Accidental Useful Knowledge

I recently read two books back to back - just for fun. One was A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith and the other was Marley and Me by John Grogan. On the surface these two books had nothing in common. One was a historical novel following a family for several generations (1863 to 1968) as they settled Florida. The other was about a family's life with an incredibly spirited dog named Marley.

Reading through A Land Remembered introduced me to Florida when it was practically undiscovered. Only a few Indian tribes dared to live in the swampy, seemingly uninhabitable land; however even the good land was free range at one time. Those that could weather the unforgiving terrain could travel all across Florida. No fences hindered them. Only bandits, disease or wild animals did that. Families could set up homesteads without much interference. Later as things changed, the land had to be purchased. It was owned and fenced making it impossible for others to travel through on their way to the other side of the state.

I considered this information interesting, but might not have dwelt on it had not it also been addressed in a totally unrelated true account about Marley. For much of his life, Marley and family lived in a neighborhood close to the Intracoastal Waterway separating West Palm Beach from Palm Beach. There were vivid descriptions of south Florida thunderstorms in both books. However, what connected the two books in my mind was John Grogan's description of Palm Beach County: "what is less widely known is that it is also home to huge farms that stretch across drained Everglades swamps for miles out of town." I was introduced to those huge farms and drained swamps in A Land Remembered.


Although I have visited Florida, I have never lived there. I had not sought to discover facts about Florida and its development but there may be a time in the future when this accidental information will be useful.

The same thing often happens to me while I am searching online for information. An innocent search about one subject somehow leads down intricate paths to another subject. The facts I discovered at the end of my search could possibly be unrelated to what I wanted to know at the beginning. Sometimes by the time I am through with my research, I forgot what I was looking for in the first place!

I believe that no knowledge is wasted. There have been times when I met someone or was in the middle of a teaching situation when all of a sudden I remembered something hidden in my mind's data bank that was now applicable to the present. I have a vivid memory of one retreat I was conducting where someone posed a question to me that I had never contemplated before. However, just the day previous to that, some unrelated research had supplied me with the knowledge I needed in order to answer the question. Those circumstances often surprise me, but I am confident that God is not surprised. What is accidental useful knowledge for me is part of His plan.

To give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion - A wise man will hear and increase learning and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel (Proverbs 1:4-5).

Orphans No More

Have you ever noticed once something becomes part of your life that you start observing others with similar things or relationships?

When we had children, I started noticing other mothers with children, strollers and diaper bags - more than I had ever done before. Years ago we bought a black truck. As soon as we bought that truck, I started seeing black trucks everywhere - many of them just like mine. Now that I have an adopted granddaughter (who has just turned three), I keep discovering someone who has an adopted family member or someone who is considering adoption - or is involved in a ministry involving orphans.

Practically everyone has a soft spot for orphans. It is heart wrenching to imagine a child who has lost both parents or who has been abandoned by her parents. Orphans have a life, but not a home. They may live in an orphanage with other children, but they need a family to call their own.

The fortunate children in such a situation are adopted. A family who wants a child is matched with a child that needs a home. God did not ask my husband and me to adopt a child, but I praise Him that He did ask my son, his wife and their two sons to do so. All of our lives have been incredibly enriched.

God is the creator of all men and He gave them life. However, He created mankind with the ability to choose. Adam and Eve chose to sin. Death and separation from God was the result of their choice. We are no different. Our sin separates us from an intimate relationship with God.

The concept of adoption originated with God. Jesus Christ paid for our sin. Those who have accepted His gift of grace and have a relationship with Him are adopted by God the Father. He has provided an eternal home for His adopted children. We are orphans no more.

I have been adopted by God the Father. I am part of God's family. My granddaughter has been adopted by my son's family. She is part of my family. These facts have created in me a new understanding and urgency for evangelism.

I now see spiritual orphans everywhere - people who live but do not yet have an eternal home with God. Those who refuse the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ will forever be separated from Him. They will remain orphans - existing outside of God's family and His home.

I pray that as God gives me opportunity, I will pay the price to introduce those who do not yet know Christ as Savior - the orphans of the world - to my Father and my family. Will you join me?

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also" (John 14: 16-19).

Diagnosing Connection Problems

I travel a lot. In order to keep working while on the road, access to the internet is a necessity. Thankfully, most places it is no problem. However, there are times when a connection is very difficult. There are even occasions when the network diagnostic assures me my internet connection appears to be working properly but my email does not load nor can I access any website. The message that appears while attempting to view a website states that I am not connected to the internet and network diagnostics can help solve my connection problems. I feel like I am going in circles. 

One thing I know about this problem is that I need help solving it. Usually the issue is not resolved until I ask for aid (usually from my husband). When I am unable to connect to a network because (as the network diagnostic indicates) I have entered an incorrect password or network name, chosen the wrong type of wireless security or am out of range of the base station, I need help in deciding how to correct the problem.

It is somewhat frustrating to be intelligently handicapped in this way since all of my work is done on my laptop. I would prefer to figure things out on my own and not have to disturb my husband, but I am seldom able to do so. I need his help. He understands the network diagnostic language.

There are times when Christians develop a problem communicating with the heavenly Father. Often, the problem is not apparent to others. Appearances may make it seem as if the connection has never been broken and everything is working properly, but there is an adjustment that needs to be made so that communication is unhindered.

When that happens, we need help in restoring our connection. The problem is never on God’s side. It is always on our side and our lack of paying attention to the issues that are so critical in keeping the communication flowing. We need the Holy Spirit’s help in diagnosing the problem.

Sometimes we are unable to connect because we are not using the proper name. God knows our thoughts and our hearts, but in order to reach Him, we must come through Jesus. Jesus told His disciples to come to the Father in His name. That has not changed.

Sometimes we are unable to connect because we are looking in the wrong place for security. Prayer is not simply meditation as the world defines it. Emptying our minds in meditation opens the door for Satan to fill our minds with his agenda. Prayer is always God focused -  through Jesus.

Sometimes we get out of range of the base station (God’s presence) by allowing sin to take control. When that happens, we are the ones who have moved out of range. 

Most of us resist asking for help. We want to control our own lives, not submit to God’s direction. In every case, however, that compounds the problem and delays open channels of communication. We need His help. He is readily available to diagnose any communication problems and leads us through steps to correct them.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT).

Breaking out of the Clouds

I travel a lot, mostly by air. It is when I am flying that I am most aware of the beauty and majesty of clouds. I never get over the fascination of breaking out of the clouds. Ascending and descending through clouds gives me three perspectives.

On the ascent, breaking through the clouds can mean leaving a very gloomy day below and being reminded that the sun was shining all the time. It also symbolizes the beginning of the journey, the successful completion of traveling to the airport, navigating the security and check in lines and actually making it to my seat on time. I may as well settle in until we break through the clouds once again at our destination.

Penetrating the clouds means for a short time that nothing else can be seen but clouds. Objects below and things above disappear from sight.  We are traveling in a fog - symbolically and literally.

Breaking out of the clouds on the descent is a delight. On a trip to a new location, the scenery below is captivating because it gives me a bird's eye view of where I will be staying for awhile. Breaking through the clouds when returning home is the best yet. It is familiar and comforting.

No matter where I am - underneath the clouds, in the midst of them or above them - what I see is only one part of the big picture. When I can see the sun, but not the ground, it does not mean that the ground is not there. The reverse is also true. When only the ground is visible and the airplane has yet to break through the clouds to showcase the heavenly bodies, I am aware that the sun or the moon and stars are still there even when I can't see them. They haven't moved. I have.

I have talked to many people about Jesus. Some of them have come to understand that as God's Son, He gave His life for theirs and offers salvation as a free gift. In a sense, they have broken through the cloud of unbelief to see the Son of Man as He really is.

Others may have understood what I was saying, but refused His offer of grace. One person I know has yet to believe in Jesus because he said he could not prove He existed. This otherwise intelligent and nice man could accept the existence of other historical figures, but not Jesus, the most documented human being there is. I continue to pray that he will break through the cloud of unbelief that is fogging his thinking and come to accept Jesus as Lord.

Jesus not only lived in history, He always has been, is now and will always be God. I cannot see Him at the present with my eyes, but I see Him clearly with my heart. Those who do not see Him or have rejected Him will someday discover He was there all the time.

The clouds He created took Him out of sight for awhile, but will one day make Him visible to every one. For those who love Him, it will be a joyful experience.

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received Him out of their sight (Acts 1:9). Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him (Revelation 1:7).

The Real Superman

Superman has always been a favorite of mine. Starting out as a comic book hero in 1939, he has been around ever since. In 1940, the radio series The Adventures of Superman began. It ran for eleven years. During that time, any one listening to it could probably describe Superman as "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

All the movies, old as well as new, and all the television programs, including the most recent Lois and Clark and Smallville, have had my viewing attention. They are always good, fun and clean entertainment.

Superman has sustained popularity, I believe, because every one wants to believe in a hero. Interestingly, Superman did not originate on earth. He came from Krypton, sent to earth by his parents as an effort to save him as their planet was being destroyed.

Found and kept by a loving couple in Kansas, he determined early on to use his super powers for good and not evil, adapting to his adopted planet although he knew he was very different from everyone around him. He accepted people's shortcomings without giving into the temptation to become like them when their attitudes and actions were not consistent with his standards of honesty and decency.

Superman felt his disguise as a mild mannered reporter, Clark Kent, was necessary in order to be able to help others. At a moment's notice, Clark Kent slips away to become Superman when he becomes aware of someone's need. He wasn't really a dual personality. Clark and Superman were one and the same. When people were caught in dangerous situations and could not help themselves, Superman showed up to do what would have been impossible for them to do.

Superman has his enemies  - Lex Luthor being the most well known. Lex never feels like he can do all he wants to do - control the world - with Superman around. He is always behind the scenes trying to connive a way to get rid of Superman.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is no fictional character. He is real. He left heaven to come to earth to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. His real enemy, Satan, brought sin into the world and has been trying to control mankind ever since. Satan knows we are helpless to save ourselves.

The best definition of humility is "strength under control." Jesus humbled himself to live among men so that He might save them. Jesus is both the Lion of Judah and the sacrificial Lamb of God. Instead of leaving the human race without any hope and helpless, Jesus chose to give His own life to save those who would trust Him.

Jesus is the only real hero there is.

[Jesus] emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).