Wed, Sep 17th - 7:47AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
WORKING OUT WHAT GOD HAS WORKED IN! You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must "work out your own salvation" which God has worked in you already.*
*12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12 (NRSV) My Utmost for His Highest: An Updated Edition in Today's Language.
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Wed, Sep 17th - 7:39AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LILE A MEDICINE!
Three old ladies are sitting in a diner, chatting about various things. One lady says, "You know, I'm getting really forgetful. This morning, I was standing at the top of the stairs, and I couldn't remember whether I had just come up or was about to go down." The second lady says, "You think that's bad? The other day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed, and I couldn't remember whether I was going to bed or had just waken up!" The third lady smiles smugly. "Well, my memory's just as good as it's always been, knock on wood." She raps the table. With a startled look on her face, she asks, "Who's there?!"
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Tue, Sep 16th - 8:39AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
"It is not God’s job to make us comfortable, but to make us better."* Tony W. Cartledge
*"So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 (NRSV)
"And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5 (NRSV)
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Tue, Sep 16th - 8:31AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A doctor worked on the tenth floor of an office building. In the building was a pub, where the doctor had a lemon daiquiri, every day at quitting time. The bartender's name was Dick.
One dyadic found out he didn't have any lemons and no time to get any. So he thought he would make up a hickory daiquiri instead and at the end of the day, the doctor would be too tired to notice.
The doctor sat down, took a sip and said "This isn't a lemon daiquiri, Dick!"...To which Dick replied, "No, it’s a hickory daiquiri, Doc!"
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Mon, Sep 15th - 8:37AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
A servant girl, who was once asked how she knew she was a converted Christian, replied: 'Well, you see, I used to sweep the dust under the mat, but now I don't.' It is possible to visit somebody else as if Jesus Christ lived there, to type a letter as if Jesus Christ were going to read it, to serve a customer as if Jesus Christ had come shopping that day, and to nurse a patient as if Jesus Christ were in that hospital bed. It is possible to cook a meal as if we were Martha in the kitchen, and Jesus Christ were going to eat it.* JOHN STOTT
*28just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Matt 20:28
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matt 25:40
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Mon, Sep 15th - 8:31AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
Three rather deaf friends meet on the street; “Windy, isn’t it? Said one. “No, it’s Thursday,” said the second. “So am I,” said the third. “Let’s go and have a beer.”
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Mon, Sep 15th - 8:25AM
Preaching and worship
Word and worship belong indissolubly to each other. All
worship is an intelligent and loving response to the
revelation of God, because it is the adoration of his Name.
Therefore acceptable worship is impossible without
preaching. For preaching is making known the Name of the
Lord, and worship is praising the Name of the Lord made
known. Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the
reading and preaching of the Word are actually
indispensable to it. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed,
it is their unnatural divorce which accounts for the low
level of so much contemporary worship. Our worship is poor
because our knowledge of God is poor, and our knowledge of
God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the
Word of God is expounded to its fullness, and the
congregation begin to glimpse the glory of the living God,
they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before his
throne. It is preaching which accomplishes this, the
proclamation of the Word of God in the power of the Spirit
of God. That is why preaching is unique and irreplaceable. JOHN STOTT
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Sun, Sep 14th - 9:06AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
The enabling grace of God not only forgave me of my sin, but Jesus paid the debt and set me free. The new birth not only results in forgiveness of sins, but Jesus paid the debt and set me free.*
*17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)
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Sun, Sep 14th - 9:02AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
After watching the girls do line dancing, Michael thought, hey I can do this. So he got in line and asked one of the girls, what’s the name of this dance?
"She said I don't know; this is the line for the bathroom"
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Sun, Sep 14th - 8:55AM
The glory of preaching
I pity the preacher who enters the pulpit with no Bible in
his hands, or with a Bible which is more rags and tatters
than the Word of God. He cannot expound Scripture, because
he has no Scripture to expound. He cannot speak, for he
has nothing worth saying. But to enter the pulpit with the
confidence that God has spoken, that he has caused what he
has spoken to be written, and that we have this inspired
text in our hands -- ah! then our head begins to swim, our
heart to beat, our blood to flow, and our eyes to sparkle,
with the sheer glory of having God's Word in our hands and
on our lips. JOHN STOTT
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Sat, Sep 13th - 10:29AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.* – Michael Burke
*26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. John 14:26 (NRSV)
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 (NRSV)
9 The human mind plans the way, but the LORD directs the steps. Proverbs 16:9 (NRSV)
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Sat, Sep 13th - 10:18AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A completely inebriated man was stumbling down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot in the gutter. A cop pulled up and said, "I've got to take you in, pal. You're obviously drunk."
Our wasted friend asked, "Officer, are ya absolutely sure I'm drunk?"
Yeah, buddy, I'm sure," said the copper. "Let's go."
Breathing a sigh of relief, the wino said, "Thank goodness, I thought I was a cripple."
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Fri, Sep 12th - 8:28AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
To the natural man, death appears to terminate his hopes, dreams, expectations, and visions, but to the man in Christ, death has been transformed to the fulfillment of all of these things.*
*55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:55
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Fri, Sep 12th - 8:22AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDCINE!
At a bar, one patron to another: “Excuse me but I think you owe me a drink.”
Why?
“You’re so ugly that I dropped mine when I saw you”
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Thu, Sep 11th - 8:59AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
God sent His Son, Jesus Christ in human likeness and lived life as God expects mankind to live. Jesus says, “Follow me.”*
*6whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked. 1 John 2:6 (NRSV)
19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,£ who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:19-20 (NRSV)
23Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 (NRSV)
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Thu, Sep 11th - 8:52AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE
A guy was walking along the street when he saw a crowd of people running towards him. He stopped one of the runners and asked: “What’s happening?” The runner replied breathlessly: “A lion has escaped from the zoo.” “Oh my, which way is it heading?” “Well you don’t think we are chasing it, do you?”
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Wed, Sep 10th - 8:48AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."* -- Melody Beatti
*"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NRSV)
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Wed, Sep 10th - 8:36AM
LAUGHTER DUES GOOG LIKE A MEDICINE!
A man went to the Police Station wishing to speak with the burglar who had broken into his house the night before.
"You'll get your chance in court," said the Desk Sergeant.
"No, no, no!" said the man. "I want to know how he got into the house without waking my wife. I've been trying to do that for years!"
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Tue, Sep 9th - 9:00AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A woman in her eighties made the evening news because she was getting married for the fourth time. The following day she was being interviewed by a local TV station, and the commentator asked about what it felt to be married again at that age and would she share part of her previous experiences, since it seem quite unique the fact that her new husband was a ‘funeral director.’ After a short time to think, a smile came to her face and she proudly explained that she had first married a banker when she was in her twenties, in her forties she married a circus ring master, and in her sixties she married a pastor and now in her eighties, a funeral director. The amazed commentator asked her why she had married men with such diverse carriers. With a smile on her face she explained, ‘I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.’
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Mon, Sep 8th - 9:00AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.* -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931)
*"Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own." John 7:17 (NRSV)
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Mon, Sep 8th - 8:55AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
Seems an elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years.
He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased you can hear again."
To which the gentleman said, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will five times!"
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Sun, Sep 7th - 8:13AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
"If I had listened to the critics I'd have died drunk in the gutter"* -- Chekov
*"33Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies." Romans 8:33 (NRSV)
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Sun, Sep 7th - 8:08AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
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Sat, Sep 6th - 9:01AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
It is more pleasing to God for us to walk in the Truth we have, than for us to know all the truth and not walk in it.*
*3I was overjoyed when some of the friends arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely how you walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:3-4 (NRSV)
That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. Luke 12:47-48 (NRSV)
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Sat, Sep 6th - 8:55AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A newsboy was standing on the corner with a stack of papers, yelling, "Read all about it; Fifty people swindled!” Fifty people swindled! Curios, a man walked over, bought a paper, and said, "Hey kid, this is an old paper, where’s the story about the big swindle?” The newsboy ignored him and went on calling out, "read all about it; Fifty-one people swindled!”
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Sat, Sep 6th - 8:28AM
The prepared heart
There is no greater need for the preacher than that he
should know God. I care not about his lack of eloquence
and artistry, about his ill-constructed discourse or his
poorly-enunciated message, if only it is evident that God
is a reality to him and that he has learned to abide in
Christ. The preparation of the heart is of far greater
importance than the preparation of the sermon. The
preacher's words, however clear and forceful, will not ring
true unless he speaks from conviction born of experience. JOHN STOTT
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Fri, Sep 5th - 8:27AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
The treasure of Love is in our ability to share Love.* Michael G. Maness,
*Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 1 John 3:18 (NRSV)
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Fri, Sep 5th - 8:22AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A minister was planning a wedding at the close of the Sunday morning service.
After the benediction he had planned to call the couple down to be married for a brief ceremony before the congregation.
For the life of him, he couldn't think of the names of those who were to be married.
"Will those wanting to get married please come to the front?" he requested.
Immediately, nine single ladies, three widows, four widowers, and six single men stepped to the front.
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Thu, Sep 4th - 10:21AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
What more do we need to know?
There is no need for us to speculate about the precise nature of heaven. We are assured on the authority of Jesus Christ that it is the house and the home of his Father and ours (there are twenty-two references to the Father in John 14), that his home is a prepared place containing many rooms or resting places, and that he himself will be there. What more do we need to know? To be certain that where he is, there we shall be also should be enough to satisfy our curiosity and allay our fears. John Stott
To be with Jesus and to be like Jesus: That will be heaven to me!* Doyle Purifoy
*Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
1 John 3:2 (NRSV)
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Thu, Sep 4th - 10:10AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
Did you hear about the golfer trying to buy a new golf club? He looked at club after club after club. His friend asked him "Why are you taking so long?" He replied "I am looking for a hole in one!"
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Wed, Sep 3rd - 8:36AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
"Your net worth doesn't equal your personal worth." Remember the source of your personal worth.* Jim Denison, Pastor Park Cities Baptist Church Dallas TX
*19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20 (NRSV)
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Wed, Sep 3rd - 8:31AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
Stumpy Grinder and his wife Martha were from Portland, Maine. Every year they went to the Portland Fair and every year Stumpy said, "Ya know, Mahtha, I'd like ta get a ride in that theah aihplane." And every year, Martha would say "I know, Stumpy, but that aihplane ride costs ten dollahs .. and ten dollahs is ten dollahs."
So one year Stumpy says, "By Jeebers, Mahtha, I'm 71 yeahs old, and if I don't go this time I may nevah go." Martha replies, "Stumpy, that there aihplane ride is ten dollahs ... and ten dollahs is ten dollahs."
So the pilot overhears then and says, "Folks, I'll make you a deal. I'll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say ONE WORD, then I won't charge you. But just ONE WORD and it's ten dollars."
They agree and up they go... the pilot does all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but not a word is heard. He does it one more time, and there is still no word... so he lands.
He turns to Stumpy as they come to a stop and says, "By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to holler out, but you didn't."
And Stumpy replies "Well, I was gonna say something when Mahtha fell out ... but ten dollahs is ten dollahs.
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Tue, Sep 2nd - 5:16PM
Christian exultation
Christian exultation in God begins with the shamefaced
recognition that we have no claim on him at all, continues
with wondering worship that while we were still sinners and
enemies Christ died for us, and ends with the humble
confidence that he will complete the work he has begun. So
to exult in God is to rejoice not in our privileges but in
his mercies, not in our possession of him but in his of us. JOHN STOTT
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Tue, Sep 2nd - 8:37AM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
In all of us, even in good men, there is a lawless wild-beast nature, which peers out in sleep.* -Socrates, philosopher (469?-399 BCE)
*"For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:14-25 (NRSV)
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Tue, Sep 2nd - 8:32AM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
There was this old eccentric man who constantly chased children off his property, never said hello to anyone he met and because of his negative character, was described as "A man of means!”
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Mon, Sep 1st - 4:04PM
THOUGHT FOR TODAY!
“....Christ's Death—though they know neither how nor why—has done more than either His teaching or His life to constrain and enable them to trust in the mercy of God for the pardon of sin; and because Christ is the Propitiation for the sins of the world, God has responded to their trust, and they are eternally saved. For it is not the doctrine of the Death of Christ that atones for human sin, but the Death itself;”* R. W. Dale
*17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:17 - 18 (NRSV)
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Mon, Sep 1st - 3:56PM
LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE!
A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police. "What are those machetes doing in your car?" asks the cop.
"I juggle them in my act."
"Oh, yeah? Says the doubtful cop. "Let's see you do it.”
The juggler gets out and starts tossing and catching the knives.
Another man driving by slows down to watch.
"Wow" says the passer-by. "I'm glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they're giving now!
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Name: Doyle Purifoy
