¤¤ ¤¤ 00:00:00.96\00:00:11.87 >> It has stood the test of time, God's book, 00:00:11.87\00:00:17.28 the Bible, still relevant in today's complex world. 00:00:17.28\00:00:24.85 "It Is Written," sharing messages of hope 00:00:24.85\00:00:29.06 around the world. ¤¤ 00:00:29.06\00:00:39.43 >> Welcome, and thank you for joining us on "It Is Written 00:00:39.47\00:00:42.34 Canada." Today we're gonna be talking to some students here at Fountainview Academy in 00:00:42.34\00:00:45.74 beautiful British Columbia. This is a Christian high school, and we're gonna ask them a 00:00:45.74\00:00:49.51 question about being kind. I mean, Christians should be kind, 00:00:49.51\00:00:52.45 right? And so what does it mean to go out of your way to make a difference in this world? 00:00:52.45\00:00:56.42 And whenever I think of that topic -- making a difference -- I think of a student's poem. 00:00:56.42\00:01:01.06 Ryan Cox wrote a poem when I was teaching English, and he shared that poem, and that poem was 00:01:01.06\00:01:07.56 called "That Difference." >> So before we talk to some students over here, why don't 00:01:07.56\00:01:12.73 we listen to Ryan's poem? Here it is. [ School bell rings ] 00:01:12.73\00:01:20.04 >> I feel the need to increase my pace. As I'm walking down the 00:01:20.04\00:01:23.08 hall, there's a girl with tears on her face, expressionless. As the white on the wall, she 00:01:23.08\00:01:26.51 looks tired, just wanting to be admired, longing to be desired, she wants her cry heard. 00:01:26.51\00:01:30.59 So I keep on walking, pretending to be talking on the phone. I feign we're not alone. 00:01:30.59\00:01:34.39 Yeah, sounds good, okay. I'm too shy to stop and say, "How you 00:01:34.39\00:01:37.89 doing? Can I help in any way?" I want to make a difference, help 00:01:37.89\00:01:41.53 others see their significance. But it's hard and I'm busy and I 00:01:41.53\00:01:44.57 don't know them. This world is full of people. Depressed, possessed, oppressed, obsessed, 00:01:44.57\00:01:48.47 and people like me who are overly blessed. If others less fortunate would see how I lived, 00:01:48.47\00:01:51.87 they'd say, "Why can't he just a little more give?" I may not be 00:01:51.87\00:01:55.74 rich in materials and money, but I live in a privileged country, and I have a loving family. 00:01:55.74\00:01:58.71 I've never gone a day without food. I'm hungry at breakfast 00:01:58.71\00:02:01.15 and again at 10:00. I'm used to eating again and again. 00:02:01.15\00:02:03.12 And if I were as hungry to serve as I am for food, how much would that change my attitude? 00:02:03.12\00:02:07.76 People need friends as much as they need to breathe. They need you to listen like a 00:02:07.76\00:02:11.33 baby needs you to kiss them. To be a friend till life comes to an end is to be there to 00:02:11.33\00:02:14.86 care. It doesn't matter where. Just don't be unaware of the man 00:02:14.86\00:02:17.53 in the wheelchair. Care in the midst of despair and morph and 00:02:17.53\00:02:21.30 just be there. If I'm gonna make a difference, I start with the little things, 'cause every 00:02:21.30\00:02:25.11 butterfly's a caterpillar before it gets its wings. So I try to 00:02:25.11\00:02:28.24 help people. I cut a boy's hair in my free time. I didn't charge 00:02:28.24\00:02:31.35 even a dime. He gets up and leaves. Not a word left behind. I sweep up the mess. 00:02:31.35\00:02:35.18 And to the next passing stranger, I express, "Why can't people be more grateful?" 00:02:35.18\00:02:38.65 Well, I'm missing the point. It's not about me. To serve for 00:02:38.65\00:02:42.19 recognition is to completely abandon the mission. To relate to people like a hypodermic 00:02:42.19\00:02:46.66 needle, we must peer beyond the surface, see more than just the skin. I must find a way in to 00:02:46.66\00:02:50.33 help him find a way out. Every action I take and every promise I make, keeping people 00:02:50.33\00:02:54.27 in mind, I strive to be more kind. When nobody's there, do I 00:02:54.27\00:02:57.77 still care? When there's no one to remind me, am I thinking of 00:02:57.77\00:03:00.78 those still coming behind me? A mess that I made that shouldn't 00:03:00.78\00:03:03.75 have stayed. I think, "Someone will fix it." No, I shouldn't have missed it. The other day, I 00:03:03.75\00:03:07.55 dropped a staple somewhere under the table. A split-second 00:03:07.55\00:03:10.22 shuffle, the mental struggle. Do I pick it up, or do I leave it? 00:03:10.22\00:03:12.55 I finally made the decision to retrieve it. It's such a small, 00:03:12.55\00:03:16.22 little thing. Take the time to look around. Find where there's a need. Be willing to stand and 00:03:16.22\00:03:20.23 take lead may mean bending down to take a hand, to lend an ear, 00:03:20.23\00:03:24.17 or shed a tear. Make your perspiration their inspiration, and don't say, "I don't seem to 00:03:24.17\00:03:27.67 notice. I'm not observant." Just pray and say, "Lord, make me a 00:03:27.67\00:03:31.11 servant." I feel the urge to slow down. Just take a look around. To find wisdom, we need 00:03:31.11\00:03:35.34 to soothe, to clothe, to feed. This world is full of people. People have a need to slow down 00:03:35.34\00:03:40.78 the speed of life's constant stampede, 'cause they're in a 00:03:40.78\00:03:42.98 rut. They can't seem to proceed. They feel like they're stuck. They need to be free. 00:03:42.98\00:03:45.82 They need someone like you to stand up and lead. Someone to 00:03:45.82\00:03:48.62 intercede. They need to proofread and re-read. And even though it's hard and 00:03:48.62\00:03:51.79 I'm thinking, "I don't know them," I'm gonna take the time to show them that I care and 00:03:51.79\00:03:55.70 that God is always there to help others see their significance. I want to make that difference. 00:03:55.70\00:04:03.91 ¤¤ >> So, Ryan, where did you get the ideas to write that 00:04:03.91\00:04:16.15 poem? >> Sure, yeah. So, the opening lines of the poem talk about this girl in a 00:04:16.15\00:04:20.56 hallway and just very -- You know, she was crying, and it was an experience I had when I was a 00:04:20.56\00:04:25.33 student, and it really -- For some reason, it stuck in my 00:04:25.33\00:04:28.53 mind. So when the assignment came up in Mr. Lemon's class, that's what I started with, 00:04:28.53\00:04:34.50 and the ideas kind of flowed from there. Just talking about 00:04:34.50\00:04:39.71 how I kind of wished I had done something there. I remember 00:04:39.71\00:04:41.88 walking by. I literally pull out my phone. It's, like, open a phone or do something. 00:04:41.88\00:04:44.88 I'm just like, "Huh, huh," just trying to get by. [ Laughter ] 00:04:44.88\00:04:47.68 So that's basically where the idea came from. >> So you're 00:04:47.68\00:04:51.35 kind of ignoring her. >> Oh, entirely. >> Trying to... 00:04:51.35\00:04:53.82 >> I didn't want to talk. It was awkward. >> Yeah. 00:04:53.82\00:04:56.19 It was an awkward situation. >> Oh, yeah. >> Was it a time 00:04:56.19\00:04:59.23 situation? You didn't have time to speak with her? >> Yeah, I mean, there's lots of 00:04:59.23\00:05:01.90 things that keep us from doing that. At the time, I was headed 00:05:01.90\00:05:04.73 somewhere with a mission, so I didn't want to stop, take time to do that, and it just, you 00:05:04.73\00:05:10.11 know, it's like, you know, it was awkward. >> I really like 00:05:10.11\00:05:12.97 the poem. It really is -- It makes a difference just to listen to that, to realize that 00:05:12.97\00:05:18.08 our mission is not to walk past people. I mean, people are our 00:05:18.08\00:05:22.35 mission, and to spend time with them when they're -- You can see they're obviously hurting. 00:05:22.35\00:05:27.02 Or to help them when they ask you. I mean, sometimes people 00:05:27.02\00:05:31.43 ask you, "Can you give me a hand?" You're just like, "Oh, I don't know if have the time." 00:05:31.43\00:05:35.30 And it's like, "Yeah, okay, I'll do it," you know? It kind of 00:05:35.30\00:05:39.30 reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan, you know, where you got someone who's hurt on 00:05:39.30\00:05:43.81 the side of the road, and the religious person, the Levite, walks by and, you know, the 00:05:43.81\00:05:48.61 priest walks by. And then finally, the guy who's hated is the Samaritan. You know, they 00:05:48.61\00:05:53.48 think that he's, you know, he's the worst possible person. Yet he was the nicest guy 00:05:53.48\00:05:56.32 in the story. He stops, he helps the guy, spends money on him, 00:05:56.32\00:06:00.86 you know, puts him on his donkey. He's an agent of 00:06:00.86\00:06:06.46 healing. So, yeah. Can you think of an experience that you've possibly had where you've helped 00:06:06.46\00:06:10.90 someone and it made a difference for you, it made a difference for the other person? 00:06:10.90\00:06:13.34 >> Sure, yeah. You know, recently, I was heading on a 00:06:13.34\00:06:18.27 plane from Tennessee up here to B.C. And I'm sitting at my gate, you know, just waiting to load. 00:06:18.27\00:06:24.68 And they had us all packed in there like sardines. We're just 00:06:24.68\00:06:27.42 waiting, you know, and I'm sitting there eating this bag of trail mix. Across from me is an 00:06:27.42\00:06:31.15 older lady eating a bag of chips, you know. So here I'm eating my trail mix. She's 00:06:31.15\00:06:35.56 eating her chips. And I'm finishing. And just as I finish, I get up, and I notice she's 00:06:35.56\00:06:40.23 finished, as well. And I offer to take her trash, 'cause that's 00:06:40.23\00:06:45.00 where I'm headed. And she hands me her bag and exchange some pleasantries and move on, throw 00:06:45.00\00:06:50.01 it away. Come back down, and, you know, we talked a little bit. You know, "Where you from?" 00:06:50.01\00:06:55.34 Nice, you know, usual stuff. And we're interrupted. We get on the 00:06:55.34\00:06:58.98 plane. And had a nice, three-hour nap. And as I get off the plane, she comes up. 00:06:58.98\00:07:05.59 Well, I didn't know. I'm walking off, right? And someone taps me 00:07:05.59\00:07:08.16 on the shoulder. I look around, and it's that lady again. 00:07:08.16\00:07:11.06 And she looks at me, and she's like -- She almost got a little tear in her eye, and she says, 00:07:11.06\00:07:15.66 "You know --" She calls me "son." She's, like, "Hey, son, 00:07:15.66\00:07:20.04 you know, keep it up. People don't do those kind of things anymore," you know. 00:07:20.04\00:07:23.91 And it meant something to me. And, you know, we talked a little more after that. 00:07:23.91\00:07:29.78 But, you know, I tell that, not because, you know, I did 00:07:29.78\00:07:32.58 something great. I just took someone's trash. But it had an impact on me, because it showed 00:07:32.58\00:07:36.85 how something so small as taking someone's trash can open doors, you know? It was a little thing. 00:07:36.85\00:07:43.39 It made a little difference in her life. But it opened the door 00:07:43.39\00:07:46.46 for someone else or myself to make a bigger difference, you know, spiritually, show her 00:07:46.46\00:07:50.97 Christ, et cetera. So, you know, it's the little things that do 00:07:50.97\00:07:56.00 open bigger doors. So in the Bible, they use this big word 00:07:56.00\00:07:58.87 "stewardship." >> Yeah. >> Do you know what that means? >> A steward would be someone 00:07:58.87\00:08:02.88 who manages someone else's property or something. >> 00:08:02.88\00:08:07.62 Exactly. >> In other words, God's blessings or resources He 00:08:07.62\00:08:12.05 gives to us. >> So God blesses us with so many talents. Sometimes those talents are 00:08:12.05\00:08:15.76 money. Sometimes it's time that we have, and you gave that lady 00:08:15.76\00:08:20.33 your time, your energy. But God gives us sometimes just talents, 00:08:20.33\00:08:25.43 abilities, great responsibilities. And we can use those to bless others. 00:08:25.43\00:08:30.44 So it's like God is giving us something. So, say for example, 00:08:30.44\00:08:34.61 my wife gave me a water bottle, and she said, "Give it to Ryan." So I say, "I'll give it to 00:08:34.61\00:08:39.21 Ryan," and then I keep it for myself. If I kept it for myself, 00:08:39.21\00:08:44.02 I would be stealing from you. And when God gives us these blessings, we are to use them to 00:08:44.02\00:08:49.69 bless others, and that is what it means to be a good steward. And it reminds me of the story 00:08:49.69\00:08:54.83 that we're gonna watch right now by a man -- an experience that 00:08:54.83\00:08:58.50 he had. His name is Burke, and so we're gonna that story right now. >> You know, when I was 00:08:58.50\00:09:04.47 asked to do this thing on stewardship, you begin to realize you know very little 00:09:04.47\00:09:09.08 about it. It's something that God uses to teach you His ways and help you to see the 00:09:09.08\00:09:16.55 difference between yourself and Him. Since I'm in construction, I get to see a lot of different 00:09:16.55\00:09:21.96 people, and the Lord was able to let me meet people that needed 00:09:21.96\00:09:27.03 to know about Him. I remember one time I lost a job. I had been planning on it. 00:09:27.03\00:09:30.83 The owner had talked to me for about a year, on a big job. He'd say, you know, I want to 00:09:30.83\00:09:35.34 make sure you can do it and your crew can do it. I hadn't planned 00:09:35.34\00:09:38.81 any other job for that month or two there, except his job. And so just before it came time 00:09:38.81\00:09:43.98 to do it, I phoned him. I said, "I want to make sure that, you know, everything's set 00:09:43.98\00:09:48.05 up for it." I had sent him a price and different things, and 00:09:48.05\00:09:51.39 he said, "Oh, no, you didn't get the job." And I thought, "What? 00:09:51.39\00:09:55.56 You know, we'd been planning on this thing a whole year and everything, and I thought, "What 00:09:55.56\00:10:01.56 is going on?" So it really irritated me, and I thought, 00:10:01.56\00:10:04.47 "Somebody's pulled something off." Now, I stuck with my men. I thought, "What am I gonna do 00:10:04.47\00:10:08.20 with my men?" But the Lord had been pushing me, as I'd been 00:10:08.20\00:10:11.67 studying in the mornings, we got to be helping other people. I realized that a lot of times 00:10:11.67\00:10:16.51 I'm just looking after my own interests. Anyway, I thought, 00:10:16.51\00:10:20.05 "What am I going to do with my men?" And I got a call from a company in Vancouver, and they 00:10:20.05\00:10:24.59 said, "There's a company right now on the island that is going to get their bond pulled because 00:10:24.59\00:10:29.86 they're not able to fulfill the job that they had taken. So he said, "You know, can you 00:10:29.86\00:10:35.70 come and maybe we can help the guy so he doesn't fail?" And it just turned out I had my 00:10:35.70\00:10:40.57 men with nothing to do, and I thought, "Oh, boy, I've never had anybody ever ask that 00:10:40.57\00:10:44.24 before." 'Cause in business, we all sort of compete with each 00:10:44.24\00:10:48.04 other, rather than try to help each other. [ Chuckles ] 00:10:48.04\00:10:50.58 So I said, "Okay, sure." So I went down, and I thought, "Boy, this is gonna be a long 00:10:50.58\00:10:53.98 job," and my son went down there, and pretty soon he phones back and he said, "Man, 00:10:53.98\00:10:58.15 everything is working perfectly here, and we're almost done." And it was just a short period 00:10:58.15\00:11:02.39 of time. So then I -- One morning, and I'm studying and 00:11:02.39\00:11:07.83 praying, and I can see this stuff about helping others, and I thought, "Well, the needy. 00:11:07.83\00:11:11.07 God made it so that we could help this guy." And then I get a 00:11:11.07\00:11:15.37 phone call. It's about 5:30 in the morning, and I hear this voice, and it said, "Hello. 00:11:15.37\00:11:20.44 I'm kind of in trouble. I've got this job, and I can't seem to perform at it, and I 00:11:20.44\00:11:25.85 wondered if you could come help us." It turned out to be the job 00:11:25.85\00:11:30.32 that I had lost, that had kind of been given away to this other 00:11:30.32\00:11:33.82 guy. And instantly in my mind, I thought, "Oh, good. This is exactly what I wanted to 00:11:33.82\00:11:37.83 have happened to the owner." But then there's this thing, you know, in the Bible that says 00:11:37.83\00:11:42.50 you're supposed to help others, love your enemies and those who despitefully use you and all 00:11:42.50\00:11:47.70 that. And so I'm thinking, "Oh, man." And I could hear his 00:11:47.70\00:11:51.24 troubled voice. I said, "Sure, I'll maybe come over, and we'll 00:11:51.24\00:11:54.91 talk." And I phoned my son, who was in Vancouver, and I said, "Oh, you know, I just got a call 00:11:54.91\00:11:59.11 this morning, and the fellow who took over that job that we were supposed to have, he's failing 00:11:59.11\00:12:03.75 at it." And I remember my son saying, "Oh, that's good." 00:12:03.75\00:12:06.39 It's sort of what he wanted, too. You know, the apple doesn't 00:12:06.39\00:12:09.39 fall far from the tree. And I said, "No, it seems to me that God's in this thing, and 00:12:09.39\00:12:13.29 he's been pushing me on, you know, that we have to live differently than we do." 00:12:13.29\00:12:17.53 And then right away, my son said, "Well, let's do it then. 00:12:17.53\00:12:22.20 Let's help him." So, he came -- Driving up, I hear the big motorcycle, and it turns he's in 00:12:22.20\00:12:28.71 some kind of bike gang. And, at last, as we're talking, I realize this is a thing from 00:12:28.71\00:12:32.11 God. I said to him, "God loves you, and He's trying to reach 00:12:32.11\00:12:36.58 you." Came to the job, we did the job. You know, we're just doing it for what's left kind of 00:12:36.58\00:12:40.62 thing. And, you know, it turns out that he met God. My son talked to him about God, 00:12:40.62\00:12:44.89 and he said he said down and cried. Realized that God was 00:12:44.89\00:12:48.66 trying to reach him and do something with him and the Holy Spirit. So the Lord uses the 00:12:48.66\00:12:54.07 stewardship thing to teach you about yourself. At the same time, He uses things 00:12:54.07\00:12:59.34 to bless other people, because he does things that are not around self-interest. 00:12:59.34\00:13:03.88 And that's one of the things that he needs to deal with in 00:13:03.88\00:13:11.05 each one of us. >> You know, I find it really interesting how the gentleman that took Burke's 00:13:11.05\00:13:15.82 job, that either outbid him or whatever it was, the guys that Burke should have felt 00:13:15.82\00:13:20.76 resentment towards, you know, his enemy, really, is the guy that he ended up helping, and 00:13:20.76\00:13:25.97 that really shows the likeness of Christ. Through Burke, you know, that's what we want in 00:13:25.97\00:13:32.41 ourselves, to even our enemies, love your enemies. >> Yeah. 00:13:32.41\00:13:35.28 >> It's huge. >> If we're left to ourselves, it would be 00:13:35.28\00:13:38.01 survival of the fittest. I mean, we're in competition all the 00:13:38.01\00:13:40.65 way. >> Right. >> You know, you see someone going down, you just 00:13:40.65\00:13:43.89 push them down. >> That's the natural tendency. >> Yeah, yeah. 00:13:43.89\00:13:47.66 And what makes us the salt of the earth, what makes us different and makes a difference 00:13:47.66\00:13:53.06 is when you listen to God's voice, and you say, "I think I should be kind to this person, 00:13:53.06\00:13:58.27 even though I feel like putting them down, yeah. >> Definitely. 00:13:58.27\00:14:02.10 >> So, Cameron, how has helping someone made a difference in 00:14:02.10\00:14:07.44 your life? >> Well, I had an experience a while back. We were 00:14:07.44\00:14:13.82 on a tour. We were touring with the school, and it was right after we had finished a concert. 00:14:13.82\00:14:18.15 And we were -- I was part of the stage crew, and what we do is we come with the carts, and we were 00:14:18.15\00:14:24.56 cleaning up and getting ready, because the next night, the next morning, we're waking up early 00:14:24.56\00:14:29.26 and going to a different spot, and we're going to perform there, and we need to get things 00:14:29.26\00:14:33.60 out and loaded. So I was with a couple of the guys, just pushing 00:14:33.60\00:14:39.01 carts in through, like, crowds of people, just trying to get in 00:14:39.01\00:14:41.98 and get out. And as I was navigating my way through this crowd, one of my friends, Josh, 00:14:41.98\00:14:47.55 came up to me and he said, "Hey, do you have a second?" And I was in a rush, so I kind 00:14:47.55\00:14:51.82 of had to refocus, and I'd be like, "Yeah, sure, what do you 00:14:51.82\00:14:55.26 need?" And he said, "There's this man who walked in five minutes late because he thought 00:14:55.26\00:15:00.23 our concert started an hour later than it actually did. And so this man had missed our 00:15:00.23\00:15:04.40 entire concert, and Josh further told me, he said, "This guy just really wants to hear us sing." 00:15:04.40\00:15:11.14 So we got a couple guys together, and we're going to sing a few a cappella songs that 00:15:11.14\00:15:16.01 we just had been practicing. And beforehand, we had practiced these songs, and I guess I had 00:15:16.01\00:15:23.75 just kind of become a little bit numb to them and the message. I was more focused on, you know, 00:15:23.75\00:15:29.12 like, the music and what music did for me. But after singing 00:15:29.12\00:15:34.36 these songs, I just saw this -- all of us saw this man's face just light up. And he was just 00:15:34.36\00:15:40.17 so grateful and so thankful. And it made me really reconsider what these songs we're singing 00:15:40.17\00:15:46.74 and why I sang. And I gained a greater blessing in the fact 00:15:46.74\00:15:52.18 that I remembered, this experience reminded me that this music and this little thing that 00:15:52.18\00:15:58.05 we did for this man, it wasn't given to us for us. It was given for us to bless him. 00:15:58.05\00:16:01.42 It's the same thing talking about stewardship. It was something that we are 00:16:01.42\00:16:07.03 given in order to share with others, in order just -- Even if it brightens their day a little 00:16:07.03\00:16:11.00 bit, just making that difference is all we're supposed to do. And all that Christ did for us. 00:16:11.00\00:16:16.14 >> Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes the biggest question for us is, 00:16:16.14\00:16:21.01 what's in it for me? And I guess what's in it for me is that when I bless others, I'm 00:16:21.01\00:16:26.75 blessed myself. But maybe that shouldn't be the biggest 00:16:26.75\00:16:31.19 question. But, still, we are blessed in the very act of blessing someone else, we are 00:16:31.19\00:16:35.96 blessed ourselves, and that's tremendous. So, you were singing a song, and I just want to let 00:16:35.96\00:16:43.47 our viewers listen to a song that you and Ryan put together, and that is "Be Still My Soul." 00:16:43.47\00:16:50.37 >> Test. Test. Testing. 00:17:40.42\00:17:43.83 ¤ Be still my soul ¤ The Lord is on thy side ¤ Bear patiently the 00:17:54.14\00:18:13.69 cross ¤ Of grief or pain ¤ Leave to thy God ¤ To order and 00:18:13.69\00:18:33.01 provide ¤ In every change ¤ He faithful will remain ¤ Be still 00:18:33.01\00:18:50.49 my soul ¤ Thy best ¤ Thy heavenly friend ¤ Through thorny 00:18:50.49\00:19:03.91 ways ¤ Leads to a joyful end [ Guitar solo ] ¤¤ 00:19:03.91\00:19:25.59 ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ 00:19:25.59\00:19:53.02 ¤¤ ¤ Be still my soul ¤ Thy God doth undertake 00:19:53.02\00:20:12.31 ¤ To guide the future ¤ As He has the past ¤ Thy hope, thy 00:20:12.31\00:20:28.06 confidence ¤ Let nothing shake ¤ All now mysterious ¤ Shall be 00:20:28.06\00:20:43.27 bright at last ¤ Be still my soul ¤ When change and tears are 00:20:43.27\00:20:53.65 past ¤ ¤ All safe and blessed ¤ We shall meet at last 00:20:53.65\00:21:06.80 >> I really like that song. 00:21:11.77\00:21:14.14 You guys are up there in the mountains, and it's quiet, and 00:21:14.17\00:21:17.67 you're in the snow and just out in nature. 00:21:17.67\00:21:20.58 It kind of reminds me of the words of Psalm 46:10, where it 00:21:20.58\00:21:24.71 says, "Be still and know that I am God." 00:21:24.71\00:21:27.12 And what does that have to do with kindness? 00:21:27.12\00:21:29.68 Well, it's not our natural tendency to be kind to others, to put ourselves out for others. 00:21:29.72\00:21:34.12 And we need God to work in our lives. And when we are still, we 00:21:34.12\00:21:39.13 hit the pause button, and we say, "Hey, what can I do to help others, not just thinking about 00:21:39.13\00:21:45.53 me all the time?" And in doing that, we experience a real purpose and a meaning in 00:21:45.53\00:21:53.34 life. We're not just getting, getting, getting for ourselves, 00:21:53.34\00:21:56.01 but we're giving, and by giving, we are truly living and growing. 00:21:56.01\00:22:01.58 >> Mm-hmm. >> Yeah. >> So, Maclaine, have you ever been helped by someone and it's 00:22:01.58\00:22:05.55 made a big difference in your life? >> I think, for me, a time 00:22:05.55\00:22:10.13 that I can remember, I don't know why, it just really stuck out to me, was a little while 00:22:10.13\00:22:14.93 ago, I was having one those days. You know, it just seems things aren't really working, 00:22:14.93\00:22:19.40 and I was just exhausted. I think it was near the end of the week, and I was just ready 00:22:19.40\00:22:24.21 to be done, just have a break. And so just really not a good day, and one of my best friends 00:22:24.21\00:22:30.98 came to me, and I also knew that she wasn't having the best day, 00:22:30.98\00:22:34.82 either. We were both tired. But someone had given her a chocolate bar, and she loves 00:22:34.82\00:22:41.19 chocolate, and I know that. But she came to me, and she said, "Hey, like, I had some of 00:22:41.19\00:22:45.29 this, but there's still, like, half of it left, and I want you to have it, 'cause I know it'll 00:22:45.29\00:22:49.16 make you feel better. So just have it, enjoy it. You'll feel 00:22:49.16\00:22:52.57 good. And I'm gonna go back to work." So I was like, "Oh, thank you." And it was just something 00:22:52.57\00:22:57.34 very small, but, to me, it really touched me, because I knew, for her, like, chocolate 00:22:57.34\00:23:02.31 was something that she loved, yet she was willing to sacrifice it. Like, she knew, you know, I 00:23:02.31\00:23:06.41 wasn't having a good day, and she wanted to make that better 00:23:06.41\00:23:09.45 for me. And so just her doing that, it didn't just make me feel better, 'cause, like, it 00:23:09.45\00:23:14.29 was chocolate. It was -- It really touched my heart, 'cause I was like, "I have someone 00:23:14.29\00:23:18.39 that, like, will think of me like that." Like, "Oh, I could enjoy this, but instead I'm 00:23:18.39\00:23:22.33 gonna give it to her, because, you know, I know she's also having a hard day. And so that 00:23:22.33\00:23:26.53 just really touched me. I think that's really what it is about, it's making a difference. 00:23:26.53\00:23:29.64 It's not necessarily always a big thing. But when you're 00:23:29.64\00:23:33.11 willing to give something that means something to you and make a sacrifice like that, that's 00:23:33.11\00:23:38.71 not just something that you don't care about it and you're like, "Oh, you can have this," 00:23:38.71\00:23:41.75 or, "I have extra time, I'm already here," but it's something where you're actually 00:23:41.75\00:23:44.82 going out of the way, and you're sacrificing your time or something that you have. That's 00:23:44.82\00:23:48.59 when it really does make a difference. And so that's the time for me, that it really -- 00:23:48.59\00:23:53.56 It helped me, and it, and it did make my day better. Small things 00:23:53.56\00:23:57.23 like that. >> Yeah, that's a small thing, but it's a huge thing, and you didn't forget. 00:23:57.23\00:24:01.00 >> No. Yeah. >> Yeah. I have a friend. 00:24:01.00\00:24:05.31 His name is Michael Dauncey. And he runs this program called "Extreme Home Repair," which his 00:24:05.31\00:24:11.88 church has been doing for years. And what they do is they find people in the community whose 00:24:11.88\00:24:17.09 house is run-down but they need help. And it's usually, you 00:24:17.09\00:24:23.36 know, a family in great need. And so he goes to the community, and he gets support and 00:24:23.36\00:24:29.93 construction workers and people to donate things. And then they 00:24:29.93\00:24:35.30 go in, and they take a few weeks, and they ask these people to leave their home, and they 00:24:35.30\00:24:39.91 repair the whole home. And they do that over in Abbotsford, near 00:24:39.91\00:24:46.72 Vancouver. And it's amazing how many homes that they done repairs on in the last few 00:24:46.72\00:24:53.49 years. And I think, "Wow, he just puts himself out, and they don't do it to draw attention to 00:24:53.49\00:24:59.39 the church or draw attention to anyone. They do it as a 00:24:59.39\00:25:02.10 community project to uplift people in the community. And it just makes a difference. 00:25:02.10\00:25:08.00 And I see in that -- That is what Christ asks us to do, to be 00:25:08.00\00:25:14.41 like Job. I look here in the Scriptures, in Job chapter 29, 00:25:14.44\00:25:18.08 and it says in Job 29:15-16 -- It says, "I was eyes to the 00:25:18.08\00:25:21.95 blind, and feet was I to the lame. 00:25:21.95\00:25:24.45 I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not, I 00:25:24.49\00:25:30.39 searched out." So here's Job. I mean, you know the story of Job. 00:25:30.39\00:25:33.60 He got attacked by Satan, and, you know, Satan says, "Everyone on Earth is on my side." 00:25:33.60\00:25:40.44 And God says, "Have you considered my servant Job? Job 00:25:40.44\00:25:44.97 is on my side." And Job represented the character of God. He was kind to others. 00:25:44.97\00:25:49.71 You know, he had a lot. Yes, he had a lot, but he had a lot because God could trust him 00:25:49.71\00:25:54.38 with a lot. And with the great blessings that he received, he 00:25:54.38\00:25:59.95 continued to give and give and give. And, really, that is the secret to being happy, is to 00:25:59.95\00:26:09.80 give in order to live. And when we do that, we are like our Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:26:09.80\00:26:16.34 >> Mm-hmm. >> And so thank you very much for sharing your 00:26:16.34\00:26:21.34 stories, Ryan and Cameron and Maclaine. And so now we're gonna 00:26:21.34\00:26:25.81 close off. Let's just have a word of prayer as we close. Father in Heaven, I thank You, 00:26:25.81\00:26:30.69 Lord, for Your Word. I thank You that we can trust You, that You 00:26:30.69\00:26:36.52 came to this world to give up all of Heaven to sacrifice Yourself on our behalf so that 00:26:36.52\00:26:43.30 we could live with You eternally. And I pray, Father, that Your nature will become a 00:26:43.30\00:26:47.77 part of our nature and that we will become like You and that others will see Your character 00:26:47.77\00:26:54.48 within us. Lord, do that for us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:26:54.48\00:26:58.25 >> Amen. >> So as you close, friends, I just want to remind 00:26:58.25\00:27:02.32 you of the words of Jesus, where he says, "It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 00:27:02.32\00:27:07.46 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" >> Friends, thank you for 00:27:07.46\00:27:13.80 remembering that "It Is Written Canada" exists because of the 00:27:13.80\00:27:17.70 kindness of people like you. 00:27:17.70\00:27:19.43 To support this life-changing ministry, please call us now at 00:27:19.47\00:27:24.24 1-888-225-5449. 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