The financial crisis of the world has a lot of people worrying about their invested money in the stock market. It’s definitely a gamble to put it there in the first place, and twice the gamble to allow someone else to manage it for you. Personally I don’t have that kind of money, so my worrying won’t do any good. If you’re a worrier, here are a few thoughts to consider. Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere! Blessed is the man who is too busy to worry in the daytime, and too sleepy to worry at night. I once heard of a man who worried so much about his debts the hair began to fall out of his toupee. I never thought I’d ever be happy to see gasoline prices at $2.00 a gallon. Because people throughout our country have become more conscientious about their excessive driving habits, the overall miles driven per vehicle has dropped dramatically, bringing the price of unsought gasoline down with it. Now that you know what can happen with the price of gas because of our selfish guzzling of oil products, are you going to continue practicing your conservative ways or are you going to return to your uncaring, foolish, wasteful ways? We’ve got a long way to go before the financial woes of the world stabilize, but not learning from our mistakes is something I do worry about. It’s so easy to fall back into the selfish “me” syndrome when life appears to be getting easier. Careful, that snake might just bite you again.
In a restaurant, the elderly gentleman had just been served his food, and he bowed his head to offer a silent thanks. To the young hooligans at the adjoining table, this was a very funny thing to observe. One of them, needing to show off for his peers, waited for the gentleman to raise his head, then sarcastically yelled out, “Hey Pops! Do they all do that where you come from?” The old man answered, “No son. The pigs don’t!”
The Bible class teacher was telling the Old Testament story of how Lot’s wife “looked back” while running away from the destruction of Sodom, disobeying God’s directive to not look back, and suddenly turned into a pillar of salt. Little Susie piped up, “My mother looked back once while she was driving and turned into a telephone pole.”
[Ephesians 5: 8-21] In hard times people seek the favors of God and in many cases what they faithfully seek, they find, and their life is changed forever. With others a relationship with God is like a game of hide and seek. Do you remember playing hide and seek as a child? Just before dark, when the shadows were long, was the best time to play. If you were “it”, your job was to find those who were hiding and finding someone was always rewarding. If it got too dark to roam around looking, whoever was “it” would call out, “Ally, Ally in free”, signaling those who were still hiding in the dark that they could come out of hiding and return home without penalty where we enjoyed each others company until we were beckoned to come in the house by mom at bedtime. Many people seek God in time of need, but soon return to the shadows and darkness of the world seeking self once again. What they’re doing in the shadows isn’t pleasing to God and as long as they stay in the darkness, they cannot have fellowship with God. You can “come home free” in Jesus. Live in the light as He is in the light and have fellowship with Him. This world is scheduled for destruction. If you keep looking back into the darkness you could be lost forever. Don’t wait too long. God is looking for you now.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Changes Save
People are thinking about it. People are hearing sermons about it. People are reading articles about it. People are being effected daily on a personal level. People are regretting their past behavior and are evaluating ways to change their behavior. People are talking to family and friends about it. People are soliciting the assistance of others to help them change. People are hearing national leaders addressing the problem. People are thinking about their children having to face the problem. People are teaching their children responsibility concerning it. People are counting the cost of changing – and of not changing. People are taking steps to change. So, what’s happening? Have people all of a sudden begun to listen to preachers and study their Bibles? Unfortunately, no. The foretold description of people feeling the need to change has nothing to do with sin. Though the subject might at first glance appear to be about sin and repentance, it’s actually about gasoline consumption. People are seeing for themselves the high cost of dependence on petroleum. Because of the inflated cost of crude oil we are paying more for virtually every product and service we purchase. I’m amazed by the sweeping effects of the current gas crisis. Yet, there’s really no mystery about it. People change when they see the need to change, especially when it involves their money. There’s something else about this crisis. Because people are being effected personally, they see the need to help others change as well. It seems we all realize we must change our own behavior and also know it will be better for all concerned if we persuade others to do the same. Prices at the pump are coming down because nationwide drivers are driving less miles in more fuel efficient vehicles. Personally, a few years back I bragged on my 20 mpg average minivan but not anymore. The discouraging part about trying to improve fuel mileage on most vehicles is, it can’t be done if it’s already performing at it’s best. It’s mechanical and no matter how kindly I talk to it, my vehicle doesn’t care about my wallet. I either put gas in it or it doesn’t run. My vehicle is heartless and will leave me on the side of the road in a heartbeat. That reminds me. I better get to the filling station this afternoon.
[1 John 2: 15-17] We can also talk all day long about sin and it’s consequences, but a person will not move in the direction of repentance and change until they know it applies to them personally and are persuaded that change is something they can and should do. I think too many people look at religion and salvation as something they have to purchase and at the moment it happens to be an unnecessary commodity. Most people are just too busy in the world achieving personal gain to be bothered with getting prepared for the next life. In all his lectures and sermons I wonder how many times Jesus said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Jesus was appealing to our intelligence of understanding that what he was teaching was the awakening and the maturing of the spirit of man. Remember, man is made in the image of God. God is spirit, thus man is first, spirit. To have an everlasting relationship with God we must learn to think spiritually and live as God would have us to live. That, my friends, is where salvation is found. It can’t be bought. It’s already paid for. Jesus purchased your salvation with his life, a gift to you from God. All you have to do is receive it in love and understanding. God is love. (1 John 4:16) God’s love will never run out, leaving you on the road alone.
[1 John 2: 15-17] We can also talk all day long about sin and it’s consequences, but a person will not move in the direction of repentance and change until they know it applies to them personally and are persuaded that change is something they can and should do. I think too many people look at religion and salvation as something they have to purchase and at the moment it happens to be an unnecessary commodity. Most people are just too busy in the world achieving personal gain to be bothered with getting prepared for the next life. In all his lectures and sermons I wonder how many times Jesus said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Jesus was appealing to our intelligence of understanding that what he was teaching was the awakening and the maturing of the spirit of man. Remember, man is made in the image of God. God is spirit, thus man is first, spirit. To have an everlasting relationship with God we must learn to think spiritually and live as God would have us to live. That, my friends, is where salvation is found. It can’t be bought. It’s already paid for. Jesus purchased your salvation with his life, a gift to you from God. All you have to do is receive it in love and understanding. God is love. (1 John 4:16) God’s love will never run out, leaving you on the road alone.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
A Stone's Throw Away?
At the beginning of every public school year the creation/evolution debate catches fire. It becomes a hot potato that nobody really wants to handle for too long as pressure from both sides of the issue butt heads over what should be taught to our children. These curriculum decisions have been granted to each individual state by the Supreme Court and it’s an on-going battle year after year. Personally, I’ll begin to believe in evolution when children begin being born with a cell phone for one ear, a controls’-it-all remote built into one forearm, a GPS Navigator built into the other and a digital mouse integrated into the fingertips of one hand. Oh, I almost forgot. A USB port will be found in the other ear. It seems we can’t get along in life, not even one day, without these essential life sustaining items, so evolution should be kicking in within the next couple of generations according to the “theory” of me being a monkey’s uncle.
The math teacher noticed little Johnny wasn’t paying attention to her lesson on the addition of multiple numbers. She asked, “Johnny, what is 2 and 4 and 28 and 44?” Johnny immediately answered, “CBS, FOX, Cartoon Network and Discovery Channel.”
Two women met for the first time since graduating from high school. One asked the other, “You were always so organized in school. Did you manage to live a well planed life?” “Yes indeed”, said the other. “My first marriage was to a millionaire; my second marriage was to an actor; my third was to a preacher; and now I’m married to an undertaker.” The first asked, “So, what do failed marriages have to do with a well planned life?” “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) lived with a great fear of being damned and going to hell. In his writing, “Confessions”, he relates how he came to calm his anxiety and found assurance of his eternal salvation. One day while walking and pondering this melancholy subject, Rousseau amused himself by throwing stones against the trunks of trees. While engaged in this exercise he said to himself: “I’ll throw this stone at the tree opposite; if I hit it, I’m saved; if I miss it, I am damned.” He then recounts, “While speaking, I threw my stone with a trembling hand and a terrible palpation of the heart, but with so successful an aim that it hit the tree right in the middle, which, to tell the truth was no very difficult feat, for I had been careful to choose a tree with a thick trunk close at hand. From that time I have never had any doubt about my salvation.” There’s a Greek word for that kind of thinking, the same word describes evolution, HOGWASH!
[1 Peter 1: 3-9] While that may have satisfied Rousseau, I’m confident that most of us desire something more. By inspiration, the apostle Paul presents salvation in three tenses: We are born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (v3); We are kept through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (v5); And, as the outcome of our faith we obtain the salvation of our souls (v9).
[2 Peter 1: 3-9] God has granted us everything we need for life and godliness, but we must make every effort to add to our faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. Salvation of the soul is not a stones throw away. God’s Word is proven truth, not theory.
The math teacher noticed little Johnny wasn’t paying attention to her lesson on the addition of multiple numbers. She asked, “Johnny, what is 2 and 4 and 28 and 44?” Johnny immediately answered, “CBS, FOX, Cartoon Network and Discovery Channel.”
Two women met for the first time since graduating from high school. One asked the other, “You were always so organized in school. Did you manage to live a well planed life?” “Yes indeed”, said the other. “My first marriage was to a millionaire; my second marriage was to an actor; my third was to a preacher; and now I’m married to an undertaker.” The first asked, “So, what do failed marriages have to do with a well planned life?” “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) lived with a great fear of being damned and going to hell. In his writing, “Confessions”, he relates how he came to calm his anxiety and found assurance of his eternal salvation. One day while walking and pondering this melancholy subject, Rousseau amused himself by throwing stones against the trunks of trees. While engaged in this exercise he said to himself: “I’ll throw this stone at the tree opposite; if I hit it, I’m saved; if I miss it, I am damned.” He then recounts, “While speaking, I threw my stone with a trembling hand and a terrible palpation of the heart, but with so successful an aim that it hit the tree right in the middle, which, to tell the truth was no very difficult feat, for I had been careful to choose a tree with a thick trunk close at hand. From that time I have never had any doubt about my salvation.” There’s a Greek word for that kind of thinking, the same word describes evolution, HOGWASH!
[1 Peter 1: 3-9] While that may have satisfied Rousseau, I’m confident that most of us desire something more. By inspiration, the apostle Paul presents salvation in three tenses: We are born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (v3); We are kept through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (v5); And, as the outcome of our faith we obtain the salvation of our souls (v9).
[2 Peter 1: 3-9] God has granted us everything we need for life and godliness, but we must make every effort to add to our faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. Salvation of the soul is not a stones throw away. God’s Word is proven truth, not theory.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Bigger Snakes
As my wife and I listened to the news correspondents on TV the other night talking in terms of billions and trillions of dollars she casually commented to me, “What ever happened to millions”? The manipulation of money to ensure larger dividend payouts every year on invested moneys, in the long run, simply hasn’t paid off. The consumer has abandoned financing his basic needs for fulfilling his every want with borrowed money he can’t repay. And the government continues to borrow money from borrowed money. I hate to sound pessimistic here, but the dance is over and it looks like it’s time to pay the fiddler. The warped American dream of keeping up with the Jones’s and bigger being better, as an outward sign of success in life, has come home to roost. We have found ourselves in a financially grave condition of which only common sense and thrifty spending will see us through. “In Wall Street We Trust” doesn’t seem to be a sound truth to build a successful life upon. I’m praying for this country, are you?
Leroy Brownlow tells the story about a family of wayward church members – a father and his three sons. Once active, but now indifferent, they had been visited by the preacher and the elders. Everything within reason had been done to restore them – all in vain. One day while working, a large rattlesnake bit John, one of the sons. The doctor was summoned and pronounced his condition grave. The doctor observed that about the only thing left was prayer. Immediately the preacher and the elders were called. The preacher was asked to pray for John’s recovery, which he did, sort of. Here’s his prayer:
“O wise and righteous Father, we thank thee that thou hast, in thy wisdom, sent this rattlesnake to bite John, in order to bring him to his senses. He has not been inside the church house for years, and it is very doubtful that in all that time he has, until now, felt any need for prayer. We have been doing everything we know for years to restore this family, to no avail. We trust that this will prove a valuable lesson to John, and that it may lead to a genuine repentance. It seems, therefore, that what all our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has accomplished. And now, O Father, wilt thou send another to bite Sam, another to bite Jim, and a BIG ONE to bite the old man? We thus have concluded that the only thing left that will do this family any good is rattlesnakes, so Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes. In Jesus name we pray. Amen”
[Luke 16: 10-15] “...No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”. It’s ironic that the very dollar bill we selfishly use for our own pleasure, before service to others, has printed on it, “In God We Trust”, yet we don’t. Jesus taught that we are not to worry about what we need, for it will be supplied, IF, we first seek the kingdom of God. (Luke 12: 22-34) It seems nobody has the time, or should we be honest with ourselves here, most people won’t take the time, to seek God, serving Him before anything else. Why not? It seems to be the better deal. So, what should our prayer to God be, concerning our financial crisis? Should we thank God for bringing us to our senses? Is this snake bite great enough to bring us to repentance, or will God have to send a bigger snake? History is plain about empires that exchange the fear God for selfishness – they crumble! This country’s foundation is God, not money.
Leroy Brownlow tells the story about a family of wayward church members – a father and his three sons. Once active, but now indifferent, they had been visited by the preacher and the elders. Everything within reason had been done to restore them – all in vain. One day while working, a large rattlesnake bit John, one of the sons. The doctor was summoned and pronounced his condition grave. The doctor observed that about the only thing left was prayer. Immediately the preacher and the elders were called. The preacher was asked to pray for John’s recovery, which he did, sort of. Here’s his prayer:
“O wise and righteous Father, we thank thee that thou hast, in thy wisdom, sent this rattlesnake to bite John, in order to bring him to his senses. He has not been inside the church house for years, and it is very doubtful that in all that time he has, until now, felt any need for prayer. We have been doing everything we know for years to restore this family, to no avail. We trust that this will prove a valuable lesson to John, and that it may lead to a genuine repentance. It seems, therefore, that what all our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has accomplished. And now, O Father, wilt thou send another to bite Sam, another to bite Jim, and a BIG ONE to bite the old man? We thus have concluded that the only thing left that will do this family any good is rattlesnakes, so Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes. In Jesus name we pray. Amen”
[Luke 16: 10-15] “...No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”. It’s ironic that the very dollar bill we selfishly use for our own pleasure, before service to others, has printed on it, “In God We Trust”, yet we don’t. Jesus taught that we are not to worry about what we need, for it will be supplied, IF, we first seek the kingdom of God. (Luke 12: 22-34) It seems nobody has the time, or should we be honest with ourselves here, most people won’t take the time, to seek God, serving Him before anything else. Why not? It seems to be the better deal. So, what should our prayer to God be, concerning our financial crisis? Should we thank God for bringing us to our senses? Is this snake bite great enough to bring us to repentance, or will God have to send a bigger snake? History is plain about empires that exchange the fear God for selfishness – they crumble! This country’s foundation is God, not money.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Another Fine Mess
In light of the deepening financial crisis gripping the country, which will in one way or another effect everybody, even though you feel you’re not guilty of contributing to the problem, I thought of the comedic team of the 30’s and 40’s, Laurel & Hardy. They’re on screen personas are described as “...two supremely brainless, eternally optimistic men, secure in their perpetual and impregnable innocence.” I think that description could apply to every stock exchange floor trader. What brought them to mind was that famous quote of Ollie’s, when he discovers that the two of them are so deep in trouble they might never see the light of day again. Even though Ollie was just as involved in the comedy of errors that always got them into so much trouble, he always laid the blame on Laurel for getting them there. Hardy would look at Laurel, with hands on hips, and say, “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.” Today I feel like Oliver Hardy felt one time, as I look to the financial geniuses that got us into this mess. Ollie had stated his famous quote on screen so many times, once he simply turned to Stan Laurel with hands on hips and impatiently says, “Well...” with Stan replying, all the while scratching the top of his head, “Here’s another nice mess I’ve gotten you into.”
One day while on a walk through the local park, a man happened upon a Tee-Ball game in progress. Needing a short rest he sat down behind the first base players bench. He asked one of the uniformed boys what the score was. “We’re behind 14 to nothin’”, he replied with a big smile. “Really”, said the man. “I have to say, you don’t look very discouraged.” “Discouraged”? the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Why should I be discouraged? We haven’t even been up to bat yet!” Being optimistic enough to never feel you’re in trouble, should be reserved for youthful experience only.
With this financial crisis looming over us, some expectations may take a greater imagination to conquer on an even tighter budget. Rick forgot about his wedding anniversary. His bride was really angry and told him, “Tomorrow morning I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 180 in less than six seconds ...AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!” The next morning she awoke to find her husband gone. She looked out the window and sure enough, there in the middle of the driveway was a gift-wrapped box. Puzzled, she put on a robe, ran outside to retrieve the box, and brought it into the house. She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale. Rick hasn’t been seen since.
[1 John 2: 15-17] When James Garfield, former President of the United States, was principal of Hiram College in Ohio, a parent asked if the curriculum could be simplified for his son. “Certainly”, Garfield replied, “But it all depends on what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make a oak tree, He takes a hundred years. When He wants to make a squash He requires only two months. Do you want him to be more like a squash or an oak tree?” Personally, I want to be strong like the oak. We seem to have a real big problem weighing and prioritizing our wants and needs in this life. God’s word teaches me that the love of the world makes me weak and the time I have to spend here will probably only produce a squash. To live forever I must become strong in the Lord and live according to the will of God. That, my friend, takes a lifetime of commitment.
One day while on a walk through the local park, a man happened upon a Tee-Ball game in progress. Needing a short rest he sat down behind the first base players bench. He asked one of the uniformed boys what the score was. “We’re behind 14 to nothin’”, he replied with a big smile. “Really”, said the man. “I have to say, you don’t look very discouraged.” “Discouraged”? the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Why should I be discouraged? We haven’t even been up to bat yet!” Being optimistic enough to never feel you’re in trouble, should be reserved for youthful experience only.
With this financial crisis looming over us, some expectations may take a greater imagination to conquer on an even tighter budget. Rick forgot about his wedding anniversary. His bride was really angry and told him, “Tomorrow morning I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 180 in less than six seconds ...AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!” The next morning she awoke to find her husband gone. She looked out the window and sure enough, there in the middle of the driveway was a gift-wrapped box. Puzzled, she put on a robe, ran outside to retrieve the box, and brought it into the house. She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale. Rick hasn’t been seen since.
[1 John 2: 15-17] When James Garfield, former President of the United States, was principal of Hiram College in Ohio, a parent asked if the curriculum could be simplified for his son. “Certainly”, Garfield replied, “But it all depends on what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make a oak tree, He takes a hundred years. When He wants to make a squash He requires only two months. Do you want him to be more like a squash or an oak tree?” Personally, I want to be strong like the oak. We seem to have a real big problem weighing and prioritizing our wants and needs in this life. God’s word teaches me that the love of the world makes me weak and the time I have to spend here will probably only produce a squash. To live forever I must become strong in the Lord and live according to the will of God. That, my friend, takes a lifetime of commitment.
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