The Natural Order

A very wealthy man asked a Zen master for a text which would always remind him how happy he was with his family.

The Zen master took some parchment and, in beautiful calligraphy, wrote:

– The father dies. The son dies. The grandson dies.

– What? – said the furious rich man. – I asked you for something to inspire me, some teaching which might be respectfully contemplated by future generations, and you give me something as depressing and gloomy as these words?

– You asked me for something which would remind you of the happiness of living together with your family. If your son dies first, everyone will be devastated by the pain. If your grandson dies, it would be an unbearable experience.

“However, if your family disappears in the order which I placed on the paper, this is the natural course of life. Thus, although we all endure moments of pain, the generations will continue, and your legacy will be long-lasting.”

The Cry of the Desert

As soon as he arrived in Marrakesh, Morocco, a missionary decided he would stroll through the desert at the city’s boundary every morning. On his first stroll he noticed a man lying on the sand, caressing the ground with his hands and leaning his ears towards the earth.

“He is mad,” the missionary said to himself. But he saw the man every morning during his walks and after a month, intrigued by that strange behavior, he decided to approach the stranger.

He knelt beside him and asked, in broken Arabic, “What are you doing?”

“I keep the desert company and offer solace for its loneliness and its tears.”

“I didn’t know the desert was capable of crying.”

“It cries every day, because it dreams of being useful to mankind and turning into a huge garden where people could cultivate, flowers and sheep.”

“Well, then, tell the desert it accomplishes its mission very well,” said the missionary. “Every time I walk here, I am able to understand the true dimension of the human being, as its open space allows me to see how small we are before God. When I look at its sands, I imagine the millions of people in the world who were raised alike although the world isn’t always fair towards everyone. Its mountains help me meditate. As I see the sun rising on the horizon, my soul fills with joy and I get closer to the Creator.”

The missionary left the man and went back to his daily chores. To his surprise, he found him the next morning at the same place, in the same position.

“Did you tell the desert everything I told you?” he asked.

The man nodded.
“And even so it keeps crying?”

“I can hear each of its sobs,” answered the man, his head tilted towards the ground.

“Now it is crying because it spent thousands of years thinking it was completely useless and wasted all this time blaspheming God and its own destiny.”

“Well, then tell the desert that despite having a short lifespan, we human beings spend much of our days thinking we are useless. We rarely find the reason for our destiny and think God has been unfair to us. When a moment finally arrives in which we are shown the reason why we were born, we think it is too late to change and keep on suffering. And as the desert, we blame ourselves for the time we have wasted.”

“I am not sure the desert will bother to hear it,” said the man. “It is used to suffering and it can’t see things differently.”

“So then let us do what I always do when I feel people have lost faith. Let us pray.”

Both of them went down on their knees and prayed; one turned to Mecca as he was a Muslim and the other joined his hands in prayer, as he was Catholic. They prayed, each one to his own God.

The next day when the missionary resumed his daily walk, the man was no longer there. The ground where he used to embrace the sand seemed to be wet as if a small spring had formed. During the following months that spring grew and the city’s residents built a well around it.

The place is now called “The Well of the Desert’s Tears”. It is said that those who drink its water will be able to transform the reason of their suffering into the reason of their joy and will end up finding their true destiny.

Biggest lie of the enemy

He could be locked in any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free quickly and easily.

Always he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong.
Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy, metal doors clanged shut behind him.

He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible.

He set to work immediately, but something seemed to be unusual about this lock.

For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere.

An hour passed, and still he had not opened the door.

By now he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock.

Finally, after laboring for 2 hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he could not unlock.

But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all!

But in his mind it was locked and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.

That's how powerful your God-given mind is.

So if you think you're too old to memorize Bible verses...then you're right.

If you think you have a bad memory and can't memorize scriptures...then again you're right.

And if you think you're too busy to memorize God's Word...you're right too.

Simply stated, you'll believe what you want to believe is true.

I'm sorry but all these are just lies that the enemy are whispering to your ears.

Because the enemy would rather have you meditate on fears, doubts, and impurity than the true and living power of the Word of God.

But I trust you that you'll make a right decision and start your journey to a healthier relationship with God through scripture memorization.

Deep meditation

It's a story of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who was deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, and he failed to kneel at the appropriate moment.

His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege.

Dante defended himself by saying...

"If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing."

End of story.

How about you?

Are your eyes and mind on God?

You see, we're in the age of distraction.

There more things now that gets our attention and it's harder to stay focused.

With technology, we now have email, Internet, chat, mobile phones, facebook, etc.

All these compete for your attention and eats up some of your time.

The time that you should be spending on activities that will help you grow spiritually.

Memorizing scriptures can take only 5 to 10 minutes of your time.

But what you'll gain spiritually is immeasurable.

Marinating your mind with God's Word and His promises is the fastest way to be closer to God.

God is ALWAYS looking forward to talk to you with all your attention is on Him.

So don't let the busyness of this world control your life.

Instead, let your life be controlled by the scriptures you've memorized.

Bible Reading

It was 1983. I and my two cousins were about to get baptized. As the custom, we were fasting for 3 days. We were challenged by the pastor to read the entire Bible before the baptism. Even though I read small chapters every day, I never ventured to read the entire Bible.

So we started to read the Bible. Frequently we discuss the chapters we are reading and we take stock of the books to be red to complete the task at hand. Some books were very interesting. Some parts were very boring. Still, we continued reading the Bible. It was a summer vacation time. So we were able to read the Bible during the day and night.

A few weeks later, I abandoned the task. But, my cousins completed it. During those days we look at the total page number and the number of pages I left. Very often I reviewed how many pages I read and how many pages left to complete the reading. Later I divided my reading plan into two. New Testament and Old Testament. First I completed New Testament and then I pursed the Old Testament.

My satisfaction came when I closed the book on the last page.

Throughout my teens, whatever I read, I always checked the page number/chapter I read and compared it to the total number of pages.  Anxious to be done with the task - whether reading for pleasure or for homework. I gauged my progress by how close I was to the end. My satisfaction came when I closed the book on the last page.

Thirty years later, enthralled with a good story, I never look at the page number. I enjoy the story. The end is no longer a sigh of relieve. It's a sad moment when I have to leave the world in the pages and return to the real one. I savor every moment of the life I am taken to between the pages.

It was those same teenage years when I longed for the time to fly so I could be on my own - to live the life I wanted. I didn't savor the pages as they turned.

Today, my final page is hopefully not too close. I want to savor the story of my life pages have to offer. I've learned to enjoy the story. Carefully reading each pages and loved the new information and twist it brings.

What I did yesterday teaching me. I turn the page of tomorrow. What new mysteries it reveal? What excitement will unfold?

I no longer rush through life; I enjoy the read.

Story of King Amaziah

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.  He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.   After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king.   Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”

Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service, able to handle the spear and shield.  He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the LORD is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim.  Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied, “The LORD can give you much more than that.”

So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.

Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir.  The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war raided towns belonging to Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them.  The anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?”

While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”

But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot.  You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”

Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom.  So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah.  Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home.  Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits long.  He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

The Man With The One Track Mind

Eddie Arcaro dreamed of becoming the world's greatest jockey but after watching him ride a horse for five minutes, reality reflected a harsh contradiction. He was awkward and clumsy, and in his early years in the saddle he couldn't do one thing right. He was left behind at the post, he got trapped in traffic jams, he got bumped and boxed in. In his first 100 races he never even came close to winning. Still, he got right back on and tried again.

Even as a schoolboy, Arcaro had set his own track in life. Because he was only a little over five feet tall and weighed barely 80 pounds, the other students shunned him. So he played hooky instead, hanging out at the local race track where a trainer let him gallop the horses. His father reluctantly agreed to let him pursue a career as a jockey, even though he knew it was a long shot. The trainer had told him so. "Send him back to school," he said. "He'll never be a rider."

No one was betting on little Eddie Arcaro, no one that is except Arcaro. He was determined not just to ride, but to become the world's greatest jockey. But first someone would have to give him a chance. He pleaded and persisted until he finally got to ride in a real race. Before it was over, he'd lost his whip and his cap and had almost fallen off the saddle. By the time he finished the race, the other horses were on their way back to the stables. He'd come in dead last.

After that, Arcaro went from track to track, looking for any opportunity to ride. Finally, an owner who felt pity took him in and gave him his next chance. One hundred trophy-less races later, he was still giving him a chance. The trainers saw something in this unlucky jockey, something they couldn't define. Perhaps it was potential, perhaps it was resilience, perhaps it was sheer obstinacy, but no one was willing to send him home. And Arcaro was certainly not going to quit.

There were long years when he was broke, homesick, and almost without friends. There were also many brushes with death and several broken bones. Every time his delicate 63 inch body was trammeled by hoofs he would get patched up and return to the saddle.

Then it happened. Arcaro began to win...and win...and win...Now, instead of leaving a path of destruction, he was leaving a path of devastated opponents. In thirty years of riding, he won 4,779 races, becoming the only jockey in history to win the Kentucky Derby five times. By the time he retired in 1962 he was a millionaire and a legend in his own lifetime.

From the moment he walked out of school and onto a track, Eddie Arcaro had his mind on a finish line. And although the race took thirty years, he never quit until that line was crossed.

Cynthia Kersey

Cynthia Kersey is the author of Unstoppable and Unstoppable Women
Copyright 1998 by Cynthia Kersey
Visit Cynthia's web site at: www.unstoppable.net