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?

?

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