Thursday, November 30, 2000
For several months I had been walking 1 ½ to 3 miles per day. With the cold winter weather setting in, the past two weeks I haven’t walked at all. I have been amazed at how quickly I feel out of shape. So it is with our spiritual lives. When we stop spiritual exercises such as attending church, Christian fellowship, prayer and scripture reading it affects us very quickly. So, keep your heart in shape!
-1 Pet 2:2-3 (NIV)
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Wednesday, November 29, 2000
Counting your blessings is a great method of shadowing the disappointments and difficult circumstances in life. As the old hymn says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done.”
-Eph 1:3 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Christians are often their own worst critic when it comes to their relationship with God and their spiritual growth. Too often people get no spiritual encouragement from family, friends or other Christians and, therefore, become discouraged in their faith. It is important that we encourage one another and “build each other up in the faith.” I wonder how many people “backslide” because of the lack of encouragement of others and not realizing their own spiritual growth.
-1Thes 5:11 (NIV)
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
-Phil 1:25 (NIV)
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
Monday, November 27, 2000
Six-year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn’t know how the stove worked)! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky. And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes. All he’d wanted to do was something good, but he’d made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.
That’s how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend or we can’t stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can’t think of anything else to do. That’s when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can’t stop trying to “make pancakes,” for God or for others. Sooner or later we’ll get it right, and then they’ll be glad we tried…
-Contributed by Donna Wishowski
-Gen 32:24-28 (NIV)
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me. “The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
Sunday, November 26, 2000
Every year I dread the task of installing the snow blower on my garden tractor. At times it has taken me several hours. Often I’ve had it together and discovered I did something wrong and I had to take it all back apart again. One year I did that twice. Is it that complicated? No, not really. It’s just that there is so much time between the times that I do it that I forget how and never get comfortable with it.
So it is with prayer. If you don’t make prayer part of your daily life you will feel like you have forgotten how and will find it difficult to be in your comfort zone. However, God is never out of His comfort zone when you pray and He wants to hear from you daily or as often as possible.
-Ps 4:1 (NIV)
“Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.”
Saturday, November 25, 2000
This morning the fog has suffocated my usual beautiful view of Seekers Bay. But the good news is that when the sun comes out the fog will dissipate and the beauty will return.
So it is with a lot of people. They live in an unholy fog that suffocates their beauty until the “Son” light comes in and drives the fog away. Unfortunately, when people live in a spiritual fog, everyone can see it but them!
So how do people get out of the spiritual fog that is so easy for them to be trapped in? By seeking the light of God’s word, the fellowship of God’s people, a commitment to resist sin and a repentive heart.
-Ps 43:3-5 (NIV)
“Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Friday, November 24, 2000
The biggest shopping day of the year generally determines what kind of holiday season that retailers are going to have. One day becomes the indicator of the sales success of retail businesses for days, weeks and months. Often it determines their success for the entire year.
One day in our lives, one decision can shape and mold our lives for weeks, days, months, years and sometimes an entire lifetime. The decisions we make when we are young, one decision, one act, one word can actually stamp our destiny in time. If you have to think about something being right or wrong, always do right because you can never go wrong!
Joel 3:14 (NIV)
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
Thursday, November 23, 2000
Last night I attended a Community Thanksgiving Service. The people who attended were from a variety of denominations. As the joint choir sang and various pastors shared I realized that this is as close to heaven as we get on earth, the gathering of the saints. I was also reminded how we are one body, our differences for the most part are small and that God loves people regardless of what “organized by man” denominations they are part of. We should all remember that in the early church there were no denominations but there were still theological differences. In fact, that’s how denominations came to be. When God looks at a persons heart, He doesn’t look for a membership certificate from a given denomination or local church. He looks for the heart that is certified by love and grace through Jesus shed blood at Calvary.
I Jn 5:10-12 (NIV)
“Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Wednesday, November 22, 2000
The drama has stepped up in the election of the President of the United States. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that the recount should continue. Allegations of corruption run rampant on both sides. There is a lot at stake in the direction of our country. Perhaps it is a time to remember what our forefathers had scribed on our money, “In God We Trust.”
Isa 26:4 (NIV)
“Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.”
Tuesday, November 21, 2000
I just thought I’d share some emails I received yesterday. It is always good to hear from you and know that that when I hit the send button that, through the mystery of the Internet, real people are reading them and being blessed.
“Just want to say “thank you” for sharing your insight in ChurchMouse
Chronicles. I appreciate reading through them and often adding them to our
own weekly church bulletin for others to enjoy. God is So Good! Often
times what you write triggers thoughts within my own heart giving me reason
to join with you and offer my praise/thanksgiving and worship to God.”
God Bless you,
-Canada
“Very good message on personal contact. Nothing can substitute for it.”
-North Dakota
1Thes 5:11(NIV)
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Heb 10:25 (NIV)
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another– and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Monday, November 20, 2000
Our society is having such a difficult time socializing these days that people can’t even find their own dates. It seems like there is an abundance of “singles” organizations that help people meet each other. These are secular and Christian. People even pay money to do this. Although this topic has many complex issues today the one thing is that we no longer find it easy to meet people face to face, one on one and develop meaningful relationships whether it is for the purpose of finding a lifetime mate or just making friends.
As we continue to move toward a less social society, integrating people into our churches is becoming more and more difficult to do. We are just plain losing our ability to befriend others. So when people visit your church you must make a conscious effort to engage in meaningful conversation that makes them feel wanted. If you are visiting a church you must make a conscious effort to get into meaningful conversation with people to try to get to know them and the church. It just won’t happen on its own. It takes an effort by both the visitors and those who regularly attend a church. Give it a try. God made people to need each other and that will never change.
I Jn 4:7 (NIV)
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
Sunday, November 19, 2000
Yesterday I did the “husbandry” thing to do and went to a craft show with my wife and one of our daughters. What I didn’t know is that this craft show filled the gymnasiums of two different schools and much of the hallway systems. And these were not small schools! I left them to wander off on my own because my interests and theirs were different.
As I looked at all the booths I was astounded at the rare talent that some people have. I thought, “We need to tap into more of the artistic talents in our churches. Truly they are gifted from God.” As I continued on my adventure my mind began to think of my mother and how much she would have enjoyed seeing all the crafts. It brought tears to my eyes as my thoughts often sway toward her during the holidays.
I soon came upon a woman who was selling homemade rugs that she had made with her own Loom. I stopped and talked with her about her Loom and her business. She appeared to be a hardworking, honest person who needed the money from the sale of the rugs. It reminded me of my grandparents. My grandfather was retired at age 48 from heart disease. He bought a Loom and made rugs out of discarded rags and clothes. And my grandmother sold Avon to try to carve out a meager existence. They would have also enjoyed the craft show.
I noticed how aggressively some people were buying things and I wondered what they were going to do with them all. For some, buying is a way of filling the empty voids in their lives. My mother and my grandparents could have easily went to a craft show like this and not bought anything and still enjoyed it. Probably they would not of had any money to spend anyway but they could have genuinely appreciated the skill of others and the beauty of their creations without having to have one themselves. It’s called “the blessing of going without!”
Too often people form their lives around “things” and possessing them. Their garages and attics are full of “things,” never to be seen or used for years. The thought occurred to me as I walked through the craft show that my grandparents formed their lives around people, as did my mother who no doubt learned it from them. Not having a lot of things or money to buy them can lead you to the a very basic lesson in life and that is, “If people are so important to God and He loves them so much that He sent His own Son to die on a cross that they might have eternal life, as His children people should be important to us too!”
There are a lot of people in this world who have never experienced “the blessing of going without.” What a pity. Many of them have lots of “things” but not much for people in their lives.
Remember, wealth is measured by what you have left after you lose everything. Wealth is not measured by what you possession you have but who you are. And the richest of all are those who have great families, great friends and a great relationship with a great and loving God.
This Thanksgiving, I pray that you can be as thankful as I am. I have truly been blessed. As you read this you may be literally as poor as a “churchmouse” but if you have a great family, great friends and a great relationship with a great and loving God it doesn’t get any better than that. You are rich and have received “The blessing of going without!”
Eph 3:14-21(NIV)
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge– that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Saturday, November 18, 2000
Harmony is a word that isn’t used much these days. We understand that when people sing together that they sing different melodious parts to make a beautiful harmony. I personally am a tenor but I have a difficult time hearing my part. I have to really work at it. But when I finally get it down I never forget it. But getting it is the problem.
I suspect it is very similar for people in their attempt to be at harmony with each other. Getting down their part and accepting the parts of others can be difficult but once we get it we will never forget it.
P.S. In singing in a musical group there is nothing worse than when one person keeps singing other peoples parts.
1 Cor 12:14-20 (NIV)
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Friday, November 17, 2000
If you are going to choose a blessing for your life make sure you choose the one God has for you!
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. -John 1:16 (NIV)
Thursday, November 16, 2000
Thanksgiving is a festive gathering of family and friends. However, many people are alone during the holidays. Pray and consider how and whom you may be a blessing to this Thanksgiving. Perhaps having someone included in your dinner plans, bringing food or a special treat to someone or just a call with words of encouragement would be the result. Also remember to call parents, grandparents or special aunts and uncles who will miss you during the holidays. Be a blessing.
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. -John 1:16 (NIV)
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
The tallest tree in the forest did not start that way. It grew that way. So it is with spiritual giants.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. -Ps 1:1-3 (NIV)
Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Someone told me today that they had been in a Bible study of around 30 people and the leader asked, “How many people here like your jobs?” To the amazement of this person, all of the people but two said they really like their jobs. However, questioned further it was discovered that all of them had left previous jobs and had been on their new jobs less than two years.
So it is with churches. If you really want to learn about the character of a church. Seek out people who have attended regularly for over 10 years and get to know them. If they still like the church and say have peace and say that they are happy, you’ve got a winner.
“Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.” -Ps 37:37(NIV)
Monday, November 13, 2000
Today, Lord, help me to be a servant of you and of others that enough of your light, although dimmed by my imperfections and failures, may shine through me to touch the darkest and neediest of souls with the preciousness of your loving kindness and forgiveness.
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -1Thes 5:23 (NIV)
Sunday, November 12, 2000
I am convinced that the most influential people in our society today are meteorologists. When they get on the radio or television predicting a storm, people tell their neighbors and friends, change their plans, prepare for the storm and anxiously wait for its arrival. It’s been a long time since any preacher has got that kind of results when it comes to the Second Coming of Christ!
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” -1 Cor 15:51-52 (NIV)
Saturday, November 11, 2000
The Cost of Raising a Child
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family, not including college tuition.
Some may break out their calculators and dream about all the things we could have bought or all the places we could have traveled. But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month or $171.08 a week. Just $24.44 a day. Just over a dollar an hour.
“What do I get for my $160,140?”
a. Naming rights. First, middle and last.
b. Glimpses of God every day.
c. Giggles under the covers every night.
d. More love than your heart can hold.
e. Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
f. Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
g. A hand to hold usually covered with jam.
h. A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
i. Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
j. You never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
k. You have an excuse to keep reading the adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.
l. You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray-painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, handprints set in clay for Mother’s Day and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
m. For $160,140, there’s no greater bang for your buck.
n. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a sliver, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
o. You get a front-row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first date, first time behind the wheel.
p. You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
q. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality no college can match.
r. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.
s. You have the power to heal a boo- boo, scare away monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
— Author Unknown
-contributed by Ralph Fischer
Friday, November 10, 2000
Too many people try to make the scriptures measure down to their lives rather than try to make their lives measure up to the scripture!
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
-2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)
Thursday, November 9, 2000
To let your light shine before men you must have a clean window to your soul!
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” -Matt 5:16 (NIV)
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
The 2000 election for the President of the United States has kept the nation on pins and needles with no clear-cut winner the morning after the election. The news media is reporting that it could take as long as 10 days to count votes from Florida residents temporarily out of the country and recount votes in Florida. Obviously the vote is close and evenly split.
We should all be very thankful we don’t have to face a vote by the people or an “electoral counsel” whether we get into heaven or not.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions– it is by grace you have been saved.” -Eph 2:4-5 (NIV)
Tuesday, November 7, 2000
In the United States today we are voting in national, state and local elections. The money that has been spent is beyond comprehension. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers have been mobilized to attend rallies, canvas neighborhoods, and solicit by telephone. All this when so many of our churches are running on a shoestring and can’t find enough Sunday School teachers. Anyway, don’t forget to pray and seek God’s direction before you vote.
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” -Rom 13:1 (NIV)
Monday, November 6, 2000
Who parted the Red Sea? Many quickly respond, “Moses.” But Moses didn’t part the Red Sea, God did! We should always do what we can when facing the impossible but we should always remember that God is the one who makes it happen. So whatever your needs are today, God can make it happen!
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” -Luke 18:27 (NIV)
Sunday, November 5, 2000
Being Christ-like is a result of God’s work in you, not your work in Christ! Too often we find ourselves so wrapped up in “church” or “ministry” that instead of “becoming” we are just “busy.” Being busy is a great substitute for becoming spiritually mature. Ministry is great, church is wonderful but not at the sacrifice of your own relationship with Christ or the spiritual nurturing of your family.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -James 1:4 (NIV)
“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” -Heb 5:14 (NIV)
Saturday, November 4, 2000
The hardest part about being wrong is admitting it!
“Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. -2 Cor 13:7 (NIV)
Friday, November 3, 2000
A little boy was sitting in his grandmother’s lap when she said to him, “I could have brought you a treat.”
He quickly responded, “Well, where is it?”
I confess that I want to respond to God’s promises that way, “Well, God, where is it?”
The problem is that the little boy already had more treats than he could have possible eaten and any more would have made him sick. Hmmm, perhaps the absence of some blessings may be a blessing!
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” -Matt 7:11 (NIV)
Thursday, November 2, 2000
Today I had one of those scary experiences. I made a right turn on the wrong way of a one way street. I met a car and a lady was hanging her head out of the window frantically screaming at me. I could read her lips, “You’re going the wrong way!”
I immediately pulled into the nearest driveway in almost disbelieve as to how I could have done it. Immediately I thought, “There must not have been any signs!” But sure enough, after I turned around and drove back to the corner, there were the signs bigger than life! I guess the bottom line is if we aren’t looking for the signs we probably won’t see them. Obviously, I wasn’t looking!
So it is with people. It is easy to ignore the signs of sin and very quickly go the wrong way. Fortunately there are pastors who preach sermons, teachers who teach lessons and Christian friends that help us with the right direction.
People lose their lives driving the wrong way on a one-way street. There is even more at stake going the wrong direction on the spiritual one-way street!
“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” -I Jn 4:15-19 (NIV)
Wednesday, November 1, 2000
FOOTPRINTS…A New Version
Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord’s footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord’s, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends!
This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus’ are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually
they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints they have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place.
Stops.
Starts.
Gashes in the sand.
A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends.
Now you pray: “Lord, I understand the first scene with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But you walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with you.”
” That is correct.”
” … And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps; followed you very closely.”
“Very good. You have understood everything so far.”
” … When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that was becoming like you in every way.”
“Precisely.”
“So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first.”
There is a pause as the Lord answers with a smile in his voice. “You didn’t know? That was when we danced.”
”To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to laugh, A time to mourn, and a time to dance.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1,4.
-Contributed by Ralph Fischer
