BOB CHRISTIAN

A little old Jewish lady is flying out of New York City on her way to Miami Beach. She looks at the businessman sitting next to her and asks him, “Excuse me sir, but are you Jewish?” The man responds politely, “No, ma’am, I’m not Jewish.” After a little while, she again asks him. “You’re really Jewish, aren’t you?” Again he responds, “No, ma’am, I am not Jewish.” Barely 10 minutes later, the little old lady asks him once more, “Are you sure you’re not Jewish?” Finally, in exasperation and in a final effort to shut her up, he replies, “OK. Yes, ma’am, I am Jewish." “Funny,” she says, looking puzzled. “You don’t look Jewish!” That makes me wonder; If anyone approached me and asked me, “Are you a Christian?” and I answered, “Yes”, would they be inclined to say, “Funny, you don’t look like a Christian?” How embarrassing.

In his book, "The Kingdom Agenda," Tony Evans tells the story about a man who was mystified at what he saw painted on a rural barn. There were twenty painted targets. Each one had only one bullet hole in it, each perfectly centered in the bull's-eye. Whoever had been using the barn for target practice was definitely an outstanding marksman. Seeking out the barns owner, he asked: “Who in the world did the shooting on the side of your barn?" "Oh, that was me!” “Where did you learn to shoot that well?" “It was easy, I shot first, and then I drew the target around the bullet hole!” Mr. Evans’ point: “In today's culture, we do everything we can to give the impression that our lives are on target when in reality all we have done is learn to paint bull's-eyes.”

[Psalm 119:89-96] The Diary of a Bible - January: A busy time for me. Most of the family decided to read me through this year. They kept me busy for the first two weeks, but they have forgotten me now. February: Clean-up time. I was dusted yesterday and put back in my place. My owner did use me for a few minutes last week. He had been in an argument and was looking up some references to prove he was right. March: Had a busy day first of the month. My owner was elected president of the PTA and used me to prepare for a speech. April: Grandpa visited us this month. He kept me on his lap for an hour reading 1 Cor. 13. He seems to think more of me than do some people in my own household. May: I have a few green stains on my pages. Some spring flowers were pressed in my pages. June: I look like a scrapbook. They have stuffed me full of newspaper clippings- one of the girls was married. July: They put me in a suitcase today. I guess we are off on vacation. I wish I could stay home; I know I'll be closed up in this thing for at least two weeks. August: Still in the suitcase.  September: Back home at last and in my old familiar place. I have a lot of company. Two women's magazine's and four comic books are stacked on top of me. I wish I could be read as much as they are. October: They read me a little bit today. One of them is sick. Right now I am sitting in the center of the coffee table. I think that the Pastor is coming by for a visit. November: Back in my old place. Somebody asked today if I were a scrapbook. December: The family is busy getting ready for the holidays. I guess I'll be covered up under wrapping paper and packages again.... just as I am every Christmas. Question: Are we striving to conform to His Image? Or are we trying to form God in our own image? “…I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life”(v.93). Baptized + Obedient + Believer = CHRISTIAN.