July 20, 2010

Number 29

VIEWPOINT

In his book, The Christian Way, Maxie Dunnam tells an interesting story about the Canadian photographer, Yousaf Karsh.

According to Dunnam, Yousaf Karsh only took one portrait of a person's back, that of Pablo Casals in a small French abbey in 1954.  Karsh writes that as he was setting up his equipment, Casals began playing Bach on his cello.  Karsh was so enthralled by the music that he almost forgot why he was there.  He took his portrait of Casals with the little bald-headed man bent over his cello, frozen in time against the plain stone wall of that chapel.  Karsh said that he took it that way to capture the loneliness of the truly great artists and the loneliness of exile.

Years later, when the portrait was on exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, another old, bald-headed man came day after day and stood for long moments at a time in front of the portrait. The curator of the museum noticed him and, when his curiosity got the best of him, went over, tapped the man on the shoulder, and asked why he stood so long before the picture.  The old man, with obvious irritation, turned on the curator and said, “Hush, young man!  Can't you see I'm listening to the music!”

Are we “listening to the music” of Christ in our hearts?  Somehow as we face the world in which we live we need to present a picture of Christ – his life, his death, his resurrection and his continuing presence with us.  We need to present a picture that has authenticity, one that is real and vibrant.

“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure” (Psalm 16:9).

I look forward to seeing you soon with a Bible, a smile, and a positive word!     RA

Money And Time

During a trip to London, I visited the Bank of England Museum, then made my way to The Clockmakers’ Museum. At some point, it struck me that both money and time have been very important commodities as far back as anyone can remember. Yet they present one of the great dilemmas of life. We trade our valuable time working for money, and then we spend our money to make the most of our time off. We seldom possess the two with any degree of balance.

In contrast, our Lord never seemed perplexed by money or time. When asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus answered:  “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).  With great demands on His time, Jesus spent early mornings and late nights in prayer, seeking to know and do His Father’s will.

Hymn writer Frances Havergal wrote:

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

We can properly balance time and money when we offer ourselves without reservation to God.

Spend time and money wisely — they both belong to God.

—David McCasland

More than Survivors

2010 Wednesday Summer Series

Those who are more than survivors . . .

Walk by Faith not By Sight (Like Abraham)

June 9                   Alan Henderson

 Don’t Let Sin Get the Best of Us (Like David)

June 9                      Alfred Donald

 Risk Everything for God and His People

(Like Ruth)

June 16                     Scott Franks

 Serve God with Passion (Like Joshua)

June 23                      Patrick Gray

 Rebuild Spiritual Protection (Like Nehemiah)

June 30                                 Mike Sparks

 Always Does Good (Like Tabitha)

 July   7                    Ron Bradshaw

 Make Spiritual Choices (Like Moses)

    July 14                      Taylor Hammett

 Serve God with Passion (Like Joshua)

    July 24                      Dan Thompson

 Engage Spiritual Battles with Courage

(Like Elijah)

July 28                     Bob Staples

See Possibilities Not Just Problems (Like Caleb)

August 4                    Ben Slocumb

Hold on to Their Dreams (Like Jacob)

August 11              Barry Blackburn

Share God's Love with Those Around Us

(Like Paul)

August 18                   Chris King

Look at Life through God's Perspective

(Like Joseph)

August 25                 Ron Edwards

Watch Out for Compromises (Like Daniel)

September 1               Mitch Grubb