The Power of One

Patience. Insane amounts of time. Serious amounts of stress. I am talking, of course, about dominoes. No, not the pizza place. I'm referring to the classic game of dominoes, the one where you stack them in a line, knock over the first one and watch as they all cascade on top of each other. There are hundreds of videos online of people who have set up thousands upon thousands of dominoes that form an enormous picture. Here's the thing. I don't have the time or the patience or the warehouses full of dominoes to do something like this, but my life is like one big domino effect. Domino number one is birth, then we progress to dominoes of school, college, job, and so forth. Now, imagine being a domino stuck in the middle. You can't see the beginning or the end, all you see is that the domino ahead of you was just standing, now he is currently crashing into you, and suddenly, you are doing the same to the domino behind you. The places we go, the skills we acquire, they are all dominoes to the big picture. With any good piece of art, it takes great time and tremendous patience. If the 3rd domino tries to crash into the 1500th domino, the picture will be completely changed. Instead the 3rd hits the 4th, then the 5th, and so on and so on. God has looked down from above and seen where to lay all the dominoes in our picture to create a masterpiece. Now, imagine being the domino again. If you were to be removed from the line, the domino would end before you and nothing will keep the momentum going. One little domino is all it takes to knock over big steps. It is the little guys that keep the line moving until the last domino is knocked over and you see the finished work.

So, keep in line, brace for impact and fall into the masterpiece God has set before you.

Adam Semple- A little domino stuck in the middle of God's bigger destiny.

*photo credit- youtube.com- Robots

Comedic Knock-off Of The Original

As great and amazing is the original, everyone loves a good parody version. Some artists have made a career of taking other people's songs, changing up the lyrics, but keeping generally the same beat. Sometimes, the parody version is one you remember way more than the original, yet there are other times when it doesn't even come close. Our lives can become one big parody. Imagine God speaking to you and the words He says are amazing and inspiring and grand. Now imagine that you take those words and change them into something else. You and God know what the original words were, yet the people you talk to only hear your version. We are told in Revelation 22:18-19 that if anyone one was to change the words of God, 1 of 2 things will take place. 1), If you add, plagues and curses will be added to you, and 2) if you take away, you will be taken out of the book of life. Ouch!!! God could not have made this more simple to comprehend. By changing God's word, not only are you wrongly influencing the people around you, but in the end, you are removing yourself from heaven with each word spoken. There will be people we come in contact with every day that are making a living of speaking false truth. Scripture tells us what will become of them as well, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."- 2 Peter 2:1-3 In fact, this whole chapter in 2 Peter tells of what will happen to false teachers and prophets. Don't be like one of these men who only live to distort God's word. Listen to what God is truly saying, and the lyrics of your heart will be pure and whole. Those are the words God wants you singing to the crowd. The original will always be better than any parody the world tries to compete with. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man On A Mission From God

*photo credit- IFC.com