Youthful Influence

Posted on March 25, 2011 by jesustrek
Trevor Bayne

Trevor Bayne became an overnight sensation when he recently won the Daytona 500 at the age of twenty. Conan O’Brien quipped that what was even more incredible was that he was texting the whole time. Someone else joked that Bayne was the only driver to ever win a major race with only a learner’s permit.

Young people sometimes surprise us with their ability to succeed in life. However, God has a way of using young people in important ways. David was a youth when he defeated Goliath in battle. Mary is thought to have been a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus.

Paul wrote the following words to a young man named Timothy: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Let’s encourage the young people in our lives to be all they can be and to make a difference in the world around them. They can be a positive influence, and we should exhort them to do just that.

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

Power of Prayer

Posted on March 24, 2011 by jesustrek

There is a story told about a small town where a man had just opened a bar. One local church, not wanting to have that kind of influence in their town, began to pray that the bar would close. They publicized their efforts, and the whole town knew that they were praying for the bar to shut down.

It just so happened that lightning struck the bar, and it burned to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the church, holding them responsible for what happened. The church denied any responsibility. When the case went before a judge, he mused, “Isn’t this interesting. It seems that the owner of the bar believes in the power of prayer, but the church doesn’t!”

Acts 4:31 says, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Maybe we all need to put more faith in the power of prayer.

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

Keep the Fire Burning

Posted on March 23, 2011 by jesustrek

John MacArthur tells this story about a pastor who went to see a member of his church who didn’t attend the worship services very often. He found the man sitting in front of a fire, watching the warm glow of the coals. It was a cold winter day, but the coals were red hot, and the fire was warm. The pastor pleaded with the man to be more faithful in attending church, but the man didn’t seem to be getting the message.

So the pastor took the tongs beside the fireplace, pulled open the screen, and reached in and began to separate all the coals. When none of the coals was touching the others, he stood and watched in silence. In a matter of moments, they were all cold. The man got the message.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”—Hebrews 10:25.

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

Renewed Strength

Posted on March 22, 2011 by jesustrek

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”—Isaiah 40:28-31.

I thought of this Scripture yesterday while I was out for a long walk. At the top of a huge hill I saw a bird soaring majestically above the tree tops. (No, it wasn’t an eagle, but in certain situations even a crow can soar majestically!) The ease at which the large bird allowed itself to be propelled by the breeze was a sharp contrast to the way I had labored to the top of the hill.

Life is often a struggle. With great effort we endure pain and suffering, overcome obstacles and maneuver our way through hard times. Sometimes we feel like we don’t have the strength to go on; we have become very weary from life’s journey.

It is in times like these that we need to rely on the strength and power that is available from God. Free for the asking, the Lord will renew the strength of anyone who will trust in him. God supplies the power; all we have to do is spread our wings in faith.

Allow God to renew your strength today.

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

Smile for the Camera

Posted on March 21, 2011 by jesustrek

I attended the Kentucky state high school boys basketball tournament in Lexington last week. During timeouts, the camera crew would often zoom in on certain fans and put their face up on the big screen. They called this feature “Smile for the Camera”.

It was interesting to see the different reactions people had. Some would cheer even louder when they saw themselves on the big screen. Others would simply smile and wave. Some would try to hide from the camera.

Many people were never aware that the camera had focused on them. They would go on doing whatever they were doing, whether it was cheering or sitting there with a bored look on their face.

Jesus says that God is looking for people who will worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). In a sense, we are always on camera, whether we realize it or not. Therefore, we should always try to live a life that is pleasing to God. I believe that we smile for God whenever we recognize his presence and direct our attention to him.

Let’s all smile for the camera today!

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

Putting It All Together

Posted on March 19, 2011 by jesustrek

A father wanted to read a magazine, but he was continually interrupted by his young daughter. Finally, he tore out of his magazine a page that had a map of the world on it. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to his daughter and said, “Go to your room and see if you can put this puzzle together.”

After just a few minutes, she returned and handed him the map correctly put together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. “Oh,” she said, “On the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where he belonged, the world came together.”

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”—Matt.6:33.

Do you have Jesus where he belongs in your life?

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

Do You Know About Hell?

Posted on March 18, 2011 by jesustrek

My wife had an interesting experience while playing with a 4-year-old boy the other day. He was down on the floor with his battleship. There were “people” lying on the carpet all around the ship. Keeping his eyes on his toys, our little friend explained that the people in the water were dead. “They’re in heaven…unless they were bad. Then they’re in hell,” he casually informed Karen. Then he looked up at her and asked very seriously, “Do you know about hell?”

The way many people are living today, you would think that they didn’t know about hell. They should know about it. Jesus teaches that hell is an awful place that is to be avoided at all cost.

Some religious leaders are questioning what Jesus says about hell. Authors are giving their own opinions about what happens to those who go into eternity having rejected the grace that God has given them through his Son Jesus Christ.

The Bible is consistent in its teaching that hell is a real place where people who have rejected God will spend eternity shut out from his presence. It is a place of terrible punishment. The agony experienced there is unimaginable.

God is a perfectly loving God, but he is also perfectly just. He will not allow for anyone who has opposed him to go unpunished. Believe it; teach it.

Do you know about hell?

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

One Solitary Life

Posted on March 17, 2011 by jesustrek

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was a preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of these things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

When he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that One Solitary Life.

            Author Unknown

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

Left the Building

Posted on March 16, 2011 by jesustrek

When Elvis Presley was still performing, his fans often lingered long after the concert was over. They were hoping for another encore; perhaps another glimpse of the one they affectionately called “The King”. In order to clear the building, it became a custom to announce over the public address system after the concert was over, “Elvis has left the building!” Only then would the crowd disperse.

The church gathers weekly to worship the true King. After church, it would be wonderful for our motto to be: “The church has left the building!” The church has left the building—to help the poor, to minister to the sick and elderly, to care for the widows and orphans, to evangelize the lost…You get the picture! The church must gather to worship, and then scatter to serve!

Has your church left the building?

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

He Dropped the Ball

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jesustrek



Fred Snodgrass

Fred Snodgrass was a successful major league baseball player for the Giants, but he was remembered for one of his failures. In the 1912 World Series, he dropped a pop fly. His error set up the wining run, because the next batter hit a single. Consequently, the Giants lost the game and the Series.

When he died in 1974, the New York Times printed this headline: FRED SNODGRASS, 86, DEAD; BALLPLAYER MUFFED FLY IN 1912.

62 years later, and yet they could not forgive him. Omitted was the fact that Fred later became the mayor of Oxnard, California, was a successful banker and rancher, and raised a fine family. He dropped a pop fly in 1912 and they could not forget his mistake.

Eph.5:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

The world is not a very forgiving place. But we Christians are called to be set apart from the world. We are to forgive others for their mistakes, always remembering the forgiveness that God has given us in Jesus Christ.

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