Immediate Success

Posted on August 15, 2010 by jesustrek
J. P. Arencibia

J.P. Arencibia, a rookie catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, hit a home run on the very first pitch he saw in the major leagues. On Saturday, August 7, he became only the 26th player in history to accomplish this feat.

Rarely does one find such immediate success. David apparently felled Goliath with the first stone he slung at him (1 Sam.17:49). (Notice that David took more stones with him. When facing a giant who is threatening to kill you, it’s good to have a back-up plan!)

But for every story in the Bible of someone who enjoyed immediate success, it seems that we find other examples where patience was required of God’s people.  Take, for instance, the time when the Israelites had to wander around in the desert for 40 years before they experienced victory.

We do know that God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Rom.8:28). We don’t always know when those good things will happen. I suppose we just need to step up to the plate and do our best, and trust God for the timing of our success.

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Who’s Got Talent?

Posted on August 14, 2010 by jesustrek

Jackie Evancho, a 10-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, stunned the judges and audience with her opera singing on “America’s Got Talent” on Tuesday night. Her beautiful voice sounded so full and mature that some people wondered if she might be lip synching. It just didn’t seem possible that someone so young could be that good. One of the judges, Howie Mandel, asked her to improvise a few notes just to prove to people that it really was her doing the singing. She came through in such a way as to leave no doubt that it indeed was her own voice that was amazing people.

Paul the apostle wrote to Timothy and said, “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 Tim.4:12).

Young people are capable of doing great things for God, if only they are given the chance. We need to give them opportunities to shine and encourage them to do their very best. America needs to know that “The Kingdom’s Got Talent”.

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Living in Harmony

Posted on August 14, 2010 by jesustrek

There is a story told about two brothers who lived next to one another. For many years they got along quite well, but one day they had a terrible disagreement. Tempers flared, angry words were exchanged and the brothers became estranged from one another.

One brother had some lumber delivered to his property and called for a contractor to come out to his place. When the contractor arrived, he explained that he wanted a tall fence built along the edge of his property, so that he wouldn’t even have to look at his brother’s place. He said, “I’m going on a business trip. I’ll be back in a week, and I expect you to have the fence built by then.”

A week passed, and the brother returned from his trip. But instead of the fence that he expected to find, he discovered that the contractor had built a bridge across the stream that separated the two brothers’ property. The man was livid! He was just about to go inside to call the contractor to complain, but he saw his brother rush out of his house. He ran across the bridge, gave him a hug and exclaimed, “Oh, my brother! After all the terrible things I said to you, you built a bridge to bring us together!”

Instead of building fences in the church and in the community, why don’t we build more bridges?

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

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Castles in the Sand

Posted on August 13, 2010 by jesustrek

In a recent “Family Circus” cartoon, Bil Keane draws a scene at the beach. Little Jeffy has obviously spent considerable time building a sand castle. However, the tide is relentlessly pushing its way in, threatening to destroy all of Jeffy’s work. Jeffy is sprawled out on the sand in a futile attempt to protect his little kingdom from the waves, shouting at the sea, “NO! NO!”

Sadly, this is a picture of many people at the end of their lives. Death inevitably comes knocking at the door, and they desperately try to protect all that they have accumulated. They can’t believe that what they built will not last forever.

Jesus says that the work of anyone who builds on the foundation of his teaching will endure, but anything that is built elsewhere will not stand the test of time (Matt.7:24-27).

You aren’t building castles in the sand, are you?

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Pursuing the Prize

Posted on August 13, 2010 by jesustrek
Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal just signed to play basketball for the Boston Celtics, the sixth team that he will play for in his career. At 38, and having already won four NBA titles, Shaq is not ready to rest on his laurels. He says that he wants to win another couple of championships before he retires. He says, “Do I have the same hunger? Yes. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

We Christians should have the same desire to win more victories for the Lord. And we must always keep in mind the ultimate reward, the eternal salvation that has already been won for us through Jesus Christ.

Phil.3:13-14—“…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

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The Dangers of Alcohol

Posted on August 12, 2010 by jesustrek

The Indianapolis Star  has reported recently on a couple of unfortunate incidents caused by the consumption of too much alcohol.

The Monday, August 9, newspaper reported that Indianapolis Colts reserve defensive lineman John Gill was found passed out in a ditch at 4:00am Sunday. He was arrested for public intoxication, but the charges were dropped Sunday afternoon. Gill’s career is in jeopardy if he doesn’t get a handle on this serious problem. It’s a shame; at 23 years of age, the young man has the potential to earn a lot of money playing professional football.

The front page of the Wednesday, August 11, edition carried the tragic story of Indianapolis police officer David Bisard, who tested positive for alcohol after he crashed his squad car into two motorcycles Friday, killing one rider and critically injuring two others. It is unthinkable that someone employed to protect the public would be driving a police cruiser at a high rate of speed while under the influence of alcohol. Yet that’s what apparently happened.

Will we never learn? How many innocent people must be killed or injured, and how many careers ruined and families destroyed before we truly comprehend the evil consequences of drunkenness?

Prov.23:29-32—“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.” 

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Taking the Emergency Chute

Posted on August 12, 2010 by jesustrek
Steven Slater

Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater made the news recently with the manner in which he left his job. After an incident with a difficult passenger, Slater made a profanity-laced speech over the loudspeaker, grabbed some beer and slid down the emergency chute to exit the plane. The usually mild-mannered Slater said that he had occasionally thought about making such an exit, but only after being pushed to the limit did he actually follow through with it.

Haven’t we all thought about pulling a “Slater”? When difficult people at school, work or church try our patience to the very limit, we think about exiting in memorable fashion. Let’s tell them the way it really is, take what’s ours and leave in a blaze of glory! That will give people something to talk about!

Sometimes problem people do need to be confronted. However, the first response that pops into your mind is often not the best one. Burning your bridges behind you leaves little or no room for reconciliation. Be patient. Consider some alternative options. Try to think about the big picture. Ask yourself what action would lead to the best long-term solution for everyone involved.

Rom.12:18—“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

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Praiseworthy Books

Posted on August 11, 2010 by jesustrek

Some of the best-selling books in romance publishing today are the Amish inspirational novels. Authors such as Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter and Cindy Woodsmall have written works that attract many readers even though they lack the graphic violence, profanity and other vulgarities that seem to permeate other novels. Perhaps the popularity of these books is indeed because they avoid these unwholesome activities.

Phil.4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I don’t think that God wants us to ignore or totally avoid the negative aspects of our society. He actually wants us to be the “salt and light” (Matt.5:13-16) that makes a positive difference in the world around us.

However, we have to be careful that the world doesn’t have a negative affect on us. One way to do this is to read wholesome books. Have you read any good books lately?

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Home Runs and Sermons

Posted on August 11, 2010 by jesustrek
Alex Rodriguez

New York Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run last week, joining one of major league baseball’s most exclusive groups. Only 6 men before him ever hit that many homers. Rodriguez is the youngest ever to reach that number.

A-Rod’s feat caused me to think about how many sermons I’ve preached in my life. I guess the number would be around 1400. (Not all of them were home runs, but still…)

One difference (Yes, there are many!) between A-Rod and me is that all of my sermons came naturally. Rodriguez has admitted using steroids for part of his career. No one who has heard me preach has ever accused me of using performance-enhancing drugs.

If there is a point to this, I guess it would be to do your best at whatever it is you do. Just be yourself, and don’t be afraid to swing for the fences!

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Not Enough

Posted on August 10, 2010 by jesustrek

For the past several months, I’ve seen vehicles displaying a small bumper sticker that has a fraction on it–1/168. Under the fraction is the comment, “It’s not enough”. I can usually figure out what kind of statement a bumper sticker is trying to make, but this one had me completely stumped. I asked my wife if she knew what it meant, and she was unable to shed any light on the riddle.

Finally, we noticed that a friend of ours had this mysterious bumper sticker on her car, so we asked her what it meant. She explained, “There are 168 hours in a week. One hour in church is not enough time to devote to God.”

Ah, it makes perfect sense now! I was a bit dismayed that I couldn’t figure out the answer for myself. However, I feel sorrier for those who go to church every week, but have nothing else of themselves to give to God.

Jesus says that God is looking for people who will worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Has he found such a person in you? What do you do with the other 167 hours?

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