Need Anything?

moving vanA man who had chosen a minimalist lifestyle watched with interest as his new neighbor unloaded a truckload of furniture, decorative items, electronic devices and numerous other possessions. When he went over to introduce himself, he said, “If you ever find yourself needing anything, come over and see me and I can tell you how to do without it.”

We are constantly bombarded with advertisements proclaiming that we simply can’t do without certain products. We must not give in to the temptation to fall head over heels into consumerism. While there is nothing wrong with acquiring things, we have to be careful that our possessions don’t own us!

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…”—Deuteronomy 8:18.

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Basking In the Light

plantsI don’t know a whole lot about house plants, but I do know that they need to be in the sunlight. As a matter of fact, sometimes plants will lean toward the sun. They are designed to seek the source of light that gives them growth and life.

Too many people shy away from the Light that gives them life. In order to truly thrive, we must seek the Son.

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings…”—Malachi 4:2.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”—John 8:12.

 

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Avoid the Traffic

URBAN TEXTURES © 1998 PhotoSpin www.powerphotos.com

A few years ago, when my wife and I were living in Indiana, we decided to take a few days off and drive south. As we left the Kokomo area and headed toward Indianapolis, it suddenly occurred to us that the Indy 500 was taking place that day, and that over a quarter of a million racing fans would be trying to get out of Indianapolis about the same time we had planned to drive through that city. We made a spur of the moment change of plans and took some side roads. It took us a while longer to get to our destination, but it was well worth it to avoid the traffic that jammed the highways that day.

Jesus warns us about taking the heavily travelled highway of life. In the Sermon on the Mount, he says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).

There certainly are a lot of people on the highway to destruction. Let’s make sure we avoid that kind of traffic!

 

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Your Turn to Choose

choosing sidesRemember those painful moments on the playground or in gym class when kids would choose sides for team sports? The captains of each team would dutifully pick who they thought were the best players until finally everyone had been chosen. It was no fun at all to be among the last ones picked.

How do you think it makes God feel when we choose him last? After we have watched all of our favorite TV shows, we might have time to read the Bible. After listening to popular music all day, we might find a few minutes to pray. After we have spent money for the things we desire, we will see if we have anything left to give God. After talking endlessly about our family and friends, we could possibly have something to say about God.

It would make God happy if we would choose him first.

“…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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Message Found

The Winklers with their find

The Winklers with their find

In April of 2015, retired post office worker Marianne Winkler was wandering along the coast of Amrum, an island off the coast of Germany, when she happened upon a message in a bottle. Inside, a postcard requested its return to a British marine biologist, George Parker Bidder, with the promise of a single shilling upon arrival. After careful study, Guinness World Records has deemed it the oldest message in a bottle ever found, after it spent 108 years and 138 days floating in the North Sea.

This was indeed a remarkable discovery. However, the message of salvation through Jesus has been available for nearly 2,000 years! Don’t keep that message bottled up! Spread it far and wide!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…”—Acts 1:8.

 

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Worth the Money

As a family was driving home from church one Sunday, the father went on and on, complaining about the worship service. It was too long. The sermon was boring. The songs were too slow. Finally his son interrupted, “Daddy, I thought it was a pretty good deal, especially since you only had to pay a dollar for the whole family!”

You might find some humor in this story. Some people will look at the amount of the man’s offering and laugh, thinking that it is small and insignificant. But that’s not the real point. It is not the amount that is shameful, it is the state of the man’s heart. It is the heart that God sees, and the heart that he values above all else.

“…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”–1 Samuel 16:7.

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Passing the Hat

There is an old story told about a travelling preacher who had the custom of passing his hat around the crowd to collect an offering. He would always say a prayer of thanksgiving after the hat had made its way back to him.

One day, the minister preached his heart out and then gave instructions about the offering. This particular crowd was quite stingy, and no one put anything at all in the hat. People gathered there were wondering what possible prayer of thanks the preacher could offer, given the woeful results of the attempt to collect an offering.

The preacher received his hat back, saw that it was empty, and bowed his head and prayed, “Dear God, I am so thankful that I got my hat back!”

Let us be careful that we don’t find ourselves numbered among the stingy!

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”–2 Corinthians 9:7.

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Pass Me Not

A friend of mine was having trouble getting her newspaper delivered to her home. On a far too regular basis, the carrier forgot to leave her newspaper at her house. There was a reflective green dot pasted on a post in her front yard so that the carrier would be able to see, even in the darkness of the early
morning hours, that her house was on his route. Still, the paper sometimes did not arrive.

When a supervisor was alerted to the problem, many more reflective green stickers were put on the post out front. The problem persisted. The newspaper finally started to be delivered on a consistent basis, but only after the negligent carrier was replaced.

Some people live in fear that God will not deliver on the promise of salvation that he has offered through Jesus. They do the spiritual equivalent of putting out numerous reflective stickers, in hopes that God will not forget them.

God is not like some irresponsible newspaper carrier! He is faithful and true. He will deliver on his promise of salvation to all who trust in his Son Jesus.

͞”Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.͟”—Deuteronomy 7:9.

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Jealous

“Ma loved Pa, and Pa loved women. Ma caught Pa with two in swimmin’. Here lies Pa.”–Unknown Author

Jealousy is a powerful emotion. It shows that there are strong feelings for another person.

It might surprise some people to know that God is capable of jealousy. In several places, the Bible describes God as a God who is jealous toward his people. He doesn’t like for us to show any sign of unfaithfulness. With that in mind, we should always strive to please him and to remain faithful to him. No matter how we are tempted to stray away from him, we must always remain devoted to God.

“Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”–Exodus 34:14.

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Financial Priorities

Even when the economy is not doing well, people still find money to spend on certain things. Studies have shown that, even in hard times, folks will still have enough money for movies, fast food, pets and other non-essential items. They come up with the money to do the things they really want to do.
Here’s the question: Do you really want to advance the kingdom of God? Dr. David Jeremiah says, ͞How we manage what God has given us is a leading indicator of our priorities…When we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, our billfolds go along for the ride.”

“…Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?”—1 Chronicles 29:5.

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