Trouble in Paradise

Posted on May 1, 2017 by jesustrek

Adam and Eve lived in paradise, and then they had to go and mess things up—not just for themselves, but for the whole human race. Not only did their sin get them kicked out of the Garden of Eden, it caused God to put a curse on the earth. Man’s work would become much more difficult, with thorns and thistles now coming up among the good plants. Everyone who has tried to farm or grow a garden has probably had some negative thoughts about Adam and Eve at one time or another!

This curse can be seen all over the earth. I heard about a man who travelled to Hawaii, and while he was there he played a round of golf. He hit a ball out of bounds, and when he went to look for it, he was surprised to find that it had gone into a thicket of thorns! Thorns! In Hawaii!

You can’t go anywhere without seeing the effect of sin. But God will reverse the curse someday, and Eden will be restored. Rev.22:3 says, “No longer will there be any curse…”

That gives us something to look forward to as we live in this fallen, troubled world.

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Posted on April 28, 2017 by jesustrek

There is a local legend about a fellow who, many years ago, was amazingly meticulous about keeping weeds out of his garden. As the story goes, he would hoe his garden early every morning and then offer boys in the neighborhood 50 cents—a nice bit of spending money back then—if they could find a single weed in his garden. That’s confidence!

Weeds have sometimes been used to illustrate the sin in our lives. We have been called to live holy lives. Therefore we need to do our best to get rid of any words or actions that are unholy. However, the only way we can be confident that no sin will be found to condemn us is if we trust the blood of Jesus to take it away.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:8-9.

 

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Seeds of Success

Posted on April 27, 2017 by jesustrek

Shortly after we moved into our new home a little over a year ago, I sowed grass seed, hoping that I would soon have a lawn that looked like a lush, well-manicured golf course. It didn’t happen. So I reseeded the yard early this spring. A few weeks later there was little evidence that anything positive was happening. In fact, I was so disappointed with the results of my seeding that, as recently as two weeks ago, I considered tilling up the ground and starting over.

However, I noticed some young grass seedlings starting to make an appearance. Perhaps with timely rains the lawn will begin to look more green than brown. It’s not the perfect yard I had pictured in my mind, but at least there is hope for improvement.

When we sow the seeds of God’s Word in people’s lives, we have high hopes for success. However, sometimes the results are slow in coming. Nonetheless, we mustn’t give up hoping for results. In God’s own timing, his words will not come back to him empty.

“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”—Ecclesiastes 11:6.

 

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Memorable Worship Service

Posted on April 26, 2017 by jesustrek

June Cerza Kolf remembers a time when her family had gathered in California for a yearly reunion. On Sunday morning they all went to church, and while they were singing the first song, an earthquake hit. The building shook, and the overhead lights swung back and forth. In true California style, they never missed a beat, even though they had to grab the pews in front of them to steady themselves.

After the service was over, the pastor came over to greet the out-of-town relatives. One of them grinned as he shook the pastor’s hand and said, “I’ve been to a lot of church services in my life, but I can honestly say this was the most moving one I’ve ever attended!”

This reminds me of another moving worship service, one that is recorded in Acts 4:31—“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.”

After they prayed…hmmm. Perhaps prayer is the key to a moving worship service.

 

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While We are Waiting

Posted on April 25, 2017 by jesustrek

John F. Kennedy

During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand.

Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought.”

Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we’re to be lights as we watch and wait.

“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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Lifeguard On Duty

Posted on April 21, 2017 by jesustrek

In September of 1985, a party was held at a New Orleans municipal pool. The purpose of the party was to celebrate the first summer in memory without a single drowning at any New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards.

As the party was breaking up, someone noticed a fully-clothed body in the deep end of the pool. They tried to revive 31-year-old Jerome Moody, but it was too late. Ironically, he had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.

We Christians have reason to celebrate, but let us remember that our mission is to save people. And sometimes they are closer than we might realize.

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”—Colossians 4:5.

 

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No Fear!

Posted on April 20, 2017 by jesustrek

In 100 Meditations on Hope Wayne A. Lamb writes:

In the midst of a storm, a little bird was clinging to the limb of a tree, seemingly calm and unafraid. As the wind tore at the limbs of the tree, the bird continued to look the storm in the face, as if to say, “Shake me off; I still have wings.”

Because of Christ’s resurrection, each Christian can look the experience of death in the face and confidently say, “Shake me off; I still have wings. I’ll live anyway.”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”—John 3:16.

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Try a Little Kindness

Posted on April 18, 2017 by jesustrek

Have you noticed how nice the employees of Chick-fil-A are? Analysts have said that customer service is a key to Chick-fil-A’s success. The fast food chain invests more than other companies in training their employees. Part of their training includes simply being nice. A recent study showed that Chick-fil-A employees were more likely to say “please” and “thank you” than workers at other fast food restaurants.

It sounds too simplistic. Could it be that the lessons we learned in kindergarten are far more important than we ever realized? It seems that even small pleasantries can make a huge difference.

Kindness also makes a difference when we are trying to influence people for Jesus. Maybe we should be more intentional about being pleasant in our conversations with others. In a world that is filled with harsh and coarse interactions, a little kindness sure does stand out!

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”—Colossians 4:5-6.

 

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Doubting Thomas

Posted on April 17, 2017 by jesustrek

Every time I read about the doubts of the apostle Thomas in the twentieth chapter of John’s gospel I am reminded of the fact that people named “Thomas” seem to get a raw deal. Think about it. Remember the nursery rhyme about Tom, Tom the piper’s son? You know what he did. He stole a pig and away he run. And what do you call someone who is caught sneaking a peek into your window after dark? Peeping George? Peeping Fred? No! He’s a peeping Tom. Then there’s doubting Thomas. It’s like everyone named Thomas is a pig-stealing pervert who doesn’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead!

But he did raise from the dead. The eyewitness reports and the testimony of Scripture are proof enough to the honest seeker of the truth.

What Jesus said to Thomas he would say to anyone—“…Stop doubting and believe.”—John 20:27.

 

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Magnitude of Christ’s Suffering

Posted on April 13, 2017 by jesustrek

Tim Keller

In Leadership, pastor and author Tim Keller writes:

“Unless we come to grips with the terrible doctrine of hell, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him, he was experiencing hell itself.

If an acquaintance denounces you and rejects you—that hurts. If a good friend does the same—the hurt’s far worse. However, if your spouse walks out on you, saying, “I never want to see you again,” that is far more devastating still. The longer, deeper, and more intimate the relationship, the more torturous is any separation.

But the Son’s relationship with the Father was beginningless and infinitely greater than the most intimate and passionate human relationship. When Jesus was cut off from God, he went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. And he did it voluntarily, for us.”

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”—Mark 15:34.

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