Second Chance!

I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you.

Ezekiel 36:27 

 

There have been many (many, many, many) times, as I look back on my life, where I have been allowed a second chance.  I, like so many of us, am very prone to screw life up more times than not.  And when a second chance is offered, what a wonderful feeling!

 

I've already made some New Year's Resolutions:

     *     I will not eat asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower.

     *     I will strive to more tolerant of those who dislike meat.

     *     I will strive to be more encouraging.

     *     I will strive to be more positive and optimistic.

 

I may, once again, fail miserably as I have in years past when I made resolutions.  Look at this 1967 Karmann Ghia Convertible.  Someone found it in a barn and restored it, now it has a second chance!    But God offers us second chances!

Learn

My troubles turned out all for the best—
    they forced me to learn from your textbook.
Truth from your mouth means more to me
    than striking it rich in a gold mine.

Psalm 119:71-72 

 

 

Today, I have spent 54 years on this Earth, every single one of those years have been filled with errors, mistakes, rebelliousness, and bad decisions.  I have managed to mess up my life in so many ways and so many times, that I am surprised to wake up this morning.

 

However, one of the things I can also say about all this time is that I have learned (hopefully) from many of the mistakes in life.  I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I can tell you that I am grateful for second chances.  

 

Did you know:

     *   David had been fired from every job he held.  Finally, while working at a gas station, he was frying some chicken in the back for lunch, and a customer liked what he smelled so much that he wanted to buy David's lunch.  The story of David's cooking got around and before long, the gas station opened a lunch counter for David's fried chicken.  You know him as Colonel Harland David Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

 

     *   Tommy didn't do so well in school.  In fact, he had trouble paying attention to the lessons.  His own teachers told his mother that Tommy was "too stupid to learn."  But Tommy was a tinkerer and eventually invented the incandescent light bulb.  We know him as Thomas Alva Edison.

 

     *   Theodor wrote books that told stories for children using nonsensical rhyming and rather odd drawings.  27 editors rejected his first book.  However, I am willing to wager that every adult reading this today has read "The Cat In The Hat" by Theodor Seuss Giesel, known to us as "Dr. Seuss."

 

Let me ask you, how many times did it take you to learn to leave the hot stove alone?  Probably just once, and God allowed you a second chance.  

 

We get in trouble when just refuse to learn from our mistakes.  We all know someone who makes bad choices and decisions and yet never seem to learn.  God has told us that He allows some things to happen to us for the purpose of teaching us.  Don't forget to put on your thinking caps today. 

Second Chances Are......

God, you pulled me out of the grave,
    gave me another chance at life
    when I was down-and-out.

~Psalm 30:3 

 

There are some instances where a second chance just isn't an option....once you're past your teen years, you don't get a second chance at reliving them (try though some might).  You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.  

 

We are fortunate if we work for someone who is willing to give second chances.  We are very fortunate if we are married to someone who is willing to give us second chances.  You see, when a second chance (a TRUE second chance) is given, you are expected to understand that improvement is needed.  It is also good to know that the first mistake (which led to the second chance) will not be held against us.

 

God is not only the God of second chances, but He is in the business of pulling us up when we are down and REMINDING us that every breath is a second chance!  You didn't speak to the person you should have, yet God brings that person across your path again.  And even again.  And maybe even AGAIN.  

 

I can honestly tell you, and openly admit, God has pulled me back from the brink more than once, and has given me second chances I didn't ask for or deserve.  He does it with every breath he gives me.  He doesn't have to......probably shouldn't have......but I am grateful for every single one.  How about you?  Need a second chance?  God is in that business.   

Pete's VERY Bad Day!

So they arrested Jesus and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

Luke 22:54-56

Pete was not having a good day.  His best friend had just been arrested and hauled off to bond court, and the rest of his friends had disappeared like a burp in a tornado.  Pete followed the guards to the bond court building but waited outside.  Some of the guards decided to warm themselves with a little fire and Pete joined them.  Then some girl started yapping about how Pete was one of the Accused's buddies!  

Pete had a choice to make and neither option was going to go well for him.  He could admit to being part of the Accused's gang and face the same consequences or he could deny everything and lose all face with those he counted on so closely.  What would you have done? 

Pete was NOT having a good day.  The choice he made was the choice he had been told he would make (and the choice he adamantly declared he would NEVER make).  And because of Pete's decision, his best friend was killed and his other friends went back to their lives.  But Pete knew.

But here's the part we tend to forget. Pete had gone back to his fishing career with his partners and while they were pulling up empty nets for the umpteenth time Jesus called out to them and told them to try the other side.  When they did, they had so many fish that Pete's boat started to sink and they had to call another boat to come help.  Eventually, Pete figured out that the man giving them advice was his best friend, Jesus, so Pete jumped out of the boat and swam back to shore where he found Jesus cooking fish for breakfast.

Jesus also had a choice at this point.  He could tell Peter to what a freaking idiot he was for denying Him and tell Pete EXACTLY what he should do to himself (and the boat he rowed in on), or Jesus could tell Peter what Peter needed at that point....another chance.  Jesus reminded Peter that he was still loved by Jesus and that he was forgiven.  Because of Jesus' decision to give Peter a second chance, Peter was instrumental in building the ministry that became the church.

Let me ask you something...ever made a decision your regretted?  Me too.  LOTS of them.  Ever been given a second chance?  Yes.  Now for the hard questions: Have you even had someone make a bad decision that hurt you deeply?  I have.  Have you ever offered them a second chance?