Blog Posts - Counting the Stars – Bonikowsky Family

The Gifted Leper

7/7/2024

Uzziah became king as a teenager and served Judah well for nearly 50 years. His friend and mentor was the prophet Zechariah and through the years Uzziah established a reputation as a godly and powerful leader. He was universally victorious against the surrounding enemies and created military equipment that helped Judah become the dominant nation in the region. He was gifted in many ways, and being a man who loved the soil, he used his talents to develop agriculture up and down the valleys and hills of the land.
However, deep inside the man, and away from public knowledge, a virus started invading his heart. When this poison reached the surface and expressed itself in behavior, Uzziah lost all control and his godly reputation crashed. He died a leper in isolation.
All too often it happens that men start well but end poorly. Sometimes it is the very success that cuts them down. Growth, popularity, and a colorful personality can silently and inexorably create a monster inside. Solomon tells us to guard our hearts above all else; his warning is critical. May the Lord help us take notice.
To ignore or despise the warning is a sign that we are already close to the point of no return.
(2 Chronicles 26/Proverbs 4:23)

THE SWALLOW AND THE FISHERMAN

6/22/2024

It was a cool Sunday morning as I walked toward the alley where the garage was. The river splashed over the rocks and down the valley on my left. Up ahead, a row of garages stretched away under a five-story building.
I thought about the message prepared for the main service. The text was from John 3, on Nicodemus, and I marveled again at the masterpiece written so long ago by that hard-working fisherman from Galilee.
With hardly a whisper, the swallow flew past me, a few feet from my ear. It swooped to about four inches above the graveled surface and shot straight toward the steep ramp at the other end of the garages. Just before the incline, it veered up and away with the grace and agility of a pro.
Though the size of a swallow’s brain is no bigger than a cherry, God has given him the skill of a flying acrobat. The little bird may be unable to read, write, or talk, but he can perform a phenomenal aerial show.
John had grown up a tough, weather-beaten boatsman, learning the ways of the sea from his father and joining the family fishing business. As a young lad, his life was full of nets, oars, sails, and fish. There hadn’t been much occasion or time for formal education. He didn’t expect to do anything but catch Tilapia for the rest of his life. Then the Teacher from Nazareth asked him to join his itinerant ministry, and he accepted the challenge.
He had no idea what was coming.
Many years later he would write a book. Yes! He, the uneducated fisherman would produce a manuscript that was a literary gem, almost without rival, standing tall among the eternal writings of God.
We should not be surprised.
His Lord was the same as the swallow’s.

FSO #9: Repetition

5/8/2023

Do you ever get tired of serving in the very same way, day after day, week after week? I’m especially referring to voluntary acts of kindness, like setting up for breakfast at church, replenishing paper towels in the bathroom, straightening chairs in a SS classroom, reminding a child to be thankful, holding a baby to give the parents a break, and a hundred other acts of service.
Sometimes the repetition of it all, maybe without much gratitude being shown to us, can get very old. Once we start to quietly chafe at being unappreciated or taken for granted, our thoughts will soon turn more and more negative, and our happy, joyful, serving-God-through-others attitude will take a nosedive.
The battle, as always, is in the mind, and this is where we need to focus our attention. One good exercise will be to make ourselves remember how many mornings of our life God has awakened us to relatively good health, how often the Lord has let us enjoy the taste of food, or how many days He has kept us from having an accident on the highway.
May the Lord help us decide daily to be happy in His service.
(Lamentations 3:22-23)

FOR SERVANTS ONLY #8: A Heavenly Exercise

3/11/2023

When we serve others with a godly spirit, we are setting an example in spiritual leadership. Maybe you teach a Bible class or vacuum the carpet in the foyer. Maybe you drive someone to church or hold the door open for the one coming in behind you.
These are all examples of what Christ would do. In fact, if we are filled with Him when we serve, we are like little Christs, like tiny lights reflecting the grand Light of the World in a dark and needy land.
When Jesus washed his disciples' feet, he was teaching them what the Father values and what is very common in heaven: Serving others! To serve with joy is to reproduce a heavenly activity here on earth. What a privilege it is to be a Christian!
(John 13:15)

FOR SERVANTS ONLY #7: What about him?

3/4/2023

Our peripheral vision is that wonderful God-given ability to notice our surroundings without actually moving our eyes. Because of it, we often save ourselves from serious accidents or harm.
In the spiritual realm, peripheral vision is also important. Nobody will argue with the benefits of being aware of what is happening around us, for with this knowledge we are often able to serve the Lord more wisely. The problem comes when we allow ourselves to be too distracted by things off to the side and lose focus of our primary responsibility.
On one occasion, after Peter had received some personally painful words from the Lord, he looked over and saw John. He immediately inquired as to if his friend would also have a similar future. Jesus’ response was short and blunt. He made it clear to Peter that he was not to let himself be distracted by his friend’s lot.
In the same way, when we see our fellow servants, may our only desire be to exhort and encourage them, and never to compare ourselves with them or our situation with theirs. Let’s not swerve from focusing on our main mission nor lose the good spirit that is so essential in God’s service.
(John 21:21)

FOR SERVANTS ONLY #6: Secret Service

2/24/2023

It is natural to want to be seen when we serve the Lord. This is why Jesus dedicated a good chunk of the Sermon on the Mount to this desire we have for people to know how much and in what ways we are serving God.
With three specific examples, He teaches that the only thing of real importance is that the heavenly Father sees our love and our sacrifice.
Whether we serve at church, at home, or at work, every bit of what we do should first be for the Lord. He is the only One who will give us a reward that has eternal significance. We should remind ourselves often, that no matter how secret our service may be, the eternal eyes watch what we do and can see why we do it.
(Matt. 6 and Col. 3)

FOR SERVANTS ONLY #5: Surprise

2/17/2023

Sometimes it is good to surprise. Whether in a church ministry or a personal outreach, doing something out of the ordinary can be an effective way of teaching important lessons to those you love and serve.
One day Jesus left his disciples speechless by moving completely outside their comfort zone. It wasn’t anything fancy or expensive, and it didn't take much preparation. He simply saw an everyday task that had not been done and decided to take care of it himself. Finding a nearby basin and towel, he began to wash his disciples’ feet.
Two thousand years later we are still in awe over that little token of love.
We too should apply our imagination in serving others, not to call attention to ourselves, but to fix in their minds a truth worth learning.
(Juan 13)

FOR SERVANTS ONLY #4: Just a Few

2/10/2023

Just a Few
When you have a Sunday School class of six and only two arrive, it's hard to keep your spirits up, right? If there are normally 50 in your congregation and one day only 25 show up, it’s difficult to have a positive attitude. Or, if there are 40 who could come to pray but only 5 attend the meeting, it is so easy to complain.
How important to remember that Noah and his family were the only ones in the world to enter the ark and Philip left a revival with hundreds of converts to go talk to a lone Ethiopian. As with them and many others, sometimes God will have us in a small, inconspicuous corner, or serving a very few people. This should not worry or bother us in the least, because the main thing is that we are serving Him. The size of the ministry or the number of listeners is of no importance when our ministry is His perfect will.
Feed the individual or the little group with the exact spiritual banquet (and attitude) you would offer to a huge crowd.
(Judges 7:2; Daniel 3:18; Acts 8:27)

FOR SERVANTS ONLY #3: Heartily

2/3/2023

How easy it is to start doing things out of sheer routine! Normally, when we start a ministry, we are full of vision, enthusiasm, and motivation. We serve God thankfully for the wonderful privilege He has given us.
But after a while things begin to change, and almost without realizing it, though we are going through the same motions, there is none of the initial freshness. We no longer arrive early, we get impatient if everything is not prepared and ready for us, we get discouraged when others do not value our efforts, etc… In other words, we have lost that love that first saturated the air with hope and excitement.
It is then when certain phrases of Scripture will come in very handy, like the one in Colossians 3:23. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"
These divine arrows have the ability to penetrate the tough shell that has slowly formed around our minds. If there is true piety in us, we will respond with tender hearts, submission, and repentance. When this happens, we will get back to serving God with more devotion than ever.

FOR SERVANTS ONLY: Your Face

1/30/2023

There is a lot of power in a genuine, friendly smile. Through it, you can sometimes transmit just the comfort and tenderness that another person needs. We never know what others are going through, or how their week has been, or if they slept well the past night. So, what a blessing to know that in this way we can be instruments in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
Before you arrive at church tomorrow, prepare your mind. Control your thoughts and decide that you are going to have an attitude of joy in the Lord, which will automatically be reflected on your face. If others see the glow of your Christian joy, the happiness of abundant life, and the peace of a redeemed soul, you will undoubtedly be a blessing to others.