Character Matters

Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner insists that he will continue with his campaign to become the next mayor of New York City. Many are calling for him to drop out of the race after it was revealed that the disgraced congressman continued to exchange explicit text messages even after his previous sexting had destroyed his career. Weiner seems intent on making a political comeback, hoping that the voters will give him another chance.

They just might do that. After all, President Clinton is one of the most popular public figures in the world, even after he lied about sexual activity with White House intern Monica Lewinsky—activity that took place in the White House! And voters in South Carolina sent Mark Sanford to Washington as their representative not all that long after his well-publicized affair while he was governor of that state.

People will often settle for unfit leaders. One parable in the Bible says, “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’—Judges 9:14.

It doesn’t have to be that way in a democracy. We have the ability to choose men and women of good character to be our leaders. In spite of what some people think, character indeed does matter.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”—Proverbs 14:34.

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Enjoying Life

shoe

A man entered a shoe store to purchase a pair of dress shoes for work. The clerk measured the man’s foot and said, “It looks like you need a size 11.”

“No”, replied the customer. “I wear a size 9. Please bring me a pair of size 9 black dress shoes to try on.”

The clerk thought to himself, “I won’t argue with him. He will soon change his mind after he tries to cram his feet into shoes that are way too small for him.” So he brought the man some size 9s to try on.

The customer pried and pushed until he finally jammed his feet into the shoes. He laced them up and took a few obviously painful steps across the floor. Then he turned to the clerk and said, “This pair is fine. I’ll take them.”

The stunned clerk could not keep his thoughts to himself. He exclaimed, “Sir, you and I both know that these shoes are far too small for you. Why in the world would you want to wear shoes that are so terribly uncomfortable?”

With a sigh of resignation, the customer shared the following.

“I hate my job. My boss is impossible to please, and he constantly stands over my shoulder, criticizing everything I do. When I come home in the evening, my wife begins her non-stop nagging. It seems I can never do anything right at home either. Then, there are my kids. All three of them are hyperactive, bouncing off the walls and yelling at the top of their voices. On top of all that, my mother-in-law lives with us. The only satisfaction I have in life is that, at the end of the day, I get to take off these tight shoes!”

I hope your life is better than that!

Remember that God “…richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”—1 Timothy 6:17.

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This One Thing

runner-celebrates-at-the-finish-line

I once spoke with a youth minister who had some teenage girls in his youth group who were having some homosexual desires. The group spoke openly about this subject. The girls who were struggling with these temptations knew what the Bible says about the sin of homosexual behavior. However, they wondered if God wouldn’t let them have “this one thing”. Perhaps if they tried to please him in every other way, God might look the other way concerning their sexual choices.

Here are a couple of observations.

First, there is not so much of a generational gap when it comes to such matters as there is a spiritual gap. Some people of all ages believe the Bible is true. Yet some people of all ages wish that they could ignore at least a portion of what the Bible commands.

Second, we all have different temptations. We cannot pick and choose from among the Bible’s commandments, as if it were some type of spiritual buffet. For many of us, there is one particular sin—“this one thing”—that threatens to trip us up and cause us to stumble.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “…Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

What is the “one thing” that threatens to trip you up?

What are you doing to safeguard yourself against being knocked out of the race?

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Time to Shine

untitledMany people agree that our nation is in a noticeable period of moral decline that has been going on for decades and shows no sign of improving. Just when we think we have hit rock bottom, society lowers the bar even further.

Bob Russell says, “Even the secular world recognizes we’ve lost our moral compass and we’re in trouble.” Russell was recently playing golf with some men when one of them said to him, “Preacher, I’m not a religious man, but I know something is drastically wrong with our country. We’ve lost all sense of right and wrong. You see it in the workplace all the time. Makes you wonder what’s going to happen.”

Just because there is a lot of evil in the world, there is no reason to throw up our hands in despair. Bob Russell points out, “When the electricity goes out, it’s a great time to be selling flashlights. A crisis can be a golden opportunity to advance a cause, and if that cause is a Godly one, it can reap eternal benefits.”

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden…In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”—Matthew 5:14,16.

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Bad Influence

A New York man who ran on to the playing area at Citi Field during the All-Star game faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The suspect, 18-year-old Dylan McCue-Masone is charged with interfering with a professional sporting event. He has pleaded not guilty.

McCue-Masone allegedly ran on to the field as a result of a Twitter dare. It is said that he initiated a dare to run onto the field if he received 1,000 responses to his tweet.

Hopefully, if he is convicted, each responder will chip in $1 to help pay his fine. A jail visit would be nice too.

Peer pressure has always been a factor in being tempted to do the wrong thing. Modern technology gives more opportunities to be influenced by others, for good or for bad.

“Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”—1 Corinthians 15:33.

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Helpless

Baby-Bird

A huge limb fell out of a tree in our back yard a few days ago. Some friends came by with pickup trucks and chain saws and helped me clean up the worst of it.

The next day, another friend and I were trying to finish the work when we noticed that a couple of baby birds had fallen out of their nest when the branch came down. Amazingly, they were still alive! I gently placed them in the shade and hoped that their parents would come and take care of them.  Without the parents’ help, the baby birds had no hope for survival.

This is a reminder that we humans are powerless to save ourselves. Without the grace of God, we are completely helpless.

Thankfully, he sees us in our need and provides for us in Jesus the salvation that we so desperately need. With Jesus, our salvation is assured.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”—Ephesians 2:4-5.

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Bump in the Road

Nathan Woessner

Nathan Woessner

6-year-old Nathan Woessner was playing on a massive sand dune in northern Indiana with his father and a friend last Friday. Suddenly, Nathan disappeared from sight. More than 3 hours later, rescuers pulled him from the sand. He showed no signs of life, and he was put in the back of a pickup truck to be taken to a waiting ambulance.

As the truck moved along, it hit a bump that apparently jarred Nathan’s body back to life. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Nathan is expected to recover and may be released after 10-14 days in the hospital.

Sometimes a bump in the road can bring someone back to life spiritually. A serious illness, the death of a loved one or some other traumatic experience might be what it takes to get someone to wake up and become serious about living for Jesus.

We ought to be on the lookout for people who are suddenly jarred to their senses. They often need someone to help them through the experience.

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

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Long Time Coming

Kenny Perry

Kenny Perry

Kenny Perry is one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now. He came from 10 shots down after 36 holes to pull away from the field for a convincing win in the U.S. Senior Open in Omaha, Nebraska. He has now won two consecutive majors, which is quite an accomplishment.

About his golf game, Perry said, “It all came together. Why, after all these years? Here I am, (almost) 53 years old, and it finally came together for me.”

The Bible contains several stories of people who had it “all come together” for them after many years. Moses was 80 when he got his big chance. Joshua worked under Moses for 40 years before he got his turn to lead. David had to wait for years after he was anointed king before he actually held the position.

 So if you think you might have missed your chance to make a big impact in life, think again. Your best moment might still be ahead of you.

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Let Down

Tyson Gay

Tyson Gay

American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay has tested positive for a banned substance and has withdrawn from the world championships next month in Moscow. Gay’s “B” sample will be tested soon, but this rarely yields different results.

This announcement is surprising to many. Tyson Gay is well-liked by his fellow competitors and has a reputation of being honest and fair.

Gay has not revealed many details of what has occurred, but he says, “I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”

Perhaps he took supplements given to him by a trusted individual, and those supplements contained a banned substance. In any case, he placed his faith in the wrong person, and now he is paying the price for that misplaced trust.

You see examples of this all the time. Barack Obama listened to the hateful false teaching of Jeremiah Wright for many years. Now, in a position to influence public policy for righteous purposes, our president instead is pro-abortion and favors changing God’s definition of marriage. He trusted the wrong spiritual advisor, and he was let down.

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Don’t be let down. Be careful who you trust.

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Hardly Working

A recent Gallup poll reveals that 7 out of 10 American workers are not really actively engaged in their job. The survey showed that only 30% of workers are truly committed to their workplace. The rest do not attempt to perform at a high level, and this costs companies a lot of money. Furthermore, the report says that these disengaged workers undermine their place of employment with their poor attitude.

Hopefully, Christians understand their duty to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. We owe that to our employers. We owe it to our co-workers. And, most importantly, we owe it to God to be honest, faithful, hard-working employees.

“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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