June 20, 2008
Doctors feel fine on ships because they are accustomed to see sickness.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Don’t believe what you hear about fleas and ticks – it’s all lice.
Don’t expect to eat something fancy when you’re flying because it’s plane food.
Drinking too much coffee can cause a latte problems.
Driving on so many turnpikes was taking its toll.
June 20, 2008
On April 15, Pastor Vic Vicera, his wife, Beth; and Pastor were shot at when an unknown assailant stormed Pastor Vicera’s home in Mindanao, Philippines, and started shooting. Pastor Vicera was killed in the attack.
According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts, “Pastor Vic and his wife, Beth, and Pastor Noli were having a conversation early that evening. They were talking about their plans to minister in a Muslim tribal area, when suddenly the killer came in and started firing at them.” (Read more)
June 20, 2008
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 1 Peter 3:8
One of the greatest joys of the Christian life is to have a sense of belonging, a community of like-minded believers. God loves it when we all get along. Psalm 133:1 states “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! In contrast, God hates it when there is discord and envy among believers. Proverbs 6:19 declares that one of the seven things that are an abomination is when somebody “sows discord among brethren.”
Today’s passage tells us to “live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” Verses 1-7 mention the wife and husband relationship. Then Peter talks to all believers in regards to living in peace with each other. What are the things that cause great relationships with fellow believers?
1. Harmony - This word means to “have the same mind.” To think the same thing. This doesn’t mean we all ought to be clones of each other, but we should strive for the same goal – to please the Lord.
2. Sympathy - This literally means “to suffer together.” How often do we take the time to listen to people’s problems with our hearts? Remember the old saying” “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
3. Love - This is “brotherly love.” It’s from the word Philadelphia. Think of fellow believers as your brothers and sisters. Treat them as you would your own relatives (hopefully you treat your relatives well). We are in God’s family. Yes, we have our differences, but we are commanded to love those who are in the family of God. Love those for whom Christ died and are now in the family.
4. Compassion – This is a great word. Literally it means “good bowels.” It has the idea of a sense of the inner yearning and feeling great compassion for someone. It means to be tender-hearted.
The first century was cold and hard-hearted. Christianity, with its tenderizing influence upon the heart, had not had time nor opportunity yet to make much of an impact upon the callous heart of man. Today we have as a result of its benign influence hospitals, homes for the aged, charities of one sort or another. And yet how callous our hearts are to another’s pain. Only the overflowing love of God and the experience of much suffering in one’s own life can fit us to really sympathize with others in the sense of feeling their pain ourselves, thus suffering with them. – Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies from the Greek New Testament
As family members, the members of Christ’s body must look out for one another. Take time to encourage another believer. Be a blessing.
June 18, 2008
After a hiatus, I’m back at blogging. I’m going to try to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’ll be on vacation from June 24 through July 5.
June 18, 2008
A Golfer walks into the pro shop at the local course and asks the golf pro if they sell ball markers.
The golf pro says, “Yes, they are just $1.00 each. “
The guy gives the golf pro a dollar and says he’ll take one.
The golf pro opens the register, puts the dollar in the tray and with a big smile hands the guy a quarter.
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
HT. Crosswalk.com
June 18, 2008
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:4-5
Can you imagine the day where there will be no more tears, sorrow or pain? Years ago, former Beatle, John Lennon, wrote a song called “Imagine.” The song is a wish for world peace and tranquility. The first words of the song are “Imagine there’s no heaven…”. It goes on to preach a message of world utopia through a “brotherhood of man.” The song has a beautiful melody, but is totally devoid of any biblical truth.
It’s sad to know that John had it all wrong. Almost from the very beginning, mankind has known nothing but sin, pain, sorrow and fear. Romans 5:12 states
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
Mankind is incapable of creating any lasting peace. We are fundamentally marred by our sinful nature. Only God can restore us to a right relationship with Him and with others. He made that possible through the Lord Jesus Christ dying on the Cross for our sinfulness. Those who accept His free gift of forgiveness and salvation are transformed into “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Our text in Revelation is tells us that GOD will make all things new. We look forward to the blessed day when we will be with Him in whose presence is fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11). God is the only one that can make things right. The whole book of Revelation speaks of the misery and war caused by rebellious mankind. Yet, in the end, Christ wins. Those who know and love Him will be with Him forever. IMAGINE THAT!
March 21, 2008
LAOS – 58 Christians Arrested, While 9 Church Leaders Sentenced to Prison
On February 22, Laotian officials arrested 15 Hmong Christian families in Bokeo district, Laos. According to Compass Direct News, the arrests occurred a day before a court sentenced nine Hmong church leaders to 15 years in prison for ‘conducting Christian ministry and meetings that had grown beyond acceptable levels for Communist officials.’
Compass reported, “The day before the sentencing, Laotian authorities arrived in Bai Sai Janrern village in Bokeo district with six trucks in which they hauled away eight Christian families. Authorities also arrested at least seven families from Fai village three miles away.” The arrested families make up a total of 58 Hmong Christians.
Compass added, officials (…Read More)
February 27, 2008
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory (NASB)
1 Peter 1:8
Peter was writing to Christians that “were scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). They were facing opposition to their faith. After assuring them of their privileged position in Christ, he also assured them of the hope of their salvation and their eternal home in heaven. Such a reassurance would greatly encourage them. Their steadfast faith would proven to be genuine because of their faithfulness to Christ (1 Peter 1:1-7).
How could they be so steadfast in their faith? How can we be steadfast in ours during our trials? It was/is Love for Christ. If you are a true believer in Christ, think of what God has done to allow you love His Son. Before we believed, “we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (Titus 3:3 -NKJV). Yet God demonstrated his love to us first, in that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” It was God that initiated His love in your heart so that you could love Him in return!
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:9-11
1 Corinthians 13:7 states that love bears all things and endures all things. Christ endured the sinful behavior of mankind and He bore the Cross for us. He has placed that same kind of love in the true believer. So next time you are tempted to complain, or perhaps someone is giving you a hard time because you are a believer, let love for Christ carry you through.
February 21, 2008
Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! James 5:9 (NIV)
Life in the first century was full of inequities and injustice. Often the rich would take advantage of the poor. James condemns employers wouldn’t fully pay what they owed to their laborers. They took advantage in the court system to rob the poor and condemn the innocent (James 5:4-6). Then he consoles the poor by telling them that they should be patient for the coming of the Lord. Truly, their hope was in eternal things, not just temporal.
James then addresses the natural reaction that people have when facing hardship — turning on each other. This happens when we become critical of others when we do not have the facts or we manufacture our own self-made grievances. Then, often the target of our anger can be innocent parties. How is it that we can easily find fault and grumble against each other when we’re going through difficulty? It is senseless to do so. We need all of the mutual support we can muster.
How does grumbling happen? It happens when we judge one another. This may be one of the most, if not the most common sins that Christians commit – judging each other. Then the criticism and grumbling come out of a judging heart.
In other Scriptures we are told not to judge others (Romans 14:4; James 4:11-12). Our text states that if we are wrongly judging, then we will be judged. Jesus sternly warns against making wrong judgments and promises judgment on those who do (Matthew 7:1-5). In our text here, James declares that God, the Judge, is at the door. He is ready. He sees. He will act accordingly.
Grumbling is a sign of being judgmental. If you’re a grumbler. Do a heart-check. Maybe you should stop thinking ill of others. If you do, the grumbling will stop.
February 20, 2008
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. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. James 4:13-17
I always enjoy a nice cup of coffee or tea. This morning, after reading my passage, I looked at my cup of decaf and noted the steam rising. How quickly it evaporated! Today it is clear, but sometimes here in Michigan, we have those foggy days, but then the fog lifts and the day is once again clear. Steam, fog, mist, whatever you call it is a great picture of the length of our lives when compared to eternity. We appear as mist, then we evaporate out into eternity.
Here the Apostle James is trying to get the attention of people who are assuming that they will always have the time to do the things they want to do. People who look at life this way often have wrong priorities. They take for granted the time that God has given to them on this earth and forget God. James wasn’t condemning them for trying to make a profit. His rebuke stems from the attitude that says “I will do that… I won’t do that” without ever taking into account the leading and the will of the Lord (verse 15). This reminds me of the following parable that Jesus told:
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21
Note the conclusion. God calls him a fool and ends his life. It’s foolish to rule out the thought of God out of our lives. He is the whole reason we exist and live (Acts 17:28).
Look at your day planner. Does it reflect anytime for or thought of God? Do you make time in the day to read His Word and pray? Do you make time to attend worship services? Do you make the time to serve others? Do you sincerely pray at the beginning of the day what God would have you to do for that day? Do you ask for His Guidance? Life’s too short to do otherwise.
