biblical lessons from dr seuss

BIBLICAL LESSONS FROM DR. SEUSS

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And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (1937) ..............................................................................................6

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938) ..........................................................................................................7

The King’s Stilts (1939) ...............................................................................................................................................8

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) (Part 1) .....................................................................................................................9

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) (Part 2) .................................................................................................................. 10

McElligot’s Pool (1947) ............................................................................................................................................ 12

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (1948) (Part 1) .................................................................................................... 13

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (1948) (Part 2) .................................................................................................... 14

Bartholomew & the Oobleck (1949) (Part 1)........................................................................................................... 15

Bartholomew & the Oobleck (1949) (Part 2)........................................................................................................... 16

Gerald McBoing Boing (1950) .................................................................................................................................. 18

If I Ran the Zoo (1950) ............................................................................................................................................. 19

Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953) (Part 1) .................................................................................................................... 20

Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953) (Part 2) .................................................................................................................... 22

Horton Hears a Who! (1954) (Part 1) ...................................................................................................................... 23



On Beyond Zebra! (1955) ........................................................................................................................................ 26

If I Ran the Circus (1956) ......................................................................................................................................... 28

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957) ................................................................................................................. 29

The Cat in the Hat (1957) (Part 1) ........................................................................................................................... 31

The Cat in the Hat (1957) (Part 2) ........................................................................................................................... 32

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958) .................................................................................................................... 33

Yertle the Turtle (1958) ........................................................................................................................................... 34

Gertrude McFuzz (1958) (Part 1) ............................................................................................................................. 36

Gertrude McFuzz (1958) (Part 2) ............................................................................................................................. 37

The Big Brag (1958) ................................................................................................................................................. 38

Happy Birthday to You! (1959) ................................................................................................................................ 39

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1959) ........................................................................................................... 41

Green Eggs & Ham (1960) ....................................................................................................................................... 42

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Ten Apples Up On Top (1961) ................................................................................................................................. 43

The Sneetches (1961) .............................................................................................................................................. 45

The Zax (1961) ......................................................................................................................................................... 46

Too Many Daves (1961) ........................................................................................................................................... 47

What Was I Scared Of? (1961) ................................................................................................................................ 49

The Sleep Book (1962) ............................................................................................................................................. 50

The ABC Book (1963) ............................................................................................................................................... 52

Hop on Pop (1963) ................................................................................................................................................... 53

Fox in Socks (1965) .................................................................................................................................................. 55

I Wish that I Had Duck Feet (1965) .......................................................................................................................... 56

I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (1965) ...................................................................................................... 58

Come Over to My House (1966) .............................................................................................................................. 59

The Cat in the Hat Song Book (1967)....................................................................................................................... 61

The Foot Book (1968) .............................................................................................................................................. 62

The Eye Book (1968) ................................................................................................................................................ 64

I Can Lick 30 Tiger Today! (1969)............................................................................................................................. 65

The Glunk That Got Thunk (1969) ........................................................................................................................... 67

King Looie Katz (1969) ............................................................................................................................................. 68

My Book About Me (1970) ...................................................................................................................................... 70

I Can Draw It Myself by Me Myself (1970) .............................................................................................................. 71

Mr Brown Can Moo! Can You? (1970) .................................................................................................................... 72

The Lorax (1971) ...................................................................................................................................................... 73

Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now! (1972) ................................................................................................ 75

In A People House (1972) ........................................................................................................................................ 76

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (1973) ....................................................................................................... 77

The Shape of Me & Other Stuff (1973) .................................................................................................................... 79

There’s A Wocket In My Pocket (1974) ................................................................................................................... 80

Lou Gehrig & Dr. Seuss ............................................................................................................................................ 81

Great Day for Up (1974) .......................................................................................................................................... 82

Wacky Wednesday (1974) ....................................................................................................................................... 84

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! (1975) .................................................................................................................... 85

Would You Rather Be A Bullfrog? (1975) ................................................................................................................ 87

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Because A Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! (1975) ........................................................................................................... 88

Cat’s Quizzer (1976)................................................................................................................................................. 90

Hooper Humperdink …? Not Him! (1976) .............................................................................................................. 91

Please Try to Remember the First of Octember (1977) .......................................................................................... 92

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (1978) .................................................................................................................... 94

Oh Say Can You Say? (1979) .................................................................................................................................... 95

Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should be a Vet! (1980) ......................................................................... 96

The Tooth Book (1981) ............................................................................................................................................ 98

Hunches in Bunches (1982) ..................................................................................................................................... 99

The Butter Battle Book (1984) ............................................................................................................................... 101

You’re Only Old Once! (1986) ................................................................................................................................ 102

I Am NOT Going To Get Up Today (1987) .............................................................................................................. 104

The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough (1987) ............................................................................................. 105

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (1990) (Part 1) .............................................................................................................. 107




Daisy Head Mayzie (1995) ..................................................................................................................................... 112

My Many Colored Days (1996) .............................................................................................................................. 114

Oh Baby the Places You’ll Go! (1997) .................................................................................................................... 115

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! (1998) .................................................................................................................... 117

Bippolo Seed (2011, Redbook - June 1951) ........................................................................................................... 119

The Rabbit, the Bear & the Zinniga-Zanniga (2011, Redbook – February 1951) ................................................... 121

Gustav the Goldfish (2011, Redbook – June 1950) ............................................................................................... 122

Tadd & Todd (2011, Redbook – August 1950) ...................................................................................................... 123

Steak for Supper (2011, Redbook – November 1950) ........................................................................................... 124

Strange Ink Spot (2011, Redbook – September 1951) .......................................................................................... 126

The Great Henry McBride (2011, Redbook – November 1951) ............................................................................ 127

Horton & the Kwuggerbug (2014, Redbook – January 1951)................................................................................ 129

Marco Comes Late (2014, Redbook – September 1950)....................................................................................... 130

How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town (2014, Redbook – October 1950) ......................................................... 132

The Hoobub & the Grinch (2014, Redbook – May 1955) ...................................................................................... 134

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The Flustards (Redbook – August 1953) ................................................................................................................ 135

The Munkits (Redbook – January 1954) ................................................................................................................ 137

The Ruckus (Redbook – July 1954) ........................................................................................................................ 138

The Kindly Hearted Snather (Redbook – December 1956) ................................................................................... 139

What Pet Should I Get? (2015) .............................................................................................................................. 141

Prayer for A Child (Collier’s – December 1955) ..................................................................................................... 142

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 143

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And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (1937)

Yesterday I got to spend the morning and early afternoon with six of my best friends – Caitlin, Daniel, Jenna, Megan, Abby &

Nathan. And I borrowed a book of theirs, “Your Favorite Seuss: 13 Stories Written & Illustrated by Dr. Seuss”. I did it

primarily to look at the story “Horton Hears A Who” to help with my God’s Backyard lesson today. But after I read a story

or two, I realized there were lessons to be learned, Scriptural lessons I could share on Facebook.

In “And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street”, we meet Marco, a boy with a gifted imagination, who has a dad who

wants him to understand the difference between what’s real and what he makes up. On his way home from school one

day, he sees a horse and a wagon. By the time Marco gets home, what he saw was an elephant with a Rajah enthroned on

its back along with two giraffes pulling a float with a great brass band and an old man on a trailer with a police escort. This

entourage passes a stand with a cheering mayor and alderman. An airplane passes over with men dumping out confetti

while a Chinese man with chopsticks and a magician doing tricks join the parade. Marco thinks to himself, “I have a story

that NO ONE could beat! And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street!”

This reminded me of something that Aslan says to Lucy in C.S. Lewis’ “Prince Caspian”. At night, when the others are

sleeping, Lucy sees Aslan. Lewis writes concerning her feelings: “Oh joy! For he was there: the huge Lion, shining white in

the moonlight, with his huge black shadow underneath him. But for the movement of his tail he might have been a stone

lion, but Lucy never thought of that. She never stopped to think whether he was a friendly lion or not. She rushed to him.

She felt her heart would burst if she lost a moment. And the next thing she knew was that she was kissing him and putting

her arms as far round his neck as she could and burying her face in the beautiful rich silkiness of his mane. ‘Aslan, Aslan.

Dear Aslan, at last.’ The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front

paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She gazed up into

the large wise face.” Then they have this insightful conversation:

"Welcome, child," he said.

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."

"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.

"Not because you are?"

"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

If you’ve read “The Chronicles of Narnia”, you know that Aslan, the King of Beasts, son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea

represents Jesus. The more we learn about Jesus through time spent with Him in Scripture and prayer the greater and

magnificent He becomes to us. Like Marco’s story, each day we should be “grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge of our

Lord and Saviour Jesus the Messiah”. Unlike Marco’s story, our growth can be real. Marco’s father asks him, “Did nothing

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excite you or make your heart beat?” We should ask ourselves the same question about our time in God’s word. Lucy’s

heart was bursting to be with Aslan. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He

talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures” (Luke 24:32). Is our time in the Bible drudgery or is it like

that of Lucy, putting our arms around Him, feeling His warm breath all around us, gazing into His wise face. If it’s the

former, then the Scriptures will just be a horse and a wagon. But if it’s the latter, then it will be an elephant with a Rajah

enthroned on its back along with two giraffes pulling a float with a great brass band and on and on and on.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938)

Bartholomew Cubbins was a poor boy, who lived in the Kingdom of Didd and who had an old hat that had belonged to his

father and his father’s father before him. Unfortunately, one day as King Durbin passes by and Bartholomew removes his

hat out of respect, another hat appears on his head. This does not go unnoticed by the king - it makes him very angry and

he has the Captain of the guard arrest Bartholomew, who thinks to himself, “the King can do nothing dreadful to punish me,

because I really haven’t done anything wrong”. Although he has done nothing wrong, he is wrong in his assessment of the

king. After attempts by Sir Snipps (maker of hats for all the fine lords), Nadd (who knew about everything in all the

kingdom), the Father of Nadd (who knew about everything in all the kingdom and in all the-world beyond), the Father of

the Father of Nadd (who knew about everything in all the kingdom and in all the-world beyond and in all other worlds that

may happen to be), Grand Duke Wilfred (nephew of the king), the Yeoman of the Bowmen, seven black-gowned magicians,

and about 150 hats, the king commands Bartholomew, “Young man march down those steps to the dungeon and tell the

executioner to chop off your head.” The issue of not removing his hat was supposedly a lack of respect; however, not only

was Bartholomew trying his best to take off his hat, he actually goes down into the dungeon and relays the king’s message

to the executioner. King Durbin may not have a more loyal subject than Bartholomew; however, but because of king’s

unwillingness to show mercy, he was ready to have this young man executed for something that was beyond his control.

When the executioner refuses to chop off his head while he is wearing a hat, King Derbin is ready to have Bartholomew

pushed off from the highest turret of the castle to his death after about 350 hats – all because the king was woodenly

applying the letter of the law rather than its spirit.

When Moses sees Yahweh, he hears the following, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and

abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for a thousand (generations with those who love Him and keep His

commandments [Deuteronomy 7:9]), forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting

the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation (of those who

hate Him [Exodus 20:9])” (Exodus 34:6, 7). I have added some additional Scripture references to give greater detail to the

thousands and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation. Note the contrast of mercy to a thousand

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generations and punishment to four generations. Also note the punishment comes because the children to the fourth

generation hate Him.

We see the truth of this passage lived out in John 8, when the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery to

Jesus. The question you have to ask yourself is where was the man who was caught in adultery? These men were not

concerned about righteousness, just trapping Jesus. They wanted to woodenly apply the Mosaic Law – this woman

committed adultery, she had to be stoned (Leviticus 20:10). Adultery is serious, much more serious than not being able to

take off your hat. Jesus says, “Fine, but the person who castes the first stone must be without sin”. And from the oldest to

the youngest, they walk away convicted by their consciences. When it is just Jesus and the woman, He asks her, “Woman,

where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” She replies, “No one, Lord”. In the Peshitta translation (Aramaic),

she uses the word “marya”, which is the equivalent of Yahweh. She had sinned, we all do, that in itself does not mean we

do not love God and in our hearts desire to obey Him (even as Bartholomew wanted to obey King Durbin). God has mercy

for such. And so Jesus, in the spirit of Exodus 34:6, 7, says to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”.

Who are we like: King Durbin (quick to condemn for the littlest things) or Jesus (quick to show mercy for even the greatest

things)?

The King’s Stilts (1939)

The Kingdom of Binn was below sea level and the sea surrounded it on three sides. The only thing that kept the city from

being deluged was the knotted roots of the Mighty Dike trees. Unfortunately, the roots were a favorite treat of large

blackbirds called Nizzards. The king of Binn, Birtram, worked very hard to protect his kingdom. He would rise each morning

at 5 AM and spend two hours, while he was bathing and eating breakfast, signing all the official papers that needed signing.

Then from 7 AM to 5 PM, he took care of the Patrol Cats, one thousand of the largest and smartest cats who spent their

time chasing away the Nizzards – 500 worked the dayshift and 500 the nightshift. King Birtram cleaned their huts, brushed

their coats, trimmed their whiskers and made certain they had the best food. He would also inspect every root of every

Mighty Dike tree. After 12 hours of working, it was time for play – he would romp around his kingdom on a pair of high, red

stilts. His subjects would say, “A grown-up king on stilts does look strange. But it’s hard work being king, and he does his

work well. If he wants to have a bit of fun … sure … let him have it!”

But there was a Lord Droon, who was disgusted with the king’s carrying on at “Stilt Hour” and he stole the stilts and had

them hidden. Without the play time, the king’s work suffered. And with him not taking care of the Patrol Cats, their work

suffered. And with Patrol Cats not doing their work, the Mighty Dike tree roots suffered from unbridled Nizzard attacks.

And with the tree roots suffering, the town was in peril – all because the king’s play had been taken from him. Eventually,

through the help of his page Eric, his stilts are returned, the Patrol Cats get back to work, the Nizzards are chased off and

the kingdom is saved. Birtram has a pair of stilts made for Eric, so that at 5 PM each day they romp around the kingdom

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together on stilts. “And when they played, they really PLAYED. And when they worked, they really WORKED. And the cats

kept the Nizzards away from the Dike Trees. And the Dike Trees kept the water back out of the land.”

Work and play – they are both important. W-O-R-K is not a four letter word. Yahweh gave Adam work to do before sin

entered the picture (“Yahweh God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” [Genesis 2:15]).

Work itself was not part of the curse – the curse came in the form of thorns and thistles and the sweat of the brow. But

God always intended man to also rest, “six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of

Yahweh your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female

servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates” (Exodus 20:9, 10).

Some people work too much, others play too much. Work without play, play without work, they are both wrong. King

Birtram worked hard for 12 hours a day and had one hour of play. Kings aren’t supposed to work, right? The protection of

the kingdom from a flood was something he took upon himself. Jesus is the King of kings, yet He said, “You know that those

who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authorithy over them. Yet it

shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of your

desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life

a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45). Jesus worked and when He worked, He really WORKED.

Now Jesus did not run around Galilee on a pair of red stilts. But He had His rest time also, many times a the beginning of

the day: “now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and

there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). In Luke 6:12, we are told that He prayed all night. We could say that when Jesus prayed, He

really PRAYED. In fact, it was His time spent in prayer that prepared Him for His work. Without his play, King Birtram’s

work came to a screeching halt. Without “really praying”, it is doubtful that are work in the Lord will be characterized as

“really working”.

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) (Part 1)

In “Horton Hatches the Egg”, we meet a nesting bird named Mayzie who says to herself, “I’m tired and I’m bored and I’ve

kinks in my leg from sitting, just sitting here day after day. It’s work! How I hate it! I’d much rather play! I’d take a

vacation fly off for a rest if I could find someone to stay on my nest! If I could find someone, I’d fly away – free ... .” We’ll

think some more about Mayzie tomorrow. However, she ropes Horton the elephant in to doing the job God gave her to do.

As she flies off, he says, “I’ll sit on your egg and I’ll try not to break it. I’ll stay and be faithful. I mean what I say.” Although

Mayzie promises to be back soon, Horton will spend the next year sitting on the her egg. He sits on it through thunder and

lightning storms. When winter came, he said, “I’ll stay on this egg and I won’t let it freeze, I meant what I said and I said

what I meant … An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent!” He sat there in springtime when his so-called friends teased

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him. He sat there when hunters were going to shoot him (“Shoot if you must but I won’t run away! I meant what I said and

I said what I meant … An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent”). He sat on there when the tree was dug up and taken to

America to be sold to a traveling circus. He sat on the egg as the circus traveled from “Boston, to Kalamazoo, Chicago,

Weehawken and Washington, too; to Dayton, Ohio, St. Paul, Minnesota; to Wichita, Kansas; to Drake, North Dakota” just to

have people laugh at him. He gave up a year of his life to be faithful to a promise that he made to a good-for-nothing, lazy,

thoughtless, faithless bird. It was about his character, not the character of the one to whom the promise was made. No

matter how cold, no matter how lonely, no matter how foolish he looked, no matter how dangerous – he remained faithful

to his promise. As we will see tomorrow, he was rewarded for his faithfulness.

I cannot help but think of Psalm 15. David begins with this question: “Yahweh, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who

may dwell in Your holy hill?” (vs. 1). The answer to the question is found in the rest of the psalm, which includes the

following words, “He who swares to his own hurt and does not change” (vs. 4b). Boy, if anyone ever lived out those words,

it was Horton. Adam Clarke writes regarding this portion of Scripture, “If at any time he have bound himself by a solemn

engagement to do so and so, and he finds afterwards that to keep his oath will be greatly to his damage; yet such reverence

has he for God and for truth that he will not change, be the consequences what they may. He is faithful also to his

promises; his bare word will bind him equally with an oath. He that will not be honest without an oath will not be honest

with one.” If Horton made a promise, you could take it to the bank.

Jesus put Psalm 15:4 this way: “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’ be ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37). Dr. Seuss’ “I meant what I

said and I said what I meant” is essentially these words of our Lord. If you say you will watch an egg, then you must stay

and watch the egg. We shouldn’t bother saying things that we have no intention of keeping. Jesus death on the cross is the

greatest trial ever faced by anyone. When He came into the world, He said to the Father, “Sacrifice and offering You did not

desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said,

‘Behold, I have come – in the volumeof the book it is written of Me – to do Your will, O God’” (Hebrews 10:5-7). He made a

commitment to die for the sins of mankind. When the temptation came to flee, He said resolutely, “Father , if it is Your

will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). He swore to His own hurt

and did not change – He came to do His Father’s will and that is what He did. How about us, Do we mean what we say? Do

we say what we meant? Are we faithful one hundred percent?

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) (Part 2)

Yesterday, we concentrated on the faithfulness of Horton in “Horton Hatches the Egg”. But today, let’s think a bit about the

lazy Mayzie. She wanted freedom from responsibility, from boredom, from work. She wanted to trade those things for

rest, for vacation, for play. Once she roped Horton into sitting on her baby’s egg, she flew across the Atlantic Ocean to

Palm Beach with no intent to going back – content to let some one else raise her child.

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One day the traveling circus, which included Horton sitting in a tree on an egg, came to a town near Palm Beach. Dr. Seuss

tells us, “And, dawdling along way up high in the sky, who (of all people!) should chance to fly by but that good-for-nothing

bird, runaway Mayzie! Still on vacation and still just as lazy.” She comes down to the circus and sees Horton. Just at that

moment, after Horton had poured a year of his life into the egg, it begins to hatch. “’It’s mine!’ screamed the bird, when

she heard the egg crack. (The work was all done. Now she wanted it back.) ‘It’s my egg!’ she puttered, ‘You stole it from

me! Get off of my nest and get out of my tree!’” However, when the egg busts apart, we read regarding the newborn

baby, “It had ears and a tail and a trunk just like his! … IT’S AN ELEPHANT-BIRD!! And it should be, it should be, it SHOULD

be like that! Because Horton was faithful! He sat and he sat! He meant what he said and he said what he meant and they

sent him home happy, one hundred percent!” Horton poured his life into that baby, the baby become like him and it

became his!

Stay at home mothers are sometimes looked down upon as second class citizens. But what else do expect from a world

where the price tags have all been switched. The things God says are important are treated as refuse and the other way

around. Mothers have the most important job in the world. The apostle Paul wrote that older women should, “admonish

the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to

their husbands, that the word of God my not be blasphemed” (Titus 2:4, 5). He also wrote that young widows should

“marry, bear children, manage the house” (1 Timothy 5:14). Someone is going to say, “That’s all fine and dandy for 1st

century, but things change – God doesn’t expect 21st

century young married women to be homemakers and obedient to

their husbands.” I suppose that means that the they don’t have to love their husbands or children anymore, they don’t

have to be discrete or chaste or good anymore. That’s just plain nonsense. The primary ministry God has given young

women is to be a homemaker and a home manager. The Greek words used by Paul for “homemaker” and “manage the

house” are: oikorous (“guard the house”) and oikodespoteo (“guide the house”). Mothers are the guide and guard of the

home. In Proverbs 31, we read regarding the virtuous wife, “she watches over the ways of her household” (vs. 28). Mayzie

only cared about herself; Horton protected the baby from anything and everything that could harm it. Mayzie was AWOL,

Horton stayed at his post. My son, Wesley, had to learn the “Eleven General Orders of a Sentry”, which include “to quit my

post only when properly relieved”. No one ever relieved Horton, so he did not quit.

Don’t get me wrong – all situations are different. Some mothers are single and need to work. Some husbands do not make

enough money to support the family and the wife needs to work. I think ultimately it is a matter of motives – is a mother’s

heart in a career or at home. We could say the same thing about fathers – children are more important than careers. If a

mother only works to escape the home like Mayzie, drops her kids off at 6 AM at daycare and picks them back up at 6 PM, it

seems to me that she has abandoned the most important ministry God will ever give her – guiding and guarding her home.

I am thankful that Nancy was able to stay home with Leah and Wesley until they were old enough for school and then she

starting teaching again part time, at the same Christian school they were attending. When they were home, she was home.

Being a mother is not only the most important job, it is probably the hardest. So husbands, grandparents, neighbors and

friends should do what they can to give mothers a rest, so that they don’t feel like Mayzie and fly from their nest.

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McElligot’s Pool (1947)

We meet Marco again in Dr. Seuss’ “McElligot’s Pool”. He is fishing, as you would guess at McElligot’s Pool”. A farmer

comes along and mocks him for wasting his time fishing in such a small and polluted body of water: “If you sat 50 years with

your worms and your wishes, you’d grow a long beard long before you’d catch fishes”. Marco’s patience in fishing at this

less than ideal location is his hope that there is an underground brook or river connecting “McElligot’s Pool with the sea!

Then maybe some fish might be swimming toward me!” Marco describes all the fish that might be coming his way and then

concludes, “Oh, the sea is so full of a number of fish, if a fellow is patient, he might get his wish! And that’s why I think that

I’m not such a fool when I sit here and fish in McElligot’s Pool”.

We never learn if Marco is wasting his time or not. However, his belief that he is not is a hope that he is connected with

something much bigger than the pool before him. In Matthew 4, Jesus said to Andrew and Peter, “Follow me, and I will

make you fishers of men” (vs. 19). The idea of men as fishes goes back to the prophecy of Jacob over his grandsons

Ephraim and Manasseh, “let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (Genesis 48:16). At its root, the Hebrew

word translated “grow” (dagah) means “the back and forth moving of a foot (tail)”. The tail of a fish moves back and forth

to propel itself through the water (i.e., darting). Jacob saw his descendents becoming a multitude of fish and thus Jesus

declaration that his disciples would become fishers of men.

The work of fishing belongs to his 21st

century disciples too. The pool that we are fishing in may seem small and polluted

and lifeless, but we have this encouragement from the Apostle Paul, “My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:28). In Psalm

129, Solomon tells us that, “Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (vs. 1). Labor that is not in the

Lord is vain; however, labor in the Lord is never in vain. Wherever God has placed us, we need to be like Marco, patiently

doing the work that He has given us – not putting our hope in the pool where we are fishing, but in God (or in Marco’s case,

the sea).

We are not called to get results; we are called to be faithful. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul writes, “Now thanks be to God who

always leads us in triumph in Messiah, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to

God the fragrance of Messiah among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the

aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life” (vv. 14-16). The results are in God’s

hands, we are simply called to be the fragrance of Jesus to our world and like any fragrance, some will find it pleasant and

be drawn, and some will find it offensive and turn away. Our only duty is to just keep fishing.

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Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (1948) (Part 1)

Thidwick was minding his own business while munching on moose moss on the far northern shore of Lake Winna-Bango,

when smaller creatures began to make their home in his antlers. At first, it was just a Bingle Bug and a Tree Spider. But

before long, there was a Zinna-zu-Bird, who was plucking 200 hairs from his head to make a nest and bringing along his wife

and her uncle, a woodpecker. Aside from the Bingle Bug, no one had even asked Thidwick if it was alright with this living

situation. Besides these pesty squatters, things got worse for Thidwick: “All of Thidwick’s friends, shouted, “GET RID OF

THOSE PESTS!’ ‘I would, but I can’t,’ sobbed poor Thidwick. ‘They’re my guests!’ ‘Guests indeed!’ his friends answered, and

all of them frowned. ‘If those are your guests, we don’t want you around! You can’t stay with us, ‘cause your’re just not

our sort!’ And they all turned their backs and walked off with a snort. Now, the big friend less moose walked alone and

forlorn, with four great big woodpecker holes in his horn.” His hospitality had cost him his friends.

Then a family of squirrels came to live in the woodpecker holes. Then a turtle and a bobcat. Dr. Seuss asks us what we

would do in this situation. The answer in Thidwick’s mind was, “You couldn’t say ‘Skat!’ ‘cause that wouldn’t be right. You

couldn’t shout ‘Scram!’ ‘cause that isn’t polite. A host has to put up with all kinds of pests, for a host, above all, must be

nice to his guests. So you’d try hard to smile, and you’d try to look sweet and you’d go right on looking for moose-moss to

eat”. But that became almost impossible to do on the far northern shores. However, when Thidwick pondered going to the

southern part of the lake, all his pesty guests protested and so Thidwick did not go. His hospitality had cost him his food

supply.

Then a fox, some mice, some fleas, a bear, and a swarm of bees took up residence in his antlers. At which point hunters

came along and with so much extra weight (500 lbs), Thidwick could not outrun them. His hospitality almost cost him his

life. Although he did not have a Bible, Thidwick took seriously the admonition in Hebrews and 1 Peter:

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” (13:2)

“Above all things have a fervent love for one another … Be hospitable to one another without grumbling” (4:8, 9)

The verb translated “entertain strangers” (philoxenia) and the adjective translated “be hospitable” (philoxenos) have at

their root the meaning “kindly affectioned toward strangers”. Thidwick certainly had reason to grumble and murmur, but

he does not - for he is “big hearted” and “soft hearted”. He cares more for his guests than his own comfort, well-being or

safety. His guests certainly were not angels, as they are described as “hard hearted” - not concerned in the least that their

host had no food or was almost hunted down; all they cared about was themselves and the free ride they were getting.

Some people are “takers” and others are “givers”. The world is full of takers, there are far too few givers. Thidwick was a

giver, but the Bingle Bug, Tree Spider, Zinna-zu-Bird and his wife, the woodpecker, the squirrels, the turtle, the bobcat, the

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fox, the mice, the fleas, the bear and the swarm of bees were all takers. They were parasites (“the leech has two daughters

– give and give!” [Proverbs 30:15]), who did not care if they killed their host. In the end, their selfishness cost them their

lives. Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be

put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). Are you “big

hearted” or “hard hearted”? Are you a Thidwick or a wood tick?

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (1948) (Part 2)

There is another truth that I saw in “Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose”, which I am sure Dr. Seuss did not have in mind.

After the Bingle Bug, Tree Spider, Zinna-zu-Bird and his wife, the woodpecker, the squirrels, the turtle, the bobcat, the fox,

the mice, the fleas, the bear and the swarm of bees took up residence, Dr. Seuss writes:

“Bullets came zinging right past Thidwick’s face!

Guns were bang-binging all over the place!

‘Get that moose! Get that Moose!’ Thidwick heard a voice call.

‘Fire again and again and shoot straight one and all!

We must get his head for the Harvard Club wall!’”

With the 500 lbs of weight that was not his own, Thidwick did not stand a chance against the hunters. We read:

“Then finally they had him! Because of those pests, he had run out of luck,

Because of those guests on his horns, he was stuck!

He gasped! He felt faint! And the whole world grew fuzzy!

Thidwick was finished, completely … or WAS he …?”

If you have read the story, you know that at that precise moment, it was the time of year when Thidwick lost his antlers. As

it was the antlers that the hunters really wanted, they did not end up shooting Thidwick. But the pests remained with the

old antlers and ended up stuffed and on display at the Harvard Club.

You will remember that in Genesis 22, Yahweh commands Abraham to slay Isaac. The scene takes place at the same place

Jesus would die some 2,000 years later. The author of Hebrews writes: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up

Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall

be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a

figurative sense” (12:17-19). That’s what I see here with Thidwick. For all intents and purposes, he was dead and the

shaking off of his old antlers was a symbolic resurrection. He “died” not because of himself, but because of the pests. And

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when he “died”, the pests died with him. You probably can see where I am going with this. We read the following in

Scripture:

“He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there was no sin” (1 John 3:5)

“He was wounded for our transgression, He was bruised for our iniquities; … Yahweh laid on Him the iniquity of us

all” (Isaiah 53:5, 6)

“If One died for all , then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but

for Him who died for them and rose again. … He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might

become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus died for all – not for His own sin (for He had none), but for the sin of the whole world. My sin and your sin was like

the 500 lbs of extra weight on Thidwick’s antlers. His willingness to take it upon Himself resulted in His death. But when He

died, we all died in Him. We were all like the parasites on Thidwick’s antlers - who symbolically caused his death, except we

cost Jesus His life. Our old man was crucified with Him (Romans 6:6), just like the pests ended up stuffed with the antlers.

Jesus did not die that we remain slaves of sin, but He died to give us new life and freedom from sin – a life not lived for

ourselves (like Thidwick’s parasites), but a life lived for Jesus, who died and rose again from the dead for us. You died,

when Jesus died – so which live are you living now (for self or for Jesus)?

Bartholomew & the Oobleck (1949) (Part 1)

This story is a sequel to “Bartholomew Cubbins and the 500 Hats”. By this time, Bartholomew is King Derbin’s page. The

king has become tired of the things that come down from the sky: spring with its rain, summer with its sun, autumn with its

fog and winter with its snow. He asks his royal magicians to come up with something new to fall from the sky. They

indicate that they will make “oobleck” and explain: “Won’t look like rain, won’t look like snow. Won’t look like fog, that’s

all that we know. We just can’t tell you any more, we’ve never made oobleck before. We go now to our secret cave on

Mystic Mountain Neekatave. There, all night long, we’ll work for you and you’ll have oobleck when we’re through.”

Although the king was thrilled at first, it did not take long before Bartholomew realized that the king’s request was

disastrous. Oobleck was described as “green molasses”, “gooey, gummy and like glue”, dreadful and dangerous. It stuck to

everything and everyone, so that all became hopelessly caught and unable to function. Even King Derbin, “proud and

mighty ruler of the Kingdom of Didd [was] trembling, shaking, helpless as a baby. His royal crown was stuck to his royal

head. The seat of his royal pants were stuck to his royal throne. Oobleck was dripping from his royal eyebrows. It was

oozing into his royal ears”.

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King Derbin was discontented. Discontentment is a sin – it calls into question the wisdom, power, love and goodness of

God. We read the following:

“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.

Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I

can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me.” (Phillipians 4:11-13)

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can

carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I

will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

Paul indicated that he was content in all states because in every state, whether abased or abounding, he had Jesus enabling

him. Whatever he had at a given point in his life, the apostle was content with it, because it was exactly what God wanted

him to have. And no matter how little he had, God had promised to never leave him or forsake him. Are you single and

coveteous of those who are married? Are you married but childless and coveteous of those with children? Are you sick and

coveteous of those who are healthy? Are you poor and coveteous of those who are wealthy? Are you a nobody and

coveteous of those who are famous? Paul would ask us all one question, “do you have food and clothing?”, and after we

answered, “yes”, he would tell us “be content with such things as you have!” Paul had even learned when he did not have

enough food and clothes (i.e., he lists famine and nakedness among the things which cannot separate us from the love of

God which is in Messiah Jesus [Romans 8:35, 39]), he could be content with God’s sovereign design for his life.

We are told in Phillipians 4:6, just a few verses from Paul’s contentment statement, to “make our requests known to God”.

But after we do that, we need to be content with His answer. Too many live their lives like King Derwin, unhappy with

God’s choices, not realizing how fortunate we are that God does not give us everything that we wish for. King Derwin

learned the hard way – better to learn the lesson the Apostle Paul learned.

Bartholomew & the Oobleck (1949) (Part 2)

I saw another lesson in “Bartholomew and the Oobleck”. Realizing that this NEW Oobleck was not better than the OLD rain,

sunshine, fog and snow, King Derwin wants Bartholomew to fetch the royal magicians to get rid of it. Bartholomew replies,

“I can’t fetch them, Your Majesty. Their cave on Mountain Neeka-tave is buried deep in Oobleck”. The king then tries to

recall some magic words, but to no avail – the gooey, gummy, gluey, green molasses kept falling from the sky.

Bartholomew became frustrated with the king and shouted, “Don’t waste your time saying foolish magic words. YOU ought

to be saying some simple words!” What simple words was Bartholomew referring to? The king wondered that also and his

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page replied, “This is all your fault! Now, at least you do do is say the simple words, ‘I’m sorry’.” King Derwin becomes

furious and say, “What! ME … ME say I’m sorry! Kings never say, ‘I’m sorry!’ And I am the mightiest king in all the world!”

Bartholomew replies with the words in the photo: “You may be a mighty king, but you’re sitting in Oobleck up to your chin.

And so is everyone else in your land. And if you won’t say you’re sorry, you’re no sort of king at all!”

There was another person who stood up to a king who wouldn’t say he was sorry, his name was Nathan. Nine months after

the king committed adultery and murder without acknowledging his sin, the prophet was sent to David with this parable:

“There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and

herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew

up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom;

and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and

from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb

and prepared it for the man who had come to him" (2 Samuel 12:1-4).

David became furious and said, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold

fro the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity” (vv. 5, 6).

Nathan replied, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king of over Israel, and delivered you

from the hands of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house

of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the

commandment of Yahweh, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife

to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.’” (vv. 7-9)

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh” (vs. 13). Finally, after nine months, David says, “I’m sorry”. We read

in Psalm 32 about the nine months of denial: “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (vv. 3, 4). But finally

the man after God’s own heart said, “I acknowledged my sin to You and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ’I will confess

my transgression to Yahweh’ and You forgive the iniquity of my sin” (vs. 5). David knew that he had really blown it – he

uses all three Hebrew words for sin in this one verse: chatta’ah (missing the target, translated “sin”), avon (guilt, the result

of twisted actions, translated “iniquity”), and pesha (revolt, translated “transgression”).

When King Derwin said, “I’m sorry”, the Oobleck “simply, quietly melted away” and there were no lasting consequences.

Not so with David, Yahweh told him, “the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and

have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house;

and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of

this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun. … And the child born to you shall

surely die” (2 Samuel 12:10-12, 14).

Regardless of whether it eliminates consequences, we need to be willing to say that we are sorry to God and others when

we are wrong. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another (refer vs. 3, John is

talking about fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus the Messiah), and the blood of Jesus the Messiah His Son

cleanses from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,

He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7-9). Restored fellowship

with God and cleansing from sins – why wouldn’t we admit we were wrong and say those simple words, “I’m sorry”?

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Gerald McBoing Boing (1950)

“Gerald McBoing Boing” is the story of a small boy who when he first tries to talk can only utter sound effects like 'Boing!

Boing! His parents are shocked and call in a Dr. Malone: “I see,’ said the doctor, ‘it's just as you said. He doesn't speak

words -- he goes BOING BOING instead! I've no cure for this. I can't handle the case.’ And he packed up his pills and walked

out of the place.”

As the months passed, Gerald got worse and his father said, “This is enough! He'll drive us both mad with this terrible stuff!

A boy of his age shouldn't sound like a fool. He's got to learn words. We must send him to school." However, things do not

go well at school. Poor Gerald brings home the following note:

"From Public School Seven to Mrs. McCloy:

Your little son Gerald's a most hopeless boy.

We cannot accept him for we have a rule

That pupils must not go CUCKOO in our school.

Your boy will go BOINK all his life, I'm afraid.

Sincerely yours, Fanny Schultz, Teacher, First Grade."

He is rejected by the other kids because of the sounds (“Gerald McBoing Boing” is a derogatory name they call him instead

of Gerald McCloy) and his parents are annoyed so he runs away from home in despair. He then comes across the owner of

the Bong! Bong! Bong! Radio Station, who hires Gerald as his entire sound effects department. Gerald parents are now

proud of him, and he becomes rich and famous “’cause he doesn't speak words, he goes 'Boing! Boing! instead.”

Have you heard this story before? You might see it every year around Christmas in the form of “Rudolph the Red -Nosed

Reindeer”. The stories are really the same, just with different characters. Before “Gerald McBoing Boing” was a book, it

was a cartoon, which won the animated short Academy Award in 1951 for United Productions of America (UPA of Mr.

Magoo fame). You can watch the cartoon on YouTube. Unfortunately, what happened to Gerald happens to many people.

I’m not talking about only being able to make sound effects, but being labeled as a misfit and rejected because they are

different.

But differences come from our Creator. Paul writes, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are diversities

of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the

manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all … but one and the same Spirit works all these things,

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distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11). God sovereignly decides what natural talents,

spiritual gifts, even, weaknesses we will each have (“God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He

pleased” [vs. 18]). For this reason, we have no right to say to anyone “I don’t need you” (vs. 21). God has placed the

people in our lives for a purpose. Part of that purpose may be helping someone else find their niche – help them see how

God can use their difference.

We can be like the Gerald’s parents, doctor, teacher, and classmates and write somebody off. Or we can be like the radio

station owner and take the time to see their potential. Paul says something interesting in vs. 25, “there should be no

schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another”. A schism is a dividing apart of

something that is to be whole. Interestingly, the word translated “care” (“merimnao”) at its root has the idea of being

divided. We are not to be divided from each other, but we our thoughts should be divided to include others, beyond

ourselves.

“Let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)

If I Ran the Zoo (1950)

In “If I Ran the Zoo”, we meet young Gerald McGrew. I read the following on-line, which provides a neat insight into the

book, “McGrew is a pretty typical kid, so we're guessing he doesn't have much power to change the real world. He probably

can't even decide his own bedtime. As a child, McGrew isn't the one in charge, so he has to follow the ideas and thoughts of

others. Or does he? In lieu of a magic lamp, McGrew will change all that with his imagination. First, he changes himself by

taking on the clothes and identity of the zookeeper. Next up, he changes the zoo by removing the animals he finds dull and

rote. Which, by the way, are lions and tigers. Go figure. Finally, he travels the world searching for all manner of exotic,

weird, and oddball beasts to occupy his zoo. As we are reminded several times throughout the book, this zoo belongs to

McGrew. More than anything else, McGrew's imagination desires to change his situation from a child who has no power to

the man in charge of everything.”

Before I look at a Scriptural lesson to be learned, I just wanted to share my favorite portion of the story. Dr. Seuss was a

genius and his books are so much fun to read aloud – I find myself laughing all along the way. “In the Far Western part of

south-east North Dakota lives a very fine animal called the Iota. But I’ll capture one who is even much finer in the north-

eastern west part of South Carolina”.

Do you find yourself feeling trapped by your circumstances – a job with no future, a disease with no cure, a marriage with

no love? Young Gerald McGrew was too young and likely too poor to own a zoo, but he was not too young to imagine “the

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gol-darndest zoo on the face of the earth”. My lesson is not “just imagine yourself in a fantastic career with great health

and a great marriage.” At the end of the story, young Gerald McGrew is back in his regular clothes and the zoo still has a

lion – his imagination did not change reality and neither would imagining our circumstance changing. What then?

There once was another author, even better than Dr. Seuss, who was once literally trapped in a cave – David. Psalm 142

was his prayer while hiding from Saul. The Hebrew word translated “prayer” in the title of the psalm (tephillah) means

“speak to the authority” – David went to the One who was in charge of his circumstances. I’m not going to look at the

whole prayer, just a few phrases beginning with, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path”

(vs. 3). The Hebrew word translated “overwhelmed” comes from a root meaning “see and contain”. A bird of prey is able

to see its victim from a long distance. He then flies down upon his victim firmly containing it with its talons, crushing and

suffocating it. That’s how David was feeling about his circumstances at the hand of his persecutors. However, despite

these feelings, he knows that Yahweh sees his path and must have a purpose for it. Despite what his enemies were doing,

David was able to say to Yahweh, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living” (vs. 5). What would be better:

living in a palace without a relationship with Yahweh or living in a cave with Yahweh.

David was able to see beyond his circumstances. Most people see their difficulties as the result of chance or maybe from

Satan (like a zoo with only lions and tigers), but David was able to see them as coming from the hand of God. Unlike the use

of your imagination, being able to see everything (I mean everything) coming into our lives by the sovereign hand of God

(“for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things” [Romans 11:36]), will change your outlook on life. Yahweh is the

Great Alchemist, who “works all things (Paul means all things) together for good to those who love God, who are the called

according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). All things are not good (just as all things are not gold), but God works them

together for good (even as an alchemist could supposedly change base metals into gold). In vs. 29, we see the good for

which He is working all things together- that we be conformed to the image of His Son. God is using everything in your life

to make you more like Jesus. Imagination is a great thing, but it can’t change your circumstances. Even God may not

change your circumstances, but when you understand those circumstances as coming from Him for a purpose – it changes

how you see them. Instead of seeing boring old lions and tigers, you can see “Thing-a-ma-Bobsk who eat only rhubarb and

corn-on-the-cobsk” and “Russian Palooski, who headski is redski and belly is blueski”.

Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953) (Part 1)

“Scrambled Eggs Super” is a fun book to read. As best I can tell, it really doesn’t have a moral. However, today and

tomorrow I wanted to share some lessons from small portions of the story. The first is from the first page. Peter T. Hooper

says that he does not like to brag and he does not like to boast, but then spends 30 pages describing the extraordinary

effort he puts into collecting hundreds of the world’s most exotic eggs. He describes his dish as “Scrambled Eggs Super-

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Dee-Dooper-Dee-Booper, Special de luxe a-la Peter T. Hooper”. He also refers to himself as the best cook in the world. I

would say that Peter T. Hooper does enjoy bragging.

If anyone could brag, it would be the Apostle Paul. He probably was used by God to do more for the spread of the gospel

than any human being between planting churches and writing 14 epistles (if you count Hebrews). Paul notes in 1

Corinthians 15, “I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church

of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly

than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me” (vv. 9, 10). He preached more, planted more, traveled more,

and wrote more than any other apostle. But he also suffered more. This is also clear from the 11th

chapter of the second

epistle to the Corinthians, “in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often”

(vs. 23). Much to truly boast about, as opposed to Peter T. Hooper, who had never did any of the things he bragged to Liz

about. However, the Apostle Paul was quick to point out that it was not worthy to be called an apostle and that it really

was the grace of God laboring in him, so in fact, he had nothing to boast about.

James, referring to Proverbs 27:1, writes, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,

spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is

your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord w ills,

we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (4:13-16). Boasting in

ourselves is sin, because we cannot do a thing but for God’s enablement and sovereign will.

Near the end of his epistle to the Galatians, Paul tells us the only thing that he would boast about, “God forbid that I should

boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”

(6:14). If he was going to boast about anything, it was Jesus and His work on the cross - “I’m nobody, but let me tell you

about my Lord Jesus”.

In 1 Corinthians 1:31, the apostle quotes from Jeremiah 9, where Yahweh says, “Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, let not

the mighty glory in his might, nor let the rich glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that He understands

and knows Me, that I am Yahweh, exercising lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight”

(vv. 23, 24). The Hebrew word translated “glory” (halal) comes from a root meaning “a looking toward something” such as

the looking toward a light in the distance. The stars have been used to guide the travelers. I think of Jesus words in

Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.

Our wisdom, our might, or riches are to be used not to have people say, “Oh how wise, mighty and rich they are!”, but

rather point them to our Father, that they may say, “Oh how loving, just and righteous their God is!”

Instead of being like Peter T. Hooper and saying, “I’m the best, let me tell you about me”, let’s say, “My Father and My Lord

and Savior Jesus are the best, let me tell you about Them.”

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Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953) (Part 2)

The second lesson that I saw in “Scrambled Eggs Super” is “You Are What You Eat!” On the picture and text I have

reproduced in the photo, Peter T. Hooper describes the food chain associated with the birds with the sweetest eggs, the

Kweet. It all begins with the “sweeter than sweet” Beezelnut blossoms. Then the Beezelnut blossoms are eaten by the

sweetest bees. And Wogs, the world’s sweetest frogs, only munch on the sweetest bees. Then the world’s sweetest trout

only eat Wogs. Then the Kweet only eat the sweetest trout. And finally, the Kweet lays the world’s sweetest eggs. At each

step along the way, sweet begets sweet.

As the generation long journey from Egypt to the Promise Land came to its end, Moses told Israel, “you shall remember

that Yahweh your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was

in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you

with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by

bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh” (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3). Yahweh’s

words are to be our real food.

Job said, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my appointed portion” (23:12). Proverbs 30:8 gives us an

idea of what Job means by “appointed portion”, “give me neither poverty nor riches-feed me with the food allotted to me”.

Sure we need “our daily bread” to keep our physical bodies functioning, but Job treasured God’s word. The Hebrew word

translated “treasured” (tsaphan) means to hide or store up. It is the same word that is used by the Psalmist who wrote,

“Your word have I hidden (tsaphan) in my heart that I might not sin against You” (119:11). The treasuring of God word in a

heart is going to change a person. Just like you can look at a person and have a pretty good idea what they eat (healthy or

junk food, adequate or too much food), you will be able to spend time with a person and know whether or not they

treasure God’s word – it’s going to make a difference – because it is true, you are what you eat.

For instance, David writes in Psalm 37, “the mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue of justice. The law of

God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slip” (vv. 30, 31). When you talk to a person who has hidden Yahweh’s word in

their hearts, they will speak with God’s wisdom and make decisions with God’s justice. Their lives will remain steadfast

regardless of what is going on around them. We need to be careful about what we put in our stomachs, but all the more

careful about what we put in our hearts, “guard your heart with all watchfulness, for out of it spring the issues of life”

(Proverbs 4:30). What you put in is what is going to come out.

The eggs of the Kweet are its fruit – their eggs were sweet because of the sweet food chain they were part of . What does

the fruit of our lives – our words, our thoughts, our actions, our decisions, our goals – say about what we are eating?

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Horton Hears a Who! (1954) (Part 1)

The most familiar words in “Horton Hears A Who” are “a person’s a person, no matter how small”. I know that Dr. Seuss

was not writing against abortion with this story, for it would be almost another 20 years before abortion on demand

became legal in the United States (i.e., the book was published in 1954 and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Roe

v Wade was in 1973). In the 40 years since the ungodly decision, upwards of 60,000,000 very small persons have been

murdered – six times the number that Adolf Hitler murdered in the Holocaust. Even if we allow for 5% (considered very

conservative) to be associated with rape, incest and life of the mother, we are talking about 57,000,000 cases of birth

control by murder – all sanctioned by the government and a large portion of society. This really is not a civilized nation.

Yahweh said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained

you a prophet to the nations” (1:5). God forms every person in the womb – there are no such things as accidents. The

Hebrew word translated “formed” (yatsar) has the idea of clay being pressed into shape. The same word is used in Genesis

2:7, “And Yahweh God formed (yatsar) man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and

man became a living being.” With most other things in creation, God simply spoke them into existence (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9,

11, 14, 20, 24), but when it came to man, God used His hands.

It wasn’t just Adam and Jeremiah that God formed. David writes:

“For You formed my inward parts, You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and

wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from

You, when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my

substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet

there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16).

God covers us in our mother’s womb, while He forms us. Life and death belong to God, not us.

Even if the Supreme Court Justices in 1973 didn’t read their Bibles, it’s too bad that they did not read “Horton Hears a Who”

and it’s truth that “a person’s a person, no matter how small” – even if it is only one cell. Horton spoke up for the Who’s,

whom nobody else could hear, whose going to speak up for the unborn?

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In God’s Backyard (GBY), we have been examining the idea of a “mediator”. We looked at a passage in Job where he said,

“How can a man be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with Him, he could not answer Him one time out of a

thousand. … For He (God) is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is

there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both” (9:2, 3, 32, 33). What chance does a man have against

God as judge?

Well to help the kids understand, I asked them to imagine a colony of ants in a field and a tractor coming toward them. I

asked, “would it help to carry a sign warning the ants of the impending danger?” Of course not, ants can’t read. I asked,

“would it help to shout through a megaphone?” Again, of course not, ants don’t understand human speech. Then I

mentioned that I had not told them the entire situation. I added some details – the farmer was wearing a blindfold, he only

spoke Czech and the tractor had no brakes. Holding up a stop sign – wouldn’t help, the farmer wouldn’t see it. Yelling

“stop” – wouldn’t help, the farmer doesn’t understand English. Standing in front of the tractor – wouldn’t help because we

are not Superman and we cannot stop a tractor without brakes. The only hope the ants have is if we become “ant-man”

and warn them. As ant-man, we could understand what was occurring on the human level and also be able to

communicate with the ants (i.e., we could lay our hands on both parties). We could be a mediator between ants and men.

In Dr. Seuss’ tale, there are two parties – the Who’s of Whoville and the residents of the Jungle of Nool. Those residents,

including the sour kangaroo, the monkeys (Wickersham Brothers), and the strong egale (Vlad Vlad-i-koff) did not believe in

the Who’s and were intent on destroying the speck. But Horton with his large ears and soft heart was willing to place

himself between these two parties, even risk his own life, to save the one in danger. Horton was able to understand and

communicate in both worlds; he was a mediator.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Messiah Jesus, who gave

Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Job was wrong, there was One Who could place His hands on both God and

men – the God-man, Jesus the Messiah. Only a Mediator who was both God and man, could bridge the gulf between God’s

holiness and our sinfulness. As God, He could not die. As man, He could not overcome death. But as the God-man, Jesus

not only died as the ransom for our sins, but conquered death in His resurrection. As God, He could not be tempted (James

1:13). As man, He could not withstand temptation. But as the God-man, He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet

without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), which made His death as the perfect Lamb of God on our behalf possible.

Going back to Job’s dilemma, the impossible chances one would have in going to court against Yahweh. In Zechariah 3, we

read the following: “Joshua the high priest [was] standing before the Angel of Yahweh and Satan standing at his right hand

to oppose him. And Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is

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this not a brand plucked from the fire?’ Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ And to

Joshua He said, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes’” (vv. 1-4). We have a

courtroom scene here – Joshua is the accused, Yahweh is the judge, Satan is the prosecutor, and the Angel of Yahweh is the

defense attorney. But He is not only the defense attorney, He is Himself Yahweh. This is the pre-incarnate Messiah. The

only chance Joshua had before Yahweh and against the accusations of Satan, which were probably accurate as Joshua had

filthy robes, was that His advocate was also God. In 1 John, the apostle tells us, “if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with

the Father, Jesus the Messiah, the Righteous One. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but

also for the whole world” (2:2, 3). We can stand before God, because our Defense Attorney, the One Who stands next to us

in court, paid the penalty for our sins.

If any Mediator but Jesus is your mediator, you are still separated from Yahweh, the one God. No other mediator can place

His hands on both God and man, because He alone is the God-man. He is the Word made flesh, who tabernacled among us

– that He might live a perfect life, die for our sins and rise because of our justification. Whether you like it or not, Jesus

said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).


As Horton is doing his job as a mediator, he tells the mayor that they need to make as much noise as they can so that the

other residents of Nool will believe they exist. Despite the racket the Whos make, the sour kangaroo still cannot hear a

sound coming from the speck on the clover. Horton asks the mayor, “Are you sure every Who down in Who-ville is

working? Quick! Look through your town! Is there anyone shirking?” Well, the mayor searched all over Who-ville, “But

everyone seemed to be doing his best. Everyone seemed to be yapping or yipping! Everyone seemed to be beeping or

bipping! But it wasn’t enough, all this ruckus and roar!”

Finally, the Mayor finds a shirker, a boy playing with a yo-yo in his apartment. His name was Jo-Jo and he was “not making

a sound! Not a yipp! Not a chirp! And the mayor rushed inside and he grabbed the young twerp! And he climbed with the

lad up the Eiffelberg Tower. ‘This,’ cried the mayor, ‘is your town’s darkest hour! The time for all Whos who have blood that

is red to come to the aid of their country!’ he said. ‘We’ve GOT to make noises in greater amounts! So, open your mouth,

lad! For every voice counts!’ Thus he spoke as he climbed. When they got to the top, the lad cleared his throat and he

shouted out, ‘Yopp!’ And that Yopp … That one small extra Yopp put it over! Finally, at last! From that speck on that clover

their voices were heard! They rang out clear and clean.” All the yapps and yipps WITHOUT the small yopp, not heard. All

the yapps and yipps WITH the small yopp, heard.

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Do you feel unimportant, that you wouldn’t be missed if you were gone? I’m sure many struggle with those feelings, I know

that I have. The Apostle Paul writes:

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body,

so also is Messiah. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves

or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If

the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear

should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were

an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? … And if they were

all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the

eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ No,

much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary” (1 Corinthians 12:12-22).

Unfortunately there are those who feel unimportant (“I am not of the body”) and those who are happy to reinforce those

feelings (“I have no need of you”). Both conclusions are wrong. Notice what Paul says in vs. 22. The ESV translates it as,

“the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable”. You are indispensable. I left out one part of the passage

above, vs. 18, “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased”. If you are in what you deem

an unimportant place of ministry, you need to know that it is Almighty God who placed you in that ministry and so it is

anything but unimportant. According to His sovereign will, God distributes spiritual gifts (vs. 11) and sets each person

where He wants them. It is not for us to judge how important or unimportant our ministry is, it is only our part to be

faithful.

Jo-Jo may have concluded, “I can’t make much noise, what’s the point. I’ll just play with my yo-yo”. Probably many of

those who have concluded that they are unimportant have stopped doing their jobs. They don’t consider themselves

shirkers, they just have wrongly concluded that they are not needed and that no one will miss them. I will just end with

Paul’s words at the end of 1 Corinthians 15, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing

that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (vs. 54).

On Beyond Zebra! (1955)

“On Beyond Zebra” is a non-sensical book, just plain fun to read. A young man, not confined by A to Z, shares with us 21

additional letters: Yuzz, Wum, Um, Humpf, Fuddle, Glikk, Nuh, Snee, Quan, Thnad, Spazz, Floob, Zatz, Jogg, Flunn, Itch, Yekk,

Vroo & Hi! It has fun ryhmes like this one:

“And GLIKK is for Glicker who lives in wild weeds

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And spends his time juggling fresh cinnamon seeds

Which he’s usually able to find in great number

Excepting, of course, in the month of SeptUmber

When cinnamon seed aren’t around in great number

So that month he juggles with seeds of cucumber.

So what lesson do I see in this fun non-sense. I saw something in the statement in the photo, “In the places I go there are

things that I see, that I never could spell if I stopped with the Z. I’m telling you this ‘cause you’re one of my friends. My

alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!” For most, their thinking ends in the realm of their senses – what they can see,

what they can hear, what they can smell, what they can taste, what they can feel. However, the most important Object in

the universe cannot be known by way of sight, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling. That Object is God. The Apostle John

tells us, “No man has ever seen God at any time, the only unique Son, the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [that is,

in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him – He has revealed Him, He brought Him out where He can be

seen, He has interpreted Him, and He has made Him known” (John 1:18 [Amplified]). Latter in the same gospel, Jesus

declares, “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen

His form” (5:37). No man has ever seen or heard the Father. We can only “see” and “hear” the Father through Jesus, the

only Mediator between God and men, who is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and “the Word of inaudible

God” (John 1:1-14). Having pointed these things out this past Sunday in God’s Backyard, one young lady asked, “who did

Moses hear and see then?” Good question to answer in another post.

But having said that, except for limited number of individuals in the 1st

century, no man has seen or heard Jesus. The

apostle Peter wrote in his first epistle, “In this (i.e., an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away,

reserved in heaven) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be

found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, whom having not seen you love. Though now you

do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith — the

salvation of your souls” (1:6-9). These the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, if

they were living solely in the realm of their five senses, would have been miserable. But like the alphabet that begins with

“Yuzz” where most people’s ends with “Z”, faith begins where sight ends. By faith they were able to understand what God

was doing through their trials. They were able rejoice with joy inexpressible because they loved Jesus, whom they had

never seen, yet believed in. You can only know the Mediator and thus God, through faith.

By faith there’s a God in whom I delight, I’d never would have known Him if I stopped with sight. I’m telling you this ‘cause

you’re one of my friends, God’s gift of faith begins, where our sight ends.

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If I Ran the Circus (1956)

In “If I Ran the Circus”, Morris McGurk has grand ideas for a circus that he will have in the lot behind Mr. Sneelock’s store.

As indicated in the quote in the photo, Morris thinks Mr. Sneelock will not mind helping out a little with “small odds and

ends”. What do these small odds and ends entail:

- Being lassooed by a Wily Walloo

- Having a crab apple shot off his head by the Blindfolded Bowman from Brigger-ba-Root

- Sliding down like greased lightning through pots full of lots of big Stickle-Bush Trees on his Roller-Skate-Skis in the

Act of Enormous Enormance

- Taming the Spotted Atrocious, the beast most ferocious, who growls, howls and yowls the most bloodcurdling

sounds and each tooth in his mouth weighs at least sixty pounds

- Risking life while lying on the Life-Risking-Track, while the speedsters of the Colliding Collusions race round in

swift cars called Abrasion-Contusions

- Tussling and wrestling a beast called the Grizzly-Ghastly

- Training a herd of “Through Horns Jumping Deer” – each deer jumps thru horns of another pell mell while his

horns are jumped thru at the same time as well

- Getting spouted back and forth by Whale One and Whale Two

If all those “small odds and ends” are not enough, Dr. Seuss describes poor Mr. Sneelock’s final act:

“[Sneelock] comes pulled through the air by three Soobrain Snipe on a dingus contraption attached to his pipe!

And while people below are all turning chalk white and all biting their fingernails off in their fright, Great Sneelock

soars up to a terrible height! Then he shakes himself loose! He starts down in a dive such as no man on earth

could come out alive! But he smiles as he falls and no fear does he feel. His nerves are like iron, his muscles like

steel. And he plunges! Down! Down! With his hair still combed neat four thousand, six hundred and ninety two

feet! Then he’ll land in a fish bowl. He’ll manage just fine. Don’t ask how he’ll manage. That’s his job. Not mine.”

The circus is called Circus McGurkis and yet it is Mr. Sneelock who does all the hard work. When it came to the business of

saving mankind, Yahweh Himself came to do the work in the person Yahushua (“Yahweh is salvation” [Jesus]). We read in

Isaiah 53, “Yahweh [God, the Father] has laid on Him [Yahusha, the Son] the iniquity of us all. … It pleased Yahweh [God,

the Father] to bruise Him [Yahushua, the Son]; He [God, the Father] put Him [Yahushua, the Son] to grief; when You [God,

the Father] make His [Yahushua, the Son] soul an offering for sin, He [Yahushua, the Son] shall see His seed, He shall

prolong His days, and the pleasure of Yahweh [God, the Father] shall prosper in His [Yahushua, the Son] hand. He

[Yahushua, the Son] shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His [Yahushua, the Son] knowledge My [God, the

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Father] righteous Servant [Yahushua, the Son] shall justify many; for He [Yahushua, the Son] shall bear their iniquities” (vv.

6, 10, 11).

Morris was unwilling to do the hard work, he was going to let circus prosper in Sneelock’s hand. But not so with God. A

member of the Yahweh family (Yahushua, the Son) came to do the pleasure of His Father and die for the sins of mankind.

Chris Rice sings:

“One pair of hands broke some bread and washed some feet

Opened eyes and soothed an angry sea

Belong to a Man who could see our deepest need

And showed us love the way it has to be

‘Cause He knew the price that love requires

And he laid down His own desires...

He stretched out His hands to save His friends

And said "no other love is higher"

(so listen to me now singin’)

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand”

It was ultimately God, the Father, who nailed His Son to the cross for you and me. Unlike Morris pushing all the hard work

off onto Mr. Sneelock, Yahushua laid down His own desires and stretched out His hands to receive the nails.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957)

Today’s Dr. Seuss Book is “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, which is an interesting title, as he was actually unable to do so.

When I went down to NJ last week, my sister and I were looking through old pictures, cards, letters and drawings my mom

had saved. She had an envelope of all the letters we had sent to Santa Claus. While I was busy reading a letter I had

written to my parents 25 years ago, my sister was reading some of these letters addressed to the North Pole. I heard her

reading one of mine and the list went on and on and on. When the Sears’ Wishbook would come out, I would go through it

and write down everything I wanted, including page numbers and prices (as if Santa Claus shopped at Sears). For me

Christmas came with ribbons and tags, it came with packages, boxes and bags, it came from a store, it meant presents and

not a whole lot more. I knew about Jesus, but He did not figure into the holiday very much in my heart. Sure we went to

church on Christmas eve and Christmas morning, but still my heart’s desire was the presents. I think of the Charlie Brown’s

Christmas Special and the conversation between Charlie and his sister, Sally:

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Sally: I've been looking for you, big brother. Will you please write a letter to Santa Claus for me?

Charlie Brown: Well, I don't have much time. I'm supposed to get down to the school auditorium to direct a

Christmas play.

Sally: You write it and I'll tell you what I want to say.

Charlie Brown: Okay, shoot.

Sally: Dear Santa Claus, How have you been? Did you have a nice summer? How is your wife? I have been extra

good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want.

Charlie Brown: Oh brother.

Sally: Please note the size and color of each item, and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make

it easy on yourself: just send money. How about tens and twenties?

Charlie Brown: TENS AND TWENTIES? Oh, even my baby sister!

Sally: All I want is what I ... I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.

Both Dr. Seuss & Charles Schultz were trying to expose the over-commercialization of Christmas, with Schultz going a step

further, sharing Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth which includes these words, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David

a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Christmas is really about God’s plan to make sure we don’t get what’s coming to us.

Although the gospel of John does not have an account of Jesus’ birth, it does have this:

“And the Word became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us;

and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten Son receives from his

Father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. … For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received

[all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual

blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, grace

(unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus the Messiah. No man has ever

seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate

presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen;

He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].” (John 1:14-18 [Amplified])

The unseen God was brought out where we could see Him, when Jesus pitched His tent among us. The law of Moses only

brought death as it revealed our sin. But Jesus, through His birth, life, death & resurrection, brings grace upon grace,

spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, gift upon gift. Christmas does not come from a store (not even

Sears), it came from heaven. John indicates that in Jesus, we have received out of God’s fullness. Paul writes in Colossians,

“For it pleased the Father that in Him (Jesus) all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by

Him, whether things on earth or in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (1:19, 20). Christmas is the

first step in God’s reconciling the world unto Himself (i.e., there is no salvation in Jesus’ birth, but rather in His death &

resurrection). So this Christmas, even if the Grinch comes and takes all your presents, may you (like the Whos down in

Whoville) be able to joyfully sing because you have already received God’s best present – His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

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The Cat in the Hat (1957) (Part 1)

As I first thought about “The Cat in the Hat”, I really was not sure what to write about. But then Proverbs 4:23 came to

mind: “Keep your heart will all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life” What does that have to do with “The Cat in

the Hat”? The story begins with Sally and her brother (the narrator whose name is never is never given), who do not seem

to be old enough to be left alone, unsupervised in their house on a cold, wet day. Bored and with nothing to do, all of a

sudden a large cat walking on two legs and wearing a red striped hat appears and enters their house doing tricks that wreck

havoc. I kind of see this is as allowing our minds to dwell upon things that it should not. Martin Luther told the story about

a young man, confessing to a hermit, his lust for women. The hermit said to the young man, "You cannot prevent the birds

from flying over your head. But let them only fly, and do not let them build a nest in the hair of your head. Let them be

thoughts, and remain such; but do not let them become conclusions." The children could not help that the Cat in the Hat

was in the neighborhood (bird flying over head), but they should not have let them in the house (bird building a nest).

Their fish acts as their conscience. In the quote in the photo, he reminds them that they should not let this cat in the house

while their mother is out. After the Cat falls from his balancing act, the fish having landed in a teapot says, “’Now look what

you did!’ Said the fish to the cat. ‘Now look at this house! Look at this! Look at that! You sank our toy ship, sank it deep in

the cake. You shook up our house and you bent our new rake. You SHOULD NOT be here when our mother is not. You get

out of his house!’ Said the fish in the pot.” But the cat does not want to leave and the children do not make him leave. And

so the problem grows with the Cat in the Hat bringing in a box with Thing One and Thing Two. We read, “But our fish said,

‘No! No! Those Things should not be in this house! Make them go! They should not be here when your mother is not! Put

them out! Put them out!’ Said the fish in the pot.” But the children shake hands with the Things, welcoming them into

the house. The Cat assures the fish that these are good Things, but they make a mess flying kites in the house. The kids are

letting the bird build a more permanent nest. “No! Not in the house!’ Said the fish in the pot. ‘They shou ld not fly kites in

a house! They should not. Oh, the things they will bump! Oh, the things they will hit! Oh, I do not like it! Not one little

bit!’” By ignoring their fish (conscience), things just get worse and worse.

Going back to Proverbs 4:23, Solomon tells us that we must guard our heart, like you would guard a precious source of

drinking water in the arid Middle East so that it does not become polluted or poisoned by enemies. The Hebrew word

translated “diligence” (mishmar) has the idea of a shepherd building a corral of thorns to protect the flock from predators.

We need to make sure that our thoughts line up with Scripture. Whatever goes into a spring is going to come out. If we

allow the Enemy’s and the world’s thoughts into our hearts, it won’t be long till we will be acting upon those thoughts. In

Paul’s words, we need to “for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty before God for pulling down

strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every

thought into captivity to the obedience of the Messiah” (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). We can’t let the Cat in the Hat or Thing One

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and Thing Two into the house in the first place, no matter how much fun or harmless they seem. If the thought is not in

keeping with our obedience to Jesus, it has to be brought in line, so it does not become an disobedient conclusion.

Tomorrow, I’d like to think about one such thought from this same book.

The Cat in the Hat (1957) (Part 2)

The Cat in the Hat” begins with two children not being very happy with the weather – cold and raining – they did not like it,

not one little bit. It is not just kids in a 56 year old children’s book that complain about the weather, you hear it from

people all the time. I hear it from myself when one snow storm after another seems to be coming our way. The complaints

make it seem that God is only responsible for the nice, sunny days, not the inclement ones. Jesus said in the Sermon on the

Mount, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully

use you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on

the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44, 45). If you have a big outside birthday party

scheduled for your child and it pours so that a significant portion of the festivities must be cancelled (e.g., bounce house,

pony rides) and the celebration scaled down and held inside, who sent the rain? Satan? Mother Nature? No, God sent the

rain. He doesn’t just send the rain, but Yahweh told Job that He had a treasury for snow and hail, as well (38:22). The

psalmist writes, “For I know that Yahweh is great, and our Lord is above all gods. Whatever Yahweh pleases He does, in

heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He

makes lightning for rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries” (135:6, 7). In one of the great statements about God’s

sovereignty (“whatever Yahweh pleases He does”), the psalmist was inspired to note that this covers the weather –

lightning, rain, wind. If rain puts a damper on our plans, who sent the rain? Yahweh did. Why? Becaused it pleased Him.

Recently, I quoted from John Piper in “Desiring God”, but since not too many read my posts, I would like to share the same

quote again:

“God has the right and power and wisdom to do whatever makes Him happy. None of His purposes can be

frustrated. Therefore, He is never deficient or needy. He is never gloomy or discouraged. He is always full and

overflowingly energetic for the sake of His people who seek their happiness in Him.”

I like that last statement. Yahweh’s people seek their happiness in Him, not the weather. When it comes to the weather or

for anything for that matter that comes into our lives that is beyond our control, we need to honestly answer Job’s question

to his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (2:10). Job accepted his trials as

coming from the hand of Yahweh, we need to do the same or we will be miserable people. If we are of the mindset that

good things (e.g., sunny days) come from God and adverse things (e.g., rainy days) come from Satan or chance, we have

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listened to an “argument and high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and we need

to pull it down and cast it out and “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of the Messiah”.

Our prayers are not going to change God’s sovereign will regarding the weather – or anything for that matter (1 John 5:14,

15 – He only answers “Yes” to prayers that are according to His will). Instead of praying, “God please send a beautiful sunny

day for the birthday party this Saturday”, we should pray, “God, I would like it to be sunny this Saturday, but help me to be

content with the weather that pleases You to send”. Children of the Father in heaven should be known for contentment,

not complaining. Complaining comes when I want things my way, contentment comes when I want things God’s way.

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958)

In “The Cat in the Hat Returns”, the troublemaker from the previous book comes back to make some more trouble for Sally

and her brother. Again, their mother leaves them alone for the day – this time they are outside, but shoveling huge

amounts of snow. When they see the Cat in the Hat (TCITH), we read,

“‘Oh-oh!’ Sally said. ‘Don’t you talk to that cat. That cat is a bad one, that Cat in the Hat. He plays lots of bad

tricks. Don’t let him come near. You know what he did the last time he was here.’”

Unfortunately, they are unable from stopping TCITH from entering their house. He sits in their bath tub eating cake. The

narrator says,

“And then I got mad. This is no time for fun. I said, ‘Cat! You get out! There is work to be done. I have no time

for tricks. I must go back and dig. I can’t have you in here, eating cake like a pig! You get out of this house! We

don’t want you about!’ Then I shut off the water and let it run out.”

However, when all the water runs out, there is a pink ring in the tub. TCITH then cleans the ring with their mother’s dress,

then cleans the mother’s dress on the wall, then cleans the wall with their dad’s $10 shoes, then he cleans the shoes on the

hallway rug, and then he cleans the rug on their father’s bed. At this point, he summons some help from smaller cats in his

hat. “ ‘Come on! Take it away!’ Yelled Little Cat A. ‘I will hit that old spot with a broom! Do you see? It comes off the old

bed! It goes on the TV.’ And then Little Cat B cleaned up the TV. He cleaned it with milk, put the spot on a pan! And then

C blew it out of the house with a fan!”

Now the inside problem was an outside problem. Little Cats A through V used pop guns to supposedly remove the spots

from the snow. However, we read, “Oh, the things that they did! And they did them so hard, it was all one big spot now a ll

over the yard!” TCITH finally brings out Little Cats W, X, Y and Z. It is Little Cat Z who has Voom under his hat. “Then the

Voom … It went VOOM! And, oh boy, What a VOOM! Now don’t ask me what Voom is. I never will know. But, boy! Let me

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tell you it DOES clean up snow!” TCITH then points out, “ ‘So yo see!’ laughed the Cat, ‘Now your snow is all white! Now

your work is all done! Now your house is all right!’”

I don’t think you could read this story without Isaiah 1 coming to mind, “ ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says

Yahweh, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be whiter than snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as

wool.’” (vs. 18). The pink spot from TCITH was like sin – it contaminated everything inside (our hearts – thoughts and

motives) and outside (our words and actions). Nothing was able to make it better, the problem just got bigger and bigger.

In the story, it took Voom to get rid of the pink. In our case, it would take the work of Yahweh to deal with sin and make

our hearts whiter than snow and wool. Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated “red” is related to the Hebrew word for

blood. It would take blood to cleanse our sins that were red like blood. The blood of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. The

author of the epistle to the Hebrews writes:

“But Messiah came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not

made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He

entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats

and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the

blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience

from dead works to serve the living God?” (9:11-14)

Voom totally got rid of the spot and finished the snow shoveling job. The blood of Jesus is much greater – it cleanses our

hearts from sin so that we might serve the living God (i.e., not work to gain salvation [our snow shoveling days are over],

but be His worshipper because we are accepted in Messiah). Don’t try to clean your heart up – your only hope is in Jesus,

“Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).

Yertle the Turtle (1958)

“Yertle the Turtle” is said to be representative of Hitler and the Nazi Regime during World War II. It is a story about a turtle

king who becomes a dictator. Yertle the Turtle is the king of his pond on the far-away island of Sala-ma-Sond. He decides

that his pond is not a big enough kingdom. By stacking his subjects on top of each other, Yertle can then see more, and thus

be king of more. He has no regard for the pain and suffering of those under his rule. He only cares about increasing his rule.

It’s not only the Hitlers, Stalins, and Sadam Husseins of this world that act like this. When Israel asked for a king, Yahweh

warned them:

“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own

chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands

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and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons

of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will

take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a

tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants,

your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of

your sheep. And you will be his servants." (1 Samuel 8:11-17)

Did you notice the phrase “he will take”? It is used six times! Human kings tend to take, take, take, take, take and then

take some more. When the Israelites came to their fourth king (Rehoboam), they said to him, “Your father (Solomon) made

our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father of your father, and his heavy yoke which he

put on us, and we will serve you” (1 Kings12:4). We generally think of Solomon as one of the good kings and yet what he

did to God’s people is described as “burdensome service” and “heavy yoke” – forced labor and high taxes. Solomon’s

elderly advisors give the young Rehoboam godly advice, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them,

and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants all your days” (1 Kings 12:7). Their advice

– serve God’s people, don’t use them. But Rehoboam listens to the young men he grew up with and says to God’s people,

“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke, my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you

with scorpions” (vs. 14). Rehoboam was a fool and it cost him most of his kingdom. If it were not for Yahweh’s promise to

David, it probably would have cost him the whole kingdom and his story would end like Yertle’s, “And today the great

Yertle, that Marvelous he, Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.”

Jesus the Messiah is “Lord of all” (Acts 10:36) and yet He said to His disciples, “You know that those who are considered

rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among

you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be

slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark

10:42-44). Jesus, the Lord of all became the slave of all. Instead of abusing people for His pleasure (like Yertle, Solomon,

Rehoboam and many others), Jesus allowed others to abuse Him and put Him to death, that He might pay the sin debt for

all mankind.

Jesus was commanding us to likewise be the slaves of all. The Apostle Paul took this serious, “For though I am free from all

men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win

Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are

without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who

are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might

by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). We cannot give our lives a ransom, Jesus already paid the price, but we

can give ourselves to the service of all mankind, that some may come to know Jesus.

Are you using people as stepping stones or are you making yourself a stepping stone for others to know the Savior?

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Gertrude McFuzz (1958) (Part 1)

The story of Gertrude McFuzz begins with these words:

“There once was a girl-bird named Gertrude McFuzz And she had the smallest plain tail ever was. One droopy-droop feather. That’s all that she had. And oh! That one feather made Gertrude so sad.

For there was another young bird that she knew, A fancy young birdie named Lolla-Lee-Lou, And instead of one feather behind, she had two!”

As indicated in the quote in the photo, Gertrude McFuzz broke the 10th

Commandment, as we all do quite often, “You shall

not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor

his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17). Lolla-Lee-Lou’s tail would fit into the category

of “anything that is your neighbor’s”.

The Hebrew word translated “covet” (chamad) is interesting. It’s root has the meaning “separate water”. Jeff Benner

writes in “The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible”:

“Cheese was made by placing milk in a bag made of an animal skin. The bag was hung out in the san and pushed

back and forth. The skin of the bag contained an enzyme that when heated and shaken caused the milk to sour

and separate into two parts, fat (curds or cheese) and water (whey). The whey could be drunk and the curds eaten

or stored for future consumption”

What does this have to do with coveting? The root word (chem’ah [butter]) is used in Genesis 18:8 as part of the meal

Abraham prepared for Yahweh and the two angels. In a sense, cheese/butter/curds was a delicacy – something beyond the

norm. Coveting is desiring something beyond what Yahweh has provided us. When we covet, we are saying, “God, I am

not happy with how You made me or what You have given to me”. It is a slap in the face of God. I remember one

Christmas, when I was about 10 years old, my Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Bob gave me a record with guitar music (seeing I

was learning to play guitar). I must have made it evident that I was not happy with the record, because we went to the mall

to trade the record in for a bunch of 45s that I liked. It was nice of my Aunt and Uncle to do that, but it was rotten of me to

hurt their feelings and not be content with their present. That’s what we do to God every time we covet something.

Our attitude should be that of David in Psalm 16, “O Yahweh, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You

maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance” (vv. 5, 6). David saw Yahweh

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as his inheritance. Whatever we have has been given to us by Yahweh and whatever we don’t have has been withheld by

Yahweh. We should be happy with God’s choice of where the lines have fallen and learn to value our relationship with Him

above anything that we have or don’t have.

If we are content with God Himself, there will be no jealousy, frowning, pouting, anger and shouting “It’s not fair” like

Gertrude McFuzz. We’ll consider tale of her tail some more tomorrow.

Gertrude McFuzz (1958) (Part 2)

As we saw yesterday, Gertrude McFuzz was not content with the tail that God had given her, she coveted Miss-Lolla-Lee-

Lou’s tail. She goes to see her Uncle Drake, who is a doctor, to see if he could give her a pill to grow a better tail. He tries to

convince her that there is nothing wrong with her tail, but we read:

“Then Gertrude had tantrums. She raised such a din

That finally her uncle, the doctor, gave in

And he told her just where she could find such a pill

On a pill-berry vine on the top of the hill.”

She took one pill and had a tail like Miss-Lolla-Lee-Lou. But of course, seeing that she was not given to contentment, she

then wanted a tail that was better than her neighbor’s. She wanted to make Miss-Lolla-Lee-Lou jealous, so she started

eating a lot of pills, three dozen in fact. By the time the feathers stopped sprouting, she had ninety pounds worth. And we

read, “She yanked and she pulled and she let out a squawk, but that bird couldn’t fly! Couldn’t run! Couldn’t walk!” Her

uncle, with some others, come to her rescue. As indicated in the text on the photo, it took two weeks to get her home and

another to pluck out all the feathers that resulted from the pill berries.

Yesterday in God’s Backyard, we looked at temptation. I gave the following definition from Children Desiring God,

“temptation is anything that tries to get you to think, say or do something that shows that God is not the most special

person in your life”. I realize Gertrude is just a bird in a kid’s story, but the most important thing in her life was getting a

better tail, a tail that was better than her Creator gave her. Miss-Lolla-Lee-Lou’s tail was a temptation to Gertrude McFuzz.

James writes something very interesting regarding temptation:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials (peirasmos), knowing that the testing of your faith

produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

… Blessed is the man who endures temptation (peirasmos); for when he has been approved, he will receive the

crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted (peirazo) , ‘I

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am tempted (peirazo) by God’; for God cannot be tempted (apeirastos) by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

But each one is tempted (peirazo) when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has

conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved

brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with

whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (1:2-4, 12-17)

You will notice that trials and temptation are the same Greek word. So when is it a trial and when is it a temptation? It

depends on how far back you look for the source. Consider the trials of Job. The immediate source was Satan, whose design

in taking Job’s possessions, his children and his health was to get Job to curse God. Yahweh’s design (He is the ultimate

source [remember it He that suggested that Satan consider Job in the first place {1:8, 2:3}]) was to expand Job’s

understanding of the width of His sovereignty, the length of His faithfulness, the depth of His mercy and the height of His

justice. Yahweh in love sent severe trials into Job’s life – they came in the form of temptation from Satan. God’s intent is

never that we give into temptation and sin, but rather that we endure temptation and grow (be made complete, lacking

nothing). James writes, “you have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by Yahweh – that Yahweh is

very compassionate and merciful” (5:11). Trials are included in the good and perfect gifts that come from His hand. Even

our failure in trials fits into God’s plan, for we learn the depth of our weakness and our need to depend on Him. Failed tria ls

(i.e., temptations that we do not endure) are not wasted, if we learn from them (e.g., contentment is something that must

be learned [Philippians 4:11]). Consider how Dr. Seuss ends this story, “Finally, when all of the pulling was done, Gertrude

behind her again had just one … That one little feather she had as a starter. But now that’s enough, because now she is

smarter.” She learned to be content with what God gave her. Are we learning from our trials / temptations?

The Big Brag (1958)

In “The Big Brag”, a rabbit and bear boasted that they were the best beasts. Both of their boasts are a lot of hot air. For

instance, regarding his hearing, the rabbit says:

“’Do you see that far mountain? Its ninety miles off. There's a fly on that mountain. I just heard him cough! Now

the cough of a fly, sir, is quite hard to hear when he's ninety miles off. But I heard it quite clear. So you see,’

bragged the rabbit, ‘it's perfectly true that my ears are the best, so I'm better than you!’”

The bear’s boast was just as empty:

“’I'm smelling past many great mountains beyond. Six hundred miles more to the edge of a pond. And way, way

out there, by the pond you can't see, is a very small farm. On the farm is a tree. On the tree is a branch. On the

branch is a nest, a very small nest where two tiny eggs rest. Two hummingbird eggs! Only half an inch long! But

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my nose,’ said the bear, ‘is so wonderfully strong, my nose is so good that I smelled without fail that the egg on the

left is a little bit stale! And that is a thing that no rabbit can do. So you see,’ the bear boasted, ‘I'm better than

you! My smeller's so keen that it just can't be beat.’”

It is impossible that rabbit could hear a fly cough 90 miles away or the bear could smell an egg 600 miles away. These were

empty boasts. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in

lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (2:3). The Greek word translated “conceit” (kenodoxia) is a

compound word from kenos (empty, vain, devoid truth) and doxos (glory) – most English translations use “vain glory”. Any

thinking that we are better than others is empty and devoid of truth. Why? In Paul’s words, “Who makes you differ from

another? [Answer: God] And what do you have that you did not receive? [Answer: Nothing] Now if you did indeed receive

it, why do you boast as if you had not received it [Answer: Because we are foolish]?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Anything that we

have the ability to do well was a gift we received from God, there is no place for boasting. A rabbit may be able to hear

better than a bear, but that’s because God created them that way. A bear may be able to smell better than a rabbit, but

again that is God’s design. Boasting robs glory from our Creator.

Boasting not only robs glory from God, but it is foolish, as the worm points out to the rabbit and the bear. These boasters

were not the only fools to waste their time this way. On the night of the last supper, we read:

“Now there was also a dispute among them (the disciples), as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

And He (Jesus) said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise

authority over them are called benefactors. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you,

let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or

he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.” (Luke 22:24-27)

They must have felt like fools after Jesus, their Creator and Master, the One who really was greatest, indicated that He was

there to serve. They needed to be servants also and forget the foolishness and futility of discussing who was the greatest.

Dr. Seuss ends the story with these words, “Then the little old worm gave his head a small jerk and he dove in his hole and

went back to his work.” The worm was not wasting his time with boasting, but rather working. We should be busy using

our gifts (great or small, many or few) for the glory of God and our Savior Jesus the Messiah, not boasting about them.

Happy Birthday to You! (1959)

“Happy Birthday to You!” is a fun book to read. It sounds like Katroo is definitely the place to celebrate your birthday. For

instance, Dr. Seuss writes:

“And five minutes later, you're having a snack

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on your way out of town on a Smorgasbord's back.

‘Today,’ laughs the Bird, ‘eat whatever you want.

Today no one tells you - you cawnt or you shawnt.

And, today, you don't have to be tidy or neat.

If you wish, you may eat with both hands and both feet.

So get in there and munch. Have a big munch-er-oo!

Today is your birthday! Today you are you!’”

For someone who has spent his whole life losing weight, gaining it back, and trying to lose it again, eating whatever I want,

with nobody telling me I cawnt or I shawnt sounds nice. But the phrase I wanted to write about today is near the end of the

book, “Today you are you! That is truer then true! There is no one alive who is you-er then you!”

Once again, I have been watching Ken Burns’ documentary “Baseball”. You cannot watch a history of this great sport

without the question being discussed, “Who was the greatest ballplayer?” Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Ted

Williams, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Honus Wagner, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio,

Frank Robinson, etc. Or “Who was the greatest pitcher?” Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Roger Clemens,

Warren Spahn, Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, etc. These arguments

could go on infinitum. If you are a baseball fan, you are probably thinking of people who have been left off these lists and

people who do not belong. As fun as they may be, they are sort of pointless. Almighty God gave each of these men their

talents. The real question is not, “How do they compare to other players?” but rather, “How well did they live up to their

God-given potential and opportunities?”

But that doesn’t just go for baseball players. We should not measure ourselves against other people, but against the

person God made us to be. Dr. Seuss wisely says, “there is no one alive who is you-er than you”. But am I the best “I” I can

be? Are you the best “you” you can be? When we compare ourselves against other people, we are judging between one of

God’s masterpieces (Psalm 139:14; Ephesians 2:10) and another – and we are not qualified to do that.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But

they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. We, however, will

not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us” (2 Corinthians 10:12, 13). God has

given each of us abilities and limits according to His pleasure. For instance, He may have given one student the ability to

get A+’s in every subject while to another only the ability to get C’s. If the first student is getting B+’s/A-‘s and the second

student through extreme hard work is getting C+’s/B-‘s, whose doing better in school? If we compare one set of grades

against the other, we would say the first. But if we compare each against his potential, it would be the second student.

If you are given to comparing yourself against other people and always wishing that God made you more like so and so,

stop it! He knew exactly what He was doing when He made you the way that He did. Yahweh does not make mistakes.

Instead of wasting time measuring yourself against other people (and I have done more than my share of it), ask God to

help you become the “you” He intended when He created you. Many people may have more talents than we do and

greater spheres of influence – what does it matter? The only thing that matters is that one day Jesus will say to you, “Well

done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord”. We need to be faithful with the abilities and sphere that is

ours, not somebody else’s. So whether it’s your birthday or not, shout, “I am blessed to be what I am! Thank God I'm not

just a clam or a ham or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam! I am what I am! That's a great thing to be! If I say so myself.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR ME!”

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One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1959)

In “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”, we meet a boy and a girl who quickly move from one strange thing to another

throughout their day, for instance:

- They encounter many types of fish - red, blue and black fish, old and new fish, sad, glad and bad fish, and thin and

fat fish;

- They ride on the seven humped Wump of Gump;

- They meet someone whose hat is old, teeth are gold, feet are cold, and has a bird to hold;

- They see a Nook who cannot read a hook-cook-book;

- They open cans with a Zans;

- They box in yellow Gox box sox;

- They sing with a Ying;

- They have a Yink who likes to wink and drink pink ink; and

- They see a Yop, who likes to hop from finger top to finger top;

They end their day with these words, “Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Every day, from here to

there, funny things are everywhere.” This boy and girl went with the flow and enjoyed each thing as it came. Nothing was

seen an interruption of their plans – they saw life as a journey, not a destination and they enjoyed the trip.

However, in the photo, there is another character in the story who we meet twice, Ned. When Ned introduces himself, the

first and only thing he talks about is how much he does not like his little bed. He is defined by what he hates. The only

other time we encounter Ned, someone calls and asks him, “Hello there, Ned. How do you do? Tell me, tell me what is

new? How are things in your little bed? What is new? Please tell me, Ned.” Ned cannot get beyond his little bed, it’s all

that he thinks about – he is bitter. He replies, “I do not like this bed at all. A lot of things have come to call. A cow, a dog, a

cat, a mouse. Oh! What a bed! Oh! What a house!” Individuals had come to see him (maybe to encourage him to get out

of bed), but they were simply looked upon as intrusions, because Ned could think of nothing but his bed. He hated it, but

he wouldn’t get out of it. This one difficulty ruled his life. Have you ever let one thing wreck your whole day? Someone has

said, “No one can ruin your day without your permission”.

We read in Hebrews 12:15, “Look carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up

cause trouble, and by this many become defiled”. One bitter person can contaminate a group of people with his bitterness.

But also as with Ned, one bitter thought can take root in our hearts and cause bitter fruit to come our lives. The Hebrew

word for “bitter” (mar) at its root means “headwaters”. The headwaters of a river are only a trickle and have stagnant

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pools causing the water to be bitter. We need to allow the grace of God to flow through our lives abundantly, so that we

don’t have stagnant pools, where bitter thoughts can fester.

I am reminded of the first chapter of Ruth. Naomi returns to Bethlehem, after losing her husband and sons and says to her

neighbors that are excited to see her, “Do not call me Naomi (‘my delight’); call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very

bitterly (marar) with me. I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since

Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" (vv. 20, 21). Her bitterness ruled her to the point that

she wanted to be called “Bitter”. Her husband should never have taken his family to pagan Moab and her sons should

never have married women from Moab – these actions may very well explain the reasons they died and it is right for Naomi

to acknowledge Yahweh’s hand in her loss. But in Yahweh’s grace, He had given her Ruth, a devoted daughter-in-law, but in

her bitterness she does not acknowledge this – all she can think about is her loss.

Are you letting a difficulty (like Ned’s small bed) or a loss (like the death of Naomi’s husband and sons) be the cause of a

root of bitterness in your heart that is ruling all that you do and think? You need to remember that Yahweh is “a God full of

compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15). In the midst of the difficulty, look

for His sufficient grace. Don’t give permission to anyone or anything to ruin your life!

Green Eggs & Ham (1960)

“Green Eggs and Ham” is fourth on the all-time best-selling children’s books list. In the story a character by the name of

Sam-I-Am asks an unnamed character if he would like green eggs and ham: here or there or anywhere, in a house or with a

mouse, in a box or with a fox, in a train or in the rain, with a goat or in a boat. The character is adamant, “I do not like

green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam-I-Am”. In fact, he tells Sam 70 times that he does not want green eggs and

ham. But when he tastes them, just to get Sam off his back, he discovers that he really likes green eggs and ham. So what’s

the lesson, “try Brussels sprouts – you may actually like them”. No – because then I would actually have to try them and I

intend to never eat them in my lifetime. Two Bible passages came to mind – one from the Old Testament and one from the

New Testament:

“Oh, taste and see that Yahweh is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34: 8)

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed that you have tasted

that the Lord is gracious.” (1 Peter 2:2, 3)

Now the Apostle makes clear that you cannot give yourself an appetite for God – you have to be newborn (born from

above, born of the Spirit, regenerated) and this is the work of God. Although at one point they trusted in Jesus to save

them from their sins, not all Christians trust Yahweh in their daily lives. Why? Peter makes it clear – they have not desired

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the pure milk of the word. It is through God’s word that we will taste and see with increasing assurance that Yahweh is

good, that Yahweh is gracious. Notice what David says, “blessed is the man who trusts in Him”. Consider these two

passages:

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Yahweh have not forsaken those who seek

You.” (Psalm 9:10)

“The name of Yahweh is a high tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)

In Hebrew, name is associated with character. When you know God’s character, you will trust in Him, you will run to Him

and be safe. How do you grow in your knowledge of God’s character – desiring His word like a newborn baby. It is only

then that you will be convinced, regardless of your circumstances, that Yahweh is good and gracious. But we tend to have

an appetite for so many things other than God Himself. C.S. Lewis wrote in “Weight of Glory”:

“Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink

and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in

a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily

pleased.”

The title is interesting, as the Hebrew word for glory (kabod) has at its root the idea of the abundance, magnitude (weight)

and brilliance of the stars. Are we fooling around with drink and sex and ambition and passing up on the infinite joy

associated with a growing relationship with God through Jesus the Messiah. Picking up on Lewis’ thought, Steven Curtis

Chapman included the following lyrics in “See the Glory”:

“What is this thing I see going on inside of me, when it comes to the grace of God sometimes it's like:

I'm playing GameBoy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon.

I'm eating candy sitting at a gourmet feast.

I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean.

Tell me what's the deal with me, wake up and see the glory.”

“Wake up and see the glory” is another way of saying, “Taste and see that Yahweh is good”. It was good for the character

to try green eggs and ham, for he awakened to a new food he could enjoy. But how much more important that our hearts

should be awakened to how good and gracious Yahweh is. We should ask God to wean us off the things of this world, that

we might appreciate Him.

Ten Apples Up On Top (1961)

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This was the first book that Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) wrote under the pen name Theo LeSieg (Geisel spelled

backwards). He wrote the words for these books, but they were illustrated by others. In this particular story, a lion, dog

and tiger all try to outdo each other with regards to how many apples they can keep on top of their heads. They balance

apples while skipping rope on a tree, jumping on a high wire, wearing roller skates, and hopping and drinking milk. At one

point, we hear the words, “I am so good they will not drop.”

When I read this particular story, I couldn’t help thinking of the Ten Commandments. Many people are under the delusion

that they have kept them all their lives and that by doing so they are good and right with God. The Apostle Paul states very

clearly to the contrary, “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after

God” (Romans 3:10, 11). These words are not original with Paul, for he says “it is written” – we find them in the opening

verses of David’s Psalm 14.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had the following to say to those who say things like, “I’ve never killed anybody” OR

“I’ve never cheated on my wife”:

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of

the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the

judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’

shall be in danger of the fiery Gehenna.”

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever

looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28)

Have you been angry without a cause? Have you ever lusted after someone that is not your spouse? If you answered “yes”

to those questions, then Jesus says in God’s eyes you are a murderer and an adulterer. The Ten Commandments were not

given to provide a false sense of righteousness, but to dash all such hopes. Paul writes:

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

(Romans 3:20)

“I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had

said, ‘You shall not covet.’" (Romans 7:7)

“For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who

believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be

revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians

3:21-24)

The purpose of the Ten Commandments (the law) was to show us that we are sinners and to lead us to Jesus the Messiah.

While the law does show us what is right, it also shows us that we are not good enough to be righteous in God’s eyes. Our

hope is not in keeping the Ten Commandments or even doing a better job at keeping them than others, our only hope is

faith in the Righteous One, Jesus.

Is your relationship with God based on your ability to balance ten apples on your head? If so, I’d pray that you would see

that the apples have already come crashing down and that you would turn to Jesus, the only One who was good enough

and whose righteousness can be yours by faith.

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The Sneetches (1961)

“The Sneetches” is a book about prejudice. If you do not know, there are two types of Sneetches: “the Star-Belly Sneetches

had bellies with stars. The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.” The stars were not very large and should not have

been a source of discrimination, but since Sneetches represent humans, they were. We read:

“But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches would brag, ‘We’re the best kind of Sneetch on the

beaches.’ With their snoots in the air, they would sniff and they’d snort, ‘We’ll have nothing to do with the Plain-

Belly sort!’ And whenever they met some, when they were out walking, they’d hike right on past them without

even talking. … When the Star-Belly Sneetches had frankfurter roasts or picnics or parties or marshmallow toasts,

they never invited the Plain-Belly Sneetches. They left them out cold, in the dark of the beaches. They kept them

away. Never let them come near. And that’s how they treated them year after year.”

Then an individual named Sylvester McMonkey McBean, the Fix-It Up Chappie, comes along with a machine that can put

stars on Plain-Belly Sneetches for just $3. Well, these Sneetches, who had wished all their lives that they had stars upon

thars, were more than happy to pay this fee. However, when the Star-Belly Sneetches saw that they no longer had an

advantage on the old Plain-Belly Sneetches, Sylvester McMonkey McBean was more than happy, for $10, to remove their

stars. Eager to maintain their superiority, they willingly pay the money. Now they look down on the Star-Belly Sneetches.

Well, we read that Sylvester takes all the Sneetches’ money, adding stars and taking them off again, feeding on the need to

feel superior in the one case and the need to be accepted in the other case.

Yellow stars are reminiscent of the yellow stars of David that Jews had to wear during the Holocaust, although for the

Sneetches the stars were badges of honor, while for the Jews the stars were badges of shame. The Nazi prejudice was

wrong, but then so was the Jew’s prejudice. What prejudice you ask? In the Talmud, Tractate Menachoth 43b, we read, “A

man is bound to say the following three blessings daily: ‘Blessed art Thou who hast not made me a heathen (Gentile),

blessed are Thou who hast not made me a woman, and blessed are Thou who hast not made me a brutish man (slave).”

Free Jewish men saw themselves superior to Gentiles, women and slaves. However, this same prejudice was in Great

Britain and America, where so-called white Christians considered themselves superior to Africans and made them slaves

and treated them as disposable property instead of fellow human beings.

Unlike the Sneetches who learned, “that Sneetches are Sneetches and no kind of Sneetch is the best at the beaches”,

humans can’t seem to learn it. We refuse to understand the truth that the Apostle Paul preached in Athens, “God, who

made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor

is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He

has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed

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times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him

and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:24-27). All men on the face of the earth come from one

blood – we are all descended from Adam. “Humans are humans and no kind of human is the best, not even Harry S.

Truman”.

If we could just learn the truth of the simple children’s song, “Jesus loves (died for, rose for, lives for) the little children, all

the children of the world. Red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves (died for, rose

for, lives for) the little children of the world”. If we could learn to be content in God’s love, we would have no need to feel

superior to anyone. We could rejoice in what He made us and we could rejoice in what He made them. I like what David

writes at the beginning of Psalm 131, “Yahweh, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with

great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his

mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (vv. 1, 2). Babies don’t concern themselves with feeling superior to

anyone; they are just content to be loved and near their mothers. A weaned baby is not even looking for milk from his

mother; he just wants to be held in her arms. May God help our souls to be like weaned children – content with Him and

His wonderful love.

The Zax (1961)

“The Zax” is a very short story, but it has an important lesson. One day in the prairie of Prax making tracks right toward one

another came a North-Going Zax and a South-Going Zax. They came to a point where they bumped and stood face to face.

Now, North-Going Zax always go north and South-Going Zax always go south and so both considered the other in his way.

They both indicate they have no intention of moving aside to let the other go by. The South-Going Zax expresses both their

sentiment when he says:

“For I live by a rule that I learned as a boy back in South-Going School.

Never budge! That’s my rule. Never budge in the least!

Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east!

I’ll stay here, not budging! I can and I will

If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!”

Dr. Seuss concludes the story with these words:

“Well of course the world didn’t stand still. The world grew.

In couple of years, the new highway came through,

And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax,

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And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.”

I cannot help but think of Israel in the wilderness. The psalmist writes, “Yahweh established a testimony in Jacob, and

appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the

generation to come might know them, the children who would be born that they may arise and declare to their children,

that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. And may not be like

their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not

faithful to God” (Psalm 78:5-8). The Hebrew word translated “stubborn” comes from a root meaning “turn the head”, with

the idea that stubbornness is the turning of the head from the correct path to another direction (my way rather than God’s

way). The two stubborn Zax had their heads set like flint to do what they wanted.

Even as Yahweh was giving Moses the Ten Commandments (appointed a law in Israel), the nation was worshipping the

golden calf. Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people” (Exodus32:9). They Zax

had stiff-necks that refused to turn. In Deuteronomy, Moses says to the people, “Remember! Do not forget how you

provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you

came to this place (nearly 40 years), you have been rebellious against Yahweh. … When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh

Barnea saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of

Yahweh your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice. You have been a rebellious against Yahweh from the

day that I knew you” (Deuteronomy 9:7, 23, 24)

At Kadesh Barnea, Yahweh said, “Go” and Israel said, “No!” In Numbers 13, we read Yahweh’s words to Moses and Aaron,

“How long will I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children

of Israel have made against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says Yahweh, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so will I do to

you; the carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in the wilderness, all of you who were numbered,

according to the entire number, from 20 years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of

Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said

would be victims, I will bring in, they shall know the land you despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in the

wilderness” (vv. 27-32). Just like the world did not stand still for the stubborn Zax, God’s will was not standing still for the

stubborn and rebellious generation. The nation would enter the Promised Land, just not with them.

Being stubborn about our way instead of God’s way is foolish stand to take. God’s will and work will proceed with or

without us. How much better to turn our necks toward God’s way like Caleb and Joshua (set our hearts aright [Psalm

78:8]), then to stiffen our necks like 1.2 million who died in the wilderness, never seeing the Promised Land?

Too Many Daves (1961)

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“Too Many Daves” is a story about a woman named Mrs. McCave, who had 23 sons and she named them all Dave. It wasn’t

a smart thing to do, for when she calls for Dave to come into the house, “she doesn’t get one. All 23 Daves of hers come on

the run! This makes things quite difficult at the McCave’s as you can imagine, with so many Daves”. This must have been a

favorite story of George Foreman, who named all five of his sons “George”. Fortunately, he did not name any of his seven

daughters “George”, unlike Johnny Cash’s “father” who named him Sue. At this point, Dr. Seuss provides a list of 23

alternative names that Mrs. McCave had wished she used:

Bodkin Van Horn, Hoos-Foos, Snimm, Hot-Shot, and Sunny Jim.

Shadrack, Blinkey, Stuffy, and Stinkey.

Putt-Putt, Moon Face, and Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.

Ziggy, Soggy Muff, Buffalo Bill and Biffalo Buff.

Sneepy, Weepy Weed, Paris Garters, and Harris Tweed.

Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt and Oliver Boliver Butt

Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate

And then he ends the story with these sad words, “But she didn't do it. And now it's too late”. The idea that once

something is done it is too late to do anything about it is captured in phrases like, “the horse is out of the barn”, “the cat is

out of the bag”, “the toothpaste is out of tube” and “the ship has sailed”. When I read the last line of “Too Many Daves”,

the thing I thought about was once you say something (let a word proceed from your mouth), you can never take it back. I

found this quote on the internet, but not sure who said it, “Be careful with your words, once they are said, they can only be

forgiven, not forgotten”. Despite the childhood rhyme about “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never

hurt me”, words can hurt, tear down and ruin people and relationships. James writes, “no man can tame the tongue. It is

an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with we curse men, who have been made in

the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be” (3:8-

10).

Through the Apostle Paul, God has commanded us, “let no corrupt word proceed from your mouth, but what is good for

necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). The Greek word translated “corrupt”

(sapros) means “rotten, putrid”. A “saprophyte” is a plant that lives on dead and decaying organic matter; “sapremia” is a

toxic state in which the products of putrefactive bacteria are present in the blood. Since Jesus says, “Out of the abundance

of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45), rotten and putrid words only come out of the heart that is overflowing with

rottenness and putrescence. Instead only good is to come from our mouths. This good is described by Paul as “necessary

edification”. The word “edification” means to build a house. Our words should only be what others need to hear to build

them up. The good is to come from our mouth is also described as “imparting grace to the hearer”. In a sense, our words

are to be Godlike, for it is He who imparts grace (Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 1:4, 1 Peter 5:5). God should be speaking to

others through us.

There’s a lot of truth in the statement Thumper’s father gave to his son, “If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing

at all”. Because once we say something “un-nice”, we will do damage that can never be undone and like Mrs. McCave, we’ll

wished we never said it, but it will be too late.

“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted

wise when he holds his peace, when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (Proverbs 17:27, 28)

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What Was I Scared Of? (1961)

“What Was I Scared Of?” is the story of an individual who keeps encountering a pair of “pale green pants, with nobody

inside ‘em” during nighttime excursions. During their last encounter, as the quote in the photo indicates, he comes “face to

face” with the pants and yells, screams, shrieks, howls, yowls and cries for help. Then we read:

“But then a strange thing happened. Why, those pants began to cry!

Those pants began to tremble. They were just as scared as I!

I never heard such whimpering and I began to see

That I was just as strange to them as they were strange to me! So ...

I put my arm around their waist and sat right down beside them.

I calmed them down. Poor empty pants with nobody inside them.”

It turned out that he had nothing to be scared of, in fact, he gained a friend. The title “What Was I Scared Of?” made me

think of a phrase found twice in the psalms and quoted in Hebrews:

“Whenever I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will

not fear, what can flesh do to me? … In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?”

(Psalm 56:3, 4, 11)

“Yahweh is on my side; I will not fear, what can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6)

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I

will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we boldly say, ‘Yahweh is my helper; I will not fear, what can man do to

me?” (Hebrews 13:5, 6)

The phrase I thought of was “what can man do to me?” Compared to Yahweh, men are a pair of empty pants – no matter

how pale, how green – they are nobody. Men can do things to us. Consider what David writes in Psalm 56:

“All day they twist my words, all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather together, they hide, they mark

my steps, when they lie in wait for my life.” (vv. 5, 6)

Men can do horrible things to us, but only within the sovereign will of God. And when we are convinced that Yahweh is on

our side (we trust that He is working all things together for good), we don’t need to fear what man will do to us (no matter

what their evil intents may be). In a sense, we can even welcome the evil as a friend because we know God means it for our

good. You remember the horrible things that Joseph’s brothers did to him – first wanting to kill him, but then selling as a

slave. After their father Jacob died, they feared that Joseph might take revenge upon them. But Joseph said to his brothers

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an amazing thing, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant

it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). I am sure Joseph did not

enjoy being sold, being a slave, being falsely accused, and being thrown into prison. But he was able to look back and see

that it was all part of Yahweh’s plan all along – to save his family and the inhabited world from famine.

If we could see things like Joseph did, we would say about all things that cause us to fear, “Yahweh is on my side, what was I

scared of?”

The Sleep Book (1962)

The first 26 Dr. Seuss books (we have looked at 25 of them, as I skipped one of his few adult books, “The Seven Lady

Godivas”) were all published before I was born. His 27th

book, the “Sleep Book” was released on August 12, 1962, when I

was six months old, so I may very well have been asleep. As is the case with many of his books, this one is fun to read.

Since I have done my share of talking in my sleep, I enjoyed this portion of the book:

Do you talk in your sleep? It’s a wonderful sport

And I have some news of this sport to report.

The World-Champion Sleep-Talkers, Jo and Mo Redd-Zoff,

Have just gone to sleep and they’re talking their heads off.

For fifty-five years, now, each chattering brother

Has babbled and gabbled all night to the other.

They’ve talked about laws and they’ve talked about gauze.

They’ve talked about paws and they’ve talking about flaws.

They’ve talked quite a lot about old Santa Claus.

And the reason I’m telling you this is because

You should take up this sport. It’s just fine for the jaws.

So what possible lesson could come from a story about sleep that spread all over the world, just because in the County of

Keck, a very small bug by the name of Van Vleck yawned so wide you could look down his neck? It made me think of Psalm

127:

“Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless Yahweh guards the city, the watchman

stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His

beloved sleep.” (vv. 1, 2)

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I was just reading Charles Spurgeon’s sermon that he preached on this verse. I particularly appreciated this portion about

God giving His beloved the sleep of quietness of soul regarding the future. He said:

“O that dark future! The present may be well, but the next wind may wither all the flowers, and where shall I be?

Clutch your gold, miser, for ‘riches make to themselves wings and fly away [Proverbs 23:5].’ Hug that babe to your

breast, mother, for the rough hand of death may rob you of it. Look at your fame and wonder at it, O you man of

ambition! But one slight report shall wound you to the heart, and you shall sink as low as ever you have lifted high

by the voices of the multitude. The future! All persons have need to dread the future, except the Christian. God

gives to His beloved sleep with regard to the events of coming time.

“What may be my future lot, high or low concerns me not;

This does set my heart at rest, what my God appoints is best.

“Whether I am to live or die is no matter to me; whether I am to be the ‘offscouring of all things [1 Corinthians

4:13],’ or ‘the man whom the king delights to honor [Esther 6],’ matters not to me. All is alike, provided my Father

doth but give it. "So He gives His beloved sleep." How many of you have arrived at that happy point that you have

no wish of your own at all? It is a sweet thing to have but one wish; but it is a better thing to have no wish at all—

to be all lost in the present enjoyment of Christ and the future anticipation of the vision of His face. O my soul!

What would the future be to you, if you had not Christ? If it be a bitter and a dark future, what matters it, so long

as Christ your Lord sanctifies it, and the Holy Spirit still gives you courage, energy, and strength? It is a blessed

thing to be able to say with Madame Guyon—

“To me 'tis equal, whether Love ordained,

My life or death, appoint me pain or ease;

My soul perceives no real ill in pain,

In ease or health, no real good she sees.

One good she covets, and that good alone,

To choose Thy will, from selfish bias free,

And to prefer a cottage to a throne,

And grief to comfort, if it pleases Thee.

That we should bear the cross is Thy command—

Die to the world, and live to sin no more;

Suffer unmoved beneath the rudest hand,

As pleased when shipwrecked, as when safe on shore.

“It is a happy condition to attain. ‘So He gives His beloved sleep.’ Ah! If you have a self-will in your hearts, pray to

God to uproot it. Have you self-love? Beseech the Holy Spirit to turn it out; for if you will always will to do as God

wills, you must be happy. I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of

bread and a little wafer, and lifting up her hands, she said, as a blessing, ‘What! All this, and Christ too?’ It is ‘all

this,’ compared with what we deserve. And I have read of someone dying, who was asked if he wished to live or

die; and he said, ‘I have no wish at all about it.’ ‘But if you might wish, which would you choose?’ ‘I would not

choose at all.’ ‘But if God bade you choose?’ ‘I would beg God to choose for me, for I should not know which to

take.’ Happy state! Happy state! To be perfectly acquiescent—to lie passive in His hand, and to know no will but

His. ‘So He gives His beloved sleep.’”

Sorry for the long quote, but I could never have written something this good (Spurgeon was only 20 years old when he

preached this sermon). I doubt very few enjoy this type of rest in God’s will, let alone “ninety-nine zillion, nine trillion and

two”. How about you?

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The ABC Book (1963)

Dr. Seuss’ “ABC” was obviously a book written to help children learn the alphabet. I put two of my favorite rhymes in

today’s photo. Just think of all the times you have said in your life, “Oscar’s only ostrich oiled an orange owl today” and you

could not have done it without the letter “O”. Well, even if this was the first time you said it, you still could not have done

it without the letter “O”. Anyways, is there a biblical lesson we can take from this book? I think there is.

At the end of the Book of Revelation, Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to

everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (22:12,

13). Jesus did not speak Greek, but Hebrew/Aramaic (Acts 26:14), so He would have actually said to John, “I am the Aleph

and the Tav (the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet).” It is the Apostle John, who begins his gospel with these

words:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning

with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. … The Word

was made flesh and tabernacle among us” (1:1-3, 14)

This obviously points us to the Creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, which includes the following:

“In beginning, created Elohim ALEPH-TAV heavens and ALEPH-TAV earth” (1:1)

“And saw Elohim ALEPH-TAV the light, that it was good” (1:4) (Day 1)

“Made Elohim ALEPH-TAV the firmament” (1:7) (Day 2)

“Made Elohim ALEPH-TAV two great lights: ALEPH-TAV the greater light to rule the day, and ALEPH-TAV the lesser

light to rule the night, and ALEPH TAV the stars. (1:16) (Day 4)

“Created Elohim ALEPH-TAV great sea creatures and ALEPH-TAV every living thing that moves, with which the

waters abounded, according to their kind, and ALEPH-TAV every winged bird according to its kind” (vs. 21) (Day 5)

“Made Elohim ALEPH-TAV the beast of the earth according to its kind, and ALEPH-TAV cattle according to its kind,

and ALEPH-TAV everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind” (vs. 25) (Day 6a)

“Created Elohim ALEPH-TAV man in His own image” (vs. 27) (Day 6b)

“Blessed Elohim ALEPH-TAV the seventh day” (2:3) (Day 7)

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Throughout the account, there is a small Hebrew word spelled ALEPH-TAV, which is not translated into English. It is found

between the Hebrew word for God (Elohim) and the things that are created (bara) or made (asah): light, firmament, great

lights (greater light, lesser light and stars), creatures that dwell in the sea, creatures that dwell in the air, creatures that

dwell on the earth, man and the Sabbath. Jesus said that He is the ALEPH-TAV. This represents the entire alphabet, from

which all words some from – remember John refers to Jesus as the Word, who was with God, was God and was made flesh

and tabernacle among us. The pattern “[Elohim] ALEPH-TAV [the thing made or created]” demonstrates the truth that John

declares that the Father made all things THROUGH the Word (through ALEPH-TAV, through Jesus). Interestingly, on Day 3,

there is no mention of creation or making (waters and land are separated, vegetation is brought forth) and we do not have

the ALEPH-TAV.

As important as it is for an English speaking person to know their “ABC’s”, it is even more important for us to know the

ALEPH-TAV, the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

Hop on Pop (1963)

As the photo indicates, Dr. Seuss’ “Hop on Pop” is “simplest Seuss for youngest use”. It is sort of a “Fun with Phonics” book.

There really is no story line – no moral. But in one of the rhymes, I saw something – the rhyme that is in today’s photo. An

older sister has two brothers who are just starting to read – so they can only handle very simple words like “if” and “it”. Her

father on the other hand can handle complex words like “Constantinople” and “Timbuktu”. Her reading ability is likely

between that of her brothers and her father. It made me think of something that John wrote in his first epistle:

“I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.

I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.

I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have

overcome the wicked one.” (2:12-14)

Three levels of spiritual maturity: little children, young men and fathers. Like the young brothers in “Hop on Pop” who

could handle only simple words like “if” and “it”, “little children” know two elementary things: (1) their sins are forgiven

because Jesus died on the cross for them; and, (2) God is their Father. Like the sister whose reading ability was between

that of her brothers and her father, “young men” are strong, the word of God abides in them, and they have overcome the

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evil one. Like the father who can read big words, fathers know the deepest thing – they know Him who is from the

beginning.

Interestingly, nine times (including the two uses here), John refers to his audience as “little children” and never as “young

men” or “fathers” outside this passage. It probably is an indication that many Christians remain “little children” most of

their lives. What else does John tell little children? Below are the seven additional passages, along with characteristics

that Spurgeon had in his sermon, “A Sermon to the Lord’s Little Children”:

(1) Children are apt to get in the mud: “Little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin. And if

anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus the Messiah the righteous. And He Himself is the

propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also the whole world” (2:1, 2). They didn’t need to sin – they

had been set free from the power of sin. But if they did sin, they needed to know that it was not just their past

sins that Jesus took to the cross, but all their sin and there was forgiveness.

(2) Children are fickle: “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even

now many antichrists have come, by this we know that it is the final hour. … You have an anointing from the Holy

One, and you know all things. … Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? He is antichrist who

denies the Father and the Son. … Let that abide in you which you have heard from the beginning” (2:18-24). They

did not need to be deceived by lies, because they had the Holy Spirit to teach them all things. They were not to be

“tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in cunning craftiness of

deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14).

(3) Children are apt to stray: “Little children, abide in Him, that when He appear, we may have confidence and not

be ashamed before Him at His coming” (2:28). They needed to know the truth that Jesus shared in John 15, “He

who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me, you can do nothing” (vs. 5). No matter how

mature they became, they would always be totally dependent upon the vine, Jesus.

(4) Children are very credulous: “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is

righteous, just as He is righteous” (3:7). Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil; therefore, a person who

continues to sin the way they did prior to their “conversion” is not born of God. They were not to listen to people

whose lives did not match their message.

(5) Children are apt to let their angry passions rise: “Little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in

deed and in truth” (3:18). They needed to know that true love toward God and others is evidenced in actions, not

words.

(6) Children are frequently timid: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them (false prophets),

because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (4:4). They did not have to fear Satan and his

workers, because God’s Spirit dwelt in them and is greater than all.

(7) Children are naturally fond of toys: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen”. It’s the last verse of

the letter. It is so easy to let something or someone else take first place in our hearts. They need to guard their

hearts with all diligence.

Dr. Seuss wrote “Hop on Pop” to help the youngest readers become better readers. One of the reasons John wrote this

epistle was to help “little children” become strong young men and eventually fathers. Are we still spiritually reading “if”

and “it” or are we reading “Constantinople” and “Timbuktu”?

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Fox in Socks (1965)

Dr. Seuss’ “Fox in Socks” is another book to help children read, but this time using tongue twisters like this one Mr. Fox tries

to get Mr. Knox to say:

Socks on chicks and chicks on fox,

Fox on clocks on bricks and blocks.

Bricks and blocks on Knox on box.

Now we come to ticks and tocks, sir.

Try to say this Mr. Knox, sir.

Clocks on fox tick.

Clocks on Knox tock.

Six sick bricks tick.

Six sick chicks tock.

As indicated in the photo, Mr. Knox says that he cannot say it because his “tongue is quick or slick”. That particular line

reminded me of Moses. At the burning bush, Yahweh had said to Moses, “Come now and I will send you to Pharaoh that

you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). At one point in trying to get out of the

assignment, Moses replies to Yahweh, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your

servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (4:10).

Is this a real excuse? Stephen in his sermon in Acts 7 indicates the following, “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the

Egyptians, and mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). This same phrase is used by the two walking to Emmaus, while

talking unknowingly to Jesus, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened

there in these days? … The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God

and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him”

(Luke 24:18-20). Jesus clearly did not have a speech impediment. So on one hand, it is possible that the excuse was not

real. However, on the other hand, it has to be remembered that it has been a lifetime since the time Stephen is describing.

Stephen was describing a young man less than 40 years old and now Moses is an old man of 80 years old – a broken man,

who had failed in delivering his people on his timetable and in his way, not Yahweh’s. He was on the backside of the desert,

a long way from the palaces of Egypt.

But Yahweh does not accept excuses. He says to Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf,

the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, Yahweh? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you

shall say” (4:11). All handicaps ultimately come from the hand of Yahweh – we may trace them to genetics or surgeon’s

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errors or poor health habits of a mother while pregnant – but it is God who decides if we are mute or can talk, if we are

deaf or can hear, if we are blind or can see, if we are lame or can walk. And our handicaps or limitations are never valid

excuses not to do what God is leading us to do. Yahweh promised Moses that He would be with him and his mouth –

empowering him each step of the way to say what he needed to say.

Moses needed to learn the truth that Paul learned, God’s grace is sufficient, His strength is perfected in weakness. The

apostle writes, “Most gladly I will rather boast of my infirmities, that the power of the Messiah may rest upon me.

Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Messiah’s sake. For when

I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). Our best place of ministry is probably in the place where we feel

inadequate, because then we will lean on Jesus rather than on our own strength and understanding.

Mr. Knox finally overcomes his inability to say a tongue twister with his own:

“When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating

poodle. THIS is what they call … a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled

wuddled fox in sox, sir!”

We will overcome our fears in service when we are convinced of the truth that when God calls, He also accompanies and

enables. If God is with us and enpowering us for ministry, we no longer have any valid excuses not to serve.

I Wish that I Had Duck Feet (1965)

This is the second book written by Dr. Seuss under the pen name Theo LeSieg. It is the story of a boy who wishes that he

had: duck feet, deer horns, whale spout, long tail and elephant trunk. Regarding the trunk, Dr. Seuss writes:

“AND SO…If I can’t have a tail, I’ll have a long, long nose!

A nose just like an elephant’s the longest nose that grows.

I wish I had a long, long nose and I can tell you why,

I think it would be very good to get a things up high.

Every kid in town would love it. Every kid but Big Bill Brown.

And every time I saw him I would sneeze and blow him down.

Say! I could help the firemen! My nose would be just right!

I could help them put out fires a hundred times at night.

Oh, I would do al lot of things that no one ever did.

And everyone in town would say, ‘Just watch that long-nose kid!’

BUT…If I had a long, long nose, I know what Dad would do.

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My dad would make me wash the car! The house and windows, too!

My dad would make me work all day and wash things with that hose!

I guess it would not be so good to have a long, long nose.”

Each time he wishes that he had something that he did not have. Each time he thinks of how great it would be to have it.

Each time he thinks how he can get at Big Bill Brown if he had it. Each time he thinks of the downside of having it. Until

finally, he says the words in the picture, “AND SO … I think there are some things I do not wish to be. And that is why I think

that I just wish to be like ME”.

When I read this story, I thought of biblical phrase “double-minded” (Greek dipsuchos or “two souled”). James writes:

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in

your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do

not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on

your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the

Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee

from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts,

you double-minded.” (4:1-8)

The main reason that this boy wanted duck feet, deer horns, whale spout, long tail and elephant trunk was to be more

popular and to hurt Big Bill Brown, in James’ words, to “spend it on his own pleasures”. Ultimately, where can this desire to

have things that we don’t have be traced? Just read Genesis 3; it was Satan that convinced Adam and Eve that God was

withholding something good from them. Paul writes to the Corinthians:

“I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the

simplicity (Greek haplotes, singleness) that is in Messiah. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

For this reason, James tells us to “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” We need to be single-minded. I think Peter

gives us a good indication of what this single-mindedness looks like:

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one

another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22)

James tells us that the double-souled need to purify their hearts. Peter tells us the purified souls spend their time loving

one another fervently (not trying to be popular with others or better than them). Wars and fights, coveting and murder are

left in the wake of double-souled individuals. But God’s love is shared by those who are single-souled because they are not

self-seeking, but others-seeking.

Our prayer should be that of David in Psalm 86, “Teach me Your way, O Yahweh; I will walk in Your truth. Unite my heart to

fear Your name” (vs. 11). For those who are constantly wishing they were something else other than themselves, I’d end

with these words from an Amy Grant song, “And all I ever have to be is what You've made me, Any more or less would be a

step out of Your plan. As you daily recreate me help me always keep in mind that I only have to do what I can find. And all I

ever have to be, all I have to be, all I ever have to be is what You've made me.” Just let Jesus touch others through the

person that He made when He made you.

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I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (1965)

The story “I Had Trouble Getting to Solla Sollew” begins as follows:

“I was real happy and carefree and young, and I lived in a place called the Valley of Vung

And nothing, not anything ever went wrong until … well, one day I was walking along

And I guess I got careless, I guess I got gawking at the daisies and not looking where I was walking

And that’s how it started. Sock! What a shock! I stubbed my big toe on a very hard rock.

And I flew through the air and I went for a sail and I sprained the main bone in the tip of my tail!”

He determines not to stub his toe like this again and keeps a very close lookout ahead for more stones. “But watching

ahead, well, it just didn’t work. I was watching those rocks, then I felt a hard jerk. A very fresh green-headed Quilligan

Quail sneaked up from in back and went after my tail! And I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come

from ahead and some come from behind”. He then tries to walk with one eye looking forward and one looking back. But

“then new troubles came! From above and below! A Skritz at my neck and a Skrink at my toe! And now I was really in

trouble, you know. The rocks and the Quail! And the Skritz and the Skrink! I had so many troubles, I just couldn’t think!”

Just about this time, a traveler comes along who sympathized with all the trouble that he is going through. He says, “I’ll tell

you what I have decided to do. I’m off to the City of Solla Sollew on the banks of the beautiful River Wah-Hoo, where they

never have troubles! At least, very few.”

He goes along but has more troubles than he ever trying to get to the City of Solla Sollew. When he finally arrives, he finds

the Gate Keeper of the city standing outside the door who says:

“’Welcome!’ he said as he gave me his hand. ‘Welcome, my son to this beautiful land.

Welcome to sweet, sunny Solla Sollew, where we never have troubles, at least very few.

As a matter of fact, we have only one. Imagine! Just one little trouble, my son.

And this one little trouble, as you will see, is that one little trouble I have with this key.’”

Well it turns out that for two weeks now there has been a Key Slapping Slippard in the keyhole and the gatekeeper has

been unable to open the door. He then shares what he has decided to do: “I’m leaving,” he said, “leaving Solla Sollew on

the banks of the beautiful River Wah-Hoo, where we never have troubles, at least very few. And I’m off to the City of Boola

Boo Ball on the banks of the beautiful River Woo-Wall, where they never have troubles! No troubles at all! Come on along

with me,’ he said as he ran, ‘And you’ll never have any more troubles, young man!”

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He thinks about it and then we have the highlighted words in the photo: “Then I started back home to the Valley of Vung. I

know I’ll have troubles. I’ll maybe get stung. I’ll always have troubles. I’ll maybe get bit by that Green-Headed Quail on the

place where I sit. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

This is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss’ books, even though I have just read it for the first time recently. It makes clear that

troubles are part of life – to be dealt with, not escaped from. We can’t escape our troubles, because I don’t know about

you, but my biggest trouble is my own heart and it goes with me wherever I go. In writing to the Ephesians, Paul tells them

and us, “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand

against the wiles of the devil. … Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and

having done all, stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of

righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith

with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword

of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (6:10-18). Truth,

righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, God’s word, and prayer – God’s armor is much better for handling our troubles than

the bat our young friend used.

We shouldn’t try escaping to Solla Sollew on the banks of the beautiful River Wa-Hoo or the City of Boola Boo Ball on the

banks of the beautiful River Woo-Wall. Rather we should take up the whole of armor of God and stand up to the troubles

God has designed for our lives to produce perseverance, character, hope and unshakable trust in God’s love (Romans 5:3-

5).

Come Over to My House (1966)

“Come Over to My House” is the third book that Dr. Seuss wrote under the pen name Theo LeSieg. In this book a child is

shown that there are many types of houses all around the world – different in many ways, but also the same in some

important ways. The opening words are:

“Some houses are bricks. Some houses are sticks.

Some houses are square and some houses are round.

There are all kinds of houses around to be found.

Some are on stilts high up off the ground

Some houses are wide. Some houses are thin.

Some are so thin you can hardly get in.

But wherever you go, you will hear someone say…

‘Come over to my house. Come over and play!’”

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No matter how big, no matter the climate, no matter what country, no matter what games are played, no matter what type

of food is eaten, no matter what type of heating system, and no matter what type of bathtub – the best houses are those

with wide open doors and friends inviting us in. The Bible has some special things to share about a particular door.

In Deuteronomy 7, looking back 40 years, Moses said to Israel:

“Yahweh did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for

you were the least of all peoples; but because Yahweh loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He

swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of

bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (vv. 7, 8)

Israel was enslaved in Egypt. The word translated “redeemed” (Hebrew “padah”) at its root means “open the door”.

Yahweh opened the door of the house of bondage and set His children free. Based on Exodus 12, that door was stained

with the blood of the Passover lamb. The Apostle Peter writes:

“Know that you were not redeemed with perishable things, like silver and gold, from your aimless conduct

received by tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood of Messiah, as a lamb without blemish and

without spot. … You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you

should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a

people, but now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 1:18,

19; 2:9, 10)

Yahweh opened two doors – one to let His people out of Egypt and a second to allow them into the Promised Land.

Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God not only opens up the door to set us free power of darkness, but opens up the door to allow

us “into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption” (Colossians 1:13). The amazing thing is that

Jesus is Himself the door into His kingdom:

“I am the door of the sheep. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The

thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they

may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9, 10)

A sheepfold had only one entrance and the shepherd would sleep across it – keeping predators out and the sheep in. As

the good shepherd, Jesus is the door. But He is not just any door – He is an open door. He says, “The one who comes to

Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). If the Father is drawing you, you don’t have to worry about Jesus saying, “Go

away!” He is the one that can open the door of the house of bondage, setting you free from sin and death, and open the

door of the house of God’s kingdom, giving you new life.

Sure it’s nice to have a friend open the door of their house and say, “Come over to my house. Come over and play”. But

there is nothing better than having Jesus say, “Come over to My house. Come over and stay”.

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The Cat in the Hat Song Book (1967)

Well in “The Cat in the Hat Songbook”, we learn that Larry the Cucumber (Veggie Tales) was not the first one to sing silly

songs. Since I like to eat and do math, I appreciated these two songs:

THE SUPER-SUPPER MARCH Hungry, hungry I am hungry, table, table here I come I could eat a goose-moose burger, fifteen pickles and a purple plum I could eat three bowls of goulash, half a pound of wuzzled wheat I could eat a peck of poobers then I'd really get to work and eat Oysters, noodles, strawberry stroodles, French fries, fish hash, one red beet Lamb chops, wham chops, huckleberry mish mash, oh, the things that I could eat Doughnuts, dump-a-lings, blueberry bump-a-lings, chocolate mush-mash, super sweet Clam stew, ham stew, water melon wush wush, oh, the stuff that I could eat Deep dish rhubarb, upside-down cake, I could eat a frittered flum Hungry, hungry, I am starving, table, table, here I come

I CAN FIGURE FIGURES One plus one minus one is one, none plus none minus none is none One plus none plus two makes three, I can figure figures, it's as easy as can be Two times seven minus three is eleven, two times eleven minus fifteen is seven Fifteen times thirteen is one hundred and ninety five, I can figure figures as well as anyone alive Twenty thousand turtles times ten tin tops plus fifteen billion buttons minus seven lollypops Divide by two bananas that makes eleventeen rich five noodles and a green string bean.

I am going to pass on the deep spiritual meanings in these songs and think about the first song in the book (“Let Us All

Sing”), which I have included in the photo. It made me think of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians and Colossians:

“Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making

melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord

Jesus Christ” (5:18-20)

“Let the word of Messiah dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do

all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (3:16, 17)

What do these passages tell us about godly singing?

1. It is the overflow of a heart that is filled with God’s Spirit and in which the word of Messiah dwells richly;

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2. It is the giving of thanks – always and for all things – to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus the

Messiah; and,

3. It is speaking, teaching and admonishing one another.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in Philippi and they are used of God to deliver a slave girl who had been possessed by a spirit

of divination. When her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they had Paul and Silas dragged into the

marketplace before the authorities. They are beaten with rods, received many stripes, and thrown into the inner prison

with feet in stocks. I would probably be miserable – longing to get out, but not Paul and Silas. Luke tells us that “at

midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (vs. 25). This is

not natural behavior, but rather the overflow of hearts filled with God’s Spirit and richly indwelt of the word of Messiah.

Paul was doing exactly what he told the Ephesians and Colossians to do – he was singing to God and he was admonishing

others. As a result of their singing, the Philippian jailer and his family believed on the Lord Jesus the Messiah and were

saved. We are told that the jailer “rejoiced, having believed God with all his household”. This mighty work of God occurred

primarily because Paul and Silas gave thanks always and for all things.

Are our lives characterized by that kind of singing? If not, we should pray, “Lord teach me to sing”.

The Foot Book (1968)

“The Foot Book” is a story that teaches kids about opposites using many different feet: left-right, morning-night, wet-dry,

low-high, front-back, red-black, slow-quick, sick-trick, up-down, small-big, and his-her. The idea of walking and opposites

made me think of several things that the Apostle Paul wrote to the assembly in Ephesus. In Ephesians 2 and 4, he reminds

them how they used to walk and should walk no longer:

“You were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according

to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we

all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by

nature children of wrath, just as the others.” (2:1-3)

“You should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding

darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness

of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with

greediness.“ (4:17-19)

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It is not a pretty picture. The Apostle Peter adds in his first epistle, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing

the will of the Gentiles — when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable

idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking

evil of you.” (4:3, 4). But we were not saved to continue walking this way – God has some opposite walking for us to do

(“for we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should

walk in them” [2:10]). Paul commands the Ephesians and us:

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with

all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of

the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (4:1-3)

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Messiah also has loved us and given Himself

for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (5:1, 2)

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit

is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” (5:8-10)

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (5:15-17)

Life without Jesus and life with Jesus could be summarized by opposite kinds of feet:

Dead feet – alive feet,

Futility of the mind feet - understanding the will of the Lord feet,

Foolish feet – wise feet,

Understanding darkened feet – light in the Lord feet,

Prince of the power of the air feet – imitating God feet,

Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind feet – finding out what is acceptable to the Lord feet,

Alienated from the life of God feet – worthy of the calling with which you were called feet

Given over to lewdness feet – loving and giving to others feet

Unclean feet – sweet aroma to God feet

Flood of dissipation feet – circumspect, redeeming the time feet

The list could go on and on. We are called to walk the opposite of way we walked before we were saved. We are to walk

worthy, in love, in light, in wisdom and doing the good works God prepared beforehand for us to do. “Before Jesus feet,

after Jesus feet, feet, feet, feet, oh the change should be complete”.

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The Eye Book (1968)

“The Eye Book” is the fourth book that Dr. Seuss wrote under the pen name Theo LeSieg. The simple message of the book

is that eyes see things – many things:

Our eyes see blue. Our eyes see red.

They see a bird. They see a bed.

They see the sun. They see the moon.

They see a fork, a knife, a spoon.

They see a girl. They see a man.

A boy, a horse, an old tin can.

As much as having eyesight is a blessing, our eyes cannot see the most important things. In 2 Kings 6, the king of Syria, who

had been making war with Israel, was not happy that Israel’s king Jehoram was receiving intelligence regarding troop

movements from Yahweh’s prophet, Elisha. So he surrounded Dotham, the city where Elisha and his servant, Gehazi, were

staying. We read:

“And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with

horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not

fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Yahweh, I

pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold,

the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (vv. 15-17)

Gehazi, with his physical eyes, could only see the Syrian army and the danger that he was in. But Elisha, with the eyes of

faith, could also see Yahweh’s army. The man of God knew the same truth that David knew:

“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear.

What can flesh do to me? … When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for

me. In God (I will praise His word), in Yahweh (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not be

afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3, 4, 9-11)

Three times David says that he has put his trust in God. The Hebrew word “batach” has the idea of clinging to something or

someone. Regardless of what David’s physical eyes told him, he clung to the truths that he knew about Yahweh. The writer

of Hebrews defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (11:1). His eyes were

telling him one thing (“a lot of people are trying to destroy me”), but there was something more important that he knew by

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faith (“God is for me and if God is for me, it doesn’t matter who is coming up against me”). We can’t see God, but He is

there:

“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say, ‘Yahweh is my helper; I

will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5, 6)

David and the writer of Hebrews were not so naïve as to believe that men could not hurt us. In Hebrews 11, the writer

describes those who endured torturing, mocking, scourging, chains, imprisonment, stoning, being sawn asunder, slain by

the sword and tormented (vv. 35-38). But men cannot do anything to us outside the sovereign will of our heavenly Father.

The first time I ever heard the song, “Open the Eyes of My Heart” was during a short term mission trip to Haiti in the

summer of 2002. It’s one of those songs that repeats a lot, but it’s a prayer worth repeating, “Open the eyes of my heart,

Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see You. I want to see You. To see You high and lifted up. Shinin' in the light of

Your glory. Pour out Your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy.”

Yes, we can see many things with the eyes in our head, but are we seeing the most important thing with eyes of our heart?

I Can Lick 30 Tiger Today! (1969)

In “I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today”, a young “Cat in the Hat” or younger relative of the “Cat in Hat” brags that he can fight and

beat 30 tigers. However, his boasting quickly fades when he is faced with 30 actual tigers and he begins to whittle the

number down. After telling a curly haired one to step out of line, even 29 seems like too much. Then he lets a group of 7

tigers leave, saying, “That’s sort of a mean thing to do. I’ll cut down my list. First group is dismissed. I’ll beat up

the next 22”. Next he tells the front row of 9 tigers, “Maybe I’ll lick 13. You in the front row, you’re excused, you

may go. Your fingernails aren’t very clean”. Then he decides that 5 tigers “seem underweight. It’s not fair, after all,

to lick tigers so small” and reduces the number he can lick to 8 tigers. However, when circled by these beasts, he decides

that 5 of them seem “sort of sleepy to me. Some of you chaps should go home and take naps. I only intend to

lick three”. He then gets rid of two saying, “It’s frightfully hot in the sun. You two, I’m afraid should lie down

in the shade. I shal l only lick one”. But then faced with the formidable task of lickin g a single tiger, we have

his final words (regarding licking tigers that is), “But you know, I have sort of a hunch that noontime is near,

you just wait for me here. I’ll beat you up right after lunch”.

The young cat bit off more than he could chew and instead of humbly admitting it, he just makes excuses. There are no

tigers in the Bible, but there is a passage that talks about a lion in 1 Peter 5:

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“You younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be

clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves

under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for

you.”

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may

devour. Withstand him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your

brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Messiah Jesus, after

you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” (vv. 5-10)

I included the first portion of this passage, because it is a reminder that when we are younger we often have misguided

notion that we know everything and can do anything (like lick 30 tigers). We need to learn that God resists the proud, but

gives grace to the humble. Our adversary, Satan, is compared to roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Remember when

Yahweh asked Satan what he was doing at the beginning of the book of Job, he replied, “From going to and fro on the earth,

and walking back and forth on it” (1:7). What does that mean? We get insight when Yahweh says, “Have you considered

My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

(1:8). In other words, “Satan, you are walking about seeking someone to devour, have you considered Job?” Why would

Yahweh say that? Peter tells us above, “the God of all grace, after you have suffered a while, [will] perfect, establish,

strengthen and settle you”. Satan is the unwitting servant of God, he can only attack us to the extent that God designs for

our good (1:12, 2:6). I would note that Satan is not omnipresent – he can only be in one place at a time, so it is highly

unlikely that any of us have ever actually been harassed by Satan himself. I am using the term Satan to represent

“principalities, powers, rulers of darkness in this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:13) that

are under him.

We are not called to lick Satan or rebuke Satan or bind Satan. I hate when I hear people say, “Satan, I bind you in the name

of Jesus”. Only Yahweh can rebuke Satan (Zechariah 3:2; Jude 9). All the Apostle says is “withstand” him. It is the same

Greek word used by Paul in Ephesians 6, “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil

day, and having done all, to stand” (vs. 13). It is God that licks Satan, not us. James says, “’God resists the proud, but gives

grace to the humble [Sound familiar??].’ Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (5:6, 7). We

submit to whatever God may have designed in allowing the evil one access to our lives, and in His time, He will send him

fleeing. In the passage above, Peter says “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God” accepting both good and

adversity (Job 2:10).

We cannot like 30 tigers today. We cannot even lick one roaring lion who wants to destroy us. But we don’t need to lick

him, we need only humbly submit to God, whose design is not destroy us, but rather to perfect, establish, strengthen and

settle us.

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The Glunk That Got Thunk (1969)

In “The Glunk that Got Thunk”, we have the main character from “I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today” and his sister. He indicates

that after supper his sister “turns her Thinker-Upper on. She lets it softly purr.

It thinks up friendly little things with smiles and fuzzy fur. She sometimes does this by the hour. Then when she's tired of

play, she turns on her UN-Thinker and un-thinks the things away.” One evening her Thinker-Upper “thunked a Glunk! He

was greenish. Not too cleanish. And he sort of had bad breath. ‘Good gracious!’ gasped my sister. ‘I have thunked up quite

a meth (mess)!’" Quickly she tries to turn on her Un-Thinker, but it does not get rid of the Glunk, who said to her, “You

can't Un-thunk a Glunk.

Ask anyone. They'll tell you that a Glunk can't be UN-thunk. I'm here to stay forever in your lovely, lovely home. And now,

with your permission, dear, I'll use your tele-phome. I'll call my mother every night. It gives her such great joy. She lives

nine thousand miles away and I'm her only boy."

The Glunk tells his mother the very long recipe for Glunker Stew, which includes “You take a cup of applesauce. You add a

pinch of straw. You drop in fourteen oysters, seven cooked and seven raw. You beat it to a frazzle with a special frazzle-

spade. Then you pour it in a rubber boot half filled with lemonade. Then you toss it in the mixer, where you spuggle it and

spin it... ‘Stop!’ my sister yelled.

‘This costs ten dollars every minute!’" The Glunk is not concerned with the cost of the phone call and continues talking to

his mother, “You take it off the mixer when the stew is nicely pink. Then you add a hunk of something ... Hunk of chuck-a-

luck, I think. Then you chuck in chunks of chicklets. Then you plunk in seven cherries. And THEN you plunk in, Mother

dear, three dozen kinds of berries. Now, Mother mine, please do this right. Those berries that you're plunking ... Unless

you plunk them with great care ... will keep the stew from glunking." Then Dr. Seuss tells us, “’Stop! Stop!’ my little sister

screamed. ‘It's not a funny joke. My father can't afford this call. My father will go broke!’"

The Glunk talks on for two hours. “He talked three hundred dollars' worth. My sister shook with fright.

‘This Glunk might cost us millions! He might jabber on all night! My father will be ruined! We'll be penniless!

We're sunk unless I can Un-thunk him. Oh, I MUST Un-thunk this Glunk!’" This brings us to the part of the story in

the photo. Her brother realizes that she cannot handle the Glunk alone and so he says, “So I turned on my

unthinker. We unthunk that Glunk together”.

This story made me think of Paul’s words at the beginning of Galatians 6, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass,

you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one

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another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Messiah. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he

deceives himself” (vv.1-3). God never intends for us to give into temptation: “No temptation has overtaken you except

that which is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with

the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). But sometimes who

do not take the way of escape and are overtaken in sin. We may get into a situation that we are unable to get ourselves

out. Someone has said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, keep you

longer than you want to stay”. Then what?

Paul describes this situation using the Greek word “baros” (burden), which is used in Matthew 20:12 to describe those who

worked from sunrise to sunset. The related adjective (barus) is used by Jesus in Matthew 23:4 in His woes to the scribes

and Pharisees, “They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not

move them with one of their fingers”. The “burden” in this portion of Galatians 6 (we will look at another one tomorrow)

represents a weight pressing down excessively on a person. Without help, they may become buried by this burden. They

need someone to come along and pick them up (“restore”) and hold them up (“bear burden”). Paul reminds us that we are

all subject to temptation and that we should not look down on someone who has been overtaken with trespass, because

next time it may very well be us who needs to be picked up and held up. We should not deceive ourselves thinking that we

are superior to anyone.

The little Cat in the Hat saw that his sister was in over her head and he came along side her and they unthunk the Glunk

together. Do you have a Glunk that you are unable to unthunk alone, don’t be too proud to accept help. Do you know

someone having difficulty unthunking a Glunk, don’t be too proud to offer help.

King Looie Katz (1969)

In “King Looie Katz”, we meet what is possibly an ancestor of the Cat in the Hat, the ruler of Katzen-stein back in the year

139. He is very proud of his tail and does not want it to get dirty dragging on the ground, so we read the words in the

photo, “Looie Katz made Fooie Katz follow him around. And Fooie kept the kingly thing from dragging on the ground.” But

then Fooie decides that he does not want his tail dragging either and he forces Kooie Katz to carry his tail. Then Kooie

forces Chooie Katz to do the same thing for him. Then Dr. Seuss writes, “Next, Chooie got Hooie, and Hooie got Blooie, and

Blooie got Prooie ... Till all the cats in Katzen-stein, were hiking round and round, all keeping one another's tails from

dragging on the ground.”

The only problem was “The last, last cat of all the cats that lived in Katzen-stein. A most unhappy little cat named Zooie

Katzen-bein. His tail would never be held up. And poor old Zooie knew it, because holding up a cat's tail takes another cat

to do it.” Or does it? “He simply yelled, ‘I Quit! I cannot, shall not, will not lug this stupid thing around!’ He slammed the

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tail of Prooie Katz! He slammed it on the ground. Zooie realized that he could hold his own tail up. Then Prooie slammed

Blooie's tail, and Blooie slammed Hooie's, and Hooie slammed Chooie's tail, and Chooie slammed Kooie's. All tails in Katzen-

stein were slammed including proud King Looie's. And since that day in Katzen-stein, all cats have been more grown-up.

They're all more demo-catic because each cat holds his own up.”

Yesterday, when thinking about “The Glunk That Got Thunk”, we thought about the first three verses of Galatians 6. There

we saw that Paul, regarding a person overtaken in sin, calls us to “bear one another’s burdens”. The Greek word translated

“burdens” had the idea of a weight pressing down excessively on a person. Today, we will look at Paul’s next words, “But

let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall

bear his own load” (vv. 4, 5). Paul, which is it, bear one another’s burdens or bear our own load? Well it’s both. Here Paul

uses a different Greek word (phortion), which is something that is carried without reference to its weight. Yesterday, we

looked at Matthew 23:4, where the Lord mentioned “heavy burdens”. The noun is “phortion” and the adjective is “barus” –

phortion indicating that it is something to be carried, but the adjective is needed to indicate that it is heavy. Jesus uses the

word in Matthew 11:

“Come to Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from

Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden

(phortion) is light.” (vv. 28-30)

Jesus indicates that His burden “phortion” is light, not heavy like the burdens the scribes and Pharisees laid on the people.

Why is it light? This passage is fascinating. In ancient pictographs, the Hebrew word for God (“El”) is made up of ox head

and a shepherd staff. Per Isaiah 9:4, a yoke is a "staff on the shoulders", so the two pictographs can represent "the ox in

the yoke". Often two oxen were yoked together - an older, more experienced ox and a younger, less experienced ox. The

older ox, through the yoke, teaches the younger ox. That was the Hebrew view of God. Look at what Jesus says, “take My

yoke, learn from Me” – it’s amazing, He is telling them that He is their God. The scribes and Pharisees did not lift so much

as a finger to help lift the heavy burdens they placed on others, but Jesus is in the yoke with us and so the load is light.

When we are burdened, it is because we are carrying something beside Jesus’ yoke.

As Zooie realized, he did not need anybody to hold up his tail, he could do that all by himself. In addition, he wasn’t going

to carry the tail of another cat that could also very well hold up his own tail. With everybody holding each other’s tails up,

very little was being accomplished in Katzen-stein. While there are times when we need others to help us get out from out

under a heavy weight, there are things God intends for us to carry ourselves – they are non-transferrable. In Ephesians

2:10, Paul writes “we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that

we should walk in them”. There are things God intends for me to do, things He intends for you to do. If I don’t walk in the

good works prepared for me, somebody else may find themselves doing them, keeping them from their good works.

Like Zooie, look at your hands. What are you doing with them? Are you wasting your time carrying around somebody

else’s tail, doing things that they can do themselves – forfeiting precious time to do the things God has called you to do?

Solomon writes, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or

wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). We only have so much time, let us bear the load Jesus has

for us.

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My Book About Me (1970)

In “My Book About Me”, Dr. Seuss provides a means for children to find out about themselves, while having fun writing and

drawing their own autobiographies. I have reproduced the page regarding school, putting the verbs into past tense. I

never went to school by subway or helicopter. In 2nd

grade, I started the year at Timothy Christian School in Piscataway, NJ,

which I got to by car. My parents bought a new house in Flanders, NJ, which was not ready at the time our apartment lease

was up, so we went to live with my Nana in Jersey City for a couple of months. During that time, I went to Lutheran

Parochial School of Hudson County and my mother walked me and my sister to school. When we moved to Flanders for the

last part of 2nd

Grade, I went to Flanders School (Mrs. Schedel’s class met over the firehouse across the street) and took the

bus. That is why 2nd

grade is split up into thirds.

Mr. Ziacoma was my teacher for geometry, advanced algebra & trigonometry, and probability & statistics. I love math and

science, if I did not, I probably would not have studied chemical engineering. I did well in English but did not like it. But in

7th

or 8th

grade, I don’t remember, I hated industrial arts (woodshop). There is a disconnect between my brain and my

hands when it comes to building things. To this day, I have a fear of power tools. I would much rather have taken home

economics, but 40 years ago, boys took industrial arts and girls took home economics. But all in all, I loved school and did

very well.

Why do I say these things? When it comes to autobiographies, which completing “My Book About Me” is sort of doing, I

like the Apostle Paul’s the best: “I am the very least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I

persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I

labored more abundantly than them all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me” (1 Corinthians 15:9, 10).

As I shared about the three different places I lived in 2nd

grade, I am reminded that it is God who “has made from one blood

every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries

of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord” (Acts 17:26, 27a). He determined the portion of the year the Busch’s

would live in Piscataway, Jersey City and Flanders. It is God who created me with my strengths (math, science, school in

general) and my weakness/limitations (working with tools). And even now, if God uses me in any way in my work with

children in God’s Backyard or chapel (teaching math this year) at Grace Christian School or in my Facebook posts, it is His

grace working through and in spite of me.

Ultimately, “My Book About Me” is really a book about Jesus and what He has done and is doing in my life because like Paul

“by the grace of God I am what I am”.

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I Can Draw It Myself by Me Myself (1970)

In “I Can Draw It Myself by Me, Myself w/ a Little Help from My Friend Dr. Seuss”, the reader is encouraged to complete

some drawings that Dr. Seuss didn’t finish. As the reader indicates as they do this page after page, they get better at

drawing. Finally, they are given a whole page with a gold frame in which they are encouraged to draw something big all by

themselves, with no help from Dr. Seuss. In the end, the child is given the sense of accomplishment of having co-illustrated

a book with the great Dr. Seuss.

In the book of Deuteronomy, after the children of Israel had spent forty years in the wilderness for their disobedience,

Moses said to them:

“Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow

out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and

honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are

iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless Yahweh

your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget Yahweh your God by not

keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest — when you have

eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks

multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted

up, and you forget Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who

led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land

where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with

manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in

the end — then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you

shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His

covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (8:7-18)

There is always the danger of forgetting that all our accomplishments are really God’s accomplishments through us. It was

not the Israelites that gained the wealth by their power and might, but rather Yahweh who had given them the power to

get wealth. I love what God directed Paul to write in Philippians 2:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my

absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to

do for His good pleasure.” (vv. 12, 13)

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Whatever we might do that pleases God, we only did it because God worked in us both the willingness and the ability to do

it. He allows us a sense of accomplishment, but we never say, “I did it all myself”. At the end of this book, the child signs

their name to the BIG SOMETHING. This made me think of part of the lyrics of Casting Crowns song “Lifesong”:

“I want to sign Your name to the end of this day knowing that my heart was true.”

In our lives, only God does BIG SOMETHINGS and we should want to sign His name to anything that He does through us, not

our own.

Mr Brown Can Moo! Can You? (1970)

“Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” shows the sounds "Mr. Brown" can make, such as a cow's "moo", a frying pan's "sizzle",

and a hippo's "grum". It was written so children would be able to learn about onomatopoeia (the use of a word that

phonetically imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes). Seeing that someone at the University of

Pennsyslvania once wrote a dissertation entitled, “Onomatopoeia & Related Phenomena in Biblical Hebrew: A Survey of

Certain Correlations Between Sound & Meaning in the Lexical & Phronological Levels of a Semetic Language”, God must

have employed onomatopoeia in the Scripture. Unfortnuately, I cannot read Hebrew, so I am not going to go in that

direction with this post.

Six times, Dr. Seuss asks the reader the question, “How about you?” The question comes on the heels of stating “the

wonderful things Mr. Brown can do”. Because Mr. Brown is able to something, readers (primarily young readers) are

encouraged to make an effort, “Maybe you can, too. I think you ought to try”. Mr. Brown sets the example that children

are to follow.

This year, Lord willing, I am going to be teaching 6th

grade math at Grace Christian School. On the first day (less than two

weeks away), Nancy asked me to give a devotional for the sixth graders reminding them that the rest of the children in the

school will be looking up to them, following their example, good or bad. As I was walking this morning, thinking about that

devotional and about what I could write about this Dr. Seuss’ book, I thought about Paul’s words to Timothy:

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith,

in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

Every aspect of Timothy’s life – how he spoke, how he acted, how he cared, how he focused, how he trusted, how he

obeyed – was to be a good example for other believers. Mr. Brown could make wonderful sounds. Could someone look at

my life and say, “Look at the wonderful walk Mr. Donald has with Jesus! Can you walk that way?” Not as much as I would

hope. For instance, with regards to faith. I talk all the time about believing in God’s sovereignty – a trust that God is always

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in control. However, this Saturday when Wesley and I were going to the Yankee game, I did the following: (1) got flustered

driving when I did not understand what the GPS was telling me to do; (2) worried whether we would get on the train or not;

and, (3) worried whether we would get into the game or not. I was not a very good example of faith to my son. You cannot

believe that God is in control AND worry/get flustered at the same time, the two do not go together. I proved by my

actions, that I don’t really believe that God is in control. My words say one thing and my actions another – I am a hypocrite.

We are all examples. The issue is whether we are being a good or bad example. Are you living a life worth following?

The Lorax (1971)

I am skipping the “I Can Draw It Myself”. I really could not think of something to write based on it. So we move onto “The

Lorax”. An individual known as the Once-ler starts to cut down Truffala Trees in order to make Thneeds. What’s a Thneed?

“A Thneed’s a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need! It’s a shirt. It’s a sock. It’s a glove. It’s a hat. But I has other uses.

Yes, far beyond that. You can use it for carpets. For pillows! For sheets! Or curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!” He and

his family greedily mass produce Thneeds, which brings the Lorax who says:

“’I’m the Lorax who speaks for the trees which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please. But I’m also in

charge of the Brown Bar-ba-loots who played in the shade in their Bar-ba-loot suits and happily lived, eating

Trufula Fruits. Now … thanks to your hacking my trees to the ground, there’s not enough Truffula Fruit to go

‘round. And my poor Bar-ba-loots are all getting the crummies because they have gas, and no food, in their

tummies! They loved living here. But I can’t let them stay. They’ll have to find food. And I hope that they may.

Good luck, boys,’ he cried. And he sent them away.”

Not only did the Once-ler chop down all the trees, but his factory polluted the air. The Lorax returns saying:

“’I am the Lorax, ‘ he coughed and he whiffed. He sneezed and he snuffled. He snarggled. He sniffed. ‘Once-ler!’

he cried with a cruffulous croak. ‘Once-ler! You’re making such smogulous smoke! My poor Swomee-Swans …

why, they can’t sing a note! No one can sing who has smog in his throat. ‘And so,’ said the Lorax, ‘please pardon

my cough – they cannot live here. So I’m sending them off.’”

The Once-ler was not only wrecking havoc with the land and air, but also the water. The Lorax says:

“Your glumping the pond where the Humming Fish hummed! No more can they hum, for their gills are all

gummed. So I’m sending them off. Oh, their future is dreary. They’ll walk on their fins and get woefully weary in

search of some water that isn’t so smeary.”

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With the trees gone, the Bar-ba-loots gone, the Swomee-Swans gone and the Humming Fish gone, finally the Lorax leaves.

The Once-ler says, “And all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rocks, with one word … ‘UNLESS’

Whatever that meant, well, I just couldn’t guess.” But as he recounts the story to the boy that came to find out what

happened to the Lorax, we read the words in the photo, “Now that you’re here, the word of the Lorax seems perfectly

clear. UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” The Once-ler gives the

boy the last Truffala seed and says, “You’re in charge of the last of the Truffala Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what

everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect

it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of this friends may come back”.

People and animals did not need Thneeds – they needed Truffula Trees. And the only way there would be a forest of

Truffula Trees once more is if this boy cared a whole awful lot – planted the seed, took care of and protected it until it

yielded a tree and then a forest of trees. Even more important than Truffula Trees is a relationship with God. In Genesis 3,

Adam and Eve were convinced by Satan that they needed the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of Adam’s

sin – all are separated from the life of God, with no hope. A dire situation, a seed and the word “unless” made me think of

John 12. It is there that we read these words of Jesus:

“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat

falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (vv. 23, 24)

UNLESS Jesus died, He alone would have fellowship with God the Father. He had to “care a whole awful lot” to die –

endure separation from the Father when He took our sin upon Himself on the cross. Paul writes, “For as in Adam all die

(separated from God), even so in Messiah all shall be made alive (restored to fellowship with God)” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Because the one grain of wheat fell into the ground and died, there will be much grain. Speaking of the Messiah, Isaiah

writes, “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for

He shall bear their iniquities” (53:11). Paul confirms this in Romans 5:

“For if by one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man,

Jesus the Messiah, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For

the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many

offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those

who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus the

Messiah. Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so

through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s

disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (vv. 15-19)

The “caring a whole awful lot” of the boy would hopefully bring back the Lorax, the Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans and

the Humming Fish. But even more importantly, the “caring a whole awful lot” of Jesus made it possible to bring us back to

God.

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Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now! (1972)

In “Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now”, an individual by the name Marvin K. Mooney has overstayed his welcome.

His host does not care how he leaves – by foot, by cow, on skates, on skis, in a hat, by bike, in an old blue shoe, on stilts, by

fish, in a Crunk-Car, by lion’s tail, by mail, by balloon, by broomstick, by camel, by bumble-boat, or by jet. The only thing

that matters is that he get. “Marvin K. Mooney I don’t care how. Marvin K. Mooney will you please GO NOW!”

Does the Bible say anything about overstaying our welcome? As a matter of fact, it does. Solomon writes, “Seldom set foot

in your neighbor’s house, lest he become weary of you and hate you” (Proverbs 25:17).

It’s not by accident that this passage is preceded by these words, “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need,

lest you be filled with it and vomit” (25:16). The Hebrew word translated “weary” in vs. 17 is the same Hebrew word

translated “be filled” in vs. 16. When we overstay our welcome, our host will feel like vomiting when he or she sees us. I

read the following in a commentary on this verse on www.letgodbetrue.com: “There are two common variations of this

proverb’s wisdom, one negative and one positive. It is said, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt,’ to warn against excessive time

with friends. Other than exceptional friends, the more time with another often leads to dislike. It is also said, ‘Absence

makes the heart grow fonder,’ to state the need for space and time even among friends. Valuable friends will be revealed

by an absence, for affection and desire to see the other party will increase. Do you know and observe both rules? It is easy

to overstay a visit, visit too frequently, call too often, talk too long, email too often, or text too frequently. These intrusions

can be a burden and lead to resentment and hatred. What you would never do to a stranger, you might easily do to a

friend. Beware!”

There is One that we can go to over and over and over who will not become weary or hate us or feel like vomiting. We read

Jesus’ words in Luke:

“Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a

friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from

within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and

give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his

persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” (11:5-8)

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying, ‘There was in a

certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to

him, saying, “Get justice for me from my adversary.“ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within

himself, “Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by

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her continual coming she weary me.”’ Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not

avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will

avenge them speedily.’” (18:1-8)

We go to people too often and to God not enough. People can be wearied, but God cannot be. We can go to Him

whatever the time, whatever the need, as often and as long as we need to. He does not say, “Come back later” OR “Oh, not

you again!” OR “Leave Me alone”. He wants us to always pray, even when it seems that His answers are slow in coming

(“bears long with them”). The unjust judge’s help was delayed out of indifference; but God’s help will come when we need

it, not necessarily when we want it. This delay may cause us to do something that does “weary” God. We read in Malachi

2, “You have wearied Yahweh with your words; yet you say, ‘In what way have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone

who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh and He delights in them,’ Or, ‘Where is the God of justice’” (vs. 17). We should

not become weary waiting upon Yahweh, His help will come at the perfect time. He is not unjust, nor does He delight in

evil.

Are we visiting, phoning, emailing or texting when we should be praying? Are we complaining about the slowness of

Yahweh’s answers or confidently waiting upon Him? Let’s not weary our friends or our God.

In A People House (1972)

Unable to put my hands on the text of “I Can Write! A Book by Me, Myself”, we move onto the sixth Theo LeSieg book, “In

A People House”. In this story, a mouse shows a bird around a People House. They see many things before they get booted

out:

“Come along, I'll show you more. Here's a ceiling, here's a floor.

Piano, peanuts, popcorn, pails, pencil, paper, hammer, nails

Salt and pepper, goldfish, key, table, telephone, TV

Come on! Come on! There's more to see!”

There are so many things in a people house – most of us have too much stuff. Most advertising is aimed at convincing us

that we need even more stuff to add to our collection of too much stuff – that we will be happy as soon as we have their

product. But of course, it is a lie and we have to move onto the next thing. We love stuff and the more stuff we have the

better. Near the end of the tour, the mouse points out in a passing manner, that a People House does have people in it.

When I first became a Christian, one singer that I really liked was BJ Thomas. He had a song with these opening words:

“Using things and loving people, that's the way it's got to be

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Using things and loving people, look around and you can see

That loving things and using people only leads to misery

Using things and loving people, that's the way it's got to be”

God gives us people to love and things to use, but all too often this is reversed – things are loved and people are used. In

Luke 19, we meet a chief tax collector named Zacchaeus. The image painted for us in the New Testament is that phrase

“tax collector” was used almost synonymously for the word “sinner” (e.g., “the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and

they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’”). In Luke 3, when tax collectors came to

be baptized and asked John the Baptizer what needed to change in their lives, he replied, “collect no more that what is

appointed to you” (vs. 13). As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus had become rich taking more than was appointed him – he

loved things and used people. But after he met Jesus, he said, “Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have taken

anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (vs. 9). Jesus replied, “Today salvation has come to this house,

because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost” (vs. 10).

Zacchaeus was not saved by using things and loving people instead of the other way around, but this change in his actions

was proof of the change God had made in his heart.

When we look at people houses – what do we place value upon – the things or the people? Our answer says a lot about

whether we have ever really been found by Jesus and if salvation has ever come to our People House.

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (1973)

“Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?” has a powerful message. It begins with these words:

“When I was quite young and quite small for my size, I met an old man in the Desert of Drize.

And he sang me a song I will never forget. At least, well, I haven't forgotten it yet.

He sat in a terribly prickly place. But he sang with a sunny sweet smile on his face:

‘When you think things are bad, when you feel sour and blue,

When you start to get mad...you should do what I do!

Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!

Some people are much more...oh, ever so much more...

Oh, muchly much-much more unlucky than you!’”

The old man goes on to describe some very unlucky people. My favorites is:

“And poor Mr. Bix! Every morning at six, poor Mr. Bix has his Borfin to fix!

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It doesn't seem fair. It just doesn't seem right, but his Borfin just seems to go shlump every night.

It shlumps in a heap, sadly needing repair. Bix figures it's due to the local night air.

It takes him all day to un-shlump it. And then...the night air comes back and it shlumps once again!

So don't you feel blue. Don't get down in the dumps. You're lucky you don't have a Borfin that shlumps.”

No matter how bad we think things are, there are many people in the world that have it “muchly, much-much more”

difficult than we do. Does that knowledge make our trials easier? Probably not, but it can give us a dose of perspective. I

do not use Dr. Seuss’ word “unlucky”, for I believe all things come into our lives by the hand of God, who “works all things

according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). My trials are designed for me, your trials are designed for you. It is

not necessary for us to understand what God is doing through our trials. I read this on FB yesterday, “We may not know

why things happen the way they do, but we can know God”. Whether we feel like it or not, God “supplies all our need

according to His riches in Messiah Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). God-designed grace for God designed trials. Here is a beautiful

poem by Annie Johnson Flint, which has become a hymn:

“He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, to multiplied trials His multiplied peace.

Chorus: His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, our God ever yearns His resources to share;

Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; the Father both thee and thy load will upbear.”

Greater grace for greater burden reminds me of what Paul shares in 2 Corinthians 12, “Lest I should be exalted above

measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I

be exalted above measure (God-Designed Burden). Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might

depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’ (God-

Designed Grace). Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Messiah may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Messiah’s sake. For when I

am weak, then I am strong” (vv. 7-10).

Instead of looking at people who seem to be having an easier time and being jealous that we are not in their shoes OR even

looking at people who seem to be having a more difficult time and being thankful that we are not in their shoes, we should

take pleasure in the shoes God has for us to walk in for they are meant to perfect us. God-designed grace is sufficient for

God-designed trials.

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The Shape of Me & Other Stuff (1973)

I love being tall. I was looking at some census data. For men between 50-59 years old, my height of 6’5-1/2” is in the 99.7th

percentile. As there are approximately 20 million men in that age group in the United States and I am taller than

19,950,000 of them. But one thing I don’t like about myself at all is the constant struggle that I have with my weight – a

struggle that I am presently losing. For that same group of men, my weight is in the 88th

percentile, which means I weigh

more than 17,600,00 of them.

David wrote in Psalm 139, King David said to Yahweh:

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows full

well”. (vs. 14)

These words echo Dr. Seuss’ in “The Shape of Me and Other Stuff” when he writes, “Hooray for the shapes we’re in!” If

David looked anything like Michaelangelo’s statute of him, I can certainly understand hm writing “I am fearfully and

wonderfully made”. But regardless of how much or how little we like our shape, both you and I are also “fearfully and

wonderfully made”. I know that most people will not agree with me, but I believe God is ultimately responsible for every

little detail about us, whether He worked through genetics or environment. I believe that the flaws in each of us whether

they be health problems (both physical and mental) and struggles with certain sins (e.g., gluttony, alcoholism, drugs,

homosexual tendencies) are part of us by His design. When Moses tried to get out of his calling with the excuse that he was

not eloquent, Yahweh said to him:

“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing or the blind? Have not I, Yahweh?”

(Exodus 4:11)

Whether a person can see or is blind, can hear or is deaf, can speak or is mute, is healthy or sickly, is tall or is short,

struggles with weight or not, struggles with alcohol or not, struggles with drugs or not, struggles with homosexuality or not,

and a million other details about our lives all come from Yahweh. Paul says something in Romans that most people totally

ignore, “God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (11:32). After Paul writes that

statement, he is amazed and starts worshipping God with these words:

“Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and

His ways past finding out” (vv. 33)

These imperfections in each of us are not licenses to sin, but rather divine opportunities for us to come to end of ourselves

and come to God for mercy. I do not believe that Yahweh intended Adam and Eve to stand. Remember He can do

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whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:6, 135:3). If God’s intention was for Adam and Eve to stand, then He failed. But God does

not fail. There are things about God – His forgiveness, His grace, His mercy, His patience, His lovingkindness and on and on,

that we could never understand apart from sin and death that entered the world at the Garden of Eden.

The weaknesses in our lives that we so detest are really gifts from God. It is through these inward weaknesses and outward

struggles that we learn how to be strong in Him (2 Corinthians 12:10). We are more fearfully and wonderfully made than

we could ever imagine, because every little detail of our lives (both what we consider good and what we consider flawed) is

by the design of the God of this universe.

There’s A Wocket In My Pocket (1974)

“There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” is a book of nonsense creatures and real parts of a house set together in ridiculous rhymes

(Wasket-Basket, Nureua-Bureau, Woset-Closet, Jertain-Curtain, Zlock-Clock, Zelf-Shelf, Nink-Sink, Zamp-Lamp, Yot-Pot,

Yottle-Bottle, Zable-Table, Ghair-Chair, Bofa-Sofa, Nupboards-Cupboards, Noothbrush-Toothbrush, Vug-Rug, Quimney-

Chimney, Zall-Hall, Yeps-Steps, Tellar-Nellar-Gellar-Dellar-Bellar-Wellar-Zellar-Cellar, Geeling-Ceiling, Zower-Shower, Zillow-

Pillow). The young man who has all these things in his house indicates that:

- Some are are nice (Ninks & Zamps);

- Some are friendly (Yots);

- Some are not friendly (Yottles);

- Some he likes (Zables & Ghairs);

- Some he wishes were not there (Bofas);

- Some are fun (Nupboards, Yeps, Tellars, Nellars. Gellars, Dellars, Bellars, Wellars, Zellars, Geelings, Zowers &

Zillows);

- Some he could do without (Noothbrushes);

- Some he is scared of (Vugs);

- Some he doesn’t like at all (Quimneys); and,

- Some make him nervous (Zalls)

He comes to the following conclusion: “That’s the kind of house I live in. And I hope we never leave it”. Despite the fact

that there is both good (nice, friendly, likable and fun) creatures and bad (unfriendly, unlikable, scary) creatures, the boy is

content with his home and does not ever want to leave it. What lesson can we take from a book of ridiculous rhymes?

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After his two rounds of adversity (first, losing all his livestock and children; second, losing his health), Job’s wife said to him,

“Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (2:9). To this Job replies, “You speak as one of the foolish women

speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?” (vs. 10).

The anguish that Jesus experienced on the cross probably exceeded the total anguish experienced by mankind for all time.

We see in the Garden of Gethsemane, that our Lord was not looking forward to it, but we hear Him pray, “O My Father, if it

is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Earlier in His ministry,

Jesus had said to His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). When He

came into the world, we are told by the writer of Hebrews that He said, “Behold I have come – in the volume it is written of

Me – to do Your will, O God” (10:7). Jesus embraced the will of His Father, both the good and bad.

We either love God’s will or we don’t – we can’t just accept the good things and reject the “bad” things. I put “bad” in

quotations because even the things that seem difficult to us are used of God to work toward our good. I have often

thought if it were God’s will for me to be blind would I want to keep my sight? Do I really love and embrace God’s will or

not? Someone once said to Fanny Crosby, who wrote over 9,000 hymns (i.e., the equivalent a hymn a day for 25 years), “I

think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you”. She had

been able to see for the first six weeks of her life. She responded, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make

one petition, it would have been that I was born blind?" Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden

my sight will be that of my Savior”. She embraced God’s will her life.

How about us? Do we embrace God’s will for our lives, both the Nupboards and the Noothbrushes?

Lou Gehrig & Dr. Seuss

In two recent posts, I have looked at Dr. Seuss’, “Have I Ever Told You How Lucky You Are?” and “There’s a Wocket in My

Pocket”. As strange as it may seem, both these books made me think of Lou Gehrig, probably my favorite Hall of Fame

player. On July 4, 1939, just two years before succumbing the disease that now bears his name, Lou Gehrig gave the

following speech:

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the

luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received

anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans."

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them

for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the

builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller

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Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology,

the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky."

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift —

that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with

trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles

with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that

you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of

strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know."

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”

His amazing speech could have been entitled, “Have I Ever Told You How Lucky I Am?” He is thankful for his fans, his former

teammates (Murderer’s Row), his current teammates (Bronx Bombers), his owner, his general manager, his managers, his

opponents, the groundskeepers, the children, his mother-in-law, his father and mother, and most importantly, his wife. In

an age when players seem to be only about money, cheat using steroids and cheat on their spouses, it sure would be nice

to have more people like Lou Gehrig.

Well that’s the connection to “Have I Ever Told You How Lucky You Are?” How about “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket”? My

post indicated that the lesson I saw was being willing to embrace God’s will – both the things that seemed good and the

things that seemed bad. Eleanor Twitchell Gehrig, the tower of strength Lou referred to in his speech, said the following

regarding their marriage , “I would not have traded two minutes of the joy and grief with that man for two decades of

anything with another. Happy or sad, filled with great expectations or great frustrations, we had attained it for whatever

brief instant that fate had decided”. They were only married for nine years and she would be a widow for 42 years. She was

thankful for both the joy and the grief that she has with Lou Gehrig.

Would that we all had attitudes more like Lou and Eleanor Gehrig – to see the blessings in the midst of adversity, but also to

embrace both.

Great Day for Up (1974)

In “Great Day for Up”, Dr. Seuss teaches children the various meanings of the word “up”, which can be used as an adverb,

as an adjective, as a verb, as a noun and as a preposition. The word “up” is used 46 times, but since grammar is not my

strong suit, I am not going to try to figure out the part of speech for each of its uses. The thing that struck me was the

words at the end of the book and I included in the photo:

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“Wake every person, pig and pup, till EVERYONE on earth is up!

Except for me. Please go away.

No up. I'm sleeping in today.”

It’s a really great day for everybody on earth to get up – everybody except the narrator that is, who plans on sleeping in.

For him, it wasn’t really a “great day for up”. When we say one thing and do another that is called hypocrisy. In Jesus’

famous “Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees” discourse in Matthew 23, He calls the Jewish leaders “hypocrites” seven times.

The discourse begins with these words:

"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and

do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear,

and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their

works they do to be seen by men.” (vv. 2-5)

Jesus said that for the most part, with men like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea being the exception, these religious

leaders said one thing (Scripture) but did another. Therefore, the people were to “do as they say, not as they do”. The

English word “hypocrite” is essentially a transliteration of the Greek word in the NT text (hupokrites), which basically meant

a stage-actor. Vine writes, “It was the custom of Greek and Roman actors to speak in large masks with mechanical devices

for augmenting the force of their voice”. Jesus indicates that these leaders did everything for show (“to be seen by men”).

However, what men saw was not what was in their hearts. They used the outward portions of the law (“paying tithe on

mint and anise and cumin” [vs. 23a]) to disguise the fact that they neglected the weightier matters of the law (“justice and

mercy and faith” [vs. 23b]).

But this is what Paul says about the law in his first epistle to Timothy:

“Now the purpose of the commandment is love, from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere

faith, which some , having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding

neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.” (1:5)

The word translated “sincere” is “anupokritos”, which could be translated, “without hypocrisy”. James also uses the word,

“the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good-fruits, without

partiality and without hypocrisy (anupokritos)” (3:17).

A common excuse people give for not coming to the Lord is that the church is full of hypocrites. Unfortunately that is true.

Even more unfortunate is the fact that the person writing this post is a hypocrite at times. Probably in at least a quarter of

my posts, I talk about God being sovereign, that all things come from His hand. However, as I shared recently, on my trip to

Yankee Stadium with my son: (1) I got flustered when I did not understand GPS directions; (2) I worried about there being

room on the train; and, (3) I worried about there being room in the Stadium. I was a poor witness. This week in my letter

to Wesley, I apologized for my hypocrisy and I shared some words from Keith Green’s “Song to My Parents”:

“Please try and overlook my, my human side

I know I'm such a bad example and you know I'm so full of pride”

But Jesus isn't like that - No He's perfect all the way,

I guess that's why we need Him 'cause by ourselves (ha) there's just no way”

Yes, I am a hypocrite – sometimes I do things I say people shouldn’t do and sometimes I don’t do things I say that people

should do. I am sorry if my hypocrisy and pride have in any way kept people from seeing the greatness of my Lord and

Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

It’s a great day for you to obey God; it’s also a great day for me to obey God.

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Wacky Wednesday (1974)

The seventh Dr. Seuss’ book written under the pseudonym Theo LeSieg was “Wacky Wednesday”. A boy wakes up on a

Wednesday morning that begins with a shoe up on his wall. The rest of the day he sees things that shouldn’t be, wherever

he looks – things like:

- Bananas growing from an apple tree

- A worm chasing a bird

- A mouse chasing a cat

- A real backseat driver w/passenger in front seat

- A traffic light with green “Stop” and red “Go”

- A picture of Abraham Lincoln entitled “Henry VIII”

- An American flag with red background and blue stripes

On each page the young reader is encouraged to find a certain number of things that are wrong. When I thought about

what was happening in this book, I thought about Isaiah’s words:

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter

for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (5:20)

Unfortunately we all do this to some extent in an effort to justify things we want to do that we know God does not want us

to do or to avoid doing things that we know God wants us to do. I was reading an article by Billy Graham from a 1964

edition of Decision Magazine in which he writes:

“Evil worms its way into our lives by presenting a harmless appearance, such as the full-page, full-color ads of ‘the

man of distinction,’ dressed impeccably, sipping a glass of whiskey with his friends in the warmth of a well-

appointed room. Such ads say nothing of the new alcoholics that are being made every day or of the problem of

excessive drinking that is eating at the heart of our civilization. Of course it wouldn’t be in good taste to show a

picture of a ‘man of distinction’ on Skid Row who began his drinking on Fifth Avenue but is ending it in the Bowery.

It wouldn’t be in good taste, but it would be honest. ‘Woe to those who call evil good!’”

“How do we get our values so mixed up? How do we fall into this trap of Satan? For one thing, we’re shortsighted.

We look for shortcuts to happiness. Our lust for immediate pleasure prompts us to think of evil as good.”

“Another way to call evil good is to say that morals are relative. Someone has said: ‘As the occasion, so the

behavior.’ We have changed our moral code to fit our behavior instead of changing our behavior to harmonize

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with our moral code. Nothing is firm today. We are not on solid ground. Young people are shifting from one side

to the other. Morally, they are drifting aimlessly without compass or guide.”

“Still another way that evil is called good is for the conscience to be perverted, and certainly our consciences today

are perverted. But right is right even if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong. God does

not change the moral law to suit our behavior.”

“Self-centeredness is another reason we are so inclined to call evil good. When something brings profit or pleasure

to us we are inclined to call evil good, even though we know it is dead wrong. ‘But it’s what I’ve always wanted,’

or, ‘It’s good for me, although I know it’s wrong’ are the alibis we have manufactured to justify evil and call it

good.”

“Also, through a popular technique called rationalization we find it easy to call evil good. How easy it is to place the

blame on others, on circumstances or on fate. From Adam, who said: ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me,

she gave me of the tree, and I ate,’ to a member of the Senate who says: ‘I did nothing that a thousand other men

would not have done,’ we excuse ourselves. We call evil good.”

In “Wacky Wednesday”, the boy simply needs to find all the things that are wrong and go back to bed and all goes back to

normal. It won’t be enough for us to simply identify where we are calling evil good and good evil through shortsightedness,

relativism, perversion, self-centeredness and rationalization. We need to pray with David:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23, 24)

We need God to expose our wicked ways and then we need to repent (turn from them) and walk in a way that is pleasing to

Him.

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! (1975)

“Oh the Thinks You Can Think” is about the endless possibilities and dreams that imagination can create. Before going too

far, we need to answer the question raised in the photo, “How much water can fifty-five elephants drink?” I guess there

are several answers, including: “A lot”, “More than 54 elephants, but less than 56 elephants”, “Depends on how thirsty they

are” OR “I don’t know, but a living dog is better than a dead lion” (Ecclesiastes 9:4). But if you want a more scientific

answer, a website about African elephants indicates that they can drink up to 225 liters a day or 60 gallons a day. Assuming

that all 55 elephants drink the maximum, the answer would be 3,300 gallons (i.e., 55*60). Based on the price of a bottle of

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water at Yankee Stadium ($5 for 16 ounces or $40 per gallon), if you were to take 55 thirsty African elephants to the game,

it would set you back $132,000 just for drinks. “Oh the Thinks You Can Think”.

I mentioned yesterday that I listened in one sitting to the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon with my

friend Charlie. I heard the following the following passage:

“Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. ‘Eat and drink!’ he

says to you, but his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, and waste your pleasant

words.” (Proverbs 23:6-8)

I don’t know how many times I have heard the phrase, “as he thinks in his heart, so is he” taken out of its context. In 1902 ,

a man named James Allen wrote a book called “As a Man Thinketh” based on his interpretation of Proverbs 23:7a. It’s the

interpretation that many give to this passage when quoted out of context. Allen wrote:

- A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.

- Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought.

- Right thinking begins with the words we say to ourselves.

There may be some truth to these words, but the truth does not come out of Proverbs 23:7. The verse is about a person

with an evil eye (literal translation of the Hebrew translated in the NKJV as “miser”). The translation “miser” may be related

to another passage in Proverbs where we read:

“He who has a good eye will be blessed, for he gives his bread to the poor” (22:9)

Since the man with a good eye is generous (i.e., he shares his bread with the poor), it would follow that the man with an

evil eye is a miser. Solomon is saying that you cannot judge such a person’s motives by his words. He may be saying, “Eat

and drink”, but the real person is revealed by his thoughts of his heart – his heart is not with you. Kiel and Delitzsch write:

“He only puts on the appearance of joy if you partake abundantly, but there lurks behind the mask of liberal

hospitality the grudging calculator, who poisons your every bite, every draught, by his calculating, grudging look.

Such a feast cannot possibly do good to the guest. Your meal which you have eaten you will spue out, i.e., will

vomit from disgust that you hast eaten such food, so that that which has been partaken of does thee no good.”

As can be seen, the passage has nothing to do with how many people use it. It’s not about positive thinking. It’s about the

begrudging thinking of a miserly hypocrite, who wanted to have given the appearance of hospitality, but hoped that you

would decline because he doesn’t really want to share with you.

There are a lot of great thinks we can think. The best thinks are thinks about God. Those thinks must come from Scripture.

But not just Scripture interpreted anyway we want, we must understand Scripture in context, doing our best to discern

what the author intended to communicate to that original audience before we try to determine what it means to us.

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Would You Rather Be A Bullfrog? (1975)

Unable to put my hand on the text for “The Many Mice of Mr. Brice”, we move onto the ninth Theo LeSieg book, “Would

You Rather Be A Bullfrog?” In this book, the young reader is asked to choose between being one thing or another. For

instance, we read:

“Would you rather be a Jellyfish, a Sawfish or a Sardine? AND would you rather be THIS Thing...or That...or the

Thing that's in between?”

The title of the story comes from having to choose between being a bullfrog or a butterfly. Personally I wouldn’t want to

either – I don’t think I would like living in a pond and I don’t like butterflies. But let me ask you, how many bullfrogs are

bullfrogs because they decided to be bullfrogs. This story reminded me of a phrase that I absolutely despise – free will. My

Bible indicates the there is only one Being in the universe that has free will and that would be Yahweh Himself. In his

sermon at the Areopagus in Athens said the following to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers:

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples

made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life,

breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,

and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” (Acts 17:24-26)

Did you decide to be a descendent of Adam? Did you decide to live in the 20th

and/or 21st

century? Did you decide to be

born in the United States? No, we had no part in those decisions – a sovereign God determined our preappointed times

and the boundaries of our dwellings. We had no choice these “minor” details, yet so many people say that people are

saved by their “free will”. There’s a problem with that and it is stated clearly in Romans 3:

“There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.” (vv. 10,

11)

This truth is not original with the Apostle Paul, as he is quoting the opening words of David’s Psalm 14. Look at what it says,

“no one seeks after God”. So how do any of us come to Him? Jesus tells us very clearly in John 6:44:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

The Greek word translated “draws” is “helkuo” and it means “to drag”. Among its uses in the New Testament consider

these:

“Simon Peter went up and dragged (helkuo) the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and

although there were so many, the net was not broken.” (John 21:11)

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“But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged (helkuo)

them into the marketplace to the authorities.” (Acts 16:19)

“And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged (helkuo) him out of the

temple; and immediately the doors were shut. (Acts 21:30)

“But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag (helkuo) you into the courts?”

(James 2:6)

Were the fish being dragged to shore in the net by their free will? Were Paul and Silas being dragged before the authorities

by their free will? Was Paul being dragged out of the temple by his free will? Were the poor being dragged to court by

their free will? No, no, no, no! All these things were against “free will”. We come to Jesus by God’s free will, not ours. Left

to ourselves, we would never come because “no one” seeks after God. I have left out one verse by Jesus that gives great

hope:

“’And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will drag (helkuo) all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what

death He would die." (John 12:32, 33)

Being a human is better than anything else in creation. Living in the United States is better than living in most other

nations. Living in the 21st

century has many advantages over living in earlier ages. But I cannot take credit or pride in any of

these things, because they are only true because they are part of God’s sovereign design for my life. All the more, I cannot

take credit or take pride in being a believer in the Lord Jesus, for he dragged me to Himself 33 years ago. I wasn’t seeking

Him. It’s all of Him. The Apostle John states very clearly in the opening chapter of his gospel:

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to

become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the

flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (vv. 11-13)

We may have received Jesus, but we did not do it by our “free will”, but God’s. We are not smarter than our non-believing

neighbors, friends and family – God chose to drag us before He drags them.

Because A Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! (1975)

This is the only book written by Dr. Seuss under the pseudonym “Rosetta Stone”. The story is very similar to “How Officer

Pat Saved the Whole Town” (from “Horton & the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Stories”). As the title suggests, a little bug

sneezes, setting off a chain reaction:

1. A little bug’s sneezes causing a seed to drop on a worm.

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2. The worm gets mad and kicks a tree causing a coconut to drop on the head of a turtle.

3. The turtle falls into the lake and makes a splash causing a hen to get wet.

4. The hen gets mad and kicks a bucket causing it to land on the head of Farmer Brown.

5. Farmer Brown cannot get the bucket off his head causing him to telephone for help.

6. The policemen, answering the call for help, hit a big stone causing the side car to go flying in the air.

7. The side car lands on the boat, the Mary Lou, making a hole and causing it to sink.

8. Mrs. Brown calls for more help causing a helicopter to come to the rescue.

9. The helicopter carries the Mary Lou to town for repairs, but runs into a circus parade causing “something they’ll

never forget. As far as I know it’s going on still.”

I want to focus on that last phrase “something they’ll never forget. As far as I know it’s going on still”. Long after the little

bug sneezed there were lasting consequences. In 2 Chronicles 12, we read the following:

“Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam (son of King Solomon) had established the kingdom and had strengthened

himself, that he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel along with him. And it happened in the 5th year of King

Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against Yahweh,

with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt … . And he

took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the

leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, ‘Thus says

Yahweh: “You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.”’” (vv. 1-5)

Rehoboam had led the house of Judah into idolatry and Yahweh gave them over to the king of Egypt. The chronicler then

records, “So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, ‘Yahweh is righteous’” (vs. 6). Because

they repented of their sin, the following word came from Yahweh through the prophet Shemaiah:

“They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My

wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they will be his servants, that

they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations." (vv. 7, 8)

God forgave their sin (i.e., they were not destroyed), but He did not completely remove the consequences (i.e., they had to

serve the king of Egypt). The story continues:

“So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of Yahweh and the

treasures of the king’s house; he took everything.” (vs. 9)

Forgiveness – yes! Complete cancellation of consequences – no! In this case, Yahweh lessened the consequences (“some

deliverance”, not “total”). Consider the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After he wasted his inheritance, his father

enthusiastically accepted his son back into the family (i.e., he was forgiven). But if this was a true story, when his father

died, he would have nothing, for all the father’s wealth now belonged to his older brother (Luke 15:31). The consequences

of his riotous living would affect him the remainder of his life. He could never get back the money he wasted.

It’s a wonderful truth of the new covenant that Yahweh “will forgive [our] iniquity and [our] sin [He] will remember no

more” (Jeremiah 31:34). But He loves us too much to removed consequences, for it is through suffering those

consequences that we learn to love Him more than our sin.

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Cat’s Quizzer (1976)

I enjoyed the TV show “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” As it turns out, most of us are not – seeing only two

individuals in the history of the show won the $1,000,000 grand prize – one was the superintendant of public school in the

State of Georgia and one was a winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. The subtitle for “The Cat’s Quizzer” is “Are you smarter

than the Cat in the Hat?” When you start to read the book though, you are actually trying to find out if you are smarter

than Ziggy & Zizzy Zozzfozzel, a brother and sister, who when asked all these questions, got a 100% - 100% wrong!

In the photo, I have put some of my favorite questions from the quiz. The question that particularly interested me was the

last one – does your family have a one-or-two-car grudge? The way that I took that question was – does it take one or two

garage bays to hold all the unforgiveness in your family – how many people are you unwilling to release from the wrong

that they have done to you?

In Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus a question, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to

seven times?” (vs. 21). Jesus does not applaud Peter’s generosity to be willing to forgive someone seven times, but says to

him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (vs. 23). He then proceeds to tell the Parable of

the Unforgiving Servant. In the parable, it is found that a particular servant owes his master ten thousand talents. How

much is that? According to Exodus 30:11-16, every male over the age of 20 years old was to give a half shekel of silver as

part of the census. According to Exodus 38, the census revealed that there were 603,550 men, which resulted in 100

talents and 1,775 shekels of silver. The 3,550 men each giving 1/2-shekel resulted in the 1,775 shekels. The remainder

600,000 men each giving 1/2-shekel resulting in 1,000 talents shows us that a talent was worth 3,000 shekels (i.e., [600,000

men]*[0.5 shekels/man]/[100 talents]). A shekel was four days’ wages. Let’s assume that you get paid $10 per hour and

work 8 hours per day. This would mean that the talent would be worth nearly $1 million (i.e., [3,000 shekels/talent]*[4

days/shekel]*[8 hrs/day]*[$10/hr]). Therefore, 10,000 talents would be approximately $10 billion – an amount that no one

would be able to repay. The master freely forgives him the debt. The servant then goes out and finds a fellow servant who

owes him 100 denarii. How much is that worth? A denarius was about a day’s wage (Matthew 20:2). Using the same

arithmetic as above, we would be talking about $8,000 (i.e., [100 denarii]*[1 day/denarius]*[8 hrs/day]*[$10/hr]). By no

means is it an insignificant amount. But compared to the $10 billion this slave had been forgiven, it was not worth talking

about. Even if we multiply $8,000 by 490, we only get $3,920,000, which is 0.04 percent (not 4%, but 0.04%) of $10 billion.

Jesus’ point is the same as the Apostle Paul’s when he wrote, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one

another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). If we were really aware of the depth of the sin God had

forgiven us, we would not have a problem forgiving others. No matter how many door garages believers may have, they

should have no-door grudges.

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Hooper Humperdink …? Not Him! (1976)

“Hooper Humperdink…? Not Him!” is the tenth book Dr. Seuss wrote using the name Theo LeSieg. In this story, a young

person is planning a party and making an invitation list. The list includes, as best as I can tell, 96 named or referenced

children: Alice, Abe, Bob, Bill, Babe, Charlie, Clara, Cora, Danny, Davey, Daisy, Dora, Dinny, Dot, Elma, Elly, Ethel, Ed, Frieda,

Francis, Frank, Fred, George, Gus, Gary, Henry, Hedda, Hank, Harry, Irene, Ivy, Izzy, Ike, Joe, Jerry, Jack, Jim, KK Kats Banner

Bearer #1, KK Kats Banner Bearer #2, Lucy, Luke, Lum, Lester #1, Lester #2, Mark, Mary, Mike, Mabel, Nora, Norton, Nat,

Newt, Olivetta Oppenbeem, Pete, Paul, Pinky, Pat, Pasternack, Perkins Boy #1, Perkins Boy #2, Plimton Gal #1, Plimton Gal

#2, Quintuplet #1, Quintuplet #2, Quintuplet #3, Quintuplet #4, Quintuplet #5, Ralph, Rudolph, Ruth, Russ, Sally, Sue, Solly,

Sonny, Steve, Stoo, Simpson Sister #1, Simpson Sister #2, Tim, Tom, Ted, Ursula, Ubb, Vera, Violet, Vinny, Wilbur, Waldo,

Winnie, Xavier, Yancey, Yipper, Zacharias, Zeke and Zipper. But as the title of the story indicates, Hooper Humperdink is

definitely not going to be asked.

On every page, we see Hooper watching all the fun from afar and longing to be asked. But for some reason, the story teller

does not like him and feels very strongly about excluding him from the party. However, finally we read these words:

“All my good friends from A to Z! The biggest gang you’ll ever see! The biggest gang there’ll ever be!

A party big and good as this is too good for anyone to miss

And so, you know, I sort of think, I will ask Hooper Humperdink!”

This party is too good for anyone to miss. The kingdom of God is REALLY too good for anyone to miss. However, the

religious leaders of Jesus’ day didn’t feel that way as we read in the opening words of Luke 15:

“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him (Jesus) to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes

complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (vs. 1, 2)

The Pharisees and scribes were very content not to invite tax collectors and other sinners to the party. Overhearing their

complaint, Jesus shares the following parable that has at least one similarity with this Dr. Seuss story (1 child out of nearly

100 [actually 98 {96 names above + storyteller + Hooper Humperdink}] is outside where everyone else is):

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the

wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his

shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them,

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in

heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.’” (vv. 4-7)

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If we are going to understand this parable, we must remember that there is no such thing as righteous person that have no

need of repentance, only self-righteous people who don’t think they need to repent, who think they are already at the

party. I like what one person wrote on the internet regarding Jesus’ question “what man of you?”:

“My mind is screaming out NOT me. I'm not going to leave 99 sheep out in the WILDERNESS just to find one that is

lost. That's silly; while I'm out looking for the lost sheep wolves could get in among the flock, killing and maiming

some in my herd and scattering the rest into smaller herds. Or some could just wander off and become lost sheep

themselves, or again split into many herds eating the grass that is sweetest to their own taste. So to my mind I

don't see the benefit of saving one to lose many. So ‘WHAT MAN OF YOU...’ well, not me and not any farmer I

know. And if they did go looking for the lost sheep, they certainly would not leave the 99 in the wilderness. They

would bring them back to a corral or get another shepherd to look after them.”

But obviously Jesus would do this. Notice that in the parable the lost sheep goes to the party, not back to the flock. The 99

sheep in the wilderness represent the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes who do not believe that they are sinners and

have no need of repentance. They don’t get to come to the party, the kingdom of God (cf., Luke 15:25-30). The only ones

that get to come to the party are those who know that they are lost and need a Savior. Jesus focus is not in restoring the

total flock number to a hundred, but finding that one lost sheep. Jesus said in Matthew 8 regarding the religious leaders:

“Many will come from east and west (people like the centurion from Capernaum) and sit down with Abraham,

Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom (Jewish religious leaders) will be cast into

outer darkness.” (vs. 12)

In a sense, our only hope is to become like Hooper Humperdink – a little lost one longing to be invited to the party – not

because we deserve it, but because Jesus doesn’t want us to miss it (Matthew 1814). We’re all lost, but you can’t be found

until you know you are lost.

Please Try to Remember the First of Octember (1977)

This is the eleventh book by Theo LeSieg (bka Dr. Seuss). Its theme is that you will get whatever you want when Octember

the First comes around. However, as there is no month of Octember, we are left with the truth that we cannot have

everything we want. The opening words of the story are:

“Everyone wants a big green kangaroo.

Maybe, perhaps, you would like to have TWO.

I want you to have them. I’ll buy them for you

If you’ll wait till the First of Octember.”

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The phrase “everyone wants a big green kangaroo” reminded me of very first silly song on Veggie Tales:

Larry: “Everybody's got a water buffalo. Yours is fast but mine is slow

Oh, where we'd get them, I don't know. But everybody's got a water buffalo”

“I took my buffalo to the store, got his head stuck in the door

Spilled some lima beans on the floor. Oh, everybody’s got a …”

Archibald: “Stop. Stop. Stop right this instant. What do you think you’re doing? You can’t say everybody’s got a

water buffalo, when everybody does not have a water buffalo. We’re going to get nasty letters saying, ‘Where’s

my water buffalo? Why don’t I have a water buffalo?’ And are you prepared to deal with that? I don’t think so,

just stop being so silly.”

Getting whatever you want on the First of Octember is an empty promise. But how about these words of Jesus in three

sequential chapters in the gospel of John?

“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in

My name, I will do it.” (14:13, 14)

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit

should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name He may give to you.” (15:16)

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name

He will give you.” (16:23)

If Jesus was talking about simply adding the phrase “in the name of Jesus” to the end of a prayer, then Archibald should be

coming out saying, “Stop, stop, stop. Jesus, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t say, ‘whatever you ask the Father in

My name He will give you’. Lots of people don’t get what they ask for in Your name! We’re going to get nasty letters

saying, ‘I prayed for something in name of Jesus and I didn’t get it!’”

Jesus doesn’t give empty promises like the promise of Octember the First. So, the problem is our understanding of “in the

name of Jesus”. The Hebrew word for “name” is “shem” and its ancient root means “breath”. The breath of a man is

character, what makes one what he is. The name of an individual is more than an identifier but descriptive of his character

or breath. To pray in the name of Jesus is to pray as Jesus would pray – only for the will of God (Luke 22:42). The Apostle

John wrote in his first epistle:

“Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are

pleasing in His sight.” (3:22)

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if

we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

(5:14, 15)

If we live like Jesus (keep His commandments and do only those things that are pleasing in His sight), then we will also pray

like Jesus (ask only for God’s will). And if we ask for God’s will, then we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. The

problem is that all too often we don’t live or pray like Jesus and then get frustrated that our prayers are not answered in

the affirmative.

We may waste our whole lives waiting for things like Octember the First that are never going to come because they are

outside the will of God. Like waiting for ship that sails to “Alaska, Nebraska and Sweden. Making stops in Ga-dopps and the

Garden of Eden”. Instead we should arm ourselves with the mind of Messiah, living for and praying for God’s will (1 Peter

4:1, 2).

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I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (1978)

“I Can Read with My Eyes Shut” stresses the importance of reading, “The more that you read, the more things you will

know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” The “Cat in the Hat” tells his son or young cat friend that:

“I can read with my left eye. I can read with my right.

I can read Mississippi with my eyes shut tight!

Mississippi, Indianapolis, and Hallelujah, too!

I can read them with my eyes shut! That is VERY HARD to do!”

…

“And when I keep them open I can read with much more speed.

You have to be a speedy reader 'cause there's so, so much to read!

…

“Young cat! If you keep your eyes open enough,

Oh, the stuff you will learn! The most wonderful stuff!

…

“There are so many things you can learn about. BUT

You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”

The contrast between reading with your eyes shut or open made me think of Paul’s contrast between worldly wisdom and

spiritual wisdom in 1 Corinthians 2:

“We speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who

are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained

before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have

crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of

man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His

Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man

except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things

that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches

but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive

the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually

discerned.” (vv. 6-14)

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Unlike all other books that have ever been written, the Bible cannot be understood unless you have the Author abiding with

you – the Spirit of God must reveal its meaning. The Bible is spiritual; it cannot be understood if we are spiritually dead –

“alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18). Paul indicates that “the natural man does not receive the things of the

Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”. Trying to

understand the Bible in that state is as futile as reading any other book with your eyes shut. But even when we have been

made alive through repentance and faith in Jesus the Messiah, we have to stay in close fellowship with the Author or the

Bible will still remain a mystery. The psalmist prayer should be ours:

“Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your Law.” (119:18)

Wondrous things – the things God has prepared for those who love Him, the things which the natural eye cannot see, the

things that the natural ear cannot hear, the things the natural mind cannot comprehend. Don’t read with your spiritual

eyes shut.

Oh Say Can You Say? (1979)

Dr. Seuss’ “Oh Say Can You Say?” is a book of tongue twisters. In the photo, I have reproduced one called “Fresh, Fresher &

Freshest”. I haven’t seen a Sear’s Catalog in a long time, but I remember they used to advertise items (e.g., refrigerators) as

“Good”, “Better” and “Best”, with the price increasing as the quality went up. The same was probably true at Finney’s. It

may be fine to settle for a good refrigerator or two day old fish at Finney’s, but we should never settle for less than God’s

best for our lives.

Solomon tells us twice in the Book of Proverbs, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death”

(14:12, 16:25). Ultimately, all ways that “seem right to a man, but lead to death” are shortcuts from doing things God’s way.

In Matthew 4, Satan offered Jesus three shortcuts:

1. Jesus had not eaten for 40 days. So Satan says, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones become bread”.

Jesus response to Satan, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from

the mouth of God’” hearkens back to Deuteronomy 8 and Yahweh reminding Israel of His provision of manna.

Israel complained that God was not providing food. When He did, they disobeyed the rules regarding manna

collection. Unlike Israel, Jesus was going to depend on His Father’s provisions, even it meant being hungry for a

time – no shortcut.

2. In the final book of the OT, there is this prophecy, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way

before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant,

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in whom you delight. Behold He is coming” (Malachi 3:1). In his second temptation, Satan takes Jesus to the top of

the temple and says to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written, ‘He shall give His

angels charge over of you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone’”,

quoting Psalm 91:11, 12. This was a shortcut to instant popularity. If Jesus came floating down from the temple

pinnacle, people would have made a connection with Malachi 3 and He would have been accepted. But Scripture

said that the Messiah would be “despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”

(Isaiah 53:3). The point of the psalm that Satan quotes is “I will say of Yahweh, He is my refuge and my fortress; My

God, in Him I will trust” (vs. 2). It is about trusting God, not testing Him. And so Jesus responds, “It is written, ‘You

shall not tempt Yahweh your God’” (vs. 7). Jesus was going to go the way prepared for Him by His Father, even

though it meant rejection rather than popularity – no shortcut.

3. In Satan’s third temptation, we read: “All these things (kingdoms of the world and their glory”) I will give to You if

You will fall down and worship me”. In Psalm 2, the Father says to the Son, “You are My Son, today I have begotten

You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession”

(vv. 7, 8). The things being offered by Satan had already been guaranteed by the Father. However, we read at the

beginning of this psalm, “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing! The kings of the earth set

themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh and against His Anointed (Messiah)” (vv. 1, 2). In

Acts 4, the apostles saw this Scripture fulfilled in “truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both

Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your

hand and Your purpose determined before to be done” (vv. 25-28). Satan’s timing was before the cross, the

Father’s was after the cross. Jesus responds, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Yahweh

your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (vs. 10). Jesus was going to do things according to the timing of His

Father, even if it meant dying – no shortcut.

For Jesus, the most special Person in His life was His Father. He was going to depend on His Father’s provisions even if it

meant being hungry, do things His Father’s way even if it meant being rejected, and do things according to His Father’s

timing even if it meant dying on a cross. In His prayer in John 17, Jesus defined “life” as “knowing the one true God and

Jesus the Messiah Whom He sent” (vs. 3). Every day the “way of life” and the “way of death” is set before us (Jeremiah

21:8) – the one leading us closer to God, the other leading us farther away from Him. The way of death may seem more

attractive (Genesis 3:6), but there’s a reason that it’s called the way of death – it leads us away from the Source of life.

Choose life and don’t settle for less than God’s best for your life.

Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should be a Vet! (1980)

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“Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should be a Vet!” is the twelfth book Dr. Seuss wrote under the pseudonym Theo

LeSieg. It introduces the young reader to many different careers, in fact about 75 of them: ticket taker, pizza maker,

lobsterman, jockey, TV fixer, ballet dancer, soda mixer, astronaut, zookeeper, tailor, sailor, nailer, jailer, wrestler, writer,

waiter, dentist, florist, forester, oil refiner, diamond miner, dress designer, paper hanger, bass drum banger, plumber,

policeman, bride, pet shop owner, money loaner, slide tromboner, perfume smeller, fortune teller, turkey farmer, teacher,

preacher, clown, coffee perker, iron worker, fireman, tireman, telephone wireman, picture framer, lion tamer, tightrope

walker, talker, jet pilot, vet, deep-sea diver, beehive hiver, actor, tractor operator, taxicab driver, computer lab assistant,

tennis pro, optometrist, hockey pro, podiatrist, chemist, lepidopterist, glass blower, mushroom grower, fishbone boner,

roller coaster owner, ballooner, grand-piano tuner, Olympic champion, mountain guide, sculptor, noodle noodler, mystery

guy, spy, vester, jester and hammock tester.

It is important to determine what it is God wants us to do with our lives, as Dr. Seuss says:

“Olympic champion? Mountain guide?

It’s not easy to decide.

You’ve got to be someone! You can’t just be a doodler.

You could be a sculptor … or, perhaps, a noodle noodler.”

If you have ever been with me in a meeting or in church during a sermon, you know that I love to doodle – but doodling

doesn’t really accomplish anything and neither does just talking. That is why for this lesson, I want to focus on the words,

“Some guys make good tightrope walkers. Other guys are better talkers”. I am sure that you have heard the saying, “if

you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk”. It conveys the same idea as, “talk is cheap”, “practice what you

preach”, “actions speak louder than words” or Benjamin Franklin’s “well done is better than well said”. Unfortunately,

when it comes to living like Jesus, all too often we are better talkers (or in my case, Facebook writers) than walkers.

Regarding the religious leaders of His day, Jesus said:

“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but

do not do according to their works; for the say, and do not do.” (Matthew 23:2, 3)

Unlike scribes and Pharisees whose actions were not to be imitated, Paul could say to the Philippians, “the things which you

learned and received and HEARD AND SAW in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (4:9). Paul talked and

walked. We need to be both hearers and doers of God’s Word (James 1:22-25). It’s not enough to say we are Christians;

we must walk as Christ walked (1 John 2:6). At the end of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27), Jesus compared

non-doing hearers to fools who build their houses on sand and hearing doers to the wise who build their houses on the

rock. Finally, no one is going to hear Jesus say, “Well said, good and faithful servant”, but a few will hear, “Well done, good

and faithful” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

And so, in the spirit of Dr. Seuss, I would end this lesson with these words:

We can’t be just fat chewers.

We can’t be just talkers.

We have to be doers.

We have to be walkers.

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The Tooth Book (1981)

“The Tooth Book” is the final Dr. Seuss’ book written under the name Theo LeSieg. As the title suggests, it is a story about

the importance of teeth and taking care of them. The story ends with these words:

“SO … don’t chew down trees like beavers do

If you try, you’ll lose set number two

And don’t be dumb like Mr. Glotz

Don’t break your teeth untying knots

And don’t be dumb like Katy Klopps

Don’t try to chew off bottle tops

Don’t gobble junk like Billy Billings

They say his teeth have fifty fillings

They sure are handy when you smile

SO keep your teeth around awhile

And never bite your dentist when he works inside your head

Your dentist is your teeth’s best friend, bite carrot sticks instead.”

I’d like to focus on the phrase in the photo, “that’s all the teeth you’ll ever get”. Teeth are important for without them: (1)

snails cannot smile; (2) clams cannot eat hot dogs, ham, roast leg of lamb, peanuts, popcorn, pizza, SPAM, or huckleberry

jam; and, (3) jellyfish cannot play the trombone. But there is something even more important than the two sets of teeth we

are given – it’s the one life we are given. Charles T. Shedd wrote the following soul-searching poem:

“Two little lines I heard one day, traveling along life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart, and from my mind would not depart;

‘Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.’”

“Only one life, yes only one, soon will its fleeting hours be done;

Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, and stand before His Judgment seat;

‘Only one life,’ twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.’”

“Only one life, the still small voice, gently pleads for a better choice

Bidding me selfish aims to leave, and to God’s holy will to cleave;


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“Only one life, a few brief years, each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;

Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;


“When this bright world would tempt me sore, when Satan would a victory score;

When self would seek to have its way, then help me Lord with joy to say;


“Give me Father, a purpose deep, in joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;

Faithful and true what e’er the strife, pleasing Thee in my daily life;


“Oh let my love with fervor burn, and from the world now let me turn;

Living for Thee, and Thee alone, bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;


“Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, ‘Thy will be done’;

And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all’;


What else really needs to be said – only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last. How much of what

we do is wood, hay and straw (1 Corinthians 3:12)? How are we spending the one life we’ve been given?

Hunches in Bunches (1982)

We often struggle with the question, “What is God’s Will for My Life?” Generally, we are thinking in terms of “what college

should I go to?”, “who should I marry?”, “what job should I take?”, or “where should I live?” We are often like the young

boy in this story, who “had a mind, but [he] couldn’t make it up”. He goes onto say:

“Oh, you get so many hunches that you don’t know ever quite

If the right hunch is the wrong hunch, then the wrong hunch might be right!

… By now my mind was so mixed up I really didn't know

If I wanted to go to the barber shop or to Boise, Idaho.”

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Does God want us to be confused about His will? The Bible may not give us particular answers to the big questions we

often associate with God’s will, but it is very clear about His will. In fact, He tells us very clearly seven things that He desires

for all people: saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submitted, serving, suffering and saying thanks. We read:

1. Saved – “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wills (Greek - thelo) all men to be

saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,

the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6);

2. Spirit-Filled – “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will (Greek - thelema) of the Lord is. And do

not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things

to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:17-20);

3. Sanctified – “For this is the will (thelema) of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual

immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion

of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5);

4. Submitted – “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as

supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of

those who do good. For this is the will (thelema) of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance

of foolish men.” (1 Peter 2:13-15)

5. Serving – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will

(thelema) of God.” (Romans 12:1, 2)

6. Suffering – “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should

suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify

the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the

hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers,

those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will (thelema) of God, to

suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:13-17)

7. Saying Thanks – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will (thelema) of

God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

In his booklet “Found: God’s Will”, Pastor John MacArthur wrote 9 years before Dr. Seuss wrote “Hunches in Bunches”:

“God’s will is that you be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, [serving], suffering [and saying thanks]. God’s

word makes that very clear. You say, ‘MacArthur, you were going to tell me what school I should go to. You were

going to tell me God’s will, specifically. You haven’t done it!’ OK, let me give you the final principle, but hold onto

your seat! You may want to jump up and shout! If you are doing all [seven] of the basic things, do you know what

the next principle of God’s will is? Do whatever you want! If those [seven] principles of God’s will are operating in

your life, who is running your wants? God is! The psalmist said, ‘Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give you

the desires of thine heart’ (Psalm 37:4). God does not say He will fulfill all the desires that are there. He says He

will put desires there! If you are living a godly life, He will give you the right desires.”

Many people are under the assumption that “will of God” will be distasteful, that He is going to make us do something we

don’t want to do. But if we are focusing on the “Seven S’s of God’s Will”, His desires will become our desires and it will

become much easier to make up our mind in the face of all those Hunches that come at us.

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The Butter Battle Book (1984)

“The Butter Battle Book” is clearly a story about the Cold War between the United States and the USSR. There are two

groups of people: the Yooks who eat their bread with butter-side up and the Zooks who eat their bread with the butter-side

down. The story is told from the viewpoint of a young Yook, whose grandfather was part of the Zook-Watching Border

Patrol at the wall separating the Yooks from the Zooks. Every time the grandfather brings a weapon, a Zook named VanItch

brings an equal or bigger one. Until finally, they have a standoff, each holding a Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo, capable of totally

destroying the other’s town. And that is how the story ends, leaving the reader hanging, wondering if either or both would

ever actually use the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo.

I don’t believe that the difference between the goals of the US and the goals of the USSR were as trivial as which side of the

bread was buttered, but that is not the point of my post. Even sadder than the Yooks and the Zooks is the differences that

separate Christians, as illustrated in the following “joke”:

“A man was walking across a bridge one day, and saw another man standing on the edge, about to jump. The

following conversation ensued:

Man #1: ‘Stop. Don’t do it.’

Man #2: ‘Why shouldn’t I?’

Man #1: ‘Well, there’s so much to live for!’

Man #2: ‘Like what?’

Man #1: ‘Are you religious?’

Man #2:: ‘Yes.’

Man #1: ‘Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist?’

Man #2: ‘Christian.’

Man #1: ‘Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?’

Man #2: ‘Protestant.’

Man #1: ‘Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?’

Man #2: ‘Baptist.’

Man #1: ‘Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?’

Man #2: ‘Baptist Church of God.’

Man #1: ‘Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?’

Man #2: ‘Reformed Baptist Church of God.’

Man #1: ‘Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of

God, Reformation of 1915?’

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Man #2: ‘Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915.’

Man #1: ‘Die, heretic scum,’ and pushed him off.”

It’s would be funny if it wasn’t so sad, but it does demonstrate how often Christians treat those who do not believe just as

they do. The word “heretic” gets thrown around way too often. The Apostle Paul summarized the essentials in these

words, “God our Savior desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, that there is one God and one

Mediator between God and men, the Man Messiah Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:4-6). The

Apostle John gives the lowest common denominator for believers: (1) “every spirit that confesses that Jesus the Messiah

came in the flesh is of God”; (2) “whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God” (1 John

4:15); and, (3) “whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God” (1 John 5:1). We can have differences on lots of

things but not these things: (1) there is one God, Yahweh; and, (2) there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man

Messiah Jesus, who is the Son of God, came in the flesh and died on the cross as a ransom for all men.

To call someone a heretic for anything beyond this is just plain wrong. When you come to the end of your life, it doesn’t

matter if you were charismatic or non-charismatic; Arminian, Calvinist or universalist; futurist, preterist or historicist;

supralapsarian or infralapsarian; amillennialist, pre-millennialist or post-millennialist; dispensationalist or covenant

theologian; and the list could go on and on. It is not that we cannot study and have strong opinions on these matters, but

they should not be tests of fellowship. Paul writes, “Receive one another, just as Messiah also received us, to the glory of

God” (Romans 15:7). The Greek word “proslambano” translated “receive” means to welcome, to take to oneself. Did Jesus

only welcome us to Himself if we had the right eschatology, ecclesiology, and soteriology. No, that’s ridiculous. All that we

knew was that we were sinners and that He died for us, we repented of our sins and put our trust in Him.

There was a time when I would battle over things like those listed above just like a Yook or a Zook, but God has changed

me. I don’t care what side of your bread you butter – I just want you to know the one true God and Jesus the Messiah

whom He sent.

You’re Only Old Once! (1986)

Here’s how one review on Amazon describes “You’re Only Old Once”: “Subtitled ‘A Book for Obsolete Children’, this

unusual item in the Seuss canon doesn't really belong among the children's books. Written to celebrate the nonsense

master's 82nd birthday, it follows ‘you’ (an elderly gent in a suit and white moustache) through a physical check-up in some

fiendish geriatric clinic. You are measured, prodded, and subjected to all the medical indignities familiar and unfamiliar to

the elderly. ‘You must see Dr. Pollen, our Allergy Whiz, who knows every sniffle and itch that there is. He will check your

reactions to thumbtacks and glue, catcher's mitts, leaf mould, and cardigans too. Nasturtiums and marble cake, white and

blue chalks, anthracite coal and the feathers of hawks.’ It's clear that the process is going to be long, but much shorter than

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the bill. The blurb on the back says it all: ‘Is this a children's book? Well... not immediately. You buy a copy for your child

now and you give it to him on his 70th birthday.’ Actually, it would make an amusing gift for anyone over 40.”

I find the use of the word “canon” with regards to Dr. Seuss sort of humorous. When I think of the word “canon”, I think of

the canon of Scripture – the list of books that are the Word of God, not men. The Greek word “kanon” denoted a straight

rod, used as a ruler or measuring instrument. Anything that we call “truth” must be measured against what is said in the

biblical canon (Genesis – Revelation). But that is a side note. When reading this book, I thought of the last chapter of

Solomon’s Ecclesiastes – a part of God’s canon. We read:

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near

when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’: While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened,

and the clouds do not return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men

bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim;

when the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of grinding is low; when one rises up at the sound of a bird,

and all the daughters of music are brought low; also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way; when the

almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails.” (12:1-5)

When you are young, you don’t think about getting old. But my dad used to say, “There’s only one alternative to getting

old” and, of course, that would be dying young. I am sure many, who are in Dr. Seuss’ terminology “obsolete children”, find

that there are days when they say, “I have no pleasure in them”. Due to sorrow of lost spouses and friends and pains of

illness, there are days when the sun does not seem to come out and the clouds do not lift.

Our bodies begin to wear out. The “keepers” refer to the hands and arms – they begin to tremble. The “strong men” refer

to the legs – they begin to bow down. The “grinders” are the teeth – they begin to fall out. “Those who look through the

windows” are the eyes – they begin to grow dim. The “doors” are the ears – they begin to shut, letting in less and less

sound. Sleep may become difficult (“one rises at the sound of a bird”). “Daughters of music” may refer to speech – which

may be brought low. Everything about life may become overwhelming and there is much fear (“they are afraid of height

and of terrors in the way”). Almond tree blossoms are white – referring to the hair turning grey. The smallest things

(“grasshoppers”) may begin to feel like heavy burdens. With all these difficulties, desires – even the desire to live – may

fail.

The “difficult days” of old age are not an ideal time to begin to trust in or serve your Creator. Solomon ends this book with

these words, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.

For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (vv. 13, 14). The Hebrew

word translated “all” at its ancient root means “tame for the yoke”. An animal that is tamed has been worked and is

complete and ready for use. The real reason that we are here is to learn to fear God and keep His commandments (again I

cannot help but point out that the Hebrew idea of God is that of an older ox who is yoked to a younger ox to teach it).

Every day, every week, every month, every year, and every decade that we are not yoked to our Creator is a day, week,

month, year or decade that is wasted. And if we are not learning to fear God and keep His commandments, there will be

more evil works that God will bring into judgment.

The “difficult days” of old age may not be as enjoyable as the “days of our youth”, but it is far better to go through those

difficult days with your Creator than through the enjoyable days without your Creator. You only live once, so live it yoked

to Jesus.

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I Am NOT Going To Get Up Today (1987)

In “I Am NOT Going to Get Up Today”, a lazy boy decides to stay in bed even if his mother tries the following:

“You can try with the dogs and roosters. You can try with the goats and geese. But I’m going to go on snoozing. You can bring in the police. You can print it in the papers. Spread the news all over town. But nothing's going to get me up. Today I’m staying down. You can shoot at me with peas and beans! You can bring in the United States Marines! You can put the whole thing on TV. But I won't get up today! Not me! Nothing’s going to get me up. Why can't you understand! You’ll only waste your money if you hire a big brass band. That’s why I say ‘please go away I am NOT going to get up today!’”

Being lazy for one day isn’t a big issue, but some people make a habit of it. My Page-A-Day calendar had an amusing joke

about a lazy young man: “Ever since he’d graduated from college, Kevin had spent most of his time lying on the couch,

playing video games, and drinking. One day, as he reached for another can of beer, he fell off the sofa and landed on his

head. He was rushed to the hospital, and after they’d taken an X-ray, the doctor came to his bedside with a diagnosis. ‘I’m

sorry, Kevin, but I have some bad news,‘ he said, ‘Your X-rays reveal that you’ve broken your neck. I’m afraid you’ll never

be able to work again.’ ‘Thanks, Doctor,’ Kevin said calmly, ‘Now, what’s the bad news?’”

Proverbs has plenty of bad news about being lazy. Dr. Seuss’ words, “My bed is warm. My pillow's deep” remind me of

Solomon’s words, “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep”. Solomon asks questions regarding

the length of laziness and states the consequences of it:

“How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little

folding of the hands to sleep — so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed

man.” (6:9-11)

If you are given to laziness, you might as well have a robber come and take all that you have - because that is the path you

are heading down. Here is what else Solomon says about sluggards:

“The soul of a sluggard desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.” (13:4)

“A sluggard buries his hand in the bowl, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.” (19:24)

“The sluggard will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing.” (20:4)

“The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.” (21:25)

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“I went by the field of the sluggard, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all

overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down.” (24:30, 31)

“As a door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.” (26:14)

It’s a pathetic picture. Even before the fall, Adam was given work (“Yahweh God took the man and put him in the Garden of

Eden to tend and keep it” [Genesis 2:15]). It was only with the entrance of sin that toil and sweat came (Genesis 3:17-19).

Now when the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” – “immovable” obviously does not mean to lay on your couch playing

video games and drinking beer, for he continues saying, “always abounding in the work of the Lord”. Jesus said to His

disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). In the Upper Room, Jesus was

able to pray, “I have finished the work You have given Me” (John 17:4). At the end of his life, the Apostle Paul was able to

write, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). If we are going to be

able to say with Jesus and Paul that we have completed the work God gave to us, we cannot spend too many days being

slothful. In one of my favorite movies (“The Sound of Music”), Maria is speaking with the Reverend Mother and she is

asked what the most important lesson is that she has learned at the abbey. Maria replies: “To find out what is the will of

God and to do it whole-heartedly”. That’s a lesson we all need to learn whether we are thinking of become a nun or not.

Dr. Seuss ends the story with these words, “I guess he really means it. So you can have the egg.” The mother gives a hard-

boiled egg that was to be the boy’s breakfast to the policeman. Remembering Jesus’ words about the will of God, are you

going to eat the food the Lord has for you or is He going to have to give it to somebody else?

The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough (1987)

“The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough” is very different than the others we have looked at. The cover states:

“Long before Dr. Seuss was a children’s book author – before the first of the Cat in the Hat’s nine lives – Ted Geisel

was a writer and cartoonist for humor magazines. His text pieces were nonsensical and hilarious and his cartoons

were devoted to all sorts of zany subjects, from visual puns to absurd scientific and language lessons. Geisel –

signing his inspired work Dr. Theophrastus Seuss from the start – captured the nation’s attention and tickled its

funny bone immediately upon his graduation from Dartmouth in 1925. He was swept up by Judge magazine, the

leading cartoon and humor weekly of the Roaring Twenties, and soon became a major contributor to its pages. For

the next dozen years Dr. Seuss created a wealth of comic masterpieces for Judge, Life, College Humor, and Liberty.

It is from these sources that this collection, The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough, is drawn.

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I’d like to look at the title story. As shown in the photo, the storyteller is having a difficult time all because of the various

ways English words ending in “ough” can sound. The story continues:

“The ministry being closed to me, I then got a job as a chore boy on the farm of an eccentric Mr. Hough, who

happened to spend most of his time in the bough of a tree overhanging a trough. I was watering a colt one

morning when I noticed that Mr. Hough's weight had forced the bough down into the water. "Mr. Hoo!" I shouted,

‘Your Boo is in the Troo!’ Thinking I was speaking lightly of his wife, Mr. Hough fired me on the spot.”

“So I drifted into the prize ring. But here again the curse of the oughs undid me. One night at the Garden, I was

receiving an unmerciful trouncing from a mauler twice my size. Near the end of the sixth round I could stand it no

longer. I raised my feeble hand in surrender. ‘Eno! Eno!’ I gulped. ‘I'm thruff!’ ‘Insults like that I take from no man!’

bellowed my opponent, and he slugged me into a coma! Something snapped! -- a maddening flash -- and all

became black. Fifteen years later I awoke to find myself the father of three homely daughters named Xough,

Yough, and Zough.”

The ough words can sound five different ways: uff (e.g., tough, Hough, enough), off (e.g., cough, trough), ow (e.g., plough),

oh (e.g., dough, bough, thorough), and oo (i.e., through). Just within the title of the story, the ough changes sound four

times. It cannot be counted on. It’s true of us also – sometimes we can be depended upon and other times we let people

down. Sometimes we are wise, other times we are foolish. Sometimes we are kind, other times we are mean. But no so

with our heavenly Father. James writes:

“But every good endowment and every complete gift must come from above, from the Father of all lights, with

whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency.” (1:17 [Phillips])

There is not the slightest variation or inconsistency in His character or His dealings with us. The Father of all lights states

the following in the last book of the Old Testament:

“For I am Yahweh, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” (Malachi 3:6)

Why would they be consumed? In the next verse, Yahweh explains that the sons of Jacob had gone away from His

ordinances and did not keep them. They had promised to keep the covenant, but they changed. The idea of not being

consumed draws us to the words of Jeremiah, the basis for a great hymn:

“Through Yahweh’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22, 23)

Even as the sons of Jacob were not faithful, neither are we. And yet the Apostle Paul tells us:

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)

God cannot be anything but Who He is – He doesn’t change. I think of C.S. Lewis’ words my favorite Chronicle of Narnia

(“The Horse and His Boy”):

“On most days Arsheesh went out in his boat to fish in the morning, and in the afternoon he harnessed his donkey

to a cart and loaded the cart with fish and went a mile or so southward to the village to sell it. If it had sold well he

would come home in a moderately good temper and say nothing to Shasta, but if it had sold badly he would find

fault with him and perhaps beat him.”

Shasta never knew which Arsheesh would come home at night – the one who ignored him or the one who beat him. We

don’t have to wonder this about our heavenly Father – we don’t have to wonder if He got a good night sleep, if He had a

good day at work, if He had been drinking or not – for He is always the same, He does not change. We may not know what

sound the –ough makes at the end of a particular word, but we can always be sure of Yahweh’s great faithfulness.

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Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (1990) (Part 1)

Dr. Seuss’ final book published while he was alive, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, would make a good speech for a high school

or college graduation – a reminder that graduates are going to face up and downs in life. I want to do four posts on the

book based on Paul’s four “but nots” in 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9.

Dr. Seuss reminds us that no matter how high or fast we soar, there will be times when we won’t soar at all. We face bang-

ups and hang-ups and bumps and slumps. “And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.” In Paul’s first “but not”, he tells the assembly in Corinth that “we are hard-pressed on every side, but

not crushed”. The Greek word translated “hard-pressed” (thlibo) refers to pressure, like grapes in a wine-press. In Paul’s

case, it was pressure that was coming from every side. Inevitably, unceasing pressure all sides will ultimately result in one

being crushed. Paul indicates that he is not crushed, using the Greek word meaning “to be confined to a narrow or tight

place” (stenochoreo). Paul’s words could be stated, “Squeezed, but not squashed”.

Dr. Seuss talks about “un-slumping” ourselves; however, Paul does not indicate that we are to try to extricate ourselves

from being “hard-pressed”. Jesus and Paul have “odd” things to say about pressure (thlipsis [noun from thlibo]):

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (thlipsis);

but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations (thlipsis), knowing that tribulation (thlipsis} produces

perseverance.” (Romans 5:3)

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging

in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation (thlipsis), continuing

steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:10-12)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who

comforts us in all our tribulation (thlipsis), that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the

comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4)

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble (thlipsis) which came to us in Asia: that we were

burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death

in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8, 9)

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“We do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by

day. For our light affliction (thlipsis), which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal

weight of glory. (2 Corinthians 4:16, 17)

According to these passages, when we are being hard-pressed, we can: (1) experience God’s peace; (2) grow in

perseverance; (3) experience God’s comfort, which we in turn can share with others who are in trouble; and, (4) grow in our

trust of God. The final verse is particularly interesting. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul had indicated that the “thlipsis” was

“beyond measure”, “above strength”, caused him to “despair even of life”. Yet in Chapter 4, he describes it as “light”.

What made the difference? It is all about perspective. Paul looked beyond his difficulties and saw a “far more exceeding

and eternal weight of glory”. Although “thlipsis” seems to be against us while we are going through it, Paul indicates that it

is actually “working for us” – because it is God who is at work through it (Romans 8:28). Notice the contrasts – thlipsis is

light and momentary, glory is weighty and eternal.

Are you facing bang-ups and hang-ups and bumps and slumps? Are you in a Slump, not having much fun? If we could see

what God is working for us and in us through a time of not soaring, we might be less likely to try getting ourselves out of it,

less likely to complain about being in it, less likely to plead with God to remove it from our lives (2 Corinthians 12:8), and

more likely to ask Him to help us become the persons He wants us to be. God may be squeezing you, but He will not let you

be squashed.


We are continuing to think upon Dr. Seuss’ final book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Yesterday we considered that there will

be times when instead of soaring, we will be slumping. We also considered the Apostle Paul’s first “but not” in 2

Corinthians 4:8, 9, “hard-pressed, but not crushed” or possibly “squeezed, but not squashed”. God does not intend the

pressure to destroy us, but build us up and conform us to the image of Jesus.

In today’s installment, Dr. Seuss reminds us that there will be times when we come to a place where the streets are not

marked and the windows are mostly darked. It will be difficult for us to make up our minds as to which way we should go

(“Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind”). This reminded me of Paul’s second

“but not”, namely, “perplexed, but not in despair”. We cannot tell in English, but the Greek words are related. The first

word is “aporeo”, which is made up of the negative particle “a” and “poros” meaning a way, so it literally means “to be

without a way”. From that literal meaning come other ideas: “without means or resource”, “to be at a loss”, “be in doubt”,

and “be puzzled”. When Jesus told his disciples that one of them was going to betray Him, we read:

“The disciples looked at one another, perplexed (aporeo) about whom He spoke” (John 13:22)

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Obviously it was not obvious to the other eleven that Judas was a devil (John 6:70) – they were at a loss as to who Jesus was

talking about. The word is used by Greek historian Herodotus:

“Cambyses prepared to set out against Egypt, but in doubt (aporeo) as to his march, how he should cross the

waterless desert” (Histories 3.4)

Just as the Persian king Cambyses could not see how he was going to get his army across the waterless desert to attack

Egypt, there were times that Paul, from a human standpoint, was at a loss on how to proceed. But Paul did not live totally

from a human perspective. He indicates that he was not in despair. This is translation of the Greek “exaporeo”, which is

made up of the preposition “ek” (out of, denoting separation) and “aporeo”. Together they have the meaning “to be

utterly without a way”. There is a difference between not being able to see a way and not having a way.

Paul only uses “exaporeo” one other time and it is in the first chapter of the same epistle in the passage that we looked at

yesterday, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were

burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired (exaporeo) even of life” (1:8). According to Chapter 4,

Paul generally was not driven to despair, but there was at least one time when he was.

So what makes the difference between being perplexed but not in despair or could say, “bewildered, but not befuddled”.

It’s knowing that although we cannot see a way, God has a way. I think of 1 Corinthians 10:13 where we read:

“No trial has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be

tried beyond what you are able, but with the trial will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear

it.”

God will show us the way before the trial reaches the point where it is “beyond what we are able”. Until He shows us the

door, we need to endure the trial. There will be a door, even if we cannot see one for a very long time. Even if we are

perplexed about what God is doing, we don’t need to be driven to despair. Maybe we don’t know if we “should turn left or

right. Or right-and-three quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind?” But we can be

sure that when we need to know something, God will show it to us.

I like one thing that I read that goes with this topic, we need to gaze at God’s face and glance at His hand. Focus on who

God is, not what He is doing – because we cannot comprehend His sovereign will for us. We have absolutely no idea what

good He is working in our lives through periods when we are perplexed. However, if we focus on His goodness we will not

ever be in despair.


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This is the third post on Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You’ll Go”. We have been looking at the story in light of Paul’s four “but

nots” in 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9. So far we put the following phrases of the Doctor & the Apostle together: (1) “when you’re in

a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done” and “hard-pressed, but not crushed”

(squeezed, but not squashed); and, (2) “Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his

mind” and “perplexed, but not in despair” (baffled, but not befuddled).

In today’s portion, Dr. Seuss reminds us that there will be times when we will be winning and be surrounded by people,

maybe even people cheering for us. But then he also reminds us that, “I’m afraid that sometimes you’ll play lonely games

too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you. All Alone! Whether you like it or not, alone will be something

you’ll be quite a lot”. This reminded me of Paul’s third “but not” in vs. 9, “persecuted, but not forsaken”.

The first word (dioko) used by Paul, translated as “persecuted” in English, literally means to pursue as one does a fleeing

enemy. It is not always used negatively. We are told to “dioko” the following: peace (Romans 14:19), love (1 Corinthians

14:1), the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Jesus (Philippians 3:14), good (1 Thessalonians 5:15), and

righteousness, godliness, faith, patience & gentleness (1 Timothy 6:11). But obviously, here in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is using

it negatively, in a way similar to that when he described his early life:

“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to

the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted (dioko) this Way

to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness,

and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring

in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.” (Acts 22:3-5)

In Acts 8:1, we read, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord”. Paul was like a hound dog

chasing down foxes. And as an apostle, he now had others doing the same to him. But even though he was hounded by

enemies who wanted him dead, Paul says he was not “forsaken”. This Greek word (egkataleipo) means to “leave in straits,

leave helpless, totally abandoned”. It is the word used to translate Jesus’ cry on the cross, “’Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that

is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken (egkataleipo) Me?’” (Matthew 27:46). Paul had experienced humans totally

abandoning him. He writes to Timothy:

“Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken (egkataleipo) me, having loved this present world, and

has departed for Thessalonica — Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. … At my first defense no one stood with

me, but all forsook (egkataleipo) me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and

strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear.

And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve

me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (1 Timothy 6:10-18)

Humans may forsake and leave us all alone. We may not like the times when we are alone. But as with Paul, we are never

really alone – God always stands with us and strengthens us. In Hebrews 13:5, the author references Moses’ words to

Joshua:

“Yahweh, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake (Greek [LXX]:

egkataleipo) you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Dr. Seuss reminds us from a human perspective, “Whether you like it or not, alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot”.

But we need to remember that we are never really alone. However, Paul from a divine perspective reminds us, that

although we may be persecuted by people, we will never be forsaken by God (“chased after” but not “cut off”).

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This is the fourth and final post on Dr. Seuss’ book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”. In this installment of the book, Dr. Seuss

talks about “The Waiting Place”, which he refers to as “the most useless place”. It is here that I will have to disagree with

the Doctor. A couple of weeks ago, I watched a movie called “This Is Our Time”. It is a story about five young people who

graduate from college together: Ethan & Ale’ (brother & sister) and their three friends (Catherine, Ryder & Luke). Luke and

Ale’ get married a week after graduation and surprise their friends when they announce that they are going to India to work

with a Christian organization that helps people who have leprosy. While Catherine gets a job in finance and Ryder lands a

job in social media, Ethan has to work at his father’s grill because he ended up on the waiting list for grad school. Ethan

feels sidelined by God. In the end, God uses Ethan to help his friends through a very difficult time in their lives – something

he would not have been able to do if he had been away at graduate school. Ethan learns:

“One day you think you have it all figured out and then you realize that there was something better because God is

there. One day follows the next. Good times and bad times. Times where you dreams are on hold and times where

they come true. Times where you feel alone and times where you feel love overwhelming. Times where you make

sacrifices and times when you are overwhelmed by blessings because you're obedient and God is there. He takes

all these times and He works in you. He works through you. Give it all to Him. This is His time."

Seen apart from God’s purposes, the “Waiting Place” seems useless, but it is anything but. In the well-known passage from

Isaiah 40, we are told:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,

neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have

no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but

those who wait on Yahweh shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run

and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (vv. 28-31)

The Hebrew word translated “wait” (“qavah”) has the root meaning “bound together”. It’s not about waiting for God to

show up, for we saw yesterday that He never leaves us. It’s about only moving when God moves. We don’t want to run

ahead of Yahweh, we want to remain bound to Him – those who do that renew their strength and do not get weary or faint.

What does any of this have to do with Paul’s final “but not” in 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9: “struck down, but not destroyed”. The

first word used by Paul (“kataballo”) means “to cast down”. When someone feels sideline by God, like Ethan, they may very

well feel thrown down to the mat. But you don’t lose the wrestling match by just being thrown down, you have to be

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pinned. The second word used by Paul is “apollumi”, meaning “to utterly destroy”. I think of a similar contrast in David’s

words in Psalm 37:

“The steps of a good man are established by Yahweh, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be

utterly cast down; for Yahweh upholds him with His hand” (vv. 23, 24)

Paul may have been knocked down at times, but he was never knocked out. Yahweh upheld him – it was Yahweh that

renewed his strength when he remained bound Him. Those times when he was knocked down were just as established by

Yahweh, as the times when he stood up. The “Waiting Place” is not a useless place.

It is more “fun” to be soaring than to be slumping, to see clearly than to be perplexed, to be cheered than to be alone, and

to be moving than to be waiting, but God is there in all of it. He may allow you to be squeezed, but not squashed. He may

allow you to be baffled, but not befuddled. He may allow you to be chased down, but not cut off. He may allow you to be

knocked down, but not knocked out. I close with a slight variation of Dr. Seuss’ closing words:

“So … be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

Or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,

You’re off to Great Places!

[Today is God’s day!

He’ll be right beside you.

All of the way!]

Daisy Head Mayzie (1995)

“Daisy Head Mayzie” is, as the title suggests, the story about a girl named Mayzie McGrew who had a daisy grow out of her

head one day at school. When her teacher, Miss Sneecher, is unable to pull the daisy out, she takes her to see the principal,

Mr. Grumm, a man who “knew more than anyone else in this nation about long division and multiplication” (sometimes I

just like to share the rhymes Dr. Seuss wrote). He is determined to figure out this problem and as he reads through his

books, we hear him say:

“It says here...it says, daisies grow on the land. They grow between rocks. They grow also in sand.

It mentions right here they can grow in a pot. But mention the head of a girl, it does not!

Daisies, it says, sometimes grow in Alaska. Also Missouri, Rhode Island, Nebraska.

They grow in Japan and in Spain and Peru, in India, France, and in Idaho, too.

They grow in South Boston. And also in Rome but WHY should they grow on this little girl's dome?”

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Before long, many people are involved - Mr. & Mrs. McGrew, Dr. Eisenbart, Finch the florist, Officer Thatcher, the mayor (“I

promise, my friends, that if I'm re-elected, this daisy on Mayzie will be disconnected”), and finally, an agent named Finagle,

who says to her:

“Mayzie, you're so special, please let me shake your hand. Your talent is a wondrous thing- unique in all the land.

'Daisy-Head Mayzie' spelled out in bright light will draw kids in the day and parents at night!

Daisy-Head Mayzie, you've got quite an act! Just stick with me, kid, and sign this contract.”

Her mother warned her not to be a fool and Mr. Grumm warned her not to leave school, but despite these warnings Mayzie

“didn't stop to blink. She signed her name in think-proof ink.” As the photo indicates, she became famous – she made a

fortune. But she paid a high price – she had no friends. And she was convinced that they had written her off and no longer

loved her and that she could not return home. We read:

“Nobody loved her...? Poor Mayzie McGrew! It's hard to believe such a thing could be true.

And maybe that's why, then, this daisy above, when Mayzie below began talking of love...

Well, you know about daisies. When love is in doubt, the job of a daisy is try and find out!

They love her...They love her NOT! They love her...They love her NOT!

Don't worry, Mayzie. They love you. ‘They love me!’

Well...That's how it all happened. The thing went away. And Mayzie McGrew is quite happy today,

Back at her studies and doing just great in all her subjects in Room Number 8.”

Fame and fortune are not all they are cracked up to be – often a very high price is paid to get them. King Solomon writes:

“I saw vanity under the sun: There is one alone, without companion. He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is

no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, ‘For whom do I toil and deprive

myself of good?’ This also is vanity and a grave misfortune. Two are better than one, because they have a good

reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for

he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm

alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly

broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:8-12)

Mayzie had been led astray by the hope of fame and fortune. But when she achieved them, she had no one to share them

or her life with. She was alone. The Hebrew word translated “companion” literally means “second”. She was “one” and

there was no number “two”. As “Three Dog Night” put it, “One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do. ... It’s the

saddest experience you'll ever know”. In the Creation account in Genesis 1 & 2, the only thing that was not declared to be

“good” by Yahweh was the fact that Adam was alone (Genesis 2:18) and so He created Eve. We were not designed to be

ones without twos. There can be many twos in our lives – husbands or wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers,

grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, close friends and acquaintances. Fame and

fortune cannot pick you up when you fall, they can’t keep you warm when you’re cold, and they can’t help you withstand

an attacker.

We should think long and hard before we sign our names to the pursuit of fame and fortune and instead invest our lives in

the family and friends God had given to be our “twos”.

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My Many Colored Days (1996)

In this story, Dr. Seuss shares the truth that we all experience a wide range of emotions and moods. The person that people

meet when they encounter us can have a lot to do with the colored day we are having. One day we may be pleasant to be

around, the next day people may want to avoid us. Dr. Seuss describes the following types of days:

1. Bright Red Days – “How good it feels to be a horse and kick my heels!”

2. Bright Blue Days – “I flap my wings”

3. Brown Days – “I feel slow and low, low down”

4. Yellow Days – “Wheeee, I am a busy, buzzy bee.”

5. Gray Days – “I watch. But nothing moves today.”

6. Orange Days – “All of a sudden I'm a circus seal! That's how I feel.”

7. Green Days – “Deep deep in the sea. Cool and quiet fish. That’s me.”

8. Purple Days – “I'm sad. I groan. I drag my tail. I walk alone.”

9. Happy Pink Days – “It's great to jump and just not think.”

10. Black Days – “MAD. And loud. I howl. I growl at every cloud.”

11. Mixed Up Days – “And WHAM! I don't know who or what I am!”

The key phrase for me in this story is in the photo – “I change on Different Color Days”. On red, blue, yellow, orange, green

and pink days, I may be a fairly nice person. But watch out when I am having a brown, gray, purple, black or mixed up day.

I don’t think God wants it to be that way. Our character should not change with the type of day that we are going through.

Kids usually like to be around me. However, my own children (Leah & Wesley) told me that they used to be afraid of me

when I listened to playoff or World Series games when the Yankees were doing poorly. I’d yell at the television or radio. It’s

sad and pathetic that I would have let something as unimportant as sports change me and demonstrate ungodly character

to my kids. They could think, “Dad gets mad when things aren’t going his way, maybe God does too”.

The brownest, grayest, most purple and blackest day ever experienced by a person was on Nisan 14, AD 30 – the day that

Jesus was crucified. In the midst of unimaginable suffering and loneliness, Jesus did not change. We see Him: taking time

to speak to the daughters of Jerusalem who were weeping for Him (Luke 23:28-31), praying for His enemies (23:34), leading

one of the men on the cross next to Him to faith (23:39-43), making provisions for His mother (John 19:26, 27), and quoting

Psalm 22:1 to point all men to what was actually happening that day (Matthew 27:46). He did what He always did –

honored His Father and had compassion on people. It didn’t matter the circumstances. He didn’t change.

I think the key fruit of the Spirit that allows for this is meekness or gentleness. In Greek, it is “praotes” (noun) (the

adjectival form is “praus”). Regarding this word, Warren Wiersbe writes in his commentary on Colossians 3:12:

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“Meekness is not weakness; it is power under control. This word was used to describe a soothing wind, a healing

medicine, and a colt that had been broken. In each instance there is power: a wind can become a storm; too much

medicine can kill; a horse can break loose. But this power is under control. The meek person does not need to fly

off the handle because he has everything under control.”

Weak people change with circumstances, but not meek people. Jesus described Himself as meek (11:29). We are called to

meekness many times in the New Testament (Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:25;

Titus 3:2). I think Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” gives a good description of meekness:

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, and yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; if you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, if all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute eith sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

“Yours is the Earth” is a clear reference to Matthew 5:5, where Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek (“praus”) for they shall

inherit the earth”. By God’s design we will all experience different color days. But we need to be like Jesus - consistently

honoring our Heavenly Father and showing compassion to others regardless of whether it’s a bright red, bright blue, brown,

yellow, gray, orange, green, purple, happy pink, black or mixed up day.

Oh Baby the Places You’ll Go! (1997)

As indicated earlier, the final book published when Dr. Seuss was alive was “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” It is a book I gave as a

present to all the kids I had a privilege of teaching math at Grace Christian School. Today’s book has a very similar title and,

as the cover indicates: (1) it was not written by Dr. Seuss, but rather based on Dr. Seuss’ works; and, (2) it is meant to be

read to babies in-utero.

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The story makes reference to at least 27 of Dr. Seuss’ masterpieces (“If I Ran the Circus”, “Happy Birthday to You”, “The

Lorax”, “Daisy Head Mayzie”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Hunches of Bunches”, “Gertrude McFuzz”, “The Sleep

Book”, “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?”, “The Sneetches”, “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish”, “The 500 Hats of

Bartholomew Cubbins”, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”, “The Zax”, “Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose”,

“The Cat in the Hat”, “Too Many Daves”, “The Big Brag”, “Horton Hears a Who”, “Green Eggs and Ham”, “Scrambled Eggs

Super”, “If I Ran the Zoo”, “Yertle the Turtle”, “McElligot’s Pool”, “Hop on Pop”, “On Beyond Zebra”, and “I Had Trouble in

Getting to Solla Sollew”).

As it should be, a baby that hears this story while in their mother’s womb is told that they are wanted:

“While you are growing, we’re all busy counting the days till we meet you – excitement is mounting!”

“It’s a scrumptulous world and it’s ready to greet you. And as for myself… well… I can’t wait to meet you!”

But unfortunately this is not always the case. As we saw in “Horton Hears A Who”, in the 40 years since the Roe v. Wade

decision, upwards of 60,000,000 very small persons have been murdered – six times the number that Adolf Hitler murdered

in the Holocaust. In Psalm 127, Solomon gives God’s view of children:

“Behold, children are a heritage from Yahweh, the fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. (vv. 3, 4)

God gives children as a blessing, not a burden; as an inheritance, not an incumbrance; as a reward, not as a regret.

Regarding the phrase “quiver full of them”, I’d like to share a quote from Charles Spurgeon in his “Treasury of David”:

“Those who have no children bewail the fact; those who have few children see them soon gone, and the house is

silent, and their life has lost a charm; those who have many gracious children are upon the whole the happiest. Of

course a large number of children means a large number of trials; but when these are met by faith in the Lord it

also means a mass of love, and a multitude of joys. The writer of this comment gives it as his own observation, that

he has seen the most frequent unhappiness in marriages which are unfruitful; that he has himself been most

grateful for two of the best of sons; but as they have both grown up, and he has no child at home, he has without a

tinge of murmuring, or even wishing that he were otherwise circumstanced, felt that it might have been a blessing

to have had a more numerous family: he therefore heartily agrees with the Psalmist's verdict herein expressed.”

Ultimately, Yahweh sovereignly decides how many, if any, arrows He will bless us with. Regardless of whether or not birth

control is used, a person cannot exist that God did not intend to exist OR a person not exist that God intended to exist.

Husbands and wives don’t determine how many children they will have, God does.

But what will we do with those arrows? For twenty or so years, God gives the opportunity to straighten them and point

them in the right direction. The phrase that I like the best in this book is, “you’ll find that this world is a great place to

begin, but it could use some help – which is where you come in”. Eventually we will send these arrows into a world that

desparately needs to know Jesus and our arrows can be ambassadors in His service.

How well are you preparing your arrow(s)?

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Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! (1998)

At the corner of Dinkzoober and Dinkzott in the town of Dinkerville, you will find a very special place called Diffendoofer

School. Through the words of one of the students, Dr. Seuss tells us:

“I think we're learning lots of things not taught at other schools.

Our teachers are remarkable, they make up their own rules.

Miss Bobble teaches listening, Miss Wobble teaches smelling,

Miss Fribble teaches laughing, and Miss Quibble teaches yelling.

Miss Twining teaches tying knots in neckerchiefs and noodles,

And how to tell chrysanthemums from miniature poodles.

Miss Vining teaches all the ways a pigeon may be peppered,

And how to put a saddle on a lizard or a leopard.

My teacher is Miss Bonkers, she's as bouncy as a flea.

I'm not certain what she teaches, but I'm glad she teaches me.”

One day the principal Mr. Lowe announces:

“‘All schools for miles and miles around must take a special test,

To see who's learning such and such-to see which school's the best.

If our small school does not do well, then it will be torn down,

And you will have to go to school in dreary Flobbertown.’"

As they are being taught things like yelling, telling the difference between chrysanthemums and miniature poodles and

saddling leopards, there may be some concern that these students will pass a standardized test. But Miss Bonkers points

out something important, the children at Diffendoofer School had been taught how to think. Needless to say, they pass

with flying colors.

When I read this story and the phrase “taught how to think”, I thought about the fact that there are many things that the

Bible does not address explicitly – they are gray areas – no command not to do them or to do them. For instance you will

not find commands like:

“Thou shalt not drop an atomic bomb on Japan to end a war”

“Thou shalt only watch 2 hours of television a day”

“Thou shalt only dance with your husband or wife”

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“Thou shalt not go to rated R movies?”

“Thou shalt not listen to rock music?”

The list could go on and on. Although the Bible does not give us clear commands on things like these, it does give us

principles to determine how God would want us to live:

1. Does the activity help me? “Everything is permissible for me – allowable and lawful; but not all things are helpful

– good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things” (1 Corinthians 6:12a).

The question shouldn’t be “what’s wrong with my doing this?” but rather “what’s right with it?”

2. Does the activity enslave me? “Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be

brought under its power” (1 Corinthians 6:12b).

The question shouldn’t be “can I do this?” but rather “do I really want to do this?”

3. Does the activity cause fellow Christians to stumble? “Then let us no more criticize & blame & pass judgment on

one another, but rather decide & endeavor never to put a stumbling block or an obstacle or a hindrance in the way

of a brother. I know and am convinced as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is essentially unclean – that is defiled

& unholy in itself. But none the less it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean” (Romans 14:13, 14).

The question shouldn’t be “can I do this?” but rather “will true love allow me to do this?”

4. Does the activity edify fellow Christians? “All things are legitimate – permissible, and we are free to do anything

we please; but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not

all things are constructive (to character) and edifying (to spiritual life). Let not one then seek his own good and

advantage and profit, but rather let him seek the welfare of his neighbor each one of the other” (1 Corinthians

10:23-24).

The question shouldn’t be “who’s it going to hurt?” but rather “who’s it going to help?”

5. Does the activity hurt my witness for Christ? “For although I am free in every way from any one’s control, I have

made myself a bondservant to everyone, so that I might gain the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might

win Jews; to men under the Law, as one under the Law, though not myself being under the Law, that I might win

those under the Law. To those without law I became as one without law, not that I am without the law of God and

lawless toward Him, but that I am committed to the Law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To

the weak (wanting in discernment) I have become weak that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all

men, that I might by all means – at all costs and in any and every way – save some (by winning them to faith in

Jesus Christ)” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).

The question shouldn’t be “can I do this?” but rather “will my doing this hinder someone from coming to know Jesus

Christ as Lord and Savior?”

6. Does the activity demonstrate faithfulness? “He, who is faithful in a very little thing, is faithful in much; and he

who is dishonest and unjust in a very little thing, is dishonest and unjust also in much. Therefore, if you have not

been faithful in the case of the unrighteous mammon who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not

proved faithful in that which belongs to another, who will give you that which is your own? No servant is able to

serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one

and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:10-13).

The question shouldn’t be “can I do this?” but rather “is my doing this represent a good use of God’s gifts to me –

time, money, health, talents and opportunities?”

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7. Does the activity violate my conscience? “Your personal convictions (on such matters) exercise as in God’s

presence, keeping them to yourself – striving to know the truth and obey His will. Blessed is he who has no reason

to judge himself for what he approves – which does not convict himself by what he chooses to do. But the man

who has doubts – misgivings, an uneasy conscience – about eating, and then eats, stands condemned before God,

because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and

proceed from faith is sin – that is, whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful” (Romans

14:22, 23)

While conscience is not a perfect judge regarding the rightness of a certain action, it is a perfect judge of

wrongness. If you doubt whether or not you should be doing something, then don’t do it.

8. Does the activity represent something Jesus would do? “And this is how we may discern that we are coming to

know Him; if we keep His commandments. Whoever says, I know Him but fails to keep and obey His

commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But he who keeps His word truly in him has the love of God

reached maturity. By this we may be sure that we are in Him. Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk and

conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself” (1 John 2:3-6)

The question shouldn’t be “can I do this?” but rather “would Jesus do this?”

9. Does the activity glorify God? “So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor

and glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The overriding question is, “if I do this will it cause others to glorify my Father in heaven?”

If the answers to those questions are: “Yes”, “No”, “No”, “Yes”, “No”, “Yes”, “No”, “Yes” and “Yes”, then we can do it;

otherwise, we should not. We are not going to find every possible activity addressed in the Bible, but these nine principles

should make it clear what should be done and what should be left undone.

Bippolo Seed (2011, Redbook - June 1951)

“The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories” is a collection of seven illustrated stories, originally published in Redbook in the

early 1950s. Together they were published by Random House in book form in 2011. In the title story as shown in the

photo, a duck named McKluck is essentially granted one wish in the form of a Bippolo seed. Dr. Seuss shares McKluck’s

intial thoughts:

“Now, what’ll I wish for …? Now, what do I need …?

Don’t need very much … only food for my feed.

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So I wish,” said the duck as he opened his beak,

“I wish for some duck food. Enough for a week.”

A couple things are interesting. He doesn’t say, “What do I want?”, but rather, “What do I need?”. And then consistent

with Paul’s statement on contentment (“having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” [1 Timothy 6:8]), he

wishes for only a week’s worth of food (i.e., duck’s don’t need clothing). So far so good until cat comes along and convinces

him that he needs to wish for much more. As he starts rethinking his wish – he goes from a contented duck to wanting to

be the richest duck in the city, then the richest duck in the state, and then the richest duck in the land. We read:

“Then his mouth started streaming, his tongue got so hot. But the more that he wished, the more greedy he got.

‘I wish,’ shrieked the duck, ‘for a million silk towels! And three million cages for very big owls! And forty-five

thousand, two hundred and two hamburger buns! And a bottle of glue! And four million satin-line red rubber

boots! And five million banjos! And six million flutes! Oranges! Apples! And all kinds of fruits! And nine billion

Hopalong Cassidy suits! Yes, that’s what I wish for, by Jimminy Gee! And when they sprout out of my Bippolo

Tree, say, I’ll be the richest duck in the world!’ And he got all excited, he whirled and he twirled.”

In his excitement and greed, the seed slipped out of his hand and into a river. He lost it and got nothing. We thought about

contentment with the story of “Bartholomew & the Oobleck”, so I’d like to consider another lesson here. In 1 Kings 12, we

read about Solomon’s only named son, Rehoboam. The nation came to him with the following request:

“Your father made our yoke heavy; now, therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy

yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” (vs. 4)

For all his building projects, Israelites were put into forced labor (e.g., 1 Kings 11:28). Also there was a significant tax load.

We read in 1 Kings 10:14, that the weight of gold that came into Solomon annually was 666 talents. In the “Cat’s Quizzer”

lesson, we saw that in today’s terms, a talent of silver was worth about $1 million. Currently, the gold price is 70 times

greater than the silver price. So a talent of gold would be worth $70 million. Six hundred and sixty gold talents would be

worth nearly $50 billion. It was no wonder they were asking for relief. Rehoboam told the people that he would give them

an answer in three days. During that time, he sought counsel from two sets of individuals: (1) elders who had served his

father; and, (2) young men that he had grown up with. The elders gave very wise and godly advice:

“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them and answer them, and speak good words to them,

then they will be your servants all their lives.” (vs. 7)

The young men that he grew up with gave very different advice:

“Thus you should speak to this people, ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! And now, whereas

my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise

you with scourges.’” (vv. 10, 11)

Rehoboam foolishly listened to his friends and as a result, the nation split in two, with 10 tribes following Jeroboam (“House

of Israel”), and only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remaining true to Rehoboam (“House of Judah”). The two tribes did

not remain faithful for Rehoboam’s sake, but rather that Yahweh would remain faithful to His promises to Rehoboam’s

grandfather, David (1 Kings 11:34-39).

McCluck and Rehoboam both listened to unwise counsel. Solomon wrote, “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the

multitude of counselors they are established” (Proverbs 15:22). But you have to make sure that these counselors know God

and His Word. The author of Hebrews writes, “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to

you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (13:7). It doesn’t even appear that McCluck previously

knew the cat that he took his advice from. You need to consider the outcome of a person’s conduct before you follow their

faith or counsel.

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The Rabbit, the Bear & the Zinniga-Zanniga (2011, Redbook – February 1951)

“The Rabbit, the Bear & the Zinniga-Zanniga” is a second story in book “The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories”. The story

begins with a bear “with very big teeth in his very big jaws and very big claws in his very big paws” looking for something to

eat. He happens upon a rabbit and is about to swallow him until the rabbit does a bit of quick thinking. He starts counting

something on the bear, which causes the bear to ask:

“Now, what were you counting, then? What did you see? Do you mean to say something’s the matter with me?”

To this question, the rabbit answers:

“Err … well,” said the rabbit, from down where he stood. “I sure hate to tell you. It isn’t quite good. I was

counting the eyelashes ‘round your two eyes, Your left eye … your right eye … and, to my surprise, they weren’t

the same number! Almost, but not quite. You’ve ten on your left eye, but nine on your right! I’m sorry … SO

sorry. But sir, it is true. Poor bear! This is dreadful! One eyelash too few!”

He then convinces the bear that the lack of an eyelash is causing his head to sag to one side, his body to hurt right down to

his tail, his throat to feel prickly, his stomach to feel tickly, his whole body to feel all-over sickly, his tongue to taste fuzzy,

his brain to feel wuzzy, and his backbone to creak. The rabbit tells him that he is in danger of breaking his neck, breaking all

his ribs, ruining his heart, and his feet, tail and nose to fall off. To all of this, the bear replies:

“Ah, me!” the bear blubbered. “Oh, what can I do? Must I die just because of one eyelash too few?”

The rabbit then tells him of the special healing powers of the flower juices of the Zinniga-Zanniga Tree:

“Their juice, I am told, is so strong that it cures sicknesses even much greater than yours. The juice of these

flowers cures measles and mumps. The juice of these flowers cures freckles and bumps. Whooping cough!

Croup! Also colic and sprains! Chickenpox! Smallpox! And bellyache pains! There’s nothing, they say, that this

juice cannot do. So I think, Mr. Bear, it’s the right juice for you.”

The last part of his deception is to convince the bear to climb up the tree and hold a flower in his eyes for several hours.

Meantime, the rabbit escapes safely. As shown in the photo, Dr. Seuss indicates that the moral of this story is that brains

wins over brawn.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes:

“There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares

around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one

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remembered that same poor man. Then I said: ‘Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s

wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than

the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war … ." (9:14-18)

A great king with his strength of armies and weapons of war was no match for the poor man with his wisdom. But even

though he saved the town, he was despised and forgotten. Despite how wisdom is treated by the word, Solomon tells us

how important it is and how to get it:

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7)

“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs

9:10)

Although the rabbit may have used his brains, he did not really exercise wisdom – godly wisdom that is, as everything he

said was a lie. But if we are to give our lives to something, it should be getting wisdom and understanding, which involves

growing in the knowledge of the Holy One (2 Peter 3:18).

Gustav the Goldfish (2011, Redbook – June 1950)

“Gustav the Goldfish” is the third story in book “The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories”. A boy goes to a pet store and buys

a goldfish, which he names Gustav. He is warned by the pet store owner to feed the fish only a little bit at a time.

However, he feels like he is starving his pet, so he dumps in a whole lot of food, remarking, “No matter what happened, I

didn’t care what!” That phrase in biblical terms is deliberate, presumptuous or willful sinning (Numbers 15:30-36; i.e., “I

know this is wrong, but I am going to do it anyway and I don’t care what the consequences are”).

Soon the boy sees the consequences of his actions – Gustav starts to grow – too large for his fish bowl, too large for a

flower vase, too large for all the pots and pans in his kitchen, and too large for the bathtub. We then read:

“Then BANG! With a crash and a terrible roar and a splintering smash, we burst right through the (bathroom)

door! And Gustav and I shot out into the halls and back down the stairs like Niagara Falls! Then the first thing I

knew, we were down in the cellar and Gustav, my fish, was a gigantic feller! Too wild and too dangerous to handle

alone! I needed some help! So I rushed to the phone and quick dialed the number of Mr. VanBuss, the man who

sold Gustav the Goldfish to us: ‘Come over, please, mister! He’s big as a whale! He’s banging the furnace to b its

with his tail!’”

Mr. VanBuss comes over and is able to restore Gustav to his normal size. And the story ends with these words from the

boy:

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“He said as he handed the fish back to me, ‘It was mighty hard work, boy, but this time it’s free. If it happens

again, I shall charge a big fee. So next time, take care!’ And he stalked out the door. Since then I’ve fed Gustav so

much and no more. Since then I have not fed him more than a spot ‘cause something might happen. And now I

know what!”

This story reminded me of the episode at the beginning of John 5. Jesus comes to Jerusalem and a pool called Bethesda

where the stirring of the water supposedly has healing powers. We are told that multitudes of sick, blind, lame and

paralyzed wait by the pool. Jesus heals a man who has been sick for 38 years. Later on, when Jesus finds him in the temple,

He says to him:

“See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” (vs. 14)

This tells us that his illness was a result of sin. This is not always the case (John 9:3), but Jesus’ warning seems to indicate

that the 38 years of illness were the consequence of some deliberate or willful sin on this man’s part. His healing is proof

that God has forgiven the sin, but Jesus warns him that if he continues to sin deliberately something worse than a 38 year

illness will come upon him. “For whom Yahweh loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews

12:5, 6).

Much of our sin is deliberate. Though we say we love God, we essentially say while we’re shaking our fists at the heaven,

“God I knows this is wrong, but I want to do it anyway”, all the while presuming on His grace that there will not be serious

consequences. But that is a foolish game to play because eventually consequences will come because God loves us too

much and we won’t be able to undo them.

Tadd & Todd (2011, Redbook – August 1950)

“Tadd & Todd” is the fourth story in book “The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories”. It is the story of identical twins. One

enjoys being a twin, the other does not. Tadd tries his best to differentiate himself from Todd. First he dyes his hair red.

But Dr. Seuss tells us:

“’No, no!’ answered Todd (on the right). ‘If you please, I like the idea of the pod and two peas.’ And Todd grabbed

the bottle and quick as a wink he dyed his own hair with the very same ink! ‘Ooooh!’ sighed poor Tadd (on the

left). ‘This is bad. I still look like Todd and he still looks like Tadd!’ And he worried all day and he fretted all night,

‘How can I look different from Todd (on the right)?’”

The next morning starting at 6 AM he implements a plan to help people know he is Tadd. He: (1) gives himself a tail; (2)

takes off his left shoe and sticks a rose between two of his bare toes; (3) catches a queer bird and keeps it wherever he goes

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on a string with one hand; (4) carries a big statue of famous old buffalo killer General Lee Miller with the other; (5) straps a

burlap sack over his back with a dog in it; (6) walks around on seven foot high stilts; (7) places an umbrella from Shanghai

over him; and, (8) puts a fat Turkish hat on his head.

But much to his dismay, when he sees Todd, he “saw that his brother was dressed up quite neatly exactly like he was!

Precisely! COMPLETELY! ‘You see, Tadd,’ said Todd, ‘it’s high time that you knew that you look like me, and that I look like

you and you’ll never look different, whatever you do!’ Then Tadd sort of smiled. ‘Yes, I guess that is true.’”

As best as I can tell there are two-and-half sets of twins in the Bible - Isaac & Rebekah’s sons Esau and Jacob, Judah &

Tamar’s sons Perez and Zerah, and the Apostle Thomas or Didymus (first name means “Twin” in Aramaic, the other in

Greek; we don’t know who his twin brother or sister was). The first pair struggled with each other in their mother’s womb

(Genesis 25:22, 23) and the second pair struggled as they were being born (Genesis 38:27-30). The first time I read this I

thought it was obnoxious of Todd to do whatever Tadd did to ensure they remained two peas in one pod. But I think that

the point is that Tadd needed to realize that there are some things we cannot change – they are part of God’s sovereign will

for our lives.

We read that Tadd “worried all day” and “fretted all night” about something he had no ability to change. This reminds me

of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Matthew 6:27).

While there is much you can do to change your weight, there is very little you can do to change your height – especially

worrying about it. The Greek word translated “worrying” is “merimnao”- it comes from the Greek verb “merizo”, meaning

“to draw in different directions”. Worry draws us away in a direction that we should not be going – away from our

heavenly Father, instead of toward Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6). Paul indicates that such prayer allows us to experience

the “peace of God” (vs. 7). Tadd came to enjoy life more when he accepted God’s sovereign will for his life as a twin.

Steak for Supper (2011, Redbook – November 1950)

“Steak for Supper” is the fifth story in book “The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories”. Against his father’s warnings, a boy

lets all of Mulberry Street know that his family is having steak for supper. For most of us, steak is a treat. In one of my

favorite movies “Pollyanna” with Hayley Mills, Pollyanna Whittier, who had grown up fairly poor with her missionary

parents in the British West Indies, finds herself an orphan at the home of her very rich Aunt Polly Harrington. During her

first dinner, she has the following conversation with her aunt:

Pollyanna: Aunt Polly? Do you ever have steak and ice cream?

Aunt Polly: Are you complaining about the food?

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Pollyanna: Oh, no, it's delicious! I just wondered. My father always used to say that if we ever had the money you

have, we'd have steak and ice cream three times every day!

Well, it turns out that there are others on Mulberry Street that think steak is a treat also – an Ikka, a Gritch, a Grickle, a

Nupper, and two Wild Weefs. As the boy reaches his house, we read:

“I knew that the minute I walked through the door my mother would faint and my father would roar! And

tomorrow they’d send me to one of those schools where they try to train boys how-to-not-act-like-fools! I

reached for the doorknob and trembled with fright all because I’d said, ‘Steak every Saturday night!’”

Well, when he opens the door, he and his six “guests” can smell that the family is actually having stew, not steak. We read:

“’STEW’ they all snorted out loud in disgust, and they all disappeared in a big cloud of dust! What luck! I stood

safe, all alone in the hall. My mother and father hadn’t seen them at all! And from that night to this I have never

made slips. I don’t talk when I walk, ‘cause I’ve buttoned my lips.”

Solomon wrote about the truth in this story some 3,000 years before Dr. Seuss did:

“In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19)

“He who has knowledge spares words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise

who holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.” (Proverbs 17:27, 28)

The Hebrew word translated “restrain” or “spare” comes from an ancient root meaning “protective covering”. We have

many thoughts, trying to escape through our lips like a bucking bull in a chute at a rodeo. As we saw with Dr. Seuss’ story,

“Too Many Daves”, words can never be taken back once they have passed through our lips. The wise man is careful about

which thoughts are released and which are restrained. The ones that are not consistent with God’s thoughts, he keeps

under the protective covering, by shutting his lips and not letting them out. His lips are a semi-permeable membrane –

letting out only what will impart God’s grace to the hearers (Ephesians 4:29). But the fool’s lips are like an open gate –

letting out whatever the mind thinks of.

There is a phrase “loose lips sink ships” that originated on propaganda posters during World War II, part of a campaign to

advise servicemen and other citizens to avoid careless talk concerning secure information that might be of use to the

enemy. As believers we are in a war (Ephesians 6:10-18). The enemy can use any corrupt words that proceed from our

mouths to tear down God’s work and any words that do not edify to destroy people’s lives.

No matter how much or how little we may speak, we probably all talk too much. We all need to go to God’s “how-to-not-

act-like-fools” school and learn when to button and when to unbutton our lips.

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Strange Ink Spot (2011, Redbook – September 1951)

“Strange Ink Spot” is the sixth story in the book “The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories”. Against his mother’s warning, a

boy gets his new white shirt dirty. He tries his best to get the spot off his shirt transferring it to a towel, then the bath tub,

then a broom, then his mother’s best dress, and then to the cat. The story continues with these words:

“Then I got an idea! I knew just what to do. I’d put him (the cat) outside! And get rid of the goo! I laughed. And I

put the cat out through the door. That spot couldn’t bother me, now, anymore. But OOW! Then I looked and I

saw that the dirt had rubbed off the cat. It was back on my shirt! Right back where it started! I just couldn’t win.

And then, at that moment, my mother walked in.”

We saw something similar in “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back”. When I read this story I couldn’t help but think of these

words from Moses to the children of Israel that desired to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan (tribe of Reuben, tribe of

Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh):

“If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before Yahweh for the war, and all your armed men cross over the

Jordan before Yahweh until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, and the land is subdued before

Yahweh, then afterward you may return and be blameless before Yahweh and before Israel; and this land shall be

your possession before Yahweh. But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against Yahweh; and be

sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:20-23)

The men of these 2.5 tribes promised to go over the Jordan and drive out the enemies in the Promised Land for the

remaining 9.5 tribes. If they did this, they would be “blameless before Yahweh”. The Hebrew word translated “blameless”

comes from a root meaning “child drawn in”, picturing a mother holding her baby close to her breast. When we think of

innocence, we think of babies. However, if these tribes did not fight, it was a sin against Yahweh, and He warned them

that, “your sin will find you out”. The Hebrew word translated “find” comes from a root meaning “to squeeze”. The sense

is that finding something is like squeezing it out of where it is hidden.

We all have sins that we try very carefully to hide from others – we do our best to appear blameless, just like this boy tried

to hide the strange ink spot on his shirt from his mother. However, sins hidden in the heart will eventually be squeezed out

to the surface where others will see it. Paul warns in Galatians:

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to the

flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (6:7, 8)

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It’s an unbreakable law – that we reap what we sow. David had thought that he had done a good job hiding his sins of

taking another man’s wife and killing him. But a year later, he is confronted by the prophet Nathan, who says to him:

“Why have you despised the commandment of Yahweh, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite

with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of

Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have

taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own

house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives

in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun."

You would never think of David as despising Yahweh or His word, but the truth is when we sin that is exactly what we are

doing. The Hebrew word translated “despise” comes from a root meaning “house attacked”, with the idea of plundering

all that is of value. When we sin, we are saying God is not valuable to us. David’s sin done in secret had consequences out

in the open. If we play in the dirt with a new white shirt on, it will get dirty. If we sin, sowing to the flesh, we will reap from

the flesh corruption, corruption that will be visible to others, despite all our attempts to keep it hidden.

The Great Henry McBride (2011, Redbook – November 1951)

“The Great Henry McBride” is the seventh and final story in the book “The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories”. As quoted in

the picture, a young boy named Henry McBride is dreaming about what he will be when he grows up. One thing is for sure

– Henry wants to be famous. His dreams get bigger and bigger, taking on more and more jobs:

1. Rabbit Farmer: “I’ll buy a big farm somewhere out in the West and raise giant rabbits. The world’s very best!

Yeah! That’s the way I’ll decide. I’ll be the big Rabbit-Man, Henry McBride!”

2. Doctor: “Besides taking care of the rabbits I sell, why, I could be, also, a Doctor as well! Then people will say when

they feel sick inside, ‘I’ll go to the Rabbit-Man, Dr. McBride!”

3. Radio Broadcaster: “I’ll build a great Radio Broadcasting Tower and broadcast[s] the news and the sports every

hour!” And then I’ll be famous and known far and wide as Broadcaster-Rabbit Man-Doctor McBride.”

4. Seal Trainer: “Young McBride is sure slick! He raises fine rabbits while healing the sick. While broadcasting news

and, besides, he’s so quick he’s all the time teaching some seal a new trick”

5. Cowboy: “The man who does everything! Wow! He’s a whiz! Why, he’s got the very best job that there is! The

Seal-Training Doctor! Just look at him ride! The Broadcasting-Rabbit Man, Two Gun McBride!”

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He ends the story with wise words for children who can’t wait till they are older:

“Yep! I’ll pick the very best job that I can when I finally grow up and turn into a man. But now … well, right now

when I’m still sort of small, the best job is dreaming, with no work at all.”

What will I be when I grow up? It’s a question everybody struggles with. On the InterVarsity website, I read the following:

“What did you want to be when you grew up? Architect? Pilot? Rock star? President of the United States? The

average student changes their major two to three times during their college career—proof that few undergrads

know exactly what they want to do with their life when they start college. Declaring a major is less an

announcement of purpose and more of an exercise in vocational imagination. It’s a trial-and-error way of asking,

‘Is this the type of work that I want to do? Is this life the kind of life that I want? Is this what I will be?’ College is a

place for asking, not just ‘What will I be?’, but also ‘Who will I be?’”

I think the second question is much more important than the first, but it is asked much less than the first. When I was a

senior in high school, I was thinking primarily about the “what” question. I wanted to go into a high paying field (chemical

engineering) and study it at a prestigious school (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). I really gave very little thought to the

“who” question. Although I had gone to church all my life and believed in God, it was at RPI that I met Jesus personally and

He began to work on “who” Donald Busch was, more than “what” I was. Jesus answers that question for believers in the

Sermon on the Mount:

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing

but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill

cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all

who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your

Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

No matter what our job is (e.g., environmental engineer, school teacher, work with children with autism or petty officer in

the United States Navy in the case of my family), the answer to the “who” question is – you are salt to a corrupt world and

you are light to dark world. In the earlier verses of this sermon, Jesus also had a lot to say about the question “who will I

be?” – poor in spirit, mourning over sin, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart,

peacemaker, and rejoicing though persecuted. Those things can be true of us, regardless of our title or lack thereof,

regardless of whether we are famous or totally unknown, regardless of whether we are rich or poor.

Where is your focus – what or who? If you let God work on “who” you are, “what” you are will take care of itself.

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Horton & the Kwuggerbug (2014, Redbook – January 1951)

“Horton & the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Stories” is a second collection stories originally published in Redbook in the early

1950s. Together they were published by Random House in book form in 2014. In the title story as shown in the photo, we

meet Horton the elephant for the third time, having previously met him in “Horton Hatches the Egg” and “Horton Hears a

Who”. In this story, Horton is approached by a Kwuggerbug with a proposition regarding a Beezlenut tree that he knows

about:

“So I’ll make you a deal that I think is quite fair. You furnish the legs and you carry me there

I’ll furnish the brains, show the way to the tree. Then half of the nuts are for you, half for me.”

Horton makes the deal. But it does not turn out to be a very good deal. First, Horton has to swim a 30 mile lake. We read:

“Oh-oh!'' shivered Horton. “Now wait just a minute. I can’t swim that lake, it has crocodiles in it!

Just look at their terrible teeth. How they flash! They'll chew me right up into elephant hash!

I think, Mr. Bug, that there surely must be a much safer way to your Beezlenut tree!

“Now, now!” said the Kwuggerbug. “Don't start to squeal. You promised you'd go. And a deal is a deal.”

“Hmmm . . . ,” Horton thought. “What he says is quite true. A deal is a deal, I must see the deal through.”

After swimming for more than 4 hours with the bug saying, “You hustle, now! Hustle! I furnish the brains and you furnish

the muscle!”, Horton emerges from the lake battered and wet and wondering where the Beezlenuts were. But he is

informed that they still need to climb a 9,000 ft mountain. We read:

“Climb that?” Horton gulped, “Not the way that I feel!” “Tut, tut” said the bug. “Now a deal is a deal.

And don't start to argue. No ifs and no buts. You'll furnish the ride and I’ll furnish the nuts!”

“The climb,” sighed poor Horton, “will kill me, no doubt. But a deal IS a deal, and I cannot back out.”

He drew a deep breath and he threw back his shoulders and dragged his tired legs over rocks and big boulders.

After climbing for 2.5 hours with the bug yelling, “Climb! You dumb elephant, Climb!”, they reach the top of the mountain

only to find that the tree was on a peak that Horton couldn’t reach except by stretching out his trunk. Then as you can read

in the photo, the bug gives Horton half of the nuts – the shell half. In “Horton Hatches the Egg”, we saw his faithfulness as

epitomized in his words, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant … An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent!” So

here, I would like focus on Dr. Seuss’ words, “you couldn’t complain, ‘cause a deal is a deal.” This made me think of Jesus’

parable in Matthew 20:

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“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out

about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the

vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth

hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them,

‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You

also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the owner of the

vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And

when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first

came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they

had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and

you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them

and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go

your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own

things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’” (vv. 1-15)

They had made a deal to work 12 hours for a denarius and they had been paid a denarius for working 12 hours. Yet they

complained because some men got paid a denarius for working only one hour. But they had no right to complain – a deal is

a deal. The Greek word translated “complained” is “gogguzo” – it is an onomatopaeic word as is “murmur” in English. Paul

uses the noun form in this passage:

“Do all things without complaining (goggusmos) and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless,

children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights

in the world.” (Philippians 2:14, 15)

This crooked and preverse age is full of complainers, people who do not like the hand they have been dealt by God. But if

we can see the truth in verse just before this one about God being at work, then we will not complain about our hand

because we know the Dealer. We won’t compare our hand to the hand others have given. We will be content that the

Dealer knows what He is doing in our lives. When we live this way, we will shine as lights and it will give opportunity for

“word of life” (vs. 16) to go forth from our lives.

Let’s arm ourselves to be Hortons in a world filled with Kwuggerbugs.

Marco Comes Late (2014, Redbook – September 1950)

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“Marco Comes Late” is the second story in the book “Horton & the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Stories”. We met Marco in

Dr. Seuss’ first children’s book “And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and saw that he had a very active

imagination. As the title suggests, Marco is late to school – 2.25 hours late. As he walks into class, we read: “’Young man!’

said Miss Block, ‘It's Eleven O'clock! This school begins promptly at 8:45. Why, this is a terrible time to arrive! Why didn't

you come just as fast as you could? What IS your excuse? It had better be good!’”.

To answer her question, Marco’s imagination kicks into full gear. He tells her that he had every intention of being the first

student to school that morning, but while on Mulberry Street, a bird laid an egg on his arithmetic book, which he was

carrying on his head. For fear of breaking the egg, he couldn’t move. While sitting there, he heard the argument between a

worm and his wife, which is recorded in the photo. The husband indicating that it was important to get to school on time,

while the wife believed it was more important to save the life of the bird. Then he heard two cats get in a similar argument:

"And while the worms argued 'bout what I should do

A couple of cats started arguing, too!

‘You listen to me!’ I heard one of them say,

‘If the boy doesn't go on to school right away

Miss Block will be frightfully, horribly mad.

If the boy gets there late, she will punish the lad!’

Then the other cat snapped, ‘I don't care if she does.

This boy must not move!’ So I stayed where I was

With the egg on my head, and my heart full of fears

And the shouting of cats and of worms in my ears.”

At that moment, the egg hatches and Marco is free to go to school. When confronted with the truthfulness of his story, the

story ends with these words, “’Er … well,’ answered Marco with sort of a squirm. ‘Not quite all, I guess. But I did see a

worm.’”. The story was not true, but let’s assume that it was. Marco had two conflicting choices to make – be to school on

time and save the life of the bird. Let’s also assume that these really were the only two choices that he had. What do you

do when the choices before you conflict?

I thought about the Acts 4 and 5. After the healing of the lame man in Acts 3, Peter and John are brought in for questioning

before the Sanhedrin. The apostles are then commanded to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. To this they reply,

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things

which we have seen and heard” (4:19, 20). When they did not obey the authorities, they are once again. The high priest

Caiaphas said to them, “Did we not command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your

doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us” (5:28). The apostles reply, “We ought to obey God, rather than men”

(5:29).

Generally, we are called to submit to the authorities that God has placed in our lives (i.e., Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17).

However, as the apostles demonstrated when those authorities ask us to do something that God commands us not to do or

to stop doing something that God commands us to do, then we must obey God and disobey the authority. But we have to

be willing to suffer the consequences. Remember the argument between the cats – the one said that Marco had to get to

school or he would be punished, while the other cat indicated that may be true, but Marco still had to do the right thing –

save the life of the bird. The Apostle Peter addresses this:

“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for

righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. ‘And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.’ But sanctify the Lord

God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is

in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who

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revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good

than for doing evil.” (3:13-17)

Peter experienced this first hand. In Acts 5, we are told that the apostles were once again told not to speak of Jesus and

then beaten. Luke records, “so they departed from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy

to suffer shame for His name” (vs. 41). When the choice is between obeying God or man, we must obey God, but willingly

suffer the consequences.

How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town (2014, Redbook – October 1950)

“How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town” is the third story in the book “Horton & the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Stories”.

Officer Pat is on the beat when he notices that a gnat is about to bite Thomas the Cat, which will set off the following

imagined chain of events (“the trouble with trouble is trouble will spread”):

1. The cat will wake up and yowl

2. The yowl of the cat wakes up Mrs. McGown’s triplets and they yell

3. The yelling of Tom, Tim & Ted frightens all the birds, which come flapping and yapping down Mulberry Street.

4. The birds scare the fish-market man Mr. McGuire and he tosses a big codfish high in the air

5. The fish comes down on the nose Bill Hart’s horse that is pulling his pumpkin wagon.

6. A pumpkin from Hart’s wagon hits Jake Warner, who is fixing a hydrant.

7. Jake Warner falls on his wrench and the hydrant breaks.

8. Water from the hydrant gushes on Miss Mineralla, who thinks it’s rain and puts up her umbrella

9. Miss Mineralla’s umbrella knocks Bobby Burke off his bike and into the ladder of the house painter Mike

10. House painter Mikes spills a bucket of paint, which upsets Miss Hubble.

11. Miss Hubble drops her dishes and frightens her dog

12. The frightened dog jumps on the horn of old horn-tooter Fritz

13. Fritz falls backwards and scares drive Schmitz

14. Unfortunately Schmitz is driving a dynamite truck. With the driver “almost out of his wits and that dynamite

truck with its big load of blitz will race toward the street and boy when it hits the whole of this town will be

blown to small bits.”

Dr. Seuss ends the story with these words:

But lucky for us down on Mulberry Street, good officer Pat was awake and on his feet

And quick, the brave officer swung his big bat on the troublesome head of the troublesome gnat

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And kept him from biting old Thomas the cat and stopped all the trouble before it began

He saved the whole town, what a very smart man

A gnat biting a cat could destroy all whole town. This story demonstrates the “snowball effect” - a process that starts from

an initial state of small significance and builds on itself, becoming larger with each passing moment. The term comes from

the practice of making a small snowball and rolling it down the snow-covered hillside. The original small snowball grows

with tremendous speed. The more surface area it covers, the more mass it obtains.

We can see the snowball effect at play in the sin of King David. The story begins with these words:

“It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David set Joab and his servants

with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at

Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1)

If it was the time of year for kings to go out to battle, then where should David have been? Leading Israel in battle, but

instead he remained in Jerusalem. This was sort of like the gnat buzzing around the head of the cat. It may have seemed

insignificant, but it was about to set off a chain of events that would haunt David all his remainder of his life:

1. He sees Bathsheba bathing her. He never would have seen her if he was in battle.

2. He desires Bathsheba. David was a married man. Once he put himself in the wrong position, he may not have

been able to help but see Bathsheba from the roof of the palace, but he did not have to dwell on her and lust for

her.

3. He inquires as to who she is. He is told that she is the wife of Uriah. This should have put a stop to the story. Two

of the 10 Commandments are “You shall not commit adultery” and “You shall not cover your neighbor’s wife”.

4. David sends for Bathsheba and has sex with her.

5. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David should have owned up to his sin and taken responsibility for his adultery.

6. David comes up with a plan to make it look like Uriah is the father. Uriah refuses to have sexual relations with his

wife while the rest of the men are in battle. Again, David should have owned up to his sin.

7. David sends Uriah back to Joab with his own death sentence.

It all started with David not being where he should have been. It resulted in a God-fearing man doing the unimaginable -

actually sending another man to his death in order to cover up his own sin. I’ve shared it before – sin will take you farther

than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, keep you longer than you want to stay. James writes:

“Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it

gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14, 15)

Desire snowballs to sin, which snowballs to death. Temptations will come, but we can stop the ugly snowballing to death

by not allowing desire to be conceived. We could all take a lesson from Officer Pat and use our big bat to get rid of the gnat

before it bites the cat.

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The Hoobub & the Grinch (2014, Redbook – May 1955)

“The Hoobub & the Grinch” is the fourth and final story in the book “Horton & the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Stories”.

Most people are probably familiar with Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Probably very few have heard of this

particular story, which predates the more familiar story by 2.5 years (May 1955 [Redbook magazine] vs. November 1957

[Random House book]).

The story begins with a Hoobub enjoying “the wonderful, wonderful warm summer sun” and saying to himself, “there’s

nothing quite as good as the sun”. Along comes a Grinch who tries to sell him a small piece of worthless green string. He

says to the Hoobub:

“You sure ought to have it, you'll find it great fun and it's worth a lot more, than the old-fashioned sun. … Let me

give you the reasons: The sun's only good in a couple short seasons. For you'll have to admit, that in winter and

fall, the sun is quite weak ... it is not strong at all. But this wonderful piece of green string I have here is strong my

good friend, every month of the year. … Sometimes the sun doesn't even come out. But this marvelous piece of

green string I declare can come out of your pocket, if you keep it there - any time, day or night, anyplace,

anywhere.”

What a sales pitch! What a pack of lies! It is true that the temperature is different during the various seasons. Here in

Manchester NH, the temperature ranges between 0-100 F. In absolute temperatures, this range would be 460-560 R. The

low temperature is 82% of the high temperature. The sun is still quite strong in the winter and fall. If the sun really didn’t

“come out” on some days, we would all be dead the first day that happened. The sun is of inestimable worth, whether we

can see it or not. While it is true that the Hoobub could have that piece of green string every month, any time, day or night,

anyplace, anywhere, the Grinch does not mention that it would be worthless every time he took it out of his pocket. The

Grinch switched the price tags and the Hoobub fell for it.

This story is as old as Genesis 3. Adam and Eve had a relationship with the One Who had made the sun. They walked with

Him in the cool of the day. He had given them to eat freely (Hebrew says, “eat, eat”) of the fruit from every tree in the

garden except one, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. Satan questioned God’s goodness and His motives and said

to Eve, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like

God, knowing good and evil” (vs. 4, 5). And just like the Hoobub bought the Grinches lies, we read:

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make

one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (vs. 6)

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The fruit from that tree did not make them like God, but rather it caused them to hate God. Instead of welcoming His

presence in the garden, they hid from Him. Satan switched the price tags and our first parents were duped. The truth is

that we are all duped. Jesus said, “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke

16:15). We seek after pleasure, we seek after fame, we seek after power, and we seek after wealth. But how many of us

seek after God? The Apostle Paul made a very strong statement in Philippians 3 when he said:

“What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Messiah. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the

excellence of the knowledge of Messiah Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count

them but rubbish, that I may gain Messiah and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from

the law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which is from God through faith.” (vv. 7-9)

The Greek word translated “rubbish” is “skubalon” and it has been variously translated in English Bibles as dung, worthless

things, garbage, refuse, dregs, sewer trash, filth, worthless trash, excrement, dirt, worth less than nothing, pile of waste.

Those words give us an idea of how Paul considered anything that would keep him from a relationship with Jesus. In

Deuteronomy 23, Israelites were commanded to cover over their excrement because, “Yahweh your God walks in the midst

of the camp”. No one likes stepping in a pile of dog dung. Human excrement was an abomination to God – He didn’t want

to step in it. But most of the world has fallen for Satan’s switched price tags and is going after that which God has declared

as excrement and they ignore what is most precious, a relationship with God through Messiah Jesus.

Don’t be a Hoobub and buy what the Grinch is selling. Satan is a liar – what he is selling is like a broken cistern that can hold

no water, while God is the fountain of living waters (Jeremiah 2:13).

The Flustards (Redbook – August 1953)

Dr. Seuss published four additional stories in Redbook magazine, which have not been incorporated into posthumous books

like “The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories” and “Horton & the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Stories”. One of these was

“The Flustards”, published in August 1953. The entire story is shared in the photo. As I have not been to find any pictures

associated with these stories, I have to settle for showing the cover of the magazine in which they were published.

The “Flustards” are animals that stand around waiting for things that cannot come. It does seem like a dumb thing to do.

That is unless we are waiting for God to do the “impossible”. In Jeremiah 32, we read:

“Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? … Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, You

have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for

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You. You show lovingkindness to thousands … the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is Yahweh of hosts. You

are great in counsel and mighty in work” (vv. 27, 17).

There is nothing too difficult for the one who made the heavens and the earth. He has both the wisdom (great in counsel)

and power (mighty in work) to do anything that He wants. The foolish question has been asked, “Can God make a rock so

large that He cannot move it?” Obviously either way you answer it, there is the appearance that God is not omnipotent –

all powerful. There’s a flaw with the question though. Psalm 115:3, “God is in heaven, He does whatever He pleases.” God

can do ANYTHING He wants to do and there are plenty of things He doesn’t want to do and I am quite certain that one of

those things is to make a rock so big that He cannot move it.

Jesus put it this way, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). We can get flustered

(“move or behave in an agitated and confused manner”) because very little is in our control. Abram was 75 years old when

he received Yahweh’s second call to leave his father’s (Terah) house (Genesis 12:4). The first call came while he was in Ur of

the Chaldees (Acts 7:2-4). We are not told how old Abram was at the time, but Bullinger in his notes in the Companion

Bible believes that he was 50 years old (based on the significance of 25 year increments in Abram’s life). A comparison of

Yahweh’s call in Genesis 12 (at age 75) and Acts 7 (at age 50) seems likely that they were identical. Among the promises

made by Yahweh was the promise to make Abram a great nation, which required children. For 25 years, Abram waited

around in Haran being disobedient to Yahweh’s call to leave his father’s house, essentially waiting for the death of his

father (Acts 7:4). During those 25 years, the years when Sarai would have been at the end of her childbearing days (40-65),

she had no children.

Abram may have felt like a flustard, waiting for something that would not come. In Genesis 15 (sometime between the

ages of 75-86), Abram says to God, “Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is

Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir” (vs. 2, 3). God assures him

that his heir will come from his body. At God’s word, we have this very important phrase “Abram believed Yahweh, and He

accounted it to him for righteousness” (vs. 6). But at age 86, Abram disobeys God and listens to his wife and fathers a child

(Ishmael) through her handmaiden Hagar. Another 13 years pass and Abram asks that Ishmael may be heir, seeing that it is

impossible for Sarah to have a child – her womb was dead (Romans 4:19). But that was not Yahweh’s plan – Abraham’s heir

would be a child of Sarah’s (Isaac). Nothing is too difficult for Yahweh. It took 50 years, but God kept His promise.

Do you feel like a Flustard? Do you feel like you are waiting for something that seems unlikely or impossible to come?

Maybe it’s relief from pain, a young man or woman to share your life with, children, your college degree, a job, the

salvation of friend or loved one, etc etc etc. Nothing is too difficult for Yahweh, nothing! If it is in His plan for you, it will

happen. And if it is not in His plan for you, He will show you that He has something better planned for you. Although it may

be terribly dumb to wait for 2-inch elephants to fly by in sky, it is the height of wisdom to wait upon Yahweh to do the

impossible in your life.

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The Munkits (Redbook – January 1954)

Dr. Seuss’ “The Munkits” was published in January 1954 in Redbook magazine. Not only was I unable to find a picture for

this story, but I also was unable to locate the text. The words in the photo are a short description of the story that I found.

The key phrase is that the Munkits are “never content with where they are”. We have seen at least three stories that dealt

with importance of contentment – Bartholomew & the Oobleck, Gertrude McFuzz, and the Bippolo Seed. But it is a lesson

that can never be addressed too many times. With regards to discontentment, Solomon wrote, “The eyes of man are never

satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20).

Augustine put it this way in the opening to his “Confessions”: “You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless

till they find rest in You.” Until our heart finds its rest in the Yahweh, our eyes will never be satisfied. We will be like

Munkits running, convinced that there is something over there that will make us truly happy that we don’t have over here.

Based on the words of Augustine, Ed Conlin wrote a song entitled “Prayer of Augustine” that includes these words:

“I searched this world and chased its finer things, yet were these not in You they could not have been. My

ceaseless longing hid the deeper truth: in all my desirings I was desiring You.”

Our ceaseless longing is really a longing after God. I think of the words of two psalms by the sons of Korah:

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living

God.” (42:1, 2a)

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Yahweh of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of Yahweh; my

heart and flesh cry out for the living God.” (84:1, 2)

A deep and growing relationship with Yahweh is the only “here” or “there” where we will truly be content. The Beatles

sang, "All you need is love". If you remember the truth of 1 John 4:8 ("God is love"), then they got it right. If you have Jesus,

you have enough. If you don’t have Jesus, you’ll never have enough. The same psalmists continue:

“For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than

dwell in the tents of wickedness. For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield; Yahweh will give grace and glory; no good

thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (84:10, 11)

In His house, no good thing will be withheld. There may be things that we think we are lacking, but if we are seeking Him

(Psalm 34:10), then we can be sure that those things would not be good for us at this point in our lives. The vast majority of

men, women and children on this planet are Munkits – never content with where they are or what they have. There’s only

one cure – dwell in the house of Yahweh – cry out to Him, praise Him, find your strength in Him, talk to Him, trust Him.

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The Ruckus (Redbook – July 1954)

Dr. Seuss’ “The Ruckus” was published in July 1954 edition of Redbook magazine. The story begins:

“On top of the hill on the island of Zort

Lived a bird called the Ruckus whose favorite sport

Was making loud noises, it gave him a thrill

To be known as the loudest-mouth bird on the hill

Most people don’t like loud-mouths. Yet the Ruckus took pride in being the loudest of the loudmouths. In fact, he thought

he was depriving the islands near Zort:

Then one day he thought, ‘I can be louder still.’

‘My voice is terrific, it ought to be heard

On many more islands than this,’ said the bird.

So he made his voice stronger till one day he found

That he learned how to make a tremendous big sound

That shook every island for 50 miles round.

Then he thought he was depriving the entire world:

‘I say,’ laughed the Ruckus, ‘I’m really some guy

But I can do better than that if I try

I’ll build up my voice, why I’ll practice a year

I’ll cook up a noise that the whole world will hear.’

And after he practiced for 52 weeks

The Ruckus let loose with a mouthful of shrieks

That burst from his mouth like the moans and the groans

Of ten thousand elephants blowing trombones

He yapped and he yolded, he yelped and he yilped

He gargled he snargled, he burped and he bilped

And the sound went to China and knocked down 3 cats

And in England it blew off 8 bus drivers’ hats.

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The loud-mouth thought he was great because the world heard him, but a little worm pointed out the fact that he really

didn’t say anything. On the day that the cemetery in Gettysburg was dedicated, the main speaker, Edward Everett, spoke

for over 2 hours. Abraham Lincoln spoke for only two minutes. In a letter to the President the following day, Everett wrote,

“Permit me also to express my great admiration of the thoughts expressed by you, with such eloquent simplicity &

appropriateness, at the consecration of the Cemetery. I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the

central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

I found Everett’s speech on the internet. It has the following warning “Please note that this speech is presented in its

entirety and will exceed 30 pages if printed out”. Thirty pages – imagine listening to a 30 page sermon. Lincoln’s is barely

two paragraphs. Yet who can remember a word from Everett’s speech, while many have been able to memorize Lincoln’s.

Solomon writes the following:

“In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19)

“Do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven,

and you on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is

known by his many words” (Ecclesiastes 5:2, 3)

I don’t talk a whole lot, but much of what I say is idle and worthless (Matthew 12:34-37). We should all take a page, maybe

more appropriately, a quarter of page out of Lincoln’s book – make sure what you have to say is worth listening too (“Let no

corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the

hearers” [Ephesians 4:29]) and keep it short, because the more you talk, the more likely you will say something that is

either not from God or does not honor Him.

The Kindly Hearted Snather (Redbook – December 1956)

Dr. Seuss’ “The Kindly Hearted Snather” was published in December 1956 edition of Redbook magazine. A Snather is a bird

that lives in the desert of Dayd, where as in most deserts, there is very little shade. This Snather is described by how he

treats two very greedy birds, including one named McGruff:

1. For one hour, he stood still in the hot broiling sun, while the birds cooled off in the shade that he made.

2. For two hours, he wriggled his wings like a fan.

3. For three hours, he by also wagging his tail and waving his feet.

But 6 hours of Snather attempting to cool him down was not enough for McGruff, who said:

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“Look here, Snather! You know what I think?

I think we’d be cooler if we had a drink.

So suppose that you fly off while we stay in the shade

And fetch us a bucket of cold lemonade.”

Well, as before, the kindly hearted Snather complies – well at least with the fly off part and takes his shadow with him. The

story ends with these words, “And so, due to their greed, these two birds had to roast. And today, they smell sort of like

burnt whole wheat toast.”

I guess this could be a lesson on greed, but I think the title focuses us on being kind hearted. In the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus told His disciples:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil

person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and

take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” (Matthew 5:38-40)

The Greek word translated “compel” (aggareuo) is used in only one other context in the New Testament – Simon of Cyrene

being impressed into the service by Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross. It appears that Roman soldiers had the right to

require citizens to carry their heavy packs for a mile (a thousand paces). As Jews hated the Roman occupation,

impressment would have been extremely distasteful and likely resisted. Jesus is by no means giving His blessing on the

practice, but instructing His disciples how to react. When John, the Baptizer, spoke with soldiers who came to be baptized,

he said, “Do not intimidate anyone” (Luke 3:14), indicating the soldiers often treated citizens badly. The Roman law of

impressment was not going to change, but Jesus’ disciples could change their reaction to it and possibly be God’s

instrument to change their oppressor. For this Gentile soldier who did not know Yahweh and normally saw begrudging

service, they could live out Jesus’ words, “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify

your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). When the soldier saw someone not only serve gladly, but also generously by going

twice as far as the law required, it would likely make an impression. Impressment with impression. Think about the impact

Jesus’ reaction to the evil done to Him at the cross had on the Roman centurion (“Certainly this was a righteous man” [Luke

23], “truly this man was the Son of God” [Mark 15]).

In this little story, McGruff just continues to be greedier and greedier, no matter how much kind heartedness he sees in the

Snather. But the greedier McGruff got, the more kindness the Snather showed. We are not responsible for other people’s

reactions – only God can work in their heart. We are responsible to obey Jesus and serve Him by serving our enemies.

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What Pet Should I Get? (2015)

In “What Pet Should I Get?”, a brother and his sister Kaye go to the pet store to get, what else, a pet. But there are so many

choices: dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, monkeys, and yents (of course, Dr. Seuss could not help making up an animal). They have

a dilemma:

“What if we took one of each kind of pet?

Then our house would be full of the pets that we would get.

NO …

Dad would be mad.

We can only have one.

If we do not choose, we will end up with NONE.”

Under the leadership of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, a significant portion of the northern kingdom of Israel was following

after the false god Baal. The prophet Elijah (whose name means “My God is Yahweh”) called Israel to Mount Carmel to

address the idolatry. As indicated in the photo, he said:

“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then

follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)

The people were not fully serving Baal or Yahweh. The Hebrew word translated “limping” has the idea of lame person

hopping around on one leg – you don’t get very far doing that. You can’t serve the one true God with a divided heart. Adam

Clarke writes:

“Literally, ‘how long hop ye about upon two boughs?’ This is a metaphor taken from birds hopping about from

bough to bough, not knowing on which to settle. Perhaps the idea of limping through lameness should not be

overlooked. They were halt, they could not walk uprightly; they dreaded Jehovah, and therefore could not totally

abandon him; they feared the king and queen, and therefore thought they must embrace the religion of the state.

Their conscience forbade them to do the former; their fear of man persuaded them to do the latter, but in neither

were they heartily engaged”

On two pages of this book, Dr. Seuss has four animals carrying signs with the message, “Make Up Your Mind”. That is what

Elijah was saying to Israel. The children in the story had a choice – one pet OR no pets. In 1 Kings 18, Israel had a choice –

the one true God or no god (since Baal was a lifeless idol).

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The older brother concludes the story with, “’I will do it right now. I will do it!’ I said. ‘I will make up the mind that is up in

my head.’ The dog …? Or the rabbit …? The fish …? Or the cat …? I picked one out fast, and then that was that.” We don’t

find out which pet they chose, but we know that they chose one since we see just one pair of eyes peeking out the basket.

We all need to make up our minds about something much more important than what pet we should get? You can have no

pets or many pets, but you can have only one God/god. According to Jesus, our hearts cannot serve two masters (Matthew

6:24) – if you don’t love Yahweh with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, you will end up hating and despising Him. If

life is going to be worth living, we need to come to the conclusion that Joshua did some 600 years before Elijah:

“Now therefore, fear Yahweh, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served

on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve Yahweh! And if it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose for

yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side

of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve

Yahweh." (Joshua 24:14, 15)

Make up your mind – who are you going to serve?

Prayer for A Child (Collier’s – December 1955)

As I come to an end of this series, a question arises, “would Dr. Seuss agree with the lessons I drew from his works?” It was

not until just recently that I found out that Dr. Seuss and I had similar religious upbringings – we were both raised

Lutherans. But being raised something and being something are not the same. There is nothing overtly Christian in any of

the nearly 90 stories that we have looked at. I think I would be safe in saying that Dr. Seuss did not write his stories to set

forth lessons that I have shared – they are not what the doctor ordered. So how is that I found Scriptural truth in each and

every one of his stories? Simple – all truth comes from God. While truth is only found unadulterated in original Hebrew

and Greek manuscripts of the Holy Bible, we can find truth in history books, science books, religious books, self-help books,

psychology books, philosophy books, Walt Disney movies, Leave It to Beaver episodes and on and on. But outside the Bible,

truth is always mixed with error whether it’s in a book OR in a movie OR on the radio OR on TV OR in a Facebook post by

Donald Busch – the Scripture needs to be used to judge the truthfulness of the “truth” we find outside it. In Acts 16, Doctor

Luke says the following regarding the fair-minded Bereans:

“They received the word (preached by Paul) with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out

whether these things were so.” (vs. 11)

They compared what even the great Apostle Paul said against the written Word of God, which was the Old Testament at

that time. We need to do the same thing to separate truth from error.

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Although the Dr. Seuss stories I have shared in this series are not overtly religious, I did find a poem that he wrote for the

December 1955 edition of Collier’s magazine, “Prayer for a Child”, shared in its entirety in the photo. It makes me think of

one of my favorite Bible passages:

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

… . For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to

the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Messiah

Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6)

Paul encouraged us to pray for “all men”. God wills “all men” to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus

gave Himself a ransom for “all men”.

Dr. Seuss prays that God would tell “all men” just one thing - something that both he and God understood, namely that

“peace is good”. In 1955 at the age of 51, Dr. Seuss had seen the United States involved in three major wars – World War I,

World War II and the Korean War; the Vietnam conflict was just beginning. Man did not understand that “peace is good”.

Although war may have been necessary to stop the likes of Adolph Hitler, war is never a good thing.

“Peace is good” is important message; however, the apostle had a much more profound message that all men need to

know – “peace with God is only possible through Jesus”. It may not be the truth Dr. Seuss was trying to share 60 years ago,

but it’s one truth God wants all men to know.

Conclusion

We have looked at 100 lessons from 88 stories that Theodor Seuss Geisel published under the names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg

and Rosetta Stone, from “And to Think It Happened on Mulberry Street” (1937) to “What Pet Should I Get?” (2015). I hope

the series has been helpful. By choice, I did not include the adult book, “The Seven Lady Godivas” (1939), as the book cover

would be offensive (although it’s seven horse truths would make for an interesting mini-series); and, by my inability to

locate the text, I did not include “I Can Write! A Book by Me, Myself” (1971) or “The Many Mice of Mr. Brice” (1974). If

anybody has access to these texts, I will gladly add two more lessons to the series.

I thought this quote attributed to Dr. Seuss would be appropriate for closing out the series, “Don’t cry because it’s over .

Smile because it happened”. I cannot help but think of my mom with this quote. A dozen years ago – my dad was still alive

and he had not had his stroke. She was not in any pain. None of the grandchildren were teenagers yet and they would

fight to see who could sit on Nana’s lap. But now my dad has gone to be with Jesus. She’s had one hip and both knees

replaced but is still in pain. And for the most part the grandchildren are grown up and living their own lives – very little

thought is given to Nana anymore. A lot of wonderful times are over and it would be easy to cry about their passing.

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Considering how fast the 35 years since I graduated high school have passed, I am quickly moving toward that day too. One

of my friends, Nathan, which I mentioned in the first lesson, likes to snuggle up with me in church on Sunday mornings. But

the days of doing this with my own children are past. The days when Leah and I would sing “Come On Ring Those Bells”

every night are gone. She is now working on her master’s degree from Liberty University. The days when Wesley and I

would read Hank Zipzer books every night are gone. He is stationed in Pearl Harbor on a submarine, the USS Cheyenne. I

should not bemoan the fact that those precious days are over, but be thankful to God that He gave them to me. Some

people never have the privilege of being a mom or a dad. I can smile about the good memories and continue to pray that

God would use me in drawing my children closer to Him. Our relationship is not over, just changed.

When I read this quote by Dr. Seuss, I thought of Psalm 42:

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living

God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they

continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I

used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a

multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”

“I used to” – those can be three sad words, when it comes to remembering things that we can no longer do because of age

or health. We find ourselves thinking, “God, why did you take this away from me?” It may not just be our enemies that are

saying, “Where is your God”; we may be wondering it also. The psalmist continues:

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise

Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You

from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the

noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me. Yahweh will command His lovingkindness

in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me — a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my

Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?’ As with a

breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’ Why are

you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help

of my countenance and my God.”

Do I thirst for God or for God’s gifts? If I am cast down and disquieted when God changes things in my life, then I really

thirst for His gifts. But if I am content with Him, then I will not cry when things come to a close in my life, I can smile and

thank Him that for a time He allowed me to enjoy them and move onto the next chapter in my relationship with Him.

Don’t focus on what you used to do or how things used to be, focus on who Yahweh is now – your Rock, the help of your

countenance, and your God!

The End

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