A Spittin' Image

The doctor said to a new father, "You have a cute baby."

"I bet you say that to all the new parents," smiled the proud daddy.

"No," he replied, "just to those whose babies really are good-looking."

"So what do you say to the others?"

I say, "He's the spittin' image of you."

Do you suppose they teach that in medical school?

I'm told that a young mother enlisted the help of a friend in taking her infant identical twins to the doctor.  Since the waiting area was full, the two women, each with a twin, were seated on opposite sides of the room.  After a few minutes someone commented,  "It's amazing how much those two babies look alike!"

The friend was quick to reply,  "Well, they should.  They have the same father." I haven't heard whether the misunderstanding was ever straightened out.

With identical twins, it's easy to see that they are the "spittin' image" of each other.  Actually, that term "spittin' image" stems from an old misunderstanding itself.  Joel Chandler Harris, author of the Uncle Remus stories, explained that when an American slave seemed to be saying, "spittin' image," he or she was actually saying, "spirit and image," as:  "'He's the spi'it 'n' image of his daddy."  It meant more than they merely looked alike.  Spirit and image - alike, inside and out.

And what makes it even more interesting is the ancient truth from the monk Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who said,  "What we love we shall grow to resemble."  Or put another way, we become the spi'it 'n' image of that which we hold dear.  We are shaped by that which we admire most, and by the people we love most.

It works like this:  Those who admire success may become "the image of success."  Those who admire ambition will, to even a casual observer, look ambitious, perhaps even driven.  Those who admire and love the gentle saints of their faith will, more than likely, remind others of those same saints in their attitudes, words and actions.  Day by day, we become the spi'it 'n' image of the people we befriend, admire and love.

An unknown writer tells a story about her grandmother and a person she deeply admired.  The story goes like this:  "My grandmother was born in a small west Texas farming town on August 26, 1929, two months and three days before Black Tuesday, the stock market crash that started the Great Depression.  As the youngest daughter of sharecroppers, who earned their living by picking cotton, she knew the meaning of barely getting by. Times were tough and she learned to never waste anything.

Her Uncle Jess was a compassionate man who always treated her with kindness.  Each time she would visit him, she always left with the same feeling:  I am special.  After all, she was the only person who was allowed to drink from his special pink drinking glass.  One day, she took the pink glass out to the water cooler, a special room that stored and cooled the water generated from the windmill.  Out in the water cooler, she dropped the glass.  Looking down at the hundreds of glass fragments, she began to cry.  She had been entrusted with this special glass and now it was broken.

Her crying was interrupted when she heard Uncle Jess call out,  'Ruby Nell, I was thinking.  I'm tired of that silly old pink glass.  Would you please break it for me?'

She ran back to him calling out, with the enthusiasm that only a six-year-old can summon,  'I did it, Uncle Jess!  I did it!'"

How many times did Ruby pass that story along out of admiration for her uncle?  How often did she remember his kindness and compassion and show the same to others?  Over the years of a long life, how many times would she choose to believe in herself because of the way Uncle Jess always made her feel:  that she was special?  And when life was cruel and people let her down, how many times did she find enough strength to set aside anger and respond in kindness, because that is what Uncle Jess would have done?

As little Ruby Nell grew up, she could do worse than to grow into the spi'it 'n' image of Uncle Jess.

We are shaped by that which we admire most, and by the people we love most.

Who do you love and admire?
What qualities draw you to them?
And how can you bring more people like that into your life?

-- Steve Goodier
http://stevegoodier.blogspot.com/

 

               

 

                                                                                                           Do You Have A Plan For Your Life ?

 

Do you have a plan for your life that goes beyond this daily strife?
Not merely just a job my friend, but one that goes beyond life’s end.
Do you go beyond what you can see to include in your plan eternity?
Jesus Christ does my friend, for He knows the beginning from the end.
I wonder if you ever knew that The Lord Himself has a plan for you?
The Lord has an end to every start in a plan that no man can thwart.
And in His divine Eternal Plan The Lord has a purpose for every man.

As He cares for our earthly needs, He’s planning our eternal deeds.
God’s Eternal Plan far exceeds all His plans for our earthly needs.
All eternal needs are set in place, accomplished by His loving Grace.
And no mind can conceive what God has prepared for all who believe.
But what God cares about most of all is not your needs but your soul.
For when He created life my friend, He planned for it to have no end.
And this, my friend will come to be, for all men will enter eternity.

Not every man will want a part, and God knows each and every heart.
For all men who come to Jesus Christ, God has prepared Eternal Life.
And men who scoff at His desire, they will be cast into Eternal Fire.
You have time to change your plan to live forever with The Son of Man,
For in this present Age of Grace, in Heaven you can secure a place.
You can believe and be assured; you’ll spend Eternity with The Lord.
But if you continue in unbelief, it will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


Bob Gotti
http://www.poeticpulpit.com

 

     

       

 

  Amazed By America

 

"Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord." ...Psa. 32: 12
* * * * * * * * * *
If some of our Christian Founding Fathers were alive today, and could walk through this land, listen to the local news, or sit in the court rooms, they would be amazed at America.  Are we also amazed by America, and how the constitutional rights have been challenged, or taken away, in this modern day society?  Can you imagine one of the nation's early Founding Fathers visiting a classroom today and learning there is no longer a right to pray or to call upon God, our Father, of whom we pledge to be, "one nation under God?"

One of our nation's founding fathers said, "there were two things that made America great;  Christianity and a Constitution formed under Christianity.  The last portion of the First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  We look back and wonder what happened?  Prayer was taken out of the schools before some even realized the right had been challenged.

Congress was not to prohibit the free exercise of religion in any way, according to the declaration of our Founding Fathers.  Today, we see that schools are told there can be no prayer in the classrooms.  We wonder if people are expected to give up their freedom of religion when they walk into a school or a government building in which there can be no display of religious emblems.

Our nation has changed and there are people today, including lawmakers, who are not right with God, and would like to see America as one nation "over God" instead of one nation "under God" as our nation proclaims to be.  Men today, who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, feel no need for God.  These make "self" as their "god" or worship gods of gold and silver, made with hands.  The rebellious turn away from God, not recognizing He is their only hope in this life; and the life to come.  Those who have turned aside to the broad path, or who choose the love of money instead of God; need to return to the straight and narrow path.  There is only one way leading to eternal life, and this is through Jesus Christ and the way of righteousness.

As, believers, we must join together in prayer and stand for truth and right.  Without being a nation under God, we will soon cease to be a blessed nation.  The Scriptures tell us, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."  When the going gets tough, who do we run to? Believers know the source of their help and strength, and go the Rock of their salvation, Jesus Christ.  Do we want to be continue to walk in the blessings of the Lord, as a nation?  If so, God's people must obey 2 Chronicles 7: 14, which says; "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

May we never cease to be "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Jo Ann Kelly © 2010
J. P.'s Inspirations
http://www.my.homewithgod.com/jpinspirations

 

 

                

 

         An Accidental Treasure   

 

“What if God healed you tomorrow?” my daughter asked me one morning.  “Would you want to be healed?”

“Hmmm…no, I don’t think so.”

Six years ago, in one brief April moment of skidding tires, shrieking metal, breaking glass and side-impact airbags, a green Toyota minivan slammed into the side of ours at 50 miles an hour, and instantly changed our lives.  Within weeks, my kids’ injuries healed.  Mine did not.  For three years, I journeyed through tests and procedures, medications, specialists, occupational and physical therapy, and multiple surgeries.  I alternately hoped for, prayed for, begged for healing, and God said, “No.”

“But why, Mom?  Why wouldn’t you want to be healed?”

“Well, it’s not that I like living with pain, but I know me, and I’m not sure I’d stay this close to God without it.  What if God healed me and I suddenly slid back into old, familiar habits – hurried and impatient and stressed with no time for people, no time to notice God in the moment, no time or desire to stop and breathe in His incredible beauty?  Honestly, that would be worse in every way than this.”

“But how do you know it wouldn’t be different now?”

“I don’t know for sure, but when the pain is less I still feel a pull to do more, to be more.  For the past six years God has proven He’s sufficient, more than enough, yet somehow on the better days I still feel that old tug to fight Him for control.”

“Why?”  I wondered silently.  So I can be harsh and impatient and critical and rushed and judgmental?  Really?  Who would choose that?  And yet…I do.

Aloud, I answered my daughter,  “Maybe God is choosing not to heal me, because He knows my injury is better not only for me, but for everyone around me.  I might not like the pain, but I do like the person I’m becoming because of it.”

Over the years, I’ve been asked a surprising question,  “Don’t you wish the woman who hit you would know all the pain she’s caused?”

No!  Not once, not ever in these past six years have I wished that.  It was an accident – just an accident.  For one brief moment she looked away.  It could have been me.  How often have I looked away, distracted?

I can’t go back and undo what’s done, but even if I could, I’m no longer sure I would, because through the pain I’ve discovered a treasure – an accidental treasure – the incomparable beauty of God, grace in the moment, strength for each breath, mercy and love paving each new step of the way.  How humbling to see myself through the filter of pain as God’s Hand carves away my independent, critical spirit, hewing off harsh judgment, chiseling away at my foolish pride, sanding off raw edges, and slowly, methodically day-by-day, grain-by-grain, polishing my soul, till His Spirit living in me begins to brilliantly shine through me, becoming, one day, a worthy vessel fit for the King.


by Cindee Snider Re
http://breathedeeply.org

 

         

 

 

                   Back To The Bible

 

 

Ever meet a Bible-thumper?  I have.  In my first encounter, I was late getting to my history class and noticed a friend, also late, being cornered by a real Christian zealot.  It looked as if my friend was being hit over the head with a Bible, and as I got closer I saw that he was.  “Don’t you know that the Bible says you have to be born again?”  Thump.  “Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, the Life…”  Thump,  thump.

I love the Bible, but Bible-thumpers make me mad.  I’ve met far too many Bible-toting Christians who know chapter and verse but treat the Bible as if it were a religious hobbyhorse – riding on it but not living by it.  While smashing today’s idols, of which there are many, these good Christians are guilty of something far worse: bibliolatry, or revering the Bible more than the author of it.  Fundamentalists or not, whether on TV, talk radio, or in the pulpit, they treat the Bible more like a hammer of destruction than the divine gift it really is.

If Bible-thumping is scary so is its opposite:  Bible-bashing.  Bible-bashers also take the Bible into their own hands. Instead of beating people up with it, they spend their efforts cutting and splicing, dissecting and deconstructing the Bible itself.  According to these folks, the Bible needs to be liberated from an encrusted, archaic shell of cultural prejudice, unscientific presuppositions, and patriarchal, homophobic biases.  For them, the Bible may provide a modicum of light, but it can no longer be our rule of faith.  It must be judged by norms deemed relevant today.

Such a “liberated” approach leads to new and “better” interpretations:  Paul was gay,  Mary a prostitute,  Jesus a wandering cynic or mystic, not unlike other Mediterranean gurus of his day.  Notions of right and wrong are relative.  Besides, what matters most is love, so sayeth the enlightened liberal.  In other words, neither the Bible nor Jesus possesses any real authority.  Our logic and our value-schemes trump all else.

What Bible-thumpers and Bible-bashers alike fail to realize is that Scripture is not a supermarket of truths, nor is it a sounding board for our ideas, Christian or otherwise.  The Bible tells the story of how God is on the march, remaking and realigning our twisted worlds.  It retells God’s history so that the story of our broken lives may be re-scripted, so that something new from above happens here on earth.

This is why Jesus cherished the Old Testament as he did – and fulfilled every word of it  (Matt. 5:17).  And this is why the Apostle Paul writes that the Scriptures “make us wise unto salvation,” equipping us “for every good work”  (2 Tim. 3:15-17).  In and through the pages of the Bible, God’s Spirit seeks to perform a new work.

Sadly, too many of us read the words of the Bible but only nod our heads.  We want information, but not transformation.  In so doing, we either imprison Christ between the pages of our Bibles, or we yank him out of God’s history altogether, turning him into some image of our own making, exalting and trumpeting our own unique brand of spirituality or Christianity.  In either case, Christ is not Lord – he cannot speak, he does not have “words of eternal life,” he cannot act in this world to change it.

Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, “What is the New Testament?  A handbook for those who are to be sacrificed.”  In our human flesh we don’t want this.  We want to keep our lives intact and have things on our own terms.  We prefer “biblical insights” and “spiritual inspiration” to the sword of the Spirit that cuts, convicts, cleanses.  To quote Kierkegaard again:  We have become experts at cunningly shoving one layer after another, one interpretation after another, between the Word and our lives – much in the way a boy puts a napkin or more under his pants when he is going to get a spanking!  Then we allow this clever preoccupation to reach to such profundity that we never get around to looking at our lives in the mirror.  All this is but a defense against God’s Word.

Part of our problem is how we approach the Bible itself, assuming it to be some kind of divine answer book.  But as French social philosopher Jacques Ellul points out, the Bible is less about answers and more about questions.  “Faith consists in heeding God’s questions and risking ourselves in the answers that we have to give.”  In other words, the God of the Bible is a God who asks us the questions.  Whether we are Bible-know-it-alls or postmodern deconstructionists, we are all in the dark – not because we don’t have answers, but because God calls us to account and we would rather run and hide!

In the opening pages of Genesis, God not only creates and commands but he asks questions:  “Where are you?  Who told you…?  What have you done?  Why are you angry?  Where is your slain brother?”  God still asks questions.  Will we answer?  Are we ready to give an account?  Unless we come to the Bible with the readiness to be questioned, to have our assumptions, norms, and experiences changed (and yes, “judged”), we will miss its mysterious, liberating power.

If we want to get back to the Bible, then we must go all the way back to God himself.  From the very outset of Genesis, where God commands,  “Let there be light,” to the closing words in Revelation,  “Yes, I am coming soon,” when God speaks something happens or is about to happen.  Are we ready?  For in the end, what good is the Bible unless God does something?


Charles E. Moore
September 21, 2011
The Plough
http://www.plough.com/index.html

 

      

 

 

            Code Red

 

To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear?  Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed.  Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it.  Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD.  I am weary of holding it in. -  Jeremiah 6:10-11.

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. - Colossians 1:27-28.

Monday morning when we returned to the hospital to check on our grandson, we had an interesting experience.  We had just entered into the hospital when an alarm began to sound, along with a voice announcing,  “Code Red”,  “Code Red”.  Every few seconds the voice would announce, while the alarm, continued to sound,  “Code Red”,  “Code Red”.

As we entered an elevator, I asked a woman who got onto the elevator with us if she knew what “Code Red” meant.  She said she didn’t know, but thought it couldn’t be anything good.  Immediately after we left the elevator, the woman asked another woman who had a hospital ID what “Code Red” meant.  The hospital staff member responded calmly and sweetly that, “Oh, it’s a fire alarm.”

The other woman then asked her if it was a fire drill.  The staff member said “No, it’s a fire.”  And then she said,  “It’s in the basement, and it happens all the time.”

Since we were on the lower level, a fire in the basement was a little concerning to us.  However, with the alarm still sounding, and with the voice still announcing “Code Red”, “Code Red”; everyone calmly continued on their way as if there were no alarm blaring in their ears!

The disregard of the people at the hospital for the warnings of the fire alarm reminds me of the disregard people have for the warnings of the Word of God.  Not only do they disregard and dismiss God’s warning through His Word; they also disregard and dismiss warnings from His messengers.  Jeremiah continually, at great personal risk, warned of the consequences of the immorality of the Hebrew people.  The consequences were to be taken into captivity by a foreign country, which did finally occur.

The people of this world have not changed much from the people Jeremiah’s time.  The people today are just as dismissive, and have just as much disregard for God’s Word and His messengers, as did the people of Jeremiah’s day.  The only difference is that it may be worse today than it was in the time of Jeremiah.

At some point in time, for every person we will come to the end of the road of life, and face the consequences for our decisions.  As we are told in the Book of Hebrews, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).”  We are told more about what is ahead in Revelation 20:11-15 where John says, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Is your name written in the Book of Life?  Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?  If not, the alarm is sounding, and all of Heaven is shouting “Code Red”, “Code Red”.  Can you hear the warning?  “Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation  (2 Corinthians 6:2).”  I plead with you to receive Jesus today as your personal Savior before it is eternally too late.

Ed Wrather
The Burning Bush
http://www.theburningbush.net
Copyright © 2011. Ed Wrather.

 

      

 

 

Flashlight

 

Most parents have had some experience with kids waking up with bad dreams at some point or another.  If not bad dreams, then surely every parent has had to deal with invisible monsters hiding in the closet or under the bed.

Recently my wife and I had a bout with our oldest son waking us out of the comfort of our warm bed to come into his room and scare off something that was fear itself.  It was three in the morning and even though it can be the sweetest word on earth when you get home from work, it is not so sweet when heard at three in the morning.

"Daddy"

I came into my son's room to see what the problem was.  The first time it was, "I think I saw something."  The second time it was,  "I think I heard something."  The third time it was, "I'm just scared."

I had to get up early in the morning and go to work.  I am a very patient man but my sleepiness was wearing my patience down.  The wee hours of the morning had me delirious so I warned him,  "If you call me one more time, I'm going to give you something to be afraid of." Two minutes later.

"Daddy"

I came into the room and staying true to my promise, even though it hurt my heart to do so, I gave him a tap on the leg; after all, I had to get some sleep.  Walking back to my bed like a weary victor of war, I said,  "It wasn't easy but that took care of that."  Five minutes later.

"Daddy"

I lay in bed for a while at my wit's end on what to do, I had given up.  I knew that if I went and slept in his room with him he would want me to do it every night that he felt fear.  I laid there basking in a feeling of stripped victory.  In the stillness of the night, a light popped on in my head.  It was a literal light.  I saw a picture in my head of a flashlight.  I immediately got out of bed, went to the hall closet, got the flashlight out and took it to my son's room.  I handed it to him and told him  "Light has a special power to make monsters go away, when you think you see or hear something just cut the light on and shine it in that direction and whatever it is will have to go away."

I went back and got into bed with apprehensiveness against getting to sleep too soundly.  I listened for about five minutes then I saw a circle of light shining in my son's room.  I waited for that demanding title of "Daddy," but all I heard was the stillness of the night.

This same principle is true in the lives of adults.  Many times, we are afraid of that which can really do us no harm.  Our flashlight can be knowledge; most of the time we fear what we don't understand.  As we become more enlightened on something that seems scary, peace will come.

The light doesn't really chase away monsters living in the shadows, it just changes our eyesight to see that the room, the business, the school, the marriage, and the assignment is not as scary as it looked without the light on.

Whatever you are afraid of, shine some light on it.

~A MountainWings Original by James Bronner~
http://www.mountainwings.com

 

 

         

 

 

                 It Always Begins With "U"

 

 

Peter was a bright child.  All through his growing up years he always appeared to have that extra ability to figure things out and even understand complex ideas.  In his first year of grade school he excelled in all of his classes.  That's why it was such a shock when he came home one day early in the school year with a note from his teacher.

"Please call me ASAP regarding Peter's spelling." Mrs. Simon

Mom asked Peter what this was all about and of course at his age he really had no idea.  "I don't know, Mommy.  I think I did something wrong...I guess," was his response.

So, the next morning Mom called the school and asked to speak with the teacher.

"Thanks so much for calling.  It is early in the school year but I always like to head things off before they go too far," the teacher said.

"Did Peter do something wrong?" Mom asked.

"Well, it's a little complicated.  It's not so much Peter..."she hesitated before continuing.  "Well, it's about his grandfather."

Mom was stunned.  There was silence on the phone.

"Hello?  Are you still there?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, I am.  I just can't understand what Peter's grandfather has to do with his schooling," Mom replied.

"It's his spelling," she replied.

"His grandfather's spelling?  Now I'm even more confused."

"Well, yes and no.  Let me explain.  This past week I gave them all a simple test using short words and pictures.  I just wanted to get a feel for what each child understood at this point.  Peter did well until he hit the spelling section.  He got one particular word wrong and when we went over the papers he insisted to the point of almost arguing with me that he was right."

"What was the word?" Mom asked.

"It. I-t, it." she said.

"I don't understand.  I know he knows that word.  I mean it is a simple word and I can't imagine how he would get that one wrong.  How did he spell it?"

"With a U," the teacher replied.

"The letter "U"?

"Yes, he insisted that you spell "it" with a "u" as in "UT."

"Well, where does his grandfather fit in all of this?" mom asked."

"Well, when I corrected him, he insisted over and over that I was wrong and he was right "because his grandfather said so."

"Well, I'm so very sorry.  I promise I will correct this and I will speak to both Peter and his grandfather about this."

Grandfather lived with the family the last few years, ever since his wife passed away.  It was so very difficult for him to adjust and the family to care for him because they lived several states away.  There were concerns and many little adjustments in the first few months, but things seemed to be working out until now.  Mom called both Peter and his grandfather into the living room.

"I need to speak with both of you," mom said.

"Uh, oh, Peter.  Sounds like we're both in trouble," grandfather laughed.

Mom cleared her throat and spoke with some authority in her voice, but tempered with a gentleness only a mom could offer.  She explained that she received a note from Peter's teacher and that she was very concerned.

"What do I have to do with that?" asked grandfather.

"Well, apparently you helped Peter with his homework," mom said.

"I do sometimes."

"Well..." she paused for a moment trying not to sound upset.  "Well, why would you tell Peter that when spelling the word "it" it should be spelled with a "u" as in U T?  That's "ut!"

Grandfather was confused.  He shook his head then turned to Peter for an explanation.

"When did I tell you that you spell the word "it" ut?" he asked.

"Grandfather," Peter said so matter-of-fact.  "You said it a lot.  Like a hundred times."

"What?" both grandfather and mom responded in unison.

Peter was now distracted with a small toy car he brought in with him.  He shook his head left and right and then up and down.  His long blond hair in the front flopped around like a rock star on stage.  "Grandfather, every time we did my words you would say the same thing over and over.  I was tired and you'd say it again," Peter said.

"What?" grandfather begged.

"If you're going to get good grades in school remember...it always begins with u," Peter said.

"It always begins with u," Mom whispered softly.

Grandfather turned towards her and they suddenly both began to laugh.  Grandfather was right.  The teacher just didn't understand.

Just like in life.  Remember, "if you are going to be successful it always begins with you."

"I wish you enough!"
J
Bob Perks
http://www.IWishYouEnough.com

 

 

          

 

 

        Lord, Help Me Lose Weight

 

 

Prayer and dieting have a lot in common.

I have a confession to make.  There have been too many covered-dish suppers and too few fasts in my life: too much sitting at the computer and too little running around the church.  My belly might as well be stamped "Made by Budweiser," which is not a pretty sight for a preacher who doesn't drink.  If you haven't guessed by now, let me be blunt.  I've gained a little weight.

But it's not my fault.  I'm a victim of uncontrollable circumstances caused by others:

-- My kids:  It would be cruel not to buy them cookies for snacks, deserts and lunches and it would be impolite not to eat a few with them.  (No more than six or eight at a time!)
-- My wife:  She comes home from school hungry and needs a refreshing snack so to be a good husband; I eat just a little with her.  (A whole bowl of popcorn is a little?)
-- My church:  Can I help it if they have so many covered-dish suppers with delicious food?
-- My house:  Much of my time is spent in the house within easy reach of the treats.
-- My job:  I work so hard there simply is no time to exercise.
-- My lifestyle:  There is no time to cook nutritional meals; so quick-fix junk food is a necessity.
-- My childhood:  Can I help it if my parents spanked me at a tender age, therefore, causing my uncontrollable urge to consume large quantities of chocolate?

Are the violins softly playing in the background?  Does anyone out there feel sorry for me?  How does the country song go?  "Here's a quarter.  Call someone who cares!"

What's the point, Larry?

The point is simply, I need to lose weight and there is really only one basic way to succeed.  Forget the latest fads and learn the secret of the three D's: Discipline, Diligence and Devotion to exercise.  All of my creative excuses fall flat because diet and exercise will help me do more work, spend time with the kids, feel better, live longer and have extra energy for fun.  The discipline practiced today reaps rewards of health, happiness and a slim waistline tomorrow.

So, what does this have to do with prayer?  Everything!

Charles Wheeler once said:  "Prayer should be like the steering wheel of a car."  How could a car possibly function without a steering wheel?  Instead, we more often treat prayer as a spare-tire  .We only use it when there is something flat in our lives.  But wait; Lord... it's not my fault. I'm a victim!  We sound like the title of a book I read years ago. "O Lord, I Have Sinned, but I Have Some Great Excuses!  Our prayer life failures sound a lot like my diet and exercise excuses. We're busy with the children, the spouse, the job, the chores and a hectic lifestyle that allows no time for God.

God's attitude toward prayer is obvious:  "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me." (Proverbs 8:17) "  Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.  Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." (Psalm 5:3)

The point is: God wants to have a relationship with us, which can only happen through habitual prayer.  This brings up those same three D's: Discipline, Diligence and Devotion to God.  Again the creative excuses fall flat because a good prayer life will help us do more work, spend extra time with the kids, feel better, live longer and guarantee us an extraordinary eternal life!

That was a good lesson, wasn't it?  Now the million-dollar question:  (Is this my final answer?)  Can the preacher practice what he preaches?

"O Lord I pray... Please, help me lose some weight today!"

Rev. Larry Davies
Sowing Seeds of Faith
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com

 

 

 

       

                                                                                                                        

                                                                      May God Bless You This Day...With More Than Meets The Eye

 

 

Once upon a time, a fellow (we'll call Mike) took his young daughter, son, two nephews and a niece to a place high on a mountain.  Its treeless top was covered with green grass, and they could see surrounding mountains for many a mile.  Suddenly Mike spread his arms, began slowly spinning, and burst out in song.  "The hills are alive...with the sound of music."

These many years later, the children, now all grown, remember it with fondness, laughter, and even a bit of joy.  The mere mention of this brief moment in their lives brings a quick smile.  How sad it would have been had Mike been consumed with appearances, like much of the rest of the world.

While stuck at home recovering from surgery, I watched a lot of TV and things on the Internet.  One in particular was a clip from Britain's Got Talent featuring Susan Boyle.  As she stood on the stage, the audience openly laughed at her, rolling their eyes with ridicule.  At least, that is, until Ms. Boyle began to sing.  Then they cheered.  What caused the mocking stares, laughter and blatant disbelief when she said she dreamed of being a professional singer?  As scores of articles honestly said afterward, it was because of how Ms. Boyle looked. In the audience's eyes, she was homely and frumpy.  To them, she was not beautiful nor even pretty.  They judged her for her appearance, rather than try to see into her heart.

This has nothing to do with Brits.  I see the same thing everywhere. TV personalities, movie stars, authors, corporate executives, politicians, even more than a few pastors, ministers and priests.  For some reason many think that how someone looks has something to do with that individual as a person.  And then they apply such standards to themselves, and life becomes miserable.  I'm too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too dark, too light.  I don’t like my hair, my eyes, the length of my legs.  Even more...I can't walk, I can't stand, I can't hear, I can't see, I can't speak. I'm not beautiful.  I'm worthless.

Appearance can beat down and steal joy when a person is consumed by it.  God has warned us of such devotion.  All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.  They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.  No one stops to think... (Isaiah 44:9a,18-19a)

But remember how Isaiah described the One who would come?  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  (Isaiah 53:2b)  Jesus was not handsome.  His appearance would not have drawn us to Him.  He was plain and ordinary.  If today He stood on a stage and told us, 'I have come to save you', what would we say?  Nope, sorry, you don’t look the part.

Next!

God does not care how you look.  He does not care about the color of your skin, how much of it you may have, or its lines of age.  He does not care if your body is perfect according to the standards of this world.  God's focus, what He deeply cares about, is found on the inside, where From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.  (Psalms 50:2).  Do you seek to be like Him?

God looks into your heart and sees someone worth dying for.  Spread your arms and dance on the mountaintop.  Let no one bring you down, for to the One who created the wonders of the Universe, the galaxies, the stars, and this incredible planet on which we live...to Him you are beautiful!

Take care and be God's,

…..Chuck
as seen in a Note of Encouragement by way of Cup O’Cheer
Cupocheer316@yahoo.com and
Christian Voices
http://www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net