“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:8-10
TECHNOLOGY: So it seems lately that all I’ve been doing is technology-related problem solving. Or maybe problem-causing, as that’s equally a likelihood when I sit down in front of a tech device.
And I’m not even an IT-savvy person. I was born a good twenty-five years before babies started emerging with microchips already planted into their brains. I still remember bringing home our first computer. I’m fairly sure it was an Apple IIGS; we got it in 1987 because our son was going to be in school and we wanted him to have some familiarity.
Andrew took to the computer, of course, like a fish to water. I remember Rebekah sitting in front of the thing, scratching her head and frowning when it wouldn’t cooperate; Andrew, who had just turned five, came up and patted her on the arm: “Don’t worry mama,” he said; “you’ll be okay; it just takes some people longer than others…”
PROBLEM-SOLVING: Here we are in 2016, and in the past week I’ve wrestled with the television, the DVR, the blue-ray, an array of critical accounts on the computer, my mother’s computer, and the iPhone. My mother waded in deep before calling me, got locked out of some accounts, then fouled up the passwords because some letters on her keypad were sticking.
Long story short I managed to work my way through every problem – after many hours of effort. Not because I’m knowledgable when it comes to computing, but because I have three other things going for me: I have a good problem-solving skills, I have a positive outlook, and I don’t give up easily.
The positive outlook piece is huge, and I’m thinking about it because my Saturday-morning men’s Bible-study group has just launched a study on “The Power of Positive Thinking.” My key take-away today – and this was our pre-study introductory conversation – was the idea that thinking positively isn’t about blind belief that things will pan out the way we want them, or wishing that all the circumstances around us will magically sort themselves out, but about recognizing what is possible when we claim our own faith, resources, skills, and capacity to impact each and every moment for good.
Thinking positively isn’t about blind belief that things will pan out the way we want them, or wishing that all the circumstances around us will magically sort themselves out, but about recognizing what is possible when we claim our own faith, resources, skills, and capacity to impact each and every moment for good.
“IF”: God created me – and you – with potential and possibility most of us only begin to mine over the course of a lifetime. Just about the greatest resource we have at our disposal is the standard set of equipment we were born with!
One of my favorite snippets from a story in the Bible is where Jesus is in conversation with a man who has a son in need of healing, “Have mercy on us and help us,” the man asked, “if you can.”
I really wish I’d been there to see the face of Jesus when he heard the man use the word, “if.”
“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” – Mark 9:23
Jesus says a mouthful. A heart full. A life full. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
“Anything” – DEREK
(I looked hard for a photo of Andrew at the computer in 1987 – I was sure I had one. But I did find these from that same time…)
“So it seems lately that all I’ve been doing is technology-related problem solving. Or maybe problem-causing, as that’s equally a likelihood when I sit down in front of a tech device.” That’s SOOOO funny!! Mad props:)) I believe in define healing. Many denominations don’t anymore.