Thought for the day...

November 8, 2019
Verse of the Day
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:25 NIV

 

November 9, 2019
Verse of the Day
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
Luke 12:3 NIV

 

There’s an app for that
By Linda Buxa
Need the most minor problem solved? There’s an app for that! Apps help you manage your finances, diet, fitness, sleep, and shopping.

Sometimes, though, some of them make me shake my head, such as Drunk Text Savior. Its webpage shares, “Tired of getting yourself into trouble from your drunk texts after a crazy night out? Let the Drunk Text Savior help.” It was designed to stop you from waking up one morning to discover you texted someone you dated four years ago or your boss or someone who isn’t as attractive in the light of day.

Don’t you simply want to ask, “How about you not make poor choices that lead to bad texting decisions in the first place?”

Deep down we know the answer, don’t we? Making wise choices is rarely “fun.” I don’t want to change my behavior; I simply don’t want to suffer the consequences. I’d rather cover up my transgressions than not transgress in the first place. Maybe I don’t need Drunk Text Savior, but I sure could use Quick Tongue Savior. Or Nagging Savior. Or Wasting Too Much Time on the Internet Savior.

There’s an app for that too. My Perfect Loving Savior came, not to cover up or downplay my idiotic choices but to wipe them away completely. No matter what my personal sins are, I have a Savior who won my forgiveness. He did it for you too. Through his Word, his Spirit is downloaded in your heart and mind

 

Pause Points
Atul Gawande, in his book The Checklist Manifesto, shows how doctors can use a checklist to save lives during surgery. Gawande’s checklist includes three vital “pause points”: before anesthesia, before incision, and before leaving the operating room.

Each pause point lasts no more than a minute—just long enough for the team to make basic checks. The results? In 2008, eight hospitals began using Gawande’s checklist, and within months, the rate of major complications fell by 35 percent and deaths by 47 percent. What an amazing difference brought about by surgical teams taking time to pause during their procedures!

After God delivered His people from Egyptian bondage, he gave them a pause point: the Sabbath. “The seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work” (Exodus 20:10). God instructed His people to remember and observe this day and treat it as holy or set apart from any other regular workday (v.8).

When they observed the Sabbath, they were actually pausing to remember several things: God’s work/rest rhythm in creation (Genesis 2:2), their deliverance from bondage (Deuteronomy 5:12-15), their relationship with God, and His desire to give them refreshment and life (Exodus 31:17).

As our loving God has revealed, it’s vital that we intentionally, regularly include pause points in our lives. On Sunday or some other day, we should pause to remember God’s work/rest rhythm in creation (20:11), to thank Jesus for delivering us from the bondage of sin, to find rest and refreshment in Him, and to anticipate the ultimate pause point when we’ll be in His presence! —Marvin Williams

MORE: Read Isaiah 40:29-31 and Philippians 4:6-7, then consider the purposes of spiritual “pause points.”



NEXT: What kind of “pause point” rhythms do you presently have? If pause points can save patients’ lives, how can spiritual pause points make for healthier lives in Jesus?

 

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 20:8‭-‬11 NIV

 

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29‭-‬31 NIV

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

November 11, 2019
Verse of the Day
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.
Zechariah 14:9 NIV

 

No greater love
By Pastor Mark Jeske
Everybody remembers 9/11. But only a few remember the significance of 11/11. Originally it commemorated Armistice Day, the blessed point in time when World War I was finally over. Eleven million military personnel and seven million civilians perished in that dreadful conflict. Now 11/11 is known as Veterans Day, America’s opportunity to show some appreciation and support for its men and women in uniform.

We remember especially those who are assigned to service outside the country. Some are able to take their families with them to base housing. Many have to manage long-distance marriages, burdened with the realization that their children are growing up without them. Many have served in live-fire zones and for the rest of their lives will have to live with the fear of IEDs and snipers.

In his last few hours of freedom before his own death, Jesus spoke of the honor, sacrifice, and worth of saving the lives of others at the risk of your own: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). He laid down his so that you and I could receive the forgiveness of our sins, the favor and blessings of God, and a resurrection like his. He calls us friends. It is our most priceless asset.

The people whom we remember today are showing that kind of love. They are risking their lives to help preserve yours and mine. We are grateful for them all.

 

God’s antidepressant
By Pastor Mark Jeske
At the time when George Washington was president, over 90 percent of Americans were engaged in agriculture or agriculture-related work. In today’s work life, we tap at computers, stare into screens, and talk on the phone. When so little of our work lives is physical, how can our stress level not go up? And how can stressed people not experience more depression? I am surprised neither by the number of people I know who struggle with depression nor the number who depend on antidepressant medications to get through their days.

Doctors, nurses, and medical scientists can explain to you about chemical imbalances in the brain and how antidepressant drugs are not merely addictive crutches. To the medical advice you can get, I would like to add some from God: look away from yourself.

In a depressed person’s mind, everything revolves around him or her. “I wonder what they’re saying about me—probably all bad.” “I am such a failure.” “Nothing goes right for me.” “Nobody really cares about me.” The way out of that dark hole is to let God speak to you of his unconditional love, that you have immense value to him, so great that the Son of God himself thought you were worth dying for.

Second, let God invite you to turn your face outward and look for people to serve. Service to others heals the soul: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10). Making someone else’s life a little better will make yours better.

 

November 13, 2019
Verse of the Day
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Jeremiah 33:3 NIV

 

Fill your tank
By Sarah Habben
Have you ever bypassed a gas station only to find yourself driving down a highway on fumes? It sure sucks the fun out of a car trip.

Jesus’ friend Martha once had a similar moment. She had her pedal to the metal in the kitchen. Her sister, Mary, was lounging at Jesus’ feet. It wasn’t fair. Martha was trying to make a yummy supper for Jesus. But she was driving down the highway with her gas gauge pointing to E. Her mistake, as someone once said, was “thinking she was the host and Jesus the guest.” Martha needed to be filled up by Jesus before she could serve.

We’ve all had Martha moments. We want to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen, but there’s all this stuff to do! We take on a task only to sputter and stall. We’re overwhelmed. Tense. Angry. We scold Jesus: Don’t you care about my many duties? How can I possibly find time to listen to you?

Jesus gently rebuked Martha (and us). Not for serving him, but for foolishly trying to serve him on an empty tank. Jesus told Martha, “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41,42).

We are Jesus’ guests, and he’s giving away fuel: Forgiveness. Peace. Patience. Joy. Take time to fill your tank. Then, strengthened, go and serve.

 

Hindrances to Prayer
One of the hardest things to do is forgive our enemies. Jesus Christ has commanded us to turn the other cheek (see Matthew 5:38 – 42); however, it is all too easy to wish that those who have wronged us experience God’s wrath, or at least our own. But the Bible tells us that such anger and pain can hinder our relationship with God. As long as hatred and anger exist in our hearts, we cannot achieve the faith spoken of in the Gospel of Mark, namely, that we truly believe our prayers will be answered. It is only by recognizing the totality of Christ’s message of love — forgiving and loving our enemies — that we can achieve true closeness with God.

Taken from NIV Essentials of the Christian Faith

 

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Mark 11:24‭-‬25 NIV