Happy Thursday

THE ONENESS OF PRAYER

By M. Stanford

"And we have an assured confidence that whenever we ask anything in accordance with His will, He listens to us" (1 John 5:14, Wey.).

The Christian life is the expression of the Lord Jesus Christ through the believer to men in the world, and in the church. The prayer life is the expression of the Spirit of Christ through the believer to the Father in Heaven. As there is growth in Christ, there will increasingly be prayer in the Spirit (Rom. 8:26).

"Through the Lord Jesus every true believer is united to God in Heaven by a life-link. We are not praying down here on earth to One who is a long way off in Heaven. We are one with Him there and He is one with us here! The devil is all the time trying to create a sense of distance between us and the Lord: but there is no distance between if we abide in Christ, for no one can be closer to the Father than the Son, and we are in Him!" - T.L.M.

"Efficacious prayer is to the glory of the Father (John 14:13), in the Name of the Son (John 14:14), and in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26, 27). Compliance with these conditions insures that the human will is in agreement with the divine will. Transforming things, mighty indeed, are wrought by prayer, but only such things as comport with the will and purpose of God." - L.S.C.

"If we want our own way we will find that everything is against us; but if we have chosen that God shall be sovereign in our lives then everything is for us."

"And since we know that He listens to us, then whatever we ask, we know that we have the things which we have asked from Him" (1 John 5:15, Wey.).

Daily Smile:

One day, a Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Chemical Engineer and Computer Engineer were driving down the street in the same car. All of a sudden, the car broke down. 

The Mechanical Engineer said, "I think a rod broke." 

The Chemical Engineer said, "The way it sputtered at the end, I don't think it's getting gas." 

The Electrical Engineer said, "I think there was a spark and something is wrong with the electrical system." 

All three turned to the computer engineer and said, "What do you think?" 

The Computer Engineer said, "I think we should all get out and get back in."

  

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The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
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Deadline for the July '12 Edition is June 15th... 

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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy Wednesday

UNWARRANTED DISAPPOINTMENT

By Miles Stanford

"Oh, wretched man that I am!" (Rom. 7:24).

The result of, and penalty for, reliance upon the flesh, is Romans Seven. The result of, and reward for, dependence upon the Holy Spirit, is Romans Eight.

"Self-disappointment is a very different thing from self-judgment. Indeed, if there were true self-judgment there would never have to be self-disappointment. If in honesty and sobriety of heart I have judged 'that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing,' I shall certainly not expect anything from myself, and it has been well said that where there is no expectation there can be no disappointment.

"But I feel sure that many young believers, and I dare say some old ones too, are very familiar with the wretched and depressing experience of self-disappointment. They have made many fresh starts; they have often been stirred up, and have made up their minds to be more for Christ; they have thought, 'I shall do better now; I am more earnest about it than I was before'; but it has all ended in disappointment.

"They have no idea that they are trying to improve themselves; they would repudiate such a thought; they suppose that they know better than to look for good in themselves. And yet their disappointment is the plain proof that, in spite of all their knowledge of Scripture, they have expected to make themselves different, for they are disappointed because they have not succeeded in doing so." --C.A.C.

"The soul that turns back upon itself to learn God's judgment about it, and what His dealings with it are likely to be, is not leaning upon what the Father is - is not standing in grace. Neither our joy nor our peace is dependent on what we are to Him, but on what He is to us - and this is grace." --J.N.D.

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him" (Ps. 62:5).

Daily Smile:

You Might Be A Redneck If

You trim your beard and find a French fry.

You use a piece of bread as a napkin.

Your birth announcements included the words "rug rat".

Your car alarm eats dog food.

Your car burns more oil than gas.


Your flashlight holds more than four batteries.

Your horse can count higher than you.

  

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The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
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Devotionals, Recipes, Jokes, Full Color Hurricane Map and More... 

Deadline for the July '12 Edition is June 15th... 

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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy Tuesday

BE, TO DO
By Miles Stanford

"The Spirit of truth takes of what is Mine and will make it known to you" (John 16:15, Wey.).

Fruitful service results from growth, not works. All sharing must be motivated and governed by life: "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:2).

"The Holy Spirit came to reproduce the Lord Jesus in the lives of men and women. The Church is that or it is nothing; the teaching relates to that, or it has no meaning. Any movement of the Spirit is in that direction, or we have entirely misunderstood. He came to conform us to the image of the Son; everything has to be tested by that.

"All our activities and efforts and energies and expenditures; all our sacrifices, our movements and our teaching: everything that has become a part of 'Christianity' has to be measured by the one rule - is it resulting in the reproduction of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of men and women, so that it is demonstrated from heaven that He is as truly here in this world now as ever He was in history?" T.A-S.

"It is a mistake to measure spiritual maturity merely by the presence of gifts. They may be present and they may be valuable, but the Spirit's object is something far greater - to form the Lord Jesus Christ in us through the work of the Cross. It is not merely that a man does certain things or speaks certain words, but that he is a certain kind of man. In the long run it is what we are, and not simply what we say or do - and the difference lies in the formation of the Lord Jesus within."

"The Father first uses the active talents of His servants; then He polishes the other side of the stone, making the passive graces shine - patience, meekness, etc."

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal. 4:19).

Daily Smile:

To My Loving Wife

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida for a long weekend to thaw out during one particularly icy winter. Because both had jobs, they had difficulty coordinating their travel schedules. It was decided that the husband would fly to Florida on a Thursday, and his wife would follow him the next day. Upon arriving as planned, the husband checked into the hotel. There he decided to open his laptop and send his wife an e-mail back in Minneapolis. However, he accidentally left off one letter in her address, and sent the e-mail without realizing his error.

In Houston, a widow had just returned from her husband's funeral. He was a minister of many years who had been 'called home to glory' following a heart attack. The widow checked her e-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends. Upon reading the first message, she fainted and fell to the floor. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
From: Your Departed Husband 
Subject: I've Arrived!

I've just arrived and have checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

(P.S. Sure is hot down here!)
Shelly

  

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The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy Monday

SIN vs. SINS

By late Bob Hanna

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:12,13

"There is none righteous, no, not one ... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10,23). The apostle Paul, though the most faithful of all saints of God, wrote of himself, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18). And King David confessed, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalms 51 :5).

No unregenerate human being can claim God's approval or eligibility for eternity in His presence. Salvation cannot be attained by good works or moral principles. Even if it were possible to live a life of perfection (which it is not), this wouldn't purchase a ticket to heaven. If one were capable of never having committed any sins, such a performance would not qualify him to be called righteous. Why? Because the issue is not a matter of sins, but of sin -- the state of sin.

Our·father Adam willed us his guilt and condemnation. "Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). This inherent guilt places condemnation on every descendant of Adam, " ... even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression" (Romans 5: 14). Guilt by association!

Thank God, He provided a solution to our hopeless condition. "For if by one man's [Adam's] offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

Daily Smile:

Johnny's Dust

After church, Johnny tells his parents he has to go and talk to the minister right away. They agree and the pastor greets the family.

 "Pastor," Johnny says, "I heard you say today that our bodies came from the dust."

"That's right, Johnny, I did."

"And I heard you say that when we die, our bodies go back to dust."

"Yes, I'm glad you were listening. Why do you ask?"

"Well you better come over to our house right away and look under my bed 'cause there's someone either comin' or goin'!"

  

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Happy Sunday

Three Relationships that Make Us Rich

Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:13-15).

This man came to Jesus to get him to "sort his brother out" over the inheritance, not realizing that his brother was the real treasure in his life - not the things he might inherit.

Here are three relationships that make us rich:

1. Our relationship with God. To know God makes you rich, no matter what material resources you may or may not have.

Some of those that the world would call rich are actually bankrupt when it comes to the most important treasure of all.

2. Our relationship with others. People, not things, are the real treasures in life. I can honestly say that I am a rich man. I have family and friends that I love and that love me. Things lose their meaning, and serve as a very poor substitute for relationships with people.

3. Our relationship with our own heart. Commune with your own heart… declares the psalmist in Psalm 4:4 (KJV). 

That means hold some serious communication with your heart—get acquainted with your heart. Don't let you and your own heart be strangers!

Daily Smile:

A young woman went to her doctor complaining of pain.
"Where are you hurting?" asked the doctor."You have to help me, I hurt all over", said the woman.

"What do you mean, all over?" asked the doctor, "be a little more specific."

The woman touched her right knee with her index finger and yelled, "Ow, that hurts." Then she touched her left cheek and again yelled, "Ouch! That hurts, too." Then she touched her right earlobe, "Ow, even THAT hurts", she cried. The doctor checked her thoughtfully for a moment and told her his diagnosis, "You have a broken finger."

  

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Happy Saturday

Defeating Sin

by Scott Morton

Though it seems counter-intuitive, sin is not defeated by focusing on getting rid of it. Rather, focus on replacing it with something that is pleasing to God.

A friend once tested my concentration ability. "Forget about the number 13," he said. "OK," I replied, eager to prove myself. "I'm avoiding 13 starting now!"

He paused a moment, then asked, "What number did I tell you to forget?"

"Uh … 13," I stammered.

"And what number are you thinking of now?" he asked.

Oops!

Psalm 34:14 says, "Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." When we do good, evil departs. To eliminate a sinful pattern, find a God-pleasing substitute. But first, submit to God. In the past I tried hard to "resist the devil" as James 4:7 instructs. It wasn't working! I had overlooked the first phrase of James 4:7, which says, "Submit to God." Resisting without submitting won't work! First, submit in simple prayer, then substitute.

Daily Smile:

A new business was opening, and one of the owner’s friends sent flowers for the occasion. But when the owner read the card with the flowers, it said. “Rest in Peace”

The owner was little upset and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist about the obvious mistake, the florist said, “Sir, I’m really sorry for the mistake, but rater than getting angry, you should imagine this: Somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, “Congratulations on you new location.” 

  

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The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy Friday

Secure in the Arms of Jesus

BIBLE MEDITATION:   “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A Christian is not somebody who merely believes that Christ died for his sins. The devil believes that. A Christian is somebody who has repented of his sins and invited Christ into his heart to be his Savior and Lord.

You can intellectually believe that an airplane can fly, but in order to fly you must try out its wings. In the same way, when you give your heart to Jesus Christ, He takes control of your life and begins to make you into the person He wants you to be.

Your life doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect for you to go to heaven. At the moment you trust Christ as your personal Savior, you are eternally saved, eternally secure, and God begins to work on you.

ACTION POINT:
Isn’t it wonderful to know you are saved? Now, spread the word of that assurance to a neighbor today.

Daily Smile:

  

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The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy Thursday

PERSONAL INFLUENCE

by M. Stanford

"I proclaim not myself, but Christ Jesus as Lord and Master, and myself your bondsman for the sake of Jesus" (2 Cor. 4:5, Cony.).

"God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts" (2 Cor. 4:6a).

All Christians are fit for heaven, but all too few are fit for earth. One of the true tests of one's spiritual growth is in one's influence: affecting others that they not only begin the Christian life, but "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).

"We may be separated and yet not Christ like; we may be orthodox and yet not spiritual; we may be 'dead unto sin' and yet not 'alive unto God.' We may have cut ourselves loose from every form of worldliness but in so doing we have become critical and self-righteous. We may be loyal defenders of the faith, yea, ready even to lay down our lives for it and in so doing become bitter and unloving. "

"We may often have a measure of the power of the Spirit, but if there is not a large measure of the Spirit as the Spirit of grace and love, the defect will be manifest in our work. We may be made the means of conversion, but we will never help people on to a higher standard of spiritual life, and when we pass away a great deal of our work will pass away too." -A.M.
 
"One may have a great zeal in God's service, and may be used to influence many for good, and yet, when weighed in the balance of love, be found sadly wanting. In the heat of controversy or under unjust criticism, haste of temper, slowness to forgive and forget, quick words and sharp judgments, often reveal an easily wounded sensitiveness, which proves how little the Spirit of the Lord Jesus has full possession or real mastery of the life." -A.M.


"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Cor. 4:7).

Daily Smile:
A doctor calls his patient and says; the check you gave me for my bill came back.
The patient replied: So did my arthritis!

  

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The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy Wednesday

HANDICAPPED FOR CHRIST

By M. Stanford

"My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness" (II Cor. 12:9) .

In self we are crippled; in Christ we conquer. The secret is to face up to the former, and rest in the latter. The disadvantaged believer has all the advantage - he knows it must be "not I, but Christ."

"It is a great step when the believer fully consents to his own weakness, and the abiding consciousness of it, and so works faithfully on, fully assured that his Lord is working through him. He rejoices that the excellence of the power is of God, and not of us. Realizing his oneness with his Lord, he considers no longer his own weakness, but counts on the power of Him of whose hidden working within he is assured.

"It is this secret assurance that gives a brightness to his look, and a gentle firmness to his tone, and a perseverance to all his efforts, which of themselves are great means of influencing those he is seeking to win. He goes forth in the spirit of one to whom victory is assured; for this is the victory that overcometh, even our faith. He no longer counts it humility to say that God cannot bless his unworthy efforts. He claims and expects a blessing, because it is not he, but Christ in him, that worketh. The great secret of abiding in Christ is the deep conviction that we are nothing, and He is everything." - A.M.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (II Cor. 3:5).


Daily Smile:
Everybody should pay their taxes with a smile, said Bob. “I tried it but they wanted cash.”

  

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Happy Tuesday

Look who wants to takeover your life                                                        by Sumner Wemp

In Acts 1 the Savior went up, in Acts 2 the Spirit came down and in Acts 3-28 the saints went out. God gave me this outline many years ago and it has helped me greatly

Jesus sat down
He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, Mk 16:19, Acts 2:33, Rom 8:34, Col 3:1, Heb 1:3. Why did He sit down? He finished what He came to do! Ten days later He sent the Holy Spirit to take up where He left off. The Holy Spirit came to take over. This is crucial for us to understand and act accordingly.

He shall glorify me
When we understand this and let the Holy Spirit take over, "He shall glorify me" John 16:14. Here is the key for believers to glorify the Lord Jesus.

What we ask Jesus to do
We ask Jesus to comfort us. We sing, "Jesus when I need Him most, Jesus is near to comfort and cheer." NO, the Holy Spirit is our comforter today. "I will pray the Father" said Jesus, "and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" John 14:16. Jesus went away and sat down.

Led by the Spirit
"We sing, "Jesus Savior, pilot me" or "Jesus led me all the way." God said we are to be led by the Spirit today Rom 8:14 "for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." That is not to take away anything from the Lord Jesus. Remember, "He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify me" Jn. 16:14. We do not talk to the lost man about the Holy Spirit. We tell Him about Jesus suffering and dying for his sins and rising from the dead. Jesus is the Savior for the lost and the Spirit is the power for the saved. "To be rightly related to the Savior makes you a Christian, to be rightly related to the Spirit makes you a spiritual Christian" L. S. Chafer.
.
He is the power
Our worship, our work, our witnessing today is to be done in the conscious dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. THIS IS THE KEY. More to come. Don't miss the next step.

Good news, God love you and me, the Lord Jesus suffered and died for our sins, paid our debt in full, rose again and was seen by hundreds. This gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every who believes this will get them to heaven. "Believest thou this? 

Daily Smile:

A guy walks in to the Barbershop. Barber says, "What will it be today?" Guy says, "well I want it going with my waves on top, faded on one side, plug the other, and just make it all out of shape and messed up." Barber says, "Now why in the world do you want your hair cut like that."

Guy says, "That’s how you cut it last time"

  

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"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Memorial Day Weekend - Happy Monday

“The Deception of a Sinful Society”

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" - Isaiah 5:20

In this day and age we live in the things that our hearts, and most importantly, the WORD OF GOD tell us are EVIL (sin), our society now calls GOOD. 

The things our society calls EVIL (Christian beliefs) are things our hearts and the WORD OF GOD say are GOOD.

One example of this is found in homosexuality. The Bible clearly calls it sin/evil (an abomination - Leviticus 18:22) yet today our society says IT IS GOOD!

Another example is found in abortion.
The Bible clearly says the BABY in the womb is a BABY (with RIGHTS), and is a living human. But the evil act of abortion is called GOOD by society, as “after all, it is a fetus a piece of tissue, not a baby”, and also it would be BAD (evil) if they say to bring “it” (being as they call it a fetus) into the world if unwanted by the mother or parents.

We BIBLE believing Christians are called EVIL for taking a stand for morality against the murdering of millions of babies (abortion), etc…

Likely, my taking a stand against homosexuality and abortion will cause me to lose some readers, but it is TRUTH!

Yet believing the TRUTH does not make me not love (with God's love) the homosexual, the abortionist, or the person having the abortion because my heart goes out to them as the devil has had them believe a LIE.  I love them and all others and pray that anyone who does not know Jesus will come to know Him.

Yet our LOVING people who do wrong (sin, evil) doesn’t mean it makes their sin okay!
SIN is SIN and we must start calling it as it is!

Our society and our nation don’t need a weak church (i.e., Christians), but a church that will call evil evil, good good, dark dark, etc...

These are only two areas of concern where we see THE DECEPTION OF A SINFUL SOCIETY. There are many more examples that we can think of that this verse would apply to.

In closing,
I sense an urgency that we who are Christians need to be living the truth, sharing the truth, and praying for a society that is so in need of GOD.

It starts with US (you and me)!
Let us proclaim God's truth in the face of darkness.

As one minister of the Gospel put it,
“America you're too young to die!”
and as another minister put it,
“If God does not judge the sin of this nation, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Christians we need to take a stand for the TRUTH as revealed in the Bible and Christians we need to Pray for our society here and around the world!
============================================
Please take these words to heart and feel free to pass this, or any of my devotions, on to others. All I ask is that you use them in their entirety.

In His Service,
Jim (BibleFood@aol.com)

Daily Smile:

Two Musicians’ in a major symphonic orchestra were discussing who they thought the LEAST talented musician in the band was. 

One of them said; that’s easy. See that guy standing in the back? Well, we just put two sticks in his hands and we call him a Drummer. 

The other responded; well, if we take one stick away, we call him a Conductor!

  

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Have a Safe & Enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend...

"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Memorial Day Weekend - Happy Sunday

Today's Thought:

You are not tempted because you are evil; you are tempted because you are human. Fulton J. Sheen

I will confess him before my Father in heaven! WOW
sumner wemp

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven" Matt 10:32. That is an awesome statement. He will confess us before the Father. WOW. Get them to confess the Lord Jesus publicly. It really helps confirm their salvation and what a blessing it is to them and the whole church.

It is a terrible tragedy that this practice is not being done too often in churches today. People go into a prayer room and you never see or hear what they did. To see them weeping and hear them tell they just got saved is a BIG highlight in their lives and in the church.

The night I was saved, March 28, 1940, I was so under conviction I could hardly stand it. The pastor gave an invitation every service for people to come forward who wanted to be saved and let someone talk to them and help them to be sure of their salvation. I went forward, the pastor told me how to be saved, prayed with me and God saved me.

What I did not know was that for the three weeks I had been going to church, word got out to everyone about this boy who wasn't saved. The whole church was praying for me. I could not have gone to hell if I had tried, so many people were praying for me. That, is a big secret to seeing people saved personally and in churches. I see a lot of people get saved because I pray earnestly for souls every day. You do the same and you will see the same. "Ye have not because you ask not" James 4:2. It is as simple as that.

Father, what a joy to openly confess You as our Father and Jesus as our Savior. May it be so to every child of God. In Jesus name

Go to www.sumnerwemp.com and see all the new material. 
ABC sumner

Daily Smile:

Two guys were riding in a car, arguing about how to say the name of the city that they were in. One said "Louieville" and the other "Louiseville." They went on arguing and arguing, until they came upon a fast-food restaurant. 

The one guy goes inside and says to the waitress, "Tell me the name of the place where I am right now really, really, really slowly."

The waitress goes, "Bur-ger-King."

  

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Memorial Day Weekend - Happy Saturday

This One Thing I Do

To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me. - Colossians 1:29

The apostle Paul is remembered for many things: He was a great Bible teacher, a brilliant theologian, and a church planter par excellence. But all these things were an outgrowth of the primary focus of his life:

"We proclaim [Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" (Colossians 1:28-29).

When we observe the life of Paul, we don't see a man who meandered through life saying, "These forty things I dabble at." Instead, we see a man of focus who said, "This one thing I do."

We never see Paul losing his passion and excitement for his goal.

Notice how he speaks of his work of bringing people to Christ and building them up in the faith. The word he uses for labor is kopiao, which means to work until you are ready to drop. Then he uses the word agonizomai, which means to strive, to struggle, to agonize. But he speaks of doing the work through God's energy.

Christian, what about you? Does the prospect of walking with Christ and serving Him start your day with excitement and anticipation?

You don't have to be an evangelist or a missionary. All it takes is a clear focus on the person of Jesus Christ and what He has called you to do in your family, your job, your life.

Why not give yourself to the task of winning people to Christ and helping them grow to their full maturity in Christ.

Lord, may my walk be consistent through Your energy and power. Amen.

The focus of your life determines how you go through each day.

Daily Smile:

Editor's Note: As I work, I tend to whistle... Just one hymn can get me through hours of work, and sometimes the entire day... This morning is no exception as I "Go, Tell It On The Mountain"...

Whistling Hymn Of The Moment:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain

Over silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Saviour's birth:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And God send us salvation,
That blessed Christmas morn:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

  

Spread The Word!!!


The June '12 Edition of The StarLight News can be read on line at 
http://the-starlight-news.blogspot.com/... 

Happy Reading and 
Have a Safe & Enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend...

"Spreading GOD'S WORD, One Paper At A Time"

Happy, Happy Friday

Don't Lose Out

In 1 Samuel 15:18-19, 24-26, Samuel, the prophet, comes to King Saul, and this is what he says,

"Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, `Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?  Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"… Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD."  But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."

Saul disobeyed God and then lied about it, tried to cover it, and tried to shift the blame to the people. Did you notice that part? Why?  Because he feared the people.

Because of the fear of man, Samuel said to him, "You have lost your place." Later on he says, "God has found a man better than you, a man after His own heart." And He chose David to replace Saul as the king of Israel.

I want you to think about this: God had promised Saul that his seed would sit on the throne, but it was a conditional promise God gave to him.

Saul lost out because of his disobedience caused by the fear of man, and so did his offspring! And David, a better man than Saul, ended up on the throne of Israel, through whom our Savior came.

If the fear of man can rob us of our destiny and affect our offspring, just think what faith in God can do!

Daily Smile:

A sweet little boy surprised his grandmother one morning and brought her a cup of coffee. He made it himself and was so proud. He anxiously waited to hear the verdict on the quality of the coffee. The grandmother had never in her life had such a bad cup of coffee, and as she forced down the last sip she noticed three of those little green army guys in the bottom of the cup.

She asked, "Honey, why would three little green army guys be in the bottom of my cup?"

Her grandson replied, "You know grandma, it's like on TV, 'The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup.'"

Editor's Note:
     The June '12 Edition of StarLight News should be online for you to read... Go to http://the-starlight-news.blogspot.com/

and Happy Reading
Richard 

Happy Thursday

Repentance

 

As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways – Ezekiel 33:11

Many times people can misunderstand the sovereignty of God and assume that God is pleased with all that He allows to happen in the world. We might even presume that God condones some sin in which we are engaged, even though He expressly forbids it in His Word.

You may have been justifying to yourself a particular sin, or even a sinful way of life, by telling yourself that if God wanted you to change then He would let you know. But He has! He tells us in His Word: "turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways."

Have you been listening to God and to His Word or have you been following the dictates of your sinful nature, your corrupt conscience, your lustful desires? Know for a certainty that God is not for a moment pleased with your rationalized rebellion.

On the other hand, God delights to see wicked sinners turn from their rebellious ways and live. It is, of course, He who gives them the strength to do so in the first place.

Sinner, there are only two ways before you: the life that is found in pleasing God or the death that is found in your current way of wickedness. Turn from your way and live.

Daily Smile:

A truck driver is driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads “Low Bridge Ahead.” Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under it. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, “Got stuck, huh?” 

The truck driver says, “No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas.”

Happy Wednesday

Not Ashamed

I have a question to ask you today. Has there ever been a time when you were afraid to confess the name of Jesus? In John 9:20-23, we have the example of the parents whose son had been born blind but was healed by Jesus.

Look at their response when asked who healed their son, His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

How many Christians have held their tongue when they should have been giving praise to the name of Jesus? Praise for answered prayer, for the miracles He has done, but they were intimidated by unbelievers?

I was coming back from village after ministering there when a Muslim man on the bus put a blanket on the floor, got down on his face and began to pray. This man was not ashamed at all about kneeling down on the bus in front of everyone.

I thought, "Oh, Jesus! How many times have Your people kept silent because they were afraid of what someone might think of them?"

Throw off the shackles of fear and timidity, and boldly take your stand for Christ!

Proverbs 28:1 says, The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Daily Smile:

Happy Tuesday

The Flight of Geese

 

"Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." - 2 Chronicles 30:12

A major corporation conducted a study on the flight of geese. In their study they found that geese fly in a "V" formation with one goose in the lead. After a period of time, this goose relinquishes the lead to another goose. During flight they noticed head movements of the leader that seem to give signals to the other geese flying, perhaps to let the others know how he was doing. They estimate that the formation flight pattern reduces wind drag due to the lift the other birds receive and believe it increases their performance by up to 70 percent. Whenever one goose drops out, another goes with it. These two geese do not catch up to the original pack, but join another group later. 

Independence is one of the strongholds of the workplace. The entire system feeds the desire within us to gain recognition from our individual achievements. We wrongly believe financial independence frees us from needing to depend on anyone else. The fact is dependence on others is a good thing. It can bring us into a unity of spirit that accomplishes much more with less effort while meeting needs for each of us. Christ talked a lot about unity among brothers and sisters. He said that others would know we are Christians by our love for one another and by our unity. We need to depend on others so that we don't go it alone. By walking together we increase our strength. By going it alone we must carry a load we were never intended to carry. God did not create us to go it alone. By joining together we accomplish more for Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord today if there is an independent spirit within you that prevents you from joining others in the mission He has called you to.

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

Daily Smile:

Happy Monday

Rescue!

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears… He reached down from on high and took hold of me … He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."
Psalm 18:6, 16, 19, NIV

Our garden overlooks a small lake which is inhabited by various water birds. One morning recently I looked out of the window and saw a family of mallards waddling across our lawn – a mother with eleven tiny newly hatched ducklings. They went round the corner of our house, but as I continued to watch them the mother duck saw me and immediately scurried off, calling to her brood to follow, which they did – all except one. There is a gap between the wall of our house and a flowerbed, and one adventurous, independent little duckling had fallen into it. The walls were too steep for him to scramble back up, and his wings were not yet properly formed, so he was stuck there, desperately squeaking to his mother for help. His mother was quacking back at him, but there was nothing she could do to rescue him. He needed help from on high – in this case me!

I reached down and gently scooped him up in my hands and put him down on the lawn. He scuttled off back to his family, and there was a joyful reunion! I felt a great sense of joy and satisfaction at having saved the little duckling and spared the anguish of the mother.

As I reflected on the episode I felt God speaking to me about His joy in rescuing us. We can find ourselves in desperate situations (often of our own making), but as we cry out to God He will reach down from on high, take hold of us and bring us out.

Today’s verses from Psalm 18 show that He not only rescues us, but that He does so because He delights in us. As I cradled the tiny duckling in my hands, I marveled at how beautiful it was with its soft fluffy down and intricate markings. As I delighted in it, I was reminded of the tenderness of the Father and the delight that He has in us.

Do you believe today that He can rescue you from whatever pit you may find yourself in, and that He does it because He delights in you?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that You delight in me and that You can rescue me from any pit. Please take hold of me today and bring me out of the desperate situation I find myself in. Forgive me for the part I played in getting into this situation, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
by Jilly Lyon Taylor

Daily Smile:

 

Happy Sunday

Missing the mark!

"To give His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins..." Luke 1:77.

If you're not a Christian, but you've been around Christians, you've probably heard the term "gospel."

But, what does it mean?

Well, first, it means God loves you.

He has a purpose for your life.

He wants you to have a meaningful life.

Everybody likes the sound of that!

Unfortunately, we often have a problem personally experiencing God's love-

- because we're separated from God due to the sin in our lives.

"Sin" is missing the mark of God's best for our life.

It's living life our way versus God's way.

The solution is Jesus.

He died for our sins.

He rose from the dead, proving He is God.

He is the way to God.

This calls for a decision to believe Jesus is who He says He is-

- and to trust Christ alone for salvation and abundant life.

That's it.

That's the gospel.

Do you believe it?

The gospel is the good news of salvation-

- following the bad news of our sin problem.

I hope you'll believe it and receive it. 

Daily Smile:

A college roommate of mine was doing her student teaching. While she watched the second graders practice their writing, a little boy raised his hand to get her attention.

"Teacher, how do you spell 'sex'?"

Startled at the question, my friend made her way to his desk and quietly asked, "What word did you want me to help you spell?"

The little boy replied, "I have the first part--I-N--but I don't know how to spell the whole word--'Insects.'" 

Happy Saturday

Bad news for you!

You look good on the outside.

But  God looks at your inside!

Inside your heart-

- it’s a dirty mess!

Religious inside!

But rebellious outside!!

I’ve got bad news for you.

Jesus hates religious pretense. 

Christianity is not a religion!

Christianity is a relationship!!

But there’s also good news. 

God loves the pretenders. 

He gave His life for hypocrites like you and me. 

The end of being a religious pretenders is to admit our sin separates us from God-

- then ask Christ’s forgiveness; 

- then believe He’s your only hope for change, to be right with God. 

And here’s the irony: 

When we begin to be more real with God and with others, we begin to be more like Jesus. 

He’s the only person who has ever lived without any trace of pretense.

Daily Smile:

A Dutchman was explaining the red, white, and blue Netherlands flag to an American.

"Our flag is symbolic of our taxes. We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bills, and blue after we pay them."

The American nodded. "It's the same in the USA only we see stars, too!"