Two men looked out from prison bars

One saw the mud, the other saw the stars                        Frederick Langbridge

Have you heard about the most serious "Pandemic" known to modern medicine? It's the Yabut Flu. You know about the Yabut Flu. You may even suffer from it yourself. It's symptoms show up on multiple occasions each day. They usually look something like this: 

It's a beautiful day, so you turn to your neighbor and say something clever like, "It's a beautiful day", to which they respond, "Yeah, but if we don't get a rain soon, we will have another drought".

Or, your wife proudly proclaims something along the lines of, "We had enough money to pay all of the bills this month", to which you reply, "Yeah, but I wonder what's going to happen next month" or, "It doesn't matter anyway - we'll probably have to claim bankruptcy just to get by."

The "Yabut Flu" is that it is highly contagious, and highly destructive. Most people, including ourselves, have had this disease on many occasions. The problem with this nasty virus is that it steals our optimism, our hopes and dreams, and our joy.

The good news is that this dread disease has a cure: Jesus. The bad news is that most people simply haven't found the cure yet... have you?

If you are living a sub par life because you focus on the bad things in life, rather than the good, maybe it's time for a change. It's true that you cannot easily change the poor attitudes of those who have grown comfortable with pessimism, but you can have a positive influence on them. And, you can certainly do something about your own attitude. It begins by taking your focus off of the mud, so that you can look up and enjoy the awesome beauty of God's wonderful stars.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24, NIV

I have read that when paratroopers reach a certain stage of expertise, they begin packing their own parachutes. The reason for this is that an improperly packed parachute can lead to death. It's not that these paratroopers distrust the professional riggers whose job it is to pack the chutes, it's just that when they pack their own chute, they don't have to place their lives in someone else's hands. Perhaps not a big deal to most people, but if you are the one jumping out of that perfectly good plane, it's comforting to know something about the parachute.

In the years that I have been preaching, I have been shocked to see how many people are willing to take the word of a man when it comes to their eternal salvation. Now, I'm not suggesting that it is bad to trust preachers or Bible teachers or parents, I'm just saying that at some point you need to be finding out for yourself exactly what God's word has to say. Anything else is akin to letting just about any stranger on the street to pack your parachute: It's risky business.

It is critical for people to understand several important facts about those who preach: First, they are usually paid so it can be a great temptation to preach only those things that the people paying them want to hear. Second, regardless of any claims to the contrary, preachers are not divinely inspired with knowledge - if they were there would be zero variance in what they taught. Third, there are lazy and dishonest people in every walk of life and, sadly, preaching is no exception. Knowing this, will you trust such a one to "pack your parachute" for you?

The good news is that the Bible was divinely inspired by our loving Father. Remember that God so loved the world that He gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Do we think for a moment that He would then give us His will in such a way that only professional preachers could figure out what it meant? The fact is that neither God nor Jesus took any chances with the giving of Their word. Will we take any chances in receiving that word?

The Bible really can be understood, because it was given in such a way as to be understood. Since that is the case, doesn't it make sense to pack your own parachute?

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15, NIV

When life does not go our way... it is so easy to make excuses, place blame on others, or argue that circumstances were against us. But we only progress in life to the extent that we take responsibility for our own actions and attitudes, and put forth the initiative necessary to create our own circumstances.

Stephen Covey

His name was Billy Anderson and he was all boy. He loved to run and play and go hunting and do all the things that red-blooded boys love to do. When he was in his early teens, something happened to Billy - a rare enzyme disorder that attacked his muscles and caused his nervous system to go haywire. At first he lost his coordination, then his stamina, then his ability to run and to jump. Finally, Billy lost his ability to even walk.

One day after worship, my parents invited Billy over for lunch. I remember pushing him up the stairs in his wheelchair to their front door. Billy looked at the bushes near their door and somewhat wistfully recalled how he used to jump over those bushes. Billy was not complaining - just remembering.

Billy Anderson always seemed to have a smile on his face.

Towards the end Billy had to be lifted in and out of my parents car and carried into the church building so that he could take part in the Sunday worship. You and I might have declared that we were too sick... to invalid... to much a victim of the unfair breaks of life to go to worship, but not Billy Anderson. Billy Anderson made no such excuses in life because, you must understand, Billy Anderson was a hero.

The last time Billy was carried into the worship, it was by six men - six men who were so very privileged to carry the body of a fallen hero. It's true that Billy was not a hero in war, or from rescuing some family from a burning building or some fair maiden from a raging river - though he was just the type of man that could have had his circumstances been different. Billy Anderson was a hero because he made the most of his circumstances in life, despite enormous obstacles. Billy Anderson was a hero by the way he lived his life.

There will be times that you and I feel like claiming our "excuse privilege" for our own tough breaks. Instead, may I suggest that we remember people like Billy and get back to the business of creating our own opportunities to shine for the Master.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

II Corinthians 4:16-17, NIV

I shall pass this way but once: any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show... let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. Author unknown

I read a story a number of years ago about a father who had scolded his son for not washing his face, for not cleaning his shoes, for leaving his things out, for spilling, for gulping his food, for spreading the butter too thick on his bread. Later, he humiliated his little boy in front of his friends for having holes in his socks (they cost money, you know) and marched him into the house to further take care of the problem.

That evening, the boy interrupted his Dad's reading of the paper. "What is it you want?" snapped the father. The little boy ran to his Daddy, threw his arms around his neck, kissed him on the cheek and then ran out of the room. Shortly thereafter, the paper slipped from the father's hand and he bowed his head in grief - what had he done?

If this sounds familiar, it's because you are a parent. We all get caught up in the lessons we must teach our children, but sometimes we forget one of the most important lessons of all: They are but children, and we have them for a very short time.

My kids are all pretty much grown up now, but I will never forget the impact that this story had on me the first time I heard it - when my kids were still kids. While I never became the perfect Daddy, I can tell you that this story helped me become a better one and helped me to have a better perspective on one of the most important responsibilities that our Lord has gifted us with.

I can also tell you in retrospect that we truly do pass this way but one time and our kids are grown before we know it. If we will make the most of our opportunities with our kids, not neglecting the needed lessons and discipline, but giving equal care not to neglect our chances to make them feel valuable and secure and loved, then we will have gone a long way in making the most of this precious responsibility and privilege.

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. Colossians 3:21, NIV

Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 

Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV