Come to VBS
Mark 2:1-11
We had another great night last night at Vacation Bible School. It’s hard to imagine how quickly the week goes by when you are doing those kind of things. You have been planning all the activities for so long, and when it gets underway, before you know it you are at the half way mark. That’s the case tonight. We started Sunday night, and after tonight we will have only two nights left and this year’s Vacation Bible School will be history.
We are learning a lot of great things. Last night we looked at a different perspective from a familiar Bible story, the story of some friends of a paralyzed guy carrying him in to see Jesus. Most of you remember the story of the man who was let down through the roof to see Jesus. These friends were so determined to get their friend where he needed to be, they carried him the distance to see Jesus. When they realized the lines were long, they went up on the roof and cut a hole to lower him down through.
How much would we do for our friends so that they could be where they need to be? I hope we would do the same for them. The Bible tells about serving one Master. We would like to think we are nobody’s servant, but the Bible says that everybody is somebody’s servant--either we are serving God and good, or we are serving the devil and bad, but we are serving somebody. It’s up to us to choose who we will serve. Joshua of old said, “Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” I hope that’s our decision today that we will serve the Lord. That certainly was the case with these friends of the paralyzed man. They wanted to serve the Lord and they wanted to serve this man, and when they brought the two together, wonderful things happened as a result of their actions.
The same is true of us. As a result of our actions on God’s behalf of being a friend to those around us, then we can see great things happen. We can see our friends whom we thought would never become Christians accept the Lord. We can see our friends who may have fallen away from God come back. We can see all this happen before our very eyes, and think, “Wow, what a blessing it is just to get to see this.” You see, God works through us.
You might say, “I don’t have any friends.” Of course, the guiding principal here is, “If you want friends, you have to be a friend. Maybe we ought to try today to be friendly to people. Maybe you know someone today who has not been able to get connected, and for whatever reason it is very hard to make friends. Today is the day to start trying. Just think, “I’m going to treat him the way I want to be treated, and see how it goes.” I think you will be surprised at what you see.
Being a friend is a Biblical principal that we should apply every day of our lives, just like the biblical principal of Faith + Obedience = Salvation is to be applied in our lives. Faith put into action with obedience is pleasing to God and it’s that principal that works for our salvation.
I hope you will come and be with us for Vacation Bible School tonight. I hope you will continue the idea of serving. Tonight we will be talking about “The Good Samaritan”. It will be from 6:30-8:30pm at the Elba Church of Christ. Come be with us.
~Philip
29 June 2010
28 June 2010
MIRIAM-Serving Her Family
Exodus 2:1-10
Last week was certainly an exciting week for us. We hosted the National Christian Workshop for the Deaf. The workshop was a great success, and we appreciate all those who were praying for us. We had a lot people helping--a lot of support , even locally.
One of the things we do each year, and we look forward to…I can just hardly wait until we get to Vacation Bible School. It’s going on this week at the Church of Christ here in Elba. I would love to invite each of you to come out and be with us each night. We start at 6:30pm, and would love to have you and your children come. There are classes for everybody from newborns all the way through adults.
Our children were studying last night about an interesting story. Sometimes we think about the different characters -- there are so many Bible things we can look at. One of the stories that fits into that category, at least for me, is the story of Miriam over in the Old Testament. You remember in the book of Exodus , the first few chapters tell the beginning of the story of Moses. It tells how Moses was born, and at that time the King was destroying all the Israelite boy babies because he was afraid that soon he would be overpowered by these people--the Israelites, whom he had inslaved for many years. It was a horrible scene.
When Moses was born, his mother did an interesting thing for the first few months of his life-- she hides the baby. Can you imagine trying to hide a baby? She was successful until she reached the point when she said, “You know, I don’t think we will be able to continue to hide him. There has got to be a better plan.” So she comes up with this idea to float the baby in the river in a basket. This is a familiar story to many of us. She puts this basket together and put it afloat in the Nile River where King Pharaoh’s daughter was coming to bathe. I think God’s hand was, of course, involved here. Just at the right time, at the right place, as God always works, was Pharaoh’s daughter coming to take a bath. She hears that baby cry, and you know what happens to a woman when a baby cries--her heart tugged. I mentioned in church service recently that if a baby started crying in the audience, all the women would stop paying attention to what I’m was saying and look over to see what’s up with the baby. It’s just a natural thing for a woman to do.
Pharaoh’s daughter says, “I want this baby. I’m going to save this baby.” She said though that she needed some help with him. Hiding in the reeds by the river was Moses’ sister Miriam. Miriam sprang into action. She was willing to serve her family. She had been hiding there watching, we don’t know how long…but probably for an extended period of time. When we tell a brother or sister to watch the baby, only after a few seconds, they are calling, “Come get him!” She talks to Pharaoh’s daughter--she’s willing to help. She convinces Pharaoh’s daughter to let his own mother take of him. He grows up in Pharaoh’s home, and as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story is the interested part maybe, as most of us know. But I want to look at the character Miriam for a second. She was willing to serve her family. We need to be willing to serve our family.
Come be with us at our Vacation Bible School. Tonight we will be learning about serving our friends.
It is from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
~Philip
Exodus 2:1-10
Last week was certainly an exciting week for us. We hosted the National Christian Workshop for the Deaf. The workshop was a great success, and we appreciate all those who were praying for us. We had a lot people helping--a lot of support , even locally.
One of the things we do each year, and we look forward to…I can just hardly wait until we get to Vacation Bible School. It’s going on this week at the Church of Christ here in Elba. I would love to invite each of you to come out and be with us each night. We start at 6:30pm, and would love to have you and your children come. There are classes for everybody from newborns all the way through adults.
Our children were studying last night about an interesting story. Sometimes we think about the different characters -- there are so many Bible things we can look at. One of the stories that fits into that category, at least for me, is the story of Miriam over in the Old Testament. You remember in the book of Exodus , the first few chapters tell the beginning of the story of Moses. It tells how Moses was born, and at that time the King was destroying all the Israelite boy babies because he was afraid that soon he would be overpowered by these people--the Israelites, whom he had inslaved for many years. It was a horrible scene.
When Moses was born, his mother did an interesting thing for the first few months of his life-- she hides the baby. Can you imagine trying to hide a baby? She was successful until she reached the point when she said, “You know, I don’t think we will be able to continue to hide him. There has got to be a better plan.” So she comes up with this idea to float the baby in the river in a basket. This is a familiar story to many of us. She puts this basket together and put it afloat in the Nile River where King Pharaoh’s daughter was coming to bathe. I think God’s hand was, of course, involved here. Just at the right time, at the right place, as God always works, was Pharaoh’s daughter coming to take a bath. She hears that baby cry, and you know what happens to a woman when a baby cries--her heart tugged. I mentioned in church service recently that if a baby started crying in the audience, all the women would stop paying attention to what I’m was saying and look over to see what’s up with the baby. It’s just a natural thing for a woman to do.
Pharaoh’s daughter says, “I want this baby. I’m going to save this baby.” She said though that she needed some help with him. Hiding in the reeds by the river was Moses’ sister Miriam. Miriam sprang into action. She was willing to serve her family. She had been hiding there watching, we don’t know how long…but probably for an extended period of time. When we tell a brother or sister to watch the baby, only after a few seconds, they are calling, “Come get him!” She talks to Pharaoh’s daughter--she’s willing to help. She convinces Pharaoh’s daughter to let his own mother take of him. He grows up in Pharaoh’s home, and as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story is the interested part maybe, as most of us know. But I want to look at the character Miriam for a second. She was willing to serve her family. We need to be willing to serve our family.
Come be with us at our Vacation Bible School. Tonight we will be learning about serving our friends.
It is from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
~Philip
18 June 2010
Serve Others
Gen. 24:1-14
Abraham’s servants served, or obeyed, him. They helped him do all types of things. In our Bible reading today, Genesis 24:1-14, you will find a very interesting story, at least it is to me. It is maybe the most interesting story about Abraham.
Abraham’s son Isaac is to the age when they needed to find a wife for Isaac. In that time and even some places today, the families would choose a wife for the son--a prearranged wedding. Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son. Now imagine this, you are Abraham’s servant, and he comes in one day and says, “Here’s what we are going to do today. We’re going to find a wife for my son.” Talk about pressure! It was really on the servant that day.
In verse 12 of our Bible reading, the servant is praying, ”Lord, your are the God of my master Abraham.” As the servant prays to Abraham’s God, the God of the Bible, and says “Allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master, Abraham.” Abraham needed his servant’s help.
People need our help today. There are all kinds of jobs you can do--probably none of them are as challenging as finding a wife, although some of us have probably tried. There are many ways in this world you can help. There are many ways in our world that we can do all kinds of things. We can visit, carry groceries, babysit, mow some grass, or whatever it may be that somebody needs help with. In Galatians 6:2, the Bible says, to help each other with your troubles. When you do this you truly obey the law of Christ. How do we do that today? Often we don’t even know the troubles other people are having. We need to spend time finding out and being like Abraham’s servant and say to our Master, “Lord, I will take the opportunity to serve others. I will look for others at home. I will look for opportunities at work. I will look for opportunities to serve, and then I will get busy helping others.
In doing this, not only will you be obeying God, but you will be helping someone else today who then will see God shining in you, and maybe it will make an eternal difference. Share with God’s people the needs and help them. Look for people who need help, and help them, says Romans 12:13. I hope we will do that today. I hope we will find a special area of service and say , Hey, I’m going to do what I can do.” Maybe you can do some sign language and come be with us next week at the National Workshop for the Deaf in Montgomery at Faulkner University. Check out the deaf workshop website at www.deafworkshop.com for details. We would love to have you involved there or anywhere else you would like to serve our Master, God.
~Philip
Genesis 24:1-14 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
5 The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
6 "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
12 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
Gen. 24:1-14
Abraham’s servants served, or obeyed, him. They helped him do all types of things. In our Bible reading today, Genesis 24:1-14, you will find a very interesting story, at least it is to me. It is maybe the most interesting story about Abraham.
Abraham’s son Isaac is to the age when they needed to find a wife for Isaac. In that time and even some places today, the families would choose a wife for the son--a prearranged wedding. Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son. Now imagine this, you are Abraham’s servant, and he comes in one day and says, “Here’s what we are going to do today. We’re going to find a wife for my son.” Talk about pressure! It was really on the servant that day.
In verse 12 of our Bible reading, the servant is praying, ”Lord, your are the God of my master Abraham.” As the servant prays to Abraham’s God, the God of the Bible, and says “Allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master, Abraham.” Abraham needed his servant’s help.
People need our help today. There are all kinds of jobs you can do--probably none of them are as challenging as finding a wife, although some of us have probably tried. There are many ways in this world you can help. There are many ways in our world that we can do all kinds of things. We can visit, carry groceries, babysit, mow some grass, or whatever it may be that somebody needs help with. In Galatians 6:2, the Bible says, to help each other with your troubles. When you do this you truly obey the law of Christ. How do we do that today? Often we don’t even know the troubles other people are having. We need to spend time finding out and being like Abraham’s servant and say to our Master, “Lord, I will take the opportunity to serve others. I will look for others at home. I will look for opportunities at work. I will look for opportunities to serve, and then I will get busy helping others.
In doing this, not only will you be obeying God, but you will be helping someone else today who then will see God shining in you, and maybe it will make an eternal difference. Share with God’s people the needs and help them. Look for people who need help, and help them, says Romans 12:13. I hope we will do that today. I hope we will find a special area of service and say , Hey, I’m going to do what I can do.” Maybe you can do some sign language and come be with us next week at the National Workshop for the Deaf in Montgomery at Faulkner University. Check out the deaf workshop website at www.deafworkshop.com for details. We would love to have you involved there or anywhere else you would like to serve our Master, God.
~Philip
Genesis 24:1-14 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
5 The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
6 "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
12 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
16 June 2010
Strong & Brave
Exodus 3:1-22
Often God asks us to do something that we're really not planning to do, or He gives us a job to do that we think we are unable to do. Sometimes He even gives us a job that's a little bit scary to us. In our Bible reading today, Exodus 3:1-22, God is speaking to a man named Moses. Moses, of course, is a familiar Bible character to most of us. Moses is that same person we met as a baby in a basket on the River Nile.
Pharaoh's daughter saw Moses in the basket in the river and took him home with her. The Egyptian word Moses literally means “pulled from the water”. Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh to become a great leader of the Israelites. In Chapter 3, of Exodus, Moses was a long way from that position. He was tending sheep for his father-in-law. While he was tending sheep, God asked Him to do a special job of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses had several excuses as to why he couldn't do this. He said the people would not believe God had sent him. Another excuse was that he could not speak well and was a skilled speaker. God told him that He would be with him.
Moses did go to Egypt and went before Pharaoh again and again and again saying, “Let my people go.”Eventually Pharaoh did just that, and Moses led them out of Egypt in one of the most triumphant scenes in all of the Bible because God was with him and He helped him to free those Israelites.
Sometimes when God asks us to do things that seem difficult and scary to us He really wants us to the strong and brave. He wants us to say, “Okay, I'm going to get rid of all the excuses and I'm going to put all those fears behind me and say I know God you promised to take care of me. I know you promised to be with me the whole way and I promise to keep your commandments too, because I know you will do what you have promised to do.
I remember in the book of Joshua 1:9, the Bible says,” I have commanded you to be strong and brave because I will be with you wherever you go.” God was speaking to Joshua when He said those words but we know that we can believe the same applies to us today.
A good way to remain faithful is to fellowship with people of like faith. We should become involved with church activities with our fellow Christians. This will help us to keep strong and brave in the faith. We meet tonight at 6pm for our Fellowship meal and at 7pm for our Bible study. I hope you will come and be with us.
~Philip
Exodus 3:1-22
Often God asks us to do something that we're really not planning to do, or He gives us a job to do that we think we are unable to do. Sometimes He even gives us a job that's a little bit scary to us. In our Bible reading today, Exodus 3:1-22, God is speaking to a man named Moses. Moses, of course, is a familiar Bible character to most of us. Moses is that same person we met as a baby in a basket on the River Nile.
Pharaoh's daughter saw Moses in the basket in the river and took him home with her. The Egyptian word Moses literally means “pulled from the water”. Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh to become a great leader of the Israelites. In Chapter 3, of Exodus, Moses was a long way from that position. He was tending sheep for his father-in-law. While he was tending sheep, God asked Him to do a special job of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses had several excuses as to why he couldn't do this. He said the people would not believe God had sent him. Another excuse was that he could not speak well and was a skilled speaker. God told him that He would be with him.
Moses did go to Egypt and went before Pharaoh again and again and again saying, “Let my people go.”Eventually Pharaoh did just that, and Moses led them out of Egypt in one of the most triumphant scenes in all of the Bible because God was with him and He helped him to free those Israelites.
Sometimes when God asks us to do things that seem difficult and scary to us He really wants us to the strong and brave. He wants us to say, “Okay, I'm going to get rid of all the excuses and I'm going to put all those fears behind me and say I know God you promised to take care of me. I know you promised to be with me the whole way and I promise to keep your commandments too, because I know you will do what you have promised to do.
I remember in the book of Joshua 1:9, the Bible says,” I have commanded you to be strong and brave because I will be with you wherever you go.” God was speaking to Joshua when He said those words but we know that we can believe the same applies to us today.
A good way to remain faithful is to fellowship with people of like faith. We should become involved with church activities with our fellow Christians. This will help us to keep strong and brave in the faith. We meet tonight at 6pm for our Fellowship meal and at 7pm for our Bible study. I hope you will come and be with us.
~Philip
15 June 2010
JOSHUA
Joshua 23:1-16
In our Bible reading today we see Joshua. Joshua was old and getting ready to die. He decided to call the children of Israel together one last time to give them some final words of advice. He did this and in essence was preaching his own funeral sermon when he called them together.
We see these final words of advice. Joshua told the people, “You know God has done many great things for you. You know that he has not failed in any of His promises. The Lord has kept every promise He made to us.” Joshua wanted the people to remember that God always keeps His promises. That is really a beautiful story to me--Joshua is one of my favorite Biblical characters. The same words Joshua said to the people of old, we know it is still true today. You can trust God who is in heaven and He will deliver on His promises.
There are really only two questions in life. The first question is: “Can you trust God?” According to Joshua the answer is not only yes, you can trust God, but also, yes you should trust God. Joshua also said to the people on that same occasion, “Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.” He was saying look, I am going to serve God. He then challenged the people to do the same.
It is still true now that we need to follow God. We need to decide, Okay, I am going to allow my life to be connected with God, and I will experience life that way, knowing God will deliver on His promises. God has done so many great things hasn’t He. God will keep His promises to you, and to me as well. We need to trust Him and obey Him. II Corinthians 1:20 in the Easy to Read version of the Bible says,”The, yes, to all God’s promises is in Christ. And that is why we say “amen” through Christ to the Glory of God. What a beautiful idea, the way to get the Yes to all His promises is to be in Christ.
The next question then, of course, is “How do we get into Christ ad it brings us to the second question of life. The second question we have to answer is “Can God trust us?” If God can trust me, I will faithfully obey His word. I will repent of my sins, confess my faith, be baptized into Christ, and live faithfully the rest of my life that God has blessed me with. I will continually say, “I trust God”
I hope you are doing that today. I hope you are standing on the promises like the song of old says.
~Philip
Joshua 23:1-16
In our Bible reading today we see Joshua. Joshua was old and getting ready to die. He decided to call the children of Israel together one last time to give them some final words of advice. He did this and in essence was preaching his own funeral sermon when he called them together.
We see these final words of advice. Joshua told the people, “You know God has done many great things for you. You know that he has not failed in any of His promises. The Lord has kept every promise He made to us.” Joshua wanted the people to remember that God always keeps His promises. That is really a beautiful story to me--Joshua is one of my favorite Biblical characters. The same words Joshua said to the people of old, we know it is still true today. You can trust God who is in heaven and He will deliver on His promises.
There are really only two questions in life. The first question is: “Can you trust God?” According to Joshua the answer is not only yes, you can trust God, but also, yes you should trust God. Joshua also said to the people on that same occasion, “Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.” He was saying look, I am going to serve God. He then challenged the people to do the same.
It is still true now that we need to follow God. We need to decide, Okay, I am going to allow my life to be connected with God, and I will experience life that way, knowing God will deliver on His promises. God has done so many great things hasn’t He. God will keep His promises to you, and to me as well. We need to trust Him and obey Him. II Corinthians 1:20 in the Easy to Read version of the Bible says,”The, yes, to all God’s promises is in Christ. And that is why we say “amen” through Christ to the Glory of God. What a beautiful idea, the way to get the Yes to all His promises is to be in Christ.
The next question then, of course, is “How do we get into Christ ad it brings us to the second question of life. The second question we have to answer is “Can God trust us?” If God can trust me, I will faithfully obey His word. I will repent of my sins, confess my faith, be baptized into Christ, and live faithfully the rest of my life that God has blessed me with. I will continually say, “I trust God”
I hope you are doing that today. I hope you are standing on the promises like the song of old says.
~Philip
11 June 2010
Sharing
Heb. 13:15-18
Sharing is one of the hardest things for children to do. Often I see children playing and one child will pick up a toy, and immediately the other child wants that toy too. Then the first child refuses to share that toy with his friend—he wants if for himself. That's the same thing adults do too, isn't it. It’s hard for us to learn too.
In our Bible reading today the Hebrew writer reminds us of some things we should be doing. The text is Hebrews 13:15-18. Verse 16 says “Do not forget to do good for other people. Share with other people. These are the sacrifices that please God.” If we share with other people God is pleased. We probably don't want to play with toys any more, so what can we share with people? Well, we can share our food, our possessions, our time, our talents, our treasures. Maybe we know someone who is hungry or who needs clothes. Share with them what you have. Maybe someone just needs your time. You can share your time, by going and visiting. You may need to teach. God is happy when we share his blessings with others, and he then shares more with us.
A person who gives freely will be blessed. He will be blessed because he shares his food with other people, Proverbs 22:9 says. We know this is true. We know that God blesses us when we share many things in life. I want especially today to stress what a blessing it is from God when we are able to share our faith with someone else. Our faith is something we haven't seen yet. It is that ability we have to believe in God, that He is real, that He is the creator, and He is the one who paid the debt for our sins.
Because of that faith we then put it into action with obedience. We tell you all the time that faith plus obedience equal salvation. So we put it into action by repenting our faith, confessing our sins, and being baptized. We then go and teach other people, by giving of our time, talents, and treasures. By continuing in prayer, attending church services and the list goes on. Jesus shared the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life for us on the cross of Calvary. Now it is our responsibility to go and share with others. I hope we can do better and better with that.
I heard someone say not long ago as we were talking about a person needing a ride to an appointment , “I would take them, but I really don't want the person in my car. “ I thought, “ Wow, you've missed the point.” We should be sharing what we have because really it's all God's anyway. He is the one who gave it to us and the one who owns it. Remember we need to share with other folks. By the way, there are a lot of things we would like to share with you, and would love to have you at one of our services. Come be with us at the Elba Church of Christ.
~Philip
Heb. 13:15-18
Sharing is one of the hardest things for children to do. Often I see children playing and one child will pick up a toy, and immediately the other child wants that toy too. Then the first child refuses to share that toy with his friend—he wants if for himself. That's the same thing adults do too, isn't it. It’s hard for us to learn too.
In our Bible reading today the Hebrew writer reminds us of some things we should be doing. The text is Hebrews 13:15-18. Verse 16 says “Do not forget to do good for other people. Share with other people. These are the sacrifices that please God.” If we share with other people God is pleased. We probably don't want to play with toys any more, so what can we share with people? Well, we can share our food, our possessions, our time, our talents, our treasures. Maybe we know someone who is hungry or who needs clothes. Share with them what you have. Maybe someone just needs your time. You can share your time, by going and visiting. You may need to teach. God is happy when we share his blessings with others, and he then shares more with us.
A person who gives freely will be blessed. He will be blessed because he shares his food with other people, Proverbs 22:9 says. We know this is true. We know that God blesses us when we share many things in life. I want especially today to stress what a blessing it is from God when we are able to share our faith with someone else. Our faith is something we haven't seen yet. It is that ability we have to believe in God, that He is real, that He is the creator, and He is the one who paid the debt for our sins.
Because of that faith we then put it into action with obedience. We tell you all the time that faith plus obedience equal salvation. So we put it into action by repenting our faith, confessing our sins, and being baptized. We then go and teach other people, by giving of our time, talents, and treasures. By continuing in prayer, attending church services and the list goes on. Jesus shared the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life for us on the cross of Calvary. Now it is our responsibility to go and share with others. I hope we can do better and better with that.
I heard someone say not long ago as we were talking about a person needing a ride to an appointment , “I would take them, but I really don't want the person in my car. “ I thought, “ Wow, you've missed the point.” We should be sharing what we have because really it's all God's anyway. He is the one who gave it to us and the one who owns it. Remember we need to share with other folks. By the way, there are a lot of things we would like to share with you, and would love to have you at one of our services. Come be with us at the Elba Church of Christ.
~Philip
10 June 2010
Don't Be Sad
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Recently Paige and I were riding down the road with the family, and one of the kids asked, “Daddy, do you still have any of your Granddaddies still alive?” I said, “As a matter of fact, now I don't. One of my Grandfathers died twenty years ago and the other just a couple of years ago. Both of them are now passed away; they've finished life here and gone on to eternity. We were having that discussion, talking about the fact that he still had all of his Grandfathers still alive. That's a great blessing for him. He enjoys going and doing things with each of them.
As we were talking about my Grandfathers' passing away, it kind of reminded me again of that day when each of them died. On that day I felt very sad. I think that is a natural response to death. As humans we feel sad when one of our loved ones die. I wasn't very sad for long. I remember when my Grandfather died we had prayers, and tears were shed. I realized God has sent comfort our way.
In I Thessalonians 4:13-17, our Scripture reading for today, we find these verses very comforting. These verses remind us that some people die without knowing God, and they should be sad, because there is an eternal separation there. But those who die knowing God, faithfully obeying God's will, like my Grandfather, we know they have a place in heaven with God as well as us. We know we will see them again and live forever and forever with God.
We don't know when we will die, or when our family members will die, therefore, we should do all we can to always be ready to live with God. We should always look for opportunities to share the good news about Jesus with others. We should encourage them not only to know Jesus but to make sure that they are applying the things in life they need to be doing to be found pleasing in God's sight.
Maybe we should take time today to make a self evaluation to see if what we are doing is pleasing to God. Am I doing what I need to be doing to please God? Have I confessed my faith; have I been baptized; have I been living faithfully and continuing in prayer? Have I attended Bible study and church services? Have I done all the stuff that we do, not because we have to, but because we get to as a Christians because we want to spend eternity in heaven. We want to be taken up in the clouds to be with the Lord. We will then be with the Lord forever so says I Thessalonians 4, verse 17.
Are we ready for that day when we will be taken to be God for eternity? I hope we are. Our theme for the year is “Plan Ahead”, and I hope we are planning ahead so that we will go to heaven when this life is over.
~Philip
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Recently Paige and I were riding down the road with the family, and one of the kids asked, “Daddy, do you still have any of your Granddaddies still alive?” I said, “As a matter of fact, now I don't. One of my Grandfathers died twenty years ago and the other just a couple of years ago. Both of them are now passed away; they've finished life here and gone on to eternity. We were having that discussion, talking about the fact that he still had all of his Grandfathers still alive. That's a great blessing for him. He enjoys going and doing things with each of them.
As we were talking about my Grandfathers' passing away, it kind of reminded me again of that day when each of them died. On that day I felt very sad. I think that is a natural response to death. As humans we feel sad when one of our loved ones die. I wasn't very sad for long. I remember when my Grandfather died we had prayers, and tears were shed. I realized God has sent comfort our way.
In I Thessalonians 4:13-17, our Scripture reading for today, we find these verses very comforting. These verses remind us that some people die without knowing God, and they should be sad, because there is an eternal separation there. But those who die knowing God, faithfully obeying God's will, like my Grandfather, we know they have a place in heaven with God as well as us. We know we will see them again and live forever and forever with God.
We don't know when we will die, or when our family members will die, therefore, we should do all we can to always be ready to live with God. We should always look for opportunities to share the good news about Jesus with others. We should encourage them not only to know Jesus but to make sure that they are applying the things in life they need to be doing to be found pleasing in God's sight.
Maybe we should take time today to make a self evaluation to see if what we are doing is pleasing to God. Am I doing what I need to be doing to please God? Have I confessed my faith; have I been baptized; have I been living faithfully and continuing in prayer? Have I attended Bible study and church services? Have I done all the stuff that we do, not because we have to, but because we get to as a Christians because we want to spend eternity in heaven. We want to be taken up in the clouds to be with the Lord. We will then be with the Lord forever so says I Thessalonians 4, verse 17.
Are we ready for that day when we will be taken to be God for eternity? I hope we are. Our theme for the year is “Plan Ahead”, and I hope we are planning ahead so that we will go to heaven when this life is over.
~Philip
09 June 2010
Fireflies
Mat. 5:14-16
A young boy and his father sat outside one summer night. They watched the fireflies, the lightning bugs all over the yard, and it was a beautiful thing to see. The fireflies looked like stars bouncing all over the yard. He caught some of these fireflies and put them in a jar, and the jar inside was amazing because of all the fireflies lighting up. He walked with the jar and realized it was much like a lantern that would light his pathway, and he was amazed at all the beautiful things he was able to see.
In our Bible reading today Jesus says that Christians should be the light for people to see in the world. Maybe a lot like the fireflies-something that looks good and is beautiful for people to see, but not so that we would be praised but so that God would be praised. These people of the world can see our good works and glorify or praise God as a result of what we are doing. Our Scripture reading, by the way, comes from Matthew 5:14-16. Of course we would remind you to read with 20/20 vision-read twenty verses before and twenty verses after to give us a clear indication of any text that we are reading. So be a Bible reader today and read this text.
The question, I guess, is how can we do this, how can we be fireflies in the world. Well, we can do this by being kind to people. We can be kind the way that we use our words, by the actions we show. We can use good words when we are talking to other people. We can share our faith by inviting people to come with us to church services, by talking to them and saying, “Hey, here’s what I understand, that you need the truth about God’s word,” and encouraging them to obey that word. We can remember those verses for ourselves, and then share them with others. These verses tell us we should hear, believe, confess, repent, and be baptized. We should then live faithfully each day of our lives. We can share those things with others, and if we do those things, we will be lights for Jesus. Others will want to follow Him too because of what we are doing and what kind of example we are setting.
A few weeks ago my children were at a friend’s house, and this friend often keeps our baby but the other two kids jumped out of the car. It was just dusk, and the fireflies were really bright all over the yard. They had some help trying to catch some of those fireflies so they were all over the place looking at these fireflies. It wasn’t very long until the fireflies kind of drifted upward and got higher and higher in the trees, and we were looking there at what God has created and how amazing it is to see those fireflies.
We were thinking about being examples to others. I hope this will help us to be examples as well and I hope we will go today and do everything that we can to be a shining example of God’s spirit in a dark world. Come be with us at one of our services at the Elba Church of Christ. You can find the times at www.elbachurchofchrist.com. Check it out we would love to see you here at church, and also looking at the things on line there. You can see our Deaf Work that is going on and all the other things happening. We would love for you to come be involved.
~Philip
Mat. 5:14-16
A young boy and his father sat outside one summer night. They watched the fireflies, the lightning bugs all over the yard, and it was a beautiful thing to see. The fireflies looked like stars bouncing all over the yard. He caught some of these fireflies and put them in a jar, and the jar inside was amazing because of all the fireflies lighting up. He walked with the jar and realized it was much like a lantern that would light his pathway, and he was amazed at all the beautiful things he was able to see.
In our Bible reading today Jesus says that Christians should be the light for people to see in the world. Maybe a lot like the fireflies-something that looks good and is beautiful for people to see, but not so that we would be praised but so that God would be praised. These people of the world can see our good works and glorify or praise God as a result of what we are doing. Our Scripture reading, by the way, comes from Matthew 5:14-16. Of course we would remind you to read with 20/20 vision-read twenty verses before and twenty verses after to give us a clear indication of any text that we are reading. So be a Bible reader today and read this text.
The question, I guess, is how can we do this, how can we be fireflies in the world. Well, we can do this by being kind to people. We can be kind the way that we use our words, by the actions we show. We can use good words when we are talking to other people. We can share our faith by inviting people to come with us to church services, by talking to them and saying, “Hey, here’s what I understand, that you need the truth about God’s word,” and encouraging them to obey that word. We can remember those verses for ourselves, and then share them with others. These verses tell us we should hear, believe, confess, repent, and be baptized. We should then live faithfully each day of our lives. We can share those things with others, and if we do those things, we will be lights for Jesus. Others will want to follow Him too because of what we are doing and what kind of example we are setting.
A few weeks ago my children were at a friend’s house, and this friend often keeps our baby but the other two kids jumped out of the car. It was just dusk, and the fireflies were really bright all over the yard. They had some help trying to catch some of those fireflies so they were all over the place looking at these fireflies. It wasn’t very long until the fireflies kind of drifted upward and got higher and higher in the trees, and we were looking there at what God has created and how amazing it is to see those fireflies.
We were thinking about being examples to others. I hope this will help us to be examples as well and I hope we will go today and do everything that we can to be a shining example of God’s spirit in a dark world. Come be with us at one of our services at the Elba Church of Christ. You can find the times at www.elbachurchofchrist.com. Check it out we would love to see you here at church, and also looking at the things on line there. You can see our Deaf Work that is going on and all the other things happening. We would love for you to come be involved.
~Philip
08 June 2010
SHOW YOUR FAITH
James 2:14-19
There were lots of things I liked about school, for example, lunch and P. E. Some of you are already smiling, saying, “Yeah, that’s what I liked about school too.” I actually liked many of the other subjects—my wife would tell you that if I could I would go to school all the time.
I remember when I was in school one thing I really had a problem with was math. In college while I was taking a college Algebra class I decided I needed to get a tutor to help me through the class. Each night the tutor would try to help me, and sometimes the tutor would get frustrated with me. We kept working though, and finally I would get it. It was one of those things you really had to force to happen. Some of the other things just came naturally, but that was not one of them. I had to look at it step by step. The tutor would have to say, “Let’s start from the beginning step by step. Eventually, I would say, “Okay I got it.” I didn’t remember it very long and if the review had the same type of problem we would have to start all over with step 1, step 2, and step 3. For some reason Algebra just didn’t click. I had a hard time seeing the answer. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t see the answer, but that I didn’t understand the steps. I would rather just hear the problem, think about it for a minute and come up with an answer – right, wrong, or otherwise.
Our scripture reading today is James 2:14-19. Verse 18 of the text we are looking at today says, “A person might say you have faith but I have things. Show me your faith and your faith does nothing. I will show you my faith by the things I do.” The King James Version says, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”
To show someone our faith in God we need to show them the steps to get to where we need to be. We understand that our faith comes by hearing God’s word. We need to tell someone to listen to God. “Here’s God’s Word, the Bible.” We need to show someone, “I believe what I’ve heard and here’s why.” We need to show someone what we need to do when it comes to repentance and confession and being baptized. We then show our faith by our prayer life and our attendance, and by the way we teach others. We show our faith by the way we give of our time, talents and treasures.
Are you showing your faith? I hope it shows so clearly others see that and you are glorifying God by the way you live.
~Philip
James 2:14-19
There were lots of things I liked about school, for example, lunch and P. E. Some of you are already smiling, saying, “Yeah, that’s what I liked about school too.” I actually liked many of the other subjects—my wife would tell you that if I could I would go to school all the time.
I remember when I was in school one thing I really had a problem with was math. In college while I was taking a college Algebra class I decided I needed to get a tutor to help me through the class. Each night the tutor would try to help me, and sometimes the tutor would get frustrated with me. We kept working though, and finally I would get it. It was one of those things you really had to force to happen. Some of the other things just came naturally, but that was not one of them. I had to look at it step by step. The tutor would have to say, “Let’s start from the beginning step by step. Eventually, I would say, “Okay I got it.” I didn’t remember it very long and if the review had the same type of problem we would have to start all over with step 1, step 2, and step 3. For some reason Algebra just didn’t click. I had a hard time seeing the answer. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t see the answer, but that I didn’t understand the steps. I would rather just hear the problem, think about it for a minute and come up with an answer – right, wrong, or otherwise.
Our scripture reading today is James 2:14-19. Verse 18 of the text we are looking at today says, “A person might say you have faith but I have things. Show me your faith and your faith does nothing. I will show you my faith by the things I do.” The King James Version says, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”
To show someone our faith in God we need to show them the steps to get to where we need to be. We understand that our faith comes by hearing God’s word. We need to tell someone to listen to God. “Here’s God’s Word, the Bible.” We need to show someone, “I believe what I’ve heard and here’s why.” We need to show someone what we need to do when it comes to repentance and confession and being baptized. We then show our faith by our prayer life and our attendance, and by the way we teach others. We show our faith by the way we give of our time, talents and treasures.
Are you showing your faith? I hope it shows so clearly others see that and you are glorifying God by the way you live.
~Philip
04 June 2010
The Real Judge
Romans 2:1-11
Sometimes it is tough to be a parent. It’s is sometimes hard to explain to an older child how the standards might be a little bit different from him and his younger siblings. For example, in our household we have three children: Brantley is 10, Bryson is 7, and Brewer is 16 months. We treat them differently based on where they are. We might be a little stricter with Brantley about certain things than we are with Bryson. He will sometimes look at me and say, “Why does she get away with that?” and I’ll say, “Cause she’s my favorite, or life’s not fair,” or any number of things. Those very useful things sometimes parents say.
The truth is it’s because we judge things differently based on where a person might be. We need to be careful. As a matter of fact, the Bible talks about how we treat other people, how we judge people, and how we look at other’s mistakes. Most people want to look at other people’s mistakes and judge them by that, but we don’t think that is the best thing. We need to remember that we make mistakes too.
In our Bible reading today, Paul reminds us that God is the real judge. God is the only judge who is truly fair. If we were the judge it wouldn’t be fair. I was telling some of our folks as we were studying in my office the other day, “If I was the judge everybody would get to go to heaven.” Somebody would say, “That’s not fair. I’m trying to do what’s right and that person did what’s wrong, yet everybody gets to go?” God though is the one who judges according to His goodness, His fairness, and His justness. The reason, we are reminded, is that all people are sinners--all people need to be saved by God’s grace. It is God, not us who will judge them.
Our job is to keep our lives pure and clean before God. We are to help them, and look at God’s Word for the standards to help people make changes. I think one of the most miss used text in the whole Bible is the one in the book of Matthew that encourages us to get the beam out of our own eye before we get the speck out of our brothers. The Bible doesn’t tell us not to get the speck out of our brother’s eye. Instead, it says, you look to see that you have yourself right first, then go to him with a spirit of humbleness and meekness and help that brother.
The same is true for us today and we know that God is ultimately the one who will be judging. He will be evaluating where we are spiritually and we will hear one of two judgments. Either we’ll hear well done, good and faithful servant, enter in, or not so good--depart from Me I never knew you.
What will be the judgment that will come for you. Often times we already know ahead of time what our judgment really will be. That can be the case with God even. We know what God expects, and frankly, we know whether we have done it or not. Are you doing it God’s way? I hope you will read our text today, which comes from Romans 2:1-11, Use that book-- look and evaluate your life to see where you are and to understand that God is the one who will ultimately be judging us, and then let’s get ready for that judgment day. We sometimes sing a song that says, “There’s a Great Day Coming,” and it is a reference to the judgment day. That time when God will have us before Him, when God will give an account of all of the things we have done. Let’s make plans now to have a good outcome at that judgment. Let’s make plans now to have Him say, “Well, done good and faithful servant.
~Philip
Romans 2:1-11
Sometimes it is tough to be a parent. It’s is sometimes hard to explain to an older child how the standards might be a little bit different from him and his younger siblings. For example, in our household we have three children: Brantley is 10, Bryson is 7, and Brewer is 16 months. We treat them differently based on where they are. We might be a little stricter with Brantley about certain things than we are with Bryson. He will sometimes look at me and say, “Why does she get away with that?” and I’ll say, “Cause she’s my favorite, or life’s not fair,” or any number of things. Those very useful things sometimes parents say.
The truth is it’s because we judge things differently based on where a person might be. We need to be careful. As a matter of fact, the Bible talks about how we treat other people, how we judge people, and how we look at other’s mistakes. Most people want to look at other people’s mistakes and judge them by that, but we don’t think that is the best thing. We need to remember that we make mistakes too.
In our Bible reading today, Paul reminds us that God is the real judge. God is the only judge who is truly fair. If we were the judge it wouldn’t be fair. I was telling some of our folks as we were studying in my office the other day, “If I was the judge everybody would get to go to heaven.” Somebody would say, “That’s not fair. I’m trying to do what’s right and that person did what’s wrong, yet everybody gets to go?” God though is the one who judges according to His goodness, His fairness, and His justness. The reason, we are reminded, is that all people are sinners--all people need to be saved by God’s grace. It is God, not us who will judge them.
Our job is to keep our lives pure and clean before God. We are to help them, and look at God’s Word for the standards to help people make changes. I think one of the most miss used text in the whole Bible is the one in the book of Matthew that encourages us to get the beam out of our own eye before we get the speck out of our brothers. The Bible doesn’t tell us not to get the speck out of our brother’s eye. Instead, it says, you look to see that you have yourself right first, then go to him with a spirit of humbleness and meekness and help that brother.
The same is true for us today and we know that God is ultimately the one who will be judging. He will be evaluating where we are spiritually and we will hear one of two judgments. Either we’ll hear well done, good and faithful servant, enter in, or not so good--depart from Me I never knew you.
What will be the judgment that will come for you. Often times we already know ahead of time what our judgment really will be. That can be the case with God even. We know what God expects, and frankly, we know whether we have done it or not. Are you doing it God’s way? I hope you will read our text today, which comes from Romans 2:1-11, Use that book-- look and evaluate your life to see where you are and to understand that God is the one who will ultimately be judging us, and then let’s get ready for that judgment day. We sometimes sing a song that says, “There’s a Great Day Coming,” and it is a reference to the judgment day. That time when God will have us before Him, when God will give an account of all of the things we have done. Let’s make plans now to have a good outcome at that judgment. Let’s make plans now to have Him say, “Well, done good and faithful servant.
~Philip
03 June 2010
Communication
Col. 3:1-11
Over the last several days we have been talking about communication, and how important it is in our lives that we be communicating the right thing to others around us. We talked about using the right words and doing the things God wants us to be doing. That’s true with everything in our life, but specifically with communication we need to be extremely careful.
I recently witnessed an event I thought was neat. I will change the names to protect the people involved. I saw a couple of our teenagers talking . One person we will call Helen, and the other girl we will call Laura, were standing there and a third person was there as well. I think wanting to impress Laura, the third person said, “I was just telling Helen how much I like your hair.” Helen said, “You didn’t say that, that’s a lie”. The other person was so embarrassed about what had happened. I saw this and thought, you know, the intent was good, but the person ended up catching it because it was just simply not true. I think the person wanted to be friends with these people. I also think the person even knew that God wanted them to always tell the truth. But as they stood there with these friends, it was just so easy to let this thing that happened to be a lie just slip out.
I think it was a good warning for all three of those individuals, and maybe to me. It taught me again that lesson of to always be careful of what I say. I have always been willing to ask God for forgiveness and ask others for forgiveness if needed. When we become a Christian we need to do the things God wants us to do, but we need to obey Him don’t we.
Our Bible reading today gives some advice on being a Christian, especially advice on how to live a Christian life. The text is Colossians 3:1-11. Verse 8 and 9 specifically in that text tells us to put away these things out of your life--anger, being mad, doing or saying things that hurt other people, and using evil words when you talk.
I hope you obey this word of advice. I hope we take God’s advice to heart, that we don’t tell any lies, that we don’t use any bad communication. Make sure that the things we are saying are said the right way and are things that need to be said. You know, voice inflection sure changes the meaning of things. It is also so easy to let a little lie slip, like with those girls I mentioned today.
What about you? Are you communicating the way you should, are you communicating what needs to be communicated? Sometimes we communicate not only with our words but with our dress, and our looks, and our actions. The list could go on. Take a look at all of it today and see where you are.
~Philip
Col. 3:1-11
Over the last several days we have been talking about communication, and how important it is in our lives that we be communicating the right thing to others around us. We talked about using the right words and doing the things God wants us to be doing. That’s true with everything in our life, but specifically with communication we need to be extremely careful.
I recently witnessed an event I thought was neat. I will change the names to protect the people involved. I saw a couple of our teenagers talking . One person we will call Helen, and the other girl we will call Laura, were standing there and a third person was there as well. I think wanting to impress Laura, the third person said, “I was just telling Helen how much I like your hair.” Helen said, “You didn’t say that, that’s a lie”. The other person was so embarrassed about what had happened. I saw this and thought, you know, the intent was good, but the person ended up catching it because it was just simply not true. I think the person wanted to be friends with these people. I also think the person even knew that God wanted them to always tell the truth. But as they stood there with these friends, it was just so easy to let this thing that happened to be a lie just slip out.
I think it was a good warning for all three of those individuals, and maybe to me. It taught me again that lesson of to always be careful of what I say. I have always been willing to ask God for forgiveness and ask others for forgiveness if needed. When we become a Christian we need to do the things God wants us to do, but we need to obey Him don’t we.
Our Bible reading today gives some advice on being a Christian, especially advice on how to live a Christian life. The text is Colossians 3:1-11. Verse 8 and 9 specifically in that text tells us to put away these things out of your life--anger, being mad, doing or saying things that hurt other people, and using evil words when you talk.
I hope you obey this word of advice. I hope we take God’s advice to heart, that we don’t tell any lies, that we don’t use any bad communication. Make sure that the things we are saying are said the right way and are things that need to be said. You know, voice inflection sure changes the meaning of things. It is also so easy to let a little lie slip, like with those girls I mentioned today.
What about you? Are you communicating the way you should, are you communicating what needs to be communicated? Sometimes we communicate not only with our words but with our dress, and our looks, and our actions. The list could go on. Take a look at all of it today and see where you are.
~Philip
02 June 2010
IN AND OUT
Luke 10:25-37
Many people today have central heating and cooling, but before we had that, in the good weather we would open our windows. As you open one window you get some air, but the idea is if you raise all your windows you can let in cool air and the hot air will escape.
My grandparents had an attic fan. You could open the windows and the attic fan would suck all the hot air out and cool air even without a breeze would come into the house. The attic fan caused the cool air to rush in.
Maybe our lives are like this. We need to have some flow through our life. If you will today, think for a minute about your spiritual life. If we want to have more of Jesus in our life and receive His blessings then we need to let something out. We need to let service for God come out and we need to let the bad stuff come out too. That is repentance b y the way-- giving up the bad and replacing it with good. It is true of other aspects of our spiritual life. As we serve God and want more love in our life we have to love other people. As we praise God we give away some of our time, talents, and treasures. God gives us back even more, in our prayers as we communicate with Him. God also gave us the Bible, His Word, as a way of communication with Him.
The Samaritan man in our Bible reading today, Luke 10:25-27 understood the principal apparently. He truly was a servant of God. When he saw the man had been beaten up on the side of the road and needed help, he didn’t say, “I wonder what happened to him, I need to know the whole story.” He said “I need to help” and put it into action.
What about you? Are you serving God as you should--with your time, talents, and treasures? If not, why not begin to do so this day and every day.
~Philip
Luke 10:25-37
Many people today have central heating and cooling, but before we had that, in the good weather we would open our windows. As you open one window you get some air, but the idea is if you raise all your windows you can let in cool air and the hot air will escape.
My grandparents had an attic fan. You could open the windows and the attic fan would suck all the hot air out and cool air even without a breeze would come into the house. The attic fan caused the cool air to rush in.
Maybe our lives are like this. We need to have some flow through our life. If you will today, think for a minute about your spiritual life. If we want to have more of Jesus in our life and receive His blessings then we need to let something out. We need to let service for God come out and we need to let the bad stuff come out too. That is repentance b y the way-- giving up the bad and replacing it with good. It is true of other aspects of our spiritual life. As we serve God and want more love in our life we have to love other people. As we praise God we give away some of our time, talents, and treasures. God gives us back even more, in our prayers as we communicate with Him. God also gave us the Bible, His Word, as a way of communication with Him.
The Samaritan man in our Bible reading today, Luke 10:25-27 understood the principal apparently. He truly was a servant of God. When he saw the man had been beaten up on the side of the road and needed help, he didn’t say, “I wonder what happened to him, I need to know the whole story.” He said “I need to help” and put it into action.
What about you? Are you serving God as you should--with your time, talents, and treasures? If not, why not begin to do so this day and every day.
~Philip
01 June 2010
Communication
Eph. 4:29-32
Two young men were working in a grocery store. One day the manager walked by the two men in the parking lot and heard one of them swearing and using God's name in a bad way. Both of these young men had applied for another job in the grocery store. They were hoping to be promoted and maybe even be a manager in the store. The man who had used these bad words in communication that should not have been said didn't get the job. The manager wanted someone who would speak respectfully, using words that anyone can hear.
The Bible tells us many things about communication, and over the next few days we hope to talk about some of those things. In Exodus 20:7, the Bible tells us not to use God's name in a wrong way. In our Bible reading today, Ephesians 4:29-32, Paul reminds us that we should not say bad things. We shouldn't be mad and upset and hurt other people with our words. We should be kind and loving toward one another. Our Bible teaches that the words we use should be said with kindness and gentleness.
We need to be careful about our words today, about the words we use this very day that they should bring honor and glory to God. We need to make sure we are not speaking evil and saying things we should not be saying. We've got to watch what we say. So many people have problems here. Church folks also struggle and use bad language. We should change that. We should use words that are nice.
Someone says, “How do you know if it's a curse word or not? “ Who says it's a curse word?” Well, mama. If you are wondering ask her. You can also ask someone in society who is a leader, whom you know to be a Christian. You'll notice about those people what you do not hear. You won't hear those words you are asking about probably. I tell folks all the time, if you wouldn't be saying it in front of your mother or the preacher, you shouldn't be saying it anywhere. That's true isn't it? We need to make sure our communication is what God wants it to be. God is the One we are trying to please. It is through that communication we are able to spend eternity with God in heaven. That is part of the process.--that we will be who we need to be in order to go to heaven on the judgment day.
Are you doing the things you need to be doing to be right with God? Is your communication what it ought to be. If not, why not let this be the day you decide, “I'm not going to use bad language any more. I'm not going to be guilty of saying that again.” Then you must put God first with your communication.”
~Philip
Eph. 4:29-32
Two young men were working in a grocery store. One day the manager walked by the two men in the parking lot and heard one of them swearing and using God's name in a bad way. Both of these young men had applied for another job in the grocery store. They were hoping to be promoted and maybe even be a manager in the store. The man who had used these bad words in communication that should not have been said didn't get the job. The manager wanted someone who would speak respectfully, using words that anyone can hear.
The Bible tells us many things about communication, and over the next few days we hope to talk about some of those things. In Exodus 20:7, the Bible tells us not to use God's name in a wrong way. In our Bible reading today, Ephesians 4:29-32, Paul reminds us that we should not say bad things. We shouldn't be mad and upset and hurt other people with our words. We should be kind and loving toward one another. Our Bible teaches that the words we use should be said with kindness and gentleness.
We need to be careful about our words today, about the words we use this very day that they should bring honor and glory to God. We need to make sure we are not speaking evil and saying things we should not be saying. We've got to watch what we say. So many people have problems here. Church folks also struggle and use bad language. We should change that. We should use words that are nice.
Someone says, “How do you know if it's a curse word or not? “ Who says it's a curse word?” Well, mama. If you are wondering ask her. You can also ask someone in society who is a leader, whom you know to be a Christian. You'll notice about those people what you do not hear. You won't hear those words you are asking about probably. I tell folks all the time, if you wouldn't be saying it in front of your mother or the preacher, you shouldn't be saying it anywhere. That's true isn't it? We need to make sure our communication is what God wants it to be. God is the One we are trying to please. It is through that communication we are able to spend eternity with God in heaven. That is part of the process.--that we will be who we need to be in order to go to heaven on the judgment day.
Are you doing the things you need to be doing to be right with God? Is your communication what it ought to be. If not, why not let this be the day you decide, “I'm not going to use bad language any more. I'm not going to be guilty of saying that again.” Then you must put God first with your communication.”
~Philip
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