The Honor of Work

There was a time in our society when industriousness and providing for one’s own were the norm. But through the years things have changed, and many people now have a distorted view of work, believing wrongly that work is punishment, which has led to a sense of entitlement. It is true that after sin entered the world God told Adam, “In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.” (Genesis 3:19) But before Adam had sinned God’s word said, “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.” (Genesis 2:5) Therefore, tilling the ground, sowing the seed and working the earth at his feet was always a part of God’s plan for man. Work is good for it is honorable, just as God had shown through His work in creating the universe. The godly woman of Proverbs 31 is a busy woman of whom is said, “She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.” (Proverbs 31:27)

An idle brain is the Devil’s workshop is not exactly Scripture (it is actually a quote from a man named H. G. Bohn in 1855), although it does teach a Scriptural message. The Wise Writer said in Proverbs 19:15, “Laziness plunges a man into deep sleep, and the sluggard must go hungry.” This agrees completely with what Paul told the church at Thessalonica when he wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If any will not work, neither let him eat.” Idleness was one of the sins specified by God in Ezekiel 16:49 that brought about the destruction of Sodom: “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”

I believe we overlook idleness, laziness and being a busybody to our detriment. Gossip is the result of an individual having too much idle time on his or her hands, and it is verbal violence committed against another. It is also soundly condemned in Scripture: “You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:16) “He who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who speaks foolishly.” (Proverbs 20:19) “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness and sin, of greed and hate, envy, murder, fighting, lying, bitterness, and gossip.” (Romans 1:29)

Idleness, not working, and gossiping all go hand-in-hand. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:11, “For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies.” And Peter shows just how grievous this sin is by comparing it to those who commit even murder when he said in 1 Peter 4:15, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.” Work, what God always desired for mankind, is the cure.

May the Lord bless you and yours!

Being Thankful and Contented

With every day bringing what seems to be an endless parade of poor economic news, too many people are worried about the rainy day of tomorrow that they fail to see the sunshine of today. In spite of the negative outlook regarding the economy, there is still much for which we should be grateful and thankful as a nation and people that have been blessed abundantly by the Lord. As we are about to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, let us never lose sight of Who is the Source of all of our blessings.

The Apostle Paul certainly had his share of woes. All one needs to do to learn the truth of this is to read the 11th chapter of 2 Corinthians to find out how immensely Paul suffered. He had much in his life in which he could have complained. In spite of this, though, Paul was able to keep things in proper perspective and write the following while being bound in chains:

“I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:10-13) Paul was grateful for their gift to him but he wanted the church to know that he had learned how to be content in every circumstance. He wanted them to understand that his sufficiency is in the Lord and not in their ability to provide for him. What a valuable lesson Paul was giving the church in Ephesus, and to us by extension today. Contentment is not controlled by outside events. Contentment does not come from having an abundance of material possessions. Contentment and inner peace, “the peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:6), comes from the knowledge that we have a loving, gracious and merciful Savior, and this knowledge will invigorate our entire being, leading us to have a positive attitude about life. As Paul tells his young protégé, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 6:6-11, “If one is godly and content, there is great profit! We brought nothing into the world and we can't take anything out of it. If we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with these things. But the people who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish desires that hurt them. These things drown men in ruin and destruction. Loving money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people want money so badly that they have wandered away from the faith. They have so painfully wounded themselves. But you, O man of God, run away from these things. Follow after faith, love, endurance, what is good, godly, and gentle.”

May the Lord bless you and yours as you give Him thanks for all of His blessings!

Cookies, Cappuccino and Cordiality

I want to share with you a true story that happened to me several years ago when I used to work as Manager of Strategic Marketing & Initiatives for the Western Region of a major airline. Yes, that was an impressive title to hold, (as well as quite a mouthful to say), but what it meant was that I got to travel to a lot of various parts of our beautiful western lands in order to call upon travel agencies and corporate clients. On one such trip I had flown out to call on accounts in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico area. Finishing my sales calls early, I went back to the airport to catch my flight back home. I had about two hours before my flight was scheduled to depart so I bought a bag of peanut butter sandwich cookies from a group of Girl Scouts who happened to be selling them at the airport. After purchasing the cookies, I put them in my carry-on bag. I then proceeded to purchase a cup of coffee from the Starbucks nearby. After getting my overpriced but tasty cup of cappuccino, I went and sat down at a crowded table next to a group of strangers who were also biding their time awaiting their scheduled departures to their various destinations. Being an avid lover of books, I then proceeded to open my copy of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, taking the lid off of my steaming coffee and intently began reading my book.

Across the table from where I was seated sat a man who held in his hands a copy of that day’s USA Today newspaper. After a minute or two without taking my eyes from the page I was reading, I reached out and took a cookie. A few moments later I noticed in the corner of my eye that this man had reached out and took a cookie, too. I remember thinking to myself at the time, “How rude and audacious!” but I did not say a word.

A couple minutes later, while turning a page, I grabbed another cookie. A few moments after that I saw that man, that stranger, reach into the bag and take yet another cookie. I believe myself to be a reasonable man, but I found myself reddening as I was getting angrier by the minute. After all, these were not just your simple, ordinary, run-of-the-mill everyday cookies to be found in any market, these were Peanut Butter Sandwich Girl Scout cookies! How dare this man do this to me, and take advantage of my good nature! Could he not tell that I was Manager of Strategic Marketing & Initiatives for the Western Region of a major airline? Did he not realize just how important of a man I was? Still, in spite of his cheek and bravado, I composed myself and kept my silence. I remained calm.

After having a couple more sips of my brew I once again took another cookie. So did that stranger. There was no doubt about it now, I was really getting mad about this! And since by this time there was only one more cookie left, I admit I was fuming inside. It would seem that the man also realized there was only one cookie left now, so before I could say a word about it the man took that last cookie, he broke it in half, offered one-half of it to me, and he proceeded to get up and leave, grabbing his briefcase, newspaper and luggage with him. He nodded his head, gave me a friendly smile and, tucking his newspaper under his arm, he headed down the terminal and towards his gate, saying as he left, “Good day, sir!” But not one word did he say about those cookies he had taken!

“Of all the nerve!” I remembered saying to myself as I watched him disappear into the crowd. “Can you believe what people think they can get by with today?” Was I ever ticked off at him! I felt as if he had ruined my whole day, my whole trip even! So I finished my coffee in a huff, threw the empty cup into the nearby receptacle, and went to place my book in my carry-on bag. It was at that point that I made a heart-wrenching and humiliating discovery, for there inside was none other than my own unopened bag of Peanut Butter Sandwich Girl Scout cookies! I looked once again for the stranger, never seeing him again, and never being able to thank him for his cordiality!

As embarrassed as I was at that moment, I am thankful and grateful to God that He allowed it all to happen. “Why is that?” I am sure someone will ask. Well, I am thankful because it reminds me about how well God treats me even when I am not treating Him well or thinking all that kindly and graciously about Him. It has taught me to be a more patient man, and hopefully not one who jumps to wrong conclusions about others as quickly as I used to do. In other words, it was an opportunity for God to teach me how to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, for as Paul wrote to the church in Galatians 5:22-23, “ . . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.”

This encounter has also taught me to think about how, sometimes, I do not really appreciate what I have or act like I know where it has come from, where the true Source of all blessings flow. It serves as a kind of reminder to me, just as that reminder is found in reading from Deuteronomy 8:17-18. Moses, after telling the people of Israel how they will prosper in the Promised Land that they are about to enter, how, after so many years of slavery and then of wandering around in the wilderness, they will eat their fill, and have fine houses and large herds, and that their silver and gold will multiply, says this:

“Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, so that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your ancestors, and as He swears to you today.”

It has been a constant reminder to me that what James, the Lord’s brother, says in James 4:10 is absolutely true: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Innovative Falls 24-10 in Hoops Contest

The Innovative Staffing Solutions first and second grade boys basketball team fell to R. R. Donnelley's 24-10 on Saturday, November 15, 2008. The loss was the first of the season for Innovative, leaving them with a 2-1 record.

In spite of being much smaller than the Donnelley's boys, Innovative was much improved from the previous week in rebounding and defense. However, poor shooting and too many turnovers that led to easy baskets for their opponents were their downfall.

Donovan Ferguson was double and triple teamed often, which prevented him from scoring inside. He was limited to one basket deep from the outside as his only points of the game. Donovan, understanding that he was being doubled up virtually every time he touched the ball on offense, got the ball to his teammates but none of them could convert for the basket. Donovan played exceptionally well defensively, frustrating one of his opponents with his defensive pressure to the point that the boy threw two elbows at Donovan and play had to be momentarily halted. Donovan may have been shut down from scoring but he still brought his "A" game as he pulled down 10 boards while garnering 11 steals for his first double-double of the season. He also had 7 blocked shots, including three in succession with three different players. Donovan had only 1 turnover in spite of how closely guarded he was.

Isaac Ray, Donovan's cousin and best friend, was held scoreless while taking only one shot from the field. Isaac also had 1 blocked shot. He turned the ball over 6 times.

Isaac also must be about to lose a tooth because he was seen many times throughout the contest with his hand and fingers at work in his mouth. It is tough enough to play the game of hoops without having to battle loose teeth, too!

We Just Do Not Get the Enormity of God's Love

We have many passages in God’s word that speak to us of God’s great love, yet I do not believe we come even close to comprehending what that means. Consider this: In the beginning, before there was any creation, there was just God, only God, an infinite and mighty Lord. And God had an idea. It was just an idea, but as only God can do, He can look at an idea from every perspective imaginable and see every conceivable outcome. He can look at every individual possibility and understand all the millions of possibilities and outcomes emanating from that idea, and He can do so instantaneously. God had a thought, and that thought was, “I will create.” He envisioned all that He would do, and He knew it would be good . . . but He also knew that out of that goodness His ultimate creation, mankind, would choose the pathway of sin and death.

That was not such a good idea. What was He to do? Should God just forget the whole idea and chuck it all? Would that not be the best thing possible?

The Son, Who existed with God from eternity, saw the same idea of creation with all of its infinite possibilities because He shared that idea with His Father. And He looked at the idea and said: “I can rectify it. I can perfect that idea. I can make that love perfect. I can become part of it. You breathed Your Spirit into man and created Him in our image, so I will become a man in his image. I will live my life in a manner that will turn every sin into a virtue. I will become a fragrant offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to You. I will bear this willingly because of My love for You and Your love for Me and Our mutual love for Our creation.”

It was not an accident that Jesus came to the Earth and gave Himself to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). When He was with the Father before creation He knew what would happen, and what He would be asked to do. He knew. Although He, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, He knew the time would come when He would be called upon to empty Himself, and take upon the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are. And being in every way like a human being, He was humbler yet, even to accepting death, a death suffered cruelly upon a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). And still He did not succumb to sin, although He was tempted in all manner of temptations as we are, yet He committed no sin (Hebrews 4:15). And so God saw the idea with His Son being intimately involved in it, and He was ready to let the idea happen. All He had to do was utter the word. All He had to do was say the word and there would be a universe. He had to just speak the word and there would be myriads of stars, countless planets, and billions of galaxies stretching across trillions of miles of space. All God had to do was say the word and there would be Earth and there would be land and water and animals of all kinds. All He had to do was say the word and there would be man. And God was ready. And He said the Word and the Word God said was: Jesus. And it all happened because of God's love.

A Remarkable Story of God's Grace

In 2 Kings 20 we have the story of King Hezekiah being told by the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die of the deathly illness which afflicted him. Hezekiah had been a good king, and he accepted the word spoken to him by Isaiah, the Lord’s spokesman, but he wept bitterly, crying to the Lord, praying, “Remember now, O Lord, I implore You, how I have walked before You in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” (2 Kings 20:3) Upon hearing the pleas of Hezekiah, the Lord sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah to tell him, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; indeed, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life.” (2 Kings 20:5-6) Can you imagine the joy that King Hezekiah must have felt? Who of us would not be delighted to hear the Lord tell us that He was going to extend our lives several years just moments after we had been told we would not survive? The Lord kept His promise, and Hezekiah recovered from his illness just as the Lord had said. He did live an additional 15 years. But that, unfortunately, is not the end of the story, for we also learn from the word of God the following in 2 Kings 21:1-2: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.” This means that he was born in the last fifteen years of Hezekiah’s life. It was during those additional fifteen years of life that brought Judah one of its worst kings ever, King Manasseh.
As was said, Hezekiah was a very good king. I cannot help but believe that had he been able to foresee the wickedness that would come from his progeny given to him during those additional 15 years of life, I believe he would doubtless have had no desire to recover from his sickness. God’s word tells us just how wicked the reign of Manasseh was, leading the nation of Judah down a path that was even more evil than the nations had been whom Israel had originally conquered when they took the Promised Land, even forcing his own son to be sacrificed alive in fire (2 Kings 21:6). But once again, this is not the end of the story. We also learn from God’s word that no man, regardless of how evil he is or the greatness and depravity of his sin, is beyond the redemption of God. God’s grace and His love are more powerful. 2 Chronicles 33:11-19 describes a remarkable repentance on the part of Manasseh. Because he and his people would not listen to the warnings of God, the Lord allowed the Babylonians to bind King Manasseh and take him as a captive to Babylon. There, when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers (2 Chronicles 33:12) and God answered his prayer and restored him to the throne. Manasseh then proved that his repentance was genuine by taking away the idols and the foreign gods from Jerusalem, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16).

Innovative Wins Nail Biter 22-20

The Innovative Staffing Solutions first and second grade boys basketball team eeked out a hard fought victory over Matt Romack Construction, winning 22-20. The victory was Innovative's second of the season, putting their mark at 2-0.

Donovan Ferguson scored 12 points for Innovative on 6 for 13 shooting from the field (0 for 2 beyond the arc). He had 5 steals and 9 rebounds while committing only 2 turnovers. Donovan had 2 blocked shots while also getting his firsts 2 assists of the season.

Donovan was held scoreless in the first half, but he exploded for all of his points in the second half as he drove towards the hoop instead of shooting from the outside.

Isaac Ray, Donovan's cousin, had 2 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. He was 0 for 1 shooting from the field.

Innovative's defense was not up to par this week as they gave up many easy shots as well as several second and third chance baskets as they failed time and time again to box out on the boards. They did a little better with their positioning at the start of the second half, but down the stretch they began getting out-rebounded which almost cost them the game. Additionally, they missed several lay-ups that could have given them a much bigger cushion, so this week's practice will be devoted to rebounding and lay-ups.

Basketball Is Back! Innovative Wins Big in Debut Game!

The Innovative first and second grade boys basketball team started off the fall season in spectacular fashion as they defeated Mars Pet Care 31-10 on Saturday, November 1, 2008.
Donovan Ferguson led all scorers with 13 points on 6 for 15 shooting from the field, including 1 for 2 from 3 point land. He also cleared off 7 boards while getting 2 blocked shots. Donovan committed 2 turnovers while garnering 5 steals.
Donovan's first cousin and best friend, Isaac Ray, ignited the team by getting two quick steals early in the contest. He ended up with 5 steals in all. He pulled down 1 rebound and he committed 1 turnover while shooting 0 for 2 from the field.
It was the team's defense that keyed the offensive surge. Donovan and Isaac were smothering their opponents like stink on skunk with their defensive pressure, leading the Mars squad to commit many turnovers that led to easy breakaway baskets for Innovative. The team is so defensively oriented that Isaac's tight man-to-man defense was seen to carry over even when he and his team were on offense!

Football and Soccer Season Come To a Close

Donovan had a very successful debut season playing soccer this fall. He turned out to be highly talented playing the game, with defense being his specialty. He scored a couple of goals while garnering four assists for his team that ended up with a 5-2 record, but it really was on the defensive side of play that Donovan shone. He played goalie most of the time, and he was probably the best goalie in the league.
I was surprisingly asked to coach this team as I am the first to admit that soccer is not my cup of tea. Baseball and basketball I know well and understand, but I had not been around soccer since I was in the fifth grade. I was quite good at it then, but that has been three and a half decades ago! So I was very pleased to have the kids finish with a 5-2 record. Although as I said soccer had not been my preferred sport, coaching it and watching my sons play it this season has made me come to appreciate it much more.

Damien's flag football team finished with a record of 5-0-1. They ended on a five game winning streak. Their only "blemish" was their first game of the year in which they gave up two touchdowns with under four minutes of play, settling for a tie.
Damien played very well all season. He was a stalwart on the defensive side, making many "tackles" that prevented the other teams from scoring. He also was one of his team's best blockers as can be seen in this photo to the left. He opened up many holes for his teammates to make several big plays.
Damien was also very good when he was used at quarterback, running back and receiver. He scored three touchdowns, one coming from each of these positions just mentioned, and he also scored on two point conversions twice, one while running the ball in and the coming from a completed catch of a pass. This was Damien's last year for flag football, and I he is looking forward to putting on the pads and suiting up for tackle football next year.

Daniel played soccer for the first time this year, foregoing American style tackle football in favor of soccer. I was a bit surprised when I learned that Daniel was not going to play football. I assumed he was going to play football again this year because he had such an outstanding season last year. I finally asked him why he did not want to play football, and he replied, "I felt I was going to miss church too much, and I did not want to do that." Our congregation assembles for mid-week Bible study on Wednesday nights, and Daniel would have had a few games scheduled for that time as well. I was quite impressed that he made this decision on his own. He is only 11, about to turn 12, but his commitment to the Lord is genuine and highly commendable.
Daniel had an outstanding season playing soccer. He had quite a number of goals as well as assists, but where he was most valuable was when he was playing goalie. His coach told me that he had never seen a goalie as gifted as Daniel was at his age. His team finished the season with a 6-1 record. They easily could have gone 7-0 but they lost their first game 7-6 after leading 5-1 at half time. Daniel played goalie in the first half, and he scored the team's only goal in the second half. None of the other games were even close as they ran the table after that initial disappointing loss.

The Cosmic Bubble

A few months ago I ran across an interesting story in which a new theory in the field of astrophysics was emerging, and it was that the planet Earth was possibly located inside of a gigantic "cosmic bubble." What intrigued me the most about this new theory was the following statement made by researcher Timothy Clifton of Oxford University in England:
"This idea that we live in a void would really be a statement that we live in a special place," Clifton told SPACE.com. "The regular cosmological model is based on the idea that where we live is a typical place in the universe. This would be a contradiction to the Copernican principle."

You see, the Copernican principle states, in brief, that our place in the universe is not special. When Nicholas Copernicus argued that it made much more sense for the Earth to be revolving around the sun than vice versa, it revolutionized science. Since then, most theories have to pass the Copernican test. If they require our planet to be unique, or our position to be exalted, the ideas often seem unlikely and are routinely rejected. Hence, theories involving ideas such as "dark matter" and "dark energy" have been postulated to try and explain the apparent acceleration of the universe as it is expanding. However, if the "cosmic bubble" theory is correct, then items in space could look farther away than they really are and there would be no need to rely on "dark energy" as an explanation for certain astronomical observations.

But if we happened to be in a portion of the universe with less matter in it than what is normal throughout the universe, then the space-time field around us would be different than it is outside of the "cosmic bubble," because matter warps space-time. Light traveling from an object such as a supernova outside our "cosmic bubble" would appear to be dimmer because the light would diverge more than we would expect once it got inside our void. "If we lived in a very large under-density," said Clifton, "then the space-time itself wouldn't be accelerating. It would just be that the observations, if interpreted in the usual way, would look like they were."

Although it is true that the Earth does orbit the sun, the Copernican principle did give rise to the idea that the Earth was not a special world, but that it just "happened." This meant that mankind was also simply an "accident," and we held no place of honor in the universe. But all of this runs counter to what we are told in God's word. God says we are special because we were made in His image, and this world was given to us as a gift from Him. We were so special that God was made in the image of man in the form of Jesus Christ so that we can be redeemed by His shed blood.

Is it not amazing how often science actually confirms God's holy word, in spite of their best efforts to the contrary to deny His existence?