Thursday, September 30, 1999
Until the church makes God a priority, don’t expect the community to make “church” a priority!
Wednesday, September 29, 1999
It has often been said, “God helps those who help themselves.” My experience is that God helps those who seek His help.
Tuesday, September 28, 1999
If the first will be last and the last will be first, why is everyone so bent on being number 1?
Monday, September 27, 1999
Yesterday I sat in the bleachers of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI to watch one of the great rivalries in football, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. I was about a third of the way up on the 40-yard line. It was a great seat. I didn’t have the limitations of the small television screen and the camera. I could see the entire playing filed clearly.
I suppose that’s the way it is for God. We see only the small screen of our life but He sees the entire playing field. He knows the exact temperature, the condition of the field, which direction the wind is blowing and how hard. God has taken almost all of the guesswork out of the game of life except one thing, are we going to trust Him to call the plays.
Brett Farve is good at pulling out miracles in football but it doesn’t compare to the miracles of God the game of life!
Sunday, September 26, 1999
Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of three Wise Men?
They would have asked directions,
arrived on time,
helped deliver the baby,
cleaned the stable,
made a casserole, and,
brought practical gifts.
-contributed by Shari Lawson
Saturday, September 25, 1999
As I was walking uptown yesterday, I saw a mother dragging her 4 small child out of the back seat and progress to rough her up and “spank” her. It was a rather pathetic sight to see an adult take her frustrations out on such a precious child. Today I want to remind you that children are gifts from God that are to be handled with care. Being a blessing to a child will always work better than beating them!
Friday, September 24, 1999
Whatever happened to the “good old days?” Today I walked into a little building that had a For Rent sign on it. When I was in high school it was called the “Eat Shop.” The memories flowed as I walked around inside of it. It was there that Lonna, my wife of 33 years, and I first sat across the booth from each other and had a coke. We were high school sweethearts. I found myself wanting to find the old booths and counter complete with the Juke Box stations at each booth. Then re-open it, even if for just a short while, to try to recapture “the good old days.”
Many Christians would like to go back to “the good old days” in their spiritual life. I probably will never be able to sit across from Lonna in the booth at the Eat Shop again but each of us can spend time with God and rekindle a “burning heart” for Him. Everyday with God is a new day and they are all good!
Thursday, September 23, 1999
“In my Father’s house are many mansions” are very special words of Jesus from John 14. This morning as I was preparing for a funeral message I was reflecting on this text. I realized that there are many people on earth who live in mansions but are very lonely. Although I can’t comprehend being lonely in heaven, I do believe that one of the joys of eternity will be sharing it with friends and family. So, share your faith with others. Bring a crowd with you to heaven!
Wednesday, September 22, 1999
LIFE: It’s not a matter of life and death, it is a matter of life and eternal life!
Tuesday, September 21, 1999
Faith and an Empty Chair
A man’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his impending visit. “I guess you were expecting me,” he said. “No, who are you? said the father.
“I’m the new minister at your church,” he replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”
“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the minister shut the door. “I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man. “But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the preacher talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.”
“I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and, in faith, see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because He promised, “I’ll be with you always.” Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.'”
“So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him and returned to the church building.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.
“Did he die in peace?” he asked.
‘Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?”
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, “I wish we all could go that way.”
(original source unknown)
-contributed by John Roe
Monday, September 20, 1999
There is no way to do a wrong thing the right way.
-contributed by Marv Nelson
Sunday, September 19, 1999
The Christian life is not so much a matter of trial and error but rather trial and grace!
Saturday, September 18, 1999
God is above the things that hold you down. Reach up, grab hold of Him and don’t let go. He’ll take you to a higher place!
Friday, September 17, 1999
Sometimes when I would ask my mother what we were having for dinner she would answer, “Leftovers.” I heard it often over the years. One day when I asked what we were having for dinner she answered, “Mustgoes!” I asked, “What in the world are “Mustgoes?” She answered, “Everything in the refrigerator must go!” We had a good laugh.
Too often people look at other people who are less fortunate, less educated or less able and treat them as if they were ‘leftovers” and the world would be better off without them. These people then feel like “mustgoes,” with nowhere to go. And it is not a laughing matter.
Thousands upon thousands of people will wake up this morning feeling like they have no one who cares… as if they were “leftovers” or “must goes” and the world is laughing at them. How sad it is.
If you feel a little like that this morning, remember that God loves you. You were made in His image. He will never leave you or turn away from you. His arms are open, waiting and wanting to comfort you in your times of “rubble.”
Once in my deepest hour of despair I asked God to somehow show me that He still loved me. And He did something that I thought could never be done. He gave me peace in my heart. Yes, I’ve had plenty of difficult hours since then but I have went through them knowing God loved me because He had planted within me a garden of peace.
So, my friends, today I send you a rose from the garden of my heart, “God loves you!”
Thursday, September 16, 1999
An empty tomb proves Christianity, an empty church denies it.
–contributed by Marv Nelson
Wednesday, September 15, 1999
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.
He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.
“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us, “as the apple of His eye.”
THOUGHT: The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we are
but by WHOSE WE ARE! You are special – Don’t ever forget it!
From Andy L.
-contributed by Shari Lawson
Tuesday, September 14, 1999
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.
Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat.” Vanity answered.
Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh….Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”
Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!
Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived on dry land, the elder went his own way.
Love realizing how much he owed the elder and asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who helped me?” “It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”
Dennis A Untalasco
–contributed by Sandi Moser
Monday, September 13, 1999
Interview
“Come in,” God said to me, “so, you would like to interview Me?”
“If you have the time,” I said.
He smiled and said: “My time is called eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?”
“None that are new to you. What’s the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?”
He answered: “That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived…”
His hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said, “May I ask you another question?”
He replied with a smile. “As a Father, what would you ask your children to do for the new year?”
“To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved. To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it.
To learn that what is most valuable is not that they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will be others better or worse than they are.
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings.
To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.
To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them.
To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve.
To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure.
To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they forgive themselves.
To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say.
To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness.
To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn to be satisfied with what they already achieved.
To learn that happiness is a decision. They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.
To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life.
To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.
To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever.
-contributed by John & Brenda Roe
Sunday, September 12, 1999
God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. He gives you a handle on more things!
Saturday, September 11, 1999
To provide hope is to provide help!
Friday, September 10, 1999
No matter what needs you may have or giants that you must defeat, remember that GOD CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Thursday, September 9, 1999
Today my wife and I celebrate 33 years of marriage. It’s not a record but it’s a good start.
We have truly been blessed with four wonderful daughters who all have a strong faith in Christ. We have been blessed with good health and good friends. We have witnessed the hand of God move many times over the 20 plus years of ministry we have shared. And we have never had too much money to weight us down so it would diminish our passion to do the Lord’s work! We have truly been blessed.
Not that things have been easy. We are quite familiar with rejection, discouragement, failure and pain. But we have made it our friend. As Nicky Cruise once told me in the midst of a crisis in his life, “If I had to choose between feeling pain and feeling nothing at all, I choose pain!” For me, to be blessed with one drop of the goodness of God in a lifetime is worth all the difficult experiences. But we have been bathed in His love. We are blessed!
Wednesday, September 8, 1999
Sunday School teachers are hard to come by these days. Maybe if we changed the name to Son Day Counselors and Son Day Care, or some other clever names, we would have more volunteers to teach and more people in attendance. Then again, maybe not!
We have changed the name of “Prayer Meeting” to “Bible Study” to “Cell Groups” to “Small Groups” to “Fellowship Groups” to “Community Groups” and a few other names that I have forgotten. None of these name changes were successful unto themselves.
The bottom line is still desire, commitment and action. So, as the school year starts, be committed to your desire to grow spiritually and get involved in a weekly Bible study. If you don’t know where there is one, start one and invite others.
I realize that it sounds strange, but maybe is time for you to be a Bible Study Leader. Even more frightening… host it at your house. And then do a really bizarre thing… invite your neighbors and newcomers to your church.
It doesn’t matter what you call it… JUST DO IT!
Tuesday, September 7, 1999
WHEN I SAY I AM A CHRISTIAN . . .
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I’m not shouting “I am saved.”
I’m whispering “I get lost”,
that is why I chose this way.
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I am weak
and pray for strength to carry on.
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I’m not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are too visible but
God believes I’m worth it.
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
which is why I seek HIS name.
When I say . . . I am a Christian
I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority
I only know I’m loved.
-contributed by Keith Jeske
Monday, September 6, 1999
Tomorrow the school year starts in earnest. It is so important that students and parents prioritize their spiritual lives now. Parents get busy and forget how important it is to pray for their student.
Students get busy and neglect their spiritual lives, not realizing that these days can be some of the most confusing and important in their lives. The decisions made, both good and bad, can have a life-long impact on them.
Prayer points people’s perspective perfectly, properly past possible potential permanent pitfalls. Perhaps pampered past prevented powerful prayer. Put past, past. Pray!
Sunday, September 5, 1999
For God so loved the world… that He didn’t send a committee!
-contributed by …..?
Saturday, September 4, 1999
This year, a lot of young people will graduate from college but none of them will ever graduate from the school of life. Learning is not something that is finished, it is something that is lived.
So it is with our faith… we must learn to live it!
Friday, September 3, 1999
I have often been asked, “What is the mark of a great church?” The usual answers are things like a good worship service, bible study groups, women’s ministry, men’s ministry, youth ministry, being friendly and a host of other things that should be standard. I disagree with these common perspectives although I recognize that these are important aspects of church.
The mark of a great church is the spiritual condition and witness of the young people who have been raised in the church… after they leave home! Further, it is the adults who are serving the Lord who grew up in a particular church. And finally, it is the ministry of those called out from a particular church.
In a great church there will be a number of people who were raised in the church who felt called to the ministry. A great church encourages it’s young people to carefully consider if God has called them to be a pastor, missionary, teacher, evangelist, or some other type of full-time Christian service.
So, if you have the courage, count the number of young people who have been raised in your church for the past 20 years. Then count how many are adult believers, are active in a church, who attend church or are involved in full-time Christian service. Then calculate it by percentages, graph it out and see for yourself. Do you attend a great church?
I would be interested in your statistics.
Thursday, September 2, 1999
They turned to walk away. They just dropped off their child at college. It’s quite an emotional experience to leave knowing that their child is now going to make many of their own decisions. It feels like a parenting test and the results will soon be in. They are so much an adult and yet so much a child. Will they make good decisions? Here is where parents must take a new step with God and trust Him to be there for their child in the arena of adult life.
It’s not so different with God and us. We are so much an adult and so much a child. No doubt it is not easy for God to allow us to have the “free will” to make our own choices either. But He does. However, He is always there for us just as parents must always be there for their child.
Parents must also allow God to have His role in their own lives. Although we can never totally understand God, God can totally understand parents. After all, we call Him Father.
Wednesday, September 1, 1999
Situation ethics was taught extensively to today’s parents when they were in school. It is my belief that it taught impressionable students that they were more important than anyone else, including their parents. It was certainly not Biblically based.
Now we have a whole generation of parents who seem to think that they are more important than their children! Therefore, we should not be surprised at the violence of today’s angry teenagers.
So what is the problem? We have kids who are looking for their parents and there is nothing more frustrating than to have these people who are called parents under the same roof as their children but aren’t parents.
And then there are those who dare to approach Youth Ministry passively!
