A Story with a Lesson
The donkey told the tiger, “The grass is blue.”
The tiger replied, “No, the grass is green.”
The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion.
As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn’t it true that the grass is blue?”
The lion replied: “If you believe it is true, the grass is blue.”
The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him.”
The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 3 days of silence.”
The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating ′′The grass is blue, the grass is blue…”
The tiger asked the lion, “Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?”
The lion replied, ′′You’ve known and seen the grass is green.”
The tiger asked, ′′So why do you punish me?”
The lion replied, “That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green.
The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with an ass, and on top of that, you came and bothered me with that question just to validate something you already knew was true!”
The biggest waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn’t care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions.
Never waste time on discussions that make no sense. There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand.
Others who are blinded by ego, hatred and resentment, and the only thing that they want is to be right even if they aren’t.
Source: https://successminded.co/the-donkey-and-the-tiger/
Giving God some Elbow Room
We have so much to learn, don’t we? I know I do. Did you ever consider making room in your life for God to act? Haven’t we all boxed God into a particular way to interact with us?
We should give Him some “elbow room” to move more freely. We can often over-calculate or estimate when and how this or that could occur. As an accountant, I ran many “what if” scenarios in my younger years. It can drive others a little crazy. If you are not careful, you could overlook God and His plan. He always chooses when, where, and how He moves.
Do not look for God to come in a specific way but do look for Him. Be alert, but do not expect Him to move in a certain way or how He has done before. Learn this great lesson: At any minute, God may break through. There is always this element of surprise! Stay alert and remember, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8
~~~ a paraphrase from Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), My Utmost for His Highest, pg 35.
January 1st
Today, we stand on the verge of the unknown. 2025 lies before us, and we are going forward to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes, what new needs will arise? All our supply comes from the Lord God Almighty, whether or not we wish to acknowledge that. Remember this encouragement from years before, “The path ahead is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain. It is a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it from the beginning to the end of the year!”
—- a paraphrase of Deuteronomy 11:11-12; Streams in the Desert
The Wicked Among Us
In our society today, there are people who we could classify as ‘wicked.‘ That word seems like a harsh description to our sensible ears and imaginations. However, the Bible doesn’t pull back on any punches for those guilty of such acts. Perhaps, we shouldn’t either.
Notice the description used for the wicked in Psalm 10. These folks deliberately target the weak and poor to take advantage of them. If elected or appointed to a high office, they promise or boast of great things they will provide but deliver nothing. These people are arrogant, greedy, and profane. Lacking any sense of shame or morality, they possess evil desires and celebrate deeds done secretly to increase their wealth, control, and power.
These same people curse and insult the one true God by expressing contempt for godly things and even the Lord Himself. Publicly, they say the right things at times, but in secret, they are full of mockery and offend both the Creator and those who honor Him. Even those who disregard the sanctity of human life never admit that God exists. They have become fools in all their efforts to make something of themselves to self-admire.
Psalm 14:1
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
As we move closer to 2024 and the election season, study what candidates say and don’t say. Ask God for discernment and wisdom to make right choices in your candidates for office.
A Believer’s Death – Gone From My Sight
What follows is a depiction of a believer’s death that should be told at memorial services. It is a poem written by Henry van Dyke.
Gone From My Sight
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other. Then, someone at my side says; “There, she is gone!”
“Gone where?” Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There, she is gone!” There are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout; “Here she comes!”
And that is dying.
Bill Wyler
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