Sat, Apr 29th - 1:56AM

The Solution

I can't imagine a day so bad!:
And David was greatly distressed;
for the people spake of stoning him,
because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and for his daughters:

I can't imagine a better solution!:
but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
1 Samuel 30:6

Thu, Apr 27th - 7:21AM

It is easy to want things from the Lord
and yet not want the Lord Himself,
as though the gift could ever be preferable to the Giver. 
~St. Augustine of Hippo~

Mon, Apr 24th - 7:19AM

A Mother's Faith

"He went to the Communist prison and saw his mother behind iron bars. She was dirty, thin, with calloused hands, wearing the shabby uniform of a prisoner. He scarcely recognized her.

Her first words were, 'Mihai, believe in Jesus!'

The guards, in a savage way, pulled hew away from Mihai and took her out. Mihai wept seeing his mother dragged away. This minute was the minute of his conversion. He knew that if Christ can be loved under such circumstances, He surely is the true Savior.

He said afterward, 'If Christianity had no other arguments in its favor than the fact that my mother believes in it, this is enough for me.' That was the day he fully accepted Christ.

from: Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand

Sat, Apr 22nd - 3:37PM

Tortured for Christ

"The Bible he gave me was written not so much in words,
but in flames of love
fired by his prayer.
I could barely read it.
I could only weep over it,
comparing my bad life with the life of Jesus;
my impurity with His righteousness;
my hatred with His love -
and He accepted me as one of His own."

"My wife and I were present at this congress.
Sabina told me,
'Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ!
They are spitting in His face.'
I said to her, 'If I do so, you lose your husband.'
She replied, 'I don't want to have a coward as a husband.'"

"How underground Christians rejoice
on those rare occasions
when they meet a serious Christian
from the West."

~Richard Wurmbrand

Thu, Apr 20th - 9:30AM

By Faith

Hebrews 11
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 1

By faith we understand... 3
By faith Abel...  4
By faith Enoch... 5
By faith Noah... 7
By faith Abraham... 8
By faith Isaac... 20

Faith is an amazing thing.
God's Word reminds us of the faith of those before us.
The emphasis isn't on what they wore
or how well they ate
or who their friends were
or what denominational sign they gathered under.
What mattered was their faith in Him!

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,
the God we serve is able to save us from it,
and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 
But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king,
that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Daniel 3:17-18

Wed, Apr 19th - 8:47AM

Drama Queen?

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You clean the outside of the cup and dish,
but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish,
and then the outside also will be clean.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You are like whitewashed tombs,
which look beautiful on the outside
but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous
but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
~Matthew 23:25-28

Main Entry: hyp·o·crite
Etymology:  from Greek hypokritEs actor,
: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

"What made the Pharisees hypocrites was not their faults:
It was their pretense that they were righteous.
It was teaching one thing and doing another.
But that is what law will always produce:
people who are always hiding their real selves,
always acting,
always pretending,
and never being real."
~Bob George, "Classic Christianity"

Tue, Apr 18th - 7:44AM

Lip Service

Sun, Apr 16th - 8:12PM

Listening to the Wrong Folks

Ah! What a timely reminder! Goes along with my last two posts....

WHAT JESUS DID!  -- http://www.heartlight.org/    Sunday, April 16, 2006

Listening to the Wrong Folks

    "I don't want praise from you or any other human. But I know
    you -- I know that you don't have God's love in you. I have
    come from my Father -- I speak for him. But you don't accept
    me. But when another person comes speaking only for himself,
    you will accept him. You like to have praise from each other.
    But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only
    God. So how can you believe?
                            -- John 5:41-44 

KEY THOUGHT:
Whose approval are you trying to receive? Peer pressure is powerful in
the lives of teens, but if we are really honest, adults are even more
susceptible to peer pressure. Look at designer fashions, hot cars,
house styles, popular movies, top ten books, and a host of other areas.
Can we stand up to the ridicule of others and stand with Jesus, or do
we cave in, hide out, or give up our faith when it's unpopular?
Sometimes our churches are stained glass museums filled with
spiritually impoverished people afraid to speak up for Jesus because
they're too concerned about what others think and say. Let's pray that
we may be both bold and respectful with our faith in Jesus (see Acts
4:31 & 1 Peter 3:15-16).

TODAY'S PRAYER:
Glorious Father, please give me courage to stand up for Jesus as much
in the marketplace as I do when I am around other believers. Help my
witness to be genuinely consistent as well as sensitive to those around
me. Forgive me when I have worried more about what others think about
me than I have about honoring Jesus as my Lord. In the name of your Son
and my Savior I pray. Amen.

And another AMEN!

Fri, Apr 14th - 8:22AM

The Pharisees Were Offended...

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face,
because he was clearly in the wrong.

The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy,
so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel,
I said to Peter in front of them all...
Galatians 2

Wow!
Are we willing to do that today?
Or are we too worried about offending someone we like instead of worrying about offending Christ?

Are we sending out THE message that Christ died for all who would accept Him or are we too worried about huddling with those who tell us what we want to hear?

Be prepared for the attacks if you do gently stand up for Christ's words over those of others. No matter how gently and prayerfully you oppose those who are preaching against Christ, you will offend. You will be attacked and gossiped about, at the very least.

And the "poor me, I have~ *list of problems here*..." will be the subtle self-excusing.

But a true follower of Christ will take it to the Lord in prayer, test it against His Word, and apologize if they're wrong.

Sat, Apr 1st - 1:27PM

"Feel Good" Christianity

"Feel Good" Christianity.
The kind that seeks out those who are just like us.
The people who will agree with everything we say, even when we're wrong.
The people who let us wallow in our misery and give us enough pity to keep us there.

"Tell me what I want to hear and I'll be your friend."

"Maybe I was wrong but I won't apologize!"
"Maybe I was wrong but I'll make you feel sorry for me so you won't tell me the truth."

"I don't care what Scripture says, because I know...."

The kind that leads to "self-righteousness".

Lord,
Thank you for my friends, however few or many, that are Godly.
The ones who seek to share YOUR truth!
The ones who won't scratch my itching ears.
The ones who won't allow me to gossip and complain.
The ones who tell me what I NEED to hear and not what I WANT to hear.
Those whose input I value because they are credible through You!

The ones who won't shower my with sympathy but guide me with empathy!
The ones you've set in my path to stay on YOUR path.

And please, dear Lord, let me be the same kind of friend to them!

After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite,
"I am angry with you and your two friends,
because you have not spoken of me what is right...
Job 42:7

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
Proverbs 27:6

Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Galatians 4:16