Matches, when I was 5

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Mark McMillion

I was 5 years old in Marlin, Texas. My parents both went to work every day so I was left alone with a “Negro maid”. I was pretty much on my own so I was out on my tricycle a lot, riding around the neighborhood and just checking things out.

Four years old; Marlin, Texas

I guess it was summer because a friend of mine who was 7 and I were out in a vacant lot and we decided to start a fire. I knew enough already to clear all the dead and dry grass around in order to make a little clearing and a circle of stones to make the fire in. But we needed a way to start it. We decided that I would go back home and snitch a box of matches which I knew were in a place in the kitchen, without our maid knowing of course.

So I got back with the matches and we were all ready to make our little fire. Boy, did I learn some lessons. First one was that, strange as it may seem, 7 year olds are not always smarter than 5 year olds. My friend suddenly started striking matches and throwing them out into the dry grass, rather than to light a fire in the circle of stones that we’d agreed on. I was yelling at him not to do that but to no avail. The next thing we knew, the grass was on fire and a right good grass fire was suddenly started up in the neighborhood.

Heading out into the neighborhood, looking for adventure

And, would you believe it, the fire department had to come out with two fire trucks and put out the blaze. Good they did, since the vacant lot was surrounded by bungalows on 3 sides.

I really got in trouble. I got some serious discipline which I remember I didn’t fight much as I had enough conscience to know I’d done wrong by going back to the house and sneaking off with those matches. But my 7 year old friend? Nothing happened to him. His dad had been a pilot and was killed in the Korean War; his mom was a nurse at the Veterans’ hospital. He didn’t get any discipline.

I thought it wasn’t fair, he was the one that was stupid, it seemed to me. But I knew what I got was fair as I’d done wrong and I knew it. But it was good in a sense that nothing really bad came of this beyond a grass fire in a vacant lot that the Marlin fire department had to come and put out.

What in the world of a lesson can be found in this? Well, like Moses said, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23) I didn’t know that verse back then but I had an active enough conscience that the principle was certainly clear to me. Also, like Job said, “Great men are not always wise. Neither do the aged understand judgment.” (Job 32:9) I was really surprised at my 7 year old friend that he didn’t have more wisdom than that to just start throwing matches out into dry grass. Even I knew that and I was 5.

And then I was thinking tonight, “Well, son-of-a-gun, it’s in some ways like I’m throwing matches out into dry grass.” Only in this case it’s not to do mischief but in hopes to start fires for the Lord in a positive way, a little like the verse, “Cast thy bread upon the waters for thou shalt find it after many days.Give a portion to seven and also to eight.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1 & 2) Some of the things I write, it’s like, and “Who needs this? This is kind of ‘out there’”. But maybe it will catch fire in a good sense somewhere. Someone will be moved by it; someone will respond to it, someone will be inspired and inflamed by it, just like a match on dry grass.

That incident when I was 5 was a very memorable moment for me. The whole episode could have gone much worse. The fire could have caught the houses nearby on fire and injured people. I was doing something I knew in my heart was wrong. The older kid didn’t seem to have the knowledge and conscience that I did, although he was two years older than me. That was a surprise.

But it was a memorable moment on many fronts. I never saw anything good in it at all that I did; it was just wrong. “A child left to himself, brings his mother to shame” (Proverbs 29:15). I’d been left alone to ride my bike around the neighborhood at the age of 5 almost every day and I got into mischief.

But tonight I was thinking about these blog posts and the thought came to me that it’s like throwing matches out into dry grass. Only in this case, it is in an attempt to do good, not mischief. It’s an attempt to help other Christians ignite for the Lord and be a light for Him. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Conspiracy Theory and/or Bible Prophecy

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Mark McMillion

When John Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas, I was a young teenager, living 100 miles away. He was a major hero and role model to me and his death had a heavy impact on my heart and life. Later, as the info came out about the details of his death, it seemed clear to me that it was not just a lone gunman who got off some amazingly “lucky” shots. I saw the Zapruder film and from that it seems clear that the shot that killed Kennedy didn’t come from the direction of Oswald.

Lee Harvey Oswald

So I guess that makes me a conspiracy theorist. And since that time the whole genre of conspiracy theories has grown to a full industry and major phenomenon of our times.

Some years later I surprisingly came to find out that there actually is a God in heaven, as well as the devil, angels and the whole thing. It in some ways was the climax of a series of shocking, eye-opening experiences that caused me to see the world in a totally different way. And I guess you could say, “Well, if you can believe in conspiracy theories, it’s probably easy for you to believe in that God stuff too.”

But they are different. Admittedly there are some similarities. Conspiracy theorists see a lot of things going on that most people don’t know about. They see unseen forces, organizations and individuals, working behind the scenes to shape the destiny of man to go the direction they want them to. They see entities which want us to view things a certain way, to believe things that aren’t true and to basically enslave the human race. Is that all true? I’d say some of it is true and even verifiable to some degree.

But also there’s a difference. From my experience, conspiracy theorists seem to get mad a lot and there’s virtually no stopping place at where they will see “them” at work. Everything that happens is somehow not as it seems. “They” are active, everywhere and just about to take over our lives, our nation and our world.

What I don’t find in conspiracy theory is answers. There’s fear, there’s what is said to be a revelation of what is real, but there really isn’t much offered to alleviate all this. Also I feel that following a strong, steady line of conspiracy theory doctrine will come to make someone rather paranoid overall, distrustful, cynical and afraid of virtually everyone, even their best friends.

It reminds me of the verse in II Timothy, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7) I came out of a lot of atheist, worldly darkness and that verse was like a promise I held on to for years that the Lord would create in me a “sound mind”, not burdened with confusion, fears and misunderstand.

That’s another good verse that could be applied to conspiracy theories” “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” (I Corinthians 14:33) I guess in some ways it is good what those folks do since so many people walk in such dullness and blindness. Conspiracy theorists might wake some of those ones up that there’s some serious stuff going on and that common people are being deceived daily on a massive scale.

But this is all really different from what the study of Bible prophecy does. Bible prophecy not only exposes the systems and evils of man, which has been around for millennia, but it gives clear answers about what the solution is that God Himself has provided and is in the process of bringing to pass. Bible prophecy is a real eye opener. But it doesn’t carry that “spirit of fear”, as well as confusion that so often seems to accompany conspiracy theory teaching.

So I suppose those who avidly follow conspiracy theories might be woken up somewhat to the depth of evil in the world and shaken somewhat out of the general stupor that is upon so much of mankind. But then what?

God told Jeremiah that he was ordained to “root out, pull down, destroy, throw down” (Jeremiah 1:10) Conspiracy theory does that, sort of a general deconstruction of almost everything. But then God told Jeremiah two more things he was to do, “to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10) I haven’t seen any way that conspiracy theory builds and plants. But Bible prophecy does. It tells how bad it is and how bad it will still get. But then it tells of God’s solution and the happy ending to all this mess that He will bring in His coming Kingdom on earth.

Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, as Peter, James and John watch. (Matthew 17:1-8)

I suppose one of the greatest witnesses of one of the greatest miracles on earth was the Apostle Peter. The Bible says he was there when Jesus was transformed on the mountain into His glory and shined like the sun in front of 3 of His disciples. And God the Father spoke to them as well. Peter said of this experience, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables but were eyewitnesses of the majesty of Jesus Christ. For He received honor and glory from God the Father, when there came a voice from the excellent glory, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice from Heaven, being with Him in the holy mountain.” (II Peter 1:16-18)

But then Peter goes on to say an amazing thing. He tells us of something that’s even greater than what he personally saw with his eyes and heard with his ears. Here’s what he says next. “We also have a more sure Word of prophecy, to which you do well to take heed, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Daystar arises in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture came into being of its own private interpretation. For prophecy didn’t come in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (II Peter 1:19-21)

Peter says that the prophecies of the Word of God are more sure than even what he personal saw and heard at perhaps one of the most seminal moments in his life. That’s good truth for us today when we are at times “tossed and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14), by conspiracy theories with their adjacent fears and uncertainties. For believers in God and in Christ, we have a “more sure word of prophecy.” (II Peter 1:19)

Addicted to hate

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Mark McMillion

Years ago in Denmark my former wife and I were ministering to a recovered morphine addict. We read the Bible with him and tried to help him in his recovery. But a thing that both of us noticed was that, although he no longer used morphine, he was drinking up to 20 cups of coffee a day. In some sense, he’d traded one addiction for another.

It seems that’s how it is for multitudes of people when it comes to hatred. Vast numbers of people think of themselves as good citizens, faithful to their wife or husband and keeping the law. But, boy, they love to hate.

Around a year ago my dad passed away and I wrote a post about him, Bonner McMillion. One of the main things I mentioned there was how my parents taught me not to hate African-Americans at a time when virtually every white person I knew in our city was filled with racial hatred to one degree or another.

But today, hatred of blacks by whites is much less than it was when I was growing up. It’s not in vogue anymore, it’s less accepted. But it’s surely still ok to hate, perhaps more than in the past. Pew Research recently made a study and found that the USA is more divided as a nation than any time in the last 150 years. I wonder how much of that has to do with a thriving cultural acceptance of hatred.

The most popular hatred here in the States seems to be hatred of Islamic people. “They” are here. “They” will destroy us. But some people feel that way about Catholics. Years ago it was popular to hate Jews. That was normal and accepted. We just seem to stop one addiction but move on to another.

You could say a lot of things in support of hatred, at least if you are not a Christian. Shouldn’t we hate “them”? Here’s what the Bible says, even the Old Testament. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.” (Leviticus 19:17) It’s one of the greatest truisms of Christianity that it teaches love. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you.” (Matthew 5:44)

If you’re a Christian, and your life and words are full of hatred, then you’re living in sin, just as much as if you were an adulterer or whore monger. You’re just as defeated by your addiction to hatred as that man was that I ministered to years ago who was addicted to morphine first and then switched to coffee.

But, in a sense, you have my sympathies because “everybody else is doing it.” You’re mostly right on that; they are. But that surely doesn’t make it right if you’re trying to follow the light and path of the God of the Bible.

But Mark! Surely all hatred is not wrong!

Right again. Let’s look to God’s Word about that. Psalm 97:10 says, “You who love the Lord, hate evil.” Does it say to hate Muslims there? Or Catholics? Blacks? Jews? “Dagoes”? “Spics”? “Wops”? “Krauts”? “Chinks”? “Ragheads”? Obama? Or whatever your favorite hatred is? No. It says to hate evil, not people. God even “sends His rain on the just and the unjust”. (Matthew 5:45)

Does God hate? Yes, He does. Here’s what God’s Word says He hates. “These six things does the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19) We are to hate sin, as God does. But not people. We are to love people, in our hearts.

But Mark! I really hate them! All my friends hate them! TV commentators hate them! They are evil, Mark!

My friend, this is a modern, virulent, satanic mindset that’s blinding and will snuff out God’s blessing and presence in your life, if it hasn’t already. You need to be “renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23) You might need to turn off the TV, make new friends and move away from the old ones, just as if they were drug dealers or criminals.

If you love to hate, if you cultivate and nurture hatred, if you propagate hatred and start conversations with words about your hatred, then please don’t call yourself a Christian. If you’re doing this, you’re a reproach to the cause of Christ; you’re a mockery of what it is to be a Christian, no matter how outwardly righteous you appear to be. The evil you should hate is the hatred that has gripped your heart. Call out to the Lord Who can break every chain and cleanse ever stain. Flee hatred as you would drugs and ask the Lord to replace it with His love in your heart for all men, as He had.

Foolhardy Faith

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Mark McMillion

Some of the things I’ve done as a missionary would be seen by some as virtually foolish. I wrote about “It’s a gun, isn’t it?” and how the Lord protected me and my friend from 5 drunken east European miners in our train car on a Saturday night. But we were traveling on a mission for the Lord, trying to go forward for Him.

I can tell you of another time, perhaps more miraculous, while also probably more of a testimony of my youthful zeal but without wisdom, which the Lord forgave and seemingly blessed anyway.

I’d been married a little over a year and my Norwegian wife and I were desperate to leave Stockholm, Sweden, where our first son had been born, and to somehow get ourselves to Vienna, Austria, where we both strongly felt that God was leading us.

We felt called to the then-Communist lands of eastern Europe. And to get ahead of the story a little, we did ultimately get to Vienna and had nearly 6 wonderful years there as we aimed with other young missionaries back then to reach the be-darkened people “behind the Iron Curtain”, as it was called then.

But before we ever got there, I’ll tell you of a story of God’s infinite mercy and provision, in spite of our zealous inexperience and almost foolhardy attempts to obey Him and go forward.

It was barely spring in Stockholm, Sweden. My wife and I were desperate to move on from there, towards what we hoped would be an “open door” (I Corinthians 16:9) to Vienna, Austria, almost 1800 kilometers (1100 miles) to the south.

Our first move was to get ourselves back over to Norway, my wife’s home country. We believed in “living by faith”, that is trusting God to “supply all our needs according to His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19) if we were “seeking first His Kingdom” (Matthew 6:33). A solidly Biblical belief but certainly not one you’ll hear taught in most churches.

Here comes the hard part. You’re gonna think this is really “out there”. We were desperate and believed the Lord wanted us to go forward in our faith and obedience to Him. We had very little money at that time so we decided to “hitchhike” from Stockholm to Oslo, Norway in early spring.

This was somewhat more normal back then, not as dangerous as it is nowadays and somewhat more acceptable. Still, we had our 2 month old son with us so it was still pretty close to foolhardy. And it’s not like there’s some 500 kilometer (300 mile) super highway between Stockholm and Oslo.

The first evening my former wife and I were at a highway rest stop, not actually too far from Stockholm. We’d made very little progress in hitchhiking, had virtually no money and we were eating a plate of French fries, praying together, reading our Bibles together and were pretty desperate.

To make a long story short, we saw a man looking at us from across the restaurant who seemed to be a truck driver. As he left to go out to his truck, my wife went out to talk to him and ask if he was driving to Norway to see if we could get a ride. (I didn’t speak the language there at that time.)

The man was already in his truck by the time my wife got there. He said that, no, he wasn’t driving to Oslo. But then he said, “Are you guys Christians?” Perhaps that was slightly more normal back then in that part of the world than it is now. But still, it was a very unusual question to have a stranger ask in Sweden. He’d seen us praying and reading our Bibles in the restaurant.

So my wife said that we were and he asked, “Well, do you need help?” She explained our situation and he then helped with a generous donation. This made it possible for us to have a normal meal there as well as to pay for a room to stay at an adjoining motel over night.

The next day, we were able to hitchhike, in fits and starts, across Sweden to Norway and Oslo, to friends and loved ones where we grew in the Lord in those early years of our faith.But, it took another 3 years of travails in Scandinavia before we finally made it to Vienna.

They say, “It takes an impossible situation for God to do a miracle.” For us, that was one of the most outstanding and appreciated miracles we ever experienced. Perhaps it was foolhardy for us to “step out on the water” (see Matthew 14:28) like that with a young baby. But the Lord somehow forgave and overlooked our naivety and lack of wisdom and saw instead our desire to go forward for Him.

Are you young in the Lord? Are you desperate to follow your faith and what you believe God is calling you to do? I would certainly say, try to have wisdom in what you do. “Wisdom is the principle thing” (Proverbs 4:7).

But also, if God is giving you the faith to follow Him and trust that He will provide and supply, I can tell you that He did that for me, in spite of my indiscretions and being pretty much “a fool for Christ” (I Corinthians 4:10).

Your best bet is to truly follow Him, no matter how “crazy” it may seem. If it’s truly of Him, He’ll reach out His hand and get you across to the other side, no matter what outlandish way He has to do it. Like He did for me, my wife and little boy so many years ago. God bless you.

“Shaken, Not Stirred”

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Mark McMillion

When I was 16, I read “James Bond” books. You may laugh but the books were pretty different from the later movies. Well, I won’t go off on James Bond here. But if you know much about the character, one of his most famous lines was always how he’d describe how he wanted his martini, “Shaken, not stirred”.

Hmm. That phrase came to me this morning in a deeper way. In the last 5 weeks, my life has twice been rather strongly “shaken”. And this has been to a degree that I’ve also been “stirred”. So for me, it’s recently been a case of “shaken and stirred”, rather than not stirred.

But for Christians, this is something than can happen somewhat often. And it can (and should be) good. First, shakings happen. Paul said to the Corinthians, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (II Corinthians 4: 8 & 9). Like the old song said, “a whole lot a’ shaking going on.”

Can we do anything about it? Should we? Well, admittedly, most of us don’t look forward to shakings. I don’t. These recent things haven’t looked like good news to me. But we certainly don’t have control over all aspects of our lives or the lives of our friends and loved ones. Things just happen that sometimes can really bring a shaking and a shakeup in our lives.

But, “All things work together for good to them who love the Lord, to them who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) And one of the good things in shakings is that, if we’re Christians and know the foundations of our faith, we get stirred. And we should. That may be one major reason the Lord brought the shaking: so we’d get stirred.

There have been some days in the last few weeks where virtually the only thing I could do was go out and pray. My life was being shaken up and some foundations seemed to have slipped like a tectonic plate.

In Isaiah it says, “No man stirs himself to call upon Me.”(Isiah 64:7) It’s just so easy for us to get lethargic and settled in our routines or the blessings He has given us. He has ” cast our lines in pleasant places.” (Psalms 16:6) So sometimes He “dries up the brook and stops the ravens”, like he did with Elijah. (I Kings 17) He shakes us up by withdrawing His blessings and sometimes even protection. One of the worst traffic accidents I was ever in was in southern Norway back in the 70’s when I was riding with some folks I didn’t know and our car went off an icy road at night, into the air and down a snowy embankment.

Miraculously we landed some 30 feet (ten meters) down the cliff, unhurt, and were able to climb back up to the road. This was one of the Lord’s major shakeups for me because my former wife and I were called to the mission field of central Europe and we’d been delayed and waylaid in our obedience to His call. That wreck really shook me up. I saw it as a form of the Lord withdrawing His protection as we weren’t really in the center of His will anymore. So we got very “stirred” and desperate. And less than 6 months later we were finally on our way towards our new mission field and base in Vienna, Austria.

For a Christian, when you get shaken, it’s time to be stirred. But some seem to never get stirred. They harden their hearts. Paul got stirred. It says that “his spirit was stirred within him” (Acts 17:16) when he saw the whole of Athens given over to idolatry.

Daniel, pouring out his heart to God. (Daniel chapter 9)

And what’s the good thing about being stirred? When we pour out our heart to the Lord, He always comes through. We have to do our part, to sometimes vehemently seek His face and “pour out our hearts before Him” (Psalm 62:8). He told Jeremiah, “And you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) That verse was probably one that stirred the prophet Daniel in his famous ninth chapter and the prayer he prayed which brought one of the most significant answers to prayer that was ever given, the prophecy of the 70 weeks.

So, shaken, not stirred. But in our case, shaken and stirred. Like Jesus said, “Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken. But on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Matthew 21:44) If you “fall on the Rock” in the time of trouble, if the shaking of your life brings the stirring of your soul and the pouring out of your heart to Him, then all things will have worked together for good. On the other hand, if you are shaken but unstirred, the Lord there said that ultimately the Stone you should have fallen on in prayer will ultimately fall on you. If you’re being shaken, get stirred.

Blessed Is He That Considers The Poor

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Mark McMillion

I’d like to ask for your prayers for some dear friends who’ve been a tremendous help to me. I was praying for them today and got the verse from Psalm 41:1, “Blessed is he that considers the poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”

I’ll explain. About 18 months ago a man I hardly knew at the time invited me to coffee. The result of that meeting was that he and his wife began to support me in my producing the prophecies of Daniel videos to the degree that I was able to work on them full time. Since then 6 videos have been done, 3 full length and 3 supplementary one. And there’s been a good start on getting these videos into several foreign languages. Also I’ve been able to post articles on my two web sites around once or twice a week during that time.

It’s been an incredible blessing to have their help in this way. And actually, if any of you have gotten something out of the videos or articles I’ve been doing, it’s this couple who’ve helped me to be able to have the support so I’d have the time to work on these.

It’s easy to have some type of stereotypical picture of the greedy, selfish, capitalist rich, gobbling up the poor and destroying the world. Maybe there are some like that. But my experience with these folks has been that they’ve been some of the more generous people I’ve ever known, concerned about others on an international scale and also on an individual scale. I’ll tell you one more testimony about them and then share my prayer request for them.

They’d been helping me for months to get the work done on the video series. Then one day my friend said, “You know a lot of missionaries, don’t you?” I paused and said that, yes, I did. So he said, “Well, do they need any help?” I paused again and again said yes, they did.

And it took me about a week for the idea to get through to me but my friend was wanting to share his prosperity with those on the mission field and he was asking if I’d be a conduit for that. The Lord one day almost had to prod or rebuke me for my slowness to catch on.

But since that time I’ve been able to be in contact with friends in many countries, mostly Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe and a relatively large amount of mission gifts have gone out to folks. As a result, thousands of Bibles and 10’s of thousands of Gospels of John have been made available throughout those areas, as well as mission gifts to those doing seminars in Uganda and other things like this. These people are like what the Bible talks about “cheerful givers” (II Corinthians 9:7). In their eyes they have “freely received” and so they “freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

These friends of mine now need our prayers.

I don’t know how much you keep up with it but there have been some recent drastic upheavals in some sectors of the international business outlook. This new economic turbulence has had a major impact on their company. There’s actually a question mark over whether they will still be able to be a help to me at all and we’re going to meet together soon.

But I thought that the least I could do is to bring this dear couple before you and ask for your prayers. They themselves have done mission work and have been to some pretty risky places that I’ve never ventured to, where they were passing out tracts there in order to win souls. They are a brother and sister who’ve willingly shared their abundance to help the work I’ve been involved with and also to help missionaries and the poor in many countries.

You don’t really need to know their names or more details than this. They remind me of another article I wrote a while back, called “Texas People”, about people from Texas that most folks don’t know about. But this is a time of trouble for them. They have people they employ, they have a family and they’ve constantly been trying to give to others. Could you please support these dear ones in prayer at this time? Their industry is going through strong upheavals and they’re seeking to find a way through this storm that’s upon their company and their lives. Thanks so much.

And perhaps you could also pray for me at this time. I’ve been aiming to make a mission trip to Romania, to visit churches in Bulgaria and to be in Christian refugee camps in the Middle East in around 3 months. These new changes bring uncertainly over this possible trip. Thanks so much for your prayers for my dear friends and supporters and for my ministry as well at this time.

Your friend in Him, Mark

The Tar Baby

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Some things are just a “tar baby”. Never heard that phrase before? I’m not surprised. There was a man named Joel Chandler Harris who was a famous writer from the southern states after the Civil War in the United States in the 1860’s. There was even a movie made years ago, called “Song of the South” which was about some of his stories. I guess you could compare them a little bit to Hans Christian Anderson and things like “The Ugly Duckling” But let me tell you the story of the Tar Baby, maybe you can relate to it.

So there was this fox and this rabbit. The fox was forever trying to catch the rabbit, it was all about that. The fox hit upon the idea of catching the rabbit by making a “tar baby”. You could think of it like a snow man, except that instead of using snow, the thing was made with black sticky tar, like they use in some places to make streets with.

The fox made the “tar baby” and set it beside the road. So the rabbit comes along. And as he passes by, he says ever so congenially, as people in the South will do, “Good morning to you.”

The tar baby was silent.

The rabbit said again, “I said, ‘Good morning to you’”. The tar baby is still silent.

The rabbit, irritated by the unfriendliness, said, “If you don’t say, ‘Good morning’ to me, I’m gonna hit you!”

Nothing came back from the tar baby.

“Take that!” the rabbit said and punched the tar baby. But the rabbit’s hand got stuck.

“You let go of my hand!” the rabbit screamed. “If you don’t let go of my hand, I’m gonna kick you!” And he did. But then his foot also got stuck on the tar baby.

And on it went till the rabbit was totally and utterly captured and stuck to the tar baby.

The moral of the story? Some things are really just best left alone, no matter how bad it seems or how much you feel you need to get further involved. They’re a “tar baby”.

There is no victory in getting involved. All your efforts will only yield a further unfruitful involvement where you will get further and further tied up in something that you can’t get untangled from and can get no satisfaction from.

So this extremely simple, childish story has a deeper meaning and lesson for actually everyone. There are things in which the best thing you can do, the wisest move you can make, is to just not get involved.

Jesus Himself even said of one situation, “Leave them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14). In another place He said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6) This can sound almost harsh from the Lord of Love. But He knew what He was talking about.

For some things and some situations, they’re just “tar babies”. Paul said to the disciples of his day, “Foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing they do gender strife.” (II Timothy 2:23) Or Solomon, 900 years before Paul, said, “Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you perceive not in him the lips of knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:7)

Certainly this is not the first reaction we would have to difficult situations or even difficult people. The vast majority of the time, we who are Christians should be the ones to get involved, go the extra mile and give to them that ask of us. This should be our default position, to be like the Good Samaritan and how Jesus Himself was.

But at times the Lord will confirm to you that it’s just not a place where the Holy Spirit is going to get a victory as the people there are intractable and rejecting of the things of the Lord. Or even a trap of some kind, set up by the enemy of God to sidetrack us, to get us bogged down in some fruitless endeavor that’s never going to go God’s way or ours. It could be a tar baby. Gotta watch out for those.

Sweet Potatoes with Butter

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Mark McMillion

I heard a story one time, I don’t know if it’s true. Seems it was after the Civil War in America, down in the South where the slaves were now free but still living tough, segregated lives.

So a white woman had an African American woman working for her as her “maid”. And somehow the African American women had her 2 kids there. There was something to do with sweet potatoes, very popular in the southern states. And as the story goes, the white woman was serving some sweet potatoes to the African American woman and her 2 kids. So the maid was all thankful and humbly respectful that she was being served sweet potatoes for herself and her kids.

Then the white woman passed on some butter that the maid and her two kids could put on their sweet potatoes. But the black maid respectfully declined that offer of butter for their sweet potatoes. The white woman was surprised and puzzled.

“Liza” she said, “why don’t you let those children have butter on their sweet potatoes?”

“No ma’am”, Liza said, “I don’t want my ‘chillens ever know what sweet potatoes with butter tastes like.”

End of story. What in the world could that mean? As I understand it, it’s like this. Liza and her children lived in grinding poverty. They were accustomed to doing without. But here was this rare, strange situation where they were eating sweet potatoes and maybe even getting butter on it!

But Liza knew that it was like so rare a situation, so special, that it wasn’t something that was likely to happen again. As it was already, her kids had never even known what the delicious taste of sweet potatoes with butter was like. But if they did, it would only be for that time. And afterwards they would always remember it and long to have it again. But Liza would never be able to supply something like that for her kids; it was just beyond her.

So that’s why Liza didn’t want her kids to even taste what it was like to have butter on their sweet potatoes. She felt it was better for them to never have even tasted such heavenly things than to have tasted and then to almost certainly never be able to have that again.

Kind of deep, when you think of it. There are times in life, or for some lives, when the Lord in His wisdom seems to withhold something that is prayed for and desired. We don’t know why and we long for an answer. But it doesn’t come.

And yet sometimes for one reason or the other, we have a brief taste of those “sweet potatoes with butter”, like Liza was offered to her kids. And then for reasons we usually don’t know, those heavenly tastes and experiences are not sustained and we go back to our lives we live.

Was Liza right to refuse to let her kids to even taste the sweet potatoes with butter? I personally don’t know. We are told, “With food and clothing let us be content” (I Timothy 6:8). Usually we aren’t content with only food and clothing. Most of us want more than that. And in our times, almost everyone has quite a lot more than food and clothing.

But for the Lord’s disciples, especially for those who’ve become His seasoned soldiers, He sometimes spoils us. But at other times He can keep us on a rather short leash and even lean rations, if He sees fit. We don’t always understand why. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Recently I had some “sweet potatoes with butter”. It was wonderful. But it was only for a short while. Was it good that it happened? Maybe I should have just looked at it like Liza did, just not even have let that happen since it seems it was something that could only be for a very short time. But it was really good while it lasted.

“I have learned in whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content” (Philipians 4:11). “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23 & 24). “And everyone that hath forsaken house or brethren or sister, or father or mother or wife or children or lands for My sake shall receive a hundred fold in this lifetime, and in the world to come, eternal life”. (Mark 10: 29 & 30)

Have you got sweet potatoes with butter in your life that you’ve tasted but then it’s gone? It’s tough. It’s like that for me right now. Thanks for your prayers about this. God bless you.

Bite Now, Chew Later

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Life is full of decisions. And it actually happens that those decisions, sometimes very major ones, can come down to a brief moment when some opportunity presents itself and you have to make that decision, right then, not later. It can be in a romance, it can be in your career, it can be in sports or business. You don’t always have time to weigh up every factor and slowly consider all the options. You just have that moment, that second, and you have to decide. And it may affect the rest of your life.

Jesus said one time, “What man, with an army of 10,000, going against an army of 20,000, doesn’t sit down first and count the cost whether he has sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:31) Absolutely true, the Lord said it.

But also sometimes you’re already in battle, things are moving and fluid and it’s not a situation where you can really pause, draw back to think it all over and pull in your councilors. Sometimes the battle’s on, the chips are down, your whole life and all you’ve fought and lived for is at stake.

This type of thing almost certainly happens to every individual. Certainly not every day but there are moments when you have to go totally by your “gut”, your instincts, and if you’re a Christian, by the “still small voice” (I Kings 19:21) and the leading of the Lord.

Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew. I have a tendency to do that. The Good Samaritan, did he bite off more than he could chew?

Probably he was busy like the other guys. Maybe those other ones just felt they had so much on their plate, maybe that fellow on the side of the road wasn’t even hurt anyway. He was faking it. Or there were accomplices hiding in the rocks that would jump anyone who stopped to help. It just wasn’t really wise to stop. Why should they? It was probably his fault. He got himself into that mess in the first place, right?

But the Good Samaritan, he stopped. Did it take him 15 minutes to decide? Did he phone 9-1-1 or take some photos first? Nope; he just decided on the spot that someone needed help and he was going to do it. He was going to take whatever time and resources were needed to help that guy.

Was that rational? Was that really economical? Was it even foolhardy? But he made that split second decision. Probably in history somewhere there was actually someone who was the Good Samaritan. Jesus wasn’t just making up fairly tales.

For me, sometimes I just have to make a decision to go ahead and “bite”, and worry about “chewing” later. If I know it’s something the Lord wants me to do, I need to just do it. I shouldn’t spend much time wondering if I’ll be able to follow through on what I’m committing to, if I’ll be able to consolidate what I’m undertaking.

So sometimes I do things that are approaching irrationality. But I’ve found that the Lord has most of the time made it so that I’ve been able to follow through with what I’ve taken on as a commitment, sometimes on the spur of the moment.

The other side of that is that I’ve had times where I was just over committed. Many years ago I was staring at an apple tree in a yard in Kolbotn, Norway. The tree was very fruitful. In fact it had maybe 5,000 apples on it, just loaded. The only probably was, all the apples were really small. If it was a farmer’s tree, it would nearly be worthless. It would have been better to have 500 big apples than 5,000 small ones.

And the Lord was just practically yelling that in my ear as a parable right then. That’s how my life had been: way too many projects and commitments that ended up being a huge crop of “little apples”, rather than a smaller crop of fully grown ones. I’m still learning on that lesson.

But it’s tough. We’re just supposed to say “yes” to the Lord. We’re also supposed to say “yes” to people. “You’re not your own, you are bought with a price.” (I Corinthians 6:19 and 7:23) “We ought to lay down our lives for our brethren” (I John 3:16). Most of the time, I figure it’s better to bite first and chew later. Usually the Lord will help me to follow through on my commitments if I make myself available to Him and even to others. “He that has begun a good work in you will perform it” (Philippians 1:6). “Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24)

God spoke to Isaiah, “Who shall go for us and whom shall I send?” (Isaiah 6:8) Did Isaiah say, “Um…, I’ll look around, Lord, and try to find someone”? Nope. He said, “Here am I Lord, send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) Jesus asked His disciples, “Are you able to drink of the cup I drink of and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38) They answered zealously, but perhaps unwisely, “Lord, we are able.” (Mark 10:39) So did the Lord rebuke them for presumption and pride? No, He said, “You shall indeed be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with” (Mark 10:39). He knew even then that they would eventually face martyrdom.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will just prompt you to go for it, not pause, think and consider. But that means you really need to be in touch with Him and be getting your instructions and even impulses from Him, from heaven. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the son of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Dominoes

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Have you ever seen a picture of dominoes falling? One domino after the other hits the one next to it and hundreds or even thousands of dominoes fall simultaneously. It’s always had a meaning for me. Sadly, not always a good one.

The Bible says, “One sinner destroys much good” ( Ecclesiastes 9:18). We all have influence. “No man lives to himself and no man dies to himself” (Romans 14:7). That’s just the way things are for the vast majority of humanity. That’s why our influence on others is so important. “He that walks with wise men shall be wise. But the companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20).

Maybe I should look at it more positively. I came to the Lord during the Jesus Movement of the early 70’s. So many were affecting others and it was a wave and movement towards the Lord, like dominoes falling forward, nudging each other towards Him by the thousands and even millions.

But, sadly, I’ve seen it go the other way. Friends and loved ones who’ve been pushed in a time of weakness, confusion or temptation to abandon the ways of the Lord and to give themselves over to the dark side, the ways of the world and the ways of unbelief. It’s heart-breaking, truly.

“The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle” (Psalm 78:9). If you’re a Christian, perhaps you know how it’s heartbreaking to see your friends forsake the paths of light to follow the worldly in the ways of spiritual darkness. Maybe that’s why Solomon said, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Proverbs 1:10). Or Moses wrote in the Law, “You shall not follow a multitude to do evil.” (Exodus 23:2)

That’s how it is. We all have influence. And there are seldom any neutrals. We’re either pulling others up to our level or dragging them down to ours. That’s why Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me and he that gathers not with Me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). It’s just that simple and that real, even though many would say it’s not.

We all have influence. We are all looking at each other. We are all making decisions. Will I buck the tide and stand up for what I know to be true, even if I have to do it alone and without my friends? That’s very, very tough for almost everyone.

Of course that’s what Jesus Himself did. “All forsook Him and fled.” (Mark 14:50) Even His 12 disciples, even the ones He taught and loved the most turned away from Him at His darkest hours. It seems it was the same for Paul. “All they that be in Asia have turned away from me”, he wrote in his final epistle. (II Timothy 1:15)

So, dominoes. Influence. Being dragged down by folks you want to be friends with. Or standing against the flow and the tide when it’s going the wrong way.

I’m thankful I was brought up by parents who taught me that even if we were in a minority in those days because we didn’t hate African Americans, it was still the right thing to do and that hatred and prejudice were very wrong. I was taught to stand up for my beliefs, even if I was alone, even before I became a Christian.

One person, walking in love, walking in truth, walking in the light of God can have an incredible impact. Like I wrote in the article “Is There Not a Cause?”, that’s how the future king of Israel was when he was still virtually a child. David’s dauntless answer to his brothers’ taunts has always ringed so loud to me, “Is there not a cause?” (I Samuel 17:29)

Would to God that today there would be more who would stand their ground, look the darkened mob in the face and cheerfully stand up for the Lord and His ways.

Mark McMillion

Creeds and Deeds, Facts and Acts

Category Archives: Personal views & lessons