The Million Dollar Word

Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, born in Bombay, India. He wrote poetry and is the author of books like Captain Courageous, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and the Jungle Book.  Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune.  

A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word." The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, "Here's a one hundred dollar note, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words."  

Upon receipt of the money, Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks!"  

The word "thanks" is certainly a word worth one hundred dollars. In fact, its value makes it more like a million-dollar word.   According to Matt. 12:36-37: … Words are powerful ; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation." (Message)  Very few words have more potential than thanks! Thankfulness makes at least three major contributions into our life.

#1 Thankfulness fulfills the will of God.  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thess 5:18   How many times have we prayed, “Lord show me your will?”   There is nothing wrong with this prayer.  However, before we worry about what to do next, we need to begin with giving thanks!  When Jesus taught us to pray, he showed us to honor God before we ask: Our Father in heaven may your name be honored.  Matt 6:9  Thanksgiving honors God. NLT  As crazy as it may sound, our first need in every situation is to align ourselves in God’s will by giving thanks to Him.   Anything that fulfills the will of God is certainly worth a million dollars.   

#2  Thankfulness makes us whole.  In Luke 17, we find the story of ten lepers who were healed by Jesus.  In verse 15 one of the Lepers was healed and turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God.  He was the only one who said thanks.  The million dollar word not only brought him physical healing, but Jesus proclaimed that his faith expressed through his thanksgiving made him whole.  The word ‘whole’ meant among other things to keep safe and sound; to rescue from danger.  Healing was truly wonderful, but the implication is that his heart of thanks contributed something far greater.  This man walked away with healing of the heart and body. 

#3 Thankfulness improves our quality of life.  Henry Ward Beecher once said: “The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"   In life, we find what we are looking for.  If we look for what is beautiful, we find beauty.   Incredibly, the more we look for beauty, the more beauty we find. Yet, if we look for what is unattractive, we find unattractiveness. The more unattractiveness we look for, the more unattractiveness we find.  

This brings new meaning to the famous Helen Keller quote: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”  

We live in a world that is full of things and people that daily showcases the incredible beauty, kindness and generosity of our God.  Yet, though we have eyes to see them, we don’t have the vision to comprehend them.   In this blindness, we find ourselves living in what has been described as a “culture of complaint.”  Our problem has never been and never will be what we don’t have.  Our problem is that we don’t recognize what God has already given to us.

Rom 1:20 explains that God’s eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). 

  

I challenge you during this season we call Thanksgiving, not to get so caught up in what you have to do that you are blinded to what you have!  Take at least a few minutes to see the hand of God so clearly around you.  (Your family, friends, nature, the gift of salvation by grace, just to name a few.)  Then from your heart, say the word so rich it will bless you more than a million dollars – Thanks!  

Storm Defeater

How would you answer if you were facing a life threatening disease, and you heard the voice of Jesus say, “Why are you afraid?”    Or if you had a payment due today, no money, and you heard, “Why are you afraid?”  Or you’ve recently lost your life long partner, and you find yourself alone and afraid.  Suddenly you hear, “Why are you afraid?”  Our first impulse to all of these questions might be to passionately and angrily explain to Jesus what we are afraid of.

Let me take you back. It had been a calm evening, but suddenly a storm emerged out of nowhere.  Not a small storm, but a terrible storm of mega wind blowing, rain-thrashing proportions.   It was so big the waves filled the boat.   The disciples panicked.   At first, they may have thought they were okay because Jesus was onboard.  However, the storm continued to rage, and Jesus was not helping.  As a matter of fact, Jesus nestled carelessly in the stern of the boat, asleep.   They were facing a life threatening situation and Jesus was asleep!  How could someone sleep through such a storm?  How could the miracle worker allow such a storm to come upon them?  Many questions must have gone through their desperate minds.  

When the disciples woke Jesus, he asked them a question that must have made them wonder about his sanity!  Jesus in the middle of a mega storm asked, “Why are you afraid?”  I can imagine the disciples’ frustration with such a question.  They must have thought Jesus was still asleep if he had to ask them why they were afraid.  Wasn’t it obvious?!  They were afraid because without divine intervention, they were in a huge storm and about to DIE.     

However, Jesus was not being insensitive.  He was asking the question we most need to be able to answer if we are going to face life’s battles in faith.  Jesus knew, understood and cared about what they were facing.  He was not asking for an explanation of what they were afraid of, rather by asking “Why are you afraid?”   Jesus was challenging them to stop allowing the circumstances of their lives to provoke fear and remove peace.  If they could correctly answer this question, they would have the ammunition to obey the most repeated command of Jesus:  ‘fear not’. 

There are only two reasons we are afraid.  Number one, we are afraid when we don’t believe Jesus is able.  If we are facing life threatening situations, and doubt the power of Jesus, there is no alternative to fear.  However, it is evident the disciples did not question the ability of Jesus.   When they woke him up they did not ask, Jesus do you think you can do anything about this storm? Few people who have been around Jesus doubt his ability.   I’ve never been associated with a Christian that did not believe in the ability of Jesus to do the miraculous.  However, all of us including the disciples struggle with the other reason we are afraid:  We are not fully assured or convinced of the love Jesus has for us.  

            We may be convinced Jesus is able, but for any one of a multitude of reasons, we do not believe Jesus is willing to bring us through the storms of life.  This was the disciples’ reason for being afraid as shown in their question for Jesus:   “… don't you even care that we are going to drown?"  Mark 4:38 (NLT) The disciples were afraid because they were not convinced they were ‘safe’ in the loving arms of Jesus Christ.   Their fear was not an indication they had no faith, but an indication they were aware of and believed in the power of the storm more than they were aware of and believed in the willingness of Jesus to see them through the storm. 

We may think the reason we are afraid has nothing to do with Jesus, but with our own shortcomings.  We may believe our misdoings block His help.  However, when we discover the gospel revealed through the cross of Jesus Christ, our confidence is not in our flesh, but in His love.  His love is greater than our failures.   We must change the way we view God’s love by persuading our hearts of His love.  One of the ways we accomplish this is by examining and meditating on scriptures about his awesome love such as:

       

Rom 8:31 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose?  Message

Romans 8:35 Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, … not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:    Message

Romans 8:38-39   I'm absolutely convinced that nothing …absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.   Message

Jer 31:3  God told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will.  Expect love, love, and more love!  Message

Today, if you are facing a mega storm of any type.  Even if you have failed, done wrong, or feel weak in faith, realize when Jesus is in the boat with us the size of the storm we are facing does not matter. He is the Storm Defeater and He lives in us, making us capable of the things we can’t accomplish on our own.

So fear not! The love of Jesus is strong enough to see us through the eye of any storm we face.    

Feels Good to be ...

Forgiveness – What a glorious word!  Sadly, it is not always something I want to give but it is always something I want to receive.   When I think about it, I like to be forgiven, even when my apology is not completely sincere.  I may feel justified in what I did or did not do, but still I want to be forgiven.  Sometimes my wife and I have disagreements, and I know I am right!  There’s only one problem: she knows she is right, too! When two people are right, but have different versions of what ‘right’ is, the atmosphere is conducive for fireworks.  Most of the time one party eventually discovers they were wrong (usually me), opening the door for an apology from the person who was wrong.  However, there are some occasions where there is no proof of right and wrong, only strong opinions.  On these occasions I may apologize but not entirely (if you know what I mean).  I may be sorry for how I reacted, but not sorry I disagreed.  The need for forgiveness may not correspond with any change of opinion. Yet, in the words of a song by Eddie DGarmo, Feels Good to Be Forgiven.     

One of the looks or expressions of grace is found in forgiveness.  Eph. 1:6-8 says that forgiveness not only comes through grace but also is a sign of abundant grace.   Forgiveness is a free gift available to the whole world, but just like all gifts it must be received. Not earned. Not paid for. Not deserved.  Simply received.  Rom 5:17  For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.     

God’s forgiveness is two-fold.   #1 We are completely released from sin and guilt.  #2  We are completely restored to favor and righteousness.  Our sins are not just forgiven, we are ‘the sons and daughters’ of God through his gift of grace.   We don’t act to be.  We are so we act.

Righteousness comes from within through the free gift.   

When we don’t forgive, we dispense ungrace to our world.  No wonder so much of the world rejects the church.  The church talks about God’s forgiveness, but often struggles to show or experience His forgiveness.   Not only does this make it difficult for our world to come to know Christ, but it also has a negative impact on the life of the unforgiver. Hebrews 12:15 (Amp) declares that when we fail to walk in the grace of forgiveness a  … root of resentment (bitterness) shoots forth and causes trouble... and the many… are defiled by it.   Resentment literally means to feel again.  

Unforgiveness ties me to that thing which I want to forget.  Unforgiveness contaminates my world.   Unforgiveness is like buried pain.   Here’s what Stephen Arterburn says about buried pain.  …Pain is never buried dead.  It is buried alive and must be fed every day… Many realized that if emotions are not resolved, their lives begin to revolve around those feelings, and they live in a constant state of pain, hurt, mistrust, anxiety, fear, and anger. Because they are not dead, the emotions demand to be fed, and feeding the feelings comes to dominate every area of life. Life revolves around their hurt, and they do everything in relation to their pain.

Under the New Covenant, we don’t forgive to be forgiven, we forgive because we are forgiven.  …forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:32  KJV   The grace of God forgives us and empowers us to express forgiveness three ways:  (1)  We proclaim the forgiveness of God to the world, (2)  We forgive the people of the world  (3) We forgive other Christians. 

The reason for three categories instead of two is because it has been my experience that Christians forgive sinners much more readily than other Christians.  Ministers who have failed are often forever ostracized by the Church.  Yes, many of them have betrayed trust and should be required to bring forth the fruit of repentance before they minister again.  However, how can they regain trust, if they are not forgiven and given another chance?  Too often we forget, if not for grace of God so would we be. One of the greatest ways we can dispense and display grace to our world is by forgiving other Christians.  The proof of discipleship is found in Christians loving one another (John 13:35).   Every time we forgive other Christians, grace is released in our world. 

You may be thinking, I’ve tried, but I can’t forgive…. What they did was just too painful.  To which I reply, “You don’t have to be able to forgive”.  Grace provides a divine influence on the heart that strengthens and makes the heart able.  The only thing you need to do is be willing to forgive.  We supply the willingness, God supplies the ability.

 

Perhaps the best way to be willing to forgive is to remember: Jesus forgave me and paid a debt I could never pay.  In comparison to all that Jesus forgave, I don’t really have so much to forgive.  I once read, “He who has trouble forgiving has trouble seeing himself.”  

It feels good to forgive and to be forgiven!