Not Taking Chances

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away.

The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here in the Holy Land and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

OK, it’s Friday and time to laugh.

I will say this. Even though his applied thinking is warped, the old man was right about the Resurrection.

Jesus rose from the dead, and because of that, I have hope and can really enjoy this day and the ones to follow!

You really ought to go worship the Lord this weekend.

What's God Like?

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What’s your image of God? How do you imagine him? A sleepy old white-haired man on a big throne? Super-sized cosmic Santa Clause? An angry policeman or parent, just waiting for you to mess up again? Distant? Aloof?

The image we have of God is shaped in lots of ways. The way we were raised has a lot to do with it.

J.B. Phillips, a long time ago, wrote a book that’s worth reading. His point in "Your God is too Small" is that we can overcome all our inadequate and harmful images of God by looking at Jesus.

Indeed that is the claim of Jesus that pervades the New Testament. Jesus said plainly in John 14, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."

Jesus is God in the flesh, showing us who he is and what he wants from us.

What do we see, when we look at Jesus? A compassionate, caring God who came to save and not condemn. He is worth getting to know and getting to know better. How? Read his story in John, Luke, Mark, and Matthew

Be Strong

What Do You Need to Hear Today?

Words that tear you down, discourage you? Probably not what you need.

Words of flattery that have little substance? Like a sugar rush, they don’t last long and then leave you feeling kind of empty.

I’m reading through the Bible this year. I’m finishing up Daniel this week, and I ran into some words there that I need to hear. The words there are similar to an astonishing thought that is presented in Romans 8, which is my preaching text this week.

An angel appears to Daniel, who, by the way, is living in a very challenging place and time. Here’s what the angel says, and this is God’s message to you today and every day, if you are his.

"Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong."

Do not be afraid.

You are highly esteemed.

Peace!

Be strong now.

Be strong.

Humble Hero

Neil Armstrong passed from this life a few days ago. I remember his words from 1969. (Yes, I’m that old.)

"Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed."

And then these as he stepped on the moon:

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

If you have paid much attention to the news, then you have seen articles on Armstrong’s humility. He quietly and humbly lived his life for decades after walking on the moon.

From what I read, Armstrong was a Christian. Some reports say he took communion with Buzz Aldrin on the moon. We know Aldrin took it.

What I find refreshing is a humble hero. His humility stands in stark contrast to the less than heroic self-promoting significance-seeking bluster that essentially says, "Look at me!"

Armstrong must have derived his significance from a deep source. I’m thinking it was from a relationship with God. We can do the same.

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

24 Hours

Did you go to bed last night with a sense of dread regarding this week? I was with a group of people and that was the group mood.

I asked why is it that we dread the week. The answer was/is busyness. Places to go. People to see. Things to do. You know what I’m talking about.

As we talked about it, one guy said something like this, "You know once you start into it, it’s really not all that bad. You just take it as it comes."

That reminded me of what another guy, who is very active with AA, said the other night. He said something like this. "The key to dealing with a lot of things is breaking life down into 24 hour periods."

One day at a time! Let’s just take Monday as it comes today, just a little bit at time, and let’s remember these words of Jesus, spoken right after he assured us that God will take care of us, so we don’t need to worry.

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Let’s be blessed and be a blessing today.

Security

How to Install a Southern Style Home Security System

1. Go to Goodwill and buy a pair of size 14-16 men's work boots.

2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine.

3. Put four giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.

4. Leave a note on your door that reads:

Bubba,

Me and Marcel, Virgil, Erra, T-Bone and Jimmy Earl went for more ammo and a gallon of sweet tea. Be back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls. They got the mailman this morning and messed him up bad. I don't think Killer took part, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. Anyway, I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside. Be right back.

Cooter
It’s Friday and time to laugh a little! (Thanks Nadine.)

It’s funny but it makes me think about security in this world.

There’s only one way to have it - a relationship with Jesus. What can you do this weekend to make it stronger?

Got Humility?

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’"

I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:9-14

Like Trees

Yesterday’s post elicited a great thought from someone. You can read it further down. Let me set it up for you with a few facts about the giant sequoia tree.

These trees grow to nearly 300 feet tall and have a diameter up to 40 feet. Some of them are believed to be nearly 3,000 years old. They only root to 12-14 feet and have no tap root, yet they stand strong.

Here’s the comment that came to me yesterday:

Your comment about trees makes me think about the majestic sequoia trees, I find it interesting that they do not have a tap root, but they intertwine their roots with each other so they may stand to weather the storms together! God created them to be dependent on Him and on each other! Makes me think of our own lives and how much stronger we would be if we lean upon God and each other that much!

Thanks, Georgia, and amen.

Like a Tree

"When God wants to grow a squash, he grows it in one summer, but when he wants to grow an oak He takes a century."

I’m not sure who said that. Maybe James A. Garfield? Doesn’t really matter, I suppose.

Old trees fascinate me. If they could talk, they would probably tell of difficult times and storms they thought would take them down, but, alas, they still stand.

They would probably tell us that those storms actually made them much stronger and helped them become what they are: beautiful, useful works of God that bless creation.

I think it works like that for all of us.
Stand strong in the storm and be a blessing!

Where's Your Focus?

I hope you know Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who sought to save Jews from the Nazis during World War II. She got caught and was placed in a concentration camp, and, by the grace of God, survived.

Later she wrote The Hiding Place, and you should read it, if you haven’t already. It’s worth reading again, if you have.

She said this, and it seems like a great thought for a Monday.

"If you look to the world you’ll be distressed, if you look within you’ll be depressed, if you look to Christ you’ll be at rest."

She’s simply reflecting what someone said in Hebrews 12 a long, long time ago.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

"Halt! How Goes There?"

"Halt! Who Goes There?"

When a guard is presented with a person, unknown, he stops that person to find out identity and intention. Then the guard decides what to do next. Accept? Reject?

Have you ever thought about doing that with your thoughts?

We cannot always control what "pops into our heads." But we can control what happens next. How do we decide whether or not to continue with a thought or to pop it back out?

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10, says something so profound and so helpful.

". . .Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." We need to examine our thoughts through the lens of Jesus. Where is this thought coming from? What’s its intention? If I keep it, then where will I take it or where will it take me?

Ultimately, is this thought journey going to be consistent with who I am in Christ?

Something to think about . . .

"Whatcha Thinkin?"

What’s on your mind? What do you think about?

You get to choose! Yes, some people and situations make you think about things you don’t want to, but, really, you get to choose what you dwell on.

Here are some interesting, helpful words from Philippians 4.

. . . Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Let’s do that today.

Missing God's Will

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood and was praying to God for help. Soon a man in a rowboat came by, shouting to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."

The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me." So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you." The stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." The stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!"

God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

That’s funny, but I wonder how many times we miss God’s will, looking past all the signs and words that come to us in simple, human ways?

Jealous Eye

A jealous eye - that’s an interesting expression.

I recently ran into it while reading the Bible, back in 1 Samuel 18.

"Saul kept a jealous eye on David." Saul was having a hard time with David doing well and receiving a lot of praise for it.

Do you have a problem with jealousy? Why are people jealous of others?

Is it rooted in personal dissatisfaction? It’s certainly rooted in the sinful ways of the world. It’s one of the "works of the flesh," found in Galatians 5.

If we follow Christ, then we should be able to let jealousy go, simply resting in the satisfaction that we are dearly loved children of God. We don’t need to compare ourselves to other.

I need to let God’s love for me be sufficient and enough. I working on it...

Rest

Remember these "Think Alongs"? I decided at the end of the school year to take a break, to rest, a bit of a sabbatical. With the school year starting, I will start thinking along with you again from time to time.

Summer is a good time to take a break from lots of things. It should be a time to rest a little from the hectic lives our culture suggests we should live.

Rest is important to God, which is a fascinating thing to think about, isn’t it? He rested after Creation and then asks that we rest from our work also, imitating him.

There are all kinds of things to say about rest, but the most important one is found in these words of Jesus in Matthew 11:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Will you rest in him today?