Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Taxi Driver

A priest and a taxi driver both died and went to heaven. St. Peter was at the Pearly gates waiting for them.

'Come with me,' said St. Peter to the taxi driver.
The taxi driver did as he was told and followed St Peter to a mansion. It had everything you could imagine from a bowling alley to an Olympic size pool.
'Oh my word, thank you,' said the taxi driver.

Next, St. Peter led the priest to a rough old shack with a bunk bed and a little old television set.
'Wait, I think you are a little mixed up,' said the priest. 'Shouldn't I be the one who gets the mansion? After all I was a priest, went to church every day, and preached God's word.'

'Yes, that's true.' St Peter rejoined, ' But during your sermons people slept. When the taxi driver drove, everyone prayed.'

Friday, July 25, 2014

Conflict?

Some Bible Tips For Conflict Resolution:


1.  Am I trying to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry? (James 1:19)
Am I really trying to hear what the other person has to say? Really trying to see their viewpoint? Or am I defending myself or thinking of my next answer before they are finished speaking? Am I feeling angry? Is there anything that I really need to see here, even if we’re talking about something the other person did?
2.  Have I considered that I may have a log in my eye? (MT 7:3)
We all have blind spots—things about ourselves we can’t see. Could I be perceiving things wrongly? Am I being humble? None of us has God’s perfect wisdom and insight into every situation.
3.  Am I doing this for the glory of God? (1 CO 10:31)
Do I want this person to change so they will bring God glory? Or because I’m bugged, or to prove I’m right, or get my way?
4.  Am I trying to speak the truth in love? (EPH 4:15)
Do I genuinely love this person and care about their well-being? Do I want the best for them? Do I hope God blesses them?
5.  Am I trusting God to convince this person?
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth 2 Ti 2:24–25
Only God can change someone’s heart. We can’t—no matter how convincing or forceful we try to be. Have I asked God to help them see what he would have them see?
6.  Is there any middle ground or alternative solution we haven’t considered?
We can get locked into thinking that our way is the only way. In the heat of conflict it’s hard to consider other possible options. Sometimes if we take a step back or give it a little time, God can show us a solution we haven’t yet considered.
Remember: it’s not about winning or being right; it’s about God’s glory. Hope these are helpful.

Monday, July 21, 2014

God's Cup Of Coffee

-- Author unknown

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups."

"Now consider this," he continued... "Life is the coffee. The jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups... Enjoy your coffee!  
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything they have."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly... and leave the rest to God.

Monday, July 14, 2014

God's Love Letter

By Barry Adams

The words you are about to experience are true. They will change your life if you let them. For they come from the very heart of God... He loves you...and He is the Father you have been looking for all your life. This is His love letter to you...

My Child…

You may not know me, but I know everything about you …Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up …Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways …Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered …Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image …Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being …Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring …Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived …Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation …Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book …Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live …Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made …Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb …Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born …Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me …John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love …1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you …1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father …1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could …Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father …Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand …James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs …Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope …Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love …Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ...Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing …Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you …Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession …Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul …Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things …Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me …Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart …Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires …Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine …Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager …2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles …2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you …Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart …Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes …Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth …Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus …John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed …John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being …Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you …Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins …2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled …2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you …1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love …Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me …1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again …Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen …Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father …Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…Will you be my child? …John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you …Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad... Almighty God

Monday, July 7, 2014

The Big Storm

Author Unknown
After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's Pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest Minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the Pastor told the congregation that the guest Minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, the elderly gentleman stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

"A father, and his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast," he began... "when a fast storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. The aged minister continued with his story...

"Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy would he throw the end of the life line? He had only seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves.

As the father yelled out 'I Love You, Son!' he threw out the life line to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black night. His body was never recovered," the old man said sadly.
By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old Minister's mouth.

"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that he should do the same for us? Our Heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of the life line He is throwing out to you in this service."
With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The Pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. But, within moments after the service ended, the two boys were at the old man's side.

"That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. As a big smile broadened his narrow face, he looked up again at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm here today to tell you this story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His only Son for me. You see...I was that father, and your Pastor is my son's friend."