Facing Your Problems

Posted on February 13, 2018 by jesustrek

You know how when you look directly at one of those annoying eye floaters in your peripheral vision it will go away? That’s what I tried to do a few days ago. But when I turned to my left, the “floater” turned out to be a small spider dangling right in front of my face!

Whether our problems are real or imagined (or something that is real but much different than what we imagined!) they rarely go away until we have faced them.

The Israelite army was afraid to deal with the giant problem (pun intended) they faced in Goliath (1 Samuel 17). However, it wasn’t until David directly addressed the situation that the problem was resolved.

You can’t go through life ignoring your problems.

 

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Ups and Downs

Posted on February 12, 2018 by jesustrek

Scott Hamilton

Retired U.S. figure skater Scott Hamilton achieved a lot in his career. Among his accomplishments, he won four consecutive U.S. Championships and four consecutive World Championships. Hamilton won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.

However, life hasn’t always been easy for Scott Hamilton. He is a cancer survivor, having endured chemotherapy and surgery.

The road to the top in figure skating was quite difficult as well. Hamilton estimates that he fell down 41,600 times in his career. Of course that means that he got back up 41,600 times.

That’s what you have to do to succeed at anything in life. Sometimes you will get knocked down. Other times you will fall. There will be ups and downs. You can’t always control the times when you go down. But you can control whether or not you get back up.

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”—Hebrews 10:36.

 

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Don’t See the Irony

Posted on February 9, 2018 by jesustrek

Occasionally people on social media will try to pressure me into sharing a particular post that they are passionate about. Their position basically boils down to this: You can’t really hate cancer, or love Jesus, etc. unless you pass along my brilliant words of wisdom.

I disagree with that. Furthermore, I think that there are too many people who think that they have served Jesus and their fellow humans simply by clicking on “Share” and then refusing to otherwise lift a finger to ever help anyone else.

I recently received a rather heavy-handed suggestion (threat?) that I pass along a particular public service announcement. The implication was that if I did not share this wonderful post with all my friends my heart could not possibly be in the right place. What was the topic of this post? Bullying! I kid you not!

Please tell me you see the irony.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”—Matthew 7:3.

 

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Give it to Jesus

Posted on February 8, 2018 by jesustrek

Joyce Parson tells about the time when her three-year-old grandson found a quarter in the driveway as the family was leaving for church one Sunday morning. When they returned home after worship, the little boy pulled the quarter out of his pocket and handed it to his mother. “You can have this money, Mommy. I was going to give it to Jesus, but he wasn’t there.”

First of all, Jesus was no doubt at that church service, even if the little boy failed to sense his presence. Jesus promises to be with us always (Matthew 28:20).

Secondly, Jesus is always ready to accept even the smallest offering we can give to him.

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”—Matthew 10:42.

 

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Time for the Collection

Posted on February 8, 2018 by jesustrek

G. Brian Manning writes about the time when his five-year-old son had just graduated from wearing bow ties to neck ties. He was so proud to be dressed just like his Dad.

However, one Sunday morning, his son clutched his tie tightly, and asked with a panicked whisper, “Dad, why did the pastor say they’re going to collect the ties and offering?”

You can understand how a five-year-old might become confused about the biblical principle of tithing. However, as we become older we don’t have much of an excuse to remain ignorant on the subject.

“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.”—Leviticus 27:30.

 

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You Can’t Compartmentalize Your Faith

Posted on February 7, 2018 by jesustrek

Tony Dungy

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy is now a professional football commentator. Dungy was criticized for his comments about this year’s Super Bowl performance by Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles. Dungy mentioned that Foles’ faith helped his performance in the big game. Some critics said that football analysis and religion should not be mixed.

The world will never understand that true Christians cannot compartmentalize their faith. We can’t put Jesus in a box and pretend that he does not influence every part of our lives.

Jesus says that we are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). Christians infiltrate society and spread the truth of Jesus in any and every type of situation.

Faith that is not shared is not true faith. That’s true for quarterbacks, announcers and your average Christian who sits in the pew each Sunday.

 

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Inclusive

Posted on February 7, 2018 by jesustrek

Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau corrected a woman when she asked a question during a town hall meeting last Friday. The woman, reportedly affiliated with the World Mission Society Church of God, used the word “mankind”.

Apparently, this didn’t sit too well with Trudeau, who responded, “We like to say ‘peoplekind’, not necessarily ‘mankind’, because it’s more inclusive.”

The crowd showed its approval by applauding Trudeau’s politically correct comment.

The Bible says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27).

That’s inclusive enough for me.

 

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Ulterior Motive

Posted on February 6, 2018 by jesustrek

Genia Obal remembers the time when her seven-year-old daughter won $2 for her memory work in Sunday school. After the morning service, the pastor’s wife congratulated her.

The daughter proudly announced, “And I put it all in the morning’s offering!”

“My, how wonderful!” the pastor’s wife exclaimed. “I’m sure God will be pleased.”

“Yes,” the child replied, “Now maybe God will let me do some of the things I want to do!”

We always have to be careful about our motives for giving, don’t we?

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”—2 Corinthians 9:7.

 

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Breaking Bread Together

Posted on February 2, 2018 by jesustrek

I recently attended a worship service where the person leading the worshipers into communion time said, “Now is your personal time to be alone with God.”

I strongly disagree.

Many Christians have come to the conclusion that communion is just between them and God. I don’t know where they ever got that idea. The church at Corinth was harshly chastised by the apostle Paul for thinking only of themselves at communion time, and not thinking of the other worshipers (1 Corinthians 11:17-23). This isolationist mentality caused a serious division in the church.

So, let’s get away from the idea that communion is our personal, alone time with God. It’s not. Let’s promote unity in the body of Christ by acknowledging that communion is to be practiced as a part of our corporate worship.

“On the first day of the week we came together (my emphasis) to break bread…”—Acts 20:7.

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How She Loves Me!

Posted on January 31, 2018 by jesustrek

According to Jesus, the greatest two commandments are to love God and love people (Matthew 22:34-40). Everything we do should be measured by that standard.

We need to remember that “love” is primarily an action verb. It is not how we feel, it is what we do that shows our love.

Let me tell you how my wife is showing her love for me. She recently read an article that claimed that people who own dogs not only live longer, they also live happier lives. So she has started to look for a dog for me.

The article also supported that old theory that, over time, dogs and their owners tend to start to look like each other. So my wife is not just looking for any dog for me, she is trying to find one that looks like Brad Pitt!

“Above all, love each other deeply…”—1 Peter 4:8.

 

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