Something To Think About....

BzzAgent Activity

2012-02-03T07:58:00.003-05:00

http://smarterer.com

Smarterer lets you take test on LOTS of things like BzzAgent, Facebook, Twitter, Photoshop, etc., and then let's you post a "badge" on your FB or other social activity page to show how well (or not well) you did on the test(s).

I've tried a couple of the tests so far - pretty cool.

The Richest Man....

2010-10-22T13:17:00.002-04:00

During the early years of the South, there was a wealthy land owner who owned a quite large estate and had many slaves and servants. One of his slaves was an elderly man named Moe, who always seemed to be in a good mood and have a great attitude no matter what the circumstances of his life were.

Moe spent a lot of his time working close to the mansion on the estate, and often the land owner would hear him singing. One of his favorite songs was "Child of A King” which goes like this;

My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in his hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, he has riches untold.

My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His, when He comes by and by.

I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.

A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They’re building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still may I sing:
All glory to God, I’m a child of the King.

I'm the child of a King, the child of a King,
With Jesus, my Saviour, I'm the child of a King.

The owner would often laugh and make fun of Moe and jokingly tell him, "Why Moe, you're nothing but a slave. You're NOT even related to a King!" But that didn't discourage Moe at all, he would just tell his owner about Jesus.

One night Moe had a dream, and in his dream he dreamed that the richest man in all of the state was going to die the next night.

Moe told his owner about the dream, and said he needed to be prepared. He needed to trust in Jesus. And while the owner just dismissed it as a dream, he couldn't get it out of his mind. He was after all, the richest man in that entire state.

He finally sent for his doctor, who came and checked him over. "Everything is fine, you're in perfect health.", said the doctor. And yet, the owner still couldn't stop thinking about that dream.

When it came time to go to bed that evening, the owner sent all of his family to bed - but he couldn't sleep for fear he wouldn't wake up. He spent the entire night pacing back and forth in his study.

The next morning came at last, and the man breathed a huge sigh of relief that he was still alive! It had just been a silly dream after all.

He no more finished his breakfast when a knock came at the front door. At the front door was one of his slaves telling him that Moe had passed away in the night.

Tears began to run down the face of that wealthy land owner as he suddenly realized that while he had lots of money, land, and wealth - He was NOT the "richest" man in that state. Although Moe had not hardly any of this world's possessions, he had Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and great peace and joy....truly HE had been the richest man!

In this world today great emphasis is placed on material possessions, wealth, and fame. We all want the nicest new car, a beautiful home, the finest of clothing,

the latest electronic gadgets and devices, etc., yet NONE of these things will EVER bring true peace and joy.

It boggles my mind how many times I have to tell people this over and over and over, yet they just blindly shut me out and say, "yeah....whatever!"

One can only look at the people who have wealth and fame to see how much happiness it brings them. It seems hardly a week goes by without the news telling us of another failed marriage, drug overdose, and other personal problems of the rich and famous people whom many look up to or idolize.

The Bible even questions why we focus all of our attention on things like that in the Book of Isaiah.

"Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me." (Isaiah 55:2,3).

The things that this world has to offer will NEVER satisfy you - you will continue to want just a little more and just a little more. The ONLY true peace and joy in this life is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Time and again, people have asked me, "Joshua, how come you're always so happy?". And when I tell them, it's because I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and trust Him, they either just ignore it, or laugh it off. Just like that land owner - they dismiss it as irrelevant or can't possibly be true. Or they think of many people in this world who claim to be a Christian yet are just as miserable or unsatisfied as they are.

Let me tell you - there are THOUSANDS of people in this world who claim to be Christians - yet have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many claim to be

Christian just so they will perhaps escape going to Hell. Some claim to be Christian just because they were raised in a family that was "Christian". A few claim to be Christian just because it makes them feel a little better about some things.

However - the Bible even tells us we can KNOW a TRUE Christian by the way they live, and by how they act and react to what happens in their lives and in the world around them.

Back in the day of one room schoolhouses, there was one school that was out in the country and was filled with tough, rough kids. So rough, in fact, that the superintendent of the school district couldn't keep a teacher in the school--the kids would run him off. One day a young man walked into the superintendent's office and asked to be assigned to that rough school. The superintendent was very reluctant to send this young man there, but the young man convinced him that he was the man for the job.

Word traveled around the community that they were sending a new teacher, and on his first day everyone showed up for school. They all thought running off teachers was great sport. When the teacher rang the bell for school to start, all the students entered and took their seats. The new teacher introduced himself, and then surprised everyone there. He said, "All schools must have rules," and before the students could raise an uproar, he stunned them into silence. He said, "How about if I let you make the rules--you call out the rules you want for your school, and I'll write them on the blackboard." The students were so shocked that they said nothing for a moment, then someone called out, "No stealing!!" The teacher wrote that on the blackboard. Someone else said, "How about no lying?" The teacher wrote that on the blackboard. Others were suggested and written down and pretty soon they had about a dozen good rules.

The teacher then told them that rules were absolutely no good unless there was a punishment for breaking the rules, and asked for suggestions as to what the punishment should be. One of the bigger 8th graders yelled out. "10 lashes with the teacher's belt across his bare back." The teacher suggested that the punishment might be a bit harsh, but the students all agreed that they didn't want anyone breaking their rules! So, the teacher wrote down the punishment on the board.

Things went very well for a week or so. Then one day Tom, the biggest boy in the school, ran out of the cloak room where the lunches were kept and yelled, "Hey, somebody stole my lunch!!!" The teacher had everyone return to their seats and began to ask who had stolen Tom's lunch. Little Billy, a second grader, (and by far the smallest boy in the school) slowly raised his hand and said quietly, "Teacher, I stole Tom's lunch." The teacher stood there stunned--then asked, "Billy, why?"

Billy's eyes filled with tears as he explained: "I'm sorry, but I was so hungry this morning--we didn't have any food in our house to make a lunch, and I saw Tom's big lunch and I gobbled it down without thinking of what would happen." The room was completely silent for several moments, then the teacher, frantically trying to think of a way out of this situation, quietly told Billy to come to the front of the room. As Billy slowly walked to the front, the teacher noticed that he had an old navy jacket on--the buttons were gone and he had it held closed by three large safety pins. The teacher reminded Billy that the rule said the licking had to be on his bare back. Billy begged, "Please, Teacher, don't make me take my coat off." The teacher said, "Billy, you know the rule--you'll have to take the coat off."

Slowly, with tears running down his face, Billy undid the three big pins and slid his coat off. The teacher was shocked to see that he had no shirt on under the coat, and asked, "Billy, where's your shirt?" Billy answered in a low voice, "I only have one shirt, and when my mom washes it, I have to come without a shirt."

The teacher was fighting valiantly, but unsuccessfully to keep back the tears, but knew there was no other way--the punishment must be given.

Just then Tom, the boy whose lunch Billy had stolen jumped out of his seat and rapidly walked to the front of the room.

"Wait, Teacher! Let me take Billy's licking for him!!" The teacher thought for a moment and then replied that he thought that would be appropriate, since Jesus had taken the punishment for the sins of the whole world. Tom stripped off his shirt and lay across the teacher's desk. The teacher took off his belt and with tears running down his face began to give Tom the 10 lashes that were required. He gave Tom 5 lashes and then turned his back to the class so he could wipe the tears away. While his back was turned he heard a stirring and sobbing coming from most of the students. He turned back around to find that Billy had wrapped his arms around Tom as best he could and through his sobbing exclaimed, "O, Tom, how can I ever thank you for taking my licking for me!"

Just like little Billy, we all have done things wrong, we all deserve punishment - and we are faced with having to pay the penalty for our sins ourselves. However, over 2000 years ago, like Tom in the above story - Jesus Christ came to this world and dying on the cross took our punishment for us. How anyone can not love Him and trust Him for what He has done for us is beyond my ability to comprehend.

We simply MUST accept Him as our Saviour and give our lives to Him.

So many people think, "Well, I will one day. I have all of my life ahead of me." However, just like the many people who die each day in car accidents, natural disasters, and other incidents - we have NO GUARANTEE of tomorrow. And if we die WITHOUT Christ as our Savior, we're lost for all of eternity.

Some may say, "Yes, but I don't believe in Hell. I don't believe in God."

And that's fine. That's your decision to make. But what if you're wrong? There is NO second chance. Once you step out into eternity - it's too late.

I can tell you from personal experience that a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ will bring you FAR more peace and joy than anything this world has to offer. Any "sacrifice" you make or "pleasures of this world" you may have to give up are WELL WORTH it. If you don't know Him today - please don't wait too late!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Safe By The Saviour

2010-09-16T11:40:00.001-04:00

By Joshua Goodling

The other day I was at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. I was sitting in the section where they have this huge glass wall where you can sit and watch all the fish swimming around, thousands of fish, including sharks.

In that tank, there are two whale sharks which were 16 feet long, they were huge animals. But the one thing I noticed about them was that although they were these huge fish, and swam around seemingly unafraid of everything, they were surrounded by little small fish. One of the aquarium attendants said the small fish swim right beside and all around the huge whale sharks, because they know nothing will try to attack them there....they are safe, as long as they stay very close to the whale shark.

I was thinking about that, and thought of how that applies to us as Christians. As long as we spend time with God each day and stay close to our Saviour, we also are safe. Safe from this world's temptations, safe from Satan's harm, and safe from destroying our own lives by foolish and stupid choices. However, the moment we think we're fine on our own, we don't have time or need to spend time with God, we're in trouble.

A lot of people seem to think they don't have time to spend each day reading their Bible and praying, and they wonder why they don't feel safe. We must follow our Saviour. As the song so fittingly says; "Where HE leads me, I will follow."

I think the following poem sums it up quite well:

No Time To Pray
By Grace Naessens
I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish, I didn’t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me and grew heavier with each task;
Why doesn’t God help me, I wondered; He answered, “You didn’t ask.”
I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me - He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock;
God gently and lovingly chided, “My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.

Do You Trust HIM?

2010-09-08T14:43:00.001-04:00

In Matthew chapter 14, you can find the story of the Apostle Peter and his encounter with true trust in God. Peter was in a boat with the other disciples out on the stormy sea. They saw Jesus walking on the water towards the boat. Peter called out saying; "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Jesus replied; "Come". And so Peter got out of the boat and began to walk across the water toward Jesus.

However, if you read the story, you'll see that the sea was rough and stormy that night and Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. He called out for help, and Jesus caught him by the hand and pulled him safely out of the stormy water. Jesus' response to Peter's reaction to the stormy waves was, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?".

Peter was absolutely fine walking on that stormy water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. It wouldn't have mattered if a category 5 hurricane had come along - as long as he kept his eye on the Master and Creator he would have been absolutely fine. His problem was, he took his eyes off of Him - He didn't absolutely trust.

The same is true with so many people in today's world who claim to be Christians. You ask them if they are a Christian, and they reply; "Oh yes - I believe in God." But let some difficulty or trouble come in their lives and you'll find out how much they DON'T "believe" in God.

I constantly talk to people at the office, out in society, and even at church who are so stressed out about life's problems and difficulties.

You ask them how they are getting along and they say something like; "Oh...I'm making it. But just barely."

It's kind of ironic how we can claim to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and depend on Him for our lives for all of eternity in Heaven, but we can't trust Him to help us through the financial difficulty, the overload at the office, or the family squabble that is bothering us or getting the best of us.

The Bible says that if we really trust Him, we won't worry about this life or the things of this life.

Of course, we must trust Him completely and obey Him to have the peace and joy that He promises to give to those who trust and obey.

In the mid 1800's George Mueller lived in Bristol England, where he started an orphanage for children. He completely trusted God to meet all of his needs - and never complained to another person or asked another person for any financial assistance in taking care of the orphans. Yet, God miraculously supplied every need and took care of him.

The story is told of many times when there would not be enough food in the orphanage to feed the children for a certain day. Yet, George Mueller and the staff would have all of the children dress and get ready for breakfast. They would come down and sit around the tables in the dining area and pray for their meal. There would be a knock on the door and upon opening the door, there would stand someone with food enough for the entire orphanage saying "God told me to bring this food for you this morning."

Now, Mr. Mueller could have done like many of us would have done and stressed long and hard about there not being enough food. We would have thought; "Well, I guess I might as well just close down the orphanage - I can't handle all of this stress." However, George Mueller always completely trusted Almighty God when He said in His Word; "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?...But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:32, 34)

In the early 1970's a man called Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles and Gospel literature into communist countries. If you read his biography you'll find many stories of how he trusted God in spite of looming disaster or trouble.

He tells a story of when he had his Volkswagon Beetle filled with Bibles, which were illegal to bring into communist East Berlin during that time. As he sat in his car at the border crossing, waiting to go through, he watched the border guards literally taking apart the car in front of him, removing seats, checking all of the body panels for hidden compartments, and taking almost an hour to go painstakingly over the entire car.

Now, most people I know would be sweating bullets and thinking, "It's just not worth it...I may end up in prison." But, all Brother Andrew did was pray and ask God to let him and his Bibles through.

When the guards waved him to pull forward, he did so. The guard looked at his papers and stamping his passport said; "Go ahead." He was through in a matter of seconds. As he pulled away, he saw in his rear view mirror as the guards told the driver of the car behind him to get out so they could search the vehicle.

If you personally know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you serve the EXACT same God who told Peter to come to Him on the stormy sea. The EXACT same God who supplied all of the needs for George Mueller's orphanages. The EXACT same God who blinded the eyes of countless border guards so Brother Andrew could smuggle his Bibles into communist countries time and again.

To get all stressed out and worried about the "problems" we face on a daily basis is to simply say "God can't handle this for me - I need to do it on my own." We're just like Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus when we do that, and we begin to sink. We get stressed, we get discouraged, we get disappointed - and we feel we can't handle all the pressure and toils of life. And you know what - that is exactly true - we CAN'T handle it all. However, if we trust God and obey His Word - We DON'T HAVE TO!!!

Philippians 4:19 tells us; "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

When I was a sophomore at college, I didn't have much money at all. In order to take your exams, your bill for that semester had to be paid. My parents had sent the college the money to pay my bill, but because they didn't have much money either, they had sent it so it arrived a couple of days late, and now there was an additional $5.00 late fee. I didn't have the $5.00 to pay the fee, and so if I didn't get it before my first exam, I wouldn't be able to take the exam.

I could have stressed and worried and gotten all worked up about it. But, I simply prayed that God would take care of this for me.

I went back to my dorm room and there laying on my pillow was a blank envelope with a $5.00 bill inside of it. To this day, I have no idea who placed that envelope there - but I learned that GOD WILL SUPPLY all of our needs and will take complete care of us when we learn to trust Him and obey His Word.

So, the choice is simply up to us - do we trust Him and have no need to worry about anything? Or do we go on with our life of stress and worry and trouble?

If you do not have a genuine personal relationship with Jesus Christ - then you do have much to worry about. However - you don't have to continue life like that. He calls to everyone; "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).

Some people may argue; "Yeah, but I know all kinds of people who claim to be Christians, and they stress and worry just like everyone else." The answer to that is quite simple - they are just like Peter. They don't completely trust - and they take their eyes off of Jesus.

The Christian life isn't just some "religion" that we practice when we feel like it. To experience the Christian life the way it was meant to be experienced, it MUST become a way of life to us. Only when we fully trust Almighty God and have that personal daily relationship with Him can we fully know what it is like to have Peace and Joy.

If anyone reading this would like more information or have any questions, please contact me at joshua@joshuagoodling.com.

That I May Know Him

2010-08-04T10:31:00.001-04:00

By Joshua Goodling

I live alone and therefore spend most of my evenings by myself at my condo. And generally when I am eating supper, I'll sit in front of my computer and browse around the web while I'm eating - just to read different news articles, find interesting sites, etc.. Well, last night as I was browsing, I found a news item about a guy who, since he was about 8 years old, had been a HUGE fan of Drew Barrymore. And in 2005, he was on some game show at a local television station and he won. He didn't win a large amount of money, only about $1100. But the winning answer (I didn't catch what the question was) was "Drew Barrymore". And so, he decided to finally live out his "dream" and try to get a date with her, and he produced a documentary that he and his friends shot on a cheap hand-held video camera they picked up at Circuit City.

There was a link in this article I read to the video documentary - so I clicked on it just out of curiosity.

During the video, he spent 30 days and all of his money he had won trying to get in touch with Drew and see if she would just have dinner with him. He and his friends tracked down anyone who might know someone who knew someone who might have had contact with someone who might possibly have had a chance to talk to Drew. They called people, visited people, wrote emails, sent letters, and did everything they could to try to get to Drew.

And as one would expect, they ran into one dead end after another, and finally pretty much gave up hope. Then they launched a web site that showed the short documentary of this guy's efforts to get a date with Drew and it got picked up by some talk shows and radio shows.

Finally after like 3 months or something, he actually did get to sit down for a few minutes with Drew Barrymore and have dinner. But, as one would expect - Drew wasn't really interested in having a "date" with him, it was more of a curiosity of who this guy was who would spend all this money and effort just to get to meet her. So, they met at a cafe in New York, exchanged a gift, talked for a little while and then that was it...it was over.

After I watched this (well, I skipped most of it but watched the beginning and end), I stopped and thought for a moment. Here was this guy who spent a lot of money, a lot of time and effort, and a lot of his friend's time and efforts just to get a chance to meet someone who didn't even know he existed, and certainly wasn't interested in meeting him.

And while this was just one documented case, people all over the world spend time, money, and efforts to try and get a glimpse of some of the "celebrity" figures in our world today. And we even spend a lot of time and effort trying to impress people around us who may not necessarily be of the celebrity status - but they are just people we think are important to us. However, while many of these people may be important in the world's eyes, and even in our own eyes from time to time, they are just like us - they are human beings. They are simply people like us.

We spend and spend and spend trying to gain the approval, attention, and possible affection of people, but how much time and effort do we spend trying to please Almighty God? How much effort do we put to truly knowing Him? Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

That's what this guy was doing - he was putting his entire heart into simply having a date with Drew Barrymore. And you should have seen him when he got the phone call that she would actually agree to meet with him. He was jumping up and down. He was so excited he stopped a passing car and told this stranger, "I got a date with Drew Barrymore!!!".

How many times have we gotten that excited about an opportunity to spend time with God?

Romans 11:33-36 read, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

Here is God - the King of Heaven. He is Holy Holy Holy, Almighty God - the Creator. And He WANTS to spend time with us. He WANTS us to KNOW Him. And He is eagerly waiting for us to seek after Him with all of our hearts.

When this guy started on his quest to find Drew Barrymore, he had no idea whether he would ever reach her, or if she would ever even give him the time of day. Yet, he poured himself into this quest and gave everything he had to just TRY to get her attention for even a moment.

Just think of how AWESOME our lives would be if we poured such time and effort into seeking God and KNOWING Him!

Philippians 3:7-15 "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do , forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."

How well do you know Him? He's the BEST friend and companion we could EVER EVER have. And He bids us; "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).

He has FAR more to offer us than the attention or affection ANYONE in this world can give us.

Compassion

2010-04-12T10:33:00.001-04:00

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word compassion as; "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it".

We've all seen or heard stories in the news lately about the coal mine incident in West Virginia, the mine incident in China, the devistation in Haiti, and the difficulties people are facing around the world. And many times these stories move us to compassion and make us want to help, so we send a donation to a group like the Red Cross or others who are over there to help these people and their families. And that is good. We should do all we can to help those who need help. Without compassion, many people in this world would have no hope of survival.

However, I feel while many people are quite compassionate for a brief period of time about events such as those mentioned above, at the same time - they are not as compassionate to the needs of those whom they come in contact with each day and those who are immediately around them on a constant basis or semi-constant basis.

I think one of the best ways to illustrate compassion is to relay a true story found in the Bible. The story is found in the Book of Mark, chapter 2 if you're interested in actually reading it, but let me paraphrase it here.

Jesus was teaching and the crowd of people who had gathered to hear him was quite large. There was no way for any more people to get into the house where he was teaching.

There was in the same town a man who was paralyzed and wanting to get to Jesus, but of course had no way to even get to the house let alone get inside of it.

So, four men picked up the mattress on which he lay and carried the mattress and man to the house.

When they got to the house and saw that there were way too many people to even try getting the man inside, they went up on the roof of the house and tore a hole in the roof and tying ropes to the 4 corners of the mattress, lowered the man in to the room directly in front of Jesus.

Now, to fully understand the story, we must understand the customs and the times in which this story took place.

During this time period, and sadly even today, people really looked down on those who were disabled, paralyzed, or in other ways different from the norm. People often were taught that if someone was born with these problems or developed them in life it was a punishment for something they or their parents had done in the past.

In fact, Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, is even quoted as saying; "let there be a law that no deformed child shall live."

Many times, people who were deformed, paralyzed, etc., were simply thrown outside the city and left to die or become beggars. And most people would certainly NOT go out of their way to help someone like this man.

So...the fact that these 4 guys were willing to carry this paralyzed man all the way to this house was in itself an act of compassion.

But, then when they got there and found that the house was too jam packed with people for them to get inside, they didn't quit.

Many people would have said; "Oh, well. Sorry man. We tried." But no...they went so far as to carry this guy - mattress and all - up onto the roof, and tearing a hole in the roof, they made sure he got the help he needed. THAT IS COMPASSION!

Being a paralyzed man, this guy had no means to pay or reward these 4 men for their help. In fact, these 4 men probably had to pay for the roof they tore up. So it certainly wasn't to their personal "advantage" to do what they did. But, although it isn't mentioned in the story, I can just see the joy on their faces when this paralyzed man was suddenly laying in front of the only person in the world who could really help him.

They certainly weren't doing it to get something in return. The story doesn't go into detail about how they found this man. But more than likely, they just came upon him and saw he needed help getting to Jesus - and they decided to help no matter what it cost them.

We are often quick to send off some money, clothing, etc., to those who need help around the world. And that is right. We should do all we can to help them. But we should also do all we can to help those in our corner of life as well. And especially when it comes to those we work with on a daily basis.

It seems a lot of people live 2 seperate lives (or more). They're like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They are one way at work and another way when not at work.

Several years ago at a different company, I was in a meeting. One guy in the meeting didn't like the way I had done a project and proceeded to say so very unkindly in front of all who were listening. Well, the next day, this same guy came by my desk and asked me if I wanted to go to lunch. I was quite dumbfounded and mentioned to him that I was surprised since he had just chewed me out. His reply; "Oh...that was just work."

There should be no "that was just work". We should be just as compassionate and kind to others in our work place as we are out in our daily lives.

Someone once said; "If you want OTHERS to be happy, practice compassion. If YOU want to be happy, practice compassion!" And that goes in the workplace, in the home and family, and out in society in general.

There are ALWAYS opportunities abounding for those who need compassion. It should be the other way around. There should be so many of us looking to be compassionate that we find it hard to find someone who needs our compassion.

The true story is told of a lawyer who was driving home, and he saw a blind man whom he recognized as a man who attended his church. The blind man was standing on the sidewalk in the cold and waiting. So, the lawyer pulled up and asked him what he was doing. The blind man said he was waiting for a taxi. He said there was a certain taxi company that gave discounts to blind or hearing impaired, and he was just waiting. So, the lawyer asked him how long he would have to wait. "Oh, just 2 more hours" said the blind man.

The lawyer told the blind man to hop in and he would give him a ride home. To which the blind man replied; "Oh no, you're a lawyer. You don't have time to waste on someone like me." And then he slowly and quietly said; "No one has time for me."

Of course, the lawyer gave him a ride. But, just like that blind man. There are people all over this world, people all around us on a daily basis. Even people we work with who need to feel that joy and happiness that we can bring into their lives when we simply have compassion.

How much compassion do you show to those who work around you and to those who you come in contact with who are hurting each day?

It won't always be someone who is paralyzed or blind who needs our compassion. It may be just someone who is having a rough day, someone who is going through some other pain in their life, or someone who just needs some encouragement.

You ask; "But, how do I know who needs my compassion?"

It's simple really. When you start looking for people to help, people to be kind to, and people to share compassion with - you'll find them. The problem is, most of us aren't looking.

SOME THOUGHTS ON COMPASSION:

“Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
- Albert Schweitzer

“We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.”
- Charlie Chaplin

“Compassion is the greatest form of love humans have to offer.”
Rachel Joy Scott
(1981-1999); Student, First Victim Of The Columbine High School Massacre

The Value of a SMILE

2010-01-06T09:41:00.001-05:00

The following story appeared in the The Commercial Appeal (a newspaper from Memphis, Tennessee):

Bright, friendly, with a smile that warms your heart. That's how Chrissy Owens is described by Oak Elementary staff and schoolmates. Everyone knows who she is and everybody loves her.

It's apparent that Chrissy, an 11-year-old with the smile everyone has memorized, has an extended family - her Oak family.

The fifth-grader who has attended Oak Elementary since she began kindergarten will be spending the summer months away from home to receive care and treatment for a condition she was born with called osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease).

For the first three months she will be treated with halo traction at Shriner's Hospital in St. Louis, followed by surgery to attach a rod to her spine to help strengthen the bones. Traction is necessary prior to the surgery to achieve the best possible spinal alignment. After the traction treatment, Chrissy will be moved to the Children's Hospital in St. Louis for the surgery and the care she will need by the intensive care unit.

Chrissy and her mom, Teresa, left for St. Louis on April 23. She has already begun her treatment and is being very brave, according to her grandmother, Phyllis Napier of Memphis.

Chrissy's dad, Doug, will remain here with their oldest daughter, Ashley, a junior at Bolton High School. Family members will travel often to St. Louis to visit with Chrissy and relieve Teresa.

Chrissy hopes to be home in time for the new school year.

Eager to assist the Owens family with travel and living expenses, Chrissy's Oak family (staff and students) organized a campaign they named "Caring for Chrissy." Throughout the week of April 17-21 donations poured in from Oak families and others in the community.

Although the campaign was held for a momentous cause, it also brought some fun to Chrissy and her schoolmates. A tally of collected donations was taken daily by each class. The class with the highest donations earned the privilege to participate in activities such as Pajama Day, '60s Day, Spirit Day and Superhero

Day. Collected amounts were so impressive that more than one class participated daily in the scheduled activities.

At the end of the week, Chrissy's family was invited to the school for a special presentation. After just four days of collecting donations the school proudly presented the family with an $8,500 check. The Owenses were overwhelmed with the demonstration of love shown for Chrissy and their family.

Principal Patricia Rowland agrees that is overwhelming, "It is amazing how the staff and students here get involved. It is truly like a family around here. The students really understand why and what we were doing this week."

"The families of Oak and people of the community opened their hearts and the donations poured in," added Rowland.

During the ceremony, Chrissy's classmates also presented her with some special gifts to take with her to St. Louis, including a laptop computer, so she can keep in touch this summer.

Toward the end of the presentation, Chrissy, who is usually on the other end of this type situation - giving not receiving - gave everyone the smile that has become so well-known throughout the halls of the school and waved to her friends and humbly said, "Thank you, thank you for everything."

Her smile said it all.

-------------------------------------------------------

It always amazes me how most of the time the people who really have something to gripe and complain about, and who have reason to look at life in the negative, are the ones who look positively at life and who endure the most difficult times with a smile.

Remember, life is what each and everyone of us makes it. We can make our life at the home, out in society, and in the workplace so much happier and so much more enjoyable when we learn to not allow our circumstances and our "problems" to control us. Just by simply smiling and seeking to bring joy and happiness into the lives of others, we can reap real joy and happiness ourselves.

We're all tempted to gripe and complain when we have a "bad day", and in doing so, we pass our bad attitude along to others. But when you stop and really think about it, the things that make us have a "bad day" are quite ridiculous and really nothing that we should let affect us in the way in which we so often do.

When you think about people such as the girl in the story above, who look at their problems and troubles and say; "so what ... I'm still going to smile!", we ought to learn an extremely valuable lesson.

The true VALUE of a smile!

Trust and Obey - It's That Simple!

2009-10-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know I personally support on a monthly basis several people who are missionaries and/or in other ways are ministering to reach others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I just in the past week added a new person to that list, and have already been impressed with her relationship with God, and the way in which she lives her life. She is just in her early 20's, and is going to be working with another missionary family that is raising support to go to Brazil. She will be taking care of the family's children as well as helping in other ways.

When she wrote to tell me about her work and what she was doing, one of the things she mentioned was that her current vehicle was having transmission trouble. She then asked that people pray with her about that. But what was interesting to me was the next statement she made. She said that she would say she "needed" a new car, but then if she "needed" one, God would have already provided one since He has chosen to meet all of our "needs". She went on to say that she would like to have a newer car, but she was leaving it entirely up to God.

Well, this weekend, I got an email update from her in which she wrote; "Wanted to share a little praise - God allowed me to find a car on Thursday! It's a '96 Toyotta Corolla. I was all prepared to drive my old car out here - but am very much praising God for giving me another. It is always best to wait and not worry and then watch what God does! Thank you all for your prayers."

Obviously, she has already learned an important lesson that many people who claim to be Christians have a VERY difficult time learning. That is learning to trust God COMPLETELY!

We so often insist that God supply all of our "wants" rather than realizing that He WILL supply all of our "needs". Many times the things we "want", God knows we don't really need them, or else He in His infinite wisdom has a reason for not giving them to us. However - He will NEVER withhold from us the stuff that we NEED in order to live for Him and serve Him.

When we walk with the Lord
in the light of His word,
what a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

What If...

2009-06-04T13:38:00.001-04:00

The story is told of a mail carrier who lived in a village in Europe that had many rivers and waterways running through it. The mail carrier would use a canoe on his daily route to deliver the mail. Many people over the years asked him why he didn't wear a life preserver or at least learn to swim. To which he would always reply that he didn't need a life preserver, and he didn't need to know how to swim. Nothing had happened to him yet, and nothing was going to happen. One day as he set out on his route, a sudden storm came and it began to rain, and the wind began to blow hard. He wasn't afraid though, he had been through worse he thought. Well, he hadn't ever experienced a storm like this one, one of the worst storms in the history of the village. During the storm his canoe was capsized, and unable to swim, he drowned. People had warned him for years, but not wanting to be weighed down with a life preserver or be bothered with swimming lessons - he had just ignored their warnings.

Many people in life are like that mail carrier. They have been warned and told time and again about what will happen to people who reject the love of God, but they think it's not true. The stuff the Bible says about hell and the price one will pay for not believing in Jesus Christ can't possibly be correct. In fact, some people have even gone as far as to say there is no God.

But just stop and consider something for a moment. Are you one of those people who have so far rejected Jesus Christ's offer of eternal life? What if the warnings in the Bible ARE true? What if people who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior WILL die and go to hell? What if there is a penalty one MUST pay for the wrongs they have done in life? What if you're WRONG about there being no God? What if you're WRONG about believing in Jesus Christ not being necessary? Are you prepared to gamble all of eternity on that?

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic. People said it was indestructible, it would never sink, and now it is at the bottom of the ocean in pieces.

When man first invented the automobile, some people said if man ever went faster than 30 mph, it would kill him. However, now people fly jets at hundreds of miles per hour without even batting an eye.

When Bill Gates first mentioned the idea of a personal computer, he was told that people would never need a computer in their home. Today some people have multiple computers and our lives are complete wrapped up in them it seems. It's hard to even function without one.

In all of these above instances, people thought they knew everything. They thought they knew all the answers - yet they were wrong. Yet, none of these compare to the terrible tragedy many will face in being wrong about Jesus Christ.

Just think what a terrible tragedy it would be for someone to die thinking there is no God, or one doesn't need to believe in Jesus Christ, only to wake up in Hell and find they were wrong. So, before you just brush off the possibility of there being no God, or no need for salvation - consider whether you're willing to take the "risk"!

And believe me, I know from experience that there IS a God. And that salvation through faith in Jesus Christ can make your life the best it could ever possibly be.

Follow Me

2009-05-28T09:21:00.001-04:00

I traveled down a lonely road,
And no one seemed to care,
The burden on my weary back,
Had bowed me to despair,
I oft complain to Jesus,
How folks were treating me,
And then I heard Him say so tenderly,
"My feet were also weary,
Upon the Calvary road;
The cross became so heavy,
I fell beneath the load,
Be faithful weary pilgrim the morning I can see,
Just lift your cross and follow close to me.

"I work so hard for Jesus,"
I often boast and say,
"I've sacrificed a lot of things,
To walk the narrow way,
I gave up fame and fortune;
I'm worth a lot to the Thee,"
And then I hear Him gently say to me,
"I left the throne of glory,
And counted it but loss,
My hands were nailed in anger,
Upon on a cruel cross,
But now we'll make the journey,
With your hand safe in mine,
So lift your cross and follow close to me.

Oh, Jesus if I die upon,
A foreign field some day,
'Twould be no more than love demands,
No less could I repay,
"No greater love hath mortal man,
Than for a friend to die,"
These are the words He gently spoke to me,
If just a cup of water,
I place within your hand,
Then just a cup of water,
Is all that I demand,
But if by death to living,
They can thy glory see,
I'll take my cross and follow close to thee.

From "A SERIOUS CALL TO A DEVOUT AND HOLY LIFE" by William Law (written 1729)

2009-05-27T11:03:00.002-04:00

DEVOTION is neither private nor public prayer; but prayers, whether private or public, are particular parts or instances of devotion. Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God. He, therefore, is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life parts of reverence, by doing everything in the Name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.

We readily acknowledge, that God alone is to be the rule and measure of our prayers; that in them we are to look wholly unto Him, and act wholly for Him; that we are only to pray in such a manner, for such things, and such ends, as are suitable to His glory.

Now let any one but find out the reason why he is to be thus strictly reverant in his prayers, and he will find the same as strong a reason to be as strictly reverant in all the other parts of his life. For there is not the least shadow of a reason why we should make God the rule and measure of our prayers; why we should then look wholly unto Him, and pray according to His will; but what equally proves it necessary for us to look wholly unto God, and make Him the rule and measure of all the other actions of our life. For any ways of life, any employment of our talents, whether of our parts, our time, or money, that is not strictly according to the will of God, that is not for such ends as are suitable to His glory, are as great absurdities and failings, as prayers that are not according to the will of God. For there is no other reason why our prayers should be according to the will of God, why they should have nothing in them but what is wise, and holy, and heavenly; there is no other reason for this, but that our lives may be of the same nature, full of the same wisdom, holiness, and heavenly tempers, that we may live unto God in the same spirit that we pray unto Him. Were it not our strict duty to live by reason, to devote all the actions of our lives to God, were it not absolutely necessary to walk before Him in wisdom and holiness and all heavenly conversation, doing everything in His Name, and for His glory, there would be no excellency or wisdom in the most heavenly prayers. Nay, such prayers would be absurdities; they would be like prayers for wings, when it was no part of our duty to fly.

As sure, therefore, as there is any wisdom in praying for the Spirit of God, so sure is it, that we are to make that Spirit the rule of all our actions; as sure as it is our duty to look wholly unto God in our prayers, so sure is it that it is our duty to live wholly unto God in our lives. But we can no more be said to live unto God, unless we live unto Him in all the ordinary actions of our life, unless He be the rule and measure of all our ways, than we can be said to pray unto God, unless our prayers look wholly unto Him. So that unreasonable and absurd ways of life, whether in labour or diversion, whether they consume our time, or our money, are like unreasonable and absurd prayers, and are as truly an offence unto God.

It is for want of knowing, or at least considering this, that we see such a mixture of ridicule in the lives of many people. You see them strict as to some times and places of devotion, but when the service of the Church is over, they are but like those that seldom or never come there. In their way of life, their manner of spending their time and money, in their cares and fears, in their pleasures
and indulgences, in their labour and diversions, they are like the rest of the world. This makes the loose part of the world generally make a jest of those that are devout, because they see their devotion goes no farther than their prayers, and that when they are over, they live no more unto God, till the time of prayer returns again; but live by the same humour and fancy, and in as full an enjoyment
of all the follies of life as other people. This is the reason why they are the jest and scorn of careless and worldly people; not because they are really devoted to God, but because they appear to have no other devotion but that of occasional prayers.

George Mueller

2009-02-27T12:44:00.004-05:00

Quotes by George Mueller

"There was a day when I died;
died to self, my opinions, preferences, tastes and will;
died to the world, its approval or censure;
died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends;
and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God."

"A servant of God has but one Master."

"If honest of heart and uprightness before God were lacking or if I did not patiently wait on God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow-men to the declarations of the Word of God, I made great mistakes."

"The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray."

The Love Of God

2009-02-27T09:12:00.002-05:00

I think the chorus to Frederick Lehman's "The Love of God" expresses greatly how difficult and impossible it is for us to fully describe the love of God.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

That is an awesome song, and I love to sing it and think about the words.

I also feel the words to John W. Peterson's song; "O Glorious Love" really reveal how amazing God's love for us is:

In my darkness Jesus found me,
Touched my eyes and made me see.
Broke sin's chains that long had bound me.
Gave me life and liberty

Oh amazing Truth to ponder,
He whom angel hosts attend.
Lord of Heaven, God's Son what Wonder!
He became the sinner's friend.

O Glorious Love of Christ my Lord Divine.
That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine.
Through all my days and then in heaven above,
My song will silence never,
I'll worship Him forever,
And praise Him for His Glorious Love!

I often think over the words to that song and it just boggles the mind how God could love someone such as me.

Look at the words to that 2nd verse; "Oh amazing truth to ponder...". Almighty God. The one to whom angels attend. The Lord of HEAVEN! The Son of GOD!! Such an awesome and amazing person - and yet HE became the sinner's friend!!!!

Never in all of history has such an opposite attraction been made! GOD, the creator, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the One who never in all of eternity sinned even one time! Yet He stooped as low as possible and loved us enough to send His only Son to die on the cross for us!

That is just beyond human comprehension!

"O Glorious Love of Christ my Lord Divine. That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine."

How can we not love Him in return? How can we not freely give Him everything in our lives and serve Him with all our vigor? How can we not obey and honor Him?

Charles Wesley said it best; "Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, My God, shouldst die for me."

Even in the midst of what some would classify as "Very Difficult Times" - to know that God loves us and cares for us should cause us to not even worry the slightest bit about the future....that is unless one has rejected His amazing love.

In Times Like These

2009-02-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

With the economical outlook more bleak everyday, the price of gas and other items in flux, homes in foreclosure or close to it, and the world crazily and madly trying to fix its many problems it is easy for people to become discouraged, depressed, and worried about the future, which of course, is to be expected. Well, that is to be expected among those who do not personally know the King of Kings. As to those whose lives are trusting in Him, nothing has changed - He is still the same, and He is still in control of EVERYTHING!

I'm reminded of the song, "In Times Like these" by Ruth Jones;

In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He's the One;
This Rock is Jesus, the only One!
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

The Bible tells us in Luke 12:22-23; "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

God is not dependent upon the status of the stock market, the current price of oil, or the world's economy. He has more than enough provision to meet all of our needs and has promised that He WILL do so if we trust Him and obey His Word.

I have mentioned many times in my newsletters and writings a man named George Mueller. He lived in England from September 27, 1805 to March 10, 1898, and built orphanages that cared for over 10,000 children. The thing that impresses me the most about Mr. Mueller, is that he NEVER asked anyone for a dime, nor told anyone about his needs, yet he simply trusted in God. God provided all of his needs and the needs for all of his orphanages. I can share many stories about him that prove how great God is. There were times when all of the children in the orphanage would gather for breakfast, yet there was not a scrap of food in the house. Most of us would be wringing our hands wondering what to do, but not Mr. Mueller, he simply would have the children pray and ask God to bless their meal, and a knock would come at the door with someone from the local bakery who would provide all they needed for breakfast, because they woke up
early in the morning feeling the "need" to do that. If you have not read his biography, I highly recommend you do so.

Mr. George Mueller's secret was that he simply trusted God! He didn't follow the "latest religious movements", or put a lot of stock in the opinions and thoughts of men, he relied completely upon the Word of Almighty God, and God blessed him greatly and provided all of his needs for doing so.

If we are truly trusting in God - we also do not have to worry or even be the slightest concerned about the economy or "state of the world". The problem is, a lot of people who claim to be Christians do not really trust in God - they put their "faith" in their bank accounts, their status in life, and the friends they have. Money, status, friendship – while all part of life, cannot provide for your needs the way God can.

I recall when I was a sophomore at college. It came time for the final exams of that semester. The school policy was that if your bill was not completely up to date, you couldn't take your exams. My parents had sent the payment for my bill, but due to their own financial struggles had sent it a little late - thus incurring a late fee of $5.00. I didn't have any money back then, and I didn't even have the $5.00 necessary to get my account up to date in order to take my final exams. I simply went to God in prayer and told Him about my need, trusting Him to supply as He promised He would. The night before my first exam, I went back to my room, and there on my pillow was a blank envelope with a $5.00 bill inside of it. To this day, I do not know who put that envelope there, but I know God was behind it. And I could share many other stories of how God has provided.

Whether supplying the needs of an entire orphanage, or helping to get a $5.00 fee paid - Almighty God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we could possibly ask of Him. Trust God completely, give Him your entire life, and watch Him work!

I've been trying to think of an appropriate way to more simply illustrate what it means to give one's self to God, and while this may not be the "perfect" illustration - I feel it gets the point across.

Take for example an Olympic athlete who runs relays and marathons with great speed and endurance. That athlete didn’t just one day walk down to a track meet and win the race – it took practice, effort, and dedication. That athlete had to spend hours training. He had to give up certain types of food or junk that would keep his body from performing at its peak. He had to give himself whole heartedly and entirely to that sport in order to keep winning races and eventually the gold medal. The same is true with the Christian life, we MUST dedicate ourselves to knowing Jesus Christ and obeying His commandments.

Anytime I write about trusting God and Him supplying our needs, I can almost hear the cries and arguments; "But, I've prayed and God didn't answer my prayer or meet my needs." Well, anyone who is willing to accept Christ as Lord and Savior will become a Christian - but if you really want to experience the TRUE Christian life, you MUST give Him all, you must give up anything that is contrary to God's Word and you MUST completely trust Him. There are an awful lot of people who lay hold to the Christian faith - yet they have no faith in God, and cannot even list on one piece of paper the way God has answered their prayers and met their needs. The reason - they don't want to do what it takes.

If you as a Christian live just like everyone else in the world does, putting yourself first, not obeying God's commandments, etc., God is not in any way obligated to answer your prayers or meet your needs. Now, He may choose to do so sometimes, but He is under no obligation to do so. There are many passages in the Bible which say to us something like; "...if you will obey, trust, etc., I will do this..." Like the passage above in Luke - "If you seek first God's Kingdom (in other words, obey His commandments, put Him first in your life, and trust Him) - then He will supply all of your needs. One can place all of their hopes and dreams for the future in this world's economy and face mostly disappointment, or one can place everything in the hands of Him who created all things and find true peace, true joy, and true happiness no matter what the circumstances of this world may be.

Why anyone would choose the world's way is beyond my imagination.