Happy Friday

Decide each day!

Do you hear the clock ticking?

Time keeps moving on!

It never stops for anyone-

- no matter how important you are.

We just can't find enough of that stuff.

The late Jim Croce sang about bottling time.

While we can't do that, one thing's for sure-

God wants us to be good stewards of our time!

But we'll never be able to until we're clear about our purpose for living.

The starting point is knowing why we're here.

First-

- ask God to help you develop a life-purpose statement.

It will take some time, but it's the best time you'll ever invest.

Know why you're here.

Then-

- decide each day what's most important for you to do that day, and do it.

By having a clear purpose and doing the most important thing each day-

God can revolutionize your life and help you make the most of your time!

"...(the Lord) has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." 2 Timothy 1:9.

Daily Smile:

"I wish there was a knob on the TV so you could turn up the intelligence. They got one marked 'brightness' but it doesn't work." 

Happy Thursday

Christ gives the key!

We're constantly bombarded with bad news on newscast after newscast.

It's depressing.

The harsh reality of the daily news challenges those who believe that man is inherently good and the world is getting better.

The Bible tells us the truth.

Human beings are not innately good and kind.

And society is not progressing toward universal peace and harmony.

Why, just the opposite is true!

Man's sin is a constant reality and if we don't want to believe it-

- we can just ignore the news and refuse to lock our doors at night.

There is good news, however.

God is in control of history and anyone who acknowledges his need for God in Christ holds the key to inner peace and security.

For in Christ, whether we live or die, we can't lose.

Christ gives us the key to eternal life and living this life victoriously.

"...I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10.

Daily Smile:

Officers at a military installation were being lectured about a new computer. The training officer said the computer was able to withstand nuclear and chemical attacks.
 
Suddenly, he saw that one of the officers had a cup of coffee and yelled, There will be no eating or drinking in this room! You'll have to get rid of that coffee."
 
The officer said meekly, "Sure, but why?"
 
"Because a coffee spill could ruin the keyboard."

Happy Wednesday

Preventive Maintenance 
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." – 1 Peter 5:8

Some years ago, my parents were driving along a highway in the state of Washington near Mount Adams. A decrepit old barn near the highway caught my dad's attention, and he stopped the car to capture a dramatic picture of the crumbling structure with the majestic mountain behind it.

The barn, preserved on my dad's roll of film, may have been a good barn when it was built. No doubt it had a sturdy foundation and floor, quality beams, and secure siding. However, by the time my parents drove past it, the walls were sagging and half the roof was caved in. What happened? Someone had failed to maintain the structure. When the first chinks in the siding appeared, they were ignored. When the first holes developed in the roof, no one tended to them. When a beam cracked, it was not repaired. And over the years, the barn's condition went from bad to worse.

What a warning to us, when we think about our Christian lives! It is important to start with a good foundation—a real born-again experience. It is crucial to build with the best materials: the gold, silver, and precious stones spoken of in the Bible. However, the building must be maintained! We must be alert to any area that might begin to sag, or a beam that is about to break. The Bible tells us, "We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip" (Hebrews 2:1).

How can we properly maintain our spiritual buildings? We must pay careful attention to praying and reading God's Word. We must be tuned to receive the Spirit's instruction and quick to obey when it comes. We should seek fellowship with like-minded believers, for unity is essential to our strength.

The enemy of our souls wants us to be careless about our spiritual maintenance. The words of our focus verse indicate that he is seeking to destroy us. Let us be vigilant and consistent with our maintenance so our spiritual buildings will withstand every attempt of the devil to weaken them!

Daily Smile:

Two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter.

Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger coworker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck to prove that an older guy could outrun a younger one.

As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from that last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong.

Gasping for breath, she replied, "When I see two men from the gas company running as hard as you two were, I figured I'd better run too!"

Happy Tuesday

Rejoicing in Trouble

Consider how the Holy Spirit can make the Christian independent of outward circumstances. What a bright light may shine within us when it is really dark outside! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be when the world shakes, and the foundations of the earth are removed! Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian's heart, but instead makes that music sweeter, clearer, more heavenly, until the last kind act that death can do is allow the earthly song to melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss!

Let us have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit's power to comfort us. Dear reader, are you facing poverty? Do not fear—the Holy Spirit can give you, in your need, a greater plenty than the rich have in their abundance. You never know what joys may be stored up for you in the cottage around which grace will plant the roses of contentment.

Are you conscious of your physical frailty? Do you anticipate sleepless nights and painful days? Do not be sad! Your bed may become a throne to you. You cannot tell how every pain that shoots through your body may be a refining fire to consume your dross—a beam of glory to light up the secret parts of your soul.

Is your eyesight failing? Jesus will be your light. Is your hearing deteriorating? Jesus' name will be your soul's best music, and His person your dear delight. Socrates used to say, "Philosophers can be happy without music," and Christians can be happier than philosophers when all outward causes of rejoicing are removed.

In You, my God, my heart shall triumph, no matter my circumstances! By Your power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall rejoice even though all things should fail me here below.

Daily Smile:

A man in a supermarket was pushing a cart which contained, among other things, a screaming baby. As the man proceeded along the aisles, he kept repeating softly, "Keep calm, George. Don't get excited, George. Don't yell, George."

A lady watched with admiration and then said, "You are certainly to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little George."

"Lady," he declared, "I'M GEORGE!"

Happy Monday

Dealing with Doubt

“‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’…He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands…do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered…‘My Lord and my God!’” – John  20:25-28 NASB

Before she died in 1997, Mother Teresa symbolized, for many people, a selfless commitment to God’s Kingdom. So, many were surprised when, after her death, letters came to light that exposed her struggles with doubt. In one letter, she wrote, “I am told God lives in me—and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.”

These letters reveal the human side of this person whom many considered a saint. Her example demonstrates so clearly the truth that none of us is immune to doubt. For another example, we need to look no further than the disciples of Jesus, in particular, “doubting Thomas.”

After Jesus’ Resurrection, other disciples had “seen the Lord” (v. 25). But Thomas resisted. He had doubts and remained skeptical until Jesus appeared and spoke to him directly. Finally, his doubts were overcome.

Immediately after this story, the Bible describes how Jesus performed “many other signs…which are not written in this book” (v. 30). The implication is clear: There is a relationship between faith and signs. Doubt can prevent us from belief, faith, and God’s power, but, as it did for Thomas, everything changes when we have a personal encounter with Jesus and declare Him as “My Lord and my God.”

Don’t be crippled by doubt. Seek to deepen your personal relationship with Jesus. Spend time in prayer. Fill your mind with God’s Word, and put it into practice. Replace your doubt with faith, and seek to receive all that God has prepared for you.

Today's Inspirational Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, forgive me for doubting Your presence and power. Help me to walk by faith and not by sight. Renew me by Your Spirit. I trust in You. In Your name. Amen.

Daily Smile:
A kindergarten teacher handed out a coloring page to her class. On it was a picture of a duck holding an umbrella.

The teacher told her class to color the duck in yellow and the umbrella green. But little Johnny, who always does things HIS way, colored the duck a bright fire.

After seeing this, the teacher asked him: "Johnny, how many times have you seen a red duck?"

Young Johnny replied with "The same number of times I've seen a duck holding an umbrella."

Happy Mother's Day

MOTHERHOOD - IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE....

We are sitting at lunch when she casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says, half joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?" "It will change your life," I say carefully, keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on the weekend, no more spontaneous vacations..."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in child birth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be forever vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think about her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my friend to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine.  That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonalds will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years -- not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My friend's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the ways she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby or never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my friend could sense the bond she'll feel with women throughout history who have tried desperately to stop war and prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future. I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.

My friend's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I say finally. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my friend's hand, and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. The blessed gift of being a Mother.
                                                                               -Author unknown

Daily Smile:

YOU KNOW YOU'VE TURNED INTO A MOM WHEN...
~ You automatically double-knot everything you tie.

~ You find yourself humming the Wiggles song as you do the dishes.

~ You hear a baby cry in the grocery store, and you start to gently sway back and forth, back and forth. However, your children are at school!

~ You actually start to like the smell of strained carrots mixed with applesauce.

~ You weep through the scene in Dumbo when his mom is taken away, not to mention what Bambi does to you.

~ You get soooo into crafts you contemplate writing a book called "101 Fun Crafts To Do with Dryer Lint and Eggshells."

~ You spend a half hour searching for your sunglasses only to have your teenager say, "Mom, why don't you wear the ones you pushed up on your head?"

~ You are out for a nice romantic meal with your husband, enjoying some real adult conversation, when suddenly you realize that you've reached over and started to cut up his steak.

Happy Saturday

Doubt is Not Just Not Believing

by Dr. Larry Ollison

What is doubt? The answer might surprise you. But doubt is not just not believing; doubt is not believing all the time.

In James 1:16, we are told that if we ask God for something, we must ask Him in faith without any doubt, because the "one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." Verse 7 goes on to say that the man who doubts should not expect that he would receive anything from the Lord. Since doubting can keep us from receiving from God, it's imperative that we know exactly what the Bible is talking about when it refers to doubt in this passage. The Greek word used in verse 7 comes from the root word diakrinü. In other places diakrinü is translated decide, difference, stagger, and waver. We know that the reference is to wavering and a divided way of thinking because James refers to waves being tossed by the wind as double-mindedness. But what does it mean to be double-minded?

In my years of ministry, I have seen people look as though they are standing in great faith while at church on Sunday. Yet when the first phone call arrives on Monday, they are not so sure about God's promise. Then again, Monday evening while shopping, they by chance run into a church member who encourages them in the Word and once again, they appear strong in faith. But that night as they watch secular television, doubt creeps in and they go to bed worrying, only to wake up encouraged during their morning devotions. Then they lose all faith while having coffee with their unbelieving neighbor who tells them just how things look. This cycle continues until Sunday when they appear strong in faith again.

The truth is they spent their week like the waves of the sea, tossed back and forth between believing and doubting. The Word calls this being double-minded and says that this person is unstable in all their ways.

Sadly, these are the people who usually can't understand why God hasn't answered their prayers because they are "in faith" every time they go to church, they've had the elders lay hands laid on them and pray for them, and they make great faith statements. The problem is they are not consistent.

Faith is consistent. Faith does not waver. Faith does not give up. People of faith guard themselves against sources of doubt. If your faith is young and immature, and you want your faith to grow, the last thing you do is associate with the New-Age person who lives in your neighborhood. You must guard your eye-gates and ear-gates when watching TV. You must monitor what you read. Remember, God always responds to faith and God never responds to doubt or unbelief – and participating in those kinds of things causes doubt and unbelief to grow in us.

He who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:6-8). While it is true that God does not respond to doubt, it is also true that the enemy constantly attacks all of us with doubting thoughts. We must remember that above all, God is a good God and He loves us. His goal is for us to be blessed and His grace is always with us to empower us and overcome the attacks of the enemy. As soon as a doubt arises, the enemy will add to it guilt and condemnation to make us feel unworthy. But here is the good news: The grace of God outperforms and overpowers the fears and doubts from the enemy. And when we turn to God, the assurance of His promise removes all doubt.

Daily Smile:

This young man was elated when he turned eighteen in a state where curfew is 11:00 p.m. for any one under seventeen years of age. He told his Dad how happy he was that now he could stay out until 3:00 a.m. if he wanted. “Yes you can stay out as late as you want, but the car is under seventeen and it has to be in the garage by eleven.” His father said.

Happy Friday

"And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God." (Eph 6:7)

Mirrors

Several years ago I noticed something strange: people seemed to be smiling at me more often.

During my young adult years people had never smiled at me that much. Most of the people I saw seemed to have grim, tense faces. They would look at me for only a second or avert their eyes altogether. Sometimes they would nod or say "hi" but more often said nothing at all.

All that seemed to change, though, as I got older. For some surprising reason people were suddenly greeting me with a warm smile when I passed them. Their eyes seemed to sparkle when they said, "hello" and many times they would even stop to chat happily with me for a few minutes. At first I didn't know what to make of this. Had the whole world suddenly gotten kinder without telling me? Had the hearts and souls of everyone I met suddenly grown more loving and joyful for some reason?

Then one day when I was walking alone in a store the answer came to me. I was thinking to myself of how much God loved me and of all the blessings I had been given in this life. At that moment I walked by a display of mirrors and saw that I had the happiest expression on my face.

I had been smiling without even knowing it. Then suddenly I realized that I was the one who had changed. I had grown so much in love, joy, and oneness with God. And it was the light shining from my own soul that others were reflecting back to me.

We are all mirrors in this life. We all reflect each other's love. We all share each other's light. We all help each other to become the image of God that we were meant to be. May you always mirror every bit of goodness, kindness, and joy that you see in this world. May your own soul always shine bright as well. And may you make your whole life here a reflection of the light of Heaven and the love of God.

Joseph J. Mazzella

Daily Smile:

Teacher: What are the four main food groups?

Students: Canned, frozen, instant, and lite.

Happy Thursday

What Am I Worth?

by David Cross

... And God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...” Genesis 1:26, NKJV

As human beings we have both intrinsic value and added value.

The Bible makes it very clear that every individual has significant value simply by virtue of being a creation of God, made in His likeness. In addition to this innate value which exists from conception we are called by God to spend our lives growing in His character and pursuing God-given gifts which, in our relationship with one another, empower the Body of Christ.

This added value develops as a consequence of the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we follow the commands of Jesus. At the fall man’s value was not lost but defiled through separation from our Creator. Jesus came to earth and died on a cross to bring reconciliation between God and His children, so we might once again know the full value of our God-created identity and destiny.

The world is not so sure about the intrinsic value of human life and has largely rejected the concept of sin and the damage this has caused. The Bible truths about innate human sin are increasingly replaced by the philosophy of innate human rights, and an assessment of value is based on celebrity.

Jesus loved His disciples simply because they were precious and therefore worth His death on a cross, but He also told them (in John 15:16) that He had chosen them in order that they would go and bear fruit, in other words that they would display the added value of His character growing in their lives. We are each a priceless work of divine creation, immensely valuable, but God wants to give us added value, if we are willing, by restoring us from the damage that sin has caused.

Prayer: Father God, I believe that I am extraordinarily precious but needing much repair. I choose today to lay my life afresh before You, in order that Your Spirit can grow the fruit of the character of Jesus within me and therefore glorify God in my body. Amen.

Daily Smile:

Confucius say: "man who run behind car get exhausted"...
"man who run in front of car get tired"

Happy Wednesday

What’s so important?

It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment… Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV)

It’s not enough to know that eternity is real or that we were created for it. There’s some more important information about eternity that God wants us to be aware of. In fact, it’s fair to say it’s the most important information that a person can ever receive.

“So what’s so important?”

As the Book of Hebrews tells us, eternity is a place where there will be judgment. The original Greek word used here for judgment conveys a sense of separation and division. And the more we examine what the Bible tells us about eternity, the more we see that people are going to be eternally separated into two groups.

That’s not a popular position to take. We’d like to think of everyone having the same eternal experience. But Jesus said there’s going to be a division that takes place in the afterlife.

In Luke 16, Christ describes two men who die. One of them, a rich man, had little regard for others or for the things of God. In eternity, he experienced affliction and anguish. But the other man, a poor beggar named Lazarus, went on to experience peace and joy in eternity.

What determined their eternal existence wasn’t their wealth or lack thereof. It was their attitude towards the things of God. One chose to disregard what the Scriptures had to say while the other put his trust in them. Jesus shared this because He wanted to show that our response to the truth contained in God’s Word determines how we’re judged in eternity.

There’s going to be a judgment in eternity, and it will be based on what we do with God’s truth—specifically, the truth that Jesus sacrificially died on our behalf to remove the guilt of our sins. We can choose to receive or reject this truth, and our choice will have an eternal impact.

Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many…for salvation. (Hebrews 9:28 NKJV)

Think About It…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?


Daily Smile"

Happy Tuesday

Sweating Outcomes

 

"In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for He grants sleep to those He loves." - Psalm 127:2 

Coming into the Promised Land in business will change the way you and I view our work. No longer will we see getting up early and staying up late as God's way. Living in the Promised Land in work means we know that God is the source of our provision and that our work is an act of worship to Him. Provision is a by-product, not an end in itself. Work is no longer something that must be sweated and toiled upon to make ends meet. "Could this really be true?" you might be saying. God has made it clear that obedience is the assurance of provision. Whenever we go beyond the normal workday due to fear of non-provision, we are operating in unbelief. We are saying that it is up to us to make things happen. Sure, there are times when we work longer hours due to a deadline, but we must be sure the motive is not out of fear of loss or fear of non-provision. If we are obedient to what God has called us to, He will provide our every need. This can be a hard lesson for goal-oriented workplace believers. 

I recall coming into this understanding. I had been a workaholic. Long hours were common. Then God shook up my world and I was challenged by a friend to examine my motives for working long hours. I realized the source of those long hours was fear. Once I came into this understanding, I refused to work long hours even though the natural man would tell me I'd never make things happen if I worked a normal work week. Again, this reasoning is based on a lack of faith. If we are obedient to what God has called each of us to, we will not lack. At times it may be less than what we might like; at other times it may be more than we deserve. These are God's ways. 

The Bible tells us to come out of Babylon. Babylon is a system of work and philosophy that is contrary to God's ways. Are you operating in any aspect of work from a Babylonian value system? Ask the Lord to reveal this to you. Begin to walk in the freedom He has given us in our work life.

Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

Daily Smile:

Little Johnny was not paying attention in class so the math teacher called on him and said, “Johnny! What are 5, 2, 28 and 40?” 

Little Johnny quickly replied, “NBC, CBS, HBO, and Cartoon Network!”

Happy Monday

Running With Endurance   

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

BIBLE MEDITATION:   “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.”  John 12:24

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
You can tell the size of a Christian by what it takes to stop him. Hebrews 12:1 says we are to “run with patience the race that is set before us.” And this word “patience” is not used in the sense that we use the word. It literally means “endurance.”

Everybody knows that a runner is going to win or lose primarily by his endurance. You cannot quit. When it hurts, you cannot quit. When your lungs are on fire, you cannot quit. When your feet feel like lead, you cannot quit. When your sides ache, you cannot quit! You’ll never be a spiritual athlete if you’re a quitter! No pain. No gain.

ACTION POINT:
His power will enable you to run the race and gain the victor’s crown!

Daily Smile:

A young man at this construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone based on his strength. He especially made fun of one of the older workman. After several minutes, the older worker had enough. 

"Why don't you put your money where you mouth is?" he said. "I'll bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to the other building that you won't be able to wheel back." 

"You're on, old man," the young man replied. "Let's see what you've got." 

The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then nodding to the young man, he said with a smile, "All right. Get in."

Happy Sunday

A Jewish Father's Concern

A Jewish father was concerned about his son who was about a year away from his Bar Mitzvah but was sorely lacking in his knowledge of the Jewish faith. To remedy this he sent his son to Israel to experience his heritage.

A year later the young man returned home. "Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers," the son said. "It was wonderful and enlightening, however, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity."

"Oy vey," replied the father, "what have I done." So in the tradition of the patriarchs, he went to his best friend and sought his advice and solace. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated his friend. "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian."

So in the tradition of the patriarchs, they went to the Rabbi. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated the Rabbi, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian. What is happening to our sons? Brothers, we must take this to the Lord," said the Rabbi. They fell to their knees and began to wail and pour out their hearts to the Almighty.

As they prayed the clouds above opened and a Mighty Voice stated "Amazing that you should come to Me. I, too, sent My Son to Israel....."

I hate to disappoint you!


"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1.

Are you one of those folks that have said at different times in your life-  "You know, if I could just see a sign; if I could just see a miracle, I'd believe in God. I'd get my life straight."

I hate to disappoint you!
But that's just not true.

Look at all those plagues in Egypt.
How did Pharaoh and the Egyptians respond?
Their hearts just got harder.

And look at what happened with the miracles of Jesus.
People witnessed Him raise a man from the dead and all they could think about was how to get rid of Him.

Most didn't change.
Their hearts just got harder and harder.

Throughout history, people's hearts haven't changed because they saw or experienced a miracle.
Miracles simply reveal if a person is hard-hearted toward God or if they have any inkling of faith.

Are you waiting for some sign or miracle to appear to give you the "proof" you're looking for to believe in God?

Remember-
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for."

The evidence for God's existence is everywhere.
What you have to decide is if you'll be open-minded enough to see it, see Him, then change your mind and believe.

Daily Smile:

Cooking Eggs 
A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen.

"Careful ... CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh no, no, no - you're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?" 
 The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving with you in the car."

 Read more of The StarLight News on line at

http://the-starlight-news.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading

Happy Saturday

Love Each Other

1 John 4:12 "No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Some people simply enjoy being with others. They make friends with strangers easily and always surround themselves with friends. Other people are shy or reserved. They have a few friends, and are frequently uncomfortable talking with people they don't know or mingling in crowds. Shy people don't need to become extroverts in order to love others. John isn't telling us how many people to love, but how much to love the people we know. Our job is to love faithfully the people God had given us to love, whether there are two or two hundred of them. If God sees that we are ready to love others, He will bring them to us. No matter how shy we are, we don't need to be afraid of the love commandment. God provides us the strength to do what He asks.

God, we thank You for the love You have given us to love others with.

Fill us with an extra dose of compassion, kindness, mercy and grace, as we love Your children.

Thank You for the people in our lives, Lord. May we love those in our lives with a faithful, Christ-centered love.

In Your Precious Name, Amen..

Have a blessed weekend!

In His Service,

April

Daily Smile:

When a little church stopped buying from the local stationer, he called the deacon to ask why, The deacon explained "Remember those pencils we ordered from you so that visitors could register?" 

"Sure," the stationer replied, "didn't you get them?" 

"Yes, but you sent us pencils from the country club that said, "Play Golf Next Sunday"

 Read more of The StarLight News on line at

http://the-starlight-news.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading

Happy Friday

HIS Pain, Your Gain

“We have so theologized the passion and death of this sacred man that we no longer see the slow unraveling of his tissue, the spread of gangrene, his raging thirst.” —Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

The images in the movie “The Passion of Christ” stunned us all. After decades of dissecting the meaning of the Cross, some of us had become desensitized to the fact that the crucifixion was all too real that day in Jerusalem: real whips, real nails, scarlet blood, steaming sweat, bitter tears—real suffering.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. —Isaiah 53:4-5

The writers of the Gospels don't go into the gory details of the Cross. They described His mode of torture and execution as quite a matter of fact. (Historians and Hollywood have willingly filled in the graphic descriptions.) Prior to the Cross, Jesus knew the normal demands and limitations of the human body. We don’t have an indication that He got sick, but He may have. We do see plenty of hunger, thirst, and being physically tired. He definitely understands physical suffering; He certainly sympathizes with our physical suffering.

The important thing is that Jesus is here and Jesus cares. And did something about it. Because of the suffering that He endured through His death on the Cross, we can know a peace that surpasses all comprehension, a joy in spite of our circumstances, and an intimacy with Him through that shared experience.

Lord Jesus, Isaiah predicted that You would carry my sorrows and take up my infirmities. So I leave them with You now. Thank You for the peace that was bought through Your punishment and the healing that I can know through Your wounds. I claim that now through faith in You! Amen.

Daily Smile:

A wife asks her husband, "Could you please go shopping for me and buy one gallon of milk, and if they have eggs, get 6."

A short time later the husband returns home with 6 cartons of milk. The wife asked him, "Why did you buy 6 gallons of milk?"

He replied, "They had eggs."


Editor's Note: And wives say, "We don't Listen"...

Happy Thursday

Expose the Decay

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9,

Recently I have had a lot of dental work done. I have had major dental work over the past 20 years; root canal treatment, crowns, teeth out. My teeth looked OK, but underneath each crown, decay had crept in and undermined the tooth. The poor dentist is in despair, for each time he looks under a crown he is met with decay.

It reminds me of the Christian life. On the outside appearance we may look FINE. On the inside we may feel "Fearful, Insecure, Neurotic & Emotional". We may put on the happy face but just under the surface our lives are full of decay (sin).

Sometimes we are not even aware it is there, until God allows our circumstances to show us what is really in our hearts. The cap comes off and the decay is exposed.

God wants to heal us and expose our hearts so that we can become more like Jesus. As my dentist works away at my teeth he is eventually replacing them with teeth that cannot decay. God wants to replace the lies and the deceit in our hearts with truth so that we can be shining vessels for Him. Dental work is painful and costly. So too is bringing health to our hearts, but the end results are worth it.

Prayer: Father God, please expose the decay in our hearts so that it can be cleaned out and restored to be more like Jesus. We understand that it will be painful and costly, but, Lord Jesus, for your sake, it is worth it. Amen.

Today's Writer : Diane Watson

Daily Smile:

Why did the nerd eat the fifth grader's math test??

Because it was a peace of cake!!

Happy Wednesday

Strong One 

by T. Suzanne Eller

“That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT)

The wind blew through my fingers as I held my hand outside the window. The bright sunshine seemed foreign after several days in the small hospital room.

My husband had insisted that I go home. “Take a long bath, babe. Take a nap in a real bed. I’ve got this.”

After four weeks, my world had shrunk to my son’s bedside, X-ray rooms, the therapy wing, and a dimly lit cafeteria in the basement. I had no idea how long my son would be in the hospital, or what awaited us when he was released. The doctors used phrases like, “It’s uncertain at this time.”

Before the drunk driver hit my son, I was strong. It wasn’t that my faith hadn’t been tested; it had. But this was my child, broken and battered at the hands of another, and I couldn’t fix it.

As I drove home, I heard these words deep in my spirit:

When you are weak, you are strong.

That didn’t make sense to me. I felt anything but strong.

When I arrived home I took my bath and a nap. Afterwards, I pulled out my Bible and flipped to the verse. And there it was. Paul’s words:

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The apostle suffered with a “thorn in the flesh.” Scripture doesn’t tell us what that was exactly, but we do know that it was something he couldn’t fix on his own. When he prayed, God reminded Paul that His power comes through when we are at our limits.

There was no mistaking it. Like Paul, I was at my weakest point. As a mom, I wanted nothing more than for my son to be okay and the wreck to be behind us. I wanted my son at home. I was exhausted by long nights on a too-small, too-thin cot, and days of caring for my child as he battled extreme pain.

Yet God was trying to tell me something. Something I hadn’t realized until that moment.

I didn’t have to be the strong one all the time. While I was caring for my son, God was caring for me.

It took a year of therapy and prayer to make my son well; there were many more weak moments ahead for this momma.

But in each, I paused and I whispered these words:

“When I am weak, then I am strong.”

My strength was not found in my own abilities or even my staying power. Instead, I was strong because God sustained me and filled me with His grace in the midst of the battle.

Sometimes, when that period of my life is brought up, friends remark, “Suzie, your faith was so real during that time.”

I can’t help but remind them that I was far from having it all together. What they were seeing was God’s grace and love poured over my weak places.

Are you struggling today? Do you feel weak? Whisper it with me:

“When I am weak, then I am strong.”

Daily Smile:
The Goodnight Kiss

At the end of their date, a young man takes the girl back to her home. He decides to try for that first kiss. With an air of confidence, he leans with his hand against the wall and, smiling, he says to her, "Darling, how 'bout a good night kiss?"

Embarrassed, she replies, "Oh, I couldn't do that. My parents will see us!"

"Oh come on! Who's gonna see us at this hour?"

"No, please. I would just die of embarrassment if someone saw us."

"Oh come on, there's nobody around, they're all sleeping!"

"No way. It's just too risky!"

"Oh please, please, I like you so much!!"

"No. I like you too, but I just can't!"

"Oh yes you can. Please?"

"NO, no. I just can't."

"Pleeeeease?..."

Out of the blue, the porch light goes on, and the girl's sister shows up in her pajamas, hair disheveled. In a sleepy voice the sister says: "Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. Or if need be, he'll come down himself and do it. But for crying out loud tell him to take his hand off the intercom button!"

Happy Tuesday

THE VALUE OF BIBLE STUDY

  by C. R. Stam

"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus"(II Tim. 3:15).

         Timothy was a fortunate young man. His father was not a believer in Christ, but his godly mother made up for this lack as, day after day, from his earliest childhood, she taught him the Word of God. As a result he came to know Christ at an early age and later became St. Paul's faithful co-worker and close associate in making known the wonderful "good news of the grace of God."

In his very last letter the great Apostle Paul recalls Timothy's "unfeigned faith... which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice" (II Tim. 1:5).

         If only we had more such mothers and grandmothers today, with husbands to help them! If only our American children were not set adrift on a restless sea of human speculation, but were taught the eternal truths of God's Word, the Bible!

         We all need to "know the Holy Scriptures," not only because they teach reverence for God and build moral character, but most of all because they "are able to make [us] wise unto salvation through faith... in Christ Jesus."

         The theme of the Bible, the Old Testament as well as New, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the riches of whose saving grace are unfolded to us in the Epistles of Paul, the chief of sinners saved by grace. It was to Paul that God committed the preaching of the cross of Christ. He it is who tells us about the riches that flow from Calvary. He it is who tells us, by divine inspiration that:

         "...WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH [CHRIST'S] BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE" (Eph. 1:7).

"THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 2:7).

Daily Smile: 

A guy to a friend: “After three sets golf clubs and ten years of lessons, I am finally getting some fun out of golf. I quit.”

Happy Monday

THE CROWN OF CREATION

By Dr. William Hallman

Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26-31; 2:7; Psalm 8

Whence came man on the earth? Did he develop, through untold billions of years, from a simple form of one-celled life? Science can prove no such thing. If evolution were true it would be in continuous operation, and there would be forms of life half-way from the ape to man. How good to turn to this record, and find that this original creation presents both animals and man as coming by direct creative fiat or decree by God.

Man was created, first of all, by God's Sovereign Power. "And God said, Let us make man," ... "And the Lord God formed man. " It is Elohim, the triune God, Who in consultation, acted to create man. Here is unity of purpose, a unanimous decision made in Heaven by the Trinity to create man. What a noble thing it is to have our beginning in a direct creation from above, rather than from the scum of the pond below!

Man was also created through God's Sovereign Process. "Let us make man in our image, after our Iikeness, .... male and female created He them. "The Image Dei, the image of God, is the chief possession of man which relates him to God. It is man alone, who like God, is self-conscious, with ability to rationalize, to create, and to make moral judgments. The "image" establishes relationship; while the "likeness" establishes similarity of character. God takes from the ground and forms a body; then breathes into this body His breath of lives. Man then comes forth as a living soul. Here he stands the crown of God's creation.

Man is created in the third place by God's Sovereign Purpose. Physically, "God made man upright" (Eccl. 7:29). The actual form that sinful man still bears (Gen. 9:6; I Cor. 11:7) was the form that God the Creator took in the person of Jesus Christ. Mentally, man had absolute power to have dominion over, and subdue the earth; also he had wisdom to name every living creature. He was also a moral being with power of choice; not a mechanical entity. Truly we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psa. 139:14). Meditate upon and rejoice in such passages as 2 Cor. 3:18; Col.3:10; Rom. 8:29. 

Daily Smile:

I hear the boys are gonna strike," one worker told another.

"What for?" asked the friend.

"Shorter hours."

"Good for them. I always did think 60 minutes was too long for an hour."  

Happy Sunday

SAFELY IN

By Miles Stanford

"You are made partakers of His resurrection, through the faith wrought in you by God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12, Cony.).

All true believers are gratefully aware that they are not going to hell, but few realize that they are already in heaven.

"There is no question about there being a beautiful new position for the believer, but people limit it to its being theirs when they die. Scripture shows that it is ours now! People say, 'You get to heaven when you die.' No such thing. You have it now. It is not your death that entitles you to it, but the Lord Jesus' death. There is not a single shade that was between us and the Father, but the Lord Jesus has removed in His death." -J.B.S.

"The great work of the Lord Jesus was wrought on the Cross to bring us to the Father; His death and His Blood, His ascension and sitting on the Throne; all mean one thing - our being brought nigh to dwell in the Father's presence. And with what object? That the Father may have us, to mature us, to work in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight. Let no one think that the entrance into the Holiest is the end; it is only the beginning. It brings us into the right position, in which the Father in His divine power can work out His will and purpose in us conforming us to the image of His Son." -A.M.

"The Lord Jesus stood where I was, and now I stand where He is, and that is the only place I have before my Father. We may fail and grieve the Holy Spirit, but that is where we are set." -J.N.D.

"If there be progress upward there must be progress in life and ways down here; you cannot see the need for a change in your ways here until you are transformed by the influence of nearness to Him there. You thus gradually find things here are not suitable for the order and nature of the things which are so attractive to the renewed heart up there." -J.B.S.

"Your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). 

Daily Smile:

Q: How many politicians does it take to change a light bulb?

A: We don't know. They're still arguing about it.