thompson had given me a desperately needed belief in myself.  A newspaper printed the story, and someone mailed the clipping to my beloved teacher.  She wrote me: ‘For years, I endured my brother’s arguments that I had wasted my life; that I should have married and had a family.  When I read that you gave me credit for helping to launch a marvelous career, I put the clipping in front of my brother.  After he’d read it, I said, ‘You see, I didn’t really waste my life, did I?’”

You never know who you are having an impact on; so never quit; never give up; always invest your life in others for God’s service.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse  

What to do: 

            ✞ List those who invested their lives in you and send them a card of appreciation.

            ✞ Make a list of those you want to invest your life in and list how that can be done.

            ✞ Now do it!!!

Sacrifice

Bible Reading:  II Corinthians 11:23-33

Key Verse: Verse 23 – “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.”

Key Words:  Are they ministers of Christ 

There is no question that the church at Corinth was Paul’s heavenly sandpaper.  There is also no doubt that Paul had a great love for them, for he had sacrificed tremendously for them; but it appears that the church at Corinth had very little appreciation for Paul’s sacrifice.

A harried waitress approached the table where a young girl was sitting by herself.  She quickly asked the girl what she wanted.  “How much is an ice cream sundae?” the little girl inquired. 

The waitress snapped, “A dollar seventy-five.” 

The girl looked at her fistful of change and then asked, “How much is a dish of just plain ice cream?” 

“One fifty,” retorted the waitress. 

“Then I’ll take the plain ice cream, please,” said the young customer.  The waitress returned with the bowl of ice cream and delivered it with a rude silence. 

After the little girl finished her ice cream and left, the waitress went to clear off the table.  To her shame, she found two dimes and five pennies.  Her tip was the exact amount the little girl needed to get a sundae rather than just plain ice cream.  In each of our lives, others have made sacrifices for our well-being.  The question is, are we grateful; or do we treat those who have sacrificed for us with a rude, unappreciative spirit?

                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Make a list of those who have sacrificed for your benefit.

            ✞ Make a list of those you want to invest your life in and list how that can be done.

            ✞ Now do it!!!