Going Straith

Going Straith

February 15

Read:  Matthew 5:17 - 24

Fist be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. – Matthew 5:24

The Bible In One year

Number 34 – 36

How far would you travel to put things right with a brother who hadn’t spoken to you in 10 years? Would you go 300 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin? On a riding lawn mower?

Unable to drive a car and despising bus travel, Alvin Straight did exactly that in the intriguing firm The Straight story. It is the true life drama of a 73 year old man who decided it was time to end the silence, stop the hating, and break down the wall of anger he and his brother had built between them.

As I watched the film in a packed theater, where the audience was silent from beginning to end, I thought of all the broken beginning to end, I thought of all the broken relationships that must have surfaced in the minds of people sitting there in the darkness. I also pondered the words of Jesus about setting things right with those from whom we’ve been estranged. He said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”(Matt. 5:23 – 24).

Is there a relative, a friend, or a brother in Christ with whom you need to make things rights? – David McCasland

Lord, let me fell the pain of a wounded one I pray;

And seek to heal that wounded one I pray;

Yes, I would take the reconciling role,

And bring an end to pain and strife today. – Hess

An offense against your neighbor builds a fence between you and God

February, Going Straith, Number 12:11 AM No comments

Love Listens

Love Listens

February 14

Read:  Psalm 119:145 - 152

Hear my voice according to your loving-kindness – Psalm 119:149

The Bible In One year

Number 30 – 33

When we love others, we listen to them. Sure, it takes time and effort to focus on them and hear what they are saying. But when we do, it shows genuine concern and respect.

Author Wayne Alderson Tell of a young minister who spent a lot of time listening to the problems of his church members. One day he came home and said to his wife, “How did your day go?” for a half hour she told him about a problem with the car, their son’s earache, and the difficulties she had getting an appliance repaired. The pastor immediately began to problem solve, citing a list of things she should do.

But she just looked at him and said, just looked at him and said, “I have already done all of that. I don’t need you to solve my problems. I just need you to be interested in what I’ve been through.”

When the author of Psalm 119 pleaded, “Hear my voice according to Your loving kindness” (v. 149), he was expressing the truth that the God who loves us also listens to us. Listening is a part of loving.

Listening to a wife, a husband, a fellow worker, or a Christian friend may be just what that person needs to be encouraged or to see a problem more clearly. Go ahead and listen. God Himself show that love listen. – Dave Egner

My burden is now so much lighter,

I’ve glimpsed things I needed to see,

I have a fresh hope for tomorrow –

Because someone listened to me. – Egner

Listening may be the most loving thing you do today. 

February, Love Listens, Number 12:10 AM No comments

How to Amaze People

How to Amaze People

February 13

Read:  John 13:31 - 38

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:35

The Bible In One year

Number 28 – 30

David Doubilet is a photojournalist whose pictures of a silent under water world can turn even an ugly, bugeyed sea creature into a lovely work of art. Although he has received many honors for his work, he has also been criticized by environmentalists for not doing more “hard – edge” journalism, they want him to take pictures of dead fish, dirty beaches, and polluted oceans.

But Doubilet believes there’s a better way to get people to care about that environment. Instead of showing the destruction that humans are causing he shows the beauty God has created.

Some Christians seem to think that the way to improve out spiritual environment is to point out all the evil in the world. But Jesus showed us a better way. Although He never glossed over sin (Matt. 15:18 -20). He said to His followers before going to the cross. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). We are more effective witnesses when we become portraits of the beauty God is creating in us than when we merely paint a bleak picture of human degradation.

“In the end,” say Doubilet, “the best thing one can do is to amaze people.” And what could be more amazing to the world than Christians who truly love one another? – Julie Ackerman Link

Oh, what glory in a sunrise –

Golden hues from God above!

More amazing still the beauty

Of a life filled with His love! – D. De Haan

Love is a magnet that draws believers together and unbelievers to Christ. 

February, How to Amaze People, Number 12:08 AM No comments

Start With One Step

Start With One Step

February 12

Read:  1 Peter 1:10 - 16

I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for 1 am holy. – Leviticus 11:44

The Bible In One year

Number 25 – 27

Be holy, for I am holy. “is there any command more difficult to obey? Probably not, yet there it is in God’s Word(Lev. 11: 44; 1 Peter 1:16)

But how can we be as holy as God? After all, the reason we must trust Jesus as Savior in the first place is because we are not holy. “All have sinned,” Romans 3:23 tell us, and even after we put our faith in Christ for salvation, how can we think about being as holy as God is?

The challenge of trying to match God in the holiness category can seem far too complicated to attempt. But if we yield to the Holy Spirit who lives in us and convicts us, we will grow.

Taking one step at a time should help. For instance, what is one thing you do or say or think that does not reflect God’s holiness? Maybe you treat others harshly. Or you have a secret sin. Tackle that area today. Talk to God about it. Ask His forgiveness. Then, by His power, seek to overcome it.

Or think of this: what one thing can you do to enhance your relationship with God? The more time you spend with Him, the more you will become like Him.

Step by step, work to rid your life of unholy behavior. And strive each day to grow closer to God. As a believer in Jesus Christ, there is no greater challenge. – Dave Branon

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always and feed on His Word.

Make friends of God’s Children, help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek. – Longstaff

For a Christ like walk, keep in step with Christ. 

February, Number, Start With One Step 12:07 AM No comments

Grouped for Strength

Grouped for Strength

February 11

Read:  Acts 2:38 - 47

Let us consider one another…, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together – Hebrews 10:24 - 25

The Bible In One year

Number 20 - 24

Several years ago, former American prisoners of war were interviewed to determine what methods used by the enemy had been most effective in breaking their spirit. Researchers learned that the prisoners didn’t break down from physical deprivation and torture as quickly as they did from solitary confinement or from being frequently moved around and separated from friends. It was further learned that the soldiers drew their greatest strength from the close attachments they had formed to the small military units to which they belonged.

These observations give us insight into why followers  of Christ need the group experience of fellowship with other believers to help them remain loyal to the Lord. Our own personal relationship to God, Vital as that is, is not sufficient to produce spiritual maturity and endurance. Relationships within a unified, Spirit filled body of believers are essential for growth and for maintaining our individual faithfulness to the Savior (Heb. 10:23 – 25).

Sometimes we would rather not be involved in church life, thinking it’s easier just to go it alone. But Christians who do that miss out on all the benefits. Let’s remember that God in His wisdom has grouped us for strength. – Mart De Haan.

Fellowship with other Christians

Strengthens us when we are weak,

Comforts us when we are hurting,

Help us when God’s will seek. – Sper

Believers stand strong when they don’t stand alone. 

February, Grouped for Strength, Number 12:03 AM No comments

One Giant leap for God

One Giant leap for God

February 10

Read:  Philippians 2:1 - 11

[Chirst] humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – Philippians 2:8

The Bible In One year

Number 18 - 20

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon. It was an unprecedented human achievement. Millions remember the words of Neil Armstrong: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” President Nixon declared, “All humanity is one in their pride.”

Two thousand years earlier, the Creator of the moon made a giant leap of a vastly different kind. He descended from heaven to earth (Phil. 2:5 – 8 ). God the Son, the eternal Word(John 1:1, 14), stepped down from heaven to become fully human, while remaining fully God. It was an amazing “leap,” which showed us God’s heart of love. He became one of us so that He could die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. By trusting Him as our Savior, we are forgiven. We also receive His Spirit, who enables us to overcome selfish ambition and conceit, and to care for others (Phil. 2:3 – 4).

A leap into space may unite mankind in the pride of achievement, but it pales in comparison with what God accomplished when Jesus came from heaven to earth. He now unites all who trust Him, producing in them a growing humility and love that replaces selfishness and pride. Going to the moon is nothing compared to that. – Dennis De Haan

Jesus our Savior left heaven above,

Come down to earth with a message of love;

Took on Himself all our sin and jour shame,

Now life eternal is ours through His Name. – Hess

Christ was born here below that we might be born from above.

February, Number, One Giant leap for God 3:52 AM No comments

Models for Imitation

Models for Imitation

February 9

Read:  1 Thessalonians 1

You become followers of us and of the Lord. – 1 thessalonians 1:6

The Bible In One year

Number 15 – 17

Leslie Strobel becames a Christian in 1979 and modeled her faith in such a way that it influenced her atheistic husband Lee to begin his own search for God. In his book The Case for Christ, he tells of his 2 years of intensive research that finally led him to receive Jesus as his savior. With a law degree from Yale and career in journalism at the Chicago Tribune, Lee had the ability to answer tough questions raised by unbelievers and cynics.

The change in his life also influenced their 5 year old daughter Ali son, who said, “Mommy, I want God to do for me what He’s done for Daddy,” Leslie’s faith created a ripple effect that changed the whole family.

This pattern of modeling or imitating is what Paul described in the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians. His example, along with that of Silas and Timothy, motivated the new believers in Thessalonica to imitate them (the word followers carries that idea). The, as these new believers suffered for Christ with patience and endurance, they in turn became models to believers in Macedonia and Achaia, inspiring them to new levels of devotion.

Our example can be our most persuasive influence for Christ. Do others imitate us because we model Him? – Herb Vander Lugt

Only one life, so live it well,

And keep your candle trimmed and bright;

Eternity, not time, will tell

The radius of that candle’s light. – Miller

The one who follows Christ leads the way for others.

February, Models for Imitation, Number 3:42 AM No comments

How Will My Worry Look?

How Will My Worry Look?

February 8

Read:  Luke 12:22 - 34

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? – luke 12:25

The Bible In One year

Number 11 – 14

Hans Christian Andersen, author of such well known fairy tales as “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” had a phobia of being buried alive. As a result, he always carried a note in his pocket telling anyone who might find him unconscious not to assume he was dead. He often left another note on his bedside table stating, “I only seem dead.” Such was his anxiety until he finally succumbed to cancer in 1875.

We may think such a fear is strange, but do we have fears that will someday look just as irrational? Is it possible that the day will come when we look back and marvel at our own anxieties? Will we one day wonder at that foolish person who chose to worry rather than to pray? Will time eventually cast us as a pitiful person who was plagued by fear because we did not face life with the resources lavished on us by the Almighty Lord of the universe?

Worrying doesn’t change anything. But trusting the Lord changes everything about the way we view life.

Forgive us, Lord, for our inclination to worry. Help us to see how foolish it is for us to worry about what you have promised to provide. Don’t let us bury ourselves alive with fears. – Mart De Haan

A STRATEGY FOR WINNING OVER WORRY

Identify specific worries.

Work to change what you can

Leave what you can’t change with God.

When we put our cares in God’s Hands, He puts His peace in our hearts.

February, How Will My Worry Look, Number 3:36 AM No comments

Off the TreadMill

Off the TreadMill

February 7

Read:  Revelation 22:1 - 5

The throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. – Revelation 22:3

The Bible In One year

Number 7 – 10

I know some people who feel they’re on an endless treadmill. They long to serve God, but they don’t know what to do. One discouraged woman told me, “I’m beginning to want heaven already – at least I know I’ll be used there!” she had read Revelation 22 and the words, “His servants shall serve Him” (v.3)

I wish I’d had the following list that someone later shared with me. It’s called “Seven Things That can Be Done Only In This Life.”

1. Love and pray for your enemies (Matt. 5:44).

2. Walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7)

3. Love God by enduring temptation(James 1:12).

4. Serve one another (Gal. 5:13).

5 Lay up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19 – 20)

6. Share the gospel with the lost (Matt. 28:19 – 20)

7. Exercise your spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:6 – 8).

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it’s good reminder of how Gods wants us to live and what He wants us to do.

Are you seeking God’s direction in your service for Him?  The best way to discover God’s specific will for your life is to obey His clearly revealed will. It’s an effective remedy for obey His clearly revealed will. It’s an effective remedy for that treadmill feeling between now and heaven! – Joanie Yoder

Fulfillment on life’s journey comes

To those who know the Lord,

And follow His revealed will

Contained throughout His Word. – Sper

Looking for a field of service? Look around you!

February, Number, Off the TreadMill 4:23 AM No comments

Don’t Forget Monday

Don’t Forget Monday

February 6

Read:  1 Thess. 4:1 - 12 

We urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more,… to please God – 1 Thessalonians 4: 1

The Bible In One year

Number 4 – 6

God is quite popular on Sunday. Millions of people around the world stop what they’re doing to visit a building where the sole purpose is to meet with others to worship, sing, and learn about God. But then Monday rolls around. What place does God have in their lies then? When the emphasis is on a thousand other things, they can easily go all week without considering Him.  

Even among many believers who go to church on Sunday, God’s name isn’t spoken in reverence. Often his plans are not considered, and His guidelines for living aren’t given a thought.

Where did we get the idea that God wants our attention only on Sunday? Certainly not from the apostle Paul, who said we are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) a sure sign that God is listening on Monday through Saturday too. Paul also wrote, “rejoice always” (v.16), which indicates that we shouldn’t stop singing just because the organ stops playing. And what about surely suggest that the rest of the week is just as full of opportunities to say, “Thank You God.”

Sunday is a special day to give direct attention to God. But it doesn’t stop there. Don’t forget Monday! – Dave Branon

The Christian life is not confined

To church one day a week;

God wants us to obey His Word –

Each day His will to seek. – Sper

Worship God on Sunday, then walk Him on Monday

Don’t Forget Monday, February, Number 4:21 AM No comments

Speckology and Plankitis

Speckology and Plankitis

February 5

Read:  Matthew 7:1 – 5 

Remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. – Matthew 7:5

The Bible In One year

Number 1 – 3

According to Jesus, it’s a bad idea to major in “speckology” while suffering from “plankitis.” During His sermon on the Mount, our Lord said, “Why do you look at the speck in your eye brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3).

If speckology were listed in a university catalog, the course description might read: “The identifying and criticizing of small shortcoming in the lives of everyone around you. Very popular course; fills early.”

Should plankitis apper in a medical dictionary, it might be identified this way: “A disease that distorts self-perception and renders an individual incapable of recognizing personal faults. Occurs worldwide.”

According to our Lord, the solution is to “remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”(v.5)

It doesn’t take a carpenter or an ophthalmologist to understand this metaphor of Jesus. We’ve all enrolled in the course while suffering from the disease. But today, if we would shift our focus from the specks we see in others to be planks in our own eyes, what a difference it would make for us all! – David McCasland

The faults I see in others lives

Are often true of me;

So help me, Lord, to recognize

My own hypocrisy. – Sper

Be quick to judge yourself but slow to judge others.

February, Number, Speckology and Plankitis 2:57 AM No comments