Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Try Again
My
understanding is that he started a luncheon service with $1,500 from savings
and $3,500 borrowed from friends. Using
converted taxi cabs for catering he set out to make a living. Soon he noticed
that 40% of his revenues were coming from coffee and doughnut sales. So, in 1948 he tried again and established a
restaurant that sold doughnuts and coffee in Quincy, MA, and he called it the
Open Kettle. A few years later he made yet another change—the name. To better reflect his menu he and his team
chose the name Dunkin’ Donuts. Five
years later he did something that was not being widely practiced; he began
selling franchises.
His
name was William Rosenberg, and his flexibility and his willingness to keep
trying paid off big. There are now 11,300 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in 47
countries. They serve three million
customers at day. That means 1.7 billion
cups of coffee per year—that is an average of 30 per second. In 2016, their U.S. franchises sold $828.89
million worth of coffee and doughnuts.
While
not every such endeavor becomes a burgeoning business, there is something to be
said for adjusting to life and trying again.
It is reassuring to see that it can be done. It is often the fourth or fifth idea or the
third or fourth attempt at business that finally takes hold.
This
simple, but powerful concept is even more important to remember in our personal
lives. The best of people, who are
living honest and principled lives, go through periods of difficulty. Not every venture seems productive. Setbacks are inevitable. Life is often brutal. But, there is hope that the next effort will
bring better returns. Here is how the
Bible says it: “Plant your seed in the morning and
keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one
activity or another—or maybe both.” (Ecclesiastes
11:6 NLT) Life is not a destination, it is a journey that consists of
many new tries.
January marks the beginning of another year,
and it will be the perfect time to try again. New Year’s resolutions may seem
old fashioned, but starting fresh is something we all need to do from time to time.
Try a new devotional approach. Try attending church regularly. Try becoming a part of a support group. Give yourself another chance. Give other people another chance. Ask God for His direction as you launch into
a new year. “His mercies are new every
morning” (Lamentations 3:23) and He is the God of second chances. Try again!
Saturday, December 09, 2017
Do You See What I See?
“Do you see what I see?” is a line from the
famous Christmas Song titled, Do you Hear
What I Hear? It was written in 1962
by Noel Regney and Gloria Baker as a plea for peace. While world peace is still illusive, love,
joy and peace for individuals are within everyone’s grasp. The catch -- it requires that they see the
invisible.
Seeing the invisible
may sound illogical or impossible, but it has been the cornerstone of Biblical
faith since the creation of man. The
Bible said this of Moses: “It was by faith
that Moses
left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going
because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. ” (Hebrews 11:27 NLT)
Skeptics can easily question what people of
faith “see”, but it is much harder to argue with the results of faith like
Moses had. He is famous for the parting of the Red Sea and liberating millions
of slaves from the most powerful kingdom on earth. Then, with God as His coach, he kept them
alive in a desert for forty years. And he is just one of many heroes of faith
who accomplished epic feats because they were able to “see” in faith.
Admittedly there are those who claim to see and
hear things that may actually be unstable, but when believers hold themselves
accountable to the safety nets of the Bible and other believers, they continue
to experience supernatural transformations and healings to this day. Like the
lady who called me one day trying to figure out what was happening to her. She was alone at home praying when suddenly
she began speaking in a language she had not learned. Her genuine faith allowed God to fill her
with His Spirit just like he did on the first day of the Church as recorded in
Acts chapter two. She had not been coached or “brainwashed,” because she didn’t
even know about speaking in tongues. She
was just sincerely seeking a God she could not see.
The Bible and church history are filled with
many other inexplicable acts of bravery, healings and miracles. But only those
who believe experience these God-events.
It is as if God sifts through mankind by asking people to see with their
hearts. Some believe; others do
not. Those who don’t often never
understand and may even deem believers to be simple or foolish. But people of faith are not weak minded --
they are just strong-hearted.
Ironically, these strong-hearted believers have
been changing the world for centuries and the world has been rejecting them
much like they rejected Jesus Christ. “We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two,
murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal
skins, homeless, friendless, powerless— the
world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges
of the world.” (Hebrews 11:37-40 MSG)
As Christmas approaches, I would ask, “Do you
see what I see?” I see a God who loves
you and wants to interact with you in a dynamic way. I see God changing your life from the inside
out and making you whole. I see you
living a life of joy and peace in the middle of a messy world. If you are able to “see” the invisible God who
changes believers lives, maybe you are a person of faith. Maybe you do see what I see. I hope so, and I
hope you have a Christmas filled with love, joy and peace.
Saturday, December 02, 2017
Runaway
He swabbed his red, moist cheeks
with his shirt sleeve, trying to hide the tears and calm his young heart. By now someone had likely discovered his
absence and they would probably be scouring the neighborhood soon. As he huddled in the shrubs near the corner
grocery store, he replayed the traumatic events from which he was escaping. His
ever-antagonizing older sister had once again framed him and he had been sent
to his room. He was tired of the injustice
and ready to strike out on his own.
His problem was that,
since he had stolen out his bedroom window, he had only been able to pack one
change of clothes and his ipad. He had no food and had not thought to bring a
coat. He was shivering, hungry, and
questioning whether he made a wise choice to run away… especially since he was only
eight years old and had no idea where he would go or what he would do.
As he mulled his situation
over he realized that maybe he didn’t have it so bad. Sure, there were daily chores, house rules
and pesky siblings, but should he have bolted like he did? It had been less than an hour and he was
already feeling the consequences of his impetuous solution.
Meanwhile the young boy’s family
was in a panic. Phones were ringing,
people were patrolling the neighborhood and his family was frantically calling
his name. Those “mean” people from whom
he was running were already devising a way to bring him back. He was beginning
to understand that life was not perfect, but his family loved him. And, in spite of the gargantuan emotions that
pulsed through his body, and immense waves of self-pity, he was becoming more
aware of their love. Deep down, he knew
they would come looking for him… in fact he was counting on it.
God does that. Even though we are so small compared to Him,
and even though our lives are so short compared to all human history, God is
always looking for ways to help us find our way back home to Him. This is how one writer put it: “All of us must die eventually. Our lives are
like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But
God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back
when we have been separated from him.” (2 Samuel 14:14 NLT)
Jesus told a story about a
runaway that is recorded in Luke 15. He describes a young man who leaves home to
make his fortune only to waste his inheritance and fall on hard times. He finally comes to his senses and heads for
home. The challenge of returning was not
the physical journey -- it was the difficult emotional and relational journey
home that was so hard. The fear of rejection, the embarrassment and the
feelings of unworthiness were difficult to navigate.
But upon his return, his
dad came out into the front yard, hugged him, gave him new clothes, reinstated
him to sonship and threw a grand party. Because of his father’s incredible,
unconditional love, he had found his way back to faith, trust, and intimacy.
The rules hadn't changed, but neither had the love of his father.
My guess is there are a
lot of people who once knew God’s love, but life convinced them God was not
good, or that they would never be worth loving. So, they ran. There are probably others who have never felt
like they knew God, but He did know them.
This article may be one of the many ways God is devising to help those folks
make their way back to him. Take a
chance. Let Him find you and take you
back into His arms. That’s the kind of
God He is.
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