Posted July 28th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Little things are extremely important. We tend to live in a world that is bent on bigness yet all the big things are made up of a lot of little things.
A little mistake can be costly. In the New Testament James writes about how a little match can set a whole forest on fire. A little rudder can misguide a huge ship. A little bit in a horse’s mouth determines which way the horse goes. Read James 3:3, 4.
Neil Alexander is the Publisher and President of the United Methodist Publishing House. He is a tremendous leader in the United Methodist Church. I am privileged to serve on that board.
Neil is a brilliant writer and speaker. He is an excellent businessman. He is an articulate theologian. He is extremely good at human relationships. But even the greatest people sometimes make a small mistake. Let me give you an example.
The United Methodist Publishing House is located in downtown Nashville. There is a lot of development in downtown Nashville and the property of the Publishing House could be prime property for some of that new development.
Recently at 9:58 a.m. the members of the board received an e-mail from Neil saying “In the win some/lose some category we have learned that our 201 8th Avenue headquarters is not out of the running in the race for the location for a new downtown hotel.”
That was exciting news. The Tower Investments was looking for property for Omni Hotels for a convention center hotel. They were expecting to pay about $20 million for 2.5 acres. What an opportunity!
In sending the e-mail, Neil got every word and every letter right except one. He accidently hit a “t” instead of a “w” in the word “now”. His e-mail said “our 201 8th Avenue headquarters is not out of the running.” It should have read “our 201 8th Avenue headquarters is now out of the running.” He went on to report that Omni was buying another piece of property nearby.
What is the value of just one letter in a long e-mail? You were really talking about $20 million, but one letter is the difference in being “in the running, or out of the running.”
A misplaced comma or the addition or omission of a letter or a word, can change the whole context of the message. It would be nice if the bank would add just an extra 0 to my account, or put a comma in the wrong place.
Even brilliant people make small mistakes. Even people, who are great writers and are in charge of publishing, can make a simple keyboard mistake.
I received another e-mail at 10:15 a.m. indicating the mistake. Neil apologized for the mistake and wrote “my fingers and mind were not in sync.”
Neil could have placed blame elsewhere – maybe the key on the computer temporarily changed, or the letters got switched in cyberspace, or he was distracted, or… He didn’t make excuses. He just admitted the mistake and corrected it. That’s the way to handle mistakes.
It made me feel better about myself to know that a man I admire so much could make a little mistake like that. It made me feel even better about him when I saw the way he handled it!
Posted July 23rd, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Marvin Byrd is a middle school teacher at Lilburn Middle School in Lilburn, Georgia. He is 51-years-old.
A few years ago a 45-year-old teacher by the name of William Johnson visited the school on a job interview. It was Byrd that gave Johnson a tour of the school. They found out that they both had a lot in common. They were both second career teachers. Both of them had a yearning to help struggling students.
Byrd revealed that the school principal asked Byrd, “Do you want me to hire him?” He said, “Yes.” Byrd became something of a mentor to Johnson. He made every effort to provide him with the things he would need to be successful in teaching. He did an outstanding job.
Will Johnson learned something about Byrd recently when he discovered that Byrd needed a kidney transplant. Byrd had exhausted his list of potential family kidney donors. He had been posting on different organ sharing websites, but no person had stepped forward who was a match.
Byrd went around the world looking for a new kidney. It turned out that his donor was just down the hall in his school – the teacher he had help recommend for hiring.
Johnson was not a good candidate as he was extremely afraid of needles, afraid of surgery, and didn’t like hospitals – but he was needed. He gave Marvin Byrd a new kidney.
Recently Byrd and Johnson left Piedmont Hospital. They were wearing matching transplant T-shirts and they shared a lot of tears together before checking out of their rooms. They were now “new best friends.”
This current example of selfless love and compassion reminds me that oftentimes we go around the world looking for something, then discover it is really right down the hall. Most of our long searches in life end when what we really are looking for is pretty close to our fingertips.
This also reminds me that there are a lot of people around us who need something. Initially Johnson was not even aware of the need that Byrd had. When he discovered the need, he acted on it.
How many people around us today have a tremendous need to know the saving grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the love and compassion that God wants to express through us, and the hope that we can offer to people? Look around. The needs all around us are great. We need to step up to the plate and offer what we have.
I wonder what would have happened if Byrd had not recommended Johnson for the teaching job? What would have happened if he had not been nice and positive and encouraging to a second career teacher? I am in no way suggesting that we do things for others in order to have some future payoff – but the investment that he initially made in the life of Johnson came back to him in a way that literally saved his life.
Maybe there is somebody that has done something extremely good for us that we need to “pay back.” The Bible teaches us that we are able to love only because we have first been loved by God. We need to pay that love back by reaching out to God’s children.
We also need to be organ donors. I have personally seen the results of that wonderful program. There is a huge organ shortage today for both kidneys and for livers.
One day Will Johnson called Marvin Byrd on his cell phone and left him a message saying that he had been tested, his kidney was a match and he would give it to his friend. Byrd said, “I still have that message on my phone. We were all screaming with joy.”
Good news is something we want to keep – and share. What good news and selfless act of love can we show to somebody today who has a tremendous need? We might be scared, and uncomfortable, but we just might need to take the risk of stepping out and donating something precious that we have that can mean the difference in this life and eternity for somebody else.
Posted July 12th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Investments today demand more personal attention than most anytime in recent years. People are keeping close tabs on their investments.
You have invested in the John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries. You have made investments in prayer and financial resources. I want to give you a snapshot of your investment during the first six months of 2010.
Through your prayers God has opened some huge doors for this ministry. Those doors continue to open. I am learning everyday to pray more expectantly and be ready to walk through doors where I did not even know that doors existed.
Your financial investment is extremely important. One of the best things we have done this year was to be approved by the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability). This is one of the most stringent groups of which a non-profit religious organization can join. It took one whole year for us to complete all the necessary documents, track record, etc. There are seven different areas in which a non-profit group must comply. Our ministry was accepted in the first half of this year.
To show you the importance of ECFA, many people in groups will not give to a ministry unless it has been approved by the ECFA. When I served as Senior Pastor at Frazer, if a request came for financial giving and the organization was a part of ECFA, we knew that we did not have to spend any time “investigating” the financial accountability of that organization. Very seldom would groups who were not a part of ECFA be accepted for mission giving.
ECFA has an excellent website which is listed as www.ECFA.org.
My goal is to provide more and more training for pastors who can not afford registration, fees, expenses, etc. During the first six months of this year I have been able to participate in training for over 2,000 pastors who had to pay nothing for the training event.
These funds come from your financial contributions. They also come from honorariums where I speak to other groups. All honorariums go to the John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries.
Here is a brief summary of how your investments of prayer and finances have been used.
– Pastors’ Conferences conducted:
Pastors’ Conferences in Buenos Aires and Cordoba, Argentina
Congress on Evangelism – New Orleans, Louisiana
Billion Soul Interdenominational Conference – Orlando, Florida
Guntersville, Alabama District Ministers Conference
Elizabeth City North Carolina District Ministers
Montgomery, Alabama District Ministers
St. Louis, Missouri District Ministers
Danville, Virginia District Ministers
60 Pastors in Alabama –West Florida and North Alabama Conferences invited to participate July 2010 – June 2011, in “next level ministry” training experience.
- Preached 41 times.
– Ministered in 23 different cities – 10 different states.
– Preached at the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference Memorial Service.
– Preached at Renewal Group Banquet at Northern Illinois Conference in Chicago.
– Had daily radio devotional on WLWI.
– Wrote a weekly blog.
– Conducted 4 funerals and 5 weddings.
– Spoke at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce meeting and River Region Hotel Hospitality meeting.
– Served as Chairman of the Investment Committee for the United Methodist Publishing House.
– Served as Chairman of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy.
– Served on the Board of Directors of the Confessing Movement.
– Had new book Transformed Living in Tough Times available in January.
– Working on new book Transformed Living in Tough Times – 60 Devotionals.
I have received so many letters and comments from pastors about the difference that the John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries is making in their ministry. God is blessing. I ask you to please pray for discernment in where He leads for more effective ministry. My challenge is to pick the areas in which I can spend my time most effectively.
We have a great Board of Directors who meet regularly and give accountability and direction to the ministry. Here is our Board. You can go to our website www.johnedmathison.org to see a full resume of each of our Directors.
Mr. Mike Henig – President, Henig Furs
Mr. Mike Hutson – Retired President, Burford Equipment Company
Dr. Gaeton Lorino – Partner, Montgomery Pulmonary Consultants
Ms. Lucinda Samford Cannon – President, Cannon Ventures
Mr. Harold Faulkner – Retired President, Faulkner Insurance Agency
Mr. Craig Coblentz – President, Equipment & Parts Specialty Company
Dr. Stephen Davidson – Partner, Montgomery Cancer Center
Mr. Wilbur Hufham – Retired President, Regions Bank
Mr. Ken Love – Certified Public Accountant & Chair, Audit Committee, Federal Land Bank
I wanted to give you a 6 months report on your investments and I hope you feel they are paying good dividends.
Posted July 7th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Should we say “Under God” in our Pledge and should our coins bear the motto “In God We Trust”? That is a legal debate in our present day.
Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow entered three law suits saying that God should be removed from the Pledge and the coins. He says the phrase alienates non-religious people in the U. S.
An initial ruling in 2002 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Newdow. Recently the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its decision and said that the phrase “under God” can remain in the Pledge of Allegiance because the phrase is religious but does not represent a prayer. A similar ruling was issued about “In God We Trust” being our motto on our currency because it said the use of “God” is ceremonial and patriotic, but not religious.
I am glad the Court reversed itself, but I regret it was done for the reasons stated. I hope God never just becomes a patriotic or ceremonial term. That has never been the case in the history of mankind, and specifically in the history of the United States.
The prophet Amos wrote, “For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: ‘Seek Me and live’.” (Amos 5:4) The psalmist David wrote, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
The first pilgrims made it clear that the colonies were being established “to the glory of God.” The framers of our first Constitution recognized the role of God in our independence. Benjamin Franklin said, “The longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” Thomas Jefferson said, “The liberties of a nation are secure only when there is a firm conviction in the minds of her people that these liberties are the gift of God.”
That doesn’t sound like God was being used as ceremonial or patriotic.
The Preamble to the Constitution of each of the fifty states contains some reference to God. 40 states specifically call Him God, while the other 10 refer to Supreme Ruler, Creator, Supreme Being, etc.
This debate was pretty hot at the beginning of this decade. A lot of that quickly changed when 9/11 occurred. I understand that congressmen and government leaders on 9/12/01 quit debating about the use of God in public settings and joined hands on the Capitol steps and started praying and singing “God Bless America.” Baseball stadiums dropped the traditional 7th inning “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and replaced it with “God Bless America.” It is amazing to me that we even debate this issue. We are here because of the goodness and grace of God. We will survive and prosper only as we accept God’s grace and goodness and live appropriately.
When Francis Scott Key penned our National Anthem, he ended that first verse with a question, “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” I believe that is a legitimate question to ask today.
Most people don’t know that there are other verses to the National Anthem. Most people think the next verse is “play ball.”
The last verse ends with these words – “Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: ‘In God We Trust’.” Then he ends that verse, not with a question but a statement. When we know what our motto is – “In God We Trust” – the future is not a question. That verse ends with the affirmation “And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”
Francis Scott Key got it right! The Bible got it right! Our fore fathers got it right! Isn’t it time that we get it right?
Posted July 2nd, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
It was the best pool party I ever attended. It was a party for children and their parents to celebrate the miraculous event in 5-year-old Lily Murphy’s life.
Three weeks ago today she was attending a birthday party with many of her friends and adults. The kids were swimming and all of a sudden one of the kids cried out “Lily is at the bottom of the pool.” An adult dove in and brought her to poolside. A doctor and a former flight attendant performed CPR until the paramedics arrived.
Lily was taken to Baptist South and then immediately flown by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. She was on life support for several days.
I talked with the doctor and the adults present. After a few minutes of CPR, there was no response. The doctor commented that he believed in his profession, but it would take a miracle from God to save her life. He also had the great concern that if she lived, she would have severe brain damage.
Thousands and thousands of people prayed. Lily’s mother and daddy are a Sunday School teachers at Frazer. They also placed a request on Facebook and had thousands of e-mails indicating that people were praying.
The miracle happened! Lily woke up and came home from the hospital a couple of days later. Four doctors at UAB said they gave their best medical attention, but it had to be the hand of God who brought the healing.
The pool party was to bring all the kids and the family back together. My wife, Lynn, suggested this, and the host family agreed. We could gather and have a prayer of thanksgiving. It would also be an opportunity for the parents and kids to go home from the experience with a different perspective on life. Three weeks ago today they had gone home in despair, concern, fear – and a thousand other emotions. This time they went home with a big smile on their face and the knowledge that they had seen a miracle.
At the second pool party Lily was the leader of all of the kids in the games they were playing. She was quick, active – very, very much alive!
When we all joined hands around the pool to pray, Lily’s older brother, Sean, a 7-year-old, interrupted me and said, “Excuse me. I want to give a praise. My sister is alive!” That captured the spirit of the event.
I felt both excited and inadequate leading the group in a prayer. Everybody present had experienced something that few people ever get to experience in life. God is doing miracles every day; I just pray that I might be more aware and more appreciative.
Posted June 29th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
The Queen of England was shunned by the King of Tennis! He had a more pressing agenda than meeting with the Queen.
Rafael Nadal won the last major tennis tournament at the French Open. He also has won at Wimbledon. He is a man who is focused on winning again this year. His focus of purpose became an issue when he had a decision to make.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the All England Club for the first time since 1977. A small group of current and former players, including Roger Federer and the Williams sisters, were invited to attend a private session with the Queen. What an opportunity for Nadal! However, when the Queen’s appearance conflicted with his practice schedule, he decided to practice so he would be in top form rather than meet with the Queen.
Nadal explained that he had a lot of respect for the Queen, but his purpose in being in England was to play tennis. He decided to go with his main purpose. It might be fortunate that he did, because hours later when he took Centre Court it took five sets to beat his next opponent. Did that extra practice time make the difference?
Life consists of decisions for all of us. Real leaders always make the choice to fulfill their purpose, not choose something secondary that might be more enjoyable and easier. Nadal knew why he was in London and made his decisions around knowing that purpose.
The great leader Moses faced a decision. He had the opportunity to choose between the pampered life of being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter or fulfilling his purpose of leadership for the people of Israel. Moses was remembered in the New Testament in Hebrews 11:24 as “He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” He knew his purpose.
Purpose always drives our performance. We act on our understanding of our purpose. Moses did. Hebrews 11:25 reminds us “Choosing to endure ill treatment with the people of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin.” Leaders never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate!
Everyday each of us has decisions to make. Oftentimes the decision centers on something that is pleasurable, enjoyable, beneficial, etc. or choosing a tougher road that ultimately puts us in our purpose. Jesus spoke of it as choosing different roads in life. Read Matthew 7:13-27. Life is all about choices. Today’s decision determines tomorrow’s destiny.
Nadal knows that he will not be remembered by whether or not he met Queen Elizabeth II, but how he performed at Wimbledon. His two weeks in London is more about playing good tennis than telling his grandchildren about meeting a celebrity. Our lives are best lived when we go to bed at night knowing that all of our energies were channeled in fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives.
Posted June 25th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
He didn’t win the most points, but he won the most important point – the last point.
John Isner was playing an opening round tennis match at Wimbledon against Nicolas Mahut of France. They began the match on Tuesday and each player won two sets. That put them in the deciding fifth set. At Wimbledon there are no tie breakers in a fifth set. Someone has to win by two games.
Isner and Mahut each held his own serve throughout the fifth set. The fifth set went on and on – the longest in history. Since Wimbledon has a curfew at 11:00 pm, the fifth set was stopped on the second night at 11:00 pm. They had already been playing about 9 hours. The match finally ended on Thursday with Isner winning 70-68 in the fifth set!!
That is incredible. Whether you like tennis or not, it has become the lead sports story. That is a record that will probably never be broken.
In the fifth set there were 711 points. Mahut won more points than Isner in the fifth set 365-346. He also won more points in the overall match of five sets 502-478.
But Isner won the most important point – the last one. It was a backhand winner down the line. It allowed Isner to break Mahut’s serve, which was only the second time he had done that the entire match.
Tennis, like life, is really a simple game. You have to win the last point. It not how many points you win – it is whether you win the most important point.
Football and basketball are similar. It doesn’t matter how many minutes of the game you are ahead – all you have to do is be ahead by one point when the final horn sounds. You need one more point than the opponent. It doesn’t matter how many innings you are behind in baseball; all you have to do is be one run ahead at the final out. Golf is a little strange, but it is that same principle in reverse. In golf all you have to do is have one less stroke when you finish the final hole.
Life is like that. You can win a lot of points in life, but you must win the most important point – the last one. A lot of people accomplish a lot of honors, awards and milestones – but the most important thing in life is our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. When the final horn sounds, that is the only point that is important.
It is interesting that Isner and Mahut did not give the customary handshake at the end of the match. Isner reached across the net and gave him a big hug. They had made history. Isner told the crowd, “You know, it stinks that someone had to lose.”
Life is tough, but fair – every person has the chance to win or lose. The ultimate victory in eternal life is available to every person. It is God’s desire that no one lose in the most important game in town – life. That is why he gave the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The thief on the cross realized this. He had wins and losses in the moments of his life, but he won in the most important moment of his life. Hanging on a cross, he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42, 43) He won in the last moment – the moment that really counted.
Nobody really knew when that Wimbledon match would end. It lasted three days. Some matches last less than an hour. It is not how long the match lasts – the winner is always the one who wins the last point.
Life is very uncertain. We don’t know how long life will last. Some people live a few days and some people live a lot of years. Still the one who wins is the one who wins in the most important point – knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
You may be winning a lot of points in life. The real question for each of us is, “Am I winning the most important point?”
Posted June 18th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Names are important. Our name becomes our identity. It is how we answer and respond.
People keep statistics on what new babies are named. In 2009 Isabella was the top baby name for girls and Jacob was the top name for boys. The Social Security Administration indicates that about 22,000 girls born in 2009 were named Isabella. This popular name was followed by Emma, Olivia, and Sophia. Jacob was the chosen name for nearly 21,000 boys, followed by Ethan, Michael, and Alexander.
The names that made the biggest jump on the statistical charts are names that are associated with celebrities and the current fascination with vampires.
Barrack still didn’t crack the top 1,000 for boys but a version of the President’s daughter’s name, Malia was the fastest riser for girls. Cullen was the fastest riser for boys. Edward Cullen comes from vampire fame.
We don’t get to choose our names – they are given to us by our parents. It is legal to change your name. A lot of people go through name changes.
Normally a name change indicates some change in our outlook or value system. The Bible illustrates this. You remember that one of the great men of the Old Testament was Abram. God constantly was dealing with him about a covenant for the future. Read in Genesis 17 about that covenant between God and Abram where he would become the father of a multitude of nations. Genesis 17:5 then says, “No longer shall your name be called Abram but your name shall be Abraham for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.”
Another example of this is recorded in Matthew 16:13-18. Jesus was with the disciples at Caesarea Philippi and was questioning them about who people though He was. It was there that Simon made the correct confession when he said, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” Jesus then said, “”Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
One of the principle characters in the New Testament in the early church was the man Saul. He was famous because he was persecuting Christians and did everything possible to stop the growth of the church. Going to Damascus one day his life was dramatically changed. He went from persecuting Christians to becoming the great missionary evangelist bringing people into the Christian faith. His name changed from Saul to Paul.
The names of Football Conferences are very confusing at this time in history. Several teams have left one Conference and joined another. The current name of the Conference is not accurate concerning the make-up of the Conference.
The Pac-10 now has 11 teams. The Big 12 now has 10 teams and the Big 10 has 11 teams. Some name changes will be necessary!
Social Security is a very misleading name. With the amount of money the government sends you, you can’t afford to be “social,” and it doesn’t make you feel “secure.”
I remember hearing a story about a great commander in the Army. One day a soldier was caught stealing and was brought before this commander. The young soldier actually had the same name as the military commander. When the commander asked him his name, the young man gave his name as the same as that of the commander. This enraged the military commander and he quickly said, “Soldier, either change your name or change your ways.”
The follower of Christ is given the name “Christian.” Does that name fit who we are? Would we ever hear Christ say, “Either change your ways or change your name.”
I hope in 2010 the most popular name for any person will be “Christian.” When we carry out the great commission to make disciples, we help a lot of people get renamed Christian. That is our calling.
The name Christian does not relate to some celebrity, political figure, or current craze in the movies. The name Christian has stood the test of time – and it is the name for the future.
Posted June 11th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Life has its ups and downs. At some points in life we are on the mountaintop – sometimes we are walking through the valley. Where we are in life at this moment is important – but it is not as important as our attitude and actions toward our situation.
Yesterday, June 10, I was in the waiting room at my dentist’s office and picked up the newspaper and saw numerous illustrations of this reality.
In sports we see it often. Last Sunday night Ray Allen, with the Boston Celtics, scored eight 3-pointers. Nobody in basketball history had done that in a playoff game. He made the history books. He was on top of the world.
Then on Tuesday night in the playoff game he went 0 for 13. He again made the history books – nobody had ever gone 0 for 13. He went from the mountaintop to the valley.
Jeremiah Masoli is the great quarterback for Oregon. He started out as fifth string quarterback, but worked up to the starting position. He had a wonderful season last year leading the Ducks to the Rose Bowl. Already this year was talk about Heisman trophy possibilities. This past week he was dismissed from the team for “failure to adhere to obligations” outlined by Coach Chip Kelly. He is no longer on the team.
The University of Southern California had a great run in college football during the mid years of this decade. They were National Champions in 2004. On Thursday they received notice that they had violated NCAA standards and all those wins were being vacated. They went from 13-0 to 0-13. They lost the National Championship.
You see it in business. The headlines of the paper indicated that the euro had been extremely strong a couple of years ago. I remember paying a lot more money when we attended the Wimbledon tennis tournament in England. That has drastically changed today as the value of the euro has declined.
One company that will benefit greatly from this change is the giant steel company ThyssenKrupp. They moved to Alabama a few years ago at a great financial advantage when our dollar was undervalued and the euro was strong. Now they are producing products that are being sold in the U. S. for a much higher profit in U.S. dollars than could be measured in euros.
BP Oil was a huge successful oil company a few months ago. Now they are in the news everyday concerning the oil being released into the Gulf of Mexico. Articles on the business page discussed whether or not they would be able to stay in business.
It happens in politics. Vic Rawl ran in the primary for U.S. Senate in South Carolina. He was a shoo-in. He had an opponent, but nobody had ever heard of the opponent. Vic Rawl was already planning his fundraisers for the fall general election.
Guess what – the unknown won! He is Alvin Greene, 32-years-old. He didn’t raise any money and didn’t have a website. The people of South Carolina didn’t know it but he had been arrested not long ago and is facing charges. But he won the primary for the Democrats.
Political analysts are trying to explain how he won. Was Rawl a victim of the anti-incumbent sentiment that swept the state’s primaries? Did Greene capitalize on some kind of movement among the unemployed? Was it the simple fact that his name was listed before Rawl’s on the alphabetized ballot? Rawl said, “It’s an absolute surprise. I can’t make any comments, because I don’t know what’s going on.”
Things can turn quickly. What can we learn from this?
When we are on the top of the world we need to have the spirit of humility and give thanks to God for our blessings. We need to remember and to continue practicing the things that helped us get to that position. A proud, haughty, arrogant spirit can cause us to fall quickly. Placing our trust in our own abilities can precipitate a quick trip downward. Not taking challenges seriously can have a devastating effect.
Remember what the Bible says:
Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin. Proverbs 21:4
O land of pride, you will stumble and fall, and no one will raise you up. Jeremiah 50:32
He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. James 4: 6, 7
Don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. Romans 11:20
And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. I Peter 5:5, 6
Conversely, there was a great article about emerging from the grasp of defeat to potential victory. It involves Alabama and possibly getting the Air Force tanker plant that could bring 7,000 jobs to Alabama. EADS actually won the contract in 2008, but an appeal from Boeing reopened the process.
When the new specifications were written, they appear to be in Boeing’s favor. Everybody counted EADS and Alabama out. The business world did not even expect a bid from EADS.
But on Thursday, Sean O’Keefe, EADS North America CEO, said that his company would bid for the proposal on July 9. EADS said, “Bid provisions favor Boeing, but I still like our hand better than theirs.”
This reminds me that one defeat in life does not have to be fatal or final. There can be opportunities for second chances. That is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.
Wherever you are in your life today thank God for the blessings you do have, utilize your best gifts to serve Him, and be open to all doors of opportunity that He might open.
Remember:
Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:11, 12
Posted June 4th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
The baseball world was shocked this past Wednesday when a historical moment turned into a hysterical moment.
During the last month baseball had witnessed two perfect games. That has never before happened in the history of baseball in one month. On Wednesday we almost had a third perfect game. It involved the Detroit Tigers, who have never had the opportunity to celebrate a perfect game.
Detroit has undergone some tough times. The automobile industry there has been in trouble. All the sports teams have really struggled. The former Mayor is serving a jail term. It is a tough place to live right now.
Some of that could have changed on Wednesday when Armando Galarraga was on the mound and had retired 26 consecutive Cleveland Indian baseball batters. There were two outs in the bottom of the ninth and he faced Jason Donald.
Donald hit a grounder that first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded and threw to Galarraga who was covering first base. Everybody saw that the runner was out. A perfect game would go in the books. It was time to celebrate.
But umpire Jim Joyce gave the safe sign. The instant-replay showed he was wrong, but he was the umpire. It would be registered as a base hit and the perfect game was no longer perfect.
It was a very, very unfortunate situation. I think we can learn some lessons from it.
Lesson One
Life isn’t always fair. A bad call by the umpire should never have happened in that situation. Even the runner Jason Donald knew that if the play was really close, he would be called out. While baseball says the tie goes to the runner – on the last out of a perfect game the tie goes to the pitcher. Sometimes a bang-bang play can be disputed. This play only had one bang – Galarraga’s right foot stepping on first base.
Each of us has experienced something that wasn’t really fair. It could have and should have gone a different way. Usually the tough bumps we get in life are caused by some foolish thing that we do or a mistake by another person. It is not fair that Galarraga did not get a perfect game – but that unfairness is directly linked to a human mistake. Life isn’t always fair.
Lesson Two
–We can react positively when life deals us a tough blow. The response by Galarraga was really amazing. He didn’t get in the umpire’s face and start complaining about the call. The cameras clearly showed that he simply smiled and went back to the mound to retire Trevor Crowe for the last out. Even the umpire Jim Joyce said he could not believe the reaction of Galarraga.
When something unfair happens to us in life – we have a choice. We can make our own lives miserable and create misery for everybody around us. A much better choice is to proceed on with the next event of life and do our job effectively there. It is not fair that we have to be placed in this situation – but when we are there we must react positively. If the event cannot be changed, let’s go on to the next event.
Lesson Three
Everybody makes mistakes. The umpire was Jim Joyce. He is 54-years-old and has been a full-time Major League umpire for over twenty years. He makes lots of money umpiring. He has worked two World Series, eleven other playoff games and a pair of All-Star games. He would be a person who was very unlikely to make a mistake – yet he did.
The Bible teaches us very clearly that, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3: 23) While many people strive to live a perfect life – we are sinners and we make mistakes. Sin, like mistakes, is a reality of our nature.
Lesson Four
We can confess when we have made a mistake. Jim Joyce looked at the replay and saw that he had made a mistake. He said, “It was the biggest call of my career, and I blew it. I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he had beat the throw, until I saw the replay.”
Joyce went on to indicate that if he had been Galarraga, he would have been in the face of the umpire and really caused a lot of trouble. He felt badly about the situation, and I understand made a phone call to Galarraga and asked him to forgive him.
The good news about life is that when we make mistakes and sin, we have a choice to either try to justify what we did or confess that we were wrong. The replay camera helped show that the umpire was wrong. God’s replay camera is always correct. We will never fool Him.
The Bible is very clear that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1: 9) When we make a mistake we need to confess.
Lesson Five
Don’t give a bad situation an opportunity to find a permanent home in our minds and actions. It would be easy for Armando Galarraga to have dealt with that situation poorly. He could have thrown a close inside pitch at the next batter. He could have thrown a temper tantrum. He could have protested in a variety of ways. Instead, he went about the business of completing his purpose of pitching. He got the final out.
God has a divine purpose for each of us. Wrongs that have been done to us can find a home in our minds and in our actions and continually raise their ugly heads for days or months or years to come. God’s greatest desire is to cleanse our thinking and our actions from those mistakes that we have made or have been made against us – and to go on to the next task that He has for us and fulfill His purpose for our lives.
Lesson Six
I understand that the Baseball Commissioner, Bud Selig, has the authority to reverse the decision and reinstate the perfect game. I don’t know how that will ever play out. I understand that he is the only person who can rectify the mistake.
I am glad that God is the only person who can rectify the mistakes in our lives. He won’t even have to think about forgiving us and reinstating us. He has already done that in the cross and resurrection. All we can do is accept it. He has forgiven us and has already encouraged us “to move on toward perfection.” (Matthew 5: 48)
These are just a few life lessons. I hope we all learn them and live them well.