Chillin’
Christians on earth are just chillin’,
As the halls of hell are daily fillin’,
With so many who were unwilling,
To give their hearts to Christ in Heaven who is willing,
To be merciful, just, loving, and forgiving,
To every sinner whose lives are reeling,
From deceit, lust, and all things which are so unfulfilling.
Have they heard of our God who offers a peaceful kind of living?
Or only of a life filled with turmoil, hate, and killing?
What about you, is God with your heart dealing?
Is He telling you now is not the time to just be chillin’?
Go and tell all on this road of life down which you are millin’.
Of the One who is faithful and forgivin’.
Today as we are before God kneeling,
May we vow to stop hell’s hall’s daily overflow filling.
Excuses, Excuses
What is the dumbest excuse you have ever heard? School teachers usually here some dillies. Children these days have graduated from saying that a dog ate their homework to saying their computer crashed and ate all the work they had done. I heard a child recently gave an excuse as to why she didn’t know her memory verse for Sunday school. She said, “When you’re on vacation you don’t have to learn verses.” I asked a friend who works at a school about excuses from children. She said the children’s weren’t as bad as some she hears from adults. One lady called the school and said she wasn’t coming in to work because she didn’t feel like coming, not sick, just didn’t feel like it. At least she didn’t make up a lie. I always remember this one which most likely wasn’t truth. A young man’s mother called the store where I worked to say that her son’s only pants he had to wear were not dry because their dryer was broken. She hung the pants on the porch and when her son went outside to get them, he fell through. George Washington, who chopped down the cherry tree, and I assume gave no excuse for that said, “It is better to offer no excuse, than a bad one.” George Washington Carver said, “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” Francois De La Rochefoucauld is someone I don’t know. I am not making any excuses for that. I simply don’t know who he was, but I do believe he probably did his homework, went to work whether he felt like it or not, and he must have learned his memory verses as a child for he said, “Nothing is impossible; it is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.”
This week remember, NO EXCUSES! All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23
I’m in a Hurry and Do Know Why
The older I get the more I slow down and look back and reflect and savor moments. I remember an old Alabama song from 1992. It said, “I’m in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush till life’s no fun, all I really have to do is live and die, but I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.” In the video it showed cars racing and businessmen rushing from meeting to meeting while two older men sat and played checkers having fun observing those who rushed and rushed and I suppose wondered why. It is true we live, we die, but there is a lot to do in between those two events. What we do with the dash, with the race of life in the middle is really important. There is a reason we need to be in a hurry to get things done. The reason’s name is Christ. In the end what we do for the cause of Christ is all that will last. Our time here is really short. James tells us life on earth is but a vapor. It appears for a little while and then disappears. Romans tells us the Lord will make a quick work upon the earth. In Revelations we find even the devil knows he has only a short time to do his work. John 9:4 Christ said, “I must do the works of Him who sent me while it is day for the night comes when no man will work.” May we each realize we need to make the most of every moment. May we each commit to be in a hurry and know why we should be. We must work the works of Christ while it is day, because the night is coming when all work will cease. The race will be over. May we commit to the cause of Christ, which is all that will last.
Noise worth Making
The Philistines heard the shouting and wondered what on earth was going on: "What's all this shouting among the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the Chest of GOD had entered the Hebrew camp.
I Samuel 4:6 A young man from Mississippi has gone to India on not just a mission trip, but on a mission. He is training Christians there to study God’s Word more effectively. Caleb also leaves the classroom and goes out and does village evangelism. Last week he was the designated “Gospel giver” for the day. He was instructed that he would probably have only five minutes to tell the mostly Hindu audience about Jesus. He pondered and prepared and planned the most effective way to do that. When he arrived at the designated place where he was called to “give” the Gospel he found God’s plans differed from his. The pre-show, the “attention getter” was surprising. The planned program didn’t go as he anticipated. The adult audience turned out to be children. . As soon as the young evangelist and his group arrived in front of the only Christian house in the village; the hosts of the event began to make a lot of noise. They had amps set up and soon began singing and beating on drums very loudly. Immediately people - mostly children started gathering. A quote from Caleb, “Apparently in India if you want people to come, you need one main thing - noise!” As soon as the crowd was sizeable enough a man did some magic tricks; then pointed at Caleb signifying that it was time to give the Gospel. As I read Caleb’s story on his blog I thought about our (that is Gospel-givers) noise that we make here. How often have we heard that the music may be too loud or that the messenger may be too animated? If our noise causes a crowd to gather, should we not make even more noise? When the world hears the noise; sure, they may wonder what on earth is going on. But perhaps they will come and gather and learn of the Heavenly things that are happening among us. God has entered our camp. Now that’s worth making some noise over!
A Lowly Task?
If asked what the most important job one could have what would you answer? Many might answer the office of the President. Others might say a lawyer, or a surgeon Have you ever wished for an important job, one with recognition and prestige, and high pay? Have you ever had this job: You guide a sick elderly lady to bed and she asks you to retrieve a soiled handkerchief from the floor in the bathroom and flush the toilet? If asked to do this job would you refuse? There is a legend told of angels. When God created everything, He assigned an angel to everything. One angel who received the assignment to watch over the grass became very upset. The angel felt it was a very lowly task for an important angel such as himself and refused to carry out his duties. The grass shriveled, the flowers died because the grass held no dew, the cattle in the fields died because there was no grass. God turned His eyes upon the angel of the grass and asked, "Was it a small thing, or a great thing that I asked thee to do?" In shame the angel of the grass fell at the Lord's feet and begged His forgiveness, for he saw now the unsuspected greatness of his seemingly lowly task. Whose angel are you? Do each job as unto the Lord. There is great fulfillment when we do the small, great things God asks us to do.
Retaliate or Retreat?
Retaliate is defined as to return like for like; specifically, to return evil for evil; as, to retaliate upon an enemy. The opposite strategy for dealing with an enemy is retreat. Retreat is defined as to withdraw, or drawback, for shelter or seclusion. In today’s world retreat is often thought to be a sign of weakness and retaliation a sign of strength. The Leviticus Law spoke of retaliation. Leviticus 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. What does Jesus say about retaliation? Jesus said “resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” We as Christians must learn there are enemies we must face who we cannot retaliate against. There are times we must turn the other cheek and receive things that seem totally unfair. What about retreat? How strong are we when we must make decisions to take a stand? We must never back down when standing firmly for God’s law, or fighting for His truth that is our shelter at all times no matter what enemies we may face. I Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called. God gives us both the strength to face retaliation and the strength never to retreat when we are called to stand.
Free From Birth
The captain was impressed. "I paid a huge sum for my citizenship. How much did it cost you?" "Nothing," said Paul. "It cost me nothing. I was free from the day of my birth." Acts 22:28
In Acts we find Paul at the threshold of severe punishment. As he announces he is a free born Roman citizen, he is unbound from the post where his scourging had been scheduled to take place. His citizenship set him free. Many of us in this country were born free. It cost us nothing. However this freedom we enjoy did cost many who were before us a great price. Many gave their lives for our liberty and freedom. Many Romans before Paul paid a high price for him to be able to proclaim his freedom as well. Why was Paul about to be punished? He had told the people of a freedom he had found not at his birth as Saul of Tarsus, but the freedom found when he was born again and became Paul, a follower of Jesus Christ. He told them Jesus had called him to the Gentiles. The people became angry at these words and felt this was a crime worthy of severe punishment. Today as you enjoy your freedom you gained just by being born, (it cost you nothing), also remember the freedom you gained by becoming a follower of Jesus. He paid a great price. He gave His life so we might be born again and become free to live forever.
Dot Dot
Quinswayla came to Bible School. She listened. She learned. The children were asked to learn memory verses. Quinswayla eagerly raised her hand to quote the verse each day. One verse was John 14:19 Because I live, you also shall live. When asked where it was found Quinswayla said, “John 14 dot dot 19.” None of the children noticed her added dot dots to the quote, but I did. I was amazed a young girl who most likely had never leaned a verse before, most likely had never been to “church.” Put forth the extra effort to learn the verse exactly as it appeared. She was careful not to add to or take away from. How often do we “seasoned” Christians put forth an extra effort to quote God’s Word, or do God’s work exactly like He wants it said or done? Of course I know God didn’t put the dots in John 14:19, man did, but Quinswayla didn’t know that. She just knew God, His Word, learning it, quoting it, was not to be taken lightly. She put forth her very best effort for God. Because He lives, because He died a cruel death and rose to new life, we also shall live for all eternity: dot dot we should put forth our best effort for Him
The Real Thing
In 1969, Coca-Cola began the ad campaign, "It's the Real Thing." Advertising surveys identify it as the best commercial of all times. Even Christian marketers profited from the ads with T-shirts and other products, replacing the word, “Coke” with Jesus as the Real Thing, Today another product has an ad reminiscent of the real thing commercials. Splenda, no calorie sweetener gets its sweetness from sucralose which is made from real sugar. Their real slogan is “Tastes like real sugar.” So, even though Splenda doesn’t claim to be the “Real Thing,” it does contain a splendid thing we in the real world refer to as sugar. In today’s society real things are often replaced with other things which are almost as good. As Christians we sometime unknowingly do this. We sometime come to depend on others who are definitely made by, and with, and contain the real thing, which is Jesus. However, Jesus cannot be replaced by a person. He alone replaces evil with good. He replaces confusion with peace. He replaces emptiness with wholeness He is the best. He alone ever so sweetly really saves, heals and delivers.
Simple Truths
In Mississippi July is hot. Simple truth: August will most likely be even hotter. The best way to stay cool in Mississippi is to STAY INSIDE. Coolness brings to mind ice cubes, icy pops, and ice cream. Is the word ice inside the Bible? Yes, it is. Job 6 speaks of melting ice in streams being as unreliable as a friend who judges. Simple truth: Judge not. Job 38 speaks of icy frost appearing. Simple truth: God created everything. Psalm 147 speaks of God scattering icy hail like birdseed. Simple truth: Our strong powerful God is in control of everything. As we simply accept the July heat in Mississippi and sit inside to stay icy cool, we can consider these simple truths. Judge not. God created everything and everyone, even those who we sometimes judge. He is in control of every situation. Also, to be considered is this, a simple way to avoid a place much hotter than Mississippi is to STAY INSIDE of our strong powerful Creator’s Word. It contains the TRUTH which leads to everlasting life.
To Do List
Sitting outside on the first morning of summer vacation, a young girl made plans. Summer would be short and she wanted to make the most of it. She made a list of each thing she wanted to do. Every day she crossed things from the list. At the end of the summer the young girl was pleased to have a list with a lot of things crossed off. When the girl was older she remembered that summer and the list. She remembered making it and crossing things off, but could only vaguely remember what the crossed off things she accomplished actually were. When we are young we make plans. We even make a few to do lists along the way. Life here is short and we want to make the most of it. Are the things we are crossing off making a lasting impact in our lives or in anyone’s? At the end of our lives we don’t want to simply have a list with a lot of things crossed off. God has a plan, who knows, perhaps even a list, for each of our lives. How many things would He be able to cross from the list which we have accomplished for Him? Life here is short.
Re:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.
In response to an email about a reference number for a reactivated account, I recently hit reply and reiterated the fact that before deactivating the account someone should have reviewed the resource information from which the reccension of my account access occurred in the first place. The subject line of the email read RE: Reference number for reactivated account Re seems to be used a lot these days. We respond and reply and refer to many things. The conclusion I drew to the whole matter was this: if everyone would respond appropriately in the first place, many replies and in reference tos wouldn’t be necessary. Re more or less reminds us to redo. We could say if it is done right in the first place no redo is necessary. But how many of those who are against redoes have called for renewal, restoration, and revival recently? I just raised my hand. So in reference to re remember, God is a God who allows redoes. God reactivates inactive accounts we hold with Him every day. He gives us opportunities to reccend on bad decisions. We repent, and He replies by reviving us, renewing us, and restoring us. Re: Thank you God.
Intrigued by Integrity
One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. True or false? Most would say true. If you buy a bag of apples with one rotten apple what do you do? Most toss out the bad apple and enjoy the good ones. Generation to generation we hear, “These young people today, what is this country coming to?’ Yes, there may be a few up to some really rotten stuff, but when you look at the generation, the whole bagful you will be intrigued by their integrity. Look closely, you will find a generation of young people with solid core values of morality, unbiased humanitarian treatment of all, and respect of themselves and others. If you take the time to listen you will find this generation making pledges to be more than what they are and even more than they ever hope to be. They honor the laws of man, as well as God’s commands. So what do we do with those few bad ones that some might think will ruin the whole bunch? Have you ever picked up an apple with a little bruise? Instead of tossing it out, you can take the time to wash the apple, remove the bruised scarred nasty looking place, and enjoy the remaining fruit. Don’t give up on this generation. Make a pledge to be intrigued. Pick them up, help them remove the bad bruises and scars of their lives and enjoy the intriguing good fruit they are each capable of producing.
In the Middle
A friend brought me a donut, one without a hole, the kind with yummy gooey filling in the middle. You can’t actually see what kind of filling, or even know it is there until you bite into the donut. I asked what kind she got. She didn’t have one with a hole either. My friend had the actual middle, donut holes. Donut holes got their name based on someone’s assumption. The product appears to be made from the part of a full doughnut that is "cut out" to make the hole. Actually they are made from dough, rolled into round balls. While we were enjoying donuts without holes, and donut holes, my friend told me the story of something she had seen on vacation. In the middle of a pasture was a silo. In the middle of the silo was a tree; or at least she assumed a tree was in the middle of the silo. The only visible sign of the tree was branches growing out the top of the tall silo. One could only imagine what the tree looked like (that we assume was there) hidden in the silo. Think of the struggle the tree had probably seen, growing in darkness for many years and finally bursting through the top of the silo to reach the sunlight it had longed for. Of course this is all assuming there was a tree actually in the middle. What do people assume is in you and what do you assume is in others? Things aren’t always as they appear. Always look for the beauty in the middle, ready to burst forth into the light.
Only You
Jeremiah 7:14 O LORD, you alone can heal me; you alone can save. My praises are for you alone!
“With the technology they have today they can do anything.” Sounds good, but is it true? Yes, medical testing is advanced, but when you are lying in a cold operating room seeing masked faces surrounding you, you don’t really focus on trusting technology. When you know a tube is going to run through a main artery in your leg to your heart which is being pumped full of dye you don’t really hope the tiny camera is going to work ok and take really nice pictures. It is kind of scary as the doctor tells you they are ready to begin. At that moment you realize all the technology in the world cannot save you. As you close your eyes and think of all the what-ifs you realize all you have is God alone. The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof. The doctors were placed on earth by God, as well as the men who invented the technology. The technological components were made from elements from the earth. Healing comes from God alone. Our praises belong to Him alone.
Chillin’
Christians on earth are just chillin’,
As the halls of hell are daily fillin’,
With so many who were unwilling,
To give their hearts to Christ in Heaven who is willing,
To be merciful, just, loving, and forgiving,
To every sinner whose lives are reeling,
From deceit, lust, and all things which are so unfulfilling.
Have they heard of our God who offers a peaceful kind of living?
Or only of a life filled with turmoil, hate, and killing?
What about you, is God with your heart dealing?
Is He telling you now is not the time to just be chillin’?
Go and tell all on this road of life down which you are millin’.
Of the One who is faithful and forgivin’.
Today as we are before God kneeling,
May we vow to stop hell’s hall’s daily overflow filling.
Excuses, Excuses
What is the dumbest excuse you have ever heard? School teachers usually here some dillies. Children these days have graduated from saying that a dog ate their homework to saying their computer crashed and ate all the work they had done. I heard a child recently gave an excuse as to why she didn’t know her memory verse for Sunday school. She said, “When you’re on vacation you don’t have to learn verses.” I asked a friend who works at a school about excuses from children. She said the children’s weren’t as bad as some she hears from adults. One lady called the school and said she wasn’t coming in to work because she didn’t feel like coming, not sick, just didn’t feel like it. At least she didn’t make up a lie. I always remember this one which most likely wasn’t truth. A young man’s mother called the store where I worked to say that her son’s only pants he had to wear were not dry because their dryer was broken. She hung the pants on the porch and when her son went outside to get them, he fell through. George Washington, who chopped down the cherry tree, and I assume gave no excuse for that said, “It is better to offer no excuse, than a bad one.” George Washington Carver said, “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” Francois De La Rochefoucauld is someone I don’t know. I am not making any excuses for that. I simply don’t know who he was, but I do believe he probably did his homework, went to work whether he felt like it or not, and he must have learned his memory verses as a child for he said, “Nothing is impossible; it is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.”
This week remember, NO EXCUSES! All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23
I’m in a Hurry and Do Know Why
The older I get the more I slow down and look back and reflect and savor moments. I remember an old Alabama song from 1992. It said, “I’m in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush till life’s no fun, all I really have to do is live and die, but I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.” In the video it showed cars racing and businessmen rushing from meeting to meeting while two older men sat and played checkers having fun observing those who rushed and rushed and I suppose wondered why. It is true we live, we die, but there is a lot to do in between those two events. What we do with the dash, with the race of life in the middle is really important. There is a reason we need to be in a hurry to get things done. The reason’s name is Christ. In the end what we do for the cause of Christ is all that will last. Our time here is really short. James tells us life on earth is but a vapor. It appears for a little while and then disappears. Romans tells us the Lord will make a quick work upon the earth. In Revelations we find even the devil knows he has only a short time to do his work. John 9:4 Christ said, “I must do the works of Him who sent me while it is day for the night comes when no man will work.” May we each realize we need to make the most of every moment. May we each commit to be in a hurry and know why we should be. We must work the works of Christ while it is day, because the night is coming when all work will cease. The race will be over. May we commit to the cause of Christ, which is all that will last.
Noise worth Making
The Philistines heard the shouting and wondered what on earth was going on: "What's all this shouting among the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the Chest of GOD had entered the Hebrew camp.
I Samuel 4:6 A young man from Mississippi has gone to India on not just a mission trip, but on a mission. He is training Christians there to study God’s Word more effectively. Caleb also leaves the classroom and goes out and does village evangelism. Last week he was the designated “Gospel giver” for the day. He was instructed that he would probably have only five minutes to tell the mostly Hindu audience about Jesus. He pondered and prepared and planned the most effective way to do that. When he arrived at the designated place where he was called to “give” the Gospel he found God’s plans differed from his. The pre-show, the “attention getter” was surprising. The planned program didn’t go as he anticipated. The adult audience turned out to be children. . As soon as the young evangelist and his group arrived in front of the only Christian house in the village; the hosts of the event began to make a lot of noise. They had amps set up and soon began singing and beating on drums very loudly. Immediately people - mostly children started gathering. A quote from Caleb, “Apparently in India if you want people to come, you need one main thing - noise!” As soon as the crowd was sizeable enough a man did some magic tricks; then pointed at Caleb signifying that it was time to give the Gospel. As I read Caleb’s story on his blog I thought about our (that is Gospel-givers) noise that we make here. How often have we heard that the music may be too loud or that the messenger may be too animated? If our noise causes a crowd to gather, should we not make even more noise? When the world hears the noise; sure, they may wonder what on earth is going on. But perhaps they will come and gather and learn of the Heavenly things that are happening among us. God has entered our camp. Now that’s worth making some noise over!
A Lowly Task?
If asked what the most important job one could have what would you answer? Many might answer the office of the President. Others might say a lawyer, or a surgeon Have you ever wished for an important job, one with recognition and prestige, and high pay? Have you ever had this job: You guide a sick elderly lady to bed and she asks you to retrieve a soiled handkerchief from the floor in the bathroom and flush the toilet? If asked to do this job would you refuse? There is a legend told of angels. When God created everything, He assigned an angel to everything. One angel who received the assignment to watch over the grass became very upset. The angel felt it was a very lowly task for an important angel such as himself and refused to carry out his duties. The grass shriveled, the flowers died because the grass held no dew, the cattle in the fields died because there was no grass. God turned His eyes upon the angel of the grass and asked, "Was it a small thing, or a great thing that I asked thee to do?" In shame the angel of the grass fell at the Lord's feet and begged His forgiveness, for he saw now the unsuspected greatness of his seemingly lowly task. Whose angel are you? Do each job as unto the Lord. There is great fulfillment when we do the small, great things God asks us to do.
Retaliate or Retreat?
Retaliate is defined as to return like for like; specifically, to return evil for evil; as, to retaliate upon an enemy. The opposite strategy for dealing with an enemy is retreat. Retreat is defined as to withdraw, or drawback, for shelter or seclusion. In today’s world retreat is often thought to be a sign of weakness and retaliation a sign of strength. The Leviticus Law spoke of retaliation. Leviticus 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. What does Jesus say about retaliation? Jesus said “resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” We as Christians must learn there are enemies we must face who we cannot retaliate against. There are times we must turn the other cheek and receive things that seem totally unfair. What about retreat? How strong are we when we must make decisions to take a stand? We must never back down when standing firmly for God’s law, or fighting for His truth that is our shelter at all times no matter what enemies we may face. I Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called. God gives us both the strength to face retaliation and the strength never to retreat when we are called to stand.
Free From Birth
The captain was impressed. "I paid a huge sum for my citizenship. How much did it cost you?" "Nothing," said Paul. "It cost me nothing. I was free from the day of my birth." Acts 22:28
In Acts we find Paul at the threshold of severe punishment. As he announces he is a free born Roman citizen, he is unbound from the post where his scourging had been scheduled to take place. His citizenship set him free. Many of us in this country were born free. It cost us nothing. However this freedom we enjoy did cost many who were before us a great price. Many gave their lives for our liberty and freedom. Many Romans before Paul paid a high price for him to be able to proclaim his freedom as well. Why was Paul about to be punished? He had told the people of a freedom he had found not at his birth as Saul of Tarsus, but the freedom found when he was born again and became Paul, a follower of Jesus Christ. He told them Jesus had called him to the Gentiles. The people became angry at these words and felt this was a crime worthy of severe punishment. Today as you enjoy your freedom you gained just by being born, (it cost you nothing), also remember the freedom you gained by becoming a follower of Jesus. He paid a great price. He gave His life so we might be born again and become free to live forever.
Dot Dot
Quinswayla came to Bible School. She listened. She learned. The children were asked to learn memory verses. Quinswayla eagerly raised her hand to quote the verse each day. One verse was John 14:19 Because I live, you also shall live. When asked where it was found Quinswayla said, “John 14 dot dot 19.” None of the children noticed her added dot dots to the quote, but I did. I was amazed a young girl who most likely had never leaned a verse before, most likely had never been to “church.” Put forth the extra effort to learn the verse exactly as it appeared. She was careful not to add to or take away from. How often do we “seasoned” Christians put forth an extra effort to quote God’s Word, or do God’s work exactly like He wants it said or done? Of course I know God didn’t put the dots in John 14:19, man did, but Quinswayla didn’t know that. She just knew God, His Word, learning it, quoting it, was not to be taken lightly. She put forth her very best effort for God. Because He lives, because He died a cruel death and rose to new life, we also shall live for all eternity: dot dot we should put forth our best effort for Him
The Real Thing
In 1969, Coca-Cola began the ad campaign, "It's the Real Thing." Advertising surveys identify it as the best commercial of all times. Even Christian marketers profited from the ads with T-shirts and other products, replacing the word, “Coke” with Jesus as the Real Thing, Today another product has an ad reminiscent of the real thing commercials. Splenda, no calorie sweetener gets its sweetness from sucralose which is made from real sugar. Their real slogan is “Tastes like real sugar.” So, even though Splenda doesn’t claim to be the “Real Thing,” it does contain a splendid thing we in the real world refer to as sugar. In today’s society real things are often replaced with other things which are almost as good. As Christians we sometime unknowingly do this. We sometime come to depend on others who are definitely made by, and with, and contain the real thing, which is Jesus. However, Jesus cannot be replaced by a person. He alone replaces evil with good. He replaces confusion with peace. He replaces emptiness with wholeness He is the best. He alone ever so sweetly really saves, heals and delivers.
Simple Truths
In Mississippi July is hot. Simple truth: August will most likely be even hotter. The best way to stay cool in Mississippi is to STAY INSIDE. Coolness brings to mind ice cubes, icy pops, and ice cream. Is the word ice inside the Bible? Yes, it is. Job 6 speaks of melting ice in streams being as unreliable as a friend who judges. Simple truth: Judge not. Job 38 speaks of icy frost appearing. Simple truth: God created everything. Psalm 147 speaks of God scattering icy hail like birdseed. Simple truth: Our strong powerful God is in control of everything. As we simply accept the July heat in Mississippi and sit inside to stay icy cool, we can consider these simple truths. Judge not. God created everything and everyone, even those who we sometimes judge. He is in control of every situation. Also, to be considered is this, a simple way to avoid a place much hotter than Mississippi is to STAY INSIDE of our strong powerful Creator’s Word. It contains the TRUTH which leads to everlasting life.
To Do List
Sitting outside on the first morning of summer vacation, a young girl made plans. Summer would be short and she wanted to make the most of it. She made a list of each thing she wanted to do. Every day she crossed things from the list. At the end of the summer the young girl was pleased to have a list with a lot of things crossed off. When the girl was older she remembered that summer and the list. She remembered making it and crossing things off, but could only vaguely remember what the crossed off things she accomplished actually were. When we are young we make plans. We even make a few to do lists along the way. Life here is short and we want to make the most of it. Are the things we are crossing off making a lasting impact in our lives or in anyone’s? At the end of our lives we don’t want to simply have a list with a lot of things crossed off. God has a plan, who knows, perhaps even a list, for each of our lives. How many things would He be able to cross from the list which we have accomplished for Him? Life here is short.
Re:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.
In response to an email about a reference number for a reactivated account, I recently hit reply and reiterated the fact that before deactivating the account someone should have reviewed the resource information from which the reccension of my account access occurred in the first place. The subject line of the email read RE: Reference number for reactivated account Re seems to be used a lot these days. We respond and reply and refer to many things. The conclusion I drew to the whole matter was this: if everyone would respond appropriately in the first place, many replies and in reference tos wouldn’t be necessary. Re more or less reminds us to redo. We could say if it is done right in the first place no redo is necessary. But how many of those who are against redoes have called for renewal, restoration, and revival recently? I just raised my hand. So in reference to re remember, God is a God who allows redoes. God reactivates inactive accounts we hold with Him every day. He gives us opportunities to reccend on bad decisions. We repent, and He replies by reviving us, renewing us, and restoring us. Re: Thank you God.
Intrigued by Integrity
One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. True or false? Most would say true. If you buy a bag of apples with one rotten apple what do you do? Most toss out the bad apple and enjoy the good ones. Generation to generation we hear, “These young people today, what is this country coming to?’ Yes, there may be a few up to some really rotten stuff, but when you look at the generation, the whole bagful you will be intrigued by their integrity. Look closely, you will find a generation of young people with solid core values of morality, unbiased humanitarian treatment of all, and respect of themselves and others. If you take the time to listen you will find this generation making pledges to be more than what they are and even more than they ever hope to be. They honor the laws of man, as well as God’s commands. So what do we do with those few bad ones that some might think will ruin the whole bunch? Have you ever picked up an apple with a little bruise? Instead of tossing it out, you can take the time to wash the apple, remove the bruised scarred nasty looking place, and enjoy the remaining fruit. Don’t give up on this generation. Make a pledge to be intrigued. Pick them up, help them remove the bad bruises and scars of their lives and enjoy the intriguing good fruit they are each capable of producing.
In the Middle
A friend brought me a donut, one without a hole, the kind with yummy gooey filling in the middle. You can’t actually see what kind of filling, or even know it is there until you bite into the donut. I asked what kind she got. She didn’t have one with a hole either. My friend had the actual middle, donut holes. Donut holes got their name based on someone’s assumption. The product appears to be made from the part of a full doughnut that is "cut out" to make the hole. Actually they are made from dough, rolled into round balls. While we were enjoying donuts without holes, and donut holes, my friend told me the story of something she had seen on vacation. In the middle of a pasture was a silo. In the middle of the silo was a tree; or at least she assumed a tree was in the middle of the silo. The only visible sign of the tree was branches growing out the top of the tall silo. One could only imagine what the tree looked like (that we assume was there) hidden in the silo. Think of the struggle the tree had probably seen, growing in darkness for many years and finally bursting through the top of the silo to reach the sunlight it had longed for. Of course this is all assuming there was a tree actually in the middle. What do people assume is in you and what do you assume is in others? Things aren’t always as they appear. Always look for the beauty in the middle, ready to burst forth into the light.
Only You
Jeremiah 7:14 O LORD, you alone can heal me; you alone can save. My praises are for you alone!
“With the technology they have today they can do anything.” Sounds good, but is it true? Yes, medical testing is advanced, but when you are lying in a cold operating room seeing masked faces surrounding you, you don’t really focus on trusting technology. When you know a tube is going to run through a main artery in your leg to your heart which is being pumped full of dye you don’t really hope the tiny camera is going to work ok and take really nice pictures. It is kind of scary as the doctor tells you they are ready to begin. At that moment you realize all the technology in the world cannot save you. As you close your eyes and think of all the what-ifs you realize all you have is God alone. The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof. The doctors were placed on earth by God, as well as the men who invented the technology. The technological components were made from elements from the earth. Healing comes from God alone. Our praises belong to Him alone.