Fasten Seat Belt

Posted on January 31, 2019 by jesustrek

When Muhammad Ali was in his prime as a heavyweight prizefighter, he was on an airplane that was about to take off. When the flight attendant reminded him to fasten his seat belt, he brashly replied, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” The flight attendant quickly responded, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either!”

Ali sheepishly fastened his seat belt.

Even the man who called himself “The Greatest” had his moments of humility.

The Bible consistently urges us to forgo pride and to adopt a humble attitude. We would do well to take that teaching seriously.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”—James 4:10

 

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Right Size Gift

Posted on January 30, 2019 by jesustrek

A teenage boy walked into a candy store and told the owner that he wanted to purchase three boxes of candy—small, medium and large. The owner couldn’t help but ask the boy about this unusual order. The boy confidently replied, “I have a date tonight. If the girl lets me hold her hand, I will give her the small box of candy. If she lets me put my arm around her, I will give her the medium box. If she lets me give her a big, passionate kiss, I will give her the large box.”

That evening the boy ate dinner with his date and her family before they went out. The boy volunteered to give thanks for the meal. He prayed a long, fervent, eloquent prayer before finally saying, “Amen”.

The girl whispered to him, “I didn’t know you were so religious!”

He whispered back, “I didn’t know your father owned a candy store!”

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”—Proverbs 17:22

 

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Risking Much

Posted on January 29, 2019 by jesustrek

Some unknown person once wrote the following about taking risks:

“To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try at all is to risk failure.

But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The man, the woman, who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.”

 

This brings to mind the story Jesus told about the wicked, lazy servant who hid his talent rather than investing it for his master (Matthew 25:14-30). What was his sin? He was afraid to take a risk!

 

What are you risking for the Lord?

 

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The Great Value of Books

Posted on January 28, 2019 by jesustrek

Commenting on 2 Timothy 4:13, where Paul asks Timothy to bring him a cloak, books, and the parchments, Charles Spurgeon wrote the following words:

“He is inspired, yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, yet he wants books! He has seen the Lord, yet he wants books! He has had a wider experience than most men, yet he wants books! He has been caught up into the third heaven, and has heard things which it is unlawful to utter, yet he wants books! He has written the major part of the New Testament, yet he wants books!”

Do you want books?

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”—Proverbs 4:7

 

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Help for the Weary

Posted on January 25, 2019 by jesustrek

Bruce Larson tells about the time he almost drowned in the Gulf of Mexico. He was swimming far from shore and a storm came up. The sky grew dark, the wind picked up, there was thunder and lightning and the waves were seven or eight feet high. He was struggling, trying to make it back to shore, when it seemed that the Lord told him to just relax and tread water. In the end he was rescued. However, if he had continued his frantic efforts to get back to the shore, he would have exhausted his strength and drowned.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that may threaten to wear us out and potentially destroy us. That’s when we need to stop our frantic efforts to save ourselves and simply trust in God.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”—Matthew 11:28

 

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Happily Ever After

Posted on January 24, 2019 by jesustrek

A lonely young woman noticed an interesting book while she was browsing in the library. The title page caught her eye:

HOW—

To Reach Men

To Hold Men

To Win Men

It Has Been Done

When she got home and examined the fine print at the bottom of the page, she read: A Manual of Useful Information on How to Build a Men’s Bible Class.

I hope she wasn’t too disappointed!

Marital happiness is difficult to find and perhaps even more difficult to maintain. It must never be taken for granted.

“Marriage should be honored by all…”—Hebrews 13:4.

 

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Coming Through in the Clutch

Posted on January 23, 2019 by jesustrek

Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera was just elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, the first player ever to be elected unanimously. Rivera had a 19-year career with the New York Yankees, 17 of those years as the closer. He was a 13-time All Star and 5-time World Series champion.

A sports reporter gave an amazing statistic about Rivera—more people have walked on the moon than have scored an earned run in the postseason off of Mariano Rivera!

In clutch situations, Mariano Rivera consistently succeeded.

In the Bible, we see many people coming through in the clutch. Noah built the ark. Abraham stepped out in faith. David confronted the giant. Esther intervened on behalf of her people. Ruth chose God’s people over her own pagan society. Mary accepted her assignment to give birth to the Savior.

Over and over, we read the stories of those who stepped up and met the challenge when faced with a crucial situation.

How will you do when it is your turn to come through in the clutch?

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”—Esther 4:14

 

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To Tell or Not to Tell?

Posted on January 22, 2019 by jesustrek

In the first chapter of Mark’s gospel, Jesus heals a man with leprosy and says, “See that you don’t tell this to anyone…” (v.44). However, v.45 says, “Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.”

When Jesus heals us from sin, instead of telling us to be quiet about it, he instructs us to tell everybody. Acts 1:8 says in part, “…You will be my witnesses…” Yet some Christians don’t ever tell anybody what Jesus did for them! Imagine that!

 

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Handed Down

Posted on January 21, 2019 by jesustrek

A little girl had often heard her mother tell the story of the vase that occupied a prominent place on the mantle in their family’s living room. The vase was quite valuable, not just because of how much it cost, but also because it had been handed down in the family for several generations.

One day the little girl approached her mother and said, “You know our vase that has been handed down for generations? Well, this generation just dropped it!”

The gospel message is so important that we must take care to hand it down to the next generation.

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”—2 Timothy 2:2.

 

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Fear Not!

Posted on January 18, 2019 by jesustrek

Isn’t it funny how our fears change over time? I heard about one fellow who remembered how he used to be afraid of the dark when he was a little boy. Now that he is an adult, he is no longer afraid of the dark, but he is terrified of the electric bill!

No matter what stage we are going through in life, it seems that there is always something that frightens us. To be certain, there are things which should concern us—health problems, family conflicts, financial struggles, cultural issues, etc. However, the Bible continually urges us not to be afraid. God doesn’t want his children living in a constant state of fear.

The opposite of fear is faith. Let us remember to turn our fears over to the Lord, prayerfully believing that he will see us through any circumstance in life that comes our way.

“…Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’”—Mark 5:36.

 

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