Monday Memo

by Steve May

Charles Lamb said “New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.” We’re just a few days away from changing the calendar, so we’ve all got a birthday coming up. This gives us a chance to reflect a little bit on the past 365 days and, hopefully, focus a lot on the next 365 days.

If we choose, we can wipe slate clean from yesterday and begin a new day. There’s nothing special about January 1, of course, but there is something special about the decision to break away from old habits and develop new ones. It can be done any day — January 1 is as good a day as any. The important thing is to devote oneself to doing better and trying harder.

It was said of Hezekiah: “In everything he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:21)

A decision to seek God more and serve him without reservation — this a great way to begin the New Year, or any new day. — SM

There’s a story in W.A. Criswell’s biography that illustrates how you can never measure the impact of your ministry.

W.A. tells about the day of his conversion: It was Autumn, 1920. His church was holding a revival and Criswell received permission to skip school to attend a special mid-day meeting.

At the close of the service, W.A. responded to the invitation and accepted Christ as his Savior. Seven years later he was licensed to preach. He soon began a lifetime of ministry, including 55 years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas. He wrote more than 50 books, led untold thousands to Christ, trained hundreds for the ministry. He was one of the most influential pastors in America during the 20th century.

But this story is really about the man who preached that 1920 revival which changed the course of Criswell’s life. His name was John Hicks. He had been a guest in the Criswell’s home during the two week revival, and young W.A. had been greatly impressed with the man’s manner and character. This admiration compelled the 10 year old boy to attend every service and hang on every word the preacher spoke, which led to his decision to follow Christ.

Years later, as Hicks lay dying in Baylor Hospital, his friend Wallace Basset sat with him during his final moments. Hicks said, “Wallace, my life is over, my preaching days are done, and I’ve never done anything for Jesus. I’ve failed, Wallace. I’ve failed.”

Apparently John Hicks never knew about the special contribution he had made to the kingdom of God: how one revival meeting held in a small Texas town — and specifically one sermon preached on an Autumn morning — touched the heart of a young boy who would, in turn, touch the lives of millions in the years to come.

The words of Paul come to mind: “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching. Do not neglect your gift…” (1 Timothy 4:13-14)

Maybe you can’t see the full results of your ministry at this moment. Maybe today your years of sacrifice and hard work resemble nothing. Remember this: You’ve accomplished things that you don’t know about — and you may never know about them on this side of glory.

What appears to be failure sometimes isn’t failure at all. Stay devoted to your work. Do not neglect your calling. Do not neglect your gift. And during those days when measurable results remain elusive: do not give in to despair. God is using you. —SM

A sales manager and two of his sales reps are walking to lunch one day when they come across an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie appears, saying, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.”

One rep is quick to speak up first. He says, “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! He’s gone.

The next rep speaks up. “I want to be fishing in a stream in the Colorado Rockies.” Poof! He’s gone.

The genie turns to the sales manager and says, “Your turn.” The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

It makes a difference who has the last word, doesn’t it? The question is: who, or what, will have the last word in your life today? Will your choices today be driven by ambition, revenge, or mere whim? Or will the Word of God have the final say?

Paul said, “Let the word of Christ dwell richly within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” (Colossians 3:16)

Do you know what he’s saying? He’s saying Let God’s word have the final word in your life — today, and everyday. — SM

Our heroes usually wear masks, so their true identity can never be known. Like Spiderman and Batman and the Green Lantern and Zorro… and, of course, the original masked man: the Lone Ranger.

We benefit from their kindness — they frequently save the world from bad guys — but we don’t know who they really are. They may be our heroes, but our knowledge of them is limited.

There’s a sense in which the same could have been said about God. In the Old Testament we learned about him, we saw how his people benefitted from his kindness, but we couldn’t really know him personally, intimately. It was like he was behind a mask.

On Christmas Day, the mask was removed. He revealed himself to us fully and completely, so that we may known him as he really is. This is why, when Philip asked Jesus to reveal the Father, Jesus said, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

God’s plan is not to be our hero. He wants to be more than the one we call on in times of trouble. He wants to be our constant companion, our Father, our friend. He wants us to know him personally. This is made possible through his Son, Jesus Christ, who was sent to us two thousand years ago. This is why we celebrate his birth. — SM

[This illustration is from Steve's Christmas sermon, I Wish You Jesus. Special thanks to Robert Morgan for the 'mask' idea.]

Some 80 years ago, as Notre Dame was preparing to play USC in college football, Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne was aware that his opponent had a far better team, so he devised a plan to intimidate the Trojan players.

Rockne scoured the city of South Bend and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find–each at least six-foot-five and three hundred pounds. He put them in Fighting Irish uniforms and at game time marched them onto the field ahead of the real team. (Obviously, this was before the days of limited rosters and eligibility restrictions.)

As USC watched these giants line up on the sidelines, they forgot about their talent and their undefeated record, and they began mentally preparing themselves for a beating. Though none of the specially recruited men played during the game, their presence on the sidelines was enough to knock Southern Cal’s concentration off balance. Knute Rockne’s trick had worked; he had intimidated the Trojan players into giving up before the game even started, and Notre Dame won.

Our ‘opponent’ tries a similar trick. He tries to intimidate us by appearing larger than life– but we must remember that he, too, has been sidelined. John said, “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in theworld.” (1 John 4:4)

Don’t let your problems intimidate you. No matter how big the enemy may seem to be, remember that you have God’s power on your side. And he is greater. — SM