A BIT OF HUMOR

PRAYERS FROM CHILDREN
Part 1

Dear God, please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is 
nothing good in there now.   
Amanda 

Dear God, thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I 
never asked for anything before. You can look it up.   
Joyce 

Dear Mr. God, I wish you would not make it so easy for people to come apart I 
had to have 3 stitches and a shot.   
Janet 

God, I read the Bible. What does beget mean? Nobody will tell me. 
Love Alison 

Dear God, how did you know you were God? Who told you?   
Charlene 

Dear God, is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in 
the house?   
Anita 

Dear God, 
I bet it's very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There 
are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.   
Nancy 

Dear God, I like the story about Noah the best of all of them. You really made 
up some good ones. I like walking on water, too.   
Glenn 

Dear God, my grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back 
do you go?   
Love, Dennis 

Dear God, do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don't, who does?   
Nathan 

[forwarded by Adon Brownell]

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Backup is for wimps! SMART wimps!

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MIKEYSFUNNIES.COM

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

As a believer, you are a child of the King, a prized possession, an heir of God. You are not ordinary. You didn’t come off an assembly line. You weren’t mass-produced. You are an original design. Nobody else in this world has your fingerprints. You are a masterpiece! It is so important to get this down in your spirit. When you do — and when you begin to see yourself as God created you — you will start to understand your real purpose and your God-given destiny. You will be able to reach your highest potential! Right now, you may not like who you are. You might wish you were taller, had a better personality or that your metabolism worked a little faster. Maybe you’re self-conscious about a physical attribute or perceived imperfection or you just don’t think that you are lovable. I want to encourage you. Right now, begin to change any negative opinions you have of yourself. Stop focusing on your flaws and comparing yourself to someone else. God has made you unique and special just the way you are. When you understand this, it brings new opportunities, new relationships and new levels of God’s favor! Your value doesn’t come from what you look like, or what you do or who you know. Every morning, remind yourself that you are God’s creation. Declare, “I am not average. I am not ordinary. I have the fingerprints of God all over me. I am a masterpiece.” God created everything about you on purpose...your looks, your skin color, your height, your personality, your talents and gifts. If you see yourself as strong, talented and valuable, then that’s the way other people will see you. But if you see yourself as “less than,” not talented and not valuable, then that’s the way others will see you. Choose to start loving yourself in a healthy way, being proud of the person God made you to be. That’s what David did in Psalm 139. He praised God for making him in an amazing way and declared that what God had done was wonderful. Be bold enough to say, like David, “I’m amazing. I’m a masterpiece.” It’s up to you to get in agreement with God and realize how much He loves you and how special He made you. Victoria and I are believing for God’s favor in your life. We are praying doors of opportunity will swing open and that you will see your dreams and desires come to pass. I declare over you new seasons of opportunity, growth and victory!

JOELOSTEEN.COM

JOHN 8:36 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

John 8:36 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed' 

At this point Jesus Christ is talking to a group of Jews in the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles (8:2). This section of the narrative begins at v.31. His listeners already believe in Him, but it soon transpires that they have understood very little of who He is and what His message really is.

Jesus begins this particular conversation by saying (31b,32) 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.' His hearers, being keen temple-attending Jews, somewhat object to that comment because they pride themselves on their religious heritage. They believe themselves to be free already. So they object indignantly 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves to anyone. '(They repeat this assertion in v.39 as if it is a trump card) 'How can you say that we shall be set free?'

They surely have not forgotten the slavery of their ancestors in Egypt with the ensuing Exodus that they remember every year at Passover? No, they are referring to their freedom from the idolatry of the heathen nations that have always surrounded them. But their reference to their religious heritage alerts Jesus to the fact that they have not understood what their real problem is. They are blind to the truth about themselves - as we all are until we listen to Jesus. He goes straight on to say 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'

By this, Jesus does not mean that everyone who commits 'a' sin is a slave - although that is a symptom of what he is really getting at. He is thinking at a much deeper level. He means that our fundamental human nature ensures that we are all subject to the power, rule and penalty of sin - of our rebellion against the rule of God. His hearers, despite being Jews with a great spiritual inheritance, are just as captured by sin as everyone else. Their heritage cannot deal with this problem of sin. Only He can deal with their sin, and ours. The souls of men and women are fettered in a way which no amount of nominal belief or external religion could remove. Only complete submission to him could achieve that.

Jesus then proceeds to say something rather puzzling 'Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever.' What does He mean by this? Well, first, slaves cannot emancipate themselves. And, second, their position is only temporary. They have no permanent place in the family: but a son does. This saying may be doubly clever on Jesus' part. He may be referring to the fact that the dispensation of the Old Testament covenant is only temporary - as it was - but that a new covenant is coming; one installed by the son. But the overwhelming thought here is that the slave cannot save himself. None of us can save ourselves. Hence to the statement we are focussing on - 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed'.  John the writer understands precisely what Jesus is getting at and elevates the word 'son' to 'Son'.

Only the Son of God, the man sent from heaven, can release us from our slavery to sin. And He is going to die a sacrificial death to make that possible. His death on the Cross was in our place. He took the punishment for our sin so that we do not have to answer for it before Almighty God. We receive this benefit by believing in Christ and submitting to him as the Lord of our life.

http://www.understandingthebible.org/verseoftheweek1.htm

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED

This is the most important question a person could ever ask. Thankfully, we are not left on our own to "imagine" what the answer might be. God has clearly TOLD us what we must do in order to be saved. The question is answered in the Bible! The Philippian jailer asked this very question to the apostle Paul in Acts 16:30-31. "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Men have invented their own answers. Some have said we must "make a commitment" to Christ. Some say we must try to "be good", "stop sinning", "obey" the ten commandments, or join a church. God says, "BELIEVE" on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! God gives the sinner but ONE requirement in order to be saved. He must believe on Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31) [see also Rom. 5:1; 10:9; John 3:15,16,18,36; 5:24]

But what does it mean to BELIEVE?
The Scriptures make it clear that ALL a man has to do to be saved is believe. The Bible also makes it clear that there is a real kind of faith and a phony kind of faith. Is your faith real? Put your faith to the test.

1.) True faith includes knowledge.
One must know the correct FACTS of the gospel message. Faith placed in the wrong facts will never save. The "facts" of the gospel are recorded in I Cor.15:1-4. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel … by which also ye are saved…how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

The New Testament makes it clear that no one is saved apart from a knowledge of the facts included in the gospel. An incomplete or inaccurate gospel will not save anyone! (II Cor.11:3-4) A vague belief in "a Higher Power" will not do. Today God requires that a man know that Jesus Christ is the only Savior. (Acts 4:12; John 14:6) Knowledge is an important part of saving faith. But saving faith is much MORE than simply KNOWING the truth about Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.

2.) True faith includes assent.
There must also be an assent to the reality and truthfulness of the gospel! We must believe in our heart that the gospel message is true. (Rom.10:9) Saving faith is more than having information in the head. It must include a deep innerconviction and persuasion concerning the reality of the gospel and all it implies. Faith must exist in the head and heart. The fact that Jesus died for our sins implies that we are condemned SINNERS, unable to save ourselves, and desperately in need of a Savior! (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) No one is ever saved apart from knowing the correct facts concerning the gospel, AND being fully persuaded of the reality of those facts.

But even so, it is possible for a man to know the correct facts of the gospel, believe them to be true, and STILL not be saved! James makes that clear in his epistle. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19) Satan has that kind of faith. He believes the "facts" of the gospel message. He KNOWS those facts are true! He is well aware that Jesus died and rose again. But having the correct information and being fully persuaded of its reality is NOT saving faith! That is the point James makes in his epistle. It is perfectly possible (it happens often!) for a person to genuinely believe that all of the facts of the gospel are true, and yet in his heart want nothing to do with Jesus Christ! He may believe that Jesus died and rose again, and yet, he may at the same time, enjoy his life of sin and have no desire whatsoever for a new life! Thousands of men today have heard the gospel message, have assented to the truthfulness of it, and yet have said, "No thank you!" to God's gracious invitation to salvation.

3.) True faith also includes the will. Faith that saves must also involve a "choice", an act of the human will. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:11-12) In this passage, John says that saving faith is synonymous with the choice to "receive" Christ. That is an act of the will, and is a deliberate choice on the part of the sinner. It is one thing to believe intellectually that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. It is another thing to make the choice to "receive" Him personally!

Choosing to "receive" Christ goes beyond intellectual faith to personal faith. Christ becomes MY personal Savior! It goes beyond a cold, intellectual belief in facts to TRUST in a Person.

Consider the passage in John 3:14-15. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Jesus was quoting from the Old Testament book of Numbers. In that passage, the children of Israel were bitten by serpents and were dying. Moses was told by God to erect a pole and put a brass serpent upon the pole… and whoever would lookupon the brass serpent would live. In John 3:14, Jesus uses this as an illustration of "saving faith". As condemned sinners, we are like those who were bitten by the serpents. That "bite" was poisonous, and left to themselves, they would perish. The wages of our sin is death, and apart from Christ, we too will perish - forever cast into the torments of the Lake of Fire! (Rom.6:23; Rev.20:11-15) The children of Israel were told to "look" upon the brass serpent and live! That's all they had to do! Look and live! If one bitten by the serpent did not believe the "facts" told to him [that looking at the brass serpent would cure him] he would not bother to go to the pole and look. But what would PREVENT the one bitten from looking on the serpent? Stubborn pride, self will, and rebellion would! Can't you just imagine some of those men saying to themselves, "I will not look to that serpent for a cure. That's the most foolish thing I have ever heard! It's too easy! I will never submit to anything so foolish"! The Bible tells us that "the preaching of the cross is to them who perish, foolishness!" (I Cor.1:18a) Yet it "pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe". (I Cor.1:21b) The cross, God's way of salvation, humbles the sinner. Because of our sinful pride, we refuse to submit to GOD'S METHOD of salvation. It seems foolish to the proud heart of man. It is offensive to sinful flesh to be told that our own efforts to save ourselves are like worthless, filthy rags, (Isa.64:6) and that we must trust in Christ's work for us or perish! Most men WILL not come to Christ. They choose not to. (Matt.22:3; John 1:11; 5:40)

Believing is easy in the sense that it is the ONLY requirement God has given us. But it is NOT easy to believe in the sense that true faith is humbling and offensive to our proud, sinful human nature. It is hard to admit that we really ARE condemned (John 3:18; Rom.3:9-19), that in our flesh dwelleth "no good thing" (Rom.7:18), and that we must trust in Christ alone to save us or we perish forever. The act of believing is simple. It is as easy as drinking water (Rev.22:17; John 4:14), stepping through a door (John 10:9), or receiving a gift (John 1:12; Rom.6:23). But the choice to believe may be quite difficult. It is a big decision, and heaven and hell hang in the balance!

God's only requirement for the sinner is to believe on Christ. But saving faith must involve the head (knowing the facts of the gospel and my desperate need as a condemned sinner), the heart (assenting to the truthfulness of the gospel message), and the will (choosing to call on the name of the Lord to be my Savior and to save me! -Rom.10:13) It is a deliberate, personal, knowledgeable, choice to receive Christ. You KNOW that Jesus died for your sins and paid your penalty. Perhaps your heart has even been stirred by that truth, but have you decided to receive Him personally? Is your faith real? BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Do it today!

Click here to hear an explanation of God's plan of salvation in audio.

http://www.salembible.org/

A BIT OF HUMOR

PRAYERS FROM CHILDREN
Part 2

Dear God, did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident?   
Norma 

Dear God, in Bible times, did they really talk that fancy? 
Jennifer 

Dear God, how come you did all those miracles in the old days and don't do any 
now?   
Billy 

Dear God, please send Dennis Clark to a different summer camp this year.   
Peter 

Dear God, maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they each had 
their own rooms.  It works out okay with me and my brother. 
Larry 

Dear God, I keep waiting for spring, but it never did come yet. What's up?  
Don't forget.   
Mark 

Dear God, my brother told me about how you are born but it just doesn't sound 
right. What do you say?   
Marsha 

Dear God, if you watch in church on Sunday, I will show you my new shoes.   
Barbara 

Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just 
want you to know that. I am not just saying that because you are already God.   
Charles 

Dear God, I am doing the best I can. Really!!! 
Frank 

Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made 
on Tuesday night. That was really cool.   
Thomas 

[forwarded by Adon Brownell]

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Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...well, I have others.

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MIKEYSFUNNIES.COM

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

A Glass of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness."

He said..... "Then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.

He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill.

She read these words....."Paid in full with one glass of milk"…..Dr. Howard Kelly by way of Eternal Ink (eternal_ink@associate.com) and

“Christian Voices” (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)

DISTRACTED

by Tim Archer on February 20, 2013

Did you read about the case of poor Sabine Moreau? She set out one morning to pick up a friend at a train station in Brussels, Belgium, about 90 miles from Moreau's home in Hainault Erquelinnes.

Not knowing the way, Moreau set her GPS and faithfully followed the instructions.

For nearly 2 days.

810 miles out of her way.

Moreau passed through France, Germany, Austria and Slovenia before finally stopping in Zagreb, Croatia.

But Moreau had a perfectly good explanation for not realizing that her trip had taken a detour: "I was distracted," she said.

Distracted? For two days? Traveling over 800 miles? Through five different countries?

Actually, I believe her. I've seen people who live their lives that way, passing through time and space without ever thinking about where they are going. They've put their faith in someone or something that is leading them the wrong way, yet they never seem to notice. They live distracted lives, listening to bad directions which guide them down the wrong roads.

In the Bible, the book of Proverbs twice repeats this warning: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12;Proverbs 16:25). There's a road that looks good, from our point of view, but it's really leading us away from where we want to go.

Jesus put it this way: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

Don't go through life so distracted that you wander away from the road that leads to life. Don't listen to incompetent guides that will make you travel for miles without actually getting where you are going.

When it comes to finding your way through this world, no GPS can help you. No map program will get you there. You need directions from someone who really knows the way. The book of Psalms says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105).

Let God's Word guide you to where you need to be. Let the Bible lead you down the narrow road that leads to life. If you're having trouble understanding the Bible, try one of the study courses on www.hopeforlife.org. Or write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org.

http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201302/20130220_distracted.html

ROMANS 13:9-10 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

Romans 13:9-10

The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Thoughts on today's verse

Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to have laws to keep people in line! That's the point behind Paul's message here. Treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated. Love them as we like to be loved. If we do that, then we're not going to do anything that would hurt them, much less violate a command of law!

Prayer:

God, who gave Moses the Law on tablets of stone, please write your character and will on my heart so I might be a living stone, testifying to your righteousness and grace. Help me to think more carefully about how my neighbors feel before I act or react to them today! Through your Son I pray. Amen.

Visit heartlight.org

http://www.christianity.com/devotionals/heartlight-daily-verse-phil-ware/

ROSE AND LINDA'S JOURNAL DID JESUS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

As we  look back over the years we can understand how the above question can be asked.  Over 6 million Jews killed in the holocaust is only at the beginning of our oldest left to remember in our life span.

Then we move forward as we watch President Kennedy, his brother Bobby and yes Martin die, for what?  Did we forget the wars I, II, Korea, Vietnam and even now, yes we are at war.

Bibles taken out of schools, prayers removed and then unborn children taken from the cradle of wombs.  The very Words of Him taken from our Halls of Justice, removed from our lawns that served as memorials.  The list goes on.

Did Jesus made a difference?  Is this question unfair?  If Jesus has had no effect...that is  a thought a believer can not and will not accept.

Blind to what has and is happening in our world.  A resounding "NO."  We feel, we see all that is happening.  Yet we hold on to our belief that yes He did make a difference.  That now any and all shall be able to come before Him and ask forgiveness.  No sin is so great that it will stop His unchanging love for us.  So that one day we shall walk with Him, and talk with Him and He shall tell us, we are His own.

Yes He made a difference in that now not only the Jews, but all can come to Him.  No matter what this world throws at us we that believe and have faith shall behold Him and be in peace.

Yes, He made a difference!

God Bless

RECJ/LJG

A BIT OF HUMOR

SLEEPING IN THE BARN 

A Congressman and two friends - a rabbi and a Hindu holy man - had car trouble 
in the countryside and asked to spend the night with a farmer.

The farmer said, "There might be a problem; you see, I only have room for two to 
sleep, so one of you must sleep in the barn."

"No problem," chimed the rabbi. "My people wandered in the desert for forty 
years. I am humble enough to sleep in the barn for an evening."

With that, he departed to the barn and the others bedded down for the night.

Moments later, a knock was heard at the door, and the farmer opened it. There 
stood the rabbi from the barn.

"What's wrong?" asked the farmer.

He replied, "I'm grateful to you, but I can't sleep in the barn. There is a pig 
in the barn, and my faith believes that is an unclean animal."

His Hindu friend agreed to swap places with him. But a few minutes later, the 
same scene recurred. There was a knock on the door.

"What's wrong now?" the farmer asked.

The Hindu holy man replied, "I too am grateful for your helping us out, but 
there is a cow in the barn, and in my country cows are considered sacred. I 
can't sleep on holy ground!"

Well, that left only the Congressman to make the change. He grumbled and 
complained, but he went out to the barn.

Moments later, there was another knock on the farmer's door.

Frustrated and tired, the farmer opened the door, and there stood ... the pig 
and the cow.

[forwarded by Steve Sanderson]

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My memory is SO bad I changed my password to "incorrect." That way when I enter 
the wrong one, it'll tell me, "Your password is incorrect."

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MIKEYSFUNNIES.COM

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

Eternal Life Is Not Just Glory Some Day

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Located in the eastern part of Southern California, Death Valley stretches for 130 desolate miles. At its lowest point, it is 282 feet below sea level. Temperatures regularly reach a brain-frying 120 degrees in the summer, dip below freezing in the winter, and with a miniscule 1.5 inches of annual rainfall, it is one of the most inhospitable environments in the United States. One might think it was aptly named due to the high number of deaths attributable to its harsh conditions. Maybe, but for me Death Valley is the very image of living death -- life on this earth without Jesus Christ -- empty, barren, lifeless, a worthless wasteland.

In our passage today, Paul tells us "...the wages of sin is death..." But what is Paul speaking about? Is it the death that comes at the end of our lives, or something more? The Greek word Paul uses for death is "thanatos". According to Strong's Greek Lexicon it means: "...the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell..." Therefore, the wage of death is paid out to the living as well as the physically dead. One might ask: "What are you saying? Am I just a corpse walking around?" That is precisely what Paul has been telling us: All sin leads to death. A life without Jesus is a picture of Death Valley -- empty, barren, devoid of life and purpose, a worthless wasteland.

For the believer, eternal life begins the day we accept Jesus -- but it's not just future glory, it is also Christ revealed in us today. We can know right now true fulfillment, satisfaction, power, and the victory of Jesus Christ lived out in us for all the years to come. It is the "gift" God has given us. Then at the end of our days, we will stand in His presence with a life approved, because it was not our life that we lived, but His life expressed through us.

Joshua said to the Israelites as he led them into the promised land: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15 NKJV). God speaks to all mankind and offers by grace and mercy, the forgiveness of sin through the blood of His Son Jesus, He says: "Now choose." We must choose either death as a consequence of sin (living for the demands of our flesh), or eternal life. Which will you choose? Acts 2:21: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." He is waiting, how will you respond? Act 2:37-39: "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.'"

THE BIBLE IS NOT ABOUT YOU

Byron Yawn

I hate to disappoint you, but the Bible is not about you. Specifically, it was not written to improve the quality of your daily existence (in the way you think). It is not a spiritual handbook and it is not a guide to determining God’s will for your life. The Bible is not a story of God determining in eternity past to send His Son to earth to create a more satisfactory existence for you. But, this is usually where we take the story. We are seriously self-absorbed when it comes to our Bibles.

Who else could take the unbelievable episode of Moses and the burning bush and bend it back toward our everyday experience? Or, the life of Joseph and draw out principles for effective management? Your life and happiness are not adequate points of reference for the scope of what God has done and is doing. Neither are mine. It’s bigger than you and me.

In the Bible we are watching as redemption comes to pass on the pages of Scripture, one unbelievable event after another, eventually leading to Christ. Each page rumbles with anticipation. When you see it from here, the Bible opens up in ways you’ve never imagined. It takes off.

Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to read ourselves onto the pages and into the events of Scripture. We don’t even realize we’re doing it. What’s the first question we ask of the Bible in our personal reading times or church services? “How is this relevant to me?” This is the wrong question entirely. No question could push us further from the real story. It’s very much like walking out into the night sky and assuming all the stars showed up to look at us.

When we approach the Bible this way, we can’t help but read it as if we’re the center of the biblical universe and all of its history revolves around us. When everything is read through the lens of self, self-improvement, and self-contentment, we’re destined to miss the point. But this is what we always do. Is it any wonder most Christians—even those who care deeply about the Word of God—are unable to put it all together?

Usually, biblical stories are approached as a set of isolated events with no connection to each other or to the greater redemptive plotline of the Bible. Without the real story, the events of the Bible become merely parables for better living, moral platitudes, character studies, or whatever else we can come up with. In the absence of a greater plot this is all we have. Over the years popularChristianity has practically rewritten the Bible. Our version of various events reads more like a fairy tale than God’s story.   

·Eve’s decision to eat of the fruit and the subsequent disintegration of humanity becomes a lesson on the effects of negligent leadership and an absentee husband.

·Cain’s homicidal rage becomes a lesson on avoiding sibling rivalry.

·Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his only son becomes a lesson in trusting against all odds for God to provide, or how we should all surrender our children to God.

·Moses before a burning bush becomes a prototype for decision-making.

·Gideon becomes an example of how to determine the will of God.

·The prayer of Jabez becomes a lesson about expanding our personal influence.

·David’s encounter with the fighting champion of a hostile nation becomes a lesson in overcoming our greatest personal challenges (“giants”).

·Jonah, a prophet miraculously swallowed by a fish and vomited out on a specific shoreline, becomes an example of the futility of resisting God’s purpose in your life.

·Jesus’ testing in the wilderness in a template for how we resist temptation.

·The story of a caring Samaritan is a model of how we should reach out with compassion to those of other races and classes.

·A young unnamed paralytic dropped through a roof at the feet of Jesus by four men becomes a lesson on the value of friendship.  

None of these interpretations are remotely close to the real point of the events themselves. We’ve told them wrong. You may think I’m crazy, but stick with me. I used to approach the Bible the same way. I totally missed it. Or to be more specific, I missed the point. All these events and people lead us to the person of Jesus. It’s about Jesus.

The lessons we typically draw out of the biblical stories are secondary observations at best. Usually this is because it’s all we know to do with them. Fact is, the same sort of life lessons could be derived from any contemporary biography or history. The meanings and applications we’ve given these events have nothing at all to do with what’s going on in the true story. Our approach is about the same as looking for stock tips in the sonnets of Shakespeare. This oversight is so very tragic.

Something so much greater is underway in these sacred pages. These events were not intended to be spiritualized into oblivion and dissected as lessons about raising kids or starting businesses. They are intended to be marveled at by God’s people. We stand and point at what God has done. They are each a link in a chain of redemptive history that moves from Genesis to Revelation. They’re not isolated at all. They’re amazing demonstrations of the divine continuity of God’s power. They are each the commitment of a Holy God to keep His promises and honor His holy name among men.

Our response to the individual incidents should be, “Look how God used this to get us to Jesus,” not “Look how this relates to my longing for significance.”

We’ve lost the main story line that pulls all the pieces together and gives them a consistent meaning, so we essentially take what’s available and make up a story. What we’ve come up with in evangelicalism is a bit like Little House on the Prairie. (Didn’t Michael Landon bear a strange resemblance to King David?) The Bible is now the epic tale of trials and triumph on the frontier of a long-ago land. It is no longer about what God has been doing for man and is more about what humanity has done to impress God. We approach it more as a collection of fables that indirectly offer principles for life. The Bible is no longer about how God went about saving humanity from the brink of desolation. The Bible is more the account of how God occasionally stopped to applaud the faith of a few exceptional people. It’s less about what He has done. It’s almost exclusively what we can do if we learn from the lives of heroic figures in God’s Word.  

We do the weirdest things to the Bible in the absence of the cohesive theme. No other book is treated so recklessly by people who honor that same book so greatly. Among our favorite rewrites are character sketches. We like to examine the lives of Old Testament saints—triumphs and tragedies alike—and offer various patterns for living. Almost everyone assumes this is the very reason the Old Testament saints show up in the biblical record. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and Deborah have all come to represent examples to live by (or not to). What else could be the reason for the focus on their lives? Therefore we mine them for spiritual and moral principles. Sermons are preached and books are written about their lives and offered as blueprints for daily life, success in business, or practical decision-making skills. 

Every Sunday kids sit in Sunday school classes, look at flannel boards or snip at construction paper with safety scissors, and learn how these ancient figures are examples of faithfulness or failure. The consistent message is, be like them and life will work out better. Or don’t be like them and life will work out better. Work harder, make good decisions, and stay out of trouble like Joseph, and God will bless you.

When these same kids reach their early twenties, struggle with real life, and fail to reach Joseph’s moral high ground, they despair. They can’t do it. Joseph was exceptional. They get angry with God when life does not work out according to the coloring pages. Eventually they find Christianity irrelevant and powerless to save them, and they walk away.

They’re exactly right—Joseph is powerless to save them. We’re creating angry moralists, setting them up for failure, and blaming it on the Bible. Tragically, the one message that actually could save them from their failure was before us in the story of Joseph the entire time. We failed to mention it. Families would run from our children’s programs if parents knew the effect our Bible lessons are having on their kids.

This approach to understanding this amazing book could not push us further from the real message and central character of the Bible. I know this sounds ridiculous to most of us and maybe even sacrilegious to some, but it should be obvious. The Bible is about Jesus, not Moses or any other biblical figure. The point of Moses is not Moses, but the one to whom Moses points. The Bible explicitly argues this very thing.

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end (Hebrews 3:1-6).

[Editor’s note: taken from the forthcoming book by Byron Yawn, Suburbianity: Can We Find Our Way Back to Biblical Christianity?Used by permission.]

Byron Yawn is the senior pastor of Community Bible Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him, and the forthcoming Suburbianity: Can We Find Our Way Back to Biblical Christianity? (Harvest House) You can follow him on Twitter@byronyawn. 

http://www.christianity.com/bible/bible-study/the-bible-is-not-about-you.html?p=0

PROVERBS 17:9 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

Proverbs 17:9

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

Thoughts on today's verse

"It's just a little harmless gossip." The Wise Teacher reminds us that gossip is neither little nor harmless. Its consequences are huge and its damage horrible. Instead, it is much better to be a peacemaker and an offense-mender.

Prayer:

Father of Glory, I confess that I am often more a peace lover than a peacemaker. Give me the character not to repeat gossip, but instead have the wisdom and strength to be an offense-mender. Through the Prince of Peace I pray. Amen.

Visit heartlight.org

PAUL WARE

http://www.christianity.com/devotionals/heartlight-daily-verse-phil-ware/

THE SOUL OF A LEADER

In my book “What They Didn’t Teach You In Seminary,” I wrote about something you may have never heard before: Ministry is spiritually hazardous to your soul. 

Actually, leadership of any kind has a built-in set of challenges.

Here are some of the reasons why that are ministry specific, but are easily transferred over to other areas of leadership:

First, it is because you are constantly doing “spiritual” things, and it is easy to confuse those things with actually being spiritual.  For example, you are constantly in the Bible, studying it, in order to prepare a talk.  It’s easy to confuse this with reading and studying the Bible devotionally for your own soul.

You’re not.

You are praying – in services, during meetings, at pot lucks – and it is easy to think you are leading a life of personal, private prayer. 

You’re not.

You are planning worship, leading worship, attending worship, and it is easy to believe you, yourself, are actually worshipping.

Chances are, you’re not.

When you are in ministry, it is easy to confuse doing things for God with spending time with God; to confuse activity with intimacy; to mistake the trappings of spirituality for being spiritual.

It’s an easy deception.  Think about something like the game of golf.  I first started playing when I was in graduate school.  I took all of two lessons from a course pro, which basically taught me which end of the stick to hold.  I bought a cheap set of clubs and began to play.  Initially, I made great strides.  My score went from the 140’s, to the 120’s, then the low 100’s.  Sometimes even the 90’s.

Then I’d play the back nine.

But then I began to play with less and less frequency.  Soon, I only played at the annual Christmas gathering with my wife's family.  And as you might expect, I would play about the same each year - translation, horribly - because I hadn't played since the previous year. 

It’s gotten a little better these days, but it would be very easy to trick myself about the state of my game.  Why?  Because entering into “golf world” is easy and deceptive.  I can subscribe to golf magazines, purchase golf equipment, live by a golf course, wear golf clothing, watch golf on TV, and enjoy eating at the clubhouse - and feel like I’m a decent golfer! 

But I’m not.   Because simply being exposed to something has little bearing on whether or not we become proficient at it. 

We can be this way spiritually through our vocations in ministry.  Just swap out “church world” for “golf world.”

A second reason why ministry is hazardous to your soul is because you are constantly being put on a spiritual pedestal and treated as if you are the fourth member of the Trinity.  In truth, they have no idea whether you have spent any time alone with God in reflection and prayer over the last six weeks; they do not know what you are viewing online; they do not know whether you treat your wife with tenderness and dignity. 

They just afford you a high level of spirituality.  

Here’s where it gets really toxic:  you can begin to bask in this spiritual adulation and start to believe your own press.  Soon the estimation of others about your spiritual life becomes your own. 

This is why most train-wrecks in ministry are not as sudden and “out of the blue” as they seem.  Most leaders who end up in a moral ditch were veering off of the road for some time.  Their empty spiritual life simply became manifest, or caught up with them, or took its toll. 

You can only run on empty for so long.

I had a defining moment on this in my life when I was around thirty years old.  A well-known leader fell, a leader who had been a role model for my life.  I was devastated.  But more than that, I was scared.  If it could happen to him, then I was a pushover. 

It didn’t help my anxieties that I was in a spiritual state exactly as I have described:  confusing doing things for God and time with God; accepting other’s estimation of my spiritual life in a way that made it easy to bypass a true assessment of where I stood; I was like a cut flower that looked good on the outside, but would, in time, wilt dreadfully.

I remember so clearly the awareness that I could fall; that no one would ever own my spiritual life but me; and that I needed to realize that the public side of my life was meaningless - only the private side mattered.  This was not flowing from a position of strength; it was flowing from a deep awareness of weakness.

So the gun went off. 

I began to rise early in the morning for prayer and to read the Bible.  I began to take monthly retreats to a bed-and-breakfast in the mountains for a more lengthy immersion in order to read devotional works, pray, experience silence and solitude, and to journal.  I entered into a two-year, intense mentoring relationship with a man who had many more years on me in terms of age, marriage and ministry. 

There was more, but you get the idea:  I was going to be a public and private worshiper; I was going to be a student of the Bible for my talks and for my soul; I was going to pray for others to hear, andfor an audience of one.

I hope you hear my heart on this.  It’s not to boast, it’s to confess.  I have to do these to survive.  Maybe you do, too.  And again, this was not something anyone had warned me about, told me about, pulled me aside and counseled me about. 

Interestingly, at the same time my “awakening” occurred, I was part of a breakfast meeting with the great British pastor and author John Stott.  He had been touring various American seminaries, and someone asked him for his observations.  He did not suggest anything about a diminishing state of orthodoxy, a lack of biblical preaching, or diminished standards of academic excellence. 

Instead, he said two things that still stand out to me to this day:  first, he said he wanted to tell everyone to “cheer up.”  Seminaries all seemed so serious, so gloomy, so joyless. 

Coming from a Brit, that was particularly interesting. 

But second, he said that there seemed to be a real lack of spiritual formation; that the seminaries did not seem to be doing much to help people know how to grow spiritually, to care for themselves spiritually, or to develop themselves spiritually. 

I know it was true for me.

So here’s a spiritual truth that should never be forgotten:  no one will ever own your spiritual life but you.

And if you are a leader, that ownership better run deep.

James Emery White

Sources     

Adapted from James Emery White, What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary (Baker).

Editor’s Note

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which he also served as their fourth president. His newly released book isThe Church in an Age of Crisis: 25 New Realities Facing Christianity (Baker Press). To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, log-on to www.churchandculture.org, where you can post your comments on this blog, view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite.

Dr. James Emery White

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary









http://www.christianity.com/blogs/dr-james-emery-white/the-soul-of-a-leader.html

ROSE AND LINDA'S JOURNAL DREAMS/REALITY

To wake to a sunny day, winds lightly blowing, weather just right, no more, no less.

All our neighbors greet us with hearts full of gladness.  Children play peacefully together.  Animals roam about laying down for their tummy's to be rubbed, yes even lions and tigers and bears.

Beside a stream we sit with friends and family of old.  Meeting with our great-great-great parents.  Meeting with children lost or stolen, but we only feel joy at these reunions.

Dreams to many, a reality to come to those that believe and have faith.

Prophecies from the prophet Isiah...the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...child shall play on the hole of the asp...They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain...the earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord...

We have a hope.  For all that goes on around us, we have a hope,  Our hope is in Jesus and in Him our dreams of "peace on earth" will become reality.

God Bless

RECJ/LJG

A BIT OF HUMOR

Remember that the head of the CIA and former General David Petraeus resigned 
because of an extramarital affair?

So guys, let that be a lesson for you...If the CIA director can't keep an affair 
secret, you don't have a chance.

[forwarded by Steve Sanderson]

============================

Actions speak louder than words -- but not nearly as often.

=======================================

MIKEYSFUNNIES.COM

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

CLEAN CISTERNS

When I visited Israel, the leader of our tour group focused on cisterns. Before the tour was over, it had become a joke. "What cisterns are we going to see today?"

We understood the importance of the cisterns since Israel has a long dry season and has relatively few natural springs. The builders in our group were particularly interested in the construction of these cisterns. They knew unless they were built correctly, they would not hold water, especially clean, pure water which was so important to Israel's livelihood. Jeremiah recognized the importance of the cisterns and the need to keep the water pure. He knew a broken cistern that held dirty or impure water was detrimental to God's people. He saw water as being the spiritual element within man's life and our bodies as the cistern that contained it. If the body which was the container of the spirit was not pure and solidly built and maintained, the spirit (water) would be unclean.

Jeremiah 2:13 "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken the fountain of living water and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that hold no water." (NRSV)

…..Ivie Bozeman (ivie@rose.net) Eternal_Ink (eternal_ink@associate.com) by way of “Christian Voices” (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)

1 JOHN 4:11-12 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

1 John 4:11-12

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Thoughts on today's verse

Can you imagine what an honor it is to have the Creator of the universe, the Lord God Almighty, living inside of you! But when we love each other, that is exactly what happens. When our hearts are full of love, there is room for God. When they are not full of love, we leave God little room to take up residence and produce his character in us. Let God complete his love in you. Make a commitment to do loving things for other believers today!

Prayer:

Abba Father, it is so comforting to know that you are not far away - that I live in you and you live in me. Help me see others with your eyes, and respond to their needs with your heart, so that your love may be complete in me. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

Visit heartlight.org

http://www.christianity.com/devotionals/heartlight-daily-verse-phil-ware/

PAUL WARE

SEIZE THE MOMENT EVERY DAY IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Today, I took a walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this earth as it is, we only have this moment to live out the purpose for which God has provided for each one of His Children.  Tomorrow is not promised, this is the moment which God has chosen for us to be true to ourselves and obey His will.  We must learn to, SEIZE THE MOMENT, BECAUSE EACH DAY IS A GIFT FROM GOD. 

SNOW FALLS IN THE MOMENT OF TIME (PHOTO BY PASTOR DAVIS)

As I stood and looked all around the snow covered grounds, I could sense the present of God’s hand moving me to higher grounds, I heard His voice saying, “now is the time!” You are one of my chosen servants, stop standing around. Then I said, “But God,” God’s voice spoke to me again as I was looking all around and said, “My Son, “now is the time!” I was trying to understand what God was prompting me to do, and at that very moment, these words of scripture flashed into my mind.

Now listen up and try to understand what these beautiful words of scripture were saying, “The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor satisfaction to the wise, or riches to the smart, nor grace to the learned. Sooner or later bad luck hits us all. No one can predict misfortune. Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds in a trap, so men and women are caught By accidents evil and sudden.”(Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 MSG)

THE BEAUTY OF THE SNOWFLAKES (PHOTO BY PASTOR DAVIS)

As the snow continued to fall, and darkness was coming upon me, I soon realized that all though I was standing in the shadow of space and time, I was truly blessed to be able to see and experience God’s grace all around me.  The beauty of the snowflakes falling and covering all the blight and wounds the neighborhood had sustained over a period of time.  God was injecting new life, not only into the neighborhood but into my mind, when He kept saying to me, “Now is the time.”  As I stood there looking all around, I thought of Moses when he had led God’s people out of slavery and had arrived at the Red Sea, and it seem there was no place to go. Moses was standing there looking up starring at God andGod spoke to Moses and said, “Moses, what is that in your hand?”  Moses said, “It’s a rod,” God said, “stretch it out!”  Sometimes, as we stand, looking around in our weariness trying to understand what God is saying, we just have to be obedient to the word of God and just stretch out what God has already placed in our hands.

When we take the time to listen to the words of God, He will speak plainly and tell us just what He wants us to do.  These are the words I heard the voice of God say to me on that snowy day, “SEIZE THE MOMENT EACH DAY IS A GIFT FROM GOD!”  It was the power of those words that got me to thinking, and as I stood there, this scripture came into my thoughts, “Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!

Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love Each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, for there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed. (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 MSG)

Now let me encourage each one of you to, “SEIZE THE MOMENT, BECAUSE EACH DAY IS A GIFT FROM GOD!”

http://vineandbranchworldministries.com/2013/02/18/seize-the-moment-each-day-is-a-gift-from-god/

PASTOR DAVIS MASTER TEACHER