Thought for the day...

November 14, 2019
Verse of the Day
The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
Nahum 1:7 NIV

 

A picture of God
By Linda Buxa
A picture is worth a thousand words. Except when it isn’t. A photo might capture a glorious moment accurately, but it can also be misinterpreted because it only captures a fraction of a second in your whole entire life.

If you took a snapshot of a moment in your life, you could misinterpret God, couldn’t you? Sure, in the good times it’s easy to spot his blessings. But in a rough patch? Well, you might think that at best he is distant from you. (After all, why would any God take the time to notice little, unimportant you?) You might think he is angry and giving you the silent treatment. (After all, you’ve done some pretty horrible things, so I bet there’s no way he wants to be around you.)

That couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, the God of the universe is your dearest friend. He is kind and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He is your confidant, inviting you to leave your weariness and burdens with him so he can give you rest. He is an encourager, sending the Holy Spirit to live inside of you and giving you the strength for each day.

If today is one of those days—or this year is one of those years—please don’t believe the snapshot. There’s a bigger picture, one that reminds you, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

 

November 15, 2019
Verse of the Day
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10 NIV

 

Love stinks
By Sarah Habben
Love stinks. No kidding; it really does.

Victorian sweethearts worked this to their advantage. A love-struck lad would peel an apple and cup it under his arm until the fruit had soaked up the bracing scent of—armpit. Then he would send his “Love Apple” to his beloved for her to sniff at leisure.

But love started stinking long before the Victorians. The world’s first sweethearts, Adam and Eve, trashed God’s love when they bit into a forbidden piece of fruit. Sin oozed into the world. Love began to smell fishy. Not of BO, but of something worse: ego.

Ever since, selfishness has scribbled me-firsts over God’s script. Love is patient . . . when I’m first in line for the bathroom. Love is kind . . . to my coworker’s face. Love is not easily angered . . . as long as my kids stop whining, like—NOW.

The love I offer up is more odor than ardor. It stinks. But instead of sluicing his world clean of me and other reeking sinners, God turned the fire hose of his anger on his Son. In so doing, God redefined love. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Though I reeked of sin, Jesus lived for me. Though I served my ego, Jesus died for me. Though I stumble in love, Jesus forgives me. And so he enables me to serve and forgive others.

That’s Christ’s love.

How sweet it smells.

 

November 16, 2019
Verse of the Day
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
1 Peter 3:13 NIV

 

God, could you pitch in?
By Linda Buxa
When we lived in California, ducks were hanging around our creek. Our three kiddos were building nests, hoping the ducks would lay their eggs in them. On the way home from church one Sunday, my daughter asked, “Mom, can you pitch in around the house today? We’ll be so busy with our nests.”

I laughed, because she was only seven at the time and had no idea what she was saying to the woman who made her meals, washed her clothes, drove her to school.

I often do the same thing to God. I don’t really pay attention to all the ways he is working in my life; then when I get busy or stressed, I ask him to pitch in.

We call out, “God, where are you?!” when things are going wrong. When in reality he is the God who chooses to live inside of us and promises to never leave us or forsake us.

To the God who created and owns everything in the whole entire world, providing so we can pay the rent is not a problem. Still, we fret and stew and worry.

We wonder why God doesn’t seem to care about our problems but forget that “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).

Jesus performed the ultimate act of “pitching in” when he came as God with us. He’s not about to act uninterested now

 

November 17, 2019
Verse of the Day
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV

 

RSVP your wedding invitation
By Pastor Mark Jeske
The English language apparently is inadequate for all of life’s situations. You have to learn some Italian to play the piano (Allegro! Andante!), German when somebody sneezes (Gesundheit!), and French to answer a wedding invitation (RSVP-Respondez s’il vous plait). It is considered very rude to fail to respond to this important piece of paper. If you are chosen to join the select groups of family and friends at a wedding, you are shown great value. If you blow them off, you show that they are of low value to you.

The Bible compares Jesus Christ to a heavenly bridegroom and the church (i.e., all believers together) as his bride. He is making preparations for the bridal procession and coming soon to gather us together for the grand feast. In the meantime, the Bible brings the invitation to believe in Christ and to prepare for his return. It comes with an RSVP: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:16,17).

Don’t put off answering. Do it now. You are guaranteed no tomorrows—today might be the last day of your life. Pray with me: Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me enough to want me in your heavenly mansions. Thank you for the beautiful clothes of righteousness that you bought for me. I accept your invitation with great pleasure and eagerly await the feast. Amen.

Come soon, Lord Jesus

 

November 18, 2019
Verse of the Day
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18 NIV

 

Expressing love
By Jason Nelson
Our lasting impression of love is formed by our earliest experiences at home. Home is where we discover a thing called love and how to express it. G.K. Chesterton said that the meanest fear is the fear of sentimentality. That fear can make a home or a life austere. It can create doubts about love. I hope this isn’t a pain-filled question for you, but what were your first impressions of love?

Here are five things about love from the Bible:

• Love is the evidence of God among us and dwells in flesh and blood (1 John 4:16).
• Love is reciprocal, teachable, and repeatable (1 John 4:19; John 13:34,35).
• Love is not a stable condition in our hearts (Matthew 24:12, 1 Peter 1:22).
• Love is self-sacrificing (John 3:16).
• Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13).

It’s not too late to make our homes more loving if we invite Jesus to be a member of the family. His place is set at our table when we

• insist that loving interaction is our family’s priority.
• are transparent about our love for him and each other.
• verbalize affection and gratitude for each other often.
• establish routines and celebrate with traditions that include everyone.
• grow together in faith as churchgoers.
• leave a generous amount of wiggle room for people to grow on their own.

You will be able to see if your family learned to express love when everyone gets together and reminisces.

 

November 19, 2019
Verse of the Day
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10 NIV

 

Leaders accept responsibility
By Pastor Mark Jeske
Anyone can blame somebody else for what’s wrong. It takes a leader to accept responsibility for the misdeeds of the group.

Nehemiah was a Jew, still living in exile during the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes around 444 b.c., even though the Jews had been freely permitted to return to the land of Israel 92 years earlier. Nehemiah had demonstrated enough ability to have been promoted to a position of high trust in the royal court, that of cupbearer to the king. His heart was stirred by a sad report from Jerusalem about the sluggish progress in rebuilding the city and especially its walls. Without those walls, the city was vulnerable to every band of raiders that came through.

Nehemiah had the soul of a true leader. As he formed his plans to jump-start the rebuilding of Jerusalem, he came to the Lord in prayer and showed that he had learned the lesson of the reason for Israel’s painful exile: “We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:7). Nehemiah did not blame his grandparents’ generation. He used the pronoun we and meant it. He knew he was a sinner too. He approached the Lord in a posture of humility, asking for mercy, not demanding what he thought Israel had a right to.

When a group of people looks to you as its leader, accept the authority that comes with it, but take the responsibility too.