Tag Archives: Grace

Message In A Minute: Towards the Sunlight

After my parents divorced, they lived roughly one mile apart.

I would ride my bike back and forth a couple of times a week.

One day while riding to my dad’s house something happened that I will never forget. I began pedaling and noticed that it was starting to rain behind me. But as I continued to ride, I was traveling into the sunlight. If I slowed down the rain would catch up to me, if I accelerated, the rain would stay behind me.

I was traveling east and apparently the clouds were traveling the same exact direction at relatively the same speed. It was basically a straight route to my dad’s house, so I knew I could beat the rain clouds to my destination.

I had fun slowing down and hearing the rain steadily falling just feet behind me while I stayed dry. At the time it was simply a unique occurrence that entertained me. Years later, I felt like it was an analogy for my life.

I’ve battled depression most of my life. Like so many others who struggle, there were times I couldn’t find the strength to fight. It was like a rain cloud that followed me around. Even after becoming a Christian, I still struggled, I still got rained on from time to time, I still lost ground every so often.

But as a Christ follower, I had the strength to work the pedals, I had a hope-filled journey, I had an amazing destination.

To this day, I need to make sure I’m heading towards the sunlight.

The truth is, the depression still looms. But I know for sure which direction to travel, I understand that if I keep a reasonable speed in that direction, depression can’t win.

Even if the rain catches up to me, I’ll be fine. I may get wet, I may lose a little ground, but I won’t stop moving forward.

Of course, I wish I didn’t even need to think about depression at all. I wish it wasn’t a possibility. But it is for me, and for some of you, it’s the same way.

Don’t stop riding towards the sunlight.

Talk to someone, find a counselor, speak with a doctor.

But most of all, ask God for strength and healing.

God can heal instantly, I’ve seen it happen. But I also know that many times we have to carry afflictions with us. Don’t mistake hardship with some kind of punishment from God.

Occasionally, He delivers you fully.
Often, He walks with you through it.
Always, He is the sunlight leading you home.

-Tom Wise

Message in A Minute: Restored With Gold

I just watched an episode of the “The Brady Bunch” where Peter breaks his moms’s favorite vase.

The kids join forces to glue the vase back together. Only to have it leak water all over the dining room table. Revealing it’s brokenness and less than perfect restoration.

Peter finally confesses but the vase was beyond repair.

It reminded me of an amazing illustration of how God works with broken humanity.

I’ve witnessed this illustration used a few different times and every time it communicates deeper than the words used in the presentation.

Kintsugi is a Japanese method for repairing broken ceramic pottery. Instead of discarding the bowl, cup, or plate, it is repaired in a unique way. Making it more than a simple dish, it could even be considered a work of art.

A special adhesive mixed with gold or silver is applied between broken pieces and the pieces are brought back together. Often the pottery is more beautiful then before. The idea is not to hide the brokenness but to highlight and honor it.

Because the dish is more interesting when it has a story.

Kintsigi can be translated to “the golden journey” or “repair with gold”, it is a wonderful illustration of what God can do with broken people.

Multiple times in the Bible, it says that God is close to the broken hearted. Many stories of God rescuing, restoring, and renewing are found in scripture. Maybe you know the scriptures, and maybe you’ve heard those stories.

But I hope you know this, you can be one of those stories.

If you give your broken pieces to God, He can make something more beautiful than before. You past, your mistakes, the wrongs you’ve done, the wrongs that have been done to you, all of it can be part of a graceful journey when God is involved.

But the kintsugi expert can’t do the amazing work without all the pieces, and God can’t revitalize you without all of yours.

God won’t force His way into your life, He won’t take the pieces from you without your permission. But, He will ask you to let go of them and let Him do His work.

You are valuable to Him.
Your healing is valuable to Him.
Your story is valuable to others.

Let God have the pieces, trust Him with the process, and watch what He produces.

Don’t be surprised if the broken areas are now the most interesting and encouraging places in your life.

Be a story of God’s grace.
See the story of Gods Grace in others.
And share your story so others will know that nothing is too broken for God.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Find Your Calcutta

Our church has a ministry where we collect prom dresses to give to girls who can’t afford a new one.

My wife started the ministry a few years ago. It went from a few dresses and a girl or two, to hundreds of dresses and multiple girls stopping by almost weekly to select a dress for a school dance or event. We now have jewelry, shoes, and make up for them also.

Many of the ladies in the church eagerly wait to help the girls who come in when we have a publicized give away event. And some ladies agree to meet girls mid-week so they can try to find the right dress.

A few weeks back, I was in the church library working on my sermon. I could hear my wife and another lady helping a couple girls and their families. These particular girls were going to a special needs prom and accommodations had to be made to assist the girls in trying on the dresses. I was on the second floor and they were on the third.

I’m telling you, I could hear the joy and excitement in each voice. Not just from the girls getting dresses but from the two that volunteered to help the girls. The servants were enjoying it as much as those receiving the service.

It is said, “Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life.” There is a lot of truth to that. But in a deeper way, we can lose ourselves in serving others and find blessings we never knew were possible. Each of us should find a way to serve others, it gives perspective, it energizes our soul, and most of all, it makes an impact in the lives we serve.

The dress ministry has opened the door for us to help the girls in other ways. It’s amazing the difference our ladies have made in young lives by simply meeting a need. Many of the families couldn’t afford the dresses any other way, a few of the families need way more than just a dress.

Mother Theresa spent most of her life serving the poor in Calcutta, India. She ministered to those who were terminally ill with HIV/AIDS, Leprosy, and Tuberculosis. Her ministry included soup kitchens, dispensaries, family counseling programs, and orphanages.

When Mother Theresa was asked if more people should abandon their lives and move to Calcutta to help, she famously replied something like this. “Your Calcutta is every heart you touch, find your Calcutta.”

God may ask you to do big things in life, be willing if He leads. But more than likely, He will ask you to do smaller things motivated by love. Most of those acts will go under the radar. No fan-fair, no applause, no reward here on earth.

You may cross the world to help the poor, you may only have to cross the street. You may encourage crowds of people, you may encourage one at a time. You may serve in a bright spotlight, or in the shadows.

The most important thing is this, find your unique way of serving others. Your talents, your experiences, your passions, are yours for a reason. And that reason goes way beyond your own benefit.

We were designed to receive God’s love and share God’s love.
We were made to find joy in lifting others up.
We were created to reach the least, the last, and the lost.

Find a way to impact those in need, one person at a time.

Find your Calcutta.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Reach For Them

I’m a knife fanatic.

I have a collection of pocket knives. Too many honestly. While I only carry one at a time, I own more than a dozen.

Some of them are just a handle and blade, others are multi-tools with more options than a Chinese buffet.

I have one that I carry almost every day, Its a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Ranger model. Along with the knives, scissors, and saw, it has items added to it. Like green polymer scales, an eye glass screwdriver, straight pin, ink pen, and a fire steel. It has everything I need daily, and enough extras for me to pretend like I’m MacGyver.

I walked into the bathroom yesterday, the lid was up on the toilet and that knife, my favorite, it fell in. I watched it tumble, I couldn’t react fast enough to stop it, it made a splash and it went right to the bottom. Even though the toilet was in the unused condition (if you know what I mean), it was gross to think of what I had to do.

I had no choice, for one thing it’s a good knife, secondly, the toilet won’t work in the future with a knife in it. I had to grab it.

I cleaned the knife, and cleaned it, and cleaned it. Then I washed my hands, and washed them, and washed them.

The knife is fine, it’s clean and dry now, I’ll carry it tomorrow. But the whole accident instantly taught me something.

Certain things are worth reaching for, even if you have to reach through something disgusting.

Some people are in circumstances that no person should be in, but they are worth reaching for. Some people even put themselves in conditions that are inhuman, but they are worth reaching for. Some would say, you can’t end a sentience with a preposition, but even they are worth reaching for.

I love the fact that Jesus implied His church would be established next to the gates of Hell, and Hell would not defeat it. God can reach into our Hell on earth and pull us out.

Christians often say they want to be the hands of Jesus.

Those hands were often dirty, touched people whom society deemed unclean, and received the worst humanity could offer.

But they still reached out to people of every type, in every situation. Figuratively those hands are still reaching.

Don’t give up on anyone, no one is too far gone, too lost, too covered up in the mess.

Pray for them, encourage them, and when it’s appropriate, reach into Hell itself to offer a way out.

They are worth it.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Balance

Like many Americans around my age, I spent a lot of time at a skating rink as a teenager.

I was an awful skater, I would spend time at the rink simply to socialize.

I spent more time talking with friends than I did skating. I was barely good enough to get around the oval a few times, and when it was a couples skate, I usually depended on the girl to help me keep my balance.

On one rare occasion I was skating while a few friends were hanging out along the outside of the rink. A young child suddenly fell down in front of me and I had no time or skill to maneuver around him. I was going relatively fast and couldn’t stop myself in time.

I reacted by literally leaping over the young boy who was sitting upright. I landed on my wheels and kept moving forward. I looked back at the boy, and then I turned to look at my friends who all saw me make the seemingly miraculous jump. I couldn’t believe it happened, and I couldn’t believe all my friends watched it happen.

The next time around the rink, I was feeling a little too good about myself, I waved at my friends, assuring they would be focused on me. And for no reason at all, I lost my balance, fell backwards, and slammed to the hardwood. All my friends, and many others watched it happen.

Pride literally came before the fall.

That’s a small example of being full of yourself. Others take self elevation to extremes. It’s always destructive to see yourself as superior to others. You may be more skilled or talented in some way, but you can always learn something from another.

Confidence is a good thing. But over confidence will lead to embarrassment.

Be careful to not set yourself up above anyone else. No one is beneath you, and everyone has immense value.

The truth is, a few people struggle with an out of control ego. And those type of people rarely will admit it. But it seems to me there are far more people who deal with the opposite issue. Those that lack confidence, have a low self-worth, or don’t understand their own value.

These people are often talented, creative, and compassionate, but they doubt themselves to the point of self-imposed irrelevance. These people are the ones the world needs to be confident in who they are. Society needs thoughtful, caring, noble people who believe in themselves enough to make a difference.

The odds are, many of you reading this undervalue your potential contribution to the world around you.

The young people in your life need you to be confident in who you are. God can work through you to inspire many.

Make sure you have balance when it comes to who God made you to be.

You and I are no better than any other.

But, no one else is more valuable than you.

-Tom Wise