Revelation benediction #2: Blessed dead By Pastor Mark Jeske In the circles in which I move, nobody much envies dead people. “Poor Benny,” they say. “He was sick for so long.” “Poor Louise. She had a hard life. Actually you would do well to be one of the Christian dead. If you died a believer in Jesus Christ, the book of Revelation calls you blessed: “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the LORD from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them’” (14:13). Labor in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. In fact, we will have plenty of work to do in heaven—interesting, challenging, creative, fulfilling work. It’s the dreariness of our labor here on earth that is so draining, labor that’s unappreciated, mindlessly repetitive, pointless, misused, insufficiently compensated, and criticized. How blessed are they who are finally done with that phase of their existence—finally set free for joyful service! It gets better for the Christian dead—their deeds follow them, that is, the good things they did on earth will finally get recognized by Christ himself! We all (quite rightly) expect to get yelled at when we appear at the Pearly Gates. In fact, on the day of judgment, the only thing you will hear from the King is, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your Master’s happiness.”
If you ever live in a country ruled by a committee, be on the committee. One of the best things you can give to your children are good memories. Trust God, but don’t leave the keys in your car. Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts. The world will never starve for want of wonders. God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame. A true nature lover and optimist is a man who is treed by a bear and sits there enjoying the view.
Is it a waste of time and energy telling hair-raising stories to bald headed men? Mankind differs from the animals only by a little, and most people throw that away. Confucius No man would find an abiding strangeness on the moon unless he were the sort of man who could find it in his own garden. Did you hear about the new garlic diet? You won’t lose weight, but you will look thinner from a distance. Forgiveness is the fragrance of the rose shed upon the heel that crushed it. If you don’t make dust, you eat dust. Make decisions. Don’t fall victim to the “ready, aim, aim, aim” syndrome. Be willing to fire.
October 23, 2019 Verse of the Day Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life. Proverbs 22:4 NIV
Stress Management: Don’t Worry! By Rick Warren — October 18, 2019 “Don’t worry about anything” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). Work doesn’t keep you up at night; worry does. God clearly states in the Bible what he thinks about worry. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything” (NLT). Why do you need to let go of your worry? Worry is unreasonable. Here are a couple of reasons why that’s true. First, worry exaggerates the problem. Have you noticed if somebody says something bad about you, the more you think about it, the bigger it gets? Second, worry doesn’t work. To worry about something you can’t change is useless. And to worry about something you can change is a waste of time. Just go change it! Worry is unnatural. No one is a born worrier. You might think you are, but you’re not. Worry is something you learned. Since worry is unnatural, it’s also unhealthy. Your body wasn’t designed to handle worry. When people say, “I’m worried sick,” they’re telling the truth. Doctors say a lot of people could leave the hospital today if they knew how to get rid of guilt, resentment, and worry. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body” (NLT). Worry is unhelpful. Worry cannot change the past, and worry cannot control the future. All it does is mess up today. The only thing that worry changes is you. It makes you miserable! It’s never solved a problem. Worry is unnecessary. God made you, he created you, he saved you, and he put his Spirit in you. Don’t you think he’s going to take care of your needs? There’s no need to worry. The first step in stress management is to refuse to worry about anything. Why? Because it’s unreasonable, unnatural, unhelpful, and unnecessary. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7, “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern” (PHILLIPS). God personally cares about you and for your needs. So all those things you’re stressed, anxious, and worried about? Let them go. Give them to God
October 24, 2019 Verse of the Day So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV
One of the best incentives in business is the sound of the boss’s footsteps. Blessed are the forgetful; for they shall get over their stupidities too. Make not the sauce till you have caught the fish. English proverb Hold a true friend with both hands. Hearing is a gift; listening is an art. Is moderation in all things also a sort of excess? Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. Jonathon Swift
October 25, 2019 Verse of the Day By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down. Proverbs 29:4 NIV
God Always Provides. All You Have to Do Is Ask By Rick Warren — October 19, 2019 “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32 NLT). When I was a kid, anytime I needed something, I’d talk to my dad. Sometimes I needed something expensive, but not once as a kid did I worry about where my father was going to get the money for whatever I needed. That wasn’t my job! It was my dad’s job to figure out where the money would come from. It was my job as a kid to simply ask. It’s not your job to figure out how God’s going to provide. It’s your job to ask. The Bible says in James 4:2, “You do not have because you do not ask God” (NIV). Worry less, and ask more. Instead of worrying, pray about everything. Romans 8:32 says, “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” (NLT). If God has solved your biggest problem, everything else is small by comparison. If God loved you enough to send Jesus to die for your sins, don’t you think he loves you enough to help you with your finances? Don’t you think he loves you enough to help you with your health? With your relationships? With career decisions? With closing a deal? With your deadline? There’s no area of your life that doesn’t interest God. He already knows what you need, but he still wants you to ask him for it. Instead of worrying, pray about everything
Old habits die hard even when you want nothing better than to see them dead. We are never quite so happy or unhappy as we believe. Nothing lends such a zest to life as the thought of the other things one ought to be doing. In grammar, double negatives are a no-no. Junk is the stuff we throw away. Stuff is the junk we save. If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in a library? Lily Tomlin Patience! The windmill never strays in search of wind.
October 26, 2019 Verse of the Day Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV
What does God want of you? By Pastor Mark Jeske Remember the old WWJD rubber bracelets that people used to wear? “What Would Jesus Do?” Those bracelets served a good purpose if they kept people more mindful of God in their lives. But they could also provide a lazy person’s shortcut to behavior decisions. Can I be a little direct? I think it’s hazardous to assert that you know what Jesus would do in all situations. In the three years of their ministerial training, Jesus’ disciples were astounded over and over at the things the Master said and did. They could not predict his behaviors and in fact repeatedly and wrongly tried to talk him out of the unpleasant but absolutely necessary parts of the Father’s plan of salvation. And herein lies the danger—with only WWJD as your moral compass, you might be tempted to call on your Jesus-guesswork to justify what you’ve already decided you really want to do. You need surer ground than your own imagination. Go to the Book. The Bible is an absolutely reliable guide to your decision-making and not subject to Satan’s whisperings. But take it straight up—do not adulterate with your own notions, philosophies, feelings, and secret wants: “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar” (Proverbs 30:5,6). A better bracelet behavior reminder? How about WDJS (i.e., “What Did Jesus Say?”
All your needs By Sarah Habben Would you believe it if someone told you, “I can meet your every need”? What if that someone was your future spouse? your doctor? your boss? Most of us have been around long enough to realize that such a claim has more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. Nevertheless, someone has made that promise to us. That Someone doesn’t say he can meet all our needs. He says he will. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). The apostle Paul wrote these words in prison. He lacked privacy. He lacked privileges. His death sentence loomed. How could he claim that God had met all his needs? Three simple words show the root of his conviction: In. Christ. Jesus. Perhaps Paul’s situation resonates with you. Perhaps you feel imprisoned by your own body, or barred by circumstances you can’t control. To you, too, God makes his daring promise. He will meet all your needs. Not by rooting around in his pocket lint, but according to the “riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” That’s no back pocket—that’s a bottomless barrel. Out of that barrel God draws a brimming ladle of forgiveness. Of salvation. Of resurrection comfort. Of ascension power. Out of that barrel, who is Christ, God scoops a rich helping of patience, trust, hope, and contentment . . . and then says, “Dear one, there’s more where that came from!” Enough for all your needs.
Tip: A sum of money you give to someone because you’re afraid he won’t like not being paid for something you haven’t asked him to do. To select well among old things is almost equal to inventing new ones. Consider what you have in the smallest chosen library. A company of the wisest and wittiest men that could be picked out of all civil countries, in a thousand years, have set in best order the results of their learning and wisdom. The men themselves were hidden and inaccessible, solitary, impatient of interruption, fenced by etiquette; but the thought which they did not uncover to their bosom friend is here written out in transparent words to us, the strangers of another age. Emerson Alimony: billing, minus cooing. When you do something long enough, you’ve done it long enough. Listen to the river and you will catch fish. Irish proverb If you don’t change directions soon, you will end up where you are going.
October 27, 2019 Verse of the Day “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16 NIV
The best treat of all! By Linda Buxa “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). In just a few days, little Cinderellas, Darth Vaders, ninjas, and ballerinas—children whom Jesus loves very much—will ring your doorbell. They seem to love all the pretend scary elements that come with trick-or-treating. In reality, though, each one of these children may have life circumstances that are truly dark and scary. What they may not know is they have a Father who loves them deeply and watches over them—and he will always be there when they are afraid. That’s why you are in the neighborhood! Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity. When you open the door, smile and show God’s love to every one of his little children who come to your door. Add a Bible passage to your candy or include a card inviting them to church with you. Then come up with a plan for the rest of the year. Walk around your neighborhood and pray for the homes and people in it. Then get to know the neighbors God has put around you. Be the one in the community who always has a smile. Talk to them about Jesus, the one who changes darkness into light. Let them know about the one whose perfect love casts out fear
Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death. Megiddo Message Early to bed and early to rise makes most men experts in cooking their own breakfasts. The bread must have said, “It’s nice to be kneaded.” Far away is far away only if you don’t go there. People blame things on previous generations because there is only one other choice. Philosophy, if rightly defined, is nothing but the love of wisdom. Cicero A proverb is a short sentence drawn from long experience. Cervantes
October 28, 2019 Verse of the Day Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 NIV
Through the Eyes of Children A Church in England listed the following children’s answers to Church School questions: Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark. Henry VIII thought so much of Wolsey that he made him a cardigan. The Fifth Commandment is: Humor thy father and mother. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. When Mary heard she was to be the mother of Jesus, she went off and sang the Magna Carta. Holy acrimony is another name for marriage. Christians can have only one wife. This is called monotony. Today, wild beasts are confined to the Theological Gardens. The patron saint of travelers is St. Francis of the Seasick. Iran is the Bible of the Moslems. A republican is a sinner mentioned in the Bible. Abraham begat Issac and Issac begat Jacob and Jacob begat twelve partridges.
October 29, 2019 Verse of the Day Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 NIV
