The Proud Flying Frog

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

In the devotional book, Today in the Word, the writer tells the fable about a frog and a duck who shared a pond. They developed a close friendship as they talked and played together. But when the hot summer sun began to evaporate the water in the pond, the duck decided to fly to a larger body of water. Not wanting to be left alone, the frog suggested that his friend and another duck hold a stick in their bills so he could hang onto it with his mouth. In that way they could all fly to another pond.

As the three were flying high overhead a farmer looked up, saw the frog clinging to the stick by his mouth, and exclaimed, "What a brilliant idea! I wonder who thought of that?" Without hesitation the frog said, "I did!" And he was done!

An Old Donkey In A Dry Well

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quietened down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

The Birds and the Monkeys

Once upon a time, there was a huge tree on the banks of a river. The tree made a comfortable home for the family of birds who had built their nests on its branch. The birds were living there happily as the tree with its widespread branches sheltered them from scorching sun and heavy rains.

One day, when the sky was overcast with dark clouds, it rained very heavily. Some monkeys who were playing nearby the tree got drenched and ran for shelter under the tree. All of them were shivering with cold. When the birds saw the monkeys in the pitiable condition, one of the birds said,” O Monkeys, you would not have to shiver like this, if you had built a home like us. You would not have to suffer like this. If we can build our nest with small beaks, then why cant you. By God’s grace, you have two hands and two legs. Why don’t you make a nice shelter for yourselves?”

On hearing this, the monkeys got annoyed and swore to teach a lesson to the birds. They said to themselves, “These birds are not afraid of the rain or of cold wind. They are living comfortably that is why they are criticizing us like this. Let the rain stops, we’ll show them how to build home”. As soon as the rain stopped, the monkeys climbed up the tree and destroyed the nests of the birds. They also broke the birds’ eggs and threw the young ones down.

The poor birds flew here and there in misery. They were full of regret for their words and realized that they should not have given advice that was not asked. Advice should only be given to learned, wise and to those who ask for it.

Moral: Never give advice to fools. 

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. (Proverbs 9:7-9)

The Giant Squids Hunting Club

It’s an old story used by many preachers. However, it illustrates an important principle that is applicable to our churches today.

Many thousands years ago, the islanders of Lepsog islands were champion squid hunters. They harpooned giant squids that roamed their oceans and brought prosperity to their islands. Every young man who reached 18 years of age was required to join the older men in the great sea hunt.

There were many accounts of exceptional courageous and successful hunts recorded in the ancient book known as the ‘Chronicle of Sea Warriors’. Recorded in one of its illustrious chapters was a story of a Master Squid Hunter known as Nomis who with his long-time navigator, Nhoj hauled in giant squids that fed the islanders for years.

In another account, Luap, another Master Squid Huner singlehandedly speared his game with his very own handmade harpoon. There were of course stories of cowards and quitters. There was a report about Kram, a young man, who jumped out of Luap’s boat even before the team reached deep ocean because he was really afraid of giant squids. However, the legend did record that that Kram overcame his fear and became a Master Squid Hunter himself. Another man whose name was Samed was one of the top squid hunters but left the islands forever because he wanted nothing to do with hunting giant squids any more. He was attracted by the lights of the mainland. No one knew whether he and his canoe ever reached the land of his dream.

The Master Squid Hunters left behind manuscripts on how to make the right types of harpoons, appropriate baits and also techniques in catching these sea monsters. They wrote good advice on how to avoid the tentacles and if attacked, what squid hunters should do to free themselves. For thousands of years, the manuscripts were compiled and became a treasured manual. This was a book of success as far as the squid hunters were concerned. Many copies were reproduced by hands and even translated into different languages and dialects.

After the first generation of Squid Hunters passed away, new hunters rose to fill their places. With the manual and the direct instructions from squid hunting veterans guiding them, they were just as effective as the old-timers. Many of these younger hunters pursued larger giant squids in far deeper oceans than their predecessors had even been. Years passed, as more and more people from other islands sailed to the Lepsog island to learn how to hunt giant squids, the people of these other islands were enjoying a very good healthy diet of giant squids.

Fast forward to today. The Islands of Lepsog are filled with Giant Squid Hunting schools and colleges. The students of the original schools set up similar institutions on other islands outside of Lepsog too. Squid hunting professors are very impressive. They are fantastic lecturers. To help the students, they have beautiful PowerPoint presentations and even some black-and-white film footages on how those brave squid hunters of antiquity brought in thousands of giant squids.

The libraries of these institutions are filled with countless volumes that tell and retell these old stories. Many graduates of these institutions have gone on to become the Grandmasters of the Giant Squid Hunting League. They in turn write many books about how those ancient mariners caught their amazing giants.

There is just a slight hitch.  None of these grandmasters has ever caught a giant squid before. Don’t get me wrong – they are believers of the previous existence of giant squids. However, they do not believe that there are any more giant squids in the oceans. How did they know that? They had gone to the oceans to hunt for giant squids but without any results. They have the most modern boats and ships. They have the latest hunting equipments. They have lots of money to buy anything they need for deep-sea hunting. The only problem is that they have not encountered any living giant squids in the deep oceans.

To pacify their disappointments and justify their lack of success, they assume that the giant squids have become extinct. Most likely, these squids existed in the past for the purpose of testing the courage of their ancestors. More books are produced year after year about the extinction of the giant squids in spite of sightings made by many outside their immediate circle.

The social activities of the Giant Squids Hunting Clubs in all the Lepsog islands are alive. They organize weekly events to celebrate the past existence of the giant squids. They also celebrate the bravery of their ancestors who risked their lives to harpoon these amazing creatures. Some islanders convert their clubs into museums and draw large crowds of tourists.

Then some members of the Giant Squids Hunting Club, claim that they have sighted a few giant squids during some of their fishing trips. The Grandmaster and his committee quickly dismiss these as unsubstantiated reports and thus should be considered as mere rumors. Even though, they were brought to view a decomposing carcass, they concluded that “it looks like a giant squid, smells like a giant squid and feels like a giant squid but it is not a giant squid”. Those fishermen were given warnings not to spread the rumors or face severe punishment such as being expelled from the Giant Squids Hunting Association. Without any further interruption from these ignorant fishermen, the Giant Squids Hunting Clubs continue to have exciting activities without having to actually hunt giant squids. The clubs prosper and develop franchises all over the world.

This is what happened to our churches today. Many churches have not experienced signs and wonders for such a long time that our preachers only preach about miracles of yester years. One of the popular sermons is about how Peter and John healed the lame beggar at the gate known as ‘Beautiful’ (Acts 3). We love to repeat what Peter said to the lame man, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” What an irony! Today, we have much silver and gold but in the name of Jesus, no lame person can rise up and walk. 

By Reverend Albert Kang

"Power Evangelism"