Heart for Worship

Posted on June 14, 2012 by jesustrek

The widow Gladys Dunn decided that she would be more out-going, especially in making visitors to her church feel welcome. The very next Sunday, she saw a man with whom she was not familiar, but she didn’t notice him until after the worship service had started. She vowed to give him a proper greeting after church.

As soon as the service had ended, she walked up to the sleep-looking visitor, who had only stayed awake in church with great difficulty. Extending her right hand to the man, she said, “Hello, I’m Gladys Dunn.” The gentleman replied, “I’m glad it’s done, too!”

That’s not quite the attitude God wants us to have toward worship! Jesus says that God is looking for people who want to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). We should say along with the Psalm writer, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”—Psalm 122:1.

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Immortality

Posted on June 13, 2012 by jesustrek

Ray Bradbury

Legendary American author Ray Bradbury died on June 5 at the age of 91. Bradbury, best known for his works of science fiction, inspired and entertained many people with his imagination.

Bradbury often said that his career was inspired by a chance meeting in 1932 with a magician called Mr. Electrico. At the end of his performance, the magician reached out to the captivated 12-year-old, tapped him with his sword and proclaimed, “Live forever!”

Mr. Bradbury will indeed live on, in a sense, through his writings. However, the only way to truly live forever is by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

In John 11:25, Jesus was talking with a lady named Martha about this subject. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She did. Do you?

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Fair Judging

Posted on June 11, 2012 by jesustrek

Left, Pacquiao; Right, Bradley

There is a huge uproar in the world of professional boxing after the controversial outcome of the welterweight title fight Saturday night in Las Vegas. Most observers thought that Manny Pacquiao successfully defended his title against challenger Timothy Bradley. However, two of the three judges saw it differently, and their decision is the one that counts.

Sports writer Tim Dahlberg called the judging “…questionable, if not borderline incompetent.” Dahlberg adds, “But boxing has always been a subjective sport, and anything shy of a knockout is always open to interpretation by the three ringside judges who score each round.”

Life is often unfair. We sometimes disagree with those who give their assessment of our efforts. It’s good to know that the final analysis of our lives will be made by a Judge who is perfectly fair and impartial.

“God will give to each person according to what he has done…For God does not show favoritism.”—Romans 2:6,11.

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Not for Nothing

Posted on June 8, 2012 by jesustrek

Trish Vickers

A blind British woman named Trish Vickers was writing a novel, with dreams of finding a publisher. Those dreams were shattered when she showed her son what she had written, and he informed her that her pen had run out of ink before she had even begun writing. All she had to show for her hard work was a notebook filled with empty pages.

However, Vickers and her son asked the police if they could help. Using the kind of forensic technology that is seen on television shows, detectives were able to recover the words she had written from the indentations left on the paper. Her work was not done in vain after all.

Sometimes we may get discouraged about our life’s work. We wonder if there is anything of value in what we have accomplished. While it might not seem that anything is visible, the Lord knows what we have done. Nothing we have done for him will go unnoticed or unrewarded.

“I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”—Revelation 2:19.

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Never Give Up!

Posted on June 7, 2012 by jesustrek

On April 7, 1969, Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Don Drysdale gave up a home run to Cincinnati’s Pete Rose on the very first pitch of the game. Drysdale threw his second pitch to Bobby Tolan, and Tolan hit a home run also. After this terrible start, Drysdale settled down and did not allow Cincinnati to score any more runs. Drysdale’s Dodgers ended up winning the game 3-2.

The moral of the story is to never give up, even if you get off to a bad start. Don’t be discouraged if you made some early mistakes in school, in marriage, in business, in church or as a parent. With the Lord’s help, you can overcome a bad start and enjoy great success.

“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”—Hebrews 10:39.

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What Really Matters

Posted on June 6, 2012 by jesustrek

This story is adapted from one told by Paul Harvey several years ago.

A lady was once involved in a minor automobile accident. She was very upset because the accident was her fault and her brand new car was only two days removed from the dealer’s showroom. She dreaded facing her husband.

The lady reached into the glove compartment to find the insurance documents. However, the first paper she found was a note, written in her husband’s distinctive handwriting. It said, “In case of an accident, remember, Honey, it’s you I love, not the car.”

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church…”—Ephesians 5:25.

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Who’s In Charge?

Posted on June 4, 2012 by jesustrek

Several years ago, the church I was serving invited a guest speaker to come and preach. This man was not only a good speaker; he also had a gift for singing. During the music portion of our worship service, his voice rang out clear and strong.

However, this fellow sort of got into his own little world as he sang. Not only did his volume drown out both the worship leader and the piano player, he got way ahead of them both! The congregation did not know who to follow, resulting in chaos and confusion.

Churches often suffer when they don’t know who to follow. God has ordained that the church is to be led by the elders. If the leaders’ authority is usurped by any individual or group, the whole church ends up in a state of confusion.

Is it clear who is in charge at your church?

“Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”—1 Corinthians 14:8.

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The Big Five-Five

Posted on June 1, 2012 by jesustrek

Today is my birthday. This is a rather significant milestone. Today I am 55 years old. That’s right; I have just hit the big Five-Five, the double nickel.

It’s hard to put a positive spin on this. Even if I eat right and get the proper amount of exercise, at least a third of my life is probably behind me. I am approaching middle age, and middle age does not appear to be the least bit frightened of me.

Maybe one good thing about getting to be my age is that I can at least start to think about retirement. I am employed as a minister at a church. At our last elders’ meeting, I asked the elders about the retirement plan at our church. They informed me that I could quit any time I want!

Seriously, I hope that I have some good years left serving the Lord. After all, Moses was 80 years old when he received the most important assignment of his life. Joshua served under Moses for 40 years before he got promoted, so he must have had some age on him when he began some of his greatest work.

One of my favorite “old geezers” in the Bible is Caleb. Listen to what he says—“…So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.” (Joshua 14:10-11).

You get the idea that Caleb might have gone around challenging the younger guys to an arm wrestling match! You have to admire his zeal and his desire to continue to make a difference.

I want to continue to make a difference too! How about you?

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Hands on the Wheel

Posted on May 31, 2012 by jesustrek

Former Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden once told one of his players, “Son, you’ve got a good engine, but your hands aren’t on the steering wheel.” This was the old coach’s way of telling the young man that he had a lot of talent, but he needed to be in better control of his actions.

Many Christians have the same problem. They have an abundance of gifts and abilities, but their out-of-control lives keep them from excelling. Poor decisions and a lack of focus negate a lot of good that they could be contributing to the cause of Christ.

It is critically important that we keep our hands firmly on the steering wheel of our lives. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”

Notice that self-control is the last piece of the puzzle. If you want to live a fruitful, Spirit-filled life, you have to be in control of your actions. Don’t play the “blame game”. Don’t fall into a victim mentality. Be in control of your life. Keep your hands on the steering wheel!

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Must Have It!

Posted on May 30, 2012 by jesustrek

My wife and I saw a barge pull over to the side of the Ohio River near our house. We walked over closer to see what the occasion was, since the boats don’t usually stop here.

We observed a man lower a small boat into the water. Then he put a bicycle into the boat, got in the boat himself and started paddling to the shore.

The shore was muddy, so he had difficulty getting out of the boat. He fell and got his hands and knees muddy. After securing the small boat, he got the bike out of the boat and started pushing it up the river bank.

I had gone down to meet him, and asked if he needed any help. He thanked me, but said that all he needed was directions to the nearest convenience store. It turned out that he was on a beer run for the crew!

As I watched him peddle away, I thought that it seemed like a lot of trouble just to get some beer.

I hope that Christian people show the same diligence and determination in getting to church to take communion on Sunday!

“…Do this in remembrance of me.”—Luke 22:19.

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