Poor Imagination

Posted on January 9, 2018 by jesustrek

John Lennon

I recently heard a recording of John Lennon singing his hit song Imagine in front of a live audience. When Lennon sang the first line, “Imagine there’s no heaven…” the audience burst into applause. It seems to me the notion that there is no heaven is a terrible thing to celebrate!

It is a sad worldview that leaves no room for an eternity in heaven with a loving heavenly Father. The hope of heaven gives many people the encouragement they need to persevere on earth. We Christians know that we are destined for better things than this temporal life with all of its troubles and sorrows. We have something wonderful to look forward to—eternal life in heaven!

“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”—1 Corinthians 15:19.

 

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Questionable Gift

Posted on January 8, 2018 by jesustrek

Would you eat this soup?

Last year someone brought an unusual donation to a food bank in Wales. It was a can of soup. “What is so unusual about that?” you might ask. This particular can of soup was at least 46 years old!

The price was still visibly stamped on the can, so someone did the research and found that the soup had been produced nearly a half century ago.

I am not sure what was done with the can of soup, but, needless to say, it is not the kind of gift that the food bank expects.

We need to be careful about what we bring to God. He is not pleased with substandard offerings of our time, talent and treasure. He wants our best, and we should always strive to give him good gifts.

“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God…”—Exodus 23:19.

 

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Simply Foolish

Posted on January 5, 2018 by jesustrek

A man was seen walking down the sidewalk, tossing his car keys up in the air and catching them. After one too many tosses, he dropped the keys and watched in horror as they disappeared through a grate and into the sewer that ran beneath the street.

Those who saw what had happened felt sorry for the man. That is, they felt sorry for him until they heard him exclaim, “Oh, no! Not again!”

It’s not smart to make the same mistakes over and over again. It’s foolish to commit the same sins time after time, hoping that somehow the results will be different this time and that there will be no price to pay.

We need to learn from our mistakes and repent of our sins.

“The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.”—Proverbs 14:18.

 

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Today Is Sunday

Posted on January 4, 2018 by jesustrek

A man who had retired a few months previously was asked if he had trouble keeping up with what day it was since he no longer had to go to work. “Oh, I don’t even try to remember what day it is.” he replied. “I just know that the day the big newspaper comes is the day I get dressed and go to church!”

Retired or not, we all need to know when Sunday arrives!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”—Hebrews 10:24-25.

 

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Truth

Posted on January 3, 2018 by jesustrek

“The truth needs so little rehearsal.”—Barbara Kingsolver.

Years ago I had a friend who liked to entertain people with the stories of his exploits. The trouble was, much of what he told was made up, and he didn’t keep good track of what he had said previously. Many of his stories sharply contradicted the version that he had told earlier.

How much easier it is to always be truthful. Then you don’t have to worry about getting caught up in the web of your own deceit.

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”—Ephesians 4:25.

 

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Valuable Find

Posted on January 2, 2018 by jesustrek

A teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a brief search, he gave up looking for it and told his mother what had happened. She immediately started searching for it and within a few minutes she found the lens.

“How did you find it so quickly when I couldn’t do it?” her son asked.

“It’s really quite simple,” she answered. “We weren’t looking for the same thing. You were looking for a small piece of plastic. I was looking for $150!”

Many people underestimate the value of God’s kingdom, therefore they don’t seek it diligently.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”—Matthew 13:45-46.

 

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How Do You See Yourself?

Posted on December 29, 2017 by jesustrek

A toddler once found a dark red lipstick and proceeded to apply it to herself the way she had seen her mother do. By the time her mother discovered what she had done, the little girl had lipstick all over her face and was beaming with pride, thinking that she had made herself beautiful.

As soon as her mother allowed her to see in the mirror what she really looked like, the little girl started crying. When faced with the reality of what she actually looked like, she was not pleased at all with what she saw.

Sometimes we tend to think that we look better than we really do. A good, honest assessment is a difficult, but necessary thing to do.

“…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”—Romans 12:3.

 

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Got to Give Him Credit

Posted on December 28, 2017 by jesustrek

A man was driving down a city street, frantically looking for a parking space because he was in danger of being late for an important meeting. Even though he was not a particularly religious fellow, he was desperate enough to resort to prayer.

“Lord, take pity on me,” he implored. “If you find me a parking space, I promise to go to church every Sunday, I will stop swearing and I will give up drinking!”

Miraculously, a parking spot opened up right in front of the building.

The man looked up and said, “Never mind, Lord. I found one myself.”

Sometimes we human beings tend to take credit for things that God does. That’s why God told the Israelites ahead of time that they were not taking the promised land on their own; God was giving it to them.

“Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are stiff-necked people.”—Deuteronomy 9:6.

Let’s make sure that we give credit where credit is due, especially when the Lord is involved!

 

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Cause of Illness

Posted on December 26, 2017 by jesustrek

Deanne Bland prepared the Sunday morning bulletin for her church each week. One Sunday morning she heard snickering from the pews as people read the bulletin. Quickly grabbing a copy, she found the cause. The sermon title for that day was: “What Makes God Sick: Pastor Joe Smith.”

There is something that makes Jesus sick. We find it in Revelation 3:16, where Jesus says, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Lukewarm Christians make Jesus want to vomit.

Have you checked your temperature lately?

 

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Brain Power

Posted on December 22, 2017 by jesustrek

Recently I have noticed that I don’t seem to be as sharp as I used to be. So I went to a health store and paid a lot of money for some pills that promised to stimulate my brain.

When I got home and told my wife that I had bought some pills to make me smarter, she asked, “What’s in those pills anyway?”

“I don’t know. Let me see what the label says.”

It was only then that I learned that I had paid a lot of money for what were essentially caffeine pills.

“Oh, no!” I exclaimed. “I could have gotten the same effect from drinking an extra cup of coffee!”

“See there,” my wife replied. “You are getting smarter already!”

“Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?”—Proverbs 17:16.

 

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