Monday, March 1, 1999
Y2E…asy to preach what we can’t practice or set a standard for others that we cannot reach ourselves.
Tuesday, March 2, 1999
Y2F…ellowship? Because it is not good for Christians to ‘go it alone.’ Today, the lack of fellowship is one of the biggest complaints Christians have about the church they attend. The word fellowship is used a lot but… not done much.
Wednesday, March 3, 1999
Y2G…ive? Because anyone can be a taker. It takes a special act of God for a person to become a giver. A friend told me today, “God doesn’t have a person until he has their pocketbook!” There may be a time when you cannot get help but there is never a time when you cannot give help.
Thursday, March 4, 1999
Y2H…olocausts? Taking the life of the unborn is often characterized as a second holocaust. Yet, it makes many people, pro-life and pro-choice alike, furious when it is said. Those who make such statements are labeled as radical and unstable. If the unborn could speak for themselves, what would they say?
Friday, March 5, 1999
Y2I… ncrease the kingdom of God? Because God loves everyone and desires that none should perish. How IMPORTANT are people to God? Some would say it is IMPROBABLE, others IMPOSSIBLE that God really loves people that much. In fact, it was INEVITABLE because God knew us before the creation of the world and we were created in His image.
‘Friday Funny’
Adam’s Rib
At church school they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Matt, a child in the kindergarten class, seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam’s ribs. Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, “Matt, what is the matter?” Little Matt responded, “I have a pain in my side. I think I’m going to have a wife.”
-contributed by Julie Hopper
Saturday, March 6, 1999
God is love. All sin is an offense against love. “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” “If you say you love God and hate your brother, you are a liar.”
-contributed by Martin Wishnatsky
Sunday, March 7, 1999
INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE
1. Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4. When you say “I love you” – mean it.
5. When you say “I’m sorry” look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it’s the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don’t judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Call your mom.
16. Say “Bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any others.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Trust in God but lock your car.
29. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.
30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
31. Read between the lines.
32. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
33. Be gentle with the Earth.
34. Pray. There’s immeasurable power in it.
35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
36. Mind your own business.
37. Don’t trust a man/woman who doesn’t close his/her eyes when you kiss.
38. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction.
40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a good thing.
41. Learn the rules, then break some.
42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
-contributed by Keith Jeske
Monday, March 8, 1999
Y2J…esus?
In the stars His handiwork I see
On the winds He speaks with majesty.
With His hand He rules over land and see.
He’s everything to me.
He’s big enough to rule this mighty universe,
Yet small enough to live within my heart!
Tuesday, March 9, 1999
Y2L… ive for Jesus? Because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Today, more than ever in modern history, we need to find the Way to experience Truth and discover Life. Jesus is Life!
Wednesday, March 10, 1999
Y2M . . . any distractions from the work of the ministry. It’s time to be Motivated to Minister to the Many in need.
-contributed by Tim Bowman
Thursday, March 11, 1999
Y2N…ever give up on God? Because He will never give up on you!
Friday, March 12, 1999
Y2O…ver react to the criticism of people when God loves us so much and we are made in His image.
When people look at each other, they see the things they don’t like about themselves in others. No wonder they are so hard on each other.
When God looks at people He sees His image. God can’t see my sin through the blood of Jesus.
Saturday, March 13, 1999
“Y2P-ray” it’s our one way, direct line, never busy, always answered way to communicate with God 24 hours a day——-even Y2K can’t interrupt prayer to God.
-Contributed by Garrett Novak
Sunday, March 14, 1999
Easter Thought
“It was just a case of nails. I can’t help what people do with them.”
“The hammer was mine but I didn’t use it myself.”
“I was hired to dig a hole. I dug a hole.”
“Wood can be used for any variety of things!”
“I’m just one member on the council. I did what I did for the sake of everyone.”
“Yes I carried his cross. Should we both have died?”
“Nothing would have pleased me more than to have washed my hands of him.”
And all the people cried, “let his blood be on us and on our children.”
And it was… Thank God
-contributed by C. Uchtman
Monday, March 15, 1999
Y2Q…uestion what God is doing in your life when He is your Heavenly Father and you know He loves you… only as a Heavenly Father can.
Tuesday, March 16, 1999
Y2R…epeatedly make the same mistakes over and over again when we know better?
Because we are humans and we were made in God’s image, not in His fullness. If we were made in His fullness we would not need Him, salvation nor would we live under grace. It is because of our frail humanity that abundant grace is provided by a loving Heavenly Father.
Wednesday, March 17, 1999
Y2S…uffer when Jesus said to lay all of our burdens upon Him.
Thursday, March 18, 1999
Y2T…hink so much about yesterday when today and tomorrow is all you can change.
Y2T…ake, take, take when the blessings are in give, give give!
Someone once asked, “How much should I give?” The answer was simple, “Until it helps!”
Friday, March 19, 1999
Y2U…nderstand more about God? Because then, and only then, will we understand more about ourselves!
Saturday, March 20, 1999
The human condition is that we must act without knowledge. Therefore, even with the best of intentions, we are prone to error. That condition, which seems an irremediable weakness, is the threshold of God’s mercy and loving kindness and is invoked by faith. Faith is trust in God — and the peace that results — in the absence of any knowledge except that he is trustworthy.
-contributed by Martin Wishnatski
Sunday, March 21, 1999
Fasting and Feasting
by William Arthur Ward
Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on divine order.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from concern for self; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.
-contributed by Keith Jeske
Monday, March 22, 1999
Y2V…indicate even the most sinful? Because we have a loving Father who desires to forgive and have a personal relationship through His Son Jesus with the most VILE sinner known to man. God is in the ‘business of forgiveness!’
Tuesday, March 23, 1999
Y2W… ant more of God than anything else? Because He is the only one who can satisfy the hunger in the soul of man. Nothing else, absolutely no one else or nothing else, can do this for us.
Wednesday, March 24, 1999
Y2X… ray in ones own mind the spending of the church when you may not be giving unto the Lord cheerfully or giving the amount that God has placed on your heart. Often those who complain the most about how the church spends its money give the least!
If you don’t believe in tithing, just pray and ask God to show you how much you should be giving to His work. Be prepared for the answer. Remember, you can’t out give God!
Thursday, March 25, 1999
Y2Y…earn for more of God when, in reality, God is yearning for more of you!
Friday, March 26, 1999
Y2Z… ealous for serving the Lord? Why not?
-contributed by Tim Bauman
Saturday, March 27, 1999
Big Rocks
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.”
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. The he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him, “Probably not,” one of them answered.
“Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.”
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!”
“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your dreams? A worthy cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all.
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life? Then put those in your jar first.
-contributed by Frank Hall
Sunday, March 28, 1999
Brian Gibson of Pro-Life Action Ministries pointed out that Christianity is not just about who is Lord of your life, but about who is Lord of all life. How true! He is God objectively, not just subjectively.
“Children are not one of the risks of marriage; they are one of the rewards.”
— Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed dating Goodbye.
-contributed by Martin Wishnatsky
Monday, March 29, 1999
Easter Math
Passion Week is very special time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus. A time to reflect on our relationship with Him. And perhaps… a time to reflect on our relationship with others.
Easter has also become a time to spend with family. Take advantage of these special times with those you love to rejoice in what God has done and who He is.
I am reminded that we have only so many of these opportunities in our lifetimes. If we live to be 80, we only have 80 Easters to celebrate with loved ones. When you consider your age or the age of your loved ones, these special times with family become more and more cherished.
And, of course, we could be older than we think!
Tuesday, March 30, 1999
In their studies today, pastors around America will begin to prepare for an Easter sermon. Unfortunately, it is often forgotten that the congregation must also prepare to listen to what God has for them through the sermon. Prepare your hearts for worship this Easter Sunday.
P.S. Make sure you attend church this Easter Sunday. Prepare to be blessed.
P.S…. P.S. I will be bringing the message at a very special church this Easter Sunday for some very special people. I would appreciate your prayers that we will be blessed with a powerful presence of the Lord.
Wednesday, March 31, 1999
When Jesus died on the cross, He said seven (7) things. Can you find them before the day is done? You will find wonderful thoughts for the day there.
Hint: Matthew 27, Luke 23 & John 19.
