Bless their Hearts!

Posted on June 3, 2011 by jesustrek

We Christians sometimes speak as if we have a license to say mean things about people when they aren’t present. It’s as if we think our words are not offensive if we end the comment with the phrase, “Bless their heart!”

We have all heard people make cutting remarks like this: “Poor thing! She tried to bake a decent cake for the bake sale…bless her heart!” “He’s not a bad guy. He just can’t seem to stay sober long enough to keep a job anywhere…bless his heart!” “She sure does date a lot of different men…bless her heart!”

If we really wanted to bless people’s hearts, maybe we could start by guarding our tongues and not saying mean things behind their back.

“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4).

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Be Very Afraid!

Posted on June 2, 2011 by jesustrek

There is a story told about a mild-mannered little fellow who sold everything he had and moved west to open up a saloon in a frontier town. He enjoyed his new life, serving drinks to the men who frequented his establishment.

One day a wild-eyed cowboy burst into the saloon and yelled, “Big John’s comin’ to town!” All the men took off running, and within seconds the place was deserted.

Curious, the owner peeked outside, and on the horizon he saw a cloud of dust getting larger and larger. Soon he could make out the biggest, meanest looking man he had ever seen. This giant was riding a buffalo and using a rattlesnake for a whip. The little man rushed back into the saloon and hid behind the bar as the stranger came to a stop and walked into his place.

The big man brought his fist down with such force that it cracked the bar, and growled, “Whiskey!” The timid bartender pushed a bottle of whiskey toward him. The man broke off the top of the bottle with his bare hands and started slugging down huge drinks. He seemed to calm down a bit more with each drink, so the saloon owner began to think that maybe he would survive this encounter. He meekly asked, “Sir, would you like another whiskey?”

The giant replied, “No! Are you crazy? I’m gettin’ out of here! Big John’s comin’ to town!”

Sometimes our fear is misdirected. We shouldn’t fear other people. Jesus teaches us that we should fear God and have a healthy respect for the Lord. He says, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:4-5).

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Time to Grow Up

Posted on June 1, 2011 by jesustrek

My wife and I watched a nest of robins on our front porch hatch out and grow up this spring. The baby birds have grown to the size of their parents. The best way to tell them apart is by their behavior. Even though they are the same size, the mature birds set themselves apart from the babies by the way they act.

Just the other day, my wife watched an older bird try to teach one of the young ones to feed itself. The parent had brought a worm, laid it on the ground near the young bird and started pecking at the ground. She obviously wanted her baby to learn how to feed on its own. The young bird, however, just kept yelling for more food, the same way it had done all its life. Finally, the mama bird gave in and put the worm directly in the baby’s mouth, perhaps just to shut it up!

The mama bird can’t take care of her baby’s needs indefinitely. She will have another nest of youngsters to come along, and this one will have to start fending for itself. It’s time for it to grow up.

Some Christians are like the full-sized baby bird. They have been spiritually fed by someone else, and they have not yet learned to feed themselves, even though it is past time for them to do so. Instead of feasting on God’s word on their own, they squawk about how they are not being fed. It’s time for them to grow up.

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”—Hebrews 5:13-14.

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Diligent Leadership

Posted on May 31, 2011 by jesustrek
Jim Tressel

Jim Tressel has just resigned as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. The embattled coach has stepped down in the midst of a continuing wave of accusations of NCAA violations and Tressel’s own failure to handle the situation properly.

The author of two books about faith and integrity, Tressel is seen as a hypocrite by some. Supporters still view him as a deeply religious man who has made some serious mistakes.

Tressel has been aware of some of the problems in the football program for quite a while. However, instead of dealing with the trouble head-on, he looked the other way. It seems that he was hoping that the situation would straighten itself out, without his having to intervene. Things rarely work out that way.

I must confess that, as a church leader, I have occasionally tried the same approach as Jim Tressel used—ignore the problem, hoping it will go away. No one enjoys confronting: a divisive elder, a Sunday school teacher who is undermining the authority of the church leaders or a deacon who is teaching false doctrine. The easy way out is to look the other way and hope for the best, but this is a sure prescription for failure.

The wisest action a leader can take is to meet conflict head-on. This is the healthiest way to deal with problems in a sports program, a business, a family or a church.

Romans 12:6-8 says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is…leadership, let him govern diligently…”

I’m sure that Jim Tressel knows that verse. However, at a critical juncture in his career, he failed to live by its principle. Church leaders would do well to learn from his mistake.  

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Memorial Day Encouragement

Posted on May 30, 2011 by jesustrek

The purpose of Memorial Day is to remember those who have passed on. We are especially mindful of those who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom. We also honor family and friends who have died, often by visiting their graves. Some people may be facing a tearful trip to the cemetery. The apostle Paul writes these words of encouragement to those who need hope for the next life.

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

These are encouraging words indeed! This Memorial Day, maybe there is someone in your life who needs to be reminded that we know Someone who specializes in empty graves.

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The Real Thing?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by jesustrek

A few years ago I had an early morning routine of walking to the nearby convenience store to get a cup of coffee and a newspaper to start my day. One morning, while it was still dark, I saw an unusual sight in the fellowship hall of our church.

Normally, a Coke machine sat in the lobby, next to the outside glass doors. Through another set of glass doors you could enter the fellowship area.

I was surprised to see the Coke machine sitting in the middle of the fellowship hall. However, I quickly concluded that the deacons had moved it for some reason and that they would put it back in due time. Later in the day, I saw that the machine was indeed back in its usual place in the lobby.

A couple of days later, I started off on my early morning walk. Once again it was dark, and once again, I saw the Coke machine sitting out in the fellowship hall! This time I was too curious to pass on by, so I peeked through the glass doors to get a better look. It was only then that I realized that what I had seen was not the Coke machine, but a very vivid reflection. It was so realistic that it had fooled me, not once, but twice!

It occurred to me that this is how we are to reflect the image of Jesus for everyone to see. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

 I suppose our goal is to get someone to mistake us for Jesus. No, really.

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Tragic Deaths

Posted on May 27, 2011 by jesustrek
Margo Dydek

Former WNBA player Margo Dydek died at the age of 37 after having suffered a heart attack a week ago. Dydek was the number one pick of the Utah Starzz in 1998. She also played with San Antonio, Connecticut and Los Angeles. The 7-foot-2 Dydek was once considered to be the tallest active women’s basketball player. She held the career record for blocked shots in the WNBA, with 877 in 323 games.

Margo Dydek leaves behind her husband David, and two young sons, David, 3, and Alex, 7 months. She was also in an early stage of pregnancy, and her unborn baby died too.

She was in an early stage of pregnancy, and her unborn baby died. If we accept that as a true statement, you would think it would change some people’s view of abortion. You would think.

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The Rest of the Story

Posted on May 26, 2011 by jesustrek

Many Christians know that somewhere in the Bible it says to “Be still, and know that I am God.” We understand from this Scripture the need to get away from the many distractions in life in order to have some quiet time with God. But did you know that this quotation is only part of a verse? The full verse says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10).

The reason for acknowledging God is so that he will be exalted by people all over the earth. Our purpose for turning to him is so that he will be worshiped everywhere. To stop reading in the middle of the verse is to miss the main point. We have to understand that our recognition of God must naturally lead to worship and missions.

So, go ahead and have your regular quiet time with God. Jesus did. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

However, make sure that you are involved in the rest of the story. Your quiet time with God should only fuel your desire to worship him and to spread his name far and wide so that he will be exalted everywhere.

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Qualifying

Posted on May 25, 2011 by jesustrek
Alex Lloyd

Alex Lloyd finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 last year, but he almost didn’t qualify for this year’s race. With just nine minutes left to qualify last Sunday, Lloyd had still not posted a good enough time to be included in the 2011 Indy 500. He found himself on the outside looking in, and faced the prospect of not being included in the field of racers this year. But he finally qualified, and had this to say about his experience: “Every other race is important, but Indy is what gets me up in the morning. All of a sudden, when you have the realization that we might not make this race, when we crossed the line and I knew I was safe, the feeling was beyond anything I’ve ever felt in my career.”

We can’t possibly qualify for heaven on our own. That’s why Jesus came to earth—to qualify for us—to offer his life in order to redeem our lives. All we have to do to qualify for heaven is accept Jesus as our Savior.

However, God has given us a race to be run. He wants us to live for him for the rest of our lives. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The feeling we will have when we cross life’s finish line and pass into eternity won’t be like the experience a qualifying Indy car driver has. It will be much better!

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Counting Apples

Posted on May 24, 2011 by jesustrek

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”—Mark 4:20.

It’s easy to count the seeds inside an apple. But how many apples do you suppose are in each seed? That’s a more difficult challenge. God only knows how many apples a seed is capable of producing.

The same holds true concerning our work for the Lord. Oh, we can count how many dollars we give to the church or to the poor. We can keep a journal of our prayers. But God only knows just how far-reaching our efforts will be. Only the Lord knows how much influence we will have on others as we continue to allow his word to work through our lives to bless others and to bring God glory.

Keep sowing the seeds, my friends. But we probably shouldn’t bother trying to count the apples.

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