Something to Ponder

By Rory Rank, Kim Rank, and Mike Tellez

Will your choice be “of something or of nothing?” Will you bring light to an ever-darkening world through faith, love, and hope or chose to stumble through life in darkness? Choosing Jesus Christ as your savior will bring the light you are seeking on your earthly journey. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Light or darkness, the choice is yours.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685703394

Book preview

Something to Ponder Something or Nothing

Something

Live

Life

Leave a Godly Legacy

Listen

Learn

Laugh

Lead

Look

Love

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

—Luke 4:18–19 (KJV)

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

—Isaiah 61:1 (KJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

—John 3:16

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

—John 14:6

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

—Matthew 22:36–40

But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

—Galatians 5:22–23

Or Nothing

Hell and damnation.

Your choice life or death?

When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking

A message every adult should read because children

are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you hang my

first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately

wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you feed a

stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind

to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make my

favorite cake for me, and I learned that little

things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I heard you say a

prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always

talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make a

meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I

learned at we all have to help take care of each

other.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you give of

your time and money to help people who had nothing,

and I learned that those who have something should

give to those who don’t.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you take care

of our house everyone in it, and I learned we have

to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw how you

handled your responsibilities, even when you didn’t

feel good, and I learned that I would have to be

responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come

from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things

hurt, but it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw that you

cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I learned most of

life’s lessons that I need to know to be a good and

productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I looked at you and

wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when

you thought I wasn’t looking."

I am sending this to all of the people I know who do so much for others,

But think that no one ever sees.

Little eyes see a lot.

Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend) influences the life of a child. How will you touch the life of someone today? Just by sending this to someone else, you will probably make them at least think about their influence on others. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Leadership

To those that lead,

To those that have positions of power,

Let their essence be of Thine.

Let them be able to laugh at themselves.

Let them help others discover the reason for their existence.

Let them travel life’s path with wisdom.

Let them set the example:

Pure in heart

Humble

Patient

Giving

Caring

Empathetic

Please let them be intellectually honest with self and others; able to look others in the eye.

Let them seek truth, hope, and faith.

Let their handshake be with integrity.

Let them view others as purposeful being of God who is trying to open the doors of understanding and truth as they are.

It was my intention, through the following diagram Edification, to make each player think about the qualities necessary to achieve the ultimate success. The diagram represents the total person with self-expression and team making up the left and right side of the person. Under self-expression, we find obedience, poise, confidence, amiability, ability, and passion. On the right side, we find the qualities that make up a successful team. They are sportsmanship, loyalty, reliability, communication, hard work, and selflessness. These traits are essential components if we are going to find balance between individual expression and what is needed for the team to function properly.

The head of the body asks us to seek wisdom, humility, empathy, and integrity. These four traits are important if we are to view our relationship with others in a selfless manner. Wise choices, projecting humility, having empathy, and maintaining integrity as we associate with others is essential in becoming Christlike. The main line of the body consists of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Hope and grace are granted from our faith in the Trinity, which leads to the ultimate successful eternal life.

I pray that those I have had the opportunity to be a part of their lives come to realize that Jesus proclaimed that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). There is only one way to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ. He is our savior, and with the declaration of faith in Him, our Father, because of His love for us, will grant us forgiveness through His grace.

—Kim Rank

Something to Ponder

What Makes a Home?

Charles Swindoll, in his book Living Beyond the Daily Grind, addresses the complexities of managing a home through the sound biblical principles set forth by Solomon in Proverbs 24:3–4. Mr. Swindoll said the following concerning three necessary factors in turning a house into a home.

Solomon, in two simple-sounding verses (24:3–4), tells us we need three essential ingredients in order to tum a house into a home-but what powerful ingredients they are!

By wisdom a house is built…

Wisdom is seeing with discernment. The original Hebrew word emphasizes accuracy, the ability to sense what is beneath the surface. Wisdom refuses to skate across the surface and ignore what is deep within. It penetrates.

By understanding it is established.

Understanding is responding with insight. Instead of fighting back and taking comments personally, understanding insightfully weighs things with perspective.

By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Knowledge is learning with perception. It includes things like a teachable spirit, willingness to listen, a desire to discover…to find out what is really there. Knowledge forever pursues the truth. (p. 231–232)

He went on to say,

When Solomon wrote by knowledge the home is filled, he used a term that mean fulfillment, ever-abundant satisfaction. The constant pursuit of the truth makes that happen.

And those precious and pleasant riches? Those would be the things that last. To mime a few: happy memories, positive and wholesome attitudes, feelings of affirmation, acceptance, and esteem, mutual respect, good relationships, and depth of character.

What a profound reflection on how one should look at how a home is filled. Seeking Truth becomes the most important part of this statement. Only through the Word can truth be found. Jesus Christ declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore, get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding (Proverbs 4:7). He who walks with integrity walks securely (Proverbs 10:9).

What do you treasure in life, and what truths are you going to live by? were the pressing questions we were daily confronted with by our parents. They were instrumental in the lives of their children by leading by example. The truths/principles that they lived by were based on a strong foundation founded in the Holy Bible. The life of Jesus Christ and the principles He exemplified and etched in stone, through the inspired Holy Word of those directed by His hand in the Bible, established at an early age that we were to choose our life’s path according to His will, not man’s. We were taught to see with discernment. Opening our eyes to the light versus the darkness, God’s truths versus man’s. My dad’s poem Doing, found on page 42 in his book Of Something or of Nothing, expresses the way he and my mother thought about life and how we should live our lives:

Doing

A man must do what he must do

Hoping he will not offend too many,

Nor, in turn, please too few.

But, if offense there must be,

Let this arise with man

And not with Thee.

A person’s legacy is determined through the path they chose. Do you treasure the relationship you can have with our savior, Jesus Christ, or do you cherish the acceptance of man and his sinful ways? Man, in his sinful nature, must declare his path by choosing to repent of his sins and accepting the redeeming grace of our Heavenly Father or be condemned to a judgement of separation and hell.

Principles are to be revealed, then lived by. When confronted with compromising their Christ-centered principles, my father and mother chose to stand true to their beliefs. My father was a doctor who believed that his life’s work was to serve others. A servant’s heart can be challenged in many ways—doctrine, temptation, greed—which always leads to man’s divisive and destructive ways. His challenge was of doctrine. The administrators of the Catholic hospital he worked for came to him one day and told him he would have to sign their code of ethics, or he would have to leave. To the best of our recollection, a nun who understood my father’s loyalty to serve others asked him why he could not sign the code and why he was willing to leave. His response to her was If you sign my code, I will sign your code, which he knew they would not do. Our mom and dad raised us in the Protestant faith. We believe that we are justified through faith and that we have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father rather than a belief system based on a man-made religious institution where the Pope intercedes for you on your behalf. Paul revealed the relationship of man to God in Romans 1:16–17, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.

As a family, he sat us down and explained the situation and told us that he and my mother could not sign something they did not believe in and that we were going to have to move. That moment defined the importance of living a life based on principle. Did my mom and dad sacrifice? They had just reached a point in life that they could build a new house and were just settling in to a comfortable life. The administrators, I’m sure, thought he would not put his Christ-centered principles above his material possessions and chose to confront him with this demand at that time in their lives. They were wrong. To this day, this is the most impactful moment in our lives—respect, principled decision based on truths, His will, not theirs, courageous convictions. What a legacy and example of principled parents. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew10). Christ’s righteousness covers you with grace, hope, and peace. This requires that we know why we believe what we believe and why it matters (Reverend Brad Rogers).

On page 1,471 of The Founders’ Bible, David Barton introduced the excerpt concerning preserving the vows of marriage with the first institution created in the Bible was that of the family. God made Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:24), and together they reflected His image (Genesis 1:26–27). Looking at what He had done, God announced that it was very good (Genesis 1:31). We were extremely blessed to have a father and mother who consistently exemplified how we were to live our lives. From a very early age, we were taught to treat others as we would like to be treated, to be honest and display integrity in everything we were involved in, to look a person in the eye and respond in a kind and respectful manner, to shake a person’s hand firmly and with confidence, to address those we did not know with yes, sir and no, sir or yes, ma’am and no, ma’am, to work hard, to compete fairly and to the best of one’s ability, to persevere, to get back on the horse after being thrown, to stick up for your family, to treat women with respect, to protect our family, to stand up for what you believe in, and to always, and I mean always, trust in the Lord and do His will. This was engrained in us and expected of us. By integrity, I mean veracity [devotion to the truth], fidelity to promises, and a strict coincidence between thoughts, word, and actions (Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration).

Our parents wanted us to reach our fullest potential. They believed that we were to pray for guidance and allow the Lord to direct us in what His will was for each of us. The Lord blesses each of us with certain abilities and intends for us to use them wisely. Whatever was needed to accomplish His will for us was what we needed to do. If it meant going to law school, as two of us did, or to medical school to become a doctor as one of our brothers did, or to become a teacher as two of us did, then our course of action was set before us. Focused direction with hard work allows you to accomplish your desired goals. Treasure your gifts from God, and use them to serve Him. This will activate your purpose. Serving others with mercy activates one’s purpose. William Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene 1 stated, The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. We must learn to give in His name and leave the rest to Him. Relevance is only found through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to do His will.

The revelation of Jesus Christ and the significant