Lessons from Literature: Winnie the Pooh

“Sing Ho! for the life of a Bear!
Sing Ho! for the life of a Bear!
I don’t much mind if it rains or snows,
‘Cos I’ve got a lot of honey on my nice new nose!
I don’t much care if it snows or thaws,
‘Cos I’ve got a lot of honey on my nice clean paws!
Sing Ho! for a Bear!
Sing Ho! for a Pooh!”
Winnie-the-Pooh chap 8

Winnie the Pooh was a great work of A. A. Milne and I imagine the author had a warm grin across his face as he created him.

I wonder if Milne created Pooh to pass on that grin to his readers, to bring warm cheer into the world, ’cause that’s just what he’s done.  (Plus made a fortune for Disney, but that’s another story. )

You’re a great work of God’s, too, Christian.  His poem.  That’s what the word “workmanship” means in the verse below ~ poem…

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..” Ephesians 2:10 

light and cheer, that’s what we’re created for in Christ Jesus…

“You are the light of the world.”  Matthew 5:14

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

And, do you know, God made the same comforting promise to us that Winnie the Pooh made to Christopher Robin ~~

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together keep me in you heart, I’ll stay there forever.”  (see John 14:16-17)  Christ in our hearts ~~“…Christ in you, the hope of glory…”  Colossians 27 Is your heart empty?  Would you like to be a poem?  Click here to meet your Author,  and then “keep him in your heart…forever.”

Lessons from Literature: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

“Lo! I tell you a mystery.”  1 Corinthians 15:51RSV

Sherlock Holmes loved a mystery, or, should I say, a mystery solved.  With help ( or the lack thereof)  from his crime-solving side-kick, Watson, Holmes solved the most befuddling mysteries with exacting patience.

And no amount of protestations from shifty-eyed suspects could deter the funny-hatted sleuth as he routed out the facts~~ “I interfere whenever and whereever I like…” he stated with calm firmness in ”The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.”

Well, I present to you today a mystery so obvious even fumbly- bumbly Watson could solve it: (clue: click on highlighted words for Bible references.)

Who  loves you more than you love yourself?

Who, although he had commited no crimes of his own, paid the penalty for

 ALL of yours?

Who, although He existed in the form of God…took on the humblest form of a man – a slave,  and became obedient even so far as to die on a cross?

And, because of these crimes of passion, at the very mention of whose  name shall every knee bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord?!

It’s no mystery!  It’s Jesus, the One and Only !!!

Elementary, my dear Watson!

The ”Who-Dunnit” Prayer:  Father in heaven, it’s a mystery to me why you love me so.  The sins that drove you to the cross were my own.  Who dunnit?  Me!  But now I’m free.  And who did that?  You!  Thank you!  I can only deduce that You are wonderful!  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Lessons from Literature: Treasure Island!

“I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” 

Psalm 119:32

Now you might be wondering what Pirates have to do with God’s Commandments.  Well, hang on to your boot straps, me matey.  I’ll be showin’ ye! ….

All day he hung around the cove, or upon the cliffs, with a brass telescope.

At the beginning of Treasure Island, we’re introduced to an “old Sea-Dog”, a run-down buccaneer who pours A LOT of rum down his gullet.  Aye.  An’ if you be a-rememberin’, he spoke right fondly of it, too –

  ” I lived on rum, I tell you.  It’s been meat and drink, and man and wife, to me…”

And he remained faithful to the bottle even though a local doctor warned him, “I have only one thing to say to you, sir, that if you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!”  And it was.  The rum did him in before the end of the second chapter!

Too bad, I say, that he couldn’t have had similar affections for the Bible.  Of course, if he had, young Jim Hawkins would never have found the treasure map he left behind in his sea chest, and there goes the whole story. 

But, suppose the Bible had been what he had “lived on”.  If it had “been meat and drink, man and wife” to him he wouldn’t have been a “filthy, heavy, bleared scarecrow of a pirate…sitting far gone in rum”  And the song of his heart would have been a little more cheery than, ” Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest–Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!” 

If the Bible had been his treasure map, he would have died a rich man.

“…for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”  Proverbs 8:11

“if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”  Proverbs 2:3-5

Pastor James MacDonald wrote: “Every time I do what God wants me to do – I get blessed. Every time I humble myself and ask for forgiveness or reach out in relationship or deny my flesh or give to the Lord’s work or make the choice to serve or open my mouth and speak for God – I get blessed! Every time! Obeying God always makes things better…” **

Wanna live a rich life, matey? Click on the chest for the treasure you seek:

**THE WEEKLY WALK, OCT. 5

Lessons from Literature: Harry Potter

A Dementor of Askaban

My son’s reading Harry Potter.   I’m not much interested in it myself, but this caught my attention this morning.  Andy was telling me about “the Dementors”.  “What are Dementors?” my fellow non-Harry-Potter-reading friends might ask.  They’re the creepy, dark-cloaked guards at Askaban, a prison in the wizarding world.  They glide about, tormenting the prisoners by causing them to relive their worst memories, and making them feel like they’d “never be cheerful again.” 

Sound familiar?  This is just what Satan tries to do to us, dear Christian.  He locks us up behind bars of guilt and shame, continually reminding us of every bad thing we’ve ever done — things he cheered us along to do in the first place, most likely.  He robs us of any cheerful thought, and feeds off our gloom.

And, of course, the antidote in the book is CHOCOLATE!  The answer for everything…happy sigh.  It counters the effects of the dementors, by warming up the victim, and restoring their emotions.

Our antidote for the harmful efects of our enemy, is TRUTH.  So, here’s some pieces of truth to warm up your insides:

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them– the Lord, who remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.”   Psalms 146:5-8

Who has come to set the prisoners free?  Jesus!  He’s the light that shines in the darkness… 

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

In His presence, shadows flee~~ “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17

  A PRISONER’S PRAYER:

“Oh, Father, You are the Father of Lights.  You wrap Yourself in light as with a cloak.  (Psalm 104:2)  You came to set the prisoner’s free. Free me from dark thoughts and despairing sighs.  Fill me with light and truth.  Remind me of what’s good and right and true; of what’s noble and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).  Help me to love Your Word, to understand it when I read it.  In Jesus’ name, amen!”

Do you know the better-than-chocolate Savior of our Souls?  Click on the Hershey’s Cocoa can for a quick introduction.