Wasn’t Invited

Posted on September 27, 2013 by jesustrek

party invitationA little girl who lives down the street and goes to the church where I preach saw me out on my porch the other day and asked, “Why didn’t you come to my birthday party?”

“Because I wasn’t invited,” I responded.

“Well, you could have come anyway.”

“Even if I didn’t know about it?”

It took her a moment, but she realized that I couldn’t possibly have come to a party I didn’t know about.

There is a party waiting for us in heaven, a celebration that will last forever. It is open to everyone who will accept the invitation. However, as good as that news is, some people haven’t gotten the message yet. It’s up to us to get the word out.

“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’ ”—Luke 14:23.

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Drawing the Line

Posted on September 26, 2013 by jesustrek

Modern-FamilytigtlecardI have a confession to make. For the past few years, I have enjoyed watching the popular comedy TV show Modern Family. This show is smartly written, well-acted and wickedly funny. It’s the wicked part that has always nagged me a bit, but I kept on watching the show.

Two of the main characters on the show, Cam and Mitchell, are homosexuals who refer to each other as “boyfriend”. They live together and have adopted a daughter together.

The show tries to portray their situation as just another family. However, they also try to get laughs from the idea that two men live together instead of a man and a woman. Which is it, normal or hilariously outlandish? It can’t be both ways.

Anyway, last night I walked away from the show…forever. The episode celebrated the fact that homosexual “marriage” is being approved in many places. There were hints that Cam and Mitchell would become engaged. I couldn’t keep watching.

Have we lost our collective mind in America? Has the United States gone nuts? Is it too late to turn this hand basket around?

“In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”—Romans 1:27.

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Ready Now

Posted on September 26, 2013 by jesustrek

A preacher once got a phone call from a lady in his church. She told him that her nephew was the victim of a burglary. While he was in bed at night, a thief broke into his house. Alarmed to find someone home, the burglar started firing a pistol at point blank range. When the police investigated, they told the nephew that it was a miracle that he was alive and unharmed.

“Anyway”, the lady concluded, “I think my nephew might be ready to listen to the gospel now. Would you pay him a visit?”

We need to be on the lookout for windows of opportunity; those times when people might be particularly receptive to the message of salvation that God offers through Jesus. A graduation, marriage, birth, family crisis or illness—even nearly getting shot—are just a few examples of times when people might be seeking God. Let’s be watching for those opportunities.

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”—Colossians 4:5.

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Main Thing

Posted on September 25, 2013 by jesustrek

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”—Stephen Covey.

Many self-help gurus continually emphasize the need to prioritize. They remind us that we shouldn’t spend too much time on trivial matters and that we must avoid being distracted from what is truly important.

This means different things to different people. For some, their career gets top billing. Therefore, they spend a lot of extra time on the job, trying to move up the ladder.

Others put family first. They make sure that they spend plenty of quality time with their loved ones. Vacations, weekends, holidays and evenings are all devoted to family.

Many people put a lot of emphasis on recreation. Their hobby or sport gets their total devotion, and as they hurry from one activity to the next, nothing stands in the way of their pursuit of happiness.

Jesus has a different idea about what our top priority should be. He says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33).

If we put God first, all these other things—career, family, leisure, etc.—will fall into place.

It’s worth a try, don’t you think?

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Kind Obituary

Posted on September 24, 2013 by jesustrek

obituariesA family was struggling over how to word the obituary for their Uncle Harry. Uncle Harry was a mean person all of his life. As a matter of fact, he was a convicted criminal who had just been executed in the electric chair at the state prison. The family didn’t want to say all of this in the obituary. On the other hand, they didn’t want to say things about Uncle Harry that were not true. After discussing the matter at length, here is part of what they came up with.

“Uncle Harry held a position in the chair of applied electronics in a prominent government institution. His death came as quite a shock.”

When Jesus walked the earth, he was full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Since he is our perfect example, we need to work hard to find ways of conveying the truth as gracefully as we possibly can. People often err on one side or the other, but we must always strive to be both correct and compassionate.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”—Ephesians 4:15.

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Missing Piece

Posted on September 23, 2013 by jesustrek

piece of a puzzleWhile out for a walk the other day, something on the road caught my eye. It was a small, purplish-blue object. Stopping to examine it, I discovered that it was a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. From its color, it appeared to be part of the sky.

I wondered how this single piece of a puzzle came to reside on the side of the road. Then I wondered if someone would someday put a lot of work into putting the puzzle together, not knowing that a piece was missing. Wouldn’t it be a shame to put all that time and effort into the project, only to have it unfinished in the end?

And isn’t it a shame that a lot of people put so much time and effort into building a life, but they leave out Jesus?

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”—Acts 4:12.

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I Heard You

Posted on September 19, 2013 by jesustrek

KnockingOnDoorThe new pastor was out visiting some of the members of his church. He knocked on the door of an elderly lady’s house. He could see that the lights and the television were on. It seemed like someone was home, but try as he might, he could not get anyone to come to the door. So he left a business card in the door. On the card he simply wrote, “Rev.3:20”. This verse says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…”

The next Sunday, the pastor found a note in his office after church. It had only these words—“Gen.3:10”. After looking up the verse, the pastor began to laugh uncontrollably. That verse reads—“…I heard you…and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

“A cheerful heart is good medicine…”—Proverbs 17:22.

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Covering Our Mistakes

Posted on September 19, 2013 by jesustrek

packageA delivery truck recently left a package on our front porch. However, the package wasn’t addressed to us. It should have been delivered to our neighbors up the street.

It’s no problem for me to take the package to my neighbor. It’s no big deal. I can easily cover the driver’s mistake.

However, it wasn’t so easy for God to cover the mistakes of our sins. It took the sacrificial death of his Son Jesus to do that.

That was a big deal!

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8.

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A Gift for the Courageous

Posted on September 18, 2013 by jesustrek
Max Siepert

Max Siepert

An 11-year-old boy recently walked into the police station at Greenfield, Wisconsin and gave a donation to the police. It seems that he had learned of the courage of the first responders on September 11, 2001, and he was inspired to make a donation. So he left the change that he had been saving—a sum of $10.03.

The boy left without giving his name. Police wanted to learn who this generous young man was, so they did some investigating. They found that it was Max Siepert. Max donated the money in honor of his grandfather, a member of the Milwaukee Police Department who was killed in the line of duty in 1974.

This reminds us that many people are inspired by the courage of Jesus, who also gave his life in the line of duty.

What will you bring to honor him?

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”—2 Corinthians 9:15.

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Mission in Mind

Posted on September 17, 2013 by jesustrek

communionWhen Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain, Peter wanted to put up shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1-4).  Some think that Peter wanted to prolong the experience.

However, the reality was that Jesus and his disciples had work to do. The next episode that Matthew records is where they came down off the mountain and helped someone in need.

Communion can be viewed as a “mountain-top” experience. It is a time when we seem to get a clearer picture of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. This is not to say that we shouldn’t enjoy the experience. However, we can’t stay on the mountain when people down below are in need. We have to keep in mind that we have a mission ahead of us. And we have a glorious Savior to accompany us and empower us for that mission—the crucified and resurrected Jesus!

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