Everything Has Import
“The prize-winning Irish poet Evangeline Paterson sums up her life: ‘I was brought up in a Christian environment where, because God had to be given pre-eminence, nothing else was allowed to be important..." – as quoted in RUMORS OF ANOTHER WORLD by Philip Yancey, p. 71
Philip Yancey worked for 10 years as an Editor and then Publisher for Campus Life magazine before beginning a career as a freelance writer in the 1980s. He has written over 20 books and is among this generation’s most respected Christian authors.
Even such a clear truth can be misapplied and turned into a negative thing. Paterson discovered this distortion and corrected it, writing, "I have broken through to the position that because God exists, everything has significance.” Has the reality of Who God is made everything else in your life more meaningful?
"And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy" (Colossians 1:18).
Yielding to Avoid a Crash or a Clash
Oklahoma highway patrolman Clinton Riggs was a student at the Northwestern University Traffic Institute, now the Center for Public Safety, in 1939 when he created the yield sign as a class assignment. The original yield sign was keystone shaped and read, “Yield Right of Way” in black letters on a bright, yellow background. Yellow was used because reflective material was not yet available and it was the most visible color at night.
*photo credit unknown
Riggs’ goal was to improve public safety and determine liability in an accident. In 1950, as a member of the Tulsa Police Department, Riggs placed the first yield sign at the most dangerous intersection in the city. Within a year, the number of accidents fell to zero. By 1954, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices added the yield sign to similar right-of-way intersections. Yield signs soon appeared at intersections across the country, with the keystone shape being replaced with an upside-down triangle with black lettering and a border, but the sign remained yellow. Over time, the signs began only saying “yield.”
Yielding not only helps us be better, safer, and more cnsiderate drivers. Yielding to God, to God's Word, to the Holy Spirit, and yeilding to each other helps us become better disciples of Jesus, children of God, and brothers and sisters to each other!
Oh the crashes and clashes we could avoid if we would just yield to the wisdom and commands of the Lord, and to the needs or preferences of others!
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit [YIELD!] to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).
"Submit [YIELD!] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, ESV).
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist [fail to YIELD] the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51, ESV).
"Submitting [YIELDING] to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21, ESV).
Reckless With Our Praise
Did you know it is possible to be reckless with our rejoicing and praise? Consider the fate of this poor LA Dodgers fan who accidntally blew off most of his hand while celebrating their 2024 World Series victory.
A World Series celebration Wednesday night turned tragic for one Dodgers fan ... who blew off their hand while lighting a firework in the streets of L.A.
The horrifying incident happened in downtown just minutes after the Dodgers beat the Yankees in Game 5 -- and it was all, unfortunately, captured on video. ...
The explosion caused a fireball that engulfed the man ... and moments later, he could be seen stumbling away from the smoke in what appeared to be a state of shock. ...
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... first responders got to the scene at 2:30 AM Thursday -- and found the 25-year-old conscious and alert, but suffering from bilateral hand wounds. ...His injuries have been described as debilitating, but not life-threatening.
A UK media outlet, UNILAD, put it this way:
Seeing your favorite sports teams win is a sense of pure euphoria, and there are many different ways fans can celebrate the occasion.
Whether it be a pint in the pub with your pals after the big game, or going the extra mile and making a night out of that all important victory that puts your team on the right path.
Setting off a firework to mark a victory is certainly a new one on me, however, with one Dodgers fan doing such as he celebrated their World Series MLB victory over the New York Yankees.
WARNING: The graphic video is very hard to watch.
Looks like this poor Dodgers fan was pretty reckless with praise ...
Earthly joy and celebration are all part of the gift of being human. Such experiences, can, as the journalist above observed, bring us a sense of pure euphoria. Yet such experiences were never intended to be our sole, or even primary object of our praise and celebration. That role is reserved for God alone.
So don't be reckless with your praise! Enjoy this life and all its joys, all while recognizing that all praise, all glory, all "real" celebration, belongs to your Maker.
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2: 9, ESV).
"Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!" (Psalm 150:1-5, ESV).
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods" (Psalm 95:1-3).