Are you the king of the Jews?” Asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. Mark 15:2 (New Intervention Version):

The story goes that some years ago a famous movie star (call him Linc Hooper) became so tired and run down from a heavy work schedule that his doctor ordered him to take a vacation. So to get away from the work pressure he decided to take a driving vacation alone through the Midwestern farmland.

He’d been on the road for several days when he arrived in a small town at lunchtime and stopped at a country diner. He seated himself at the counter, gave his order to the waitress and was waiting for his food when he realized that a group of local men at a nearby table were watching him. Finally one of them came over.

“We’ve been talking over here and we think that you look like Linc Hooper the movie star,” The local man told him.

.

Hooper decided to admit it. “Yes, I’ve been told that. And actually I am Linc Hooper.”

The local man shook his head and looked skeptical. “Naw, you couldn’t be him. He’s so famous he’d never come to our little town.”

“But I am Linc Hooper.” The move star asserted.

“Naw – can’t be.” The local man scoffed, and shaking his head returned to his friends as the waitress arrived with Hooper’s meal. As he ate his lunch he was aware of the scrutiny of the local men at the nearby table, but though they were deep in discussion they did not return to question him. After he finished he paid his bill and was on his way out the door when he heard the local man who’d questioned him, calling out from their table. Hooper paused to look in their direction.

“Hey, mister! We just wanted to tell you. We still don’t think you’re Hooper, but you sure do sound like him.”

Just as those fellows didn’t believe that their visitor was the real thing, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day couldn’t – or wouldn’t – believe that Jesus was who he said he was. Like he did then, he stands before us today also just as honestly presenting himself as not only the Messiah but also as our Savior. Unlike the Jewish leaders, will we believe he is who he says he is?

The woman edged her way through the milling crowd toward the man just a short distance away. She had to reach him! Yet as she made her way through the people, she knew she couldn’t risk their notice, for if someone she knew noticed her they might cringe at her presence and shrink away. For in her condition she endangered the man as well as those in the crowd. Still, maybe she could get away with it if she just gently touched the edge of his garment – maybe the tassel of his prayer shawl. If she could only do that she might be healed and then if she could escape back into the crowd no one would ever know what had happened!

The account of the “woman with the flow of blood” takes up just a few lines in Mark’s gospel yet we remember her mostly because she did not openly seek healing. Unlike others who did not hide their intentions she tried for a secret healing by just touching Jesus’ garment and then vanishing into the crowd. Yet why would she resort to secrecy and anonymity? It was because in her culture she was unclean, ceremonially defiled and thus contact with others would defile them.

What the KJV version of the Bible calls a “flow of blood” was probably uterine bleeding or spotting and the Mosaic Law had specific treatment for it. As long as she had such a discharge she was unclean and if anyone touched her they would need to not only be defiled but like her also would have to undergo special ritual cleansing (Leviticus 15:25-3). So the woman was separated – both personally and religiously, and she wanted relief, yet there was so much to risk and especially for Jesus. For if she touched a rabbi like Jesus it would mean he’d have to halt his work to undergo the cleansing process! So she sought a secret and anonymous healing.

Yet as it turned out when Jesus called her out of her anonymity he had a purpose. For when he publicly verified her healing she could confidently reenter society fully cured. Jesus sent her on her way completely restored and all because her faith told her that Jesus could do it – and He did.

Occasionally we have risks on our spiritual journey yet no matter what they are, those risks are a normal part of our Christian experience. For if we don’t take chances in God’s service then we can’t experience his help and guidance and thus learn to trust him to help us. The woman in Mark’s account perhaps would have remained unclean if she had not risked, and we too must risk to see God in action and grow spiritually.

Who’s Listening?

As a retired minister in his denomination, Fred was often called upon to fill the pulpits of absent ministers. When he did this he usually preached a standard sermon challenging his listeners to examine their lives to see what might be keeping them from truly serving God. Then he’d move on, but he wondered at times if anyone actually followed his advice. Then one time he did get an answer – of sorts.

It happened when he was preaching at a small country church and after the service he was standing in the door beside one of the local deacons. The parishioners filed out, shaking hands and expressing their appreciation until the crowd thinned a bit and there approached one gray-haired lady.

“This is Mrs. Jones, Pastor.” The deacon leaned over to whisper to Fred as the lady approached. “She’s the bossy type with a sharp and critical tongue.”

Fred nodded in understanding, and it suddenly struck him that this might be someone who would have learned from his sermon. However, he was soon disappointed.

Mrs. Jones, a tall gaunt woman, strode up to the visiting preacher, her hand outstretched. “That was a wonderful sermon,” she told him, “just wonderful. Everything you said applies to someone I know.”

Ever feel that way? I have in fact more often than I’d like to admit and it usually happens when I become aware of God trying to redirect me and I just don’t want to notice. Then when that happens sometimes he has to resort to something dramatic and even drastic to get my attention. He might do it with a sudden struggle, or an unexpected setback forcing me to pause and reconsider what’s happening. And while I’m wondering what’s going on then I usually realize it might be God’s way of getting my attention.

Of course ideally he wouldn’t need to resort to do any of that because I’d be concentrating on him and his will. But when I do lose wander off track and need his nudge back then I know he’s always ready to restore me to the right path.

Encompassed Around

Many years ago, so the story goes, John Paton and his wife went as missionaries to the New Hebrides Islands (as they were then called) in the southwest Pacific where they intended to bring the gospel to a primitive and hostile native people.

One evening soon after they arrived they awoke to shouts and cries coming from all around the missionary station, and when they scanned the jungle they saw hostile natives surrounded them! There seemed to be no hope and the Patons prayed intensely for God’s protection and deliverance. However, as the hours passed, though the natives encircled the station shouting their threats they came no closer and then the next morning they were gone. The Patons emerged to find a quiet and serene jungle where just hours before there had been terror. They knew God had protected them but they did not know how.

However, in the days and weeks to come they continued to lovingly minister to the local people, and the natives gradually came to trust them and then listen to their message. Eventually many believed in Christ, including even the chief. Then one day, several years after their arrival Paton had a chance to ask the chief what had happened that terror filled night years before.

“You could have killed us.” Paton asked. “Why didn’t you?”

The chief looked surprised. “We couldn’t! You had too many guards!”

“What guards? We were entirely alone!” Paton said.

“All I know is that we were ready to kill you but we couldn’t. Standing all around your house was a circle of big men in shining clothes and carrying big knives.” The chief explained.

“But I saw nothing.” Paton said quietly, suddenly aware of what had happened. While he and his wife were alone in total terror, relying alone on God for his protection and deliverance, the Lord responded. Angels? Perhaps but whatever it was God had delivered them.

We may never have that sort of dramatic deliverance but the same God who protected Paton is still just as capable of protecting and delivering us. And often in ways we may never know or realize.

Beyond the Unseen

“I’m afraid I’ve got another meeting in just a few minutes, but I can give you a few minutes. Now according to my secretary you said you wanted to make a donation to the university.” Harvard president Charles Eliot seated himself behind his desk that long ago day in 1884 to regard the older couple across from him. Unsmilingly somber yet obviously determined, they were dressed in the heavy black mourning garments of the period.

“Our beloved son passed away recently,” The husband began, “and we wanted to establish a memorial in his name.”

Mr. Eliot glanced at the stacks of paperwork on his desk, as he remembered his other imminent appointments. He sighed and cleared his throat. “Did you want to establish a scholarship in your son’s name?”

The husband glanced at his wife, saw her shake her head slightly, then he turned back to Mr. Eliot. “No, we had something more substantial in mind. Maybe a building?”

The president made a sudden decision. “Look, we appreciate your interest, and we’d love to help you but I think that endowing something as large as a building would really be just too much. Maybe a scholarship would be more feasible. Now, I won’t keep you any longer, but think it over and come back when you decide what you want to do.”

He stood and came around the desk to shake hands with them then he watched them depart as he turned back to his work. However, the couple did not return.

A year or so later Mr. Eliot learned that the couple had indeed reconsidered about establishing a memorial to their son, but they had not followed his suggestion about a scholarship. For with the couple’s $26 million endowment they established the Leland Stanford Junior University – today the massive educational California complex known as Stanford University.

By his cavalier dismissal of an unassuming couple as unimportant, Mr. Eliot certainly lost out on something great and sometimes it’s the same on my spiritual journey when I treat casually what might be an important challenge from God. Of course I can’t always tell at first glance what’s going to be important or not, and sometimes he hides what might be a major spiritual task in the guise of a vaguely obscure even boring duty.

God’s challenges for me may not be dramatic or earth shaking, but I know when I cooperate with him and follow his lead then the results from what might seem simple and unassuming may well have eternal consequences.

Divine Thermals

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

Eagles are lazy.

That sounds like a funny thing to say, but what else could you call it when they soar high above the earth with such little wing effort? Well, actually they’re not lazy - it’s just that they’ve learned how to remain aloft without always needing to use their wings as they attain the height they need to scan the earth below for possible prey. They accomplish this by spreading their wings to take advantage of the heated air updrafts or thermals that are created when the sun heats the air and it begins to rise. They fly high enough to find a thermal and then with wings spread ride the updrafts as they circle. We often see other more common birds such as hawks, falcons or even buzzards or vultures using the same technique.

Isaiah had probably seen eagles or other large birds of his homeland using this technique so he utilized this image to show how God provides for His children. For just as the warm elevating updrafts give the eagle the lift to soar with little effort, so does God’s loving provision and encouragement provide us the lift and power to finish the tasks He has for us.

After all, when God calls His children to new challenges He knows that we may become physically or even spiritually weary and might lose heart or become disillusioned. So He offers us His strength, encouragement and insight to not only sustain us during the task but also enable us to complete it.

Impromptu Efficiency

Edith was very proud of her efficiency and was sure it would help in her new job as a secretary at a major corporation. She was hoping for a promotion into management so she was always on the lookout for opportunities to be helpful to any company executives she encountered. Then one morning she had her chance.

She was in the office equipment room on the administrative office floor when she looked up to see a newcomer. The tall man who entered the room seemed vaguely familiar and then she remembered where she’d seen him. It was in a portrait that hung just across from the elevator on the executive office floor. He was the company CEO!

But what was he doing there? Surely he had a secretary who would do any copying he needed. Still, she thought perhaps he wasn’t familiar with the equipment and she could help him. It could be the perfect opportunity to impress the head of the company with her efficiency, and if she could do that it might mean her first promotion!

The CEO was now standing in front of a shredder with a set of papers in his hand and a puzzled expression on his face. Edith then came up with what she hoped was a hopeful smile.

"Mr. Jones, how nice to see you! Can I help?"

He continued to stare at the shredder. "Look, this is a very important document and I don’t know how this thing works."

"Here, let me help you!" Edith reached out to take the papers, and then she flipped on the start switch and inserted the sheets into the shredder. The whirring teeth were grinding through the document as Mr. Jones spoke again. "Oh, yes, I just need one copy."

While Edith probably shouldn’t have acted so impulsively without thinking, that’s exactly what I do when I jump into a new God-provided challenge with my own ideas without considering what God wants me to do. However, that happens mostly because I forget just whose challenge it is!

Of course it never works when I jump ahead of God since he knows so much more about the task then I do, and while I may put my best efforts in planning a task something unexpected and undesirable may occur. Unexpected for me perhaps, but never to God.

So I best serve God by letting him led the way and not trying to get ahead of him. And when I do that I need not fear tomorrow - because he’s already there.

Pills and Provision

Harold and Matilda had been dating for several months and finally decided they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together though they knew that wouldn’t be too many years since they were both in their eighties. So after they set their wedding date they dropped by the local drug store.

"Do you have heart medicine?" Harold asked the pharmacist.

"Of course. "

"Medicine for circulation?"

"All kinds." Said the pharmacist again, wondering where this was going.

"How abut medicine for arthritis? For memory? Sleeping pills? Vitamins? " Harold continued.

"Oh, yes, we have all that. " Said the pharmacist, and was about to ask how he could help when Harold nodded his head and smiled.

"Then you’re what we’re looking for. We’re getting married and we want to register here for wedding gifts."

Harold certainly wanted to guarantee perfect provision of his needs, something we all want. Yet is that really possible? Can we actually be assured of perfect provision of every need?

Humanly speaking that might seem impossible but of course as believers being human doesn’t limit us, because it is God who provides for us. Then of course he not only totally provides all our needs but he sometimes does so even before we even know we need it!

Again perfect provision as only a perfect God can do it.

Holding On

It was well known in the Smith family that Grandma Smith was very sensitive about her age, and was of the old fashioned opinion that a "lady’s " age should not be revealed or discussed. Except someone forgot to mention that to little Kathy at the big family reunion.

Kathy and her parents lived some distance away and when they’d last visited Kathy had been an infant, but now she was old enough to be curious and to ask questions. And ask she did - before anyone could stop her.

"Grandma," she cocked her head at the old lady who was sitting upright in the straight-backed chair next to her at the dinner table. "How old are you?"

Grandma seemed to recognize the childish curiosity. "I’m 39 and holding."

Kathy’s mother was about to correct her when Kathy spoke again. "How old would you be if you let go?"

Maybe Grandma feared the question because she actually was trying to hold onto her youthful image but we all do the same thing when we cling to whatever we think makes us secure. What we adhere to might be a variety of things - for instance, perhaps a youthful image, or maybe even our own ideas about how we might serve God or even a fault or sin. Yet no matter what it is, when we cling like that to what we think assures security that may be what is holding us back from truly serving

So what to do? As the expression has it we must "let loose" of what’s hampering us. Perhaps that might involve confessing the hampering sin, abandoning our opinions in favor of God’s or simply just deciding to trust him. Yet whatever it is we can’t be like Grandma and hold on to what we should drop. Kathy had it right - we have to let go.

Burning Your Chariots

But the Lord said to Joshua, "Don’t be afraid of them, for this time tomorrow they will all be dead! Hamstring their horses and burn their chariots." Joshua 11:6 (Living Bible)

With their visors, weapons and chariots catching and reflecting the sun’s glaring rays, the vast force stretched out before Joshua and the Israeli army. Yet he was not afraid, for God had assured him of victory. Still, though he was ready to face them, there were further instructions; after the victory, Joshua was to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.

What a strange request, I thought. Why should God want Joshua to intentionally handicap especially trained animals and destroy valuable equipment? Surely he could use them in future battles - so why eliminate valuable apparatus?

However, the footnote in my study Bible explained it. God had a good reason to request it, for if Joshua used the equipment later and won further battles with them, he might be tempted to attribute his victories to the equipment not to God. To burn the chariots assured that Joshua would rely on God alone for future conquest.

I’ve discovered that sometimes it’s the same in my life. Indeed, there have been times when in the midst of a spiritual victory I’ve been tempted to think I’ve done well - so well in fact that I might wonder if even need God anymore. I might even reason that since I’ve been quite successful on my own, I certainly don’t need to bother him again! Indeed, I can become very proud of my chariots!

However, God’s policy hasn’t changed and nothing must make me think I don’t need him. No, in my life as in Joshua’s, the chariots have definitely got to go!

Deep Subject

From his seat in the second row at the service little Ricky was wide eyed as the minister and the baptismal candidate descended the steps into the baptistery at the front of the church. He was unusually silent when the minister dipped the candidate under the water, then turned to baptize the next candidate who had stepped down into the baptistery on the other side. After he had immersed the second man he left the tank, stepped away for a moment and then came back out to resume the service.

“What did he think of the baptisms?” Dad asked Mom later that evening. And Dad, who happened to be the Baptist minister who had immersed the two candidates, listened as Mom explained Ricky’s fascination with the ritual.

“I’m curious since that’s the first time he’s actually seen a baptism.” Dad mused. “Did he ask any questions about the theology behind it?”

”No, he seemed mostly interested in how you held onto the people and then immersed them.”

“Say, where is he?”

“I think he went into the bathroom.” Mom said, and then paused. “You know I think he’s been in there too long. Maybe we’d better check on him.”

Just then there was an audible “Yowl!” and Mom and Dad hurried to see the source of the commotion.

From the bathroom door they saw Ricky leaning over the bathtub clutching what looked like a thrashing fur ball but what they realized was the family cat. Then as they noticed the bathtub held several inches of water they knew what was about to happen!

“I baptize you…” Ricky intoned as he tried to hold onto the cat and pull him down into the water at the same time. However, the cat wasn’t about to cooperate, so he gave a final “Yowl!” and escaped from Ricky’s grasp, darting out of the room.

“Okay!” Ricky shouted after the fleeing victim. “Be a Methodist!”

While Ricky was certainly quick to give up on his “baptismal candidate” we can be reassured that God never gives up on us if we don’t respond the way he wants us to. For in his measureless grace he forgives our confessed failures, then forgets our deviations and sets us back on the path he has planned for us.

So whether we’re Baptist or Methodist or whatever our church label, we all can experience God’s love and care and how it goes beyond rejection into full acceptance.

On the Ball

Ed sat down in front of the sales manager’s desk and waited. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes,” the manager had told him as he left the room, leaving Ed anxiously anticipating his return and a chance to present his proposal.

Ed knew he had to make this sale! He knew he hadn’t done well for several weeks and when his boss assigned him this account there was an implication that if he didn’t get it he’d be out of a job.

Then he saw it. On the desk was a folder emblazoned with the name of his chief competitor, and Ed then realized that it probably contained their sales proposal for this job!

If only he could get a look at that bid his problems might be solved, for if he knew their price then he could make his bid less and worry later about how they might meet the cost.

As he began to reach for the folder he glanced over at the door to see if the sales manager might be returning. Then he saw the problem.

Resting on one corner of the folder was a soft drink can and he saw that if he wanted to open the folder to see the figure, he’d have to pick up the can and move it. So with another quick glance at the door, he lifted the can.

The clatter was deafening as there poured from the bottomless soda can a torrent of ball bearings, rattling over the desk and onto the floor. Just then Ed looked up to see the sales manager standing in the door.

Ed learned that improvising solutions don’t work and I’ve often discovered it’s the same on my spiritual journey when I try to think up my own answers to a problem instead of letting God tell me what he wants me to do. Of course it’s futile to jump ahead of him since my humanity limits me knowing the whole picture and what I attempt may actually interfere in God’s ultimate perfect solution.

Also, it could be that God is trying to teach me something through the problem and if I’m to best serve him I must rely on him to guide me through the difficulty, not come up with my own ideas. After all his solutions are far better.

The Enemy Defeated

Patrick sighed and dropped to his knees before the fading firelight, remaining silent so he wouldn’t awaken his wife and child as they slept nearby in the darkness after their skimpy supper.

Patrick was hungry too, but he ate little these days since their food supply was now almost gone. Yet he knew that his neighbors were just as desperate as he was, since their situation seemed so hopeless and there was no reason to think things would change. Just weeks before the enemy had surrounded their city to begin the siege and ever since then the city officials kept promising that their own national army was sure to defeat the invaders and soon rescue them.

Since the siege began he and his family had waited anxiously along with his neighbors for any snatch of information about the promised rescue. Any day now, the city officials kept saying, the army is on its way! However, as the days passed, Patrick and his family could only look out at the enemy that surrounded them, huddle in their homes and wait.

Then Patrick cocked his head, as there came a sound at the door. Was there someone there? Surely not since almost no one left their homes even in the daytime. Then he heard a loud knock!

Patrick arose and hurried to the door, unlocking and pulling it open a crack to view the vague form of his neighbor Terrence.

“Open up! I have wonderful news!” Terrance whispered and as Patrick opened the door wider the other man slipped inside.

As Terrence joined him at the fire, Patrick saw his wife step into the firelight, clutching a cloak around her threadbare gown. The firelight angled off the lines in her face and behind her his small son peered fearfully from the shadows. His family! How they’d suffered! If only they could be….

“Free!” Terrence was grinning broadly. “We’ll soon be free!”

“What’s that?” Patrick mumbled.

“Haven’t you heard what I just said?” Terrance was chiding him. “Listen! I just heard from my brother who’s on the town council. You remember I told you the council sent a messenger out through a secret tunnel to meet up with the national army? Well he did and now he’s back. Patrick, the national army has defeated the invaders and it’s only a matter of time till the siege army will hear of the defeat and will give up! Don’t you see – we’ll soon be free!”

Patrick searched the face of his friend as he began to absorb the words. The enemy was defeated! They could now face the future, no longer worn down by the suffering that had enslaved them. They’d be free!

While we may never be actually besieged by an army like Patrick was in a way we’re besieged and surrounded by sinful and evil world with all the misery and suffering that it means. The enemy is unseen but is effects are not and there are times when we must feel as helpless and hopeless as Patrick and his neighbors.

Yet while the enemy that is evil may seem to be insurmountable there is good news. Evil and its side effect of death have been defeated! For through his life and death, Jesus Christ, the perfect God-man has defeated evil and death and we have been set free.

Pitching In

Clutching her children’s Bible and clad in her frilliest dress, little Sherry dashed toward the church. If only she hadn’t overslept! Mommy had managed to get her dressed and set her on her way, but at the moment Sherry was most concerned about not being late to Sunday school and jeopardizing her perfect attendance record.

“Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late!” She prayed as she reached the church steps. “Lord, don’t let me be late!”

Splat!

Her toe caught on the bottom step and she went sprawling! Stifling the tendency to cry, Sherry picked herself up to regard her scuffed knees and ripped dress. She started up the steps again and as she did so she had a new prayer: “Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late – but don’t shove me either!”

We know God doesn’t actually physically shove us into something he wants us to do or where he wants us to go, but we know he does use a variety of ways to indicate his will for us. For instance he might “nudge” us through what happens to us (or doesn’t), what someone else says or does, and of course through his Word. So when he wants to indicate his will for us but our next question must be – when he “speaks” will we not only learn but also follow?

The Possible Impossible

Little Tony probably wasn’t aware of his father’s just-under-the-surface irritation at his maternal grandmother. Also, he most likely had never heard his father’s opinions about how Mrs. Jones was an interfering, critical nag (particularly to Daddy) and how Mommy disagreed at times but sadly had to admit her mother did have a tendency to assert her opinions. In addition, Daddy had a quick temper and often spoke impulsively and they could only hope that Tony hadn’t heard his comments. However, they both agreed that aside from having an assertive take-charge personality she was a wonderful person and they knew she was totally devoted to Tony.

However, one day they learned that Tony knew more than they thought he did.

“Oh, I’m sure glad you’re here!” Tony greeted Grandma Jones one day when she arrived. “Now maybe Daddy will do the trick he said he’d do!”

“What’s that?” Mrs. Jones asked.

“I heard him tell Mommy last night that he’d climb the walls the next time you came over!”

Tony was too young to realize that was just a figure of speech, which we literally don’t climb the walls (no matter our motivation!) and it’s just not possible. Yet sometimes I wonder if I consider some of the tasks God assigns me just as impossible, particularly if they seem too far-out, something I’d never considered and just impossible.

Yet when you look at it from God’s point of view what we might think of as unlikely and improbable he sees as not only possible but very doable! Often what happens is that what seems impossible usually does so because I don’t want to take the mental or even physical effort that such a new task might involve. Another reason might be that a disruption of a secure routine, or maybe I’ve got other ideas that don’t include what God’s indicating he wants me to do.

Yet no matter my reasoning, if I accept God’s challenge and begin his task then not only do I find he provides what strength, guidance and provision I need also I know I’m following his plan for me.

When It Falls to Me

“I’m really afraid Horace will try to do something crazy while we’re here,” Marcia commented to her new husband as they checked into the big city hotel for their honeymoon. “He’s such a practical joker.”

“Your own brother?” John asked. “But he’s always seemed so stable, especially since he started his new business.”

“Yeah, an electronics company.” Mary sniffed. “Actually what I’m afraid of is that he’ll think it’s really funny to bug our hotel room! With his company he has the equipment and the knowledge and he’d just love to play tapes of us for his buddies!”

“Aw, I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” John soothed her. “Let’s just get settled and then go get something to eat. Just forget about it.”

However, Mary could not, and in fact, she grew more and more worried about the possibility, till finally John could not calm her. She just couldn’t relax and enjoy their dinner because she was so worried about how Horace might have rigged up something that would embarrass her.

“Darling, Horace doesn’t even know where we’re staying!” John tried to reassure her. “We ourselves didn’t know till two days ago and I certainly didn’t tell anyone.”

“I didn’t either, but I’m so afraid that Horace will find out!” Mary insisted. “He’s a wonderful brother but he’s got this incurable desire to play jokes that humiliate people and he’d love to do it to me!”

“Okay, I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” John told her. “Before we go to bed we’ll make a complete search of the room to make sure there aren’t any bugs. Will that make you feel better?”

Though she wasn’t really sure that would solve the problem, Mary agreed. After all, she knew her fear was logically unreasonable and she certainly didn’t want to spend her honeymoon worrying unnecessarily.

Back up in their room they searched the room carefully, checking behind the drapes, behind the pictures, and even under the bed. Since the hotel was the elegant old-fashioned sort and the rooms had beautiful hardwood floors with area rugs, John even flipped up the carpet and checked under there.

“Hey! That might be a bug!” Mary almost shrieked as she pointed to a metal plate set flush with the floor under the rug. ”Get rid of it!”

The metal plate was round and held in place by four deeply imbedded screws which John could not force open.

“I’m sure that’s a bug! You’ve got to get it out!” Mary was trembling with concern.

John sighed, and paused to think. “Well, I have a screwdriver down in the car.” He said, hoping she would realize how silly it was that he would have to trek all the way down to the garage in the middle of the night.

However, Mary wasn’t to be denied, and John realized she wouldn’t calm down till he complied, so he dressed and descended to the parking garage to get the tool kit. A short time later, he returned and after much effort unscrewed the plate and examined it. However, when she saw that the metal disc didn’t seem to have any electronics attached, Mary seemed to calm down and then after further reassurance turned her attention to her new husband.

The next morning as John and Mary came down to the lobby and turned their key into the desk before they went sightseeing the clerk had some questions. “How was your room? Did anything go wrong?”

He seemed so unusually anxious as to their satisfaction John asked him about it. “We’ve had no problems with the hotel, “ he said. “Everything’s been fine. But why are you so concerned?”

“Well something unusual happened and we’re puzzled,” the clerk told him, “It seems we had a serious complaint from the people in the room just under yours. There was no real injury but it was unusual and we can’t explain it.”

“But what happened?” John persisted.

“Well, “ the clerk shook his head in concern. “It seems that just as they were about to go to bed the chandelier in the ceiling fell on them!”

John and Mary certainly discovered that their actions had unexpected results, and that happens occasionally to me, especially when I discover that something I’ve done or said affected someone. Hopefully the effect was good, but even if it wasn’t such a thought really brings home what a responsibility I have – particularly as I try to live for God.

So how do I make sure I only do or say what will help and not hurt? Perhaps the best way would be to stay so close to the Lord that I’m constantly aware of pleasing him and thus conscious of what I’m doing. Then once I’ve done that then perhaps God can use me to help someone else and when that happens I get the opportunity to experience that humbling sense of awe that comes from knowing God has used me.