Sticky Grenades

In World War II the allied forces (America, British, etc.) invented a weapon know as the “sticky grenade.” It was designed so that it would stick to anything. The idea was to throw the grenade. It would stick and blow up. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it never was successful because of one fatal flaw. It tended to stick to the person trying to throw it!

This laughable failure reminds me of an Old Testament story I call, “Haman’s Noose.” Haman was a high official in ancient Persia. He had power, prestige, and wealth, but he felt slighted by Mordecai, a simple Jew who would not honor him. To get even with Mordecai, he had a 75′ high gallows made so he could have him hanged on it. (Esther 5:14)

Two chapters later the Bible tells us, “They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.” (7:10)  Haman’s Noose turned into a “Sticky Grenade” that blew up on him.

Haman’s “sticky grenade” is not unusual. The Bible warns us that what we do will come back to haunt us. Hosea 8:7 warns that people “Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” In a similar vein Ecclesiastes 10:8 says, “Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.”

You are not going to build a 75′ high gallows, but any lashing out at another person will lead you to your own gallows, your own “sticky grenade.” A few years back the Tokyo police reported the arrest of a man who was upset over being denied entrance to graduate school 14 years earlier. Since the day he was denied entrance he averaged making 10 phone calls a night, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Every call was to the professor whom he blamed for his lost opportunity. Those 14 years of annoying phone calls totaled up to over 50,000 calls! Who was hurt? Of course the professor was annoyed, but the man obsessed with a presumed wrong wasted 14 years of his life. What goes around comes around. How do I know? The Bible tells me so. “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27)

~Lonnie Davis

Use your gift!

We all remember the first time.

The first time we rode a bike.

The first time we fell in love.

The first time we kissed a girl (or a guy).

I remember my first sermon. I was in the tenth grade and it was a Wednesday night class. I had forty-five minutes to speak. That is a lot of time for a first sermon. I had no one to help me write the sermon so you can imagine it was pretty bad. I had no one to warn me about how quickly time flies. There was no clock on the wall and I had no watch so I spoke and spoke and spoke. I remember finishing the sermon and thinking that I had not spoken long enough. I did what any good speaker would have done. I started over again from the first point. When I finished preaching the sermon a second time, I still thought I had not preached long enough so I had a good strategy. I started at the first for a third time. Part way through the third time the teacher interrupted me with ““class is over.” Had he not done so, I might have preached for days.

 I remember other sermons from those teenage days. I would go into the empty church building and preach my sermon over and over to empty pews. I faithfully followed that practice for the first six years of my ministry. For the ten years after that, I followed that practice on many occasions.

 In 1 Peter 4:10-11, Peter urges us, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

 There are many misunderstanding about what it means to use your gift.

It does not mean do what is easy.

It does not mean do what is hard.

It means do what you can do. Work at it and it will get better. Work at it and it will get easier. Work at it and it will become more useful to other people. Some public speakers think they are good because they have the “gift of gab.” Teachers and speakers who get by on the gift of gab usually just have the “gift of boredom.”

 Teachers and speakers are no different than other folks. To be helpful to others, you have to work at developing your talent.

Preach to empty pews. Lead empty seats in songs. Teach to empty chairs.

Bake pies and cakes for neighbors. Teach little children about life. Do it again and again. Even if you think you are pretty good, you will get better.

By doing this you will be using “whatever gift he [or she] has received to serve others.”

That is the goal!

 ~Lonnie Davis

Two Amazing Stories

Over the years, I have discovered many amazing and useful stories. Today I share two of those stories with you. I hope you find them both interesting and enlightening.

  1. Make Sure you Have the Horses

A bunch of really smart people got together in 1880 to predict the future, according to Jeff Stibel in his intriguing book Breakpoint. These experts were called on to predict how the rapidly growing New York City would manage into the next century and beyond.

The prognosis was not positive!

NYC was a major source of American innovation in 1880. Skyscrapers, subways, stock exchanges — and it was doubling in size every 10 years. The experts were concerned by this growth, because they projected by 1980, you’d need six million horses to transport all the people who would live there.

2. Write it Down

In Plato’s Phaedrus, the earliest and best-known critique of writing, Socrates warns his companion Phaedrus that writing will only make human memory weaker:

This invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. (Plato 1925, 274e–275a)

Hmmm. We remember this, of course, because Plato wrote it down.

Four Causes of Doubt

I long for great faith. I want to be strong in all circumstances. I love faith, yet sometimes I doubt. Why?

In today’s writing we will see four reasons we doubt.

I call it

Four Causes if doubt

1. Some doubt when they trust the wrong things.

The Israelites are warned not to trust in weapons and allies. Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen.” The Lord is not telling us not to build an army, but rather that an army is not a substitute for God. He ends this verse by warning against trusting armies, but not looking ““to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.”

2. Some doubt when their dreams are crushed.

Job had everything taken from him. Even his children were taken. In spite of losing everything Job says, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)

3. Some doubt when death comes.

The Christians in Thessalonica expected Jesus to come very, very soon. When their loved ones were dying they worried and doubted. In answer to this doubt Paul wrote the beautiful text on death and His second coming. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). After sharing those great words Paul wrote, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (18)

4. We Doubt when the winds blow.
Most of us remember the great story of Peter waking on water. He had the faith to walk on water, but “when he saw the wind” he let fear drain his faith.

Winds have a way of facilitating doubt. Anyone can be full of faith when there is no wind or storms, but faith is true faith when it does not doubt in the midst of the winds. Seeing Peter’s doubt Jesus asked, “You of little faith…why did you doubt?”

All of us will struggle with faith and doubt, Moses did, Peter did and so do I. If we will learn to lean on him we will build that faith and doubt will ebb away. Faith grows.

~Lonnie Davis

Do It Anyway!

It was the first Sunday after the crucifixion of Jesus. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome gathered spices so they could finish the job of anointing the body of Jesus. Just after sunrise they started toward the tomb of Jesus. As the women were nearing the tomb they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:3)
 The stone in front of the tomb was heavy and these women were not able to move it. They went to the tomb anyway. They did not know who would roll away the stone. They went to the tomb anyway. There were soldiers to guard the tomb. They went to the tomb anyway.
Even the casual observer would say that these women, though they were well intended, did not have all their “ducks in a row.” Why didn’t they get men to go with them to roll away the stone? Why didn’t they ask the rulers if the soldiers would move the stone or else let someone move the stone? They did not have the answers, but they went anyway.
 Israel left Egypt with clothes and shoes. They may have had enough to last them for the few weeks journey to the Promised Land, but not enough for 40 years of desert wanderings. It did not matter. God is an anyway God. “During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.” (Deuteronomy 29:5)
 Israel did not worry about shoes as they left Egypt. They trusted the God whom they served. The women did not fail to go to the tomb because they did not have the answer to the stone. They all started the task and trusted that God would work things out as they went along. 
If there are stones in the way or shoes that need to be replaced, just start anyway. God will provide. Tackle the task in faith. God is the “Anyway God.”    
~Lonnie Davis

Death’s Warning

Today we take another look at the Back of my Bible. These are stories that I used to write in the back of my Bible so that I could have them whenever I needed them. I first read this story more than 30 years ago and it haunted me then. This story may seem like a downer, but it is not. It merely serves to remind us that we are not made for here.

Someone wrote:

According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition–that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him.

Weeks winged away into months, and months into years. Then one bitter winter evening, as the man sat thinking about all his possessions, Death suddenly entered the room and tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, the man cried out, “You’re here so soon and without warning! I thought we had an agreement.”

Death replied, “I’ve more than kept my part. I’ve sent you many messengers. Look in the mirror and you’ll see some of them.” As the man complied, Death whispered, “Notice your hair! Once it was full and black, now it is thin and white. Look at the way you cock your head to listen to me because you can’t hear very well. Observe how close to the mirror you must stand to see yourself clearly. Yes, I’ve sent many messengers through the years. I’m sorry you’re not ready, but the time has come to leave.”

 Lonnie Davis

Favorite HeartWord – Ephesians 3:20

Today I will begin sharing my favorite HeartWords from the Bible – Verses that have meant a lot to me over the years. I will be numbering these, but with God’s Word I really have no number 100 or 75. Like you I love them all, but I number them for conventions sake. Today is

Favorite HeartWord number 100 – Ephesians 3:20

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

What I love about this verse is that in only 22 words, we learn so much about God and prayer and what he does for us.

Read the verse again and you will see six great truths.

1. God is ABLE. “Now unto him who is able…”

2. God is able to do ALL we ask. “Able to do …all we ask.”

3. God is able to do MORE than we ask. “Able to do…more than all we ask.”

4. God is able to do IMMEASURABLE more. “Able to do immeasurable more.”

5. God is able to do not just what we ask, but all we imagine. “All we ask or imagine.”

6. God has all these things at work in us.  “According to his power that is at work within us.”

Since the first time I really heard and understand this verse, it has become one of my  “go-to” verses.  One cannot read and believe this verse and have any doubts about prayer or how much God is willing and able to do for us.

Lonnie Davis

An Accidental Home Burglary

Every now and then I come across a true story that has a great lesson for all of us to learn. Such a story is the following. 

Waylon Prendergast, 37, of Tampa, Florida, committed a spur-of-the-moment robbery while on his way home from a late-night drinking session. A very drunk Mr. Prendergast forced his way into the house through an open upstairs window, filling a suitcase with cash and valuables before setting the living room on fire to cover his tracks. He then escaped through the back door and made his way home, chuckling all the way. 

Only as he turned the corner into his own street and discovered three fire engines outside his house, did he realize that in his drunkenness he had, in fact, burgled and ignited his own property. His comment was: “I had no idea I had so many valuable possessions.”

I hope none of us can ever say, “I had no idea I had so many…blessings.”

Lonnie Davis

Dog BItes and Prayer

A father’s life is full of surprises. The other day I read the story of a father who walked up on his son and his dog. The dog, a full grown Labrador named Kelly and the four-year-old boy named Josh had a wonderful relationship. Though the dog and the boy loved each other, the dog often had to put up with the boy. Josh loved to hug the dog. Kelly would take as much as he could, but would invariably turn around and nip at the boy to make him turn lose.

One day the father walked up just as Josh had Kelly in one of his big hugs. He had his arms around the dog and his head tucked into the dog’s body so that Kelly could not bite him so easily. As Dad walked by he noticed that Josh’s eyes were closed and heard him say a little prayer, “Dear God, please don’t let Kelly bite me.”

It was cute but the dad could not miss a chance to teach a lesson about prayer. “Josh,” the father said, “God would be more apt to answer your prayer, if you would let go of the dog.”

We too are like the little boy holding on to the dog that he knows will bite him and praying that the dog won’t bite. We do things that will bite us, but don’t want to feel the bite. What do we do to stop the biting? We pray. I am all for prayer. It is the greatest thing in the world, but usually the answer is prayer plus something else. That something else is to stop doing the thing that is going to bring us pain.

We pray for a happy marriage and then neglect one another. We pray for a closer walk with God but do not read His Word. We pray for peace and live life at a frantic pace.

On and on the list could go. Each of us should examine the things that we pray for and then decide what we can do to help make the prayers come true. Keep on praying, but do your part too.

Lonnie Davis

Caterpillars Don’t Die

The story is told of a quite happy caterpillar who found that his life was
changing. He noticed that things weren’t like they used to be. Finally one
day he began to crawl out of his skin. He was quite surprised to see that
though he was changing, he was still okay.  Soon he found himself a beautiful butterfly.

He was no longer bound to the trails of the earth below, but could fly on the winds above. He was no longer the ordinary looking caterpillar, but was now a beautiful butterfly. He soared above, looking down on the old shell that was still down below. He thought how lucky he was to have made such a marvelous change.

As he looked below, he saw some of his old caterpillar friends, crawling
slowly across the old trails that he had walked. They found his old shell
and began to weep. He tried to shout to them that all was well, that he was
even happier, but he did not seem to be able to reach them. From his lofty
position, he looked down on those he had left behind and watched as they
gathered around his discarded shell and wept.

He could not tell, them, but leaving the old shell behind was not the end,
it was just the beginning of the real beauty that God had in store for him.
He knew that someday, they would join him and understand that caterpillars dont die, they just become beautiful butterflies.

Anon