October 14
I remember hearing Roger Breland (former director of the band ‘Truth’) once say, “If the Holy Spirit wanted to get on the program in most of our churches, he’d have to go through three committees and even after that, he’d only get 30 seconds during announcements.”
The story is told of a group of farmers many years ago who decided to eat their best potatoes and to plant only the small ones. They kept up this practice for many years, even though they noticed the potatoes getting smaller and smaller. They blamed the weather and the beetles and the blight.
They kept it up until all of their potatoes were reduced to the size of large marbles. The farmers learned through bitter experience that they could not keep the best things of life for themselves and use the leftovers for seed. The laws of life and nature decreed that the harvest would reflect the planting.
On a recent trip to the Grand Canyon, a troubled woman realized that there was something out there larger than her worries. She decided to toss her worries over the side of the canyon. It's a big world out there - much large than our worries. When we step out into the world, we can leave our worries behind, or at lease see them in their true perspective.
The Folded Napkin
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His Resurrection?
The Gospel of John (20: 7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.
Is that important? You'd better believe it! Is that Significant? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.
The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant
would Wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, And the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master had finished eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm
done". But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because the servant knew that the folded napkin meant, "I'm not finished yet." The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"
~ The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires. - Elisabeth Elliott
~ God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts to us in our pain. - C. S. Lewis
Howard came home from work one evening and there was his wife Miriam in the kitchen crying out loud.
"What's the matter, darling?" he asked her.
"I just don't know what to do," said Miriam. "Because we were eating in for a change, I cooked us a special dinner - but the dog has just eaten it."
"Don't worry," said Howard, "I'll get us another dog."
Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.
I'm comforted when I realize that God is in sovereign control of all of life. He not only knows the times and the seasons; He is also Lord of the unexpected and the unpredictable. Our times and our trials are in His hands. Even when we feel embarrassed or confused or do something really weird. --Charles Swindoll
Nine Reasons They Did Not Return
Why did only one man cleansed from leprosy return to thank Jesus? Someone has made a list of nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:
One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy in the first place.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, "O, well, Jesus didn't really do anything."
One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
One said, "I was already much improved."
That's not surprising, is it? I doubt that more than ten percent of us are ever truly grateful to God. In fact, it often seems that the more we have, the less gratitude we feel.
• Insightful Survey
In a new study conducted by Kelton Research in conjunction with the upcoming release of the animated feature film, The Ten Commandments, 80 percent of respondents knew "two all beef patties" were among the ingredients of the Big Mac, but only six out of ten could identify "Thou shalt not kill" as one of the Ten Commandments. Also, while 43 percent of respondents — including those who regularly attend worship — could recall Bobby and Peter, two of the least-recalled names from the Brady Bunch, they were less familiar with two of the least recalled commandments — "Remember the Sabbath" (34%) and "Do not make any false idols" (29%).
These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own. - G.K. Chesterton (1906)
My son, always respect and honor the other fellow's point of view. Unless it's different from yours, of course. - Hagar in the Hagar comic strip (March 3, 1999)
Religion is the fashionable substitute for belief. - Oscar Wilde
We mortals have many weaknesses. We feel too much, hurt too much, or too soon we die, but we do have the chance of love. - Sir Walter Raleigh in the upcoming movie “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen.
"Careful ... CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my gosh! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my gosh! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"
The wife stared at him. "What the heck is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"
The husband calmly replied, "I wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving with you in the car.
DID YOU KNOW...
...If all the unchurched people in America were lined up, they would stretch for 50,000 miles and that the line is growing 1/2 mile longer each day?
Your mental picture of yourself is the key to your healthy development. You are the writer, director, and star of either an Oscar-winning epic or a Grade B movie. Who you see in your imagination will always rule your world.
This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.
If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. --Charles Dickens
There are no bad people, only broken people. God has called us to be menders.
The story is told of a group of farmers many years ago who decided to eat their best potatoes and to plant only the small ones. They kept up this practice for many years, even though they noticed the potatoes getting smaller and smaller. They blamed the weather and the beetles and the blight.
They kept it up until all of their potatoes were reduced to the size of large marbles. The farmers learned through bitter experience that they could not keep the best things of life for themselves and use the leftovers for seed. The laws of life and nature decreed that the harvest would reflect the planting.
On a recent trip to the Grand Canyon, a troubled woman realized that there was something out there larger than her worries. She decided to toss her worries over the side of the canyon. It's a big world out there - much large than our worries. When we step out into the world, we can leave our worries behind, or at lease see them in their true perspective.
The Folded Napkin
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His Resurrection?
The Gospel of John (20: 7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.
Is that important? You'd better believe it! Is that Significant? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.
The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant
would Wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, And the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master had finished eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm
done". But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because the servant knew that the folded napkin meant, "I'm not finished yet." The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"
~ The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires. - Elisabeth Elliott
~ God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts to us in our pain. - C. S. Lewis
Howard came home from work one evening and there was his wife Miriam in the kitchen crying out loud.
"What's the matter, darling?" he asked her.
"I just don't know what to do," said Miriam. "Because we were eating in for a change, I cooked us a special dinner - but the dog has just eaten it."
"Don't worry," said Howard, "I'll get us another dog."
Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.
I'm comforted when I realize that God is in sovereign control of all of life. He not only knows the times and the seasons; He is also Lord of the unexpected and the unpredictable. Our times and our trials are in His hands. Even when we feel embarrassed or confused or do something really weird. --Charles Swindoll
Nine Reasons They Did Not Return
Why did only one man cleansed from leprosy return to thank Jesus? Someone has made a list of nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:
One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy in the first place.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, "O, well, Jesus didn't really do anything."
One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
One said, "I was already much improved."
That's not surprising, is it? I doubt that more than ten percent of us are ever truly grateful to God. In fact, it often seems that the more we have, the less gratitude we feel.
• Insightful Survey
In a new study conducted by Kelton Research in conjunction with the upcoming release of the animated feature film, The Ten Commandments, 80 percent of respondents knew "two all beef patties" were among the ingredients of the Big Mac, but only six out of ten could identify "Thou shalt not kill" as one of the Ten Commandments. Also, while 43 percent of respondents — including those who regularly attend worship — could recall Bobby and Peter, two of the least-recalled names from the Brady Bunch, they were less familiar with two of the least recalled commandments — "Remember the Sabbath" (34%) and "Do not make any false idols" (29%).
These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own. - G.K. Chesterton (1906)
My son, always respect and honor the other fellow's point of view. Unless it's different from yours, of course. - Hagar in the Hagar comic strip (March 3, 1999)
Religion is the fashionable substitute for belief. - Oscar Wilde
We mortals have many weaknesses. We feel too much, hurt too much, or too soon we die, but we do have the chance of love. - Sir Walter Raleigh in the upcoming movie “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen.
"Careful ... CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my gosh! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my gosh! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"
The wife stared at him. "What the heck is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"
The husband calmly replied, "I wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving with you in the car.
DID YOU KNOW...
...If all the unchurched people in America were lined up, they would stretch for 50,000 miles and that the line is growing 1/2 mile longer each day?
Your mental picture of yourself is the key to your healthy development. You are the writer, director, and star of either an Oscar-winning epic or a Grade B movie. Who you see in your imagination will always rule your world.
This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.
If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. --Charles Dickens
There are no bad people, only broken people. God has called us to be menders.
posted by joypastordon at 3:27 PM
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