Still Making Music

monkeesI have always thought that the Monkees were under-appreciated as a group. They sold an incredible number of records in their heyday. In addition to that, several of the Monkees’ hit songs have stood the test of time, still being heard on the radio today.

Now, believe it or not, the Monkees are having a resurgence. The surviving members of the group have released a new album that is selling well. Their new songs are on the radio, and they are touring once again—50 years after they first burst onto the music scene!

That is some kind of staying power!

That’s what we should strive for as followers of Jesus—to make a difference, and to do so for a long, long time!

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”—Psalm 1:3.

Hey, hey we’re the Christians…!

 

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Commitment

CoastalCarolinaChanticleersThe Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have made it to the finals of the College World Series in their first CWS appearance. The school’s baseball program had fallen on hard times when coach Gary Gilmore arrived there in 1996. The previous year the Chanticleers won only 17 games, compared with 53 wins so far this season.

Part of the reason for the team’s lack of success was the questionable commitment of some of the players. Gilmore says that a player on his first team informed him that he couldn’t come to practice the next day because it conflicted with his job as a bartender on the beach.

Perhaps it is a lack of commitment on the part of its members that keeps many churches from succeeding. Fill in the blank: “I can’t participate in the worship and ministry of my church because it conflicts with my ______________________.”

Excuses, excuses!

In Luke 9, Jesus questions the commitment of some people who say they want to follow him. Verse 62 says, “Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’”

Are you fully committed to your church?

 

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Running for the Cross

boy at crossRachel Allord tells about the time that her church had a special worship service that focused on the cross. They had a large cross at the front of the worship area, and they invited worshipers to fasten a black ribbon to the cross, signifying that Jesus had died to take their sins away.

Rachel was trying to explain the meaning of this to her three-year-old son, but she wasn’t sure how much was sinking in.

After they had attached their ribbons and returned to their seats, her son said, “Mama, I want to see the cross again.”

She writes: “Usually my son wouldn’t stray more than a few feet from my side, so I helped him out of his seat, expecting him to stand near the aisle and gaze from afar. But when his feet hit the floor he ran up the center aisle, his eyes fixed on the cross. As I watched him gaze up at the blackened cross in wonder, my initial embarrassment vanished. He had done what I pray he’ll do for the rest of his life—run unashamedly to the cross.”

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”—1 Corinthians 1:18.

 

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Perspective

truckersA veteran truck driver was training a younger man who was a brand new employee of the trucking company. After a long day on the road, the young trucker was absolutely exhausted. However, his older partner appeared to be just as fresh and full of energy as he had been when they started the day.

“I don’t get it,” exclaimed the trainee. “I am completely worn out, but you don’t seem be the least bit weary. How can that be?”

The veteran trucker replied, “It’s not hard to understand. While you were putting in a hard day’s work, I was enjoying a ride in the country.”

It’s all a matter of perspective.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”—Colossians 3:17.

 

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Don’t Fumble!

carrying a footballFive NFL teams are having their running backs work with a new type of practice football. The “High and Tight” footballs, which cost about $150 each, are designed to help running backs eliminate fumbles. These special footballs emit a beeping sound to let the player know when he is holding the ball correctly. The idea is to cut down on the number of fumbles by teaching the running backs to compress the ball firmly between their forearm and chest with the proper amount of pressure, basically creating a viselike effect.

Early results seem to indicate that the new innovation is serving its purpose. Running backs are fumbling less in practice, and some players and coaches are confident that it will help improve ball security in games.

The Hebrew letter was written to Christians who were in danger of fumbling their salvation. They were encouraged not to abandon their faith in Jesus, but to hold on tight to the hope that they had in him. Hebrews 6:11-12 says, “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” 12:12 exhorts, “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.”

Don’t ever loosen your grip on Jesus! Hold on tightly to the salvation that we have been given through him!

 

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Think Before You Speak

thinkEven though the Bible is filled with admonitions to be careful about how we speak of others, many Christians regularly engage in gossip. One man found a way to combat this sin in his church. He came up with the acronym T.H.I.N.K.

T—is it True?

H—is it Helpful?

I—is it Inspiring?

N—is it Necessary?

K—is it Kind?

Think before you speak! Thoughtless words bring much harm to others, and damage our own reputation as well.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”—Ephesians 4:29.

 

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Our Father’s Care

fatherA couple of horrible incidents that have recently made national news have brought about quite a bit of criticism for the parents involved. First, a young boy slipped away for a few seconds at the Cincinnati Zoo and fell into the gorilla exhibit. He was rescued, relatively unharmed, but not until after some frightful moments. Then a toddler visiting Disneyworld with his family was killed by an alligator. Both incidents caused many people to question the skills of the parents of those children. Some even said that there should be some type of punishment forthcoming.

The majority of people do not blame the parents. They understand that it is not possible to keep a child completely safe every second of every day. Kids have a way of wandering into trouble, and it only takes a moment for something terrible to happen.

While our earthly parents can’t protect us every single moment, we Christians have a heavenly Father who constantly watches over us. He cares for us, meets all of our needs and has provided a place for us in heaven when our time on this earth is over.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…”—1 John 3:1

 

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Grace and Truth in Action

Chick-fil-A-logo-vecAn Orlando Chick-fil-A ignored a long-standing company policy last week in order to help people in need. The  fast food chain has become quite successful even though they are not open on Sunday. They remain closed on the first day of the week so that their employees can spend the day worshiping God and being with their family.

However, last week was not just another Sunday in Orlando. A gunman terrorized a local nightclub for hours Saturday night, killing dozens and wounding dozens more. First responders were at the scene of the crime for a long time. So were frightened relatives of people who had been at the club that night. The former had come to help. The latter had arrived to see if by any chance their loved one had made it through the horrific ordeal alive.

So the managers of the local Chick-fil-A opened up their business on Sunday so they could prepare food and drink and take it to those at the scene.

Some people were surprised that Chick-fil-A would perform such a loving act of mercy, since their Christian owners had long been on record as being supporters of biblical morality, and the shooting had occurred at a gay night club. Weren’t the employees at Chick-fil-A ignorant, hateful homophobes who wanted nothing but judgment for the people who were hurting?

No, not at all.

The world can’t understand that it is possible to be graceful to others without compromising the truth. Chick-fil-A’s management still upholds biblical principles of morality. They also want to reach out in love to people who strongly disagree with them and call them derisive names that they do not deserve to be called.

What Chick-fil-A did was a great example of grace and truth in action. This is the kind of life that Jesus lived as an example for his followers to imitate.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”—John 1:14.

 

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High Expectations

backyard-baseball-2aWhen a little boy expressed that he was looking forward to the day when he would be old enough to play baseball, his mother cautioned him, “You won’t be able to run very fast because of the operations you have had on your legs.”

He replied, “That’s OK. I’m going to hit the ball out of the park. Then I can walk around the bases!”

If only we had such optimism for what we Christians can do!

“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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Message of Love

Rubel Shelly

Rubel Shelly

Rubel Shelly tells this story:

Jason Tuskes was a 17-year-old high school honor student. He was close to his mother, his wheelchair-bound father, and his younger brother. Jason was an expert swimmer who loved to scuba dive.

He left home on a Tuesday morning to explore a spring and underwater cave near his home in west central Florida. His plan was to be home in time to celebrate his mother’s birthday by going out to dinner with his family that night.

Jason became lost in the cave. Then, in his panic, he apparently got wedged into a narrow passageway. When he realized he was trapped, he shed his yellow metal air tank and unsheathed his diver’s knife. With the tank as a tablet and the knife as a pen, he wrote one last message to his family: I LOVE YOU MOM, DAD, AND CHRISTIAN. Then he ran out of air and drowned.

A dying message—something communicated in the last few seconds of life—is something we can’t ignore. God’s final words to us are etched on a Roman cross. They are blood red. They scream to be heard. They, too, say, “I love you.”

 

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