January 31
CONTENTMENT – "You can't have everything...where would you put it?" -- Stephen Wright
"That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest." -- Henry David Thoreau
"I am a big believer in the 'mirror test.' All that matters is if you can look in the mirror and honestly tell the person you see there, that you've done your best." -- John McKay
"When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace." -- J. Lubbock
• "God Is" Banner in Subways
Last Friday, Times Square Church, located in the heart of New York City, launched an ad campaign on 1,000 subway cars and 50 platforms in Manhattan stations. The ads boldly feature the words "God is" in the center of a poster surrounded by attributes of God in various fonts and colors, such as: With you ... Willing to help ... Able to protect ... A father ... A husband to the widow ... Your friend, etc. Senior Pastor Carter Conlon explained, "We are praying that people who don't know God, and would like to know Him, would be moved by these ads to visit Times Square Church or any Bible-believing church in New York City and find God through the forgiveness freely offered through His Son, Jesus Christ. And to those who once knew God and need to get back to God, we want to say simply this: His arms are open wide, always ready to welcome you home." [GospelHerald.net]
In Dennis Waitley's 'Empires of the Mind' Waitley reports that although there are approximately 450,000 words in the English language, about 80% of our conversations use only about 400 words. The most common words in the English language are. . .
"I," "Me," "My," and "Mine."
What does that say about us?
JOY 11
Illustrations to Glorify God ... and Unify God’s People, the Church!
When we discern that people are not going on spiritually and allow the discernment to turn to criticism, we block our way to God. God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede. -- Oswald Chambers
Trouble always comes whenever we begin to take credit for any of the gifts of the Spirit, be they gifts of prayer, tongues, prophecy, art, science. -- Madeleine L'Engle
REMINDER ...
The Life Application Bible™ has this great explanation: “...no matter what gift(s) a person has, each gift is given by the Holy Spirit...the Holy Spirit decides which gifts each one of us should have...we are responsible to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take NO CREDIT for what God has freely given us...”
* The fellowship of the body is always two-way; receiving and giving. Wanting only to receive is not fellowship. We may not be preachers, but when we come to worship we nevertheless bring what we have. There must be help of the pulpit from the pew. Sitting and looking on will not do. We must give others to drink, not necessarily by speaking, but maybe by quiet prayer. ... Every member of the Body has a ministry, and every member is called to function in the place appointed by the Lord. It makes no difference who does the work if the glory is His. -- Watchman Nee,
"Don't say, 'If I could, I would.' Say, 'If I can, I will.'" -- Jim Rohn
"Choice determines direction...Decision determines destiny." -- Doug Firebaugh
There's the one about the fellow who liked to "let the spirit move him" in selecting passages to study. He would randomly open his Bible and let his finger land on a verse and that would be the one he would study.
One day his practice landed him on Mat 27:5 "and he went and hanged himself". Thinking this was a bit gruesome, he decided to use his search method to find a more appropriate passage to study. This time his finger landed on Luke 10:37 "Go and do likewise." Being very upset he decided to make one last effort to find a better passage to ponder. This time he selected John 13:27 "Do quickly what you are going to do."
I am convinced more than ever, that if one wants to practice “unconditional love” while here on earth, they should have a dog! Really! First of all, spell the word backwards–ha! Then ask yourself this, who or what in my life–outside of God–loves me when I am completely unlovable? Yep–your dog will! In fact, study after study has shown that even a dog that is beaten by its master will still love them (go figure!). When dogs are brought into nursing homes, care centers, pediatric and terminally ill hospital wards, hospice centers, there is a remarkable change in people! Here’s the rub: we were created higher than a dog–and it’s time to live that way in how we share our love with others–and God!
*Why LOVE is the most powerful spiritual gift:
More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world, and more people have been driven from the church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christianity than by all the doubts in the world. --William Barclay
Do Sermons Really Have Impact? "Nearly 100 percent of churchgoers look forward to sermons, but only 17 percent think preaching changes the way they live,"
The research also discovered that:
* Many Anglicans wanted the sermon to last less than 10 minutes, but up to 20 minutes was fine if there was no "waffle."
* Baptists were happy to sit through a 75-minute sermon.
* Catholics wanted the sermon to be completed within 10 minutes.
* Sermons were seen as being very good at teaching about God, the Bible and "being comforting," but needed to do more to "motivate and challenge" people to look at the world differently.
* Sermons seem to encourage Christian reflection, but not Christian action.
* Nearly 17 percent felt sermons did actually change the way they lived.
You Can BE Letter of Love in This World! 1 Corinthians 1:1-13 for the believer: A Christian is a loving letter. Love is basic to being Christian. If we love not, we are not. This is not sentimentality or effusive feelings, but good old basic love that reaches out to heal the hurt of the world. Love's simplicity is its attraction; its transforming power is its glory. Love is practical, yet transcendent; earthly, yet heavenly. Love is the essence of the divine Author and permeates the whole of life.
"That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest." -- Henry David Thoreau
"I am a big believer in the 'mirror test.' All that matters is if you can look in the mirror and honestly tell the person you see there, that you've done your best." -- John McKay
"When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace." -- J. Lubbock
• "God Is" Banner in Subways
Last Friday, Times Square Church, located in the heart of New York City, launched an ad campaign on 1,000 subway cars and 50 platforms in Manhattan stations. The ads boldly feature the words "God is" in the center of a poster surrounded by attributes of God in various fonts and colors, such as: With you ... Willing to help ... Able to protect ... A father ... A husband to the widow ... Your friend, etc. Senior Pastor Carter Conlon explained, "We are praying that people who don't know God, and would like to know Him, would be moved by these ads to visit Times Square Church or any Bible-believing church in New York City and find God through the forgiveness freely offered through His Son, Jesus Christ. And to those who once knew God and need to get back to God, we want to say simply this: His arms are open wide, always ready to welcome you home." [GospelHerald.net]
In Dennis Waitley's 'Empires of the Mind' Waitley reports that although there are approximately 450,000 words in the English language, about 80% of our conversations use only about 400 words. The most common words in the English language are. . .
"I," "Me," "My," and "Mine."
What does that say about us?
JOY 11
Illustrations to Glorify God ... and Unify God’s People, the Church!
When we discern that people are not going on spiritually and allow the discernment to turn to criticism, we block our way to God. God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede. -- Oswald Chambers
Trouble always comes whenever we begin to take credit for any of the gifts of the Spirit, be they gifts of prayer, tongues, prophecy, art, science. -- Madeleine L'Engle
REMINDER ...
The Life Application Bible™ has this great explanation: “...no matter what gift(s) a person has, each gift is given by the Holy Spirit...the Holy Spirit decides which gifts each one of us should have...we are responsible to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take NO CREDIT for what God has freely given us...”
* The fellowship of the body is always two-way; receiving and giving. Wanting only to receive is not fellowship. We may not be preachers, but when we come to worship we nevertheless bring what we have. There must be help of the pulpit from the pew. Sitting and looking on will not do. We must give others to drink, not necessarily by speaking, but maybe by quiet prayer. ... Every member of the Body has a ministry, and every member is called to function in the place appointed by the Lord. It makes no difference who does the work if the glory is His. -- Watchman Nee,
"Don't say, 'If I could, I would.' Say, 'If I can, I will.'" -- Jim Rohn
"Choice determines direction...Decision determines destiny." -- Doug Firebaugh
There's the one about the fellow who liked to "let the spirit move him" in selecting passages to study. He would randomly open his Bible and let his finger land on a verse and that would be the one he would study.
One day his practice landed him on Mat 27:5 "and he went and hanged himself". Thinking this was a bit gruesome, he decided to use his search method to find a more appropriate passage to study. This time his finger landed on Luke 10:37 "Go and do likewise." Being very upset he decided to make one last effort to find a better passage to ponder. This time he selected John 13:27 "Do quickly what you are going to do."
I am convinced more than ever, that if one wants to practice “unconditional love” while here on earth, they should have a dog! Really! First of all, spell the word backwards–ha! Then ask yourself this, who or what in my life–outside of God–loves me when I am completely unlovable? Yep–your dog will! In fact, study after study has shown that even a dog that is beaten by its master will still love them (go figure!). When dogs are brought into nursing homes, care centers, pediatric and terminally ill hospital wards, hospice centers, there is a remarkable change in people! Here’s the rub: we were created higher than a dog–and it’s time to live that way in how we share our love with others–and God!
*Why LOVE is the most powerful spiritual gift:
More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world, and more people have been driven from the church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christianity than by all the doubts in the world. --William Barclay
Do Sermons Really Have Impact? "Nearly 100 percent of churchgoers look forward to sermons, but only 17 percent think preaching changes the way they live,"
The research also discovered that:
* Many Anglicans wanted the sermon to last less than 10 minutes, but up to 20 minutes was fine if there was no "waffle."
* Baptists were happy to sit through a 75-minute sermon.
* Catholics wanted the sermon to be completed within 10 minutes.
* Sermons were seen as being very good at teaching about God, the Bible and "being comforting," but needed to do more to "motivate and challenge" people to look at the world differently.
* Sermons seem to encourage Christian reflection, but not Christian action.
* Nearly 17 percent felt sermons did actually change the way they lived.
You Can BE Letter of Love in This World! 1 Corinthians 1:1-13 for the believer: A Christian is a loving letter. Love is basic to being Christian. If we love not, we are not. This is not sentimentality or effusive feelings, but good old basic love that reaches out to heal the hurt of the world. Love's simplicity is its attraction; its transforming power is its glory. Love is practical, yet transcendent; earthly, yet heavenly. Love is the essence of the divine Author and permeates the whole of life.
posted by joypastordon at 2:53 PM
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