By Joe Widick
It was one of those stories I used when I was a high school principal. The faculty I worked with was great. We loved one another and encouraged one another. Not every day was a great day, but each day was a good day. The story was used in an in-service to help each of us think about our impact on the lives of the children we were in contact with on a daily basis. The story went something like this: Parents, teachers and school board members in central Texas were astounded when a retired couple offered 4 year college scholarships to all forty-five children in a local first-grade class. The only conditions are that the child stays off drugs, graduates from the high school in that district and attends an accredited Texas public university, junior college, or trade school. Why would this couple do something of this nature? Was it a gamble that no one would be able to reach the qualifications? The donor simply said; years earlier, a company had paid half the college tuition for one me, and I never forgot this generous act. “They helped me,” he says, “and now it’s my turn.” I always felt that “real” teachers help their students because they remember there was someone who helped them.
All of us have received a gift or gifts that we can share with others. Although it may not be money, it’s something that has enhanced our lives. Paul reminded the Thessalonians that “we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us” (I Thessalonians 2:8). I am thankful for each one that teaches in our Bible school program. I am thankful for the time spent in study, but maybe more importantly I am thankful for the love that you show to each of the children, teens and adults that make up your individual classes. We need to realize that God gives to us so we can give to others. We also need to understand that there are certain things that have been given to us that we need to pass along in the name of Christ. Maybe it is the gift of listening when someone needs to talk. Perhaps it is sharing in a Bible study group about experiences you have had. It could be helping others to learn to nourish themselves from the Word of God. You see there are always ways in which we can remember how we were impacted and then in turn we can share those gifts with others. I can’t help but believe that our world would be a better place if each of us were to pass on those positive things that helped us become who we are. Think about your gifts and begin using them for God’s glory.
Prayer Thought: Thank you Lord for those who have shared some special gift with me, that made me a better person.
By Landon Roeder
Dear brothers and sisters of Maple Hill Church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee.
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Receive a warm greeting from your brother in Christ. I hope that you are enjoying the rich and abundant blessings that our God gives us every day.
I want to thank you because you have seen fit to be united in this mission to take the gospel of our Lord to the Federal District, Mexico. You are an important of this missionary project from the moment you offer me the aid for my work in Mexico. I say thanks to God because of your help, brothers and sisters, because without your aid I could not go and preach Christ in Mexico.
I am ready to travel, only waiting for my companions of Honduras and Guatemala that not yet received their visas, trusting God that the visas arrive to them soon. Please pray for my, so that God may continue blessing and helping me in the field of evangelization. And also pray for the entire missionary group that God may continue giving the spirit, strength and physical health to us to be able to carry out this mission.
My wish is that God continue giving much peace to you and tranquility for your lives. God bless you very much …
Sincerely,
Ramon Ramirez
By Joe Widick
It has been an interesting, to say the least, past few weeks. Numerous “well known people” have passed away. Each has left behind a legacy. You read the papers, listen to talk shows, view the news and you understand that each of these people have made “contributions” to society in one way or another. They received a great deal of applause for the life that they lived. Thousands, maybe millions shed tears as they thought back over the accomplishments of these individuals.
Are they the real heroes? Some may say yes because after all they had such a huge impact on the lives of so many. Others may say no. After all is said and done, what they accomplished made them rich beyond most peoples imaginations. Through the ages God has had his share of heroes. We may refer to them as the unsung heroes of life. They may never be publicly applauded. As a mater of fact only a handful of people may praise them. If the truth were known many would write them off as being foolish or even weak minded. When you begin to analyze their lives, you see them as serving as the salt of the earth that saves society from total corruption. Hebrews 11:35-40 talks of some very faithful individuals, not by name, but by deeds. We may never know who all of these people are, but we know that God had a plan for each. “God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40). Who are your heroes? Why? I want to share with you some of my heroes. They will be different than yours. First there is a young man who went completely by himself to a town where there was no church and he began to teach and preach about the love of Jesus. It is a young couple who drove from Texas to Costa Rica to begin a mission work. It is a highly intelligent young man with the entire world before him, who put it all aside to go and care for the needy children. It is one who gives so unselfishly of himself day in and day out so that you and I can draw closer to the Lord. It is a young lady who has faithfully faced that dreaded disease of cancer. It is a successful college professor and CPA who said I will leave it all behind in order to help young men become ministers. It is a Sunday school teacher who showed me about love and kindness by his words and his deeds. It is a lady who taught me that I don’t have to have the world’s finest things in order to be happy. What will happen at the passing of these heroes? The world will go on, but it will go on, being a better place. What recognition will these heroes get? “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joys of heaven.”
Prayer Thought: Thank you Lord for sending real heroes into our lives.
