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You no doubt have heard about the striking similarities between the lives and deaths of US presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Mr. Lincoln was elected to the US Congress in 1846, Mr. Kennedy in 1946. Lincoln became president in 1860, Kennedy in 1960. Both were succeeded by vice presidents with the name of Johnson. Lincoln’s assassin shot him in a theatre and fled to a warehouse. Kennedy’s assassin shot him from a warehouse and fled to a theatre. Both assassins were themselves killed before they could come to trial. There were other similarities as well.
We human beings share many similarities with one another, whether we are presidents, paupers, or anything in between. Some say that we all come into the world with nothing. That isn’t exactly true—we all come into the world with potential, possibilities for a great and meaningful life. And we don’t leave with nothing. We can’t take anything of the world around us with us—money, things we have accumulated, even fame—that’s true; however, we can take the rewards of time—long or short time spent in God’s service.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
What the Master of Life says applies to all of us—whether presidents or parcel carriers, young, middle–aged, or seniors.
Going off the Map
February 16
Alexander the Great was arguably the ancient world’s greatest general. Alexander’s troops had seized, at one point, all of Asia Minor including Egypt and had overthrown the Persian empire of Darius III. Pushing right on into India, his men refused to go farther. Faced with barriers like the Himalayas, they discovered that they had literally marched off the map. The only maps they had were Greek maps, showing only a part of Asia Minor. The rest was blank space. There were no guideposts to the way ahead.
Have you ever gone off the map? Have you come to a crossroads in a strange place and didn’t know which way to turn? We all have, at some time or other, I’m sure. I well remember an experience while driving with a friend in a mountainous part of Kentucky where we came to one of those crossroads. There were two road signs, neither of which meant anything to me. One was marked “Pleasant Valley” and the other “Gunpowder.” Quite a choice! Fortunately, I didn’t have to make the choice since my friend knew which road to take.
Isn’t it like that on life’s road? When you come to a fork in the way or when you go off the map into the unknown, you would be completely lost without such a friend. Many do have such a Friend—His name is Jesus.
Jesus put the way of life in perspective for all people in all times: “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6a).
You cannot go off the map of life. Jesus is the map.
How Do You Stop a Volcano?
February 17
Dr. Harold Bosley of New York City was one of the better–known preachers of the United States some years ago. I heard him preach in Toronto and remember one striking illustration he used. His wife said to him that their fourteen–year–old son was going to have a party in their home and was inviting twenty of his friends. What do you do with that many fourteen–year–old boys? Bosley thought a good film might help. He finally located one that he judged would entertain the boys— The Birth of a Volcano —and it did. It showed the beginnings of a devastating volcano erupting in Mexico. Before it blew, a peasant was shown working in the fields as the mountain began to warm up and heave. In the middle of the picture, a little girl was seen running in terror from the molten lava. At that point, Bosley’s son turned to him and said, “Can’t you stop it, Dad?”
And Bosley mused, “How do you stop a volcano?”
How do you stop a volcano?
In effect, that’s the question being asked by the thinking leaders of our world . . . for surely the mountain is beginning to heat up and heave, and at any time the lava could flow.
See how the following Scripture fits. Looking down the avenue of time, Paul writes in a letter to Timothy: “There will be terrible times . . . People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good” (2 Timothy 3:1–3).
And the list goes on.
How do you stop a volcano? Human beings cannot—obviously. Yet as I was pondering that question, it came to me that the Easter story had begun with an earthquake, a violent one as Matthew describes it. “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone . . . The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:1–2, 5–6a).
How encouraging for today. He lives!
Try Something You Can’t Do
February 18
Dr. E. Stanley Jones, famous long time missionary of yesteryear to India, was asked how he maintained his spiritual life—what was his secret? Dr. Jones’ reply essentially came down to two things. One was by keeping up his prayer time, and the second was by taking on a task that he could not do—deliberately so—and thus having to rely on the resources of God.
The secret of a serene and successful spiritual life then is twofold. There is first a definite need for prayer.
Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s greatest Presidents, said: “I have been drawn many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.”4
David the psalmist writes: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm 145:18–19).
Remember the second phase of E. Stanley Jones’ secret for maintaining a meaningful spiritual life: try a task you know you cannot do. If you cannot do it, God can and will empower you to do it. That’s the secret, you see: dependence on God.
As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the cross, He said to His Heavenly Father: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).
And as Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
The secret of successful living is as follows: prayer and attempting tasks for God that you cannot do but God can through you.
Why Not Ask?
February 19
Sometimes in life, and particularly more as we get older, we become negative. We too often assume that things aren’t going to work out, so
