A few days ago some workmen removed a hundred-year old time capsule entombed in the limestone wall of the DeKalb County Courthouse. In that box were items placed there 100 years ago when the courthouse was first constructed. I was interested in the find since my great grandfather, Isaac M. Diehl, was one of the County Commissioners at the time.
They are getting ready to replace the time capsule with items of today to be sealed for the next 100 years. There will be business cards, papers, and even a CD from a Christian singing group. But no Bible. So, one of the area pastors purchased a new NIV Bible and went to the courthouse for approval to have it included. Someone at the courthouse thought that since this was the 21st century maybe it would be more appropriate to include a copy of the Koran.
So, the pastor contacted me for approval to have the DeKalb County Ministerial Association (I’m currently the President) endorse having the NIV Bible included, thinking that might have more clout than just one pastor. Obviously, he got our vote. Great idea.
What do you think about including a copy of the Koran?
Tags: Bible, Koran, time
Most of us don’t appreciate the time it takes to achieve anything of lasting value. You’ve got to be willing to pay your dues.
James Watt spent 20 years laboring to perfect the steam engine, which changed the world. William Harvey worked day and night for 8 years to demonstrate how blood circulated through the human body, which changed the way doctors practiced medicine. Then it took him another 25 years to convince the medical establishment he was right. And it took Henry Ford’s idea of the assembly line a decade to catch on during the Industrial Revolution, which changed the way factories worked.
Anything of lasting value takes time and a lot of correcting along the way. Its like that in our spiritual lives, as well. God is at work developing something of lasting value in your life. Hang in there; you can make it!
Tags: time, value
I just got back from visiting Pastor Sean at Parkview Hospital. He is having a minor surgery to correct a physical problem that is increasing with age. But, it will keep him bedfast for the next 7-10 days. Can you imagine laying in bed for over a week? He doesn’t like the idea, either. But, we have to do what we have to do.
Set-backs are a part of life. Chuck Swindoll wrote a book on that entitled Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back. All the people Jesus touched had a need. There was a set-back in their lives, and Jesus stepped in to change things in their lives.
Set-backs are sometimes created by God to slow us down to His timing. If God must work in someone else’s life to meet the need in our lives, its possible we can get ahead of God and miss His timing. These special God-moments are called kairos moments. We’ve got to keep our eyes open for kairos moments daily. So, don’t get ahead of God.
Tags: time, trouble
Several years ago the pastor of a church in a neighboring community and I were visiting. He had come from a rather large church which was led by his Senior Pastor. He had been accepted as the pastor of a church with an elder-led system. He had been their pastor only about two months and was complaining about how the Board thought it was their job to tell him what to do. I just listened.
He announced his plan to change the governmental system of this church so that it became a pastor-led church. He was insistent that only his way was the scriptural way to govern a church. I encouraged him to slow down and give this transition time, but he was adamant that the Board step down. Sure enough, he lead a challenge publicly to change the governmental structure of the church. And within the month he was moving back home to Michigan, fired from his position.
He may have been correct about the scriptural way a church should be governed, but he was too new to be trusted, and had not gained sufficient clout to influence the people. He was without a job and the church was without a pastor. He tried to change the value system of that church and didn’t give it the time necessary.
Have you seen sad stories like this?
Tags: Change, church, patience, time
Today is June 6. It is the 64th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy to take back Europe from Nazi control. It was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, yet it took nearly a year to accomplish that victory.
God promised the Promised Land to the Israelites, but it took them awhile to take it away from the natives of the land.
Has God given you a good beginning but it looks like your spiritual life has bogged down? Remember that true liberation takes awhile. But we cross every bridge one day at a time. This is not a time to get discouraged and quit, like so many I’ve seen, when the going gets tough. We have marching orders to become overcomers. So, go for it!
Tags: D-Day, faithfulness, time