What's next...

This fire reminds me of what must have happened yesterday aboard the plane that went down near NYC. Everything was fine and then wham; fire! Fortunately, everyone was OK, but it could have gone the other way too. When I was young, it seemed like I would live forever, but now I know better. Life can be taken away in an instant, so each moment is precious. Even the bad days have life and where there is life there is hope. Priorities change when you think this way; money becomes less important and the time remaining to you and how you live becomes everything. Listen to the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 12:

Luk 12:16 And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
Luk 12:17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to deposit my fruits?
Luk 12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I deposit all my fruits and my goods.
Luk 12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast abundance of goods laid up for many years; take thy ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
Luk 12:20 But God said to him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?
Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.
Luk 12:22 And he said to his disciples, Therefore I say to you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

The Webster Bible

Learn from the past, live for the moment and plan for an eternity; truly, only the things that last forever have real value. What's next for you? I guess that depends where your riches are?

True evil

It is easy to see evil when it is staring you right in the face! However, for true evil to behave this way is stupid. If evil is so easily recognized, then why would anyone fall prey to it? The “smart” thing to do is to mix goodness with it so as to disguise it, then we would become more likely to fall prey to all sorts of wickedness. Consider the following passage from the book of second Corinthians:

2 Cor 11:1-15
1 I earnestly wish ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very greatest apostles.
6 But though I am rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.
7 Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God without reward?
8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so will I keep myself.
10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
11 Why? because I love you not? God knoweth.
12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them who desire occasion; that in what they glory, they may be found even as we.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also are transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The Webster Bible

The true evil of Satan (and his followers) will always be disguised and so the picture above may be true evil, but its not the everyday sort. Seeing evil amid truth may not always be easy, but we do have guides; common sense, The Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. God has supplied us with everything we really need to avoid evil; it up to us to just do it! By the way; no, I won’t stare at this picture before I go to bed tonight, I might regret it!

Mother, may I?

The relationship between this couple is off to a shaky start, Isn't it? Looks like the groom is asking one of those "Mother may I" questions. I would like to say that there is a "normality" in marriage today, but I can't. People seem to think marriage isn't very important; they often get married after several years of living together or if they have several children together, or if its convenient or if its something they would like to try "to see if it works". Commitment is a thing of the past, whatever feels good is today's new standard. In the book of Genesis, God puts the first man and woman together and I think that's a good place to begin to consider how things should be!

Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die.
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him.

Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, he made woman, and brought her to the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

The Webster Bible

Man needs woman and the reverse is true. Neither party should put their spouse on a leash, but love and respect one another. Face it, life is not a piece of cake and neither is marriage. However, if the Biblical pattern is followed, then a Biblical marriage is the result. If there are problems (and there will be) give them over to God and let him work on on both of you. "Mother may I" is not the way to get started, "God may I" is far better.

Yes!

We could never see this happening in real-time, but it is happening. A lot of things in life are like that, we can't necessarily see it happening, but we know that it is occurring. Take starting your car for instance; you turn the ignition key and trust that the battery is charged and the spark plugs will fire and that no one has attached a stick of dynamite to your vehicle. This trust when applied to spiritual matters is called faith, but lets just read a few verses from the book of Hebrews:

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which appeared.
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained testimony that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The Webster Bible

Faith: Yes, you can't see it. Yes, you can see the results of it by what you do. Yes, it involves life and death. Yes, Yes, Yes! It is our way of saying, Yes to God! It is the spark of belief, the beginning of hope and the goal of life. It gives light to an otherwise dark and mysterious life. It has been revealed in Jesus and offered to you. The questions is: Will you see what you can't see?

When Advertising meets Reality

The graphic says it all: how many times have I seen wonderful TV ads and then reality showed the truth, junk. This is especially true in the movie previews, as oftentimes the only good parts of the movie WERE THE PREVIEWED PARTS! This isn't restricted to just TV, it occurs in real life; take the following passage from the book of Acts, for instance:


Act 8:9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who before in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Act 8:10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Act 8:11 And to him they had regard, because that for a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Act 8:12 But when they believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women.
Act 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Act 8:14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John:
Act 8:15 Who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit:
Act 8:16 (For as yet he had fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:20 But Peter said to him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Act 8:21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
Act 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee.
Act 8:23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
Act 8:24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

The Webster Bible

Simon advertised himself as someone great, when in reality he was nothing at all. What a corrupt mind he had! Because he was a trickster, he thought everyone was just like him. When the false "great one" met true greatness he was put in his place, just as it should be. In fact, there is only one God, one Great One, one for whom no advertising is required. Reality is that He sent Jesus and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and that's that; no embellishment required.

One Way!

This picture reminds me of the Menlo Park Mall area in central New Jersey! If you follow the signs carefully, it does make sense; just don't try to take it in all at once. In a way, life is like this street; there are signs all over the place, all pointing you in different directions. They just have different names; Mother, Father, teachers, coaches, spouses, bosses.... etc.. If you try to follow them all you will just go nowhere and feel very lost. One of the reasons I like Jesus is that he just doesn't beat around the bush... he is straightforward. John chapter 14 says:

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5 Thomas saith to him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.

The Webster Bible

When Jesus says "I am" in verse six above, he is saying "I, myself am". He points to himself as the way, the truth and the life; notice the repetition of the word "the". This is a definite article, in other words it points to one thing and one thing ONLY. People are either alive or dead, you either have truth or you don't or you have a way to God or you don't. Humm, all of a sudden the "One Way" signs in the picture have just a little more meaning to me. There is only one way to God, not many; make sure you follow the correct "One Way" sign!

Reality, not relativity

I really like this picture of Albert Einstein because it shows a side of him that is not intellectual. I have known some extremely intelligent people; some whose IQ's were well above Einstein's 160. The thing is, just because people are smart, doesn't mean that they are people you would necessarily want to be around. Often, well educated people are very narrow minded and only want to talk about their field of interest. If you find someone (no matter how smart) who is open to new ideas, that person is truly intelligent. Consider the following passage from the book of Acts:


Act 13:1 And there were certain in Antioch, in the assembly there, prophets and teachers; both Barnabas, and Simeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen also--Herod the tetrarch's foster-brother--and Saul;
Act 13:2 and in their ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, `Separate ye to me both Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them,'
Act 13:3 then having fasted, and having prayed, and having laid the hands on them, they sent them away.
Act 13:4 These, indeed, then, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, thence also they sailed to Cyprus,
Act 13:5 and having come unto Salamis, they declared the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John as a ministrant;
Act 13:6 and having gone through the island unto Paphos, they found a certain magian, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name is Bar-Jesus;
Act 13:7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; this one having called for Barnabas and Saul, did desire to hear the word of God,
Act 13:8 and there withstood them Elymas the magian--for so is his name interpreted--seeking to pervert the proconsul from the faith.
Act 13:9 And Saul--who also is Paul--having been filled with the Holy Spirit, and having looked stedfastly on him,
Act 13:10 said, `O full of all guile, and all profligacy, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 and now, lo, a hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season;' and presently there fell upon him a mist and darkness, and he, going about, was seeking some to lead him by the hand;
Act 13:12 then the proconsul having seen what hath come to pass, did believe, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Young's Literal Translation

This magician, this trickster got a lot more than he bargained for. So did the proconsul Sergius Paulus, because he had the opportunity to learn what truth was and that by way of a demonstration of power. It wasn't intelligent discourse, but profound reality that was needed; and the proconsul believed. What is needed in many a life is reality, not relativity or intense cerebral effort. God is a God for all people, not just those blessed with EXCESS BRAIN POWER. So, the next time I feel really smart, I will just stick my tongue out and go to the mirror for a taste of reality (but I won't take any pictures)!!!

What about me?

Someone is jealous and that means trouble! I think everyone has seen jealously, but I guess it is a little "cute" to see it in one so young. Jealously is a sin. People don't like to call things sin today, but face it, it is what it is. If there is a God, then He must be by definition absolute and that involves a standard of measurement. If God provides the standards, then who are we to say they don't exist or that political correctness should replace what God has put in place? Consider the following list and ask yourself if you find yourself doing either the good or bad things on it.
Galatians 5:16-25

Gal 5:16 But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do.
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Law.
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 meekness, self-control. Against such things there is not a law.
Gal 5:24 But the ones belonging to Christ crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

LITV

Notice a couple of things; first Jealously is on the list (verse 20) and secondly that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (verse 21). Avoid the first list (19-21) and practice the second (22-23). Its one thing to look at the picture and see what is wrong; its quite another to ask ourselves the question: What about me? When we think about that then sin isn't "cute", its dead serious. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Yum,Yum!

Sometimes you just have to jump right in with both hands! Life is meant to be enjoyed! No matter where you are, or what you are doing, you can find something positive if you just look hard enough! OK, you might say, what about the dentist or some other unpleasant experience? Well, perhaps even the worst of experiences can be thought of as positive if you consider that if everything was pleasing you wouldn't have any thing to gage your life by. In other words, you need the bad to appreciate the good! Jesus loved people and showed it. Look at this passage from the book of John for a moment and I think you will see what I mean.

Joh 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.
Joh 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
Joh 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith to him, They have no wine.
Joh 2:4 Jesus saith to her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? my hour is not yet come.
Joh 2:5 His mother saith to the servants, Whatever he saith to you, do it.
Joh 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Joh 2:7 Jesus saith to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them to the brim.
Joh 2:8 And he saith to them, Draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast. And they bore it.
Joh 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was; (but the servants who drew the water knew) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
Joh 2:10 And saith to him, Every man at the beginning presenteth good wine; and when men have well drank, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
Joh 2:11 This beginning of miracles Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

The Webster Bible

Weddings can be fun! Face it, wine does loosen things up abit and in moderation is harmless. Jesus could have just made wine, but he made "good wine". Why? I like to think its because he WANTED THEM TO HAVE THE BEST! They were obviously having a good time at the feast, so why not even make it better. And oh, yes, throwing in a miracle couldn't hurt the situation, either. So the next time you want to have some fun, just do it, there is nothing wrong with saying, "Yum, Yum" once in awhile. Here's cake in your face!

Lucky

Lucky Dog....
Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite Toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box. It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact, she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable. Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed. When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what! Was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure. Remember....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....The people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most, credentials, the most money, or the most awards .They are the ones that care for us. If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours!

Live simply.
Love seriously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

I received this in an e-mail and liked it so much that I wanted to share it!