Fuel for the Soul

By Dr. James C. Denison
Pastor for Teaching, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas

Topic: help for stressed souls

Stop and smell the jet fuel. My father used to tell me that I needed to "slow down" when I was eating, or talking, or walking, or doing pretty much anything but sleeping. As Will Rogers said, the older I get the smarter my father has become. Now even the nation's airlines seem to agree with my dad.

Today's New York Times tells us that airplanes are flying more slowly these days and saving millions on fuel as a result. Southwest Airlines is extending each flight by one to three minutes, and thinks it will save $42 million in fuel this year. A Northwest Airlines flight from Paris to Minneapolis this week flew at an average speed of 532 m.p.h. instead of the usual 542 m.p.h., adding eight minutes to the flight and saving $535 worth of fuel. Adding four minutes to its Hawaii flights saves the airline $600,000 a year on that route. JetBlue apparently started all of this two years ago, adding an average of just under two minutes to each flight and saving $13.6 million a year in jet fuel.

Not everyone in aviation has joined the trend. An American Airlines spokesman said, "We have the flying schedule to protect." They'll agree with my father eventually.

So should you. We live in the most hectic, fast-paced, stressed-out culture in history. Our society is changing more rapidly than ever before. Sociologists speak of these days as "whitewater" times. We're rafting faster than we can row, with no real idea what's around the next turn in the river. For instance, today's Times reports that some on Wall Street think the economy has bottomed out and will rebound later this year, but others are quick to disagree. People are buying more small cars than ever as gas prices continue to escalate, but no one knows if the trend will continue. Everyone is wondering how next week's presidential primaries will affect the Democratic race, if they do at all.

In times like these, we will save more than jet fuel if we slow our souls down. For centuries, people seeking God have kept spiritual "hours," following a fixed schedule which stops to pray at various times through the day. The Psalmist said, "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws" (Psalm 119:164), so liturgical traditions have often recommended prayer at 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., and midnight. Other Christian communions follow the example of Psalm 55:17, praying when they rise, at noon, and before going to bed. What matters is not so much the specific schedule we choose as that we choose one.

When is your next appointment for your soul to meet with your Father today?
from: http://www.godissues.org/articles/categories/God-Issues-Today/This-Year/

Days of Remembrance

This past week while in Washington D. C. I visited the Holocaust Museum. It was an incredible place to experience. I am so glad I went. As it turned out this week has been known as the Days of Remembrance. Take a moment today to remember those that lost their lives or were prisoners of such horrible monstrosity. -mr
May it never happen again.
http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor

The United States Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation's annual commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to those victims. In accordance with its Congressional mandate, the Museum is responsible for leading the nation in commemorating the Days of Remembrance, and for encouraging and sponsoring appropriate observances throughout the United States.

Observances and remembrance activities can occur during the week of Remembrance that runs from the Sunday before "Yom Hashoah" (Holocaust Remembrance Day) through the following Sunday. Days of Remembrance are observed by state and local governments, military bases, workplaces, schools, churches, synagogues, and civic centers.

Since 1982, The Museum has organized and led the national Days of Remembrance ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, with Holocaust survivors, liberators, members of Congress, White House officials, the diplomatic corps, and community leaders in attendance.

The Bigger Picture

Leith Anderson shared a story about when he was a boy. He grew up outside of New York City and was an avid fan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. One day, his father took him to a World Series game between the Dodgers and the Yankees. He was so excited, and he just knew the Dodgers would trounce the Yankees. Unfortunately, not a single Dodger ever got on base and his excitement was shattered.

Years later, he was engrossed in a conversation with a man who was a walking sports almanac. Leith told him about the first major league game he attended and added, "It was such a disappointment. I was a Dodger fan and the Dodgers never got on base."

The man said, "You were there? You were at the game when Don Larsen pitched the first perfect game in all of World Series history?"

Leith replied, "Yeah, but uh, we lost."

He then realized that he had been so caught up in his team's defeat that he missed out on the fact that he was a witness to a far greater page of history.

"You were there?"

I wonder how often the same thing happens to us. We get so caught up in the "defeats" in our lives -- the times when things don't turn out the way we want them to. So we're depressed because an illness continues to linger, or when people don't treat us the way we think they ought to, or when we face financial difficulties.

But, we are often so blinded by the pain and disappointment of our "defeat" that we fail to appreciate the fact that we might be witness to something far greater that God is doing in our lives.

Remember when Paul was in prison? He wrote to the Christians in Philippi: "My dear friends, I want you to know that what has happened to me has helped to spread the good news." (Philippians 1:12)

While most of us would have focused on the "defeat" (being in prison even though he was innocent), Paul was able to see what God was doing in his life. It's not an easy thing to do. It's never easy to view things from a heavenly perspective rather than an earthly one, but it is especially difficult in the midst of pain and defeat. But it is learning how to have a heavenly view that helps us to know joy no matter what happens in our lives.
(c) 2007 Alan Smith
alansmith.servant@gmail.com
Thought for the Day
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