Tuesday, November 24, 2009

I Have Everything

The following is by Dr. David Jeremiah:

Erma Bombeck once wrote about the subject of thankfulness, saying that when she forgot to be thankful among cancer survivors, she would hear the voice of a particular eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When Christina was asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought for a moment and then responded by saying "I don't know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!"

Sometimes a momentary thought about someone other than ourselves is all it takes to remind us to be thankful for what we have and who we are. In the same way, when we turn our attention away from ourselves and upward, toward the Giver of all life, the many blessings He has poured out on us come rushing back and overwhelm us with thanksgiving.

If we find ourselves complaining about our situation or longing for a better life, we need to take a few moments to worship God and allow His goodness to wash over us until we are consumed with gratitude.

The optimist says, the cup is half full. The pessimist says, the cup is half empty. The child of God says, my cup runneth over.
-Anonymous

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Fear of God

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge
Proverbs 1:7




Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.

Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe.
-Excerpt from gotquestions.org

By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
Proverbs 16:6

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Procrastination

When Jan and Barb moved in together, they decided to set up a joint bank account where they both deposited money to pay rent and utilities. One month, Jan ran short of money and wrote a check from their bill-paying account. She planned to replace the money several days later when she got paid.

Jan intended to tell Barb about this, but she knew Barb would not be pleased. So Jan wanted to wait for the best time to break it to Barb. The first day seemed no good because Barb had a really rough day at work and she was already irritated. The second day seemed no better because they only saw each other for a few minutes while Barb was getting ready to go out on a date. By the third day, Jan had put it off for so many days that she sank into her comfortable TV-watching spot after work and forgot to mention it.

So, Barb wrote out a check to pay a utility bill without realizing there weren’t enough funds to cover it. The check bounced, and it cost them additional fees to clear up the bounced transaction.

* * *

In the Book of Exodus, Rameses (the Pharaoh of Egypt) futilely attempts to keep the Israelites as slaves after Moses continued to warn him that God's will was for His people to be released. Because of Pharoah's hardened heart, it took God (working through Moses) 10 plagues to finally convince Pharaoh to free the Isrealites. The 10th plague was the death of every first born son (also known as the Passover). The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a lamb and upon seeing this, the Spirit of the Lord would pass over their home. Hence the term Passover.

Essentially, Rameses procrastinated in his decision to allow the Isrealites to leave. In doing so the Egyptians paid a terrible price and it took the death of his first born son (and heir) to finally convince him.

Although the Bible doesn't mention the word procrastination, it does make mention of the fact to not delay in such things as reconciling with others. Matthew 5:23-25 Sometimes, procrastination is a form of laziness and the Bible has much to say about that as well. Proverbs 15:19; 18:9


Dictionary.com defines procrastination as:

1.To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.

2.To postpone or delay needlessly.

Opportunities that we have today, may not be there tomorrow. Let's try to remember to make the most out of each day.

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 4:13-14

I'll close this out by sharing message that I saw on a bumper sticker the other day...

"Those that seek God at the 11th hour end up dying at 10:30."

God bless you. And this is for His Glory.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Serving Others

Little Jimmy had lived on the streets since he was 8 years old and today was his 10th birthday. But, to Jimmy, that didn't really matter much at all. The only thing that mattered to him was that the local food bank would be opening it's doors at 6pm sharp. Jimmy looked forward to Thursday evenings because each week he was able to go down and get a nice hot meal for free.

Jimmy arrived at the food bank around 5pm and there was already a line of about 30 other homeless people. During his weekly visits to the food bank, Jimmy had met a wonderful older lady named Teresa. Teresa was in her 70's and came down every Thursday evening to help pass out food. She always smiled and hugged Jimmy when he came in. On most occasions Jimmy came more to see Teresa than he did for the meal itself. She was like a grandmother to him. She was always so kind and would often bring him a blanket, box of crackers, or a 6 pack of Dr. Pepper, which was Jimmy's favorite!

Finally, the doors opened and Jimmy was pushed inside by the crowd behind him. Like a herd of cattle they lined up and received their hot plates of food. But one thing was missing...tonight Teresa was no where to be found. It was then that Jimmy felt an arm touch his shoulder. Smiling, he whirled around thinking it was Teresa. Another familiar older lady named Beatrice bent down to Jimmy's height and struggled with a smile. "I'm sorry Jimmy." The women said, as wetness began to swirl up in her foggy eyes. "Teresa won't be coming here any longer. God called her home last night." Jimmy unconsciously dropped his plate. It was the only hot meal he would have for another week. He cried bitterly for the rest of that night.

* * *

Many years later Jimmy sat behind a polished wooden desk. Numerous certificates and accolades hung from his wall proving he was a well educated man. He was now the Executive Vice President of a large Fortune 200 Technology company. Jimmy or "Big Jim" as he was called across the enterprise, was known for getting teams to deliver on schedule regardless of how bad the situation was. Basically, he came in and "corrected" projects that were at risk of not meeting customer deadlines.

Today, he was getting ready to speak with one of his company's project managers. This particular young lady had been with the company for less than a year. More importantly, this particular software project she was managing was over budget, behind schedule, and the customer was very close to pulling the plug.

Big Jim was getting himself pumped up to put this lady in her place. His plan was to bombard her with several questions that she could not answer and then degrade every decision she had made on the project. Finally, he was going to fire her and take over the project himself. He had done it many times before and this time was going to be no different.

Big Jim motioned for the woman to come into his office. She sat down and smiled. Unlike many of the other times he'd done this, Big Jim noticed something strangely different in that smile that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I'm Teresa, Teresa Myers, she said, extending her hand." Big Jim wasn't accustomed to his "victims" talking first and for the first time in many years he was caught a little off guard. Without even realizing what he was saying, he responded, "I'm Jimmy, errr I mean Jim. Call me Jim." He stated, trying to compose himself and remain in "Executive mode".

"Oh." Teresa replied with a smile. "My grandfathers name was Jimmy and I'm actually named after my grandmother." Jim tried to act interested and nodded as he took a drink of the Dr. Pepper can on his desk. "And wouldn't you know", she continued, pointing at his drink. "Dr. Pepper was her favorite drink also. She use to take 6 packs down the food bank every Thursday and give them to the orphans."

Instantly, Jim's body went numb. He slowly lowered the can (which now was shaking in his hand) and leaned forward. It took him several seconds to speak and Teresa patiently sat through the silence as he brought back a buried memory. When Jim finally composed himself, he looked Teresa square in the eye and said, "Let's see how the two of us can get this project back on track."

In this story, Big Jim is reminded of the kindness that the old woman (Teresa) gave to him each time he visited the local food bank. She didn't have to show him the kindness that she did, but without even knowing it she changed a young orphans life. After her death, it was then that Little Jimmy no longer had a desire to go to the food bank. Losing Teresa actually motivated him to get off the streets and make a better life for himself. Once Jim realized that he was speaking to Teresa's granddaughter, his heart was immediately flooded with compassion and he decided to help (and not fire) this young project manager.

If we look at Mark 10:35-45 James and John boldly ask Jesus to allow one of them to sit at His right hand and the other on His left in Heaven. Jesus clears up the "I want to be the greatest" attitude by saying...

whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:43-45

The Lesson:

The word "ministry" in the New Testament translates to mean "servanthood in the service of love". We might often find more joy in ministering to the needs of others rather than to our own. It may not be an immediate satisfaction, but you can be certain it will be felt by the person(s) on the receiving end.

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10

Ultimately, it would be very difficult to imagine a world without people like Teresa in it. Those who volunteer their time for the needs of the poor are favored in God's eyes. If the Lord Jesus Christ came to serve others, then what should our role be towards one other?

In the end, Jim learned that we all become great in God's eyes when we help other people become greater than ourselves.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Innocence of a Child


A small child walked daily to and from school. Though the weather one morning was questionable and clouds were forming, this child made the daily trek to the elementary school. As the day progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother was worried that her child would be frightened walking back home from school, and she herself feared the electrical storm might harm her child.

Following the roar of the thunder, lightning would cut through the sky like a flaming sword. Being concerned, the mother got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. Soon she saw her small child walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. One followed another, each time her child stopping, looking at the streak of light and smiling. Finally, the mother called and asked, "What are you doing?" Her child answered, "God keeps taking pictures of me."


* * *
The innocence of a child is heartwarming and so very enjoyable to be around. However, it's not long before they grow up, have their own views, and become responsible for their own actions. But, before this ever happens, a child starts off life totally dependent upon his/her parent(s). This dependency is not just during a time of convenience, it's a constant dependency that lasts for many years. Children have a very pure and unfiltered way of looking at the world. They are free from malice, do not hold grudges, do not desire authority or riches, do not lust, are teachable, and provide unconditional love. But again, they are 100% dependent upon their parents.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:3

When Jesus spoke about this, His message was focused on teaching His children about how we should act if we want a chance to enter into His Kingdom. The message focuses on two key points:

1) Our hearts and minds must change like those of a child. Not in a childish sense, but in the sense of being free from hate, envy, malice, seduction, greed, and all evil desires.

2) Being totally dependent upon God and trusting Him as a child unconditionally trusts his/her parents.

3) Humbling ourselves and removing pride from our hearts

These three acts of obedience will not only change your own outlook on life, they will also change those who are influenced by you. Don't be surprised when you start to see more blessings being unexpectedly handed your way.

For the full reading click the link:
Matt 18:1-9

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Favorite Versus Part 2

I found each of these passages to have a very similar 'core' message on how we should be living. Just click the passage below and it will take you to it. Enjoy!

Doing What is Good
Titus 3:1-11

Rules for Holy Living
Col 3:1-17

Do with all your heart
Col 3:23-25

The Parable of the Sower
Luke 8:1-15


God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Verse of the Day