What Are You Supposed to Say?

Posted on November 23, 2011 by jesustrek

A friend once brought her 4 sons to our house for Halloween. My wife and I invited these trick-or-treaters inside so we could comment on their costumes. The youngest, 3 years old, was dressed as a ghost.

When they were ready to leave, the mother wanted to make sure that her sons had thanked us for the candy, so she asked them, “What are you supposed to say?” The 3-year-old looked up at us and said, “Boo!”

Maybe we all need to be taught a little better how to say thanks. It often takes time and effort to develop a grateful heart. As we learn better to appreciate the many blessings that we have in Jesus Christ, hopefully we will become better at expressing our gratitude to our heavenly Father who loves us so much.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”—1 Thessalonians 5:18.

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Name Them One By One

Posted on November 23, 2011 by jesustrek

A story is told about a minister who was visiting a leper colony. He was leading the worship, and there was time for one more congregational song. A woman who had kept her face turned away from the platform turned toward the worship leader, revealing a face that had been ravaged by leprosy. She raised her stub of a hand and asked, “Can we sing “Count Your Blessings”?

Overcome by emotion, the minister fled the stage. He was followed by a fellow minister who tried to comfort him. “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again!”

“Oh, yes I will,” he responded, “but never the same way.”

Count your blessings today.

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Untarnished

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jesustrek

Some people feel that the reputation of the entire university at Penn State has taken a huge hit because of the sex scandal that has recently unfolded. Several individuals have been charged with wrong-doing. Some would say that the sins of a few have given the whole university a black eye.

Others, however, disagree. Amy Fietlson, a 19-year-old sophomore at Penn State says, “I don’t think that our name is tarnished at all. The integrity of a few individuals who have been involved with this school is definitely tarnished, but for the rest of us that had no way of preventing it or had no involvement in it, we are not tarnished at all. Our integrity remains.”

In Revelation 3, Jesus sent a message for the church at Sardis. He chastised some of them and told them that they needed to repent and to spiritually “Wake up!” (v.2.). However, he goes on to say, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” (vv.4-5).

Some people who claim to follow Jesus behave in a devilish manner. Their sins do not stain the reputation of those who are living godly lives. The church, the sparkling bride of Christ, remains untarnished.

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Truly Thankful

Posted on November 21, 2011 by jesustrek

Two men were walking across a field. They didn’t realize that there was a mean bull in that field. Soon the bull realized that the two men had invaded his territory. The huge beast, with its menacing horns, charged toward the men, who started running for their lives.

“You’d better start praying!” one man urged.

“I don’t know how!” the second man frantically responded.

“Did your mother pray when you were little?”

“Yes!”

“Then pray like she did!”

The frightened man prayed in a loud voice, “O Lord, for what we are about to receive, may we truly be thankful!”

We are receiving many wonderful blessings from our loving heavenly Father. May we truly be thankful!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…”—James 1:17.

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Centuries of Gratitude

Posted on November 19, 2011 by jesustrek
Leroy Lawson

The following words are credited to Leroy Lawson.

The words are spoken, but they aren’t enough. Some other expression is needed, something more tangible. That’s where the meal comes in, and the congregating of loved ones, and the expending of all the energy devoted to making the day different from other days. You need to do, not just say your thanks. You need a celebration, a representative activity, to make it work. You are seeking a way to give thanks together, to commune.

So in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving together in a kind of national communion. And in the church, we celebrate sacred Communion, which is always thanks-giving.

Thus like Jesus, before drinking from the cup and eating of the bread, we say thanks. We use plain words, but they are overlaid with centuries of gratitude.

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Too Nice?

Posted on November 19, 2011 by jesustrek
Billy Graham

My last blog was about how our society has changed its religious views since Billy Graham was in his prime. In searching for a picture of a young Billy Graham preaching, I wanted to show him holding the Bible with a pleasant look on his face and, I don’t know, maybe a halo around his head. I wanted him to look like Jesus, who was always smiling and never offended anybody.

However, many of those photos I found portray a more stern-looking Billy Graham than I like to remember. He often had a harsh look on his face, and even appeared to be angry about something.

How could this be? Is there a vast conspiracy out there, trying to make Billy Graham look bad? Or, is this the way he really looked when he preached those sermons that led to the salvation of countless thousands of people?

On second thought, maybe it is appropriate to have a serious look on your face when you are talking about how sin leads to the eternal destruction of people who aren’t saved. Perhaps a harsh expression is needed to go with some harsh words as we call for people to repent and leave their lives of sin in order to follow Christ.

Jesus actually did say some pretty offensive things occasionally. He once rebuked his friend Peter quite sternly (Matthew 16:23). Try reading Matthew 23 out loud sometime, just as you imagine Jesus might have said those stinging words.

Paul told Timothy to “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).

Maybe we are too nice these days. Perhaps the biblical rebuke needs to make a comeback. Could there be any correlation between society’s downward spiral and our reluctance to tell the truth the way Billy Graham did a few decades ago?

Are we too nice? What do you think?

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Changing Religious Views

Posted on November 17, 2011 by jesustrek
Billy Graham

A few years ago, I was too sick to preach on Sunday. It is the only time in 20 years of preaching that I have had to miss a Sunday morning sermon due to illness.

I wasn’t too sick to watch television, so I heard a few sermons that day. The one I remember best was an old recording of Billy Graham in his prime. The beloved evangelist clearly, boldly and passionately laid out the straight-forward gospel that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. This is the message that Graham has so consistently proclaimed for decades, and he is one of the most respected men in America.

Fast forward a few decades. Mr. Graham, now in his 90s, is enjoying retirement. His son, Franklin, has made his mark as a preacher also. However, Franklin Graham is not nearly as beloved as his father, even though he preaches the same gospel message—that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

As a matter of fact, Franklin Graham has been reviled by many for staying faithful to the truth. He has been called a homophobe and an intolerant bigot who hates Muslims.

Why do we see such different reactions to the same message? It’s because the religious views of our nation have changed drastically over the past few decades. Tolerance now trumps truth. Billy Graham is no longer the greatest individual spiritual influence in our nation. Perhaps that distinction now goes to Oprah (a scary thought)!

As our culture changes its view on religion, we have a choice to make. We can change along with it. Or we can determine to cling to the truth with all of our might.

Let’s cling to the truth!

“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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When Duty Calls

Posted on November 16, 2011 by jesustrek
Charlie Strong

University of Louisville head football coach Charlie Strong is displeased with his players after a recent loss to Pittsburgh. Strong said that his team was distracted by the release of a new video game—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. He said that at least one player missed class after staying up all night to play the game. Other players seemed to be more focused on playing a video game than preparing for their next opponent. If they had won the game against Pitt, Louisville would have become bowl eligible. This, of course, caused coach Strong to be even more frustrated with his team’s lackluster preparation. After a frank discussion with his team Sunday night, the coach hopes that his team can regroup. “They got called to duty,” Strong said.

We should always remember that we are engaged in spiritual warfare, and the stakes are incredibly high. We can’t afford to be distracted from our duties. We must remain focused on the task at hand.

“We proclaim him…To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.”—Colossians 1:28-29.

Duty calls.

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Reaping a Good Harvest

Posted on November 15, 2011 by jesustrek

Victor Giesbrecht stopped along a Wisconsin highway to help Sara Berg change a tire. She was thankful to God for this Good Samaritan who went out of his way to help her in her time of need.

Moments after he drove off, Giesbrecht went into cardiac arrest and his wife had to bring their pickup truck to a stop. Sara then stopped to help Victor. She and her cousin, Lisa Meier, performed CPR until emergency personnel arrived. They are credited with saving his life.

I don’t buy into the idea that the universe always evens things out with good or bad karma. However, there is a biblical principle that you generally will reap what you sow. We usually think about this in negative terms, as in paying the consequences for our sins. But the Bible also talks about this in a positive light. Galatians 6:8-9 says, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Let’s sow some good seeds today. It might not save your life, but, hey, you never know!

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Safe Bet

Posted on November 12, 2011 by jesustrek

“Let us weigh the gain and the loss, in wagering that God is. Consider these alternatives; if you win, you win all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Do not hesitate, then, to wager that he is.”—Blaise Pascal

This is often called “Pascal’s Wager”. We all have to choose whether or not we will believe in God. You can consider the evidence of creation, Scripture and the arguments of those who have gone before us. But ultimately you will have to make a decision about God. That decision will not only determine how you live in this life, it will determine where you live for eternity.

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 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 9:27-28.

There is a lot at stake. Choose well.

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