Thursday, May 4, 2000
Here is a story, reported to be true, about a nine-year-old boy who lived in a rural town in Tennessee. His house was in a poor area of the community. A church there had a bus ministry that came knocking on his door one Saturday afternoon. The child came to answer the door and greeted the bus pastor.
The bus pastor asked if his parents were home and the small boy told him that his parents take off every weekend and leave him at home to take care of his little brother.
The bus pastor could not believe what the child said and asked him to repeat it. The youngster gave the same answer and the bus pastor asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the
living room and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs exposed. The bus pastor asked the child, “Where do you go to church?”
The young boy surprised the visitor by replying, “I’ve never been to church in my whole life.” The bus pastor thought to himself about the fact that his church was less than three miles from the child’s house.
“Are you sure you have never been to church?” he asked again.
“I’m sure I haven’t, ” came his answer.
Then the bus pastor said, “Well, son, more important than going to church, have you ever heard the greatest love story ever told?” and then he proceeded to share the gospel with this little nine-year-old boy.
The young lad’s heart began to be tenderized and at the end of the bus pastor’s story, the bus pastor asked if the boy wanted to receive this free gift from God.
The youngster exclaimed, “OF COURSE!”
The child and the bus pastor got on their knees and the lad invited Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift of salvation. They both stood up and the bus pastor asked if he could pick the child up for church the next morning.
“Sure,” the nine year old replied.
The bus pastor got to the house early the next morning and found the lights off. He let himself in, snaked his way through the house, and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up the little boy and his brother and helped get them dressed. They got on the bus and ate a doughnut for breakfast on their way to church.
Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church before. The church was a real big one. The little child just sat there, clueless of what was going on. A few minutes into the service, these tall unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up some wooden plates.
One of the men prayed and the child, with utter fascination, watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still did not know what was going on.
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, it hit the child what was taking place. These people must be giving money to Jesus. He then reflected on the free gift of life he had received just twenty-four hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets, front and back, and could not find a thing to give Jesus.
By this time the offering plate was being passed down his aisle and, with a broken heart, he just grabbed the plate and held on to it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the aisle. He turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind him. And then his eyes remained glued on the plate as it was passed back and forth, back and forth all the way to the rear of the sanctuary.
Then he had an idea. This little nine-year-old boy, in front of God and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked about eight rows back, grabbed the usher by the coat, and asked to hold the plate one more time. Then he did the most astounding thing:
He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church floor, and stepped into the center of it. As he stood there, he lifted his little head up and said, “Jesus, I don’t have anything to give you today, but just me. I give you me!
-contributed by Martin Wishnatsky
Friday, March 31, 2000
I want to be remembered as a man who found inner peace and accumulated inner wealth… and then gave it away to others so that they too may experience Christ. For He, and He alone, brings inner peace and inner wealth.
P.S. What is inner wealth? The “Love Bank” where God and others make deposits in each of us. Then we make withdrawals and give to others when they are short on love and self worth to help fill their “love bank.” And this all happens without the Federal Reserve!
Thursday, March 30, 2000
In one of our websites we have experienced the frustration of it not wanting to connect with the source server. After much anguish we discovered that we had accumulated numerous broken links that prevented proper connection. When we reconnected the links properly everything worked fine again.
So it is with churches. There are many broken links (people) in the church that need reconnecting (revival/renewal) to their source server (Jesus). When the church has too many broken links it jointly has connection problems. Fix the broken links and you will fix your church… with a powerful connection to the source server!
How many is too many broken links? We don’t know on our website how many broken links cause our website to lose connection power but we have determined that one is too many. I suspect the same holds true for the church.
Wednesday, March 29, 2000
Have you ever noticed how wonderful rest can be? Recently I experienced a reminder.
This past September my wife started her first full time job teaching school about 30 minutes from our home. We have always been a tradition family with only one full time income but now that our youngest daughter is off to college, this seemed like a good choice. But is has also been a transition and a lot of work for my wife as a 50 year old full time first year teacher.
In September a close family member separated in marriage and lived with us for three months.
In October we started an addition and remodeling project on our house that is still in the process.
In November I was sick most of the month with a very difficult virus that had hospitals full in the upper Midwest. We also started the Seasons of Praise, the holiday worship services that continued through New Years Eve.
In late December, after Christmas, we found out that one of our daughters had a tumor in her neck located in the Saliva gland that would require surgery.
In January she had surgery. After many tests it was determined that the tumor was cancerous and would require further surgery, which took place two weeks after the first surgery. The personal trauma of this is hard to describe in words and perhaps cannot be done. I might add that the second surgery was quite successful and there were no more signs of the cancer and there is no expected return.
In February I had about 10 days where things seemed to be a little more normal when I caught one of those chest colds that I have a difficult time getting over. In late February my grandmother, whom I lived with until I was seven, suffered a severe stroke.
In March my grandmother suffered two or three more stokes and has been between the hospital and the nursing home three times. She has approached heavens gates on more than one occasion during these days. I have been at her side as often as I have been able to pray with her. She has prayed for her entire family daily so these are difficult days for all of us.
Last Monday we moved out of our old office into our new office that was delayed in completion. The phone company made numerous errors in transferring our phones, which caused us to be without phone service on three occasions for up to two days at a time. I have a website business that we have been trying to build to support ourselves and the ministry I want to do. (www.communityshowcase.net www.onlinetraderusa.com www.onlineweeklyusa.com (going up later this week) Pine City, MN is the sample community.)
Our carpenters also returned last week for the first time since December to continue our house project. We moved most of our things out on Wednesday night with the help of my brother-in-law and two nephews. The carpenters arrived Thursday morning and began gutting out the old part of the house. We salvaged the bathroom and one small bedroom through the weekend but I felt like we were living in an abandoned house in the ghetto.
And then came Monday morning. We got up early and moved the mattresses into the garage and took our needed close and put them in the car. Although I knew better, there was a sense…I felt like I was homeless. It was a long day on Monday because we really hadn’t determined what we were going to do. Finally that afternoon we made a decision to rent a motel room for a few days.
When we got into the room I laid on the bed and thought, “I need some rest!”
There are times in our lives when we will have a lot of circumstances that will wear us down physically and rest is essential. But these same circumstances can wear us down spiritually and we must also have spiritual rest. These are the times when we must lay at the feet of Jesus and say, “Lord, my load is heavier than I can carry right now and I need to rest. Could you carry this for me for awhile?”
For many of us, we try to carry the load that Jesus wants to carry for us. So if your life resembles what mine has been in the last few months:
Let God be God and don’t carry the things that He will carry for you.
Realize that something wonderful is coming around the corner or you wouldn’t be experiencing these kinds of days! (It’s Friday but Sundays comin’!)
P.S. I trust that you have been blessed by the ChurchMouse Chronicles during these days when writing them has not always been easy. Thanks to those who have contributed things that we have been able to use.
Tuesday, March 28, 2000
BEATITUDES FOR MARRIED COUPLES
BLESSED are the husband and wife, who continue to be affectionate, considerate and loving through all the days of their life together.
BLESSED are the husband and wife who are as polite and courteous to one another as they are to friends.
BLESSED are the husband and wife who have a sense of humor, for this will be a handy shock absorber.
BLESSED are they who love each other more than any other person in the world, fulfilling their marriage vow of a lifetime of fidelity as husband and wife
BLESSED are they who thank GOD for their blessings and who set aside some time each day for the reading of the Bible and prayer together.
BLESSED are they who never speak harshly to each other and who make their home a place of mutual encouragement and love.
BLESSED are the husband and wife who can work out their problems without interference from relatives.
BLESSED are the husband and wife who dedicate their lives and their home to the advancement of CHRIST and HIS Kingdom.
-contributed by Ed Andrist
Monday, March 27, 2000
Whatever difficult circumstances you are facing today, don’t let it be a roadblock to what God is doing in your life. Make it a passageway. We must make the problems we face “transparent” so we may see through them and past them to what God has in mind for us. How do we do this? Through eyes of faith.
Sunday, March 26, 2000
This was written by an 8 year old, for his third grade homework assignment. The Assignment was to explain God. Wonder if any of us could do as well???
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EXPLAIN GOD
One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the Ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn’t make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn’t
have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.”
God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn’t have time to listen to the radio or TV because He hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.” God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn’t go wasting His time by going over your Mom and dad’s head asking for something they said you couldn’t have.”
Atheists are people who don’t believe in God. I don’t think there are any in Glendora. At least there aren’t any who come to our church.”
“Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn’t want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.”
“His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn’t have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.” “You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.”
“You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there’s anybody you want to make happy, it’s God. Don’t skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn’t come out at the beach until noon anyway.”
If you don’t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He’s around you when you’re scared in the dark or when you can’t swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.” But…you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you.
I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And…that’s why I believe in God
-contributed by John Roe
Saturday, March 25, 2000
I have a friend who says, “If you’re going to hunt elephants you have to go where there are elephants!” So it is for evangelism. If you are going to lead sinners to Christ you had better go where there are sinners.
P.S. It is dangerous to hunt elephants. You must be trained, properly armed and use extreme precaution. So it is with evangelism!
Friday, March 24, 2000
As I was driving to the office yesterday I came up behind an older car in very bad condition driving very slowly. The rear bumper was replaced with a 2’ x 10’ board. But that wasn’t the part really caught my attention. There were two people in the car sitting very close together. From the back it appeared that they were a couple of kids “madly in love.” As I passed them I had a most startling discovery. A man was sitting in the front seat driving and a young woman was sitting in the back seat riding. From the back it appeared that they were both in the front seat cuddling up to each other. I just had to laugh at my own ability to prejudge appearances without knowing all of the facts. Perhaps it is a good lesson for all of us to make sure we get a good view of circumstances before we cast judgment.
P.S. God never makes these kinds of errors in judgment.
Thursday, March 23, 2000
John Powell, A Professor at Loyola University in Chicago writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was the first day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn’t what’s on your head but what’s in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under “S” for strange..very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the “atheist in residence” in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father-God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a slightly cynical tone: “Do you think I’ll ever find God?” I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. “No!” I said very emphatically. “Oh,” he responded, “I thought that was the product you were pushing.” I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out: “Tommy! I don’t think you’ll ever find him, but I am absolutely certain that he will find you!” He shrugged a little and left my class and my life. I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line: “He will find you!” At least I thought it was clever.
Later I heard that Tommy had graduated and I was duly grateful. Then a sad report, I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of Chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe. “Tommy, I’ve thought about you so often. I hear you are sick!” I blurted out. “Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It’s a matter of weeks.”
“Can you talk about it, Tom”?
“Sure, what would you like to know?” “What’s it like to be only twenty-four and dying?” “Well, it could be worse.”
“Like what?”
“Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real ‘biggies’ in life.” I began to look through my mental file cabinet under “S” where I had filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification God sends back into my life to educate me.) But what I really came to see you about,” Tom said, “is something you said to me on the last day of class.” (He remembered!) He continued, “I asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, ‘No!’ which surprised me. Then you said, ‘But he will find you.’ I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time. (My “clever” line. He thought about that a lot!) “But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, then I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. “And then you quit.”
“Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn’t really care …about God, about an afterlife or anything like that. “I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered something else you had said: ‘The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.’
“So I began with the hardest one: my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him.” “Dad”. . .
“Yes, what?” he asked without lowering the newspaper.
“Dad, I would like to talk with you.”
Well, talk.”
I mean. .. . It’s really important.”
The newspaper came down three slow inches. “What is it?”
Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that.” Tom smiled at me and said with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him. “The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me. And we talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me.
“It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years. I was only sorry about one thing: that I had waited so long. Here I was just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.
“Then, one day I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop, ‘C’mon, jump through.’ ‘C’mon, I’ll give you three days …three weeks.’ Apparently God does things in his own way and at his own hour. “But the important thing is that he was there. He found me. You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for him.”
“Tommy,” I practically gasped, “I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love. You know, the Apostle John said that. He said God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.’
Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn’t be half as effective as if you were to tell them.”
“Oooh . . . I was ready for you, but I don’t know if I’m ready for your class.”
“Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call.”
In a few days Tommy called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date.
However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class. Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time. “I’m not going to make it to your class,” he said.
“I know, Tom.”
“Will you tell them for me? Will you. . . tell the whole world for me?”
I will, Tom. I’ll tell them. I’ll do my best.”
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to hear this simple statement about love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven: “I told them, Tommy ……. as best I could.”
It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
-contributed by Steven Schmidt
Wednesday, March 22, 2000
This is a first-person account from a mother about her family as they ate dinner on Christmas Day in a small restaurant many miles from their home.
Nancy, the mother, relates:
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed
everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, “Hi there.” He pounded his fat baby hands on the high-chair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He then, wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat; dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his
toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. “Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,” the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, “What do we do?”
Erik continued to laugh and answer, “Hi, hi there.” Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.
Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, “Do ya know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo.” Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. “Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,” I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby’s “pick-me-up” position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man’s.
Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor-gently, so gently, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back.
No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, “You take care of this baby.” Somehow I managed, “I will,” from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest-unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain.
I received my baby, and the man said, “God bless you, ma’am, you’ve given me my Christmas gift.” I said nothing more than muttered thanks.
With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, “My God, my God, forgive me.” I had just witnessed Christ’s love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking-“Are you willing to share your son for a moment?”-when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, “To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.”
Contributed by Ralph Fischer
Tuesday, March 21, 2000
It doesn’t take much practice to pray. Things that come natural do not need practice and prayer is one of those things. God created us to have fellowship with Him and prayer is certainly how we fellowship with God. Not praying is not natural. In other words, God created us to pray. Don’t neglect this privilege God has given us.
Monday, March 20, 2000
The race of life has no quitters. Everyone crosses the finish line. The problem or blessing is that it is only the beginning. Eternity has no finish line and no false starts. Once you cross the finish line of life you enter the winners or losers circle, commonly referred to as heaven or hell. That’s where you are rewarded for how you run the race.
I know there are those who don’t believe in hell. As a wise old preacher once said, “That’s okay. They’ll change their mind after they have been there for 5 seconds.
Sunday, March 19, 2000
I have noticed that people have a tendency to consistently sit in the same place in morning worship services Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. This should tell us something about the rest of their week!
Saturday, March 18, 2000
SENATE PRAYER
Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good” but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that.
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism;
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism;
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle;
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery;
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare;
We have killed our unborn and called it choice;
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;
We have abused power and called it politics;
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition;
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression;
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will, to open ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen”
The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on “The Rest of the Story”on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called one nation under God.
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything.”
-contributed by multiple subscribers
Friday, March 17, 2000
When judging others, remember, the same measure you use to judge them will be the same measure God uses to judge you. (See Matthew 7:2)
Thursday, March 16, 2000
The Biggest Mathematical Miracle in the World!
Moses and the people were in the desert, but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 2 or 3 million people requires a lot of food. According to the Quartermaster General in the Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1500 tons of food each day. Do you know that to bring that much food each day, two freight trains, each a mile long, would be required! Besides you must remember, they were out in the desert, so they would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And just think, they were forty years in transit.
And oh yes! They would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take 11,000,000 gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars, 1800 miles long, just to bring water!
And then another thing! They had to get across the Red Sea at night. Now, if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So, There had to be a space in the Red Sea, 3 miles wide so that they could walk 5000 abreast to get over in one night. But then, there is another problem. Each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island was required, or a total of 750 square miles long…think of it! This space just for nightly camping. Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left Egypt? I think not! You see, Moses believed in God. God took care of these things for him.
Now do you think God has any problem taking care of all your needs? May God Bless You And Keep You Safe
-contributed by Loren Schultz
Wednesday, March 15, 2000
To think of the temporal as if it were eternal is a most basic of human error!
Tuesday, March 14, 2000
Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. On this day, he asked, “Lord, they tell me you are sending me to earth today. How am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”
God replied, “Among the many angels, I chose one just for you. This special angel is waiting for you and will take care of you.”
“But, Lord, here in Heaven, I sing and smile, and that’s enough for me to be happy.”
God said, “Your angel will sing and smile for you every day. You will feel your angel’s love and be happy.”
“How will I ever be able to understand when people talk to me, when I don’t even know the language they speak?”
God replied, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you’ll ever hear, and with much patience, teach you how to speak.”
“What am I going to do when I want to talk to You?” God said, “Your angel will place your hands together and teach you how to pray.”
“I’ve heard that there is danger on earth, who is going to protect me?”
“Your angel will defend you always, even if it means risking its life.”
“But, Lord, I will always be sad, because I will not see you anymore.” God said, “Your angel will always talk to you about Me, and teach the way for you to come back, even though I will always be next to you.”
At that moment, there was much peace in Heaven, even as voices from earth could already be heard. The child said softly, “Oh, Lord, I am about to leave now. Please, tell me my angel’s name.”
God silenced all fear when He said, “Your angel’s name is of no importance. You will simply call her “Mommy”.
-contributed by Ralph Fischer
Monday, March 13, 2000
God is the only one big enough to carry the weight of the world on His shoulders. And yet, we try and try and try. Give it up! You were not created to carry that load or a lot of other loads that we are prone to carry that really belong to God. One of my favorite sayings in regard to this is, “That stick may not be in your bundle to carry.” Free yourself from the things you cannot change and then change the things you are able that will make you free.
Sunday, March 12, 2000
It is often said that about Sunday worship services. “I just couldn’t sense the presence of the Lord there today.” God is not the one who wasn’t there!
Saturday, March 11, 2000
Seen on a church sign this week:
“Faults are thick when love is thin.”
-contributed by Tricia Jeske
Friday, March 10, 2000
There seems to be a lot of division in churches these days. Perhaps we need to spend less time on “theology” and more time on “loveology!”
Thursday, March 9, 2000
We are in this world from the womb to the tomb. That’s a relatively short time considering we are in God’s world from destiny (See Jeremiah 1:5) to eternity.
Wednesday, March 8, 2000
The better choice of two evils… is still evil.
I’m Just a Mother?
A few months ago, when I was picking up the children at school, another mother I knew well rushed up to me. Emily was fuming with indignation.
“Do you know what you and I are?” she demanded. Before I could answer – and I didn’t really have one handy – she blurted out the reason for her question.
It seemed she had just returned from renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office. Asked by the woman recorder to state her “occupation,” Emily had hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. “What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “Do you have a job, or are you just a…?” “Of course I have a job,” snapped Emily. “I’m a mother.” “We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation…’housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder emphatically.
I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high-sounding title, like “Official Interrogator” or “Town Registrar.” “And what is your occupation?” she probed. What made me say it, I do not know. The words simply popped out.
“I’m….a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in mid-air, and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly, emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pompous pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “just what you do in your field?” Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t) in the laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). I’m working for my Masters (the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are in satisfaction rather than just money.”
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door. As I drove into our driveway buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants— ages 13, 7, and 3. And upstairs, I could hear our new experimental model (six months) in the child- development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt triumphant. I had scored a beat on bureaucracy. And I had gone down on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than “just another……”
-contributed by Connie Andrist
Monday, March 6, 2000
Wisdom from a retired pastor
” If we spent half as much time as we should, thanking God for His many blessings; we wouldn’t have any time left to complain about our problems ”
“Prayer is something more than asking God to run errands for us. ”
“As sure as God ever puts His children in the furnace, He will be in the furnace with them”
-contributed by Marv Nelson
Sunday, March 5, 2000
~God Knows~
When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless efforts…
God knows how hard you have tried.
When you’ve cried so long and your heart is in anguish…
God has counted your tears.
If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by…
God is waiting with you.
When you’re lonely and friends are too busy for a phone call…
God is by your side.
When you’ve think you’ve tried everything and don’t know where to turn…
God has a solution.
When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated…
God has the answer.
If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope…
God has whispered to you.
When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for…
God has blessed you.
When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe…
God has smiled upon you.
When you have a purpose to fulfill and a dream to follow…
God has opened your eyes and called you by name.
Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are facing…
~God Knows~
-contributed by Rick Schwagel
Saturday, March 4, 2000
God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, and acts with a hand that never fails.
God can heal a broken heart, but he has to have all the pieces.
God has a history of using the insignificant to accomplish the impossible.
God never asks about our ability or inability – just our availability.
Without God the world would be a maze without a clue.
Many millions search for God and find Him in their hearts.
Sometimes God calms the storm; sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child.
God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.
When God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head.
God does not wish us to remember what he is willing to forget.
God has two dwellings – one in heaven and the other in a thankful heart.
God is more interested in making us what He wants us to be than giving us what we think we ought to have.
-contributed by Ed Andrist
Friday, March 3, 2000
A number of years ago I was involved in a business situation that resulted in everyone involved making large amounts of money, except me. I was instrumental in what took place at the time and I found myself struggling with the feeling of not being rewarded properly. Even though I knew that it was not a feeling I should have, I still had it.
So it is in our spiritual walk. One of the most difficult things for people who have poured their lives into ministry is the feeling that they haven’t been rewarded properly for their effort. In other words, God has not blessed them to the degree of their effort, commitment or success. It’s as if somehow working for God was some kind of an “I do that and God does this!”
For most of us, it’s harder to wait for the bountiful treasures in heaven than it is hold onto a small treasure here on earth. Keep the joy in what you do by not worrying about temporal rewards and concentrating on the eternal results.
Thursday, March 2, 2000
For all you scientists out there and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible…here’s something that shows God’s awesome creation and shows that He is still in control. Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called “myth” in the Bible is true?
Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore Maryland and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development: I think one of the most amazing things
that God has for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Green Belt, Maryland. They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space where they would be 100 years and 1000 years from now. We have to know this so we won’t send a satellite, up and have it bump into something later on its orbits. We have to lie out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite, and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.
They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said, “What’s wrong?” Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time.
They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer. Finally, a Christian man on the team said, “You know, one time I was in Sunday school and they talked about the sun standing still.” While they didn’t believe him, they didn’t have an answer either, so they said, “Show us.” He got a Bible and went back to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with ‘common sense.’ There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, “Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.” Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That’s right-“The sun stood still and the moon stayed—and hasted not to go down about a whole day!”
The astronauts and scientists said, “There is the missing day!” They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua’s day was 23 hours and 20 minutes-not a whole day. They read the Bible and there it was “about (approximately) a day.” These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes you’ll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.
As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings. Hezekiah, on his death-bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said, “Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?” Hezekiah said “It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the Shadow return backward 10 degrees.” Isaiah spoke to the Lord and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD!
Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes! Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe! Isn’t it amazing? Our God is rubbing their noses in His Truth! References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13; 2 Kings 20:9-11 Forward this to as many people who would think this is equally as cool.
-contributed by Nancy Anderson
Wednesday, March 1, 2000
To tear others down to build yourself up has no place in the Christian life. To find a little good in others is usually the result of a little of God in you.
