ISSUE 9
[Table of Contents]

Resolved Conflicts and Restored Relationships
Let God's Creatures Be The Teachers
The Angry Parent
A Message To Garcia
Follow The Leader
Rare Collector's Study Guides
Youth Training Center
Creative Inspirations
Origins
Botched Miracle?

Having been given a promise by God that her favorite son, Jacob would receive the benefit of firstborn, Rebekah influenced her son to deceive his father in order to receive the blessing. Oftentimes when we cannot see any options or any way out of difficulties, we rely on our clouded judgment and make decisions that rob us of God’s miraculous intervention. We see this in the lives of Jacob and his mother. As far as we can tell, Jacob never did see his mother again. A simple deception, but its hurt lasted for 20 years! God will rescue us, but at His appointed time.
Unfortunately, temporary discomfort can cause us to make decisions that we later regret; or that prevent us from experiencing the "rescue" of an all-wise and powerful deliverer. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them ALL." Psalm 34:19 I love this promise. But to be true to the intended meaning, we must see this verse in its context. "The righteous cry and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as be of a contrite spirit." The key to God’s deliverance is the spirit of brokenness. But brokenness comes with a price that few are willing to pay.
We tend to follow a sinful pattern of "doing it my way" because it follows the path of least resistance. The reason we follow a path of least resistance is because we have neither learned nor believed in the wonderful life-transforming power of suffering.
Peter teaches us that "after you have suffered awhile," God will perfect you - make you complete. Suffering makes the soil fertile so that the seeds of righteousness can begin to take root.
"Now no suffering for the present time feels joyous, but grievous, but afterwards it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness." Did you hear that? Peaceable fruits! Peace in your heart, in your marriage, in your home, and in your relationship with God and man. But this peace comes with a price. And it is the same price that Jesus paid on the cross. Death to self. And in order to die to self, you must deny yourself and take up a cross. A cross? Why a cross? It is the place of suffering - where sins are nailed. Our pride, our anger, our comfort, our rights - yes, even our lives if God so chooses. They all must be nailed. And nails hurt!
Deny yourself? Yes. See yourself as God’s servant to use as He sees fit. It is not until you submit to servanthood that you can enjoy the status of sonship. But because of our selfish natures, we demand justice when our rights are violated. We become angry and resentful when we’ve been wronged. Remember, it is after you have suffered awhile! Oftentimes, the length of time and degree of suffering depends on you. If you’re unwilling to deny yourself then you will suffer, but without the benefits of peaceable righteousness.
If you’re like me, you don’t mind a little suffering, but look out if it hurts too much! There is no better example of this than the life of David. Can you imagine one day being annointed as the future king of Israel, and for the next ten or so years fleeing for your life? Oh, there are victories along the way - giants slain, Philistines defeated - but to have those you love turn against you, well, it’s just too much to cope with. Unlike me, David never threw a spear back at anyone. But when spears were thrown at me, I pull them out of the wall and threw them right back! There was great satisfaction to spear throwing - but neither were there peaceable fruits.
Now no suffering is joyous. In David’s case, the majority of his suffering was preparatory. It prepared him to lead a nation.
Some of you may even now find yourselves in a difficult situation that you long to be over. Take heart. There is hope. But you must take the first step. For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. He resists pride - unwillingness to admit wrong; unwillingness to forgive as Christ forgave you. He gives grace. He’ll hold you up just when you think you can’t stand anymore. Therefore, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. In due time? Yes, in His timing. He makes no mistakes. "…and after you have suffered awhile, the God of all GRACE will Himself perfect, comfort, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:4-11)
Recommended Reading:
I'll Be With You Always, Joni Eareckson Tada
Families Where Grace is in Place, Jeff VanVonderen
Resolved Conflicts and Restored Relationships, Mark Hamby

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Crumb-Eating Dogs
Many of us who have owned a dog have from time to time thrown some scrap morsels onto the floor as a treat. Without hesitation, the dog quickly licks the food from the floor, waiting excitedly for the next treat. If your dog is trained, it may even sit still until you grant permission. What an exercise of obedience! Did God create this behavioral characteristic in "man’s best friend" for a reason? Perhaps our four-legged friend can serve as a reminder of a truth that often escapes us.
I believe that the truth principle that dogs illustrate is clearly seen but seldom understood. It is the same principle that the disciples missed because of their lack of understanding. They had eyes that saw not and ears that heard not and a heart that did not understand.
There are meaningful answers to life’s questions right before our eyes. The little sparrow, for example, is a constant reminder of God’s love and value upon our lives. But so often we are too busy to notice the sparrows in our lives. The same was true of the disciples and the leaders of Jesus’ day. They were so focused on the EXTERNAL that they failed to SEE and HEAR and UNDERSTAND the lessons of the heart that were eternal. And as usual the lessons to be learned were right in front of them.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus exercises authority over all EXTERNAL issues of life. He heals a leper, casts out demons and raises the dead. These miracles in themselves were cause for alarm because to touch a leper or dead person would make one unclean. Unclean on the outside - EXTERNALLY! Jesus continues to exercise authority over the externals by feeding the multitudes, walking on water, and healing the deaf and the blind. He clearly demonstrates his authority over the externals of life. There was a problem, however. He didn’t wash His hands before He ate, and that irritated the elders.
Jesus responds by rebuking their hypocrisy, stating that they honor Him with their lips but their HEARTS are far from Him. Jesus exercises authority over all aspects of the EXTERNALS of life but he does not approach their hearts in the same manner.
Having eyes they see not. Having ears they hear not, and having a heart they do not understand.
So how can the heart be helped to understand? By looking closely at the dogs! Dogs? Yes, there is a story concerning dogs in the Bible that for twenty-two years has perplexed me. I was never able to understand how Jesus could be so harsh to a pleading mother. Soon after the hand washing incident, a Greek Syrophoenician woman came begging for Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. A Syrophoenician woman was considered a low-life, "dirty" person - EXTERNAL. (Don’t forget about their concern for His unwashed hands.) Jesus looks at this woman and tells her that it is not right to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs. Did you hear that? Jesus is calling her a dog. A good for nothing. A low-life! Isn’t this a little harsh coming from the One who came to seek and to save those who are lost? How would you respond to such an insult? Notice her response: "Yes, Lord (I am a dog.)."She recognized her status in life and refused to defend herself, thus illustrating true HUMILITY - the kind of heart that God is looking for! Listen to what she says further: "But even the dogs eat the crumbs from under the table." Do you see? Do you understand? A heart that is near to God is a humble heart - like that of a dog who eats the crumbs from under the table!
Recommended Reading:
Let Go, Fenelon
Calvary Road, Roy Hession
Bible Stories for Little Ears (audio)
Let God's Creatures Be the Teachers, Mark Hamby

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Recently a young mom wrote to me asking for help concerning her anger. Here is an excerpt of what she wrote:
I realized that I am making the same mistakes with raising my children as you commented about in your life. I am constantly battling with anger. I have had this problem since I was a child. God has helped me deal with it some but I have a long way to go. I am writing because I feel like you are one of the first people God has placed in my life that truly understands the problem of anger and has been able with God's help to get control of it. I can see my anger being transferred to my daughter and I don't want her to grow up struggling with the same problem. I know you said that anger usually stems from wanting to be in control of everything and that is me in a nutshell. I have a real hard time determining where my responsibility as a parent & wife end and God's control begins.

My reply:
Thank you for your honesty and transparency. One of the good things in your letter was that you recognize the problem and desire help. That's the first and most important step. Most don't realize they have a problem. Selfishness is one of the roots of anger. We desire control because we demand our way, even with our children's behavior. Remember, God is more interested in the heart than behavior. I know that's not easy especially when a child disobeys and is disrespectful. We become offended and demand change-- IMMEDIATELY! Defiance is not tolerated. We spank, yell, and stare. Anger is exercised to show them just how upset we really are. We are in control. How ironic, isn’t it? Yes, I've been there. Ugly, isn't it? So what can we do? Admit wrong first.
Humble yourself. Humility is a process of true brokenness, sorrow, and helplessness. Yes, helplessness! Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up! But don't get up until He lifts you up. For God resists the proud BUT---GIVES--GRACE. Did you hear that? --- He gives grace --gives it! Freely--- to the humble, the helpless, the broken! That's how it works -H U M I L I T Y! Those who hold on to "it’s my way or the highway" mentality will eventually find themselves on an island completely desolate. We must never forget that children will follow humility with their heart, and lip service to our authority. If God resists a proud controlling heart, how much more will our children’s hearts resist us. Parents who admit wrong and exercise true
humility and brokenness will find that God will begin putting the pieces of our lives back together. He can’t fix that which is not broken! Once humility is exercised, we need to take our children (and spouse) and have a little heart-to-heart chat. We need to share that mommy or daddy has been convicted of this terrible sin that is so destructive and explain how sorry we are for the pain that we have caused. Yes, we caused the pain and we need to admit it. Explain that by God's grace we will be able to overcome this sin and will be able to be the mom or dad (or husband or wife) that God has called us to be. Explain that this change will not take place overnight and there may be times that we might shamefully and angrily sin again. Explain that by God's grace and your commitment, this IS going to change.
Now the hard part. Anytime a Christian desires to overcome a sinful tendency, Satan is not going to release his grip easily. He is a devouring lion and is not going to let go of his prey without a fight. Have you ever fought a lion before? Not a very pleasant sight to see. You can be sure that you will come out quite bloody - BUT - greater is HE--that is Christ Jesus, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; the Awesome God, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father; the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Did you hear that? He is also a Lion. The difference? He is the LION WHO IS ALSO THE KING!!! KING OF KINGS!!! and He will fight on your behalf and crush that mangy lion.
Lastly, understand that anger is sometimes a distortion of wanting something good so badly that we overreact to those we love the most. When God's grace begins to penetrate our lives we will begin to release those we love. The more we "lose control" (our controlling and angry behavior) the more we gain God’s grace to influence our family into all godliness. Not only will we release them and trust Him, but we will begin to recognize that seeing a change in those we love is not nearly as important as seeing a change in OURSELVES! This is where it gets good. You see, the anger that we have been exhibiting toward others is really a demonstration of how much we really despise ourselves. Once we recognize how much God has forgiven and accepts us, our expectations of others will lessen, but our expectations of ourselves will increase. This transfer then causes us to be more in control of our emotions because we are learning NOT to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Simply stated, those who have been forgiven the most, love the most. This is why Mary Magdelene was so loved by Jesus and was the first to see Him after His resurrection. When we realize how much we have been forgiven and continue to be forgiven, then we will love more. As our love grows, the weeds of anger will begin to die, for love covers a multitude of sin.

Recommended Reading:
In My Father’s House, Jim Cymbala (video)
Families Where Grace Is The Place, Jeff VanVonderen
Shepherding A Child’s Heart, Dr. Tedd Tripp
Angry Parent, Child & Teen, Mark Hamby (audio)
Duties Of Parents, J. C. Ryle

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A Message To Garcia

Many of you know of my interest in the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1800s. Its influence resulted in a return to hand-crafted excellence and the rebirth of the Judeo-Christian work ethic. Though most of those involved in the movement were not Christians, their work and ethics are worth following. One of the early leaders of the movement was Elbert Hubbard. On the twenty-second of February, 1899, after a trying day at work, Elbert Hubbard penned the words that to date have circulated more than any other literary venture during the lifetime of any author. By 1913, There were more than forty million in print. Written for his newsletter, Elbert was simply trying to vent his frustration concerning the delinquent and comatose state of some of his workers. The missing element was "initiative," and Elbert knew exactly what was needed to help them find it.
Once in circulation, the article created so much interest that it soon was printed in Russian, German, French, Spanish, Turkish, Hindustan, and Chinese. The Japanese, finding the booklets in possession of the Russian prisoners, concluded that it must be a good thing, and accordingly translated it. By decree of the Mikado, a copy was given to every man in the employ of the Japanese government, soldier and civilian.
Now, one hundred years later, I echo the cry of Elbert Hubbard - A Message to Garcia must be read and lived by everyone!
Recommended Reading:
A Message To Garcia, Elbert Hubbard
A Tale of Three Kings, Gene Edwards
Mentoring Boys..., Mark Hamby (audio)

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I am looking for Christians who hold positions of authority in corporate America. I believe A Message to Garcia can have a revolutionary impact upon our country’s work ethic and values. Once you read this pamphlet you will understand how it transformed backyard businesses into internationally recognized companies. Out of all the motivational meetings, business strategies, and strategic thinking that propel the business world, I have not found a more powerful resource. If you are not in a position that would allow you the opportunity to promote this little gem, please consider giving A Message to Garcia as a gift to someone in a leadership position. It is my prayer that this booklet will help build a bridge into the lives of many, and provide an opportunity for Christian employees to plant a small, non-threatening seed that will someday become fruitful. Thank you. MH

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Many have asked if we will offer study guides for The Rare Collector’s Series. Several are presently in progress! But we could use your help. If you have generated an idea that reinforces the teachings found in one of the books or an idea that expands the lessons into other areas of study, we would be interested in hearing your ideas. I believe that through a joint effort a quality study guide could be woven together that will greatly benefit parents and teachers who long to provide the best possible experiences for their children. Please send your ideas to me.

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Please pray that God will open this door in His timing. Pray specifically that God will lead those He has gifted with His resources to propel this project forward. Lastly, pray that God will raise up godly teachers. I will keep you informed as this endeavor develops.

Thank you,
Mark Hamby

Twelve years ago, while administrating a Christian school, I developed an idea/resource file that greatly benefited our teachers and students. There were ideas for each course (history, science, literature, etc.), ideas for science projects, visuals aids, field trip ideas, and addresses and phone numbers for further contacts. It is now my desire to make these ideas readibly available to you on our web site. Creating such a service will take time, and we could use your help.
We would like to make this section of our site very unique and practical. I want to introduce students to some of the most excellent ideas of our day and of yesteryear. If you have a unique idea for a project, field trip, devotional, family or group activity, appropriate for ages 1-100, then please email or write to us.
Go to Creative Inspirations

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At the turn of the century, a young man came into a soda shop in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and asked for ice cream topped with syrup - a confection usually served only in soda drinks. The owner tasted it himself and decided to offer it on his menu. George Giffy, a competitor in a nearby town, decided he, too, needed to offer the treat, but felt he couldn’t afford to sell the expensive syrup every day. So he offered the dish only on Sundays. Hence the name. The dessert became a big hit with customers, and Giffy started serving it every day of the week; he changed the spelling to Sundae to shake off the Sunday-only association.

Did you ever wonder why Jesus couldn’t heal the blind man when He touched him the first time? In Mark chapter eight there is an apparent "botched" miracle that has perplexed commentators for centuries. Several friends of a blind man bring him to Jesus, hoping that their friend might receive his sight. Departing from the crowd of spectators, Jesus takes the blind man along with a few of the disciples to a secluded setting on the outskirts of town. After placing a mixture of clay and spittle on the man’s eyes, Jesus asks the man to open his eyes and tell Him what he sees. "I see men like trees walking," says the blind man. Time out! Red Flag! It isn’t supposed to happen like this. This is the only time in Jesus’s ministry that He is seemingly unable to heal someone the first time on command. Was Jesus losing power, or, was he too tired as some commentators suggest?
It is true that Jesus didn’t heal the man the first time. He didn’t because His goal was to teach His disciples a significant lesson through this unsuccessful healing of the blind man. To understand the meaning of this unsuccessful healing, first consider the Syrophoenician woman in the previous article. Prior to the incident with the blind man, the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter is healed and then a deaf man is healed. These three miracles are a key to the gospel of Mark. Throughout, Jesus has been rebuking the disciples and leaders that they have ears that hear not, eyes that see not, and a heart that does not understand. These three miracles, the Syrophoenician woman, the deaf man, and the blind man represent three aspects of Christ’s rebuke - the heart, the ears, and the eyes. The disciples, however, do not understand what Jesus is trying to communicate. Therefore Jesus does something out of the ordinary - something to make them think - an unsuccessful miracle! "What do you see?", he says to the blind man after the first attempt to heal him. "I do not see clearly!" Yes, that’s it. The disciples did not see clearly. They did not truly understand who Jesus was, or what He was about to do on the cross.
Sadly, the same is often true of us. We see with our eyes, yet we do not understand with our heart. It is not until we are pure in heart, like the Syrophoenician woman, that we will be able to see clearly.
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall SEE God."