The Rest of the Story

The Rest of the Story

Growing up in Rochester, New York, our local newpaper, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, had a funny, somewhat sarcastic column written by a lady named Erma Bombeck that I will never forget. She could take everyday life situations, cause you to see the humor in it, and somehow put the seriousness of the subject matter in perspective. You know it had to be good for her weekly article to keep my interest through my teen years and beyond.

But something happened yesterday that has really changed my appreciation of Erma Bombeck, I read something about her life. And as Paul Harvey says, "Now, for the rest of the story".

Her story starts with her college guidance counselor telling her to "forget about writing, find something you might be good at". It seems Erma refused to give up. She tells about a book signing that only attracted two people, one who wanted directions to the restroom and one who wanted to buy the table. But once again, it seems Erma refused to give up. And her not giving up paid off as she eventually published 15 books and was named one of the 25 most influential women in America. She went from writing obituaries on her first job to writing a column that was carried by over 900 newspapers 18 years later. And she ended up writing that column for close to 30 years.

What an encouragement for you and I to not give up when it seems that our best efforts are not succeeding as we would like, to not give up when it seems that what the Lord has promised us will never come to pass. Erma's personal life had it's troubles and difficulties too. During the 30 years of publishing her newspaper column, she buried two babies, faced breast cancer and a mastectomy, and experienced kidney failure. Yet none of that caused her to give up. And none of that caused her to lose her sense of humor and her ability to keep life in perspective.

In the Bible, David didn't give up when everyone turned against him in I Samuel 30. And that was after many years of running from Saul and wondering if God's promises, spoken 13 years earlier, would ever come to pass. Abraham didn't give up when every natural circumstance told him that he and Sarah were too old to have children. He didn't give up because "he considered Him faithful who had made the promise". Hebrews 10:36 says that "you need to persevere (not give up) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."

Going back to the 60's when I started reading Erma Bombeck's columns, I had no idea that I was enjoying the fruits of determination, the fruits of a life that refused to give up on her dreams. And 40 years later, it makes a powerful impression that "though the vision tarries, wait for it, it will surely come" (Habakkuk 2:3)

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Blind Spots

Blind Spots

Driving up behind the 18-wheeler that was in the passing lane on Highway 401 in Canada, I got close enough to read the sign on the back of the trailer "Please Don't Drive In My Blind Spot". I think we all know those spots where a car or a truck can be hidden from our mirrors, the back left corner and the back right corner, the spots that we have to turn our heads to check before changing lanes. Blind spots are something I can relate to. Since being diagnosed with glaucoma and losing some of my peripherial vision, I've had to be more aware of my blind spots than ever before. But not only do we have natural blind spots but spiritual ones as well.

The story is told of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson going camping. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they laid down for the night and fell asleep. During the night, Holmes woke up, nudged his friend awake and said, "Watson, what do you see?" "I see millions and millions of stars" replied Watson. "What does that tell you?" Holmes asked. Watson replied by talking about the galaxies, the planets and the constellations, and about how the heavens reveal how powerful our God must be. He then asked Holmes, "Why, what does it tell you?" to which Holmes answered, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen out tent." Isn't is amazing how close someone, or something, can be and we still can't see it.

In Psalm 19:12, David acknowledged his own blind spots when he prayed, "Lord, cleanse me from my secret faults". Like David, we can be blind to weaknesses in our lives, we can be blind to areas where our resistance is low, and we can be blind to areas where insecurities and fears have robbed us of our ability to see things clearly. At times, we can also be blind to how our behavior is hurting the people around us. But, thankfully, the Lord promised that he would "cause the blind eyes to see". Let's ask the Lord to do that in each of our lives, to open our eyes to see in the areas that have been hidden from us, our "blind spots".

And one last area, we can be blind to what God is doing in our lives. Just think, right now God might be doing something wonderul in your life, preparing you for great things ahead. Maybe you just have to turn your head a little, adjust where you're focusing, and you'll see the hand of the Lord making you into a vessel of honor, fit for the Master's use.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Knock On Wood

Knock On Wood

The almost nightly occurence would start with my dad recounting a story of someone having a problem or getting into trouble. My mom would then make a comment somewhat to the effect of "that'll never happen in our family". And then, almost simultaneously, they would both say "knock on wood" and knock on the kitchen table. My dad was a little more careful; he would knock under the table, on the real wood, no varnished finish for him when he was tempting fate.

If you're thinking it was only something our family did, consider this. In Finland, it's called "koputtaa puuta", in France "toucher du bois" and in Turkey "tahtaya vur". In Poland, it's very specific, "odpukac w niemalowane", which means knocking on unpainted wood. It seems that the Poles take no chances when it comes to saying something that is just a little prideful and might get you in trouble.

What really intrigues me though is how even the most unlikely person seems to realize that making a prideful statement can be dangerous. It's like acknowledging God even when you don't follow him or make him a part of your life. The Bible says that "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble". We want to be alert to when our words reveal an area of pride that has arisen in our hearts. We want to say like Paul 'there go I but for the grace of God".

As far as knocking on wood, I've adopted a new policy. When what I'm about to say might require a "knock on wood", I don't say it, plain and simple, it gets deleted before it ever comes out. But there's a lesson here that goes beyond knocking on wood. Our words have incredible power. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that "life and death are in the power of the tongue". Our words have the power to heal and the power to wound, the power to encourage and lift someone up, and the power to discourage and drag someone down.

What we say can and does make a big difference both in our lives and in the lives of others. Mark Twain said "I can live two months on a good compliment". No doubt we can all relate to that. Isaiah 50:4 speaks of "the word that sustains the weary". I want to challenge each one of us to use the power of our words to bring life and hope, strength and encouragement to those around us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Two Days

Two Days

The morning devotion at school started just like any other, teachers and staff making their way into the room one by one, clutching their morning coffee. When Linda announced the title of her devotion "Two Days Not To Worry About", my mind instantly started to race. My first thought was Christmas Day. I always worry about whether my family and friends will like the presents I got them, will the size be right,or the color, will they be disappointed because they were really counting on something else. Yup, one the two days had to be Christmas Day.

Well, if it was Jeopardy, I just lost $400 because the answer was "What are yesterday and tomorrow?" The unfortunate thing is I didn't hear anything else Linda said that morning; I was too busy thinking about the title . The first verse that came to mind was Philippians 3:13 where Paul writes about "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead". He was really encouraging us to forget all our yesterdays, the mistakes and failures on our part, the hurts and wounds from other people, and the disappointments of life when things haven't worked out as we hoped. And not just the far off ones, even the ones that happened yesterday at work or last night.

Paul himself had a past to put behind him, his persecution of believers in the days before His conversion. And even though he talked about it and learned from it, he refused to let his past absorb his attention or hinder his progress in the Lord. Are some of the hurts, disappointments and failures real and serious? Absolutely! But why let them rob us of the wonderful future God has planned for our lives. Many of us need a "manasseh experience", a once and for all putting of the past behind us. In Genesis Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh, which means to forget, and declared "God has caused me to forget all my trouble". Joseph had suffered much at the hands of his brothers but he made a conscious effort to forget the past and the result was that he was fruitful in everything he did. We need to make that same consious effort to let go of the past.

Remember the Beatles song Yesterday? One part of the song says this:

"There's a shadow hanging over me, O I believe in yesterday"

I believe today is your day to step out of the shadow of yesterday, of all your yesterdays, and begin to live a life filled with hope, with purpose and with expectation.

Pastor Joe
Gateway Church