Posts Tagged: second chances
“SECOND CHANCES FOR DOGS AND OTHER CRITTERS”
I don’t suppose that this comes as a total surprise, but I am not always a good person. I’m a much better man than I used to be, but sometimes the old me makes an appearance.
So, last night I lost my temper with our one-year-old-still-a-chewy-puppy. Why?
There was one “reason” in the puppy’s behavior, and a whole raft of (non) “reasons” in me. The dog chewed up some things, most notably an insert from my wife’s shoe.
What about the (non)reasons in me? I was mad at myself because I hadn’t closed and latched the bedroom door when I was putting the sheets on the bed, which had allowed her puppyhood in. I was angry because I had eaten a whole bunch of sweets. I was angry because . . ., oh, who knows why I was angry! I was just plain angry!
Now, of course dogs—especially puppies—do chew things up. It’s what they do. However, this seemed a little more important to me because we are planning to visit friends in West Virginia in a few days. I don’t want Laylah chewing our hosts out of house and home.
So, after I had smacked Laylah on the nose (not hard enough to make her yelp, thank God!), I put the dog in the crate for a little while, stormed into the living room, where my wife was watching “The Voice,” and announced, in no uncertain terms that Laylah was not going with us. We would either leave her in the kennel, or we just wouldn’t go!
Then I stormed back to my desk to read a book about how to understand the Bible better.
After I had calmed down a bit, I let Laylah out of the crate, and she scooted into the living room and jumped up on the recliner to be with my wife, to be with someone who loves her.
Later, on my way upstairs, I had to pass through the living room. This ended up taking a bit longer than I had thought it would. From the recliner, two sets of eyes were looking at me with a heart-melting mixture of accusation and the desire for mercy. Laylah didn’t say much, but my wife said, “Everybody deserves a second chance.”
And, of course, she was right. How many chances has my sweetheart given me? I’ve lost track, but it’s a lot. Laylah is going with us.
Do you need a second chance? Or, perhaps, a 2,000,000th chance?
Well, join the club! It’s a very large one, but there is room for you. If there’s room for Laylah and me, there’s room for anyone.
“OF SECOND CHANCES AND SOUL FAMINE”
“ ‘The time is surely coming,’ says the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD.
People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.
Beautiful girls and strong young men will grow faint in that day, thirsting for the LORD’s word.’ ” (Amos 8:11-13a,italics mine, New Living Translation)
My father-in-law was one of the wisest, humblest, most godly men I’ve ever known. His daughter, my wife, is much like him. But it was almost not so for my father-in-law. He almost missed it.
“I did not feel the call of the Holy Spirit as strongly the second night. It scared me so badly that I went forward to the alter, confessed my sins, and prayed to receive Christ into my heart and life.”
My father-in-law was explaining how he came to faith in Jesus Christ. He was a teen-ager, and brought up in church, but he was at the point of deciding whether to accept or reject what he had been taught by his parents.
He was at a revival meeting. He felt the power of the Holy Spirit, convincing him that he was a sinner, that he needed a savior, and that Jesus Christ was that Savior. My father-in-law said, ‘I felt strong hands on my shoulders, and looked around to see who was touching me. No one was. Well, no one I could see. But I didn’t go to the altar. I didn’t pray. I didn’t trust Christ. I went home miserable.
“The next night, I went back to revival meetings, still miserable. When they gave the invitation, I felt the hands on my shoulders again. But this time, they weren’t as strong. I realized I was becoming hardened to the call of God in my life. It scared me so badly that I went forward to the alter, confessed my sins, and prayed to receive Christ into my heart and life.”
We all need second chances. Thank God, many of us get them. I myself have gotten so many more “second chances” than just two!
However, while many of us get them, no one is guaranteed even one second chance. Life is dynamic, and can turn on a dime.
The ancient kingdom of Israel, comprised of the 10 northern tribes which had broken away from Judah, were given a chance to repent. God sent Amos (a Judahite) to cry out against the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He did. However, they would not listen. The king and the priests were in cahoots, and did not want to hear that they needed to repent. After all, they were the leaders! Who did this upstart, foreign “prophet” (who didn’t even claim to be a prophet, according to Amos 7:14) think he was, anyway!
Amos did not just speak God’s Word. He also warned that there would come a time when people would search for the Word of God, would thirst for it, and yet not find it. Presuming on a second chance means that we have not taken our first chance seriously. Presuming on a second chance may well mean that we won’t get one. There may well come a time when (in the words of Billy Joel), “She’ll ask for the truth, but she’ll never believe you.”
Am I using “scare tactics”?
Yes, I am!
But I believe that there are some things we really should be afraid of—afraid enough to allow God to change us. Why should we be dying of thirst, when there is the river of life available to us all?
Why indeed!
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- “Even a Sliver of Light” April 9, 2024“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, English Standard Version) I missed the total eclipse yesterday. There were a number of good reasons for this, but […]
- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
- “The Limits of Non-Judgmentalism” February 24, 2024“Matt. 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matt. 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2, English Standard Version) This morning, in my virtual 12-step meeting, we discussed the topic of judgmentalism. There were many wise […]
- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
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