The Purpose of this Blog

To challenge others to step out of their comfort zone and show the world the love of Jesus Christ through random acts of kindness.

Jesus teaches about salt and light

"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world - like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:13-16 NLT)

How it all started

It was a cold December morning in Chicago. Air temperature 18 degrees. Wind chill zero degrees. I was travelling North on IL 53 just South of Palatine Rd. It was 9:30am.

I was in the left lane as I made the slow curve around Arlington Race Course when I saw a car pulled off on the right shoulder, hazard lights flashing, the left rear tire was flat. As I blew past I noticed exhaust from the tailpipe - the engine was running - and the silhouette of a woman in the drivers seat. There was no way that I could get over three lanes to stop and help, so I continued on.

This is nothing new - it happens every day. I see people broken down everywhere I go. I tried to make myself feel better by reasoning that she has already called someone, and that help is surely on its way. But the Spirit wouldn't let me go, not this time. The weight on my heart was too much to ignore.

I had heard a message not too long before this, and in the message was a quote from Dr. Edward Everett Hale which said,

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

I am an industrial equipment mechanic by trade. Although I don't do a lot of automotive repairs, I am fully capable of changing a flat tire. I can do this. So, why am I refusing, in my mind, to help this person in need? I decided in that moment to change my course and do the one thing that I can do.

I managed to get over and take the next off-ramp. I took a few back roads and made my way back to the highway. It was 15 minutes before I saw the car again, hazards still flashing. I pulled in behind the car, threw on my insulated cover-alls, and approached the driver.

I startled her when I knocked on her window. She wasn't expecting anyone. She was talking to her mother on her cell phone, and she was crying.

She had been sitting there for two-and-a-half hours, and no one had stopped. She had called for roadside assistance and was promised a tow truck by 12:00 noon - another two hours from now.

It was wicked cold outside, so I told her to stay in the car while I put on her spare. I don't think that I ever changed a tire as fast as I did that day.

She was ready to go in no time. She thanked me and then handed me her phone. Her mom was still on the line. Her mom couldn't believe that there was still someone in the world that would stop and help, purely as a random act of kindness. I told her that I had to stop, because I could.

Jesus said that we are to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. Salt brings out the best flavor in everything that it touches, and at the same time, acts as a preservative to keep things from spoiling. Light takes away the darkness. We turn on a light so that we can see. And, in the same way, these random acts of kindness should shine out for all to see, so that everyone will give praise to our Heavenly Father.

How many people drove past that young woman? Three lanes of highway traveling at 55 miles an hour for two-and-a-half hours - it was tens of thousands. How many were Christians? How many, just like me, convinced themselves that there wasn't anything that they could do, or that help was on its way? I'm not saying that there is something that we can do in every situation, but if we can do something, than we should do something.

Since this incident back in December 2009, I have made it a point to be more aware of my surroundings, of people in need, of lives that I can touch and give glory to our Heavenly Father.
My challenge to you is to do the same. As Dr. Hale said, I can't do everything, but I can do something. And, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." So, find something that you can do and do it. It may be just a smile and a hello, or an offer to help carry a package. We are so pre-programmed to ignore and avoid getting involved that just simply acknowledging a person is all that they are looking for. Whatever it may be, just one simple act of kindness, might be the first of a thousand steps that will lead a person to Christ. Let Christ's light shine through your action and see what happens from there. And just as easily as it may be the first step, it might also be the last... and, a soul is saved.

If you do touch a life in some way, please let me know.



Saturday, September 22, 2012

Ordinary People

Everyone loves a hero.  We watch the evening news, patiently waiting for a story about an ordinary person who did an extraordinary act.  It gives us hope.  It makes us feel good.  We hold these people up on our shoulders, have parades in their honor, and give them the credit that they deserve for what they have done.

In the midst of all of the well deserved hype, we often forget that our new-found hero is really just an ordinary person - no different than you and I. 

There are everyday heroes, such as our military personnel and all of the first responders, who's job description is to perform extraordinary acts everyday.  These people are heroes by nature, and deserve all of our praise and honor.

But what about the average Joe that finds himself in a situation that requires action?  And, he takes action.  And, to someone, he is a hero.

We all have that potential in us.

When Christ began His earthly ministry, He surrounded Himself with a group of guys that would be His disciples - His students - His friends.

He could have chosen the elite of society.  There were Lawyers, and Doctors in the first century.  There were Politicians, Religious Leaders and Military Commanders.  There was Royalty that He could have chosen from.  But He didn't.  He chose a bunch of ordinary guys, that would ultimately do extraordinary things.

We know that Peter, James, John, Andrew, and Philip were all fishermen.  We know that Matthew was a Tax Collector - a despised Jew that worked for the Roman Government.  The others, we don't know for sure, so we have to assume that their occupation wasn't worth mentioning.  In the first century, a Shepherd was the lowest job title that one could have.  But, in all fairness to our sheep herding friends, God chose the Shepherds to be the first to hear the angelic announcement that the Messiah - the Savior of the world - was born in the small town of Bethlehem, some thirty years earlier.

Throughout biblical history, God seemed to always choose ordinary people to do His extraordinary work.  God chose Abraham to be the father of a great nation that would be the family of God.  Abraham, for all practical purposes, was a nomad - a man without a nation - a nobody.  Yet God blessed him and made him into one of the few nations in the history of the world that has managed to keep its national identity for over 4000 years, the nation of Israel.

God could have chosen Egypt to be the nation that would bring the Savior into the world.  Egypt, at that time was a growing, powerful nation.  Their engineering skills were legendary throughout the known world.  But, it wasn't God's plan.  If there is one thing that God knows about us humans, it is our propensity to worship idols.  It wouldn't have taken long for the blessings of God to be taken for granted, and for us to start looking at Egypt with glazed eyes saying, "Look how awesome Egypt is!  Look how they have become such a great and powerful nation.  They always were one step ahead of everyone else.  They did it all on their own.  They are a self made nation."  And God would have been forgotten as the reason that they became great in the first place.

No, God chose an ordinary man so that all the world would know that it was God that was behind it.  And, He chose a group of twelve social outcasts to bring His message of Salvation to the world, so that all the world would know that it is the truth of God.

If God could use these ordinary men to bring His plan to the world, just think of what awesome things He can do with you and I.  All that is needed is faith, and a willingness to trust in God's leading.  But, as we know, that is where it starts to become difficult.

Dr. Charles Stanley wrote, "The call of faith is often a call to step out into the unknown." 

Abraham was a very wealthy man, in his day.  He owned livestock.  He had servants in his household, and he had a large extended family.  Yet God asked him to leave his family behind and "go to a land that God would show him."  It would have been one thing if God would have laid out Abraham's travel itinerary - first you'll go here, then you'll go there, and finally you will settle here.  But, He didn't.  He asked Abraham to simply pack his bags and go.  God would show him the way.

I can't even begin to imagine how much faith it took to do something like that.  Is God calling you to do something extraordinary?  He could.  Would you be ready?  Would you go?

Abraham's call was huge.  But, what if God put on your heart to help care for the elderly lady that lives across the street?  Or, babysit for the single mom that lives two doors down?  Would you do that?  Could you step out of your comfort zone, to the realm of the unknown?  Could you go, and then wait for God to lead you?

The bible is filled with stories of ordinary people, that with God's power, did extraordinary things.  Most of the time, they never knew just how extraordinary their act would become.  Theirs was one small part of God's great plan.

Are you ready to do your part?

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