Standing Tall

Steve Case

Steve Case

An old friend of mine passed away yesterday. Steve Case, of Lexington, Kentucky, died after a long illness. He was a giant of a man, in more ways than one.

Steve stood 6 feet 8 inches tall, or 5 feet 20, as he liked to say. (He had quite the sense of humor.) Steve was the only friend we had who made us feel like we had to dust the top of the refrigerator before he came over. No one else could have seen the dust.

He was a big man in the church too. He sang in the choir, and was also in a gospel quartet. He had a wonderful bass voice that boldly proclaimed the gospel message. Steve’s opinion on spiritual matters was highly valued. He was a great contributor to Broadway Christian Church.

Steve stood tall as a family man also. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed by those closest to him.

But perhaps Steve’s greatest influence was as a teacher. He spent his career making children feel special. Scores of people are much better off today because they had Steve Case as a teacher.

Steve stood tall in every way. And the way he lived his life encourages those who knew him to follow his example and make a positive difference in the lives of those around us.

No matter what your physical stature is, make sure you stand tall for Jesus!

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”—Ephesians 6:13.

 

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Stay Full

flat tireI once went into a tire repair shop and told the manager that I had a slow leak in one of my tires. He answered, “You’ll have to come back tomorrow. We fix slow leaks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We only work on regular leaks today.”

Of course, he was joking. He and his crew had me fixed up and back on the road in just a few minutes. However, a flat tire is no laughing matter. It can keep you from getting where you need to go and can really mess up your day.

Just as a leaky tire can leave you stranded, sometimes we find ourselves spiritually drained, and unable to move forward. Beware those slow leaks that leave you empty and powerless. Always seek to be re-filled with God’s limitless power!

“…Be filled with the Spirit.”—Ephesians 5:18.

 

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Sincere Love

Bob Hope

Bob Hope

I think it was Bob Hope who said, “Sincerity is the key to success. Once you’ve learned to fake that, you’ve got it made.”

It’s hard to fake sincerity. People can usually spot a phony a mile away.

Take, for instance, this love letter: “Dear John, I am so sorry that I broke off our engagement. I miss you so much. I am miserable without you. I think of you every waking moment and dream of you every night. Please forgive me! I will love you forever! Susie. P.S.—Congratulations on winning the lottery.”

That doesn’t sound very sincere to me!

The Bible urges us to be true in our love for God and our love for people. Examine yourself to see if you really are a loving person.

“Love must be sincere…”—Romans 12:9.

 

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Good Team Player

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari was the featured speaker at Gov. Matt Bevin’s prayer breakfast on February 16, 2016. The main focus of his message was putting others above yourself.

Calipari told of the time when former UK star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist asked him to start Darius Miller instead of him in a game against Vanderbilt. Miller was struggling, and the starting assignment might give him the confidence and encouragement he needed to play better.

So Calipari started Miller. Kentucky lost that game, but the won the national championship that year, with Miller playing a key role in the title run.

If you want your team to succeed, you have to be a good team player. You have to make sacrifices for the good of the team. You have to be willing to put the welfare of the team ahead of any personal ambitions.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”—Philippians 2:3-4.

 

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Just In Case He Asks

BibleMost people believe that we will have to stand before God someday and give an account for how we lived our lives. This is true. Hebrews 9:27 says that “….People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”

What if the time comes for you to stand before God, and the very first thing he asks you is this—“What did you think of my book?”

What would you say? Would you be able to give any kind of acceptable response?

Our Creator and Redeemer has given us his word to live by. We must cherish it. We must spend much time meditating on Scripture and internalizing its teachings so that we can live the life we were meant to live. Our hearts and minds should be in sync with the Psalmist when he says, “I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees.” (Psalm 119:48).

 

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Seeking Salvation

groundhogWhen my wife and I were living in Indiana a few years ago, a mysterious critter somehow got trapped in our garage. It must have wandered in when we left the door open. I never saw it, but we decided that it must have been a groundhog. Whatever it was, it must have had some powerful claws. In order to escape, the varmint managed to dig up enough of the concrete floor to squeeze underneath the door! I’m glad I didn’t have to come face-to-face with that critter!

Creatures will normally do whatever it takes to get out of a dangerous situation. They will expend a lot of energy and go to great lengths in order to save themselves.

It’s a shame that more people don’t take their eternal salvation so seriously. Especially when all you have to do is trust Jesus and follow him.

“With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”—Acts 2:40-41.

 

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Make It Appealing

diversityAccording to a recent report by the Associated Press, movies with diverse casts do far better at the box office than movies with mostly white actors. The best performers in 2014 were movies in which half the main cast was non-white. These films made more than twice the money earned by those with no non-white actors among its stars. There seems to be an increasing demand for diversity in the movies.

People want to be able to identify with others. They like to have the opportunity to point to an actor on the screen and say, “Hey, that guy/girl is a lot like me!”

Paul the apostle realized the importance of trying to identify with people in order to make the gospel message appealing to them. In 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, he writes, “…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

Let’s make it a goal to try to identify with people. Be careful to be authentic! People can spot a phony from a mile away. But let’s try to make as many people as we can realize that Jesus came to save everybody!

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Last Thing to Forget

Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell

Music legend Glen Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011. Though his memory was fading, he still remembered the words of the hit songs he had performed for his fans for so many years. Campbell performed the final show of his farewell tour on November 30, 2012.

As followers of Jesus Christ, the last thing we should ever forget is that he died on the cross so that we could be saved. Before he died, Jesus gave us a beautiful way to remember his sacrifice—the Lord’s Supper. When we eat the bread and drink from the cup of communion, we remember that he gave his body to be broken and his blood to be shed so that we could be saved.

The last thing we should ever forget is that Jesus died to save us.

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”—Luke 22:19

 

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That’s Where They Go!

offeringA mother once approached her young child’s Sunday School teacher with a problem. It seems that her son was keeping for himself money that he was supposed to be putting in the Sunday School offering. The mother asked the teacher if she would address the issue.

The teacher said that she would, and she decided that she would try to put the fear of the Lord into the young man. She asked him, “Do you know where little boys go when they don’t put their money in the offering plate?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the little boy replied. “They go to the movies!”

Grownups also know that you can go places and do things with money that should go to the Lord. You can go to the movies, the lake, the golf course, the car dealership… You name it, and you can go there.

How much better off we are when we decide to give the Lord what is due him. Our worshipful giving puts us in a better place than non-givers can even imagine!

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”—Malachi 3:10.

 

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Not a Coach

coachI enjoy sports, and I attend a lot of local basketball games. Someone once asked me why I never got into coaching. It’s because I wouldn’t be very good at it. While I understand most of what has happened on the floor, I don’t keep up with the flow of the game quickly enough to be a coach. The coach has to process a lot of information and adjust his strategy accordingly. A few people are good at coaching, however, most people aren’t.

In the church, most people aren’t cut out for leadership. When you consider how God has worked with his people throughout history, you see this principle in Scripture—leadership is in the hands of a few.

From Moses and Joshua to the judges, kings and prophets, not many were called to lead in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, you don’t find a democracy. You see the apostles leading in the beginning stages of the church, and later you find that the elders of a local congregation were to make the most important decisions.

Those who are gifted to lead in the church should do so diligently (Romans 12:6-8). Everyone else should realize that they weren’t meant to be a leader.

“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”—Hebrews 13:17.

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