Happy Wednesday

The Focus Of Life!

     "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking." - Ephesians 4:17

     What do we do when our lives get out of focus and we're no longer doing what God has called us to do? Too often, nothing! Sometimes the blurring occurs so gradually that we don't even know we're out of focus. All the more reason to keep our eyes on Jesus. You see, He was a very focused person, and He stuck with His mission.

     Notice Jesus' words in Matthew 9:12-13: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick... For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus healing, teaching, and preaching -- all part of revealing His kingdom. And everything He did was focused on His goal of calling people to REPENT and BELIEVE.

     Can you imagine everything Jesus could have talked to people about? After all, He was the eternal Son of God who knew everything about everything. He could have explained all the scientific wonders of the universe or warned against the various man made philosophies that would arise over the years -- how each of them would lead down a blind alley and leave the followers of those teachings confused and frustrated. But Jesus didn't deal with any of those things. Instead, He focused on what people need most --the good news of salvation. Why?  Because unless people hear and respond to the gospel, they are lost and going to a Christ-less grave.

     There are hundreds of good activities you can be involved in as a Christian, but what is most important? What is worth giving your life to? Jesus' primary objective was to help people walk in the light of God's Word and experience the salvation He offered. Shouldn't that be our focus, too?


     "Lord, YOU are the way, the truth, and the life. Empower me each day, as I meet and talk with people, to point them in Your direction.  Amen."



He Leadeth Me

He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

   Refrain

     He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
     By His own hand He leadeth me;
     His faithful follower I would be,
     For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.

   Refrain

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

   Refrain

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

   Refrain

Daily Smile:
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

In The News:

200,000 Remain Without Electricity Two Weeks After Superstorm Sandy
Nearly two weeks after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the northeast, more than 200,000 in the region still remain without electricity, the Christian Post reports. A shortage of gasoline is compounding the crisis; cars are lining up at stations that are open for business, and officials in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey have implemented gas-rationing systems. The Associated Press reported that hundreds of residents protested outside the Long Island Power Authority, frustrated by its slow response to outages. LIPA has indicated that some of the 130,000 blacked-out homes and businesses it serves may not have power restored until the end of Tuesday. "LIPA continues to mobilize additional resources, crews and equipment for the significant restoration efforts underway due to the unprecedented damage to its system by Hurricane Sandy and additional damaged from Wednesday's Nor'easter," a news release on LIPA's website said. According to John Bruckner of National Grid, "We currently forecast about 95 percent of those customers impacted by the storm will by restored by end of day Tuesday. We will continue to work tirelessly until all of them are restored."

Israel Fires Warning Missile into Syria
After a stray Syrian shell from civil strife in that country exploded on Israel's Golan Heights for the second time in recent days, the Israel Defense Forces fired a warning shot at the Syrian military on Sunday for the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Jerusalem Post reports. "In the midst of Syrian infighting, a mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army struck near an [IDF] outpost at Tel Azeka," IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. "In light of the policy instituted by IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, a warning round was fired back into Syria. We don't believe it caused injuries or damages." Concurrently, Israel sent a warning message to the U.N., saying any further firing into Israel would result "in a real response."

Egypt: Women Assault, Cut Hair of Christian Woman on Metro
Two women in full Islamic head coverings assaulted and forcefully cut the hair of a Christian woman on the metro Sunday, the third such reported incident in two months, raising fears of a growing vigilante movement to punish Egyptian women for not wearing the veil in public, the Egypt Independent reports. According to the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the assaulters called the 28-year-old Christian woman an "infidel" and pushed her off the train, breaking her arm. The Christian woman reported the incident to police and filed a medical report to confirm the assault. Last week, a woman wearing the veil cut the hair of a 13-year-old Christian girl on the metro, and a teacher was also given a six-month suspended prison sentence for cutting the hair of two 12-year-old girls after they refused to cover their heads. Naguib Gabriel, director of EOHR, urged Egypt's interior minister to address the recurring attacks on unveiled women before it became a common practice. Opponents of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi, say these incidents prove that Islamists are attempting to impose strict sharia laws under his rule.

CAIR Poll: More Than 85 Percent of American Muslims Picked Obama
According to an informal exit poll by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), more than 85 percent of American Muslim voters picked President Barack Obama in last Tuesday's election, CNSNews.com reports. That number, however, is lower than a similar poll conducted in 2008 that showed 89 percent of American Muslims cast a ballot for Obama. According to this year's poll of 650 respondents, just 4.4 percent stated they voted for Mitt Romney. The poll also found that 95.5 percent of the Muslim voters said they went to the polls on Nov. 6, with the highest number of survey respondents being in California, New York, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio. According to Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, "The fact that more than 95 percent of Muslim respondents went to the polls is a clear indication that they are fully participating in our nation's political process and are part of the fabric of America."