He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground. All of the Garden's inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.
"You will love me, nature," God said. "I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose."
All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. "It's called 'choice.' The seed of choice."
Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.
An angel spoke, "But what if he ... "
"What if he chooses not to love?" the Creator finished. "Come, I will show you."
Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow.
"There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter."
The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth.
"Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation."
"Ah, but you've only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter."
A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, "What is it?"
The Creator spoke only one word: "Selfishness."
The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths.
"This is the result of choice?" the angel asked. "Yes." "They will forget you?" "Yes." "They will reject you?" "Yes." "They will never come back?" "Some will. Most won't." "What will it take to make them listen?"
The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him.
With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler of a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it.
He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear.
"Will you go down there?" the angel asked.
"I will."
"Is there no other way?"
"There is not."
"Wouldn't it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn't it be easier to not give the choice?"
"It would," the Creator spoke slowly. "But to remove the choice is to remove the love."
He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.
Men clad in soldiers' garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed.
Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought, by killing this false one.
Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn't leave. "I will stay," she said softly. "I will stay."
All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.
"It must be done ... ," he said, and withdrew.
But as he stepped back in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) He wrenched at tomorrow's agony.
The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful ... "
The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love."
They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God's form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened.
But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped.
Perhaps it was the wind who said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it:
"It looks like ... it appears so much like ... it is him!"
The angel wasn't speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside - at the soul.
"It's eternal!" gasped another.
Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created earth's mightiest. The Creator had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.
Have you ever met an atheist? An atheist believes there is no God. Do you know what God's response to that is? "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'" Psalms 14:1
While no Christian would ever be guilty of being an atheist, many Christians are guilty of being practical atheists. Practical atheism does not believe there is no God; practical atheism lives as if there is no God. Could you be a practical atheist?
THE PRACTICAL ATHEISM TEST
Notice the convicting similarities between atheism and practical atheism:
1. An atheist does not pray. So many Christians do not really pray. They may mumble something with a bowed head before dinner or before bed, but there is no real time to seek God in prayer. The Lord says in the Book of James, "You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2).
2. An atheist does not read the Bible. So many Christians do not read the Bible. The average Christian is very susceptible to the devil's lies because he/she does not take time to read and study God's Word.
3. An atheist walks by sight, not faith. So many Christians do the same thing. They fail to evaluate their situation in light of God's miraculous power, so they worry and fear and fail to simply trust God. How quickly we forget, "Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God" (Hebrews 11:6).
4. An atheist does not give to the Lord's work. So many Christians do not either. Many Christians spend more money on their pets than they do the Kingdom of God. A recent statistic revealed that if all the members in an average-sized church were on welfare, and each one tithed, the giving to that church would double. WOW!
5. An atheist lives only for this life. So many Christians are guilty of the same. They store up their treasure on earth. They live and plan as if this temporary, mortal life is all that matters. They make decisions with only earth in mind, not heaven. The Bible says, "The eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth" (Prov. 17:24).
CHANGE ME, LORD!
If some of those similarities are too close for comfort, don't sink down in guilt and shame. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Confess it as sin, and ask God to change your heart. Tell Him that you do not want to live another day as if He were not alive and able to work miracles.
The story is told of Martin Luther, the great Christian reformer of the 1500s. There was a time in his Christian life when he was very depressed for days on end. His wife, Kate, came into his study all dressed in black as if she were in mourning. Luther asked her what exactly she was mourning:
"Have you not heard?" she questioned. "God is dead." Luther responded, "Woman! That is absurd! God is not dead!" "Well," she replied, "if God is not dead, then stop living like He is!"
My friend, God is not dead, He is alive and well. He still answers prayer, He still speaks through His Word, He still blesses when we honor Him with our wealth, He still moves mountains when we come to Him with a mustard seed of faith, and He still rewards those who diligently seek Him.
No matter what you are facing today, God is able. Take Him at His Word and trust Him!! Determine to live every day in the light of His presence. Remember, His name is Jehovah Shammah, "the Lord ever-present." He is ever-present for you this day and every day. Live like it!
In Luke 6:38 Jesus said these words, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
That is a promise of Jesus that you can stake your life on. Give, and what happens? It will be given to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?!
But notice that He also added this, "The same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." If you take a serving spoon, and that is what you measure out your giving with, you will get an overflowing serving spoon. It comes back to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing from a serving spoon.
The measure you use is what is measured back to you. If you use a shovel, and that is what you measure it out with, that is how it comes back to you.
Wouldn't you rather have a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over shovel as opposed to a serving spoon? The measure you use, Jesus said, that is what is used to measure back to you.
I believe many people are using a teaspoon and yet they are praying, "God bless me. I have big needs." I am sure God is saying, "I'm doing all I can. You know, I'm pressing it down as much as I can press it down. It is running over. But a running over teaspoon is just not that much."
Are you using a teaspoon or a shovel? Whatever you use is what comes back multiplied, but it is only according to the measure you use.
Bayless Conley OnePlace.com
Your Choice! John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'
He is a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!' 'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.
'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?'
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.
He continued, '...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'
'What did you do?' I asked.
'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity''
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
Do you have questions? Is God Real? Is There a God? Why Pick the God of the Bible? Who Created God? Can You Prove the Existence of God? Who Was Jesus? Why Did Jesus Die? What's My Purpose in Life? find answers - EveryStudent.com
Get Your Priorities Straight This devotional was written by Jim Burns
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. —Colossians 3:17
Terry Jane Thompson punched her alarm off at 7:01 a.m. and rolled out of bed. She meant to get up earlier to do her quiet time but last night she got to bed late... dinner... homework... phone ... TV. She had dilly-dallied with her make-up, hair, etc. and finally crashed into bed. She meant to pray but simply forgot. At 7:02 a.m. she quickly started her morning routine to get to school on time: clothes, teeth, hair, hair again, quick bite, look at homework, rush, rush, hurry, hurry. She picked up Janine on the way, had a great talk about Bart, complained about Mr. Shelton's class, and gossiped just a little about Pam and Steve.
School was a blur. Classes were only okay. Summer is almost here - then Terry Jane Thompson will really start spending time with God. In Mr. Shelton's class they talked about God but she didn't talk to God. She remembered that at youth group Mr. Bodnar invited people to go on another mission trip. One of these days she would really like to, but not this time. She was just too busy.
After school Terry was really, really busy. At a quick dinner with half the Thompson family present, her mom asked her if she was going to youth group tonight. She definitely wanted to go but once again, her homework wasn't done. So, after dinner, Terry Jane Thompson went into her room to cram for a math test. After a few phone calls, and two hours of TV with her books on her lap, she collapsed into bed. She didn't even remove her eye mascara or make-up. Terry stopped for a moment and looked at the little devotional book on her bed stand. She was way too tired. Maybe tomorrow she would wake up early.
Can you relate to Terry Jane's schedule and even her desire to spend time with God? Terry Jane means well; she just never gets around to putting her priorities in order. What if she made a three-month commitment to God to spend a few minutes a day with him? Does that seem that difficult? How about you? What if you made a three-month commitment to God to spend ten minutes a day with him? Can you do that? Do you have the time? Is it worth the energy? You know it is.
Today, make a commitment to give God ten minutes a day for the next three months. Here's my guarantee: if you spend ten minutes a day with God on a regular basis for three months you won't be the same person you were. Okay, it's a challenge, right? Go for it. You'll be glad you did.
Created for Kindness
In the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. —GENESIS 1:27
A recent study at the Yale University Infant Cognition Center reminds us that we are created to show and receive kindness. In the study, researchers had babies - ranging in age from six to ten months - watch a wooden toy try to climb to the top of a roller-coaster incline. As the toy climbed, some toys came along to help it over the top, while others came along to push it back down. Then the babies were given the chance to play with any of the toys. Almost every child chose the toys that had helped!
We are created in the image of a kind God. That means we are drawn to kindness - and even search for it - from the time we are very young. We never lose our need for kindness, but as adults we sometimes value ambition and prestige more. Particularly in the business world, it can be easy to forget that our minds and emotions were made to respond to kindness, not harshness.
When we act kindly toward others, they will be drawn to us and to God. That's why being kind is so energizing. When we are kind, we are acting as we were created to act.
Do you realize that religion doesn't seek the one true God? That may surprise you, but it's true. Religion is nothing more than man's frail effort to create God in his own image.
But while religion is man's quest to be like God, the Christian faith is about God's search for man! Isn't that amazing? This is what separates Christianity from the world's religions. Luke 19:10 says, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
So when someone says, "I found the Lord," in all honesty, they didn't. The Lord found them! You and I were lost and he came looking for us. And he found us and loved us and made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sin.
Now some people resent being judged as sinful. And if you feel this way, pay close attention, because this is the very part of our nature that rebels against God. But Romans 3:23 clearly states that, "all have sinned and fall short of God's glory."
We are lost without him and doomed to be separated from a holy God. But in his endless love, God sent a Savior to find us and to pay the ultimate price for our sin.
Don't let your pride stand between you and eternity with our loving heavenly Father. Repent and turn from your sin and begin to follow Jesus today!
by Dr. Jack Graham - www.jackgraham.org
Note: Think about it. When Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd went looking for the lost one. He calls us, sends us love messages daily and goes to great lengths to bring us home to Him.
God's Plan Has Options
"...Sell everything that you have and divide the money among the poor, and you will have rich treasure in heaven, and come back and follow Me - become My disciple, join My party and accompany Me. But when he heard this, he became distressed and very sorrowful, for he was rich - - exceedingly so." Luke 18: 22, 23, Amplified Bible
When Jesus came to earth as the embodiment of the Father and a witness of the Father's immense love for His earthly children, Jesus also brought a message to you and me regarding the choice we have in our relationship with God. The disciple John wrote these words of Jesus: "The Light has come into the world." Then Jesus goes on to tell about the choice some people made: "And people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light" (John 3:19, Amplified). Jesus brought Heavenly Light to the world, but some chose to continue to stumble around in darkness. Jesus went on to say the reason people didn't want to come into the Light was that it would shed illumination on the "evil" in their lives. Then as they saw what wasn't pure and holy, they would have to make a decision as to whether or not they wanted to change. And when they decided they weren't going to change - they would be left alone to live in darkness.
This point was driven home in a most practical way in an experience Jesus had with a very wealthy young man. Dr. Luke records this ruler's sad story in Luke 18. This boy was wealthy - extremely rich! Maybe he had inherited his money or possibly through hard work he had acquired his fortune. All the Bible tells us is that he had a great many possessions. As we quickly find out, these "things" meant everything to this young man. Who knows? Perhaps he let his whole self-worth and ego be defined by the total of his possessions. What we do know is that this man was offered, as we all are, a choice by Jesus. This ruler could sell what he had - those entanglements that were like shackles holding him back from a full commitment to Jesus - and if he did, he could follow Jesus and become a disciple. A choice. A decision. And when given the power to choose, the young man clasped the things he had and sadly walked away from the Light. As Thomas Brooks so insightfully penned: "Christ is a jewel worth more than a thousand worlds, as all know who have Him. Get Christ, and get all; miss Him and miss all."
This young man had a choice. A gift from our Heavenly Father who never will coerce His children to choose Him. But who, with all the power of love He has, seeks to draw us into His circle of Light and bring us out of the shadows of darkness.
May we ask, every day, for God's Heavenly wisdom to choose wisely.
Dorothy Valcarcel, Author When A Woman Meets Jesus Dorothy@TransformationGarden.com
A Sure Thing
I once saw a TV commercial that had a woman who was trying to get pregnant. She collected a lot of fertility gods and put them on her mantelpiece, hoping they would help her. Fat chance!
An Old Testament story illustrates the futility of relying on something other than the Lord for help. The Philistines have defeated the Israelites in battle, and they've captured the Ark of the Covenant. They put the Ark in their temple, next to a statue of their god, Dagon. The next day they find the statue, fallen on its face before the Ark. They stand it up again, only to find it the following day, toppled over again, this time with its head and hands broken off.
That's pretty amusing, but the story gets very serious after that. The Philistines are stricken with disease, and they send the Ark from city to city to save themselves from God's anger. You can read it in 1 Samuel 5 and 6. You would think they'd realize, "Hey, we're worshipping the wrong god!" Instead, they decided to stick with the idol that has failed them.
But God says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me" Isaiah 45:5. Psalm 115 says, "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear...they have hands, but they do not handle..." (v. 4-7).
Idols don't have to be something as blatant as statues we bow to. They can be more subtle things, like our possessions or people we look up to (it's no accident that the TV show is called "American Idol"). Is your idol a car, or a house, or a wardrobe or jewelry? Is it some celebrity? Or is your idol yourself--your looks, your status? In short, what is it that dominates your thoughts and your activities? If these idols were taken out of your life, would it seem unfulfilling and empty?
Any idol will disappoint you. Cars and motorcycles will break down. Our bodies and our looks will deteriorate. Money and homes can be devalued, or lost in a moment. The people we look up to will fall flat on their faces.
Only God and His word will remain, and they are unchanging and sure. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:4, "We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one." Put your faith and your trust in Him.
by Skip Heitzig Copyright 2010 by Connection Communications.
Babbette finds herself in dire trouble. Her business has gone bust and she's in serious financial trouble. She's so desperate that she decides to ask God for help. She begins to pray... "God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lotto."
Lotto night comes and somebody else wins it. Babbette again prays..."God, please let me win the lotto! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well."
Lotto night comes and Babbette still has no luck.
Once again, she prays..."My God, why have you forsaken me?? I've lost my business, my house and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask you for help and I have always been a good servant to you. PLEASE just let me win the lotto this one time so I can get my life back in order."
Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open and Babbette is confronted by the voice of God Himself: "Babbette, meet Me halfway on this. Buy a ticket."
Psalm 55:22 I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck.
It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out seeing if she was okay.
When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.
At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying "don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?” That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."
I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fuelling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.
So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.
I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?"
This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."
It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...
Psalms 55:22 "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved."
JESUS IS LORD
CHRISTIANITY VS. RELIGION
The number-one enemy of Christianity today is religion, not unrepentant sinners. It was so from the very beginning. Jesus did not offend sinners... he offended the religious men of His day. He was the cornerstone rejected not by the passers-by, but by the builders themselves. In the person of Jesus, religion and Christianity tackled head-on.
How can you distinguish religion from authentic Christianity? Here are a few clues. First, religion loves ritual. Religion delights in the status quo. Change makes it uncomfortable. Religion is a commitment to a system of beliefs, attitudes and practices. Second, religion responds to challenge with intimidation. Challenge religion, and it will attempt to intimidate you into submission. What does an attorney do when he suspects that truth may not be on his side? He buys time, attacks procedure and assassinates character. Religion is defended the same way.
What about Christianity? Well, Christianity loves the truth. Aristotle defined the truth as "saying of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not." In other words, truth has a standard, and is not relative. Also, Christianity responds to challenge with boldness. Why? Because knowing the truth and embracing it gives us courage.
When religion and Christianity clash, what happens? Many times, people come to know Christ. When Peter and John were arrested for the first time, five thousand people were saved! Don't be afraid when your faith is challenged by religion. When this happens, the stage is set for blessing, not for defeat.
You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the game you want to see or meal you want to eat, when suddenly a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don't know, but you want to know.. So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren't the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open, and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the clouds and what they see, and what you see, has never before been seen.
As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None.
From every hue ever seen and a million more never seen. Riding on the flow is an endless fleet of angels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky. North. South. East. West.
Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison, and over the sound of the trumpets, you can hear the cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy. The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded elders and a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship.
Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns and there He is..... Jesus.
Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud. He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by His declaration: I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The angels bow their heads... The elders remove their crowns... And before you is a Figure so consuming that you know, instantly you know: Nothing else matters - forget stock markets and school reports, sales meetings and football games. Nothing is newsworthy... All that mattered, matters no more... For Christ has come.
What an awesome day when Jesus returns!!!!
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.Psalm 90:12
"Mom how was it in the olden days when you used to have to call the home phone to talk to your friend?" asked my teenage son. The world has definitely changed since the time my parents raised me. I would guess that the desires of a mother's heart have not changed as much.
So, what does the mother really want for Mother's Day? For me, I want my children to reach their full potential in good values and with strong character. I truly believe they can only achieve my goals for them if they walk with the Lord. Because my prayers do not have the power to force them into the desires of my heart, I pray that I might have the wisdom to lead them to the Lord.
Being a mother to children today is not easy. I continually need to remind myself that "I am the mother" as I am challenged to the core by children who have suddenly become taller, stronger and smarter than I. Repeating, "I am the mother!" aloud helps me stand my ground on many issues, as that answer is sufficient for any of their "whys?" Fortunately, I have noticed that these power struggles do not last long as their attention span changes with the next text message or Facebook update. One of the biggest challenges facing anyone to walk with the Lord today is all the stimuli competing for our concentration to pray and to listen to the Lord, as clearly displayed in the life of a teenager.
Teenagers love stimuli. Everything associated with them is loud, bright and fast. They text on their cell phone, email on Facebook, change their iPod tunes, sort through a homework schedule and then act as if they are listening to me. Children today prepare for a much different world since the days of roll down windows and rotary dial phones. Change has a new meaning in today's world.
Changes in the "things" are not my real concern for the next generation. I am concerned about the many things that compete for our children's attention. The world is loud in our ears and bright in our eyes. This way of life will only increase with advancing technology. I am NOT against change or technology; I am against constant, continual noise. If we are not proactive in protecting our minds from the noise, we are going to miss the things that matter most: a personal, walking talking relationship with the Lord.
As a new teenage believer, I heard God's voice the first time I read the Bible. I learned quickly that in seeking the Lord, my mind must be quiet, like developing a sixth sense. When we tone down our other senses, our awareness of God becomes more evident. A blind person depends more on their sense of hearing and a deaf person depends more on their sense of sight. When everything is shaking and moving, it is difficult to be in tune with your sixth sense of spirituality. If we do not develop ears to hear the Lord and eyes to see His perspective, we will diminish the greatest relationship we could ever have. Regardless of age or stage of life, spirituality is not a "sense" but a lifestyle.
Think about Jesus' lifestyle. He walked for miles without cell phones or iPods. He rose early to pray. He meditated and contemplated. As parents today, we need to foster an environment that provides the same opportunities, as we model the same behaviors in our lifestyle. Do we take the time to read the Bible or wake up early to pray? Do we know how to meditate and quiet our minds to sense the leading of the Lord?
A lifestyle with the Lord starts by praying to have an eternal perspective. Moses prayed it best in Psalm 90:12, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Moses understood that we live maybe 70 to 80 years on this earth (Psalm 90:10) but eternity is forever. Are we spending our time and giving our attention to what matters for eternity? Are we making a difference here that counts someday up there? Mothers are to teach, train and lead their children to have an understanding of that eternal perspective. We must cultivate it in our daily lives so that our children learn from our example.
"Ask and ye shall receive.” "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
A young man had been to Wednesday Night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The young man couldn't help but wonder, 'Does God still speak to people?'
After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God. If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.'
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, 'God is that you?' He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. 'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.' It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street , he again felt the urge, 'Turn Down that street.' This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay, God, I will.'
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi- commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.' The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat..
'Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.' Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could get away.
The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. 'What is it?'
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway.
Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.
The man began speaking and half crying, 'We were just praying .. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.'
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I asked Him to send an Angel with some.. Are you an Angel?'
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face.
He knew that God still answers prayers.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others Philippians 2:3-4
Three E's by Pastor Bob Coy
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies... Ephesians 5:28 (NKJV)
God is a true artist when it comes to the people He uses for the purposes He employs them. He used David, a passionate poet, to pen many of the Psalms. He used Moses, a scholar of sorts, to record the history of the universe in Genesis. He used Paul's legal mind to logically state case after case concerning divine doctrine.
We see this in Ephesians 5:28-30, as he continues to spell out a husband's responsibility towards his wife. He's already called them to love her as Christ loves the Church, but he punctuates his point even further in a way we can break down with three "E" words.
Exhortation. This is the actual call to action, the marching orders, if you will. And Paul's exhortation to husbands is to "love their own wives as their own bodies." It's straightforward enough for any man to follow. Love your wife the same way you love yourself.
Explanation. Now he goes on to explain why a husband should love his wife the same way they love themselves. He who loves his wife loves himself...no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it... (Ephesians 5:28-29 NKJV). Paul points to a truth we've already looked at, the union of a husband and wife as one. He reasons that since the two are now one, a husband's wife actually is part of his own body, and in taking care of her he's actually taking care of himself.
Exemplification. Paul wraps it all up by sharing an example that ties it all together: Just as the Lord does [nourish] the church...For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones (Ephesians 5:29-30 NKJV). As we are one with Christ, and as He loves and cares for us, a husband should follow Jesus' example by acting accordingly towards his wife.
That's a pretty compelling argument, and one that every husband would do well to acquiesce to!
One Minute of Prayer Someone has said that if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?
If you would like to participate with Christians in America:
Stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for a return to a Godly nation and for Christians throughout the world to receive a fresh annointing of God’s Holy Spirit. . One Minute every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time 8:00 PM Central Time 7:00 PM Mountain Time 6:00 PM PacificTime
