Thought for the day...

Glimpses of the gospel
By Pastor Mike Novotny
I sinned during the sermon. Although it was not my intention, I said something very personal and very aggressive toward a member of our congregation. She was hurt and confused. I would not have been surprised if she found a new church. But she didn’t. Instead she reached out to me and, after my sincere repentance, we reconciled. These days, if you would see the two of us at our church, you would see smiles and laughter and genuine friendship.

Do you know what that is? Not just a Hallmark ending. That is a glimpse of God. When the apostle Paul wrote, “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20), he was telling us that what we see and experience here has a lot in common with the God “up there.” If Jesus is the Light of the world and if her forgiveness was “letting her light shine,” then what I experienced from her was a glimpse of Jesus himself.

Just imagine the connections. Every word of encouragement is a faint echo of God’s voice, prepared to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Every invitation to come to the party is a preview of Jesus, ready to say, “Come and share in your Master’s happiness.” Every act of love that you simply do not deserve and never would expect is a glimpse of the grace of God.

 

January 27, 2020
Verse of the Day
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalms 19:14

 

Fear of forgiveness?
By Pastor Dave Scharf
Hydrophobia. That’s the fear of water. It seems silly to be afraid of something you need. Frankly, it’s not just silly, it’s deadly. Hydrophobia is a very dangerous disease in animals because it will drive the animal wild, causing it to bite and tear, because it knows it needs something. But it dreads the “something” it needs: a drink of water.

Forgivenessphobia. Okay, I made up that word. But I didn’t make up the condition. Too often people (you and me included at times) run around and take out our guilt over our own inadequacies on others. Too often we try to find satisfaction in the things of this world or the things that we do. Almost like we’re afraid to accept the one thing we need: forgiveness.

St. Augustine, early Christian theologian and philosopher, said it right: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Don’t be afraid. Find rest today in Jesus’ words to you, the one thing you need today: “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). He won that forgiveness and freedom for you when he gave his life for yours on the cross. He assured you by making you his child in your baptism. He gives you visible forgiveness in his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. Every sin is gone.

Now don’t be afraid to accept the fact of what he earned for you: forgiveness

 

Wanted to take a moment and thank you and T.Jeff for your consistent contribution to this thread. There has been many cases I have been pressed for time
and have been encouraged and forced to think, so thank you both. Someday I hope to have time to learn how to post the way a lot of folks do on FHC.

 

Well said and agree 100% JoeinO

 

Personally, I love this thread! T.Jeff Veal provides biblical wisdom which is always warranted. Backwoods Savage posts sayings that range from comical to thought provoking to downright head-scratching and I think it is great. I have been lifted up, encouraged and challenged by many of the posts here and it has been great!

 

Thanks for the encouraging words Marvin and JoeinO . Thank you Backwoods Savage for all your contributions, so many common sense things and quotes you share. I've read quite a few to my Sunday School class. Really hepls this thread. I enjoy sharing HIS WORD.

 

January 28, 2020
Verse of the Day
Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
Proverbs 13:6 NIV

 

By Pastor Mark Jeske
On his second missionary journey, St. Paul traveled to the center of the ancient city of Athens to start a conversation with the Greeks who lived there. They were an earnestly religious people, and Athens was full of monuments and temples to their gods and goddesses. Their priests taught them that the human race had sprung from stones cast behind them by a man named Deucalion and a woman named Pyrrha.

Paul did not ridicule myths like these, but he began to tell the people about the real origin of the human race. We came from the mind and will of one God, who launched the entire universe into being. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24,25).

Nobody today believes that Deucalion and Pyrrha populated the earth with stones. Instead, the academic elite in our world embrace and propagate the idea that the human race is the product of random evolution and mutation. Perhaps someday people will sneer at that idea too, realizing that there had to be intelligent design to bring about such brilliantly imagined and engineered living creatures as you and me.

In the meantime, look up to heaven and give thanks to the One who gave you life and breath

 

January 29, 2020
Verse of the Day
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Luke 16:10 NIV

 

January 30, 2020
Verse of the Day
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 NIV

 

Why did I land here?
By Pastor Mark Jeske
Is there any meaning to the place of your birth, or is your arrival random and meaningless? People want answers to that aching question. That’s why stories of delivery by a stork keep hanging around. People want there to be a reason why they are where they are.

St. Paul spoke to that ancient longing in the human heart when he spoke to the Greeks in Athens: “From one man he [i.e., God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26). Paul was giving those inquiring minds great comfort—not only did they have a wise and loving Creator, but they had a place. They weren’t just aimless dust motes or twigs floating downstream. There was a reason for their location and relationships. There was care and design in their lives. They mattered.

There is care and design in yours as well. “Bloom where you are planted” is a wise old saying, based, perhaps, on this Scripture verse. It doesn’t mean you can’t ever move somewhere else. It does mean that you can embrace your location, no matter how humble, and be useful to God right there, right now. Part of the grand adventure of life is slowly discovering God’s intent in placing you where you are.

You might not figure it out right away, and that’s okay. Enjoy the ride.

 

You Did It for Me

It was a chilly February evening as we pulled into our neighborhood. On the side of the road sat a young girl, hysterically crying, wearing only a tank top and shorts. We pulled over and I got out and moved toward the woman saying, “How can I help you?”

She muttered the words, “He kicked me out. I’m pregnant, and my boyfriend kicked me out.”

As I searched for words, my only thought was, She’s a person. Show her dignity. So I asked, “What is your name?”

“Brittney.”

I replied, “It’s very nice to meet you, Brittney. Would you like a ride to where you’re going?”

“Yes, my grandma lives nearby.” she said.

We walked to the car, and my husband hopped into the back seat with our two children – who both sat with eyes and mouths agape. Without missing a beat, I introduced my family to Brittney as though I’d known her for years.

“Brittney, would it be okay if I get you some clothes? I can just run inside our home and get them.”

“Yes, I’m really cold.”

I pulled into my driveway and went inside. To my surprise, Brittney followed close behind me. I grabbed a long-sleeved sweatshirt, sweatpants, and flip-flops. I handed her the clothing, and she went to the bathroom to change.

We then took her to her grandmother’s house and wished her well. On the way home, our children inquired about what had just happened, and I simply said, “I’m sure that’s what Jesus would have wanted us to do.” They agreed, and we went about the rest of our evening.

The next morning, I was casually reading my devotional when it was as if the words leapt off the page, “I was naked, and you gave me clothing.” My heart quickened as I remembered the events of the night before.

Opportunities to love like Jesus might happen anytime, anywhere. We can love the stranger on the street like Jesus without even mentioning His name. When Brittney meets Jesus, I pray she’ll recognize Him as the one she encountered on her way to grandma’s house one cold February evening.

Tasha Salinas
Life.Church Midwest City

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25:34‭-‬40 NKJV