Taste the Difference

Posted on January 12, 2012 by jesustrek

My Dad and I once stopped in for a quick visit with Mamaw Cox. As usual, she offered to fix us a snack. And, as usual, we said “Yes”.

She soon handed each of us a bowl of yummy looking strawberries. My first strawberry didn’t taste just right. I wasn’t alarmed, because sometimes you get a bad strawberry mixed in with the good ones. My second strawberry wasn’t any better. Nor the third. Glancing over at Dad, I saw that he was having the same experience. Neither of us wanted to say anything. Mamaw soon noticed that we weren’t eating our strawberries, and she asked if something was wrong. We suggested that there might be.

Retracing her steps, Mamaw soon determined that, in her effort to sweeten our strawberries, she inadvertently loaded them up with salt instead of sugar! She threw out the ruined batch and gave us some good strawberries.

Salt is fine if it is used for its intended purpose. Otherwise, it is pretty useless.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”—(Matthew 5:13).

If you want to be useful, make a difference in somebody else’s life. In a good way.

Posted in Christian Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Power of the Tongue

Posted on January 10, 2012 by jesustrek

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”—Proverbs 18:21.

We have often been taught that we need to be careful of what we say, because our words have the potential to do great harm to other people. This is indeed true.

However, we also need to be aware of the harm that others can cause us with their words. We often seek affirmation from other people, and when someone cuts us down, belittles us and tells us that we have failed, it can cause us a lot of grief.

Sometimes we beat ourselves up over someone else’s comment, without stopping to consider if their criticism is valid. We should consider the source, and not allow negative people to dampen our spirits or deter us from our purpose. While some criticism is helpful, we should be careful not to give harmful people unwarranted power over our lives.

Posted in Christian Living | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Voices Raised in Prayer

Posted on January 9, 2012 by jesustrek

When the believers heard about the ordeal that Peter and John had just gone through with the religious leaders, “…they raised their voices together in prayer to God…” (Acts 4:24).

I used to know a lady who would occasionally say, “All we can do is whisper a prayer.” I suppose that some prayers are best whispered. But some prayers are more properly prayed with your voice raised.

Think of some of the prayers offered up by Job and David. They had some difficult questions for God, and it seems that they asked him these questions under great stress, dealing with deep emotions. I can’t imagine that they always whispered in their conversations with God. Surely they prayed with their voices raised.

When I think about some of my most memorable talks with God, I remember praying to him with my voice raised. When I heard about a friend who had suffered a serious heart attack, I prayed for him…but I didn’t whisper. When I was rushing to the hospital to check on a friend who had been struck by a car, I prayed for him…but I didn’t whisper. When a man was working diligently to divide the leadership of the church where I served, I prayed for the church…but I didn’t whisper.

When is the last time you actually raised your voice in prayer to God? When might be the next time?

Posted in Christian Living, Prayer | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There’s an App for That

Posted on January 6, 2012 by jesustrek

I keep hearing about these things called “apps” that you can get for your cell phone. I don’t think they would work for me because my cell phone is so old. It’s one of the early models that runs on kerosene and has a rotary dial.

There is an app you can apply to your life no matter what kind of phone you have. It’s found in Psalm 1. Here’s what it looks like.

            A—Avoid evil (v.1)

            P—Plant yourself in God’s Word (vv.2-3a)

            P—Produce and prosper (v.3)

Now there’s an app that can really make a difference in your life!

 

Posted in Christian Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting in the First Word

Posted on January 5, 2012 by jesustrek

I don’t want to sound like the weird guy on the street corner holding up a sign that says the world is about to end, but I do want to say something about repentance. This is a very important biblical concept.

When John came to prepare the way for Jesus, the very first word he speaks in Matthew’s gospel is the word “Repent”. (3:1-2). Later in that same gospel, after Jesus began his preaching ministry, the very first word out of his mouth is “Repent”. (4:17). When the apostle Peter preached his famous sermon on the day the church was born, he didn’t start out his remarks by talking about repentance. But when people asked what they should do in response to his sermon, his very first word was—you guessed it—“Repent”. (Acts 2:38).

Although repentance is important in the pages of the Bible, it seems to have fallen out of favor with God’s people today. It isn’t preached from the pulpit, nor practiced from the pew, as much as it should be. Perhaps the reason we don’t see revival more than we do is that people refuse to believe that they have any need to change.

I have seen people do incredible harm to their church family and never express any remorse whatsoever. I have seen lukewarm church members try to live on the fringes of the kingdom and never see the need to get serious about the Lord and his church.

Jesus says, “…But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3).

Let’s put that word “repent” back into the vocabulary of the church.

.

Posted in Christian Living | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Obey the Law

Posted on January 4, 2012 by jesustrek

Yesterday I pulled away from an intersection that I thought was a 4-way stop. The person driving the pickup truck approaching from my right knew that it was actually a 2-way stop, and that he had the right of way, not me. He did not have to stop. Thanks to me, however, he did have to put on his brakes!

Fortunately, he saw me in plenty of time to avoid me, and no one was hurt. People often do get hurt, however, when rules are ignored. Sometimes when we break the law, we hurt ourselves; sometimes we hurt other people.

The same truth applies when we break spiritual laws. God sets rules in place for us to obey. He does this for the benefit of all people. When those laws are broken, people get hurt. So let’s be careful as we drive on life’s highway. Let’s obey the signs that tell us what to do.

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.”—Titus 3:1.

Posted in Christian Living | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

She’s a Must to Avoid

Posted on January 2, 2012 by jesustrek

“She’s a must to avoid

A complete impossibility

She’s a must to avoid

Better take it from me”—Herman’s Hermits

Have you ever tried to get along with someone, but it just didn’t seem possible to work things out? I suppose that happens to everyone. Even Paul and Barnabas decided they needed to go their separate ways because they couldn’t solve a dispute that arose between them (Acts 15:36-41).

I try to live my life in such a way that I don’t have to avoid anyone. I like to be able to walk up to anyone at any time and shake their hand and offer a sincere greeting. I’ll admit that there have been times when such encounters have been awkward because of a rift in a relationship.

Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” The Bible teaches that we should do our best to get along with people. But it also acknowledges the fact that some people will refuse to get along with you.

Let’s try to be patient with people. After all, God was pretty patient with us, right?

Oh, and if you see me cross to the other side of the street as I’m headed in your direction, I’m probably not trying to avoid you.

Posted in Christian Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Promise to Do Better

Posted on December 31, 2011 by jesustrek

The coming of a New Year often causes people to make resolutions. I have a friend who decided to quit smoking last year. He got so much satisfaction from that decision that he has resolved to quit smoking again this year!

I decided just this morning that I needed to make some changes in my eating habits. That decision came shortly after I cut myself shaving, only to discover that the liquid trickling down my chin was pure gravy!

Seriously, we all need to assess our lives occasionally and determine what specific changes we could make in order to become more like Jesus. Perhaps now would be a good time to reflect on how we might make some self-improvements in the coming year.

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”—1 Timothy 4:15.

Posted in Christian Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Money in the Bank

Posted on December 30, 2011 by jesustrek

I have some big news to share with you! I woke up early this morning, went to the computer and discovered that a prince from Nigeria had contacted me. It seems that he has been having difficulty transferring his huge fortune from Nigeria to the U.S. Out of all the people he could have asked to help him, he chose me! All he needed me to do was to give him my banking information. In exchange for my help, he promised he would take care of me. I expect a big change in my net worth very soon!

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”—Proverbs 23:4-5.

Posted in Christian Living, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s Never Too Late to Learn

Posted on December 29, 2011 by jesustrek
Jim Henry

Jim Henry published his first book, In a Fisherman’s Language, in November at the age of 98. What is more remarkable is that he was illiterate until he was in his 90s.

Henry’s father pulled him out of the third grade so he could help support his family. He never learned to read, and he hid his illiteracy from others for decades. The retired lobsterman began to learn to read and write just a few years ago.

About his newly-acquired ability to read and write, Henry says, “It’s the difference between night and day for me. It’s like I’m born again.” He encourages others, “It’s never too late to learn.”

I’m afraid that some people think that it’s too late for them to become biblically literate. The Bible seems like a huge, complicated book, and perhaps they didn’t study it much when they were younger.

However, God wants us to read and understand the Scripture. Even if we have wasted some opportunities in the past, it is never too late to learn the Bible. It will make a huge difference in your life.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”—2 Timothy 2:15.

Posted in Christian Living | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment