January 18
“What you are will show in what you do.”
Our culture idolizes entertainment, sports, business success, political power, and prosperity. While these have their place, Jesus did not die for any of these things. He died for the people that we care for, feed, and lead.
Just as a baby has absolute trust in its mother,
Christians must also live in absolute faith and trust in God.
No matter how negative the world around us may be,
we must not lose faith.
Faith itself is hope and has the power to make all things new. - Dr. David Yonggi Cho
I believe that, everything else being equal,
the more prayer happens in our church,
the more God will bless our church.
Much prayer--much blessing,
little prayer--little blessing,
no prayer--no blessing,
Living with Hope
Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things-the weather, human relationships, the economy, the political situation, and so on-will get better. Hope is the trust that God will fulfill God's promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.
All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi, and Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like. Let's live with hope.
Living the Christian life is like shaving - no matter how well you do it today, it needs to be done again tomorrow.
A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.
Why is a football stadium cool? Because it's full of fans
When eating fruit, think of the person who planted the tree. -- Vietnamese Proverb
Prayer is the bridge between our conscious and unconscious lives. Often there is a large abyss between our thoughts, words, and actions, and the many images that emerge in our daydreams and night dreams. To pray is to connect these two sides of our lives by going to the place where God dwells. Prayer is "soul work" because our souls are those sacred centers where all is one and where God is with us in the most intimate way.
Thus, we must pray without ceasing so that we can become truly whole and holy.
THE GRANDMA TEST
I was out walking with my 4-year-old granddaughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.
"Why?" my granddaughter asked.
"Because it's been on the ground. You don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs," I replied.
At this point, my granddaughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Grandma, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart."
I was thinking quickly, "All Grandmas know this stuff. It's on the Grandma Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Grandma."
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. "Oh...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test, you have to be the Grandpa."
"Exactly," I replied.
"I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend and a hug from a child. There are plenty of life's tiny delights for all of us." -- Jack Anthony
'John 3:16' Hottest Google Search
During last week's BCS National Championship game, Tim Tebow, University of Florida quarterback, inscribed John 3:16 on his eye black. Google reported that the biblical reference subsequently became the most popular search item. In previous games, Tebow, born to missionary parents in the Philippines and home-schooled, has sported Philippians 4:13 on his eye black.
Churches More Informal Than a Decade Ago
American churches became more informal and ethnically diverse over the past 10 years, the National Congregations Study shows. Most of the informal service changes occur in Protestant and Catholic churches that are using visual projection equipment and drums. However, black churches had the largest increase in jumping, shouting and dancing during services.
Immigration played a role in congregations' social composition. The study observed that predominantly white and non-Hispanic congregations are more ethnically diverse than a decade ago. Leaders of congregations are older and the median age of the head clergy has increased from 49 in 1998 to 53 in 2006.
Other features — such as sermons, singing, greeting time, silent prayer or meditation, reading Scripture and speaking in tongues during the service — have remained about the same.
Mark Chaves, lead researcher and sociology professor at Duke University School of Divinity, said that these changes are noteworthy because "religious traditions and organizations are widely considered to be remarkably resistant to change."
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." -- Pericles
"We fear the government may be powerful enough to destroy our families; we know that it is not powerful enough to replace them." -- Ronald Reagan
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more." -- A. Lou Vickery
The Christian life is not a popularity contest, it is an extraordinary mission, a race to the finish, a fight to the death.
There’s a very good reason for people not wanting to know the truth. The truth hurts: it pierces, reproves, and humbles. (And, by the way, it doesn’t cause divisions in the church, it reveals them.)
Recessions and Depressions don’t bother me; I was a failure in the boom years, too.
Joy and sorrow are never separated. When our hearts rejoice at a spectacular view, we may miss our friends who cannot see it, and when we are overwhelmed with grief, we may discover what true friendship is all about. Joy is hidden in sorrow and sorrow in joy. If we try to avoid sorrow at all costs, we may never taste joy, and if we are suspicious of ecstasy, agony can never reach us either. Joy and sorrow are the parents of our spiritual growth.
Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty. Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
Sometime this month, somewhere in suburban South or West, a couple, probably white Anglo Saxon Protestants or Hispanic, will conceive a baby who, when born next October, will become the 300 millionth American... Developing..
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." -- William Ward
How Much Are You Worth?
At one time in his career, Fred Astaire’s legs were insured for $650,000. But do you think this famous dancer would have given up either one of his legs for 650,000 dollars? Of course not!
Would you be willing to part with your eyesight for a million dollars? A hand for a million dollars? Your foot for a million dollars? We are already up to three million dollars and I’m sure you haven’t considered any of the offers. Money could never replace you, not any part of you. You are worth more than all the money in the world.
Do you realize that since time began there have been over 68 billion persons alive on the face of the earth and there never has been a duplication? There has never been one of them exactly like you. When you are gone from the earth, no one will ever take your place. You are unique.
Maybe that is the reason there are things you like about yourself. Things you can do that no one else can do. You like yourself because you’re unique! Don’t spend your life thinking you want to look like or be like someone else. Instead, concentrate on the things you know and can do, the things you like about yourself and develop them. Make you the best you can be.
You are worthy more than millions! Don’t ever sell yourself short.
Our culture idolizes entertainment, sports, business success, political power, and prosperity. While these have their place, Jesus did not die for any of these things. He died for the people that we care for, feed, and lead.
Just as a baby has absolute trust in its mother,
Christians must also live in absolute faith and trust in God.
No matter how negative the world around us may be,
we must not lose faith.
Faith itself is hope and has the power to make all things new. - Dr. David Yonggi Cho
I believe that, everything else being equal,
the more prayer happens in our church,
the more God will bless our church.
Much prayer--much blessing,
little prayer--little blessing,
no prayer--no blessing,
Living with Hope
Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things-the weather, human relationships, the economy, the political situation, and so on-will get better. Hope is the trust that God will fulfill God's promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.
All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi, and Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like. Let's live with hope.
Living the Christian life is like shaving - no matter how well you do it today, it needs to be done again tomorrow.
A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.
Why is a football stadium cool? Because it's full of fans
When eating fruit, think of the person who planted the tree. -- Vietnamese Proverb
Prayer is the bridge between our conscious and unconscious lives. Often there is a large abyss between our thoughts, words, and actions, and the many images that emerge in our daydreams and night dreams. To pray is to connect these two sides of our lives by going to the place where God dwells. Prayer is "soul work" because our souls are those sacred centers where all is one and where God is with us in the most intimate way.
Thus, we must pray without ceasing so that we can become truly whole and holy.
THE GRANDMA TEST
I was out walking with my 4-year-old granddaughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.
"Why?" my granddaughter asked.
"Because it's been on the ground. You don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs," I replied.
At this point, my granddaughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Grandma, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart."
I was thinking quickly, "All Grandmas know this stuff. It's on the Grandma Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Grandma."
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. "Oh...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test, you have to be the Grandpa."
"Exactly," I replied.
"I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend and a hug from a child. There are plenty of life's tiny delights for all of us." -- Jack Anthony
'John 3:16' Hottest Google Search
During last week's BCS National Championship game, Tim Tebow, University of Florida quarterback, inscribed John 3:16 on his eye black. Google reported that the biblical reference subsequently became the most popular search item. In previous games, Tebow, born to missionary parents in the Philippines and home-schooled, has sported Philippians 4:13 on his eye black.
Churches More Informal Than a Decade Ago
American churches became more informal and ethnically diverse over the past 10 years, the National Congregations Study shows. Most of the informal service changes occur in Protestant and Catholic churches that are using visual projection equipment and drums. However, black churches had the largest increase in jumping, shouting and dancing during services.
Immigration played a role in congregations' social composition. The study observed that predominantly white and non-Hispanic congregations are more ethnically diverse than a decade ago. Leaders of congregations are older and the median age of the head clergy has increased from 49 in 1998 to 53 in 2006.
Other features — such as sermons, singing, greeting time, silent prayer or meditation, reading Scripture and speaking in tongues during the service — have remained about the same.
Mark Chaves, lead researcher and sociology professor at Duke University School of Divinity, said that these changes are noteworthy because "religious traditions and organizations are widely considered to be remarkably resistant to change."
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." -- Pericles
"We fear the government may be powerful enough to destroy our families; we know that it is not powerful enough to replace them." -- Ronald Reagan
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more." -- A. Lou Vickery
The Christian life is not a popularity contest, it is an extraordinary mission, a race to the finish, a fight to the death.
There’s a very good reason for people not wanting to know the truth. The truth hurts: it pierces, reproves, and humbles. (And, by the way, it doesn’t cause divisions in the church, it reveals them.)
Recessions and Depressions don’t bother me; I was a failure in the boom years, too.
Joy and sorrow are never separated. When our hearts rejoice at a spectacular view, we may miss our friends who cannot see it, and when we are overwhelmed with grief, we may discover what true friendship is all about. Joy is hidden in sorrow and sorrow in joy. If we try to avoid sorrow at all costs, we may never taste joy, and if we are suspicious of ecstasy, agony can never reach us either. Joy and sorrow are the parents of our spiritual growth.
Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty. Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
Sometime this month, somewhere in suburban South or West, a couple, probably white Anglo Saxon Protestants or Hispanic, will conceive a baby who, when born next October, will become the 300 millionth American... Developing..
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." -- William Ward
How Much Are You Worth?
At one time in his career, Fred Astaire’s legs were insured for $650,000. But do you think this famous dancer would have given up either one of his legs for 650,000 dollars? Of course not!
Would you be willing to part with your eyesight for a million dollars? A hand for a million dollars? Your foot for a million dollars? We are already up to three million dollars and I’m sure you haven’t considered any of the offers. Money could never replace you, not any part of you. You are worth more than all the money in the world.
Do you realize that since time began there have been over 68 billion persons alive on the face of the earth and there never has been a duplication? There has never been one of them exactly like you. When you are gone from the earth, no one will ever take your place. You are unique.
Maybe that is the reason there are things you like about yourself. Things you can do that no one else can do. You like yourself because you’re unique! Don’t spend your life thinking you want to look like or be like someone else. Instead, concentrate on the things you know and can do, the things you like about yourself and develop them. Make you the best you can be.
You are worthy more than millions! Don’t ever sell yourself short.
posted by joypastordon at 2:02 PM
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