The Helper

Posted on February 29, 2012 by jesustrek

Years ago I used to visit an elderly lady in a nursing home. This dear saint was suffering from dementia. I had not known her before this awful disease robbed her of most of her mental capabilities, but I was told that she was a wonderful Christian woman.

At this point in her life, her vocabulary consisted of 4 or 5 short phrases that she repeated over and over. I only remember one of those phrases: “God’s the helper.”

The last thing that we should ever forget is that God is our helper. Psalm 54:4 says, “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”

Regular participation in communion is an excellent way to remember the help that God has given us through his Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior.

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The Negotiator

Posted on February 28, 2012 by jesustrek

Did you hear about the son who faced an unexpected expense while away at college? He called home and told his father, “Dad, I need you to send me $100.”

The father exclaimed, “$50! Why in the world do you need $20?”

Some people are downright stingy. Even though God the Father commands tithing (Malachi 3:10) and Jesus the Son commends it (Matthew 23:23), only a small number of Christians give 10% of their earnings back to the Lord. One study puts the number of tithing Christians as low as 6%.

Maybe we need to stop negotiating with God and simply trust him. What do you think?

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Living in Unity

Posted on February 27, 2012 by jesustrek

“To live above with those we love, O that will be glory! But to live below with those we know, now that’s a different story!”—Unknown

Unity is hard to come by, even in the family of God. Paul had received word of quarrels in the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11). He pleaded with a couple of ladies in Philippi to get along with each other (Philippians 4:2).

Whenever we begin to think that our own congregation has problems, we might take comfort in remembering that the churches mentioned in the New Testament had similar struggles.

However, that is no excuse for not striving for unity and harmony. Jesus says, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34). Paul wrote, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3).

Let’s do whatever we can to promote peace in our churches. Let’s be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”—Psalm 133:1.

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Simplify

Posted on February 24, 2012 by jesustrek
Greg Smith

Greg Smith claims that a school speed limit sign in White Lake, Michigan is far too complicated to be effective. He says that drivers “practically have to come to a stop to read it.” Town officials have agreed to look into the matter.

Sometimes we make things much more complicated than they need to be. I have seen churches weigh themselves down with so many rules and regulations that it is nearly impossible to make important decisions.

Jesus warns against such legalism. He said of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:4).

I understand that sometimes written guidelines can be helpful, but I have seen some extremely burdensome systems adopted by churches. Therefore, I have become quite intentional about avoiding legalistic situations. Once I was interviewing for a preaching position with a church, and I asked the leaders about their constitution and by-laws. One of the elders reached over and put his hand on my Bible and said, “This is all the constitution and by-laws we have.”

I thought that was a pretty good answer. What do you think?  

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Urgency of the Cause

Posted on February 23, 2012 by jesustrek

In the days after September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush agonized over the decision to send U.S. troops into combat in the war against terror. He knew that there would be casualties and that each life lost would be devastating for the family involved. During that time, the president received a letter from a fourth-grade girl whose father was in the military. She said, “As much as I don’t want my dad to fight, I’m willing to give him to you.”

Bush later wrote, “My anxiety about the sacrifice was mitigated by the urgency of the cause.”

The need to set humanity free from their sin was urgent enough to send Jesus Christ to the cross. Jesus asked his Father if there was any other way (Matthew 26:36-42). But as Hebrews 9:22 says, “…Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”—Hebrews 9:28.

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Unexpected Victories

Posted on February 22, 2012 by jesustrek
1980 team celebrates

On this date (Feb.22) in 1980, the United States Olympic hockey team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history when they defeated the Soviet Union 4-3 in the medal round of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The underdog U.S. team was given virtually no chance to win. Their unlikely victory is still celebrated after all these years.

God seems to have a special place in his heart for underdogs. Armed only with a sling and a few stones, David defeated a well-armed giant. Gideon led a greatly outnumbered army to victory. And, against all odds, a carpenter-turned-preacher conquered death, not only for himself, but for all who put their trust in him.

Who would have ever imagined it would turn out that way? Thank God for unexpected victories!

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Corinthians 15:57.    

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Prepared to Rebuke

Posted on February 21, 2012 by jesustrek

Last night I attended a high school district tournament basketball game. During the course of the game, the student cheering section from our school began to shout mean and profane chants at the students from the other school.

I was embarrassed at the lack of class shown by teenagers who should know better than to act that way in public. Such behavior only serves to perpetuate the “ignorant redneck” stereotype that plagues our area.

However, I was pleased to see the immediate and forceful response by school administrators who were in attendance. They quickly quieted the unruly students and lectured them on proper behavior. The student section sat quietly through the rest of the game.

There is much to be said in favor of a timely rebuke. Paul commanded Timothy, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2).

There is a lesson to be learned here for anyone in a position of authority. Parents, teachers, supervisors, church leaders, etc. should be prepared to correct those in their sphere of influence whenever they get out of line. Sometimes people just need to be told to calm down and be quiet.

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Just Be Yourself

Posted on February 20, 2012 by jesustrek
Rory McIlroy

Young golfing sensation Rory McIlroy was once tempted to copy the style of another player. When he was 13, his golf coach, Michael Bannon, caught Rory trying to imitate Tiger Woods’ follow through. He told him to stop doing that. “Why don’t you just swing like Rory McIlroy?” he asked. It turned out to be excellent advice.

Sometimes it’s good to follow the example of people who have experienced success. However, there are times when we just need to be ourselves. David tried on Saul’s armor, but it didn’t suit him. He had to fight his own battles in his own way (1 Samuel 17).

God has given each of us different gifts, talents and opportunities, and we should seek to serve him by using our unique abilities whenever we have the chance.

Don’t try to be something that you are not. God only made one you. Nobody else can be you nearly as well as you can. So be the best you that you can possibly be! No imitations. Just be yourself.

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Hard to Be Humble

Posted on February 17, 2012 by jesustrek

H.A. Ironside, who preached in the early 20th century, noticed that he was becoming proud of himself. His church was doing well, his messages were well-received and people were even recognizing him on the street.

Realizing that he needed to do something to humble himself, he hired himself out for a day. His job was to carry a sandwich board advertisement around for an entire day.

That night he thought to himself, “What a humbling experience that was!” His next thought was, “I’ll bet there’s not another preacher in Chicago who would be willing to do what I did today!”

It’s hard to be humble. Just when you think you have attained humility, you may have just lost it!

However, we must never give up trying to avoid the sin of pride. We must always strive to remain humble.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”—1 Peter 5:6.

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Rescued

Posted on February 16, 2012 by jesustrek

A toddler has been rescued after becoming trapped inside a game machine in Lexington, Kentucky. Caitlin Campbell was playing with some other children when she was apparently attracted to the stuffed animals in a coin-operated machine. Caitlin crawled up a chute and into the machine, and then she couldn’t get out.

The little girl was brave until firefighters cut off the lock to free her. Needless to say, she was quite happy to be set free and to be reunited with her mother.

Sometimes people are enticed by what the world has to offer and get trapped in sin. We can’t free ourselves from this dilemma, but Jesus can. He died to set us free from sin and had made it possible for us to be with our heavenly Father.

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