Posts from May 2023 (Page 2)

  James encourages us to be “doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves” (James 1.22) He compares the “hearers only” as those who look at their face in the mirror and immediately forget who they are, to a “doer of the Word” who looks at the “perfect law, the law of Liberty”. Within the comparison James has us “looking”, but the two words for looking are different! The first looking in the mirror is defined…

  Have you ever felt unimportant in God’s Kingdom? What about small and insignificant? Or maybe you just feel that there are so many people in your church that have more talent in their pinkie toe nail than you do in your entire body. In some cases that may be true. You may not be very talented. In fact, you may even be the one talent man that is described in Matthew 25. When you have so little in comparison…

  The famous basketball coach John Wooden once said “If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would be much happier.” I wonder if coach got that idea from David when he said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgive all you iniquity, who heals all you diseases, who redeems your life from the…

      Many problems occur because man doesn’t choose to worship God the way God wants.   Rather, a way that is also pleasing to self.   Cain was the first record of one trying to worship God his own way.  What does the book of Genesis tell us about how God felt about it?   He respected Abel’s offering but not Cain’s because it wasn’t as God had said.         Both brothers believed in God and both wanted to worship Him.  Both…

  DISCUSSION :               Can silence authorize ?—God spoke and said all we need to know-what He wants- therefore anything else would be presumption.  Silence authorizes nothing . Does silence forbid? –  The same logic that shows silence can’t authorize, forbids anything more. Example- when a Dr. writes a prescription, the detail and exact amounts are included to get the correct medication. The Dr. doesn’t tell the pharmacist what not to give the patient. He remains silent because it’s understood to…

  A passenger was aboard a ferry crossing the waters between Michigan and Canada. During the trip he noticed that there were a lot of treacherous rocks and boulders along both sides (port and Starboard) of the ferry, causing him great concern. He went to the captain with his concern. Sir, do you know where all these boulders and rocks are on each side of the ferry?   The captain said no, I do not, but I do know where the…

  Burdens Give Us Wings. An old legend says that long ago God had a great many burdens that He wished to have carried from one place to another on earth, so He asked the animals to lend a hand. All of them began to make excuses for not helping: the elephant was too digni fi ed; the lion too proud; and so on. Finally the birds came and said, “If you will tie them into small bundles, we’ll carry…

    Every part of the body is valuable to the church ( 1 Corinthians 12:14-18 ), including – perhaps especially – older members. Though some may have been put out to pasture, we should retrieve them to be teachers of good things. We should not assume that older people are incapable of making decisions and understanding a modern world. Include them in discussions, invite their opinions, and consider their experiences. They likely have some advice worth hearing ( Job…

    Love children enough to be good examples to them. The way we as parents act and react must be how we expect our children to act and react. As parents we are their example of “how to”. Don’t think we can expect children to only follow our words, not follow our behavior. Many parents fall into the category of “do as I say and not as I do”. Is that a good method of training children how to…

  One can tell the condition of a person’s heart by looking at his countenance (his facial appearance). We all know when people are happy; we can tell by the sparkle in their eyes, their smile and their cheerful countenance. When they are old, happy people have “smile wrinkles” instead of those caused by frowning. Facial expressions reveal a lot about a person. Even children will speak up when they observe an unkind face, and they might say, “That is…

  Correction and reproof keep a man on the path of life. Just as a child requires correction to learn the things that will help him grow and mature properly, we all need the correction of our heavenly Father to avoid the things that can destroy us. Notice that the death spoken of is physical, moral, and spiritual. All who are without Christ are spiritually dead, though they do not know it. It is only with Christ and by His…

  Without the proper heart attitude, even the “good things” we do will not count before God. It is the condition of the heart that impresses God. Many say they love God, but deny Him by their compromised lifestyles. A man cannot live in two worlds, nor can he serve two masters. Ultimately, he will choose one over the other, even as Jesus declared in Matthew 6:24. If we are not on fire with a love for God that causes…