Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Death without faith is like death without faith. There is nothing to compare facing eternity without Christ.
Monday, February 28, 2000
We sure know a lot about the weather. Storms are predicted days in advance and we can watch them coming in on radar. We can tell how hot or cold it’s going to be, how strong the wind will blow, and if it’s going to rain or snow. Yes, we know a lot about the weather. We just can’t control it!
It’s nice to know that no matter what the weatherman predicts, the weather is still in God’s hands.
Sunday, February 27, 2000
Good days are not determined by positive or negative circumstances but rather by positive or negative attitudes. No one wanted to eat lemons until we learned how to make lemonade. Many lemons were just thrown away, considered a useless fruit among so many others. But it takes work to make lemonade. You’ve got to squeeze the lemon. Like the lemon, many people throw away days with no regard for their value. Give each day a “sqeeze” and see what good things God has in them for you.
Saturday, February 26, 2000
Today there are a lot of moral issues that the church often ignores or treats with diffidence. The reason for this is to pacify those who may differ with the church, regardless of how clearly the scripture may define a particular sin. In any given congregation today, there are many people who have experienced one form of moral failure or another. Many, although repented and redeemed, still experience extreme guilt over past moral failures and do not want to be reminded of them through church activism. The result is blasé churches with lukewarm worship, riddled theology, extinct evangelism, and shadowed commitment resulting in “spiritual weight loss.” And it needs to change.
Today, if the church is going to be the “salt of the earth,” it better be the voice of purity and Biblical inerrancy. This voice must actively speak out against social injustice, moral failure, and prevalent sin. It must speak forgiveness and the love of God.
If God were a pacifist creation would have a taken a millennium not a week!
If God were a pacifist He would not have flooded the earth!
If God were a pacifist He would not have allowed Israel to be in slavery in Egypt!
If God were a pacifist He would not have made the 10 Commandments.
If God were a pacifist He would not have allowed Israel to be in captivity in Babylon.
If God were a pacifist He would never have created Elijah and Elisha!
If God were a pacifist He would not have instituted the covenants with Israel.
If God were a pacifist He would not have sent His Son to be born of a virgin.
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have healed the sick.
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have made the lame to walk.
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have had compassion on the poor.
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have made the blind to see!
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have made the sick well!
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have raised the dead!
If Jesus were a pacifist they would not have nailed Him to a cross!
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have died on the cross for you or me!
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have rose from the dead!
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not have ascended into Heaven!
If Jesus were a pacifist He would not be coming back for His church!
If the Holy Spirit were a pacifist you would not be sensing what you are feeling right now!
If you truly want to walk the path of Christ’s example, you will be actively proclaiming the forgiveness and the love of Christ to a lost and dying world.
Friday, February 25, 2000
When you can’t help yourself, whatever you do, don’t lay in the way of God helping you!
Thursday, February 24, 2000
It appears that there is a shortage in the church these days. I understand there are a shortage of good pastors, a shortage of Sunday School teachers, a shortage of quality leadership, a shortage of money and a drought of visionaries. But there seems to be no shortage of critics. The problem is that the church today seems to be reluctant to confront critics.
How does a church, whose spiritual foundations are challenged by the critics, confront them? Critics are generally silenced by success. But church success is not measured by beautiful buildings, wonderful music, eloquent sermons or great literature. These things do not silence the critic. In fact, it can actually inflame the critic.
The scripture teaches us how to silence a critic. The Apostle Paul writes,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I Cor 13:4-8 (NIV)
A house of faith built on a foundation of prayer and furnished with love turns critics into companions.
Wednesday, February 23, 2000
Perhaps one of the hardest things for people to grasp is that life constantly changes. Sometimes it changes dramatically and quickly. In recent days I attended visitation for a 19-year-old man who was killed when the car fell on him that he was working on. A grandmother has cancer and had immediate major surgery. A middle aged woman nearly paralyzed from a car accident faces months of rehab. A twelve year old girl died during surgery. And those are just the recent things that quickly come to my mind. Life is full of unexpected change but God never changes!
Tuesday, February 22, 2000
JUDGE ME BY THE FOOTPRINTS I LEAVE BEHIND
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve got a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring with me.”
“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.” “There’s something you should know,” the son continued. “He was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”
“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.” “Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.
Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!
There’s a miracle called Friendship that dwells in the heart. You don’t know how it happens or when it gets started. But you know the special lift. It always brings and you realize that Friendship Is God’s most precious gift! Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends today how much you care.
-contributed by John Roe
Monday, February 21, 2000
As the millennium came closer we began to hear more talk about the last days. We call it the “rapture” of the church or the “second coming of Christ.” No doubt we are living in the last days. It would seem that even the apostle Paul thought that Christ would return in his lifetime. We too should be looking for His eminent return. But the day or hour of Christ return has not been revealed. It could be today or it could hundreds of years from now.
For those of this generations, consideration and preparation for ones eminent death would be a prudent act of wisdom. Our hour of death has not been revealed but it is as certain as the second coming of Christ. Yet we seem to find it palatable to live as neither were ever going to occur.
Each of us is living in the last days of our lives. Our death is eminent and it gets closer every day that we are alive. Spend your days wisely.
Sunday, February 20, 2000
Recently I heard someone say that a certain church had a great praise and worship service. I have concerns whether some churches are “praising the Lord” or “performing for the Lord.” Worship services can be wild or morbid and still be a performance.
It’s in the Spirit. It’s in the flesh. It’s in the Spirit. It’s in the flesh. It’s in the Spirit. It’s in the flesh. It’s in the Spirit. It’s in the flesh. It’s in the Spirit. It’s in the flesh.
False or misguided worship should be a concern for believers. It is a serious issue because it is done before and to a pure and holy God.
Praise is not describable or containable in words or expression but I have two thoughts today about what praise isn’t and what praise is.
Praise is not a dislocated “rock concert,” a “barn dance” moved into the church from the barn or a “wake” moved into the church from the funeral chapel. And it is not a lecture on historical events or pop psychology. And it is not a synchronized swimming event moved into the church.
Praise is something that is a result of a “submitted committed” servant’s heart yearning for a loving God to magnify Himself in his or her daily life for the purpose of accomplishing the great commission.
Saturday, February 19, 2000
Out on the lake today, on the ice, there is a golf tournament. They have actually brought in some Pine trees and propped them up in the snow to add to the effects. When people really enjoy and long for something they go through great lengths to get a small taste of it, even to the extreme of golfing on ice in the winter time with old Christmas trees. If people longed for the presence of God in eternity with a similar passion, there would be a whole lot more of heaven here on earth.
Friday, February 18, 2000
Have you ever noticed how the laundry and dishes pile up? Just about the time you get them all clean, WAM, you eat some more or you change clothes. So why is it that people find it so difficult to understand their need for a daily cleansing in the presence of the Lord. If people did the laundry and dishes at the same rate as their daily devotions and prayer, WOW, many people would have wall-to-wall dirty dishes and they would have to rent a storage unit for all of the dirty clothes. I think you have the picture and I haven’t even got to the part about a daily bath!
Thursday, February 17, 2000
There is so much inner turmoil in churches these days that perhaps we should vaccinate people for bitterness, selfishness, anger and hatred before they can become members. Like many medicines, if you don’t take a good dose of God you don’t get the cure! And we got a lot of people in our churches today that need to OD on God!
It was interestingly asked by a recently converted drug addict, “If people don’t get radically saved are they even saved at all?”
Another young believer said, “Too many people today are getting saved to something instead of from something. We need an attitude of gratitude for the saving power of Jesus Christ!”
Regardless of how it is said, one thing is certain. The church today needs powerful people of God who are sold out to the cause of Christ. Then people will be free to worship in spirit and truth.
Wednesday, February 16, 2000
Paul Harvey writes:
We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I’d like better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meatloaf sandwiches. I really would. I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I hope you learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen. It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it’s alright if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he’s scared, I hope you let him. When you want to see a movie and your little brother wants to tag along, I hope you’ll let him. I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don’t ask your ‘driver’ to drop you two blocks away so you won’t be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom. If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make on instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head. I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what Ivory soap tastes like. May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole. I don’t care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don’t like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend. I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle. May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays. I hope your Mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand. These things I wish for you – tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.
-contributed by Ed Andrist
Tuesday, February 15, 2000
The problem with sliding down a steep hill is the long walk back up to the top. When you go skiing it is much nicer. They have what is called a “lift” that takes you back up to the top of the slopes.
So it is with sin. When you slide down the mountain of sin Jesus comes along and gives you a lift back up to the top. We call it “grace.” Yet, there still seems to be a lot of people who want to do it their way, by themselves and make the rugged trip back up toward the top on foot. The problem is, in the spiritual world, it can’t be done. When you fall and stumble and you’re on a “sin roll” down the mountain of life, it is only through God that we can reverse this momentum of the sin experience.
So, if you have been sliding down the mountain of life out of control, catch the ride back to the top on the “Grace Lift!”
P.S. Remember, just because your sliding down the mountain doesn’t mean you have to slide all the way down to the bottom!
Monday, February 14, 2000
I always enjoy what some would categorize as “outrageous” for times like Valentines Day. Maybe a giant sized heart, a few dozen roses or perhaps a wheelbarrow full of chocolates. So why do I find this “outrageous” behavior so exciting? Because when I read the scriptures I find that God’s love for us is “outrageous!” God has bestowed His love on us over, above and beyond anything we can imagine. In other words, if God expressed himself to us for Valentines Day he would have delivered to us a heart shaped card the size of Delaware, whole fields of Roses or a train load of chocolates!
The definition of outrageous in this sense is “shockingly extreme.”
P.S. Perhaps a “shockingly extreme” expression of your love for your Valentine is in order for this year.
Sunday, February 13, 2000
The Price of Grace!
Can you imagine at today’s cost of living what the price of grace would be? Even at the discount stores it would be out of the common man’s reach. Humans would figure out a way sell you the “grace package” free but the refills, oh the refills. If grace could be sold Canon, Hewlett Packer and Epson wouldn’t be messing around selling us these ink jet refills for a mere $30.
Aren’t you Glad Grace is Free!
Saturday, February 12,2000
The hardest part about making change is… you have to change. As people (that’s all of us) grow older there is a tendency to reject change. Often the little changes that people could have and should have made over the years accumulate to what appears to be a single, large dramatic change. It is then so overwhelming that fear sets in, silent emotional paralysis reigns and no change occurs. People are then perceived as stubborn when in reality they are afraid and unwilling to change.
The secret to change is to break it down into specific areas that can be considered, one at a time. Make a list of things you would like to change in your life. Then go to your spouse, a close family member or a trusted friend and ask them what changes they think would be beneficial for you to change in your life. Put the two lists together and then pick one item to work on for one month. The next month, pick another item to work on, etc.
Some will spend the rest of their life trying to stay ahead of the list. In fact, you should never catch up. It is called learning. You see, change is nothing more than a continuation of ones educational process that starts at the time we are born and ends at the time of our death.
The problem with too many people is they quit the educational process prematurely. Some experts would suggest at about age 13!
Friday, February 11, 2000
Another Friday Funny
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, “Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late! Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late!”
As she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. As she ran she once again began to pray, “Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late! But don’t shove me either.”
-contributed by Ralph & Judi Fischer
Thursday, February 10, 2000
I remember buying my high school sweetheart a rose for Valentines Day. I didn’t have much for money so I couldn’t afford a dozen of them. However, from time to time I would stop by the florist and he would pick me out a rose, that he said was “too full,” and give it to me. I would bring it to my high school sweetheart, although she did not know that they were free.
I noticed that she was just as happy with the rose I paid for on Valentines Day as she was with those that I had received free. It wasn’t the beauty of the rose, the price of the rose or the “fullness” or lack thereof of the rose that pleased her. What pleased her is that I remembered her and that she was special.
Those single roses have worked pretty well. I married my high school sweetheart and this past September we celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I could have afforded a whole dozen roses at a time!
But flowers won’t cure what’s wrong with most marriages. Perhaps this poem says it best.
If I would have only known,
What one single rose could do.
I would have shared my secret,
This happiness so true.
But it’s not in the pedals,
As they fall one after another.
The secrets in a special bond,
Sealed by our Heavenly Father!
So if you want to bless her,
In ways of heavenly beauty,
Then be a Godly husband,
It’s your eternal duty!
Wednesday, February 9, 2000
Friends Are Like Angels
Our friends are like angels,
Who brighten our days.
In all kinds of wonderful,
Mysterious ways.
Their thoughtfulness comes,
As a gift from above.
And we feel we’re surrounded,
By warm, caring love.
Like upside-down rainbows,
Their smiles bring the sun.
And they fill ho-hum moments,
With laughter and fun.
Friends are like angels,
Without any wings.
Blessing our lives,
With the most precious things.
-Author Unknown
-contributed by Ramona Anderson
Tuesday, February 8, 2000
About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and – WHUMP! – it smashed into the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH…!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown.
Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about and who are you? Just are you doing?!” Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new Jag. That brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”
“Please mister, please … I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!”, pleaded the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, >mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be okay. He then watched the younger brother push him down the> sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE – a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention… Some bricks are softer that others.
-contributed by Ed Andrist
What does God have to do to get your attention to the hurts and needs of those around you?
Monday, February 7, 2000
Isn’t it interesting how we have become such a career-oriented society today? In reality, this is not a new thing. Throughout the centuries, knowingly or unknowingly, parents have raised their children with careers in mind. Even in early history sons were taught the same trade (career) as their fathers. Some of families actually took on the last name of the trade they had.
But even with the best-laid plans for the future, God still chooses people from a “career” to a “calling.” Peter was a professional fisherman until Jesus came along and called him to be a “fisher of men.” So consider this. As you are preparing and planning your career, God may be preparing and planning your calling!
Sunday, February 6, 2000
“Failures are divided into two classes— those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought!”
-contributed by Marv Nelson
Saturday, February 5, 2000
The beautiful things of God are found in people, not on them.
Friday, February 4, 2000
Hello God, I called tonight
To talk a little while…
I need a friend who’ll listen
To my anxiety and trial.
You see, I can’t quite make it
Through a day just on my own…
I need your love to guide me,
So I’ll never feel alone.
I want to ask you please to keep,
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they’re bound.
Give me faith, Dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can’t change in any way.
I thank you God, for being home
And listening to my call.
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.
Your number, God, is the only one,
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.
So thank you God for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You, Too,
And I’ll call again tomorrow!
-contributed by Ralph and Judy Fischer
Thursday, February 3, 2000
What do you do when things don’t go your way? Go God’s way!
Wednesday, February 2, 2000
Good sermons usually result from good listening!
Tuesday, February 1, 2000
The choices in life are not always about good and evil. Some of the hardest choices come down to “good” and “best.” So often we are willing to settle for “good” from God when He wants to give us His “best!”
