"Christian Voices"

September 2, 2010

HUMOR

A woman was flying from Melbourne to Brisbane. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sydney along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board In 50 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind. A man had noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her guide dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight. He could also tell she had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, 'Kathy, we are in Sydney for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?'

The blind lady replied, 'No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs.'

Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot - wearing dark sunglasses - walk off the plane with a guide dog!

People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they tried to change airlines!

.....Chaplain Notes (ChapnotesMail@aol.com) (http://www.chapnotes.org) (t.airportchaplain@verizon.net) by way of "Christian Voices" (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)

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THOUGHT PROVOKING – INSPIRATIONAL

MAY GOD BLESS YOU THIS DAY...FOR HE IS!

Faith is an interesting thing. In English the word refers to anything from religions to attitudes. But the primary definition is quite simple. Faith is a confident belief in the truth, value or trust-worthiness of a person, idea or thing. Even so, if we're not careful, that can be as clear as mud, so let's take a closer look.

Having a confident belief means being sure or certain, rather than feeling something "might be". In court we'd hear "beyond a reasonable doubt". It’s what leads us to say, "This is the way it is". It may be whether something is true, has worth, or can be trusted but the conclusion is...This is the way it is.

A mistake many make is they assume faith is only about things for which there can be no proof. That's not true. Faith runs the gamut, from mountains of evidence to little if any. That's because personal choice is involved. A person chooses what will be his "confident belief". Some may see the choice as wise or foolish, but that's more about what the belief is based on.

For example, I have a confident belief that if I run into a brick wall, it's going to hurt. There's a lot of proof for that. Bricks are hard, walls are immovable, and I bruise easily. There's so much evidence to support my confident belief, most would say that proclaiming this as truth doesn’t take a lot of faith.

Suppose a man has a confident belief there's no such thing as a doctor. He lives in a remote village and has never seen one. He's heard strangers from other villages say the same. His wife was once sick and needed such a person, but no one came and she died.

You ask, "Did you try to find a doctor?" "Why seek what does not exist?" "But I have been helped and healed by a doctor, and I can show you others who have." "The healthy are healthy. The sick are sick. And the dying die. This is the way it is."

We can hear what he says, see how he lives, argue that he's wrong, even call him a fool, but it doesn't change the fact that he has a confident belief of what he considers to be the truth, have value or be worthy of his trust. For him, there is no such thing as a doctor, no point in seeking one, and nothing to be trusted. This is his faith. This is the way it is.

To have such faith, he must ignore overwhelming evidence – men, women and children who have been helped and healed, witnesses of what a doctor has done for them. Instead, he must rely on his limited experience, his choice not to seek a doctor, his expectation one would come to him, and some people he's never met, saying things he really doesn't know if they're true.

We may not understand him, but this much is clear: To live a life based on such a belief requires a deeper commitment to that belief, in other words, much more faith, than those who live in the wealth of evidence that a doctor does exist and with the security of having proof from personal experience.

This is much like the idea of whether a loving Creator exists. The vast majority of people on the planet have a "confident belief" there is such a One. But what proof do they have? Much of science points to a time of beginning when there was nothing and relies on the premise that all things result from cause and effect.

Cause and effect are other words for creation. And logic requires a deliberate choice for the first cause to create the effect that resulted in the universe, stars, planets, earth, plants, animals...us.

Though everything around us is evidence of a Creator, some rely instead on those they don’t know, who say things they can't be sure is true. They do not try to find the Creator. "Why seek what does not exist?" And despite the experiences of millions of witnesses who tell how they were helped and healed by a loving Creator, some choose to ignore their evidence, claiming, This is the way it is.

Since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Look around. We are truly blessed. It is so easy for us to believe there is a loving Creator. But pray for those who choose such an incredibly confident belief that casts Him aside. With all creation surrounding them, it takes tremendous faith to be an atheist.

.....as seen in A Note of Encouragement via Cup O'Cheer (cheer316@sc.rr.com) by way of Keith Todd (ktodd@vci.net) and "Christian Voices" (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)

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THE LETTER

When I was a freshman in college I received a letter that forever opened a window in my soul. I had just started writing and the editor of my local county newspaper had been kind enough to publish some of my work. About a month later the letter arrived. Sadly, I lost it in the many moves I have made since then, but it’s essence still lives in my heart.

Here is what it said. "You may not remember me. We last saw each other in kindergarten and my family moved the next year. We still get the county paper in the mail, though, and when I saw your name I had to write you. You see that first year in school was very difficult for me. I was a tiny, sickly, and homely girl that the other children teased every day. The thing I remember about you is that you never did. You were always kind to me. When we lined up to go out the teacher always put me beside you and you would hold my hand as we crossed the street. You talked to me and played with me. When you were around too the other kids didn’t tease me. You saw me as a person, not someone different and I will be forever grateful for that. My whole life was better because of how you treated me all those years ago."

I quickly wrote back to my kindergarten friend and we corresponded happily for several years before the illness that she had struggled with since childhood finally took her life. I will never forget, however, just how much that simple kindness I had shared meant to her. It made me see that kindness, goodness, love, and joy truly are the most important things in the world.

Every act of kindness we do touches another’s heart. Every bit of goodness we share makes the world a better place. Every choice for love we make brings us and those around us closer to God. God blessed us with the power to help, heal, love, and change this world forever. Let’s use that power and make both Earth and Heaven smile.

.....Joseph J. Mazzella (joemazzella@frontier.com) by way of "Christian Voices" (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)

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