Valuables

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian was recently tied up and robbed at gunpoint in her hotel room in Paris. The thieves took jewelry that was originally reported to be worth $10 million. A more recent report places the value of the stolen items at a mere $5.6 million.

Thankfully, Kardashian was not harmed in the robbery.

I would never have lost that much to thieves while traveling abroad. I make it a practice to never take more than $100,000 worth of jewelry with me when I travel.

Seriously, you wonder if some people ever have enough. Why would you need to have that much jewelry? Even if you could afford it, why?

Let us always remember that there are more important things than earthly possessions.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—Matthew 6:19-21.

 

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Bad Place to Park

submerged-carEarlier this year I noticed a car that appeared to be stuck in the mud. Apparently, the driver had tried to get close to a pond, perhaps to do some fishing. The pond was located in a field close to a river. The spring rains had made the ground so soft that the driver was forced to leave his car and head home on foot. I remember hoping that he would be able to get his car moved soon.

A few weeks later I drove by that scene again. This time the rains had increased, and the water from the river had backed up, completely covering the field where the car had been stranded. I remembered the car, and thought how bad it would be for the owner if he had not removed his vehicle.

Some time after that, I once again drove by that place. By now the water had receded, and I saw that the car had never been moved! It had been completely submerged by the spring flooding. I don’t know if the car was worth much to begin with, but its value had certainly diminished now, all because the owner parked it in a dangerous place.

The Bible warns us that there are some places that are dangerous for us. One of those places is in the company of those who would lead us astray. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Someone once said, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”

You aren’t parked in a dangerous place, are you?

 

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Purified

heat%20registerLast Sunday I ate and drank the elements of communion and returned to my seat. Looking down at the floor in front of my feet I noticed the register where the air circulates through the heating and air conditioning system of the church. The register has a filter to keep impurities out of the system. The filter had done its job. I could see bits and pieces of dirt and particles that had been stopped in their tracks.

I know, I know. That doesn’t sound very spiritual. I should have been more focused on Jesus at that point. However, I did use this moment to consider how the blood of Jesus takes the impurities of sin out of our lives. Therefore, a mundane distraction was transformed into a thoughtful act of worship.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9.

 

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Choose Carefully

Danny Clark

Danny Clark

Danny Clark is a highly regarded quarterback from Akron, Ohio. Clark, a 6-foot-4, 230 pound high school senior, grew up rooting for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was elated when the Buckeyes recruited him, and he committed to Ohio State after his freshman season of high school.

Everything changed last summer when Ohio State accepted a commitment from a top-rated quarterback who is considered to be a better fit for the offense that the Buckeyes run. Seeing the writing on the wall, Clark announced that he was no longer committed to Ohio State.

Even though he has a large Ohio State tattoo on his throwing arm!

If there is a lesson to be learned here, perhaps it is this—think very carefully before you choose which side you want to be on.

“…Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”—Joshua 24:15.

 

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Various Uses

vanI saw an ad in the paper for a 13-passenger bus. The advertisement said that the vehicle could be a church bus, or it could be used as a party bus. Considering the definition many people have for the word “party”, I thought it interesting that the seller would suggest that the bus could be used for either purpose.

Just as a bus could be used for either good or bad purposes, so it is with the parts of our body. Romans 6:12-13 says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”

 

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The Secret to Success

Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely

In a devotion he wrote for The Southeast Outlook, Jacob Glassner tells how Sara Blakely learned to appreciate failure. Blakely, the founder and CEO of Spanx, a billion-dollar apparel company, often shares the story that led to her success.

When Sara was growing up, her father would often ask her at the dinner table—“What have you failed at this week?” He would be disappointed if she didn’t have something to share.

Blakely says that this helped her define failure in a different way than many people understand the term. For her, failure was not so much about the outcome of her efforts—failure was not trying. Having no fear of failure led Blakely to found Spanx at the age of 27.

Perhaps the secret to success is overcoming the fear of failure. If we aren’t afraid to try new and difficult things, we can learn from our mistakes, build on our experiences and ultimately succeed in the end.

“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”—Proverbs 24:16.

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Curing All Disease

Zuckerberg and Chan

Zuckerberg and Chan

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his pediatrician wife, Priscilla Chan, recently announced that they will spend $3 billion over the next decade in an effort to “cure all diseases in our children’s lifetime.” They plan to bring scientists and engineers together to empower the entire scientific community to discover new breakthroughs in preventing and curing diseases of all kinds.

While we applaud the generosity and compassion of their initiative, it is highly unlikely that their efforts will result in total success. Any great gains in achieving better health for mankind would be, of course, a wonderful thing, but the odds are likely that there still would be some illnesses to plague the human race.

When it comes to spiritual illness (sin), there has been a cure available for centuries. And it is 100% effective for all who receive the remedy for our sins. It is, of course, the blood of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”—1 John 2:2.

 

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Follow the Money

planned-parenthoodI see where Planned Parenthood is targeting young, undecided voters in Ohio to try to swing the presidential election in favor of the pro-abortion Democratic Party. Polls show Clinton and Trump in a close race in Ohio, one of the most important battleground states for electoral votes. It is obvious why the largest provider of abortions in the United States would want Clinton, an avid supporter of abortion, to win. A Clinton victory would make it more likely that the blood-stained hands of Planned Parenthood would continue to receive a substantial income for providing their “services”.

Just follow the money.

“…Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.”—Malachi 3:15.

They might get away with it for a while, but they won’t get away with it forever!

 

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Bigger Fish to Fry

SONY DSC

Alabama football coach Nick Saban tells the story about the time when, as an 11-year-old, he was fishing in West Virginia. He wasn’t getting a bite, but a man not far from him was catching a lot of catfish. Then Saban noticed that the man was keeping the smaller catfish, while throwing the larger ones back in the water. When he asked the man why he was only keeping the smaller fish, the man replied, “I only have a 9-inch skillet.”

Saban’s application of the story is this—“You have to know who you are.”

I have a different application—“Maybe you need to think bigger!”

Does your church really expect to grow? Do you actually intend to be more productive than you ever have before?

Maybe some of us need to get a bigger frying pan!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”—Ephesians 3:20-21.

 

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Be Ready!

Jose Fernandez

Jose Fernandez

The sports world is mourning the passing of two notable athletes this weekend—golfer Arnold Palmer and baseball pitcher Jose Fernandez.

Palmer was 87 when he died in a Pittsburgh hospital. The cause of death is not yet being reported. Palmer is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. He emerged as a superstar when golf was gaining popularity as a televised sport. His hard-charging style of play won him a large following, and he will be greatly missed by all who appreciated his talent and what he did for the game of golf.

Hernandez was only 24 when he and 2 others died in a boating accident off the coast of Miami. Jose defected from Cuba as a teenager, and became the National League rookie of the year in 2013. Besides his great talent as a pitcher, Jose will be remembered for his positive attitude and his joyful passion for the game. His death came as a shock, and those who knew him are struggling to come to grips with his passing.

Two notable deaths in the sports world—one man 87; the other 24. Just another reminder that we all have an appointment with death. We just don’t know when that appointment might take place. The point is, we all need to be ready.

“What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”—Mark 13:37.

 

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