March 15

"We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen." - Paulo Coelho

"The more you have, the less likely it is to be enough." -- Unknown

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -- William Faulkner

God's Word, the Bible
The Bible differs from all other books in that it never wears out. Other books are read and laid aside, but the Bible is a constant companion. No matter how often we read it or how familiar we become with it, some new truth is likely to spring out at us from its pages whenever we open it, or some old truth will impress us as it never did before. Every Christian can give illustrations of this." -- William Jennings Bryan

"Habits are like comfortable beds; they are easy to get into, but difficult to get out of." -- Denis Waitley

"The harder you work at something, the harder it is to quit. Those who don't work very hard at something, find it easy to quit. There is not much invested. People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success, because they don't know when to quit." -- George Allen

"Someone has observed that no one ever built a statue to a person to acknowledge what he or she got out of life. Statues are built only to people to acknowledge what they gave. Always look for ways to put in rather than to take out. The successful man or woman is a "go-giver" as well as a go-getter." -- Brian Tracy

"Every time I've done something that doesn't feel right, it's ended up not being right." -- Mario Cuomo, Former Governor of New York

"Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes.
Watch your attitudes; they lead to words.
Watch your words; they lead to actions.
Watch your actions; they lead to habits.
Watch your habits; they form your character.
Watch your character; it determines your destiny" (Unknown).

THE WIT AND WISDOM OF PAUL HARVEY
- "In times like these, it helps to remember that there have always been times like these."
- "Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because our government is not. And why not? Animals don't vote."
- "Golf is a game in which you yell, 'Fore!', shoot six, and write down five."
- "I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist."
- "Like what you do. If you don't like it, do something else."
- "When your outgo exceeds your income, the upshot may be your downfall."
- "Retiring is just practicing up to be dead. That doesn't take any practice."
- "If there is a 50-50 chance that something can go wrong, then 9 times out of ten it will."

A grocer put up a sign that read "Eggplants, 25¢ ea.--three for a dollar." All day long, customers came in exclaiming: "Don't be ridiculous! I should get four for a dollar!" Meekly the grocer capitulated and packaged four eggplants.
The tailor next door had been watching these antics and finally asked the grocer, "Aren't you going to fix the mistake on your sign?"
"What mistake?" the grocer asked. "Before I put up that sign no one ever bought more than one eggplant."


My dad and I were talking the other night about love and marriage. He told me that he knew as early as their wedding what marriage to my mom would be like. It seems the minister asked my mom, "Do you take this man to be your husband?" And she said, "I do."
Then the minister asked my dad, "Do you take this woman to be your wife?" And my mom said, "He does."

"Amusing Ourselves to Death"
The Critic Neil Postman, author of ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death,’ correctly argues that television is converting us from a 'word-centered culture' to an 'image-centered culture.' Even the news broadcasts are under increasing pressure to entertain more than to inform.
"Ted Koppel, the retired penetrating host of Nightline, calls this 'Vannatizing' (after Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune's celebrity hostess, whose role on the highly rated game show is a matter of looking cute and saying 'hello' and 'bye-bye'). Toddler talk. Don't think, just look. Don't question, relax. 'There's not much room on television for complexity,' says Koppel. 'We now communicate with everyone and say absolutely nothing'"

Stages of Panic.
This description of what happens when you find yourself in a crisis might be helpful.

Stage One - "I know God will take care of me." This is that moment at the beginning of a crisis. Faith fills your heart and you are sure that God has the power to get you through your trouble. You can still smile because you know it won't be long before it will be all over. In many small daily crises that happen in your life, this confidence in God will get you through.

Stage Two - "I think God will take care of me." When the crisis drags on for about a week the second stage kicks in. You're still smiling but not as much now. You still believe that God will come to the rescue but he seems to be taking his sweet time getting around to it. As the days pass, little arrows of doubt find their way into your heart, but you rush to pull them out. "Any day now," you say. But the longer the crisis continues, you smile less, and what-ifs fill your mind and cloud your confidence. You start planning for the worst. Still, in your better moments you believe God can come through for you, but your doubt is almost as big as your faith.

Stage Three - "There’s no way God will take care of me." At this point doubt has won the battle and faith is in retreat. Anger and despair replace hope and joy. What a fool you were to trust in God! He never meant to help you. God has deserted you. You’ve been beaten.

Stage Four - "I don't know how he did it, but God took care of me!" Somehow, someway God takes care of you. Your depression is gone, the crisis is over, you have overcome your depression, you are able to cope, you feel better about yourself. How did it happen? As you look back, you're not sure. You are sure of only one thing: God did it! You had nothing to do with it.

The hardest hearts in this world are not among the ungodly, but among the Godly.”


The story of Jesus cleansing the Temple helps us to understand several very important aspects of the church and its worship.
1. The Context and the Importance of the Temple
2. The Shock of Challenging an Old System
3. The Body of the Church and the Sacramental Body
4. Our Worship in the Spirit of the Lord
When Jesus entered the temple that day he found a faith that was stale, downright dirty. People were taking advantage of others and ritual had become more important than the condition of the heart. What Jesus did, I believe, was challenge a smug, hypocritical religious system that desperately needed to change. Therefore, a little demolition was necessary, not to mention an all out assault to clean house.
The faith community at that time was so wrapped up in rules and ritual the fresh revelation of God could not get through. It was impossible for them to "see" because they were blinded by obstacles that hindered their ability.
In this story we get an image of Jesus as a one-man wrecking crew, swinging a sledgehammer. There is no way to make improvements in an old house without making a mess. There is plaster dust, dirt, nails and smelly carpet. It is hard work. It is impossible to paint without getting paint on yourself. I am sure that Jesus absorbed a few skinned knuckles that day, not to mention getting his garment dirty.
The faith community needed a good housecleaning and Jesus took it upon himself to do just that with zeal and determination.

What would Jesus find in our churches? Although he probably wouldn't find cattle or sheep, would he find the same attitude -- religious rituals being just a business? Is the church building simply a place where people and God take care of business? Can worship become centered on the things we do, rather than the God who is present giving to us and forgiving us in Word and Sacrament? How can we change faulty worship attitudes?
Can "church as business" be a problem for the "professionals" in the church? Can leading worship for the clergy become simply a job for which we are paid? Does the laity sometimes think that they are "paying" the minister to do the worship for them -- thinking, "We pay them to do this for us"?
Do we think of God more as a vending machine -- put in our sacrifices or offerings or good deeds and out comes blessings? Do we misuse our (supposed) obedience to the Ten Commandments as bargaining chips with God?
Why the whip (only mentioned in John) and the harsh actions? Wouldn't it have been more diplomatic and have caused fewer problems to sit down with the church leaders and discuss the problem? When are swift, harsh actions needed rather than diplomacy? When should a pastor just do what he believes is right, or go through the council or other governing board?


You Took My Place
There is a story about a man who visited a church. He parked his car and started toward the front entrance. Another car pulled up nearby, and the irritated driver said to him, "I always park there. You took my place!" The visitor went inside and found that Sunday School was about to begin. He found an adult class, went inside, and sat down. A class member approached him and said, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down in an empty pew. Within moments another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was troubled, but said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to be present with them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and cried out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, "I took your place."
Some things that happen in church are silly. Some things are down right scandalous. Some things may even be sacrilegious. But the Church is still the body of Christ and it was for the Church that Christ died.

What Makes You Angry?
Paul Harvey tells about a robber in Oceanside, California wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a gun who strode into a branch bank. He selected a teller who appeared fiftyish, soft, kindly, an easy mark. He handed her a note demanding money or her life. The woman reached for the cash drawer. Then she looked again at the note and her eyes flashed, her lips clenched. She pulled the entire cash drawer out, but instead of giving him money, she clobbered the robber over the head with the drawer. And again and again. She was scolding him. Money was flying everywhere and she was beating him and shouting shame on him and bouncing blows off his helmet ” until the young man turned and ran. Police caught him in nearby shrubbery. Then they asked the woman teller how come she was about to give him money at gunpoint and then, suddenly, instead, became enraged? She said, "In his note there was a very naughty word."
Different people get upset at different things. But there are times when all of us get angry. And sometimes the worst thing we can do is hold that anger in.