Earth Day

In case you didn't know, today is Earth Day.  This has sparked a bit of reminiscing on my part.

During my first term on the Baker County Commission (1984-1988) I helped establish the first multi-county solid waste authority in the state of Florida. New River Solid Waste Association served Baker, Bradford and Union Counties. I began working for the association in March of 1989. During the next 17 years I helped permit a regional landfill, started recycling programs for the region and established a Certified Affiliate of Keep America Beautiful called Keep Tri-counties Beautiful. I often said I was a professional trash talker.

When I was called into the ministry in 1994, I told folks I was now a total environmentalist, my "day job" was to ensure that their environment on Earth is the best it could be and my ministry was to help ensure their environment in eternity would be the best it could be. These days the latter is now my full-time career.

I enjoyed my career in the "environmental business", because I always felt that it too was a ministry for me. I believed (and still do) that we should be good stewards of the planet God has entrusted us with, but we should never forget to worship the Creator. We can admire God's creation, but never worship the creation. Worship is reserved for God, and Him alone. A 2008 devotion in Our Daily Bread by RBC Ministries speaks of this.  I believe Jesus always gives us the example to follow and He was the first "recycler". After feeding a crowd of at least 5, 000, He asked them to take up the left-overs so that nothing was lost. You can read this in John 6:1-15.

Here's something else for you to consider. You and I, because of sin, were really "waste" (Isaiah 64:6). We were bound for the "landfill", or to be more precise, the "incinerator" (Rev. 20:15). We needed someone (Jesus) to "recycle" us (Romans 5:8). To "recycle" means to use again, so if we are "born again" (John 3:3) we are now "reusable" (2 Cor. 5:17). As a born-again believer we are now to be used by God (Rom. 12:1-2). We also have a new "eternal destination" (John 14:1-3).

Have you been recycled by Jesus? He's the ONLY way (John 14:6)!

If you would like to know more about God's "recycling plan" visit Do You Know? or view the video. You can also e-mail me and I'll try to answer your questions.

Thank you Lord for allowing us to take care of the planet you have given us. May we do better in caring for Your Creation and even more to honor You!

No Greater Love

Unstoppable

Our Daily Bread

Read: Numbers 22:10-34

 

The Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way. —Numbers 22:31

Under it. Over it. Around it. Through it. Nothing will stop me from doing it.” I often hear people express this kind of attitude when they get an idea or see an opportunity that seems good or profitable. They devote all of their resources to getting it done.

As evidence that this way of thinking may be flawed, I call as my witness a donkey—a donkey belonging to a man named Balaam.

Balaam was offered a profitable assignment from a neighboring king, and he inquired of God for permission to accept it (Num. 22). When God said no, the king’s representatives made a better offer. Thinking God might change His mind, Balaam asked again. God granted permission for Balaam to go with them but with strict conditions. God knew Balaam’s heart and was not pleased with him, so He placed His Angel in the way. Balaam couldn’t see the Angel but his donkey could. When the donkey refused to continue, Balaam became angry with the animal for blocking his progress.

Balaam’s story teaches us that not every obstacle is meant to be overcome. Some are placed by God to keep us from doing something foolish. When our plans are hindered, we shouldn’t assume that it’s Satan trying to stop us. It might be God trying to protect us.

Let Your wisdom guide me ever,
For I dare not trust my own;
Lead me, Lord, in tender mercy,
Leave me not to walk alone. —Reed

 

God is always protecting us—
even when we don’t realize we need it.

The Deaf Hear

Our Daily Bread

Read: Romans 10:1-14

 

How shall they hear without a preacher? —Romans 10:14

 

When Thomas Gallaudet graduated from seminary in 1814, he had planned on becoming a preacher. However, his call to the ministry took a different turn when he met Alice, a 9-year-old, hearing-impaired girl in his neighborhood. Gallaudet began to communicate with her by writing words with a stick in the dirt.

 Helping Alice motivated him to help others too. After consulting with European and American experts in educating the deaf, he refined a system widely known today as “signing” (a person’s hands spell out the message). Eventually, he established the American School for the Deaf.

Gallaudet’s school for the hearing-impaired contained a Christian curriculum that shared the gospel and included Bible instruction. He had answered the call to preach—but it was to a very special group of people. Signing was the way he communicated the gospel.

Like Gallaudet, we too should be sharing the Word of God with people in ways they can understand. Otherwise, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14). How might God want you to reach out to those around you?

Seeking the lost, and pointing to Jesus,
Souls that are weak and hearts that are sore;
Leading them forth in ways of salvation,
Showing the path to life evermore. —Ogden

 

Don’t withhold from the world the best news that’s ever come to it.

Falling Short

Our Daily Bread

Read: Romans 3:19-28

 

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. —Romans 3:23

One of the fads of 1970s America was the motorcycle jump. This trend reached its high (and low) point on September 8, 1974. Thousands of spectators gathered around the Snake River Canyon in Idaho to see if Evel Knievel could jump across the chasm in a specially designed “sky cycle.” In the end, however, it was unsuccessful. Knievel made it only part of the way across the gulf before his parachute deployed and he dropped to the canyon floor below. Some spectators asked, “How far across the canyon did he get?” But that wasn’t the point. He didn’t make it all the way across, so he fell short of his goal.

This scene is a good illustration of sin. The Bible talks about sin in Romans 3:23, where Paul declared, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one is capable of bridging the gap between God and ourselves by our own efforts, but the Savior came to do just that on our behalf. Christ perfectly fulfilled God’s standards, then gave His life on the cross to pay for our failure and wrongdoing. Where we could only fall short, Christ’s work, offered in love, accomplished all that was needed.

Our response is to trust Him and receive this matchless gift of salvation.

There is no other name on earth
By whom salvation’s given
Save Jesus Christ the Lamb of God,
God’s precious gift from heaven. —Stairs

 

The cross of Christ bridges the gap
we could never cross on our own.

At Risk For The Savior

Our Daily Bread

Read: Philippians 2:25-30

 

Hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death. —Philippians 2:29-30

 

During basic training, Desmond Doss irritated his drill instructor and fellow soldiers. A pacifist by conviction, he refused to carry a weapon into battle, and this made his peers doubt his courage. Trained as a medic, the young Christian had no qualms about facing combat. But his goal was to save lives.

Doubts about Doss would change, however, when his military unit faced combat. During the World War II Battle of Okinawa, he ducked under machine gun fire to pull the wounded to safety. He prayed, “Lord, give me the strength to save just one more wounded soldier.” Eventually he lowered more than 70 injured men down a hill for further medical attention. For his efforts, Desmond Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor—the highest honor his country could bestow.

Scripture tells of another Christian who took great personal risks to help others. Of Epaphroditus, Paul wrote, “Hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life” (Phil. 2:29-30).

Around the world today, many believers risk their lives for the cause of Christ. Let’s pray that our God will protect them as they serve Him under threatening circumstances.

O Lord, listen to our cry for mercy; in Your faithfulness
come to the relief of those who are in danger because of
their faith. For Your name’s sake, preserve their lives;
in Your righteousness, bring them out of trouble.

 

Courage is not having strength to go on—it is going on when you don’t have the strength.

Fireworks And Freedom

Our Daily Bread

Read: Galatians 5:1-14

 

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. —Galatians 5:13

 

Thanks to the ingenuity of our Chinese friends, we here in the US celebrate our independence this month with massive displays of colorful fireworks.

Every year when we sing our national anthem and enjoy the vibrant patterns created by “bombs bursting in air,” I remind myself that most bombs are deadly, not beautiful like the fireworks display. Although both use similar ingredients, one is intended to kill; the other to entertain. In this metaphor we see an example of how something can be used for both good and evil. In the hands of capable, careful, and caring people, something dangerous becomes glorious. But the opposite is also true.

Freedom—the very thing we celebrate with fireworks—can also be used for good and evil. As believers in Christ, we are free from the restrictive Mosaic law, but the Bible warns us not to use our spiritual freedom for selfish purposes: “Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).

Not everyone has political and religious freedom, but all believers in Christ have spiritual freedom. We must not use it as a weapon to impose our will on others but to display the glory of God’s will.

Free from the law—O happy condition!
Jesus hath bled, and there is remission;
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace hath redeemed us once for all. —Bliss

 

Freedom doesn’t give us the right to do what we please, but to do what pleases God.

The Wright Stuff

Our Daily Bread

Read: Genesis 1:1-23

 

Let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens. —Genesis 1:20

 

On September 29, 1909, a young man took flight in a strange contraption that resembled a huge box kite. As he gained altitude, the pilot manipulated the levers so he could fly over New York Harbor. People looked up in amazement. In the harbor, boats celebrated by sounding their steam whistles. Crowds near the Statue of Liberty exploded with cheers at the sight of Wilbur Wright taking a flight into the heavens.

Wilbur’s brother Orville, who had piloted the first airplane flight 6 years earlier, reflected on their inspiration to fly: “The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who . . . looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air.” The Wright brothers spent a great deal of time studying birds in flight before designing their planes.

In Genesis we read that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1), and He said, “Let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens” (v.20). We applaud the inventiveness of the Wright brothers. Yet, the Creator, who made creatures capable of flight in the first place, deserves the ultimate glory—for the birds and for every other creation He has made!

Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Soaring bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee. —van Dyke

 

The design of creation points to the Master Designer.

 

Open Doors

Our Daily Bread

Read: 1 Corinthians 16:1-12

For a great and effective door has opened to me. —1 Corinthians 16:9

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) wrote: “If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but . . . for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible.”

The apostle Paul saw some great ministry possibilities in his life situations. He used the open doors God provided to witness for Christ. When he was arrested in Jerusalem and appeared before Governor Felix, he used the opportunity to proclaim the gospel (Acts 24:24). While he and Silas were in prison, they shared the gospel with the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:25-34). And later Paul used his imprisonment in Rome as an opportunity to encourage the Philippian believers in their faith (Phil. 1:12-18).

In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul told the believers he wanted to visit and spend some time with them, but that he needed to stay in Ephesus because of an opportunity for ministry: “I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me” (1 Cor. 16:8-9). And Paul also involved others by asking them to pray for open doors so he could speak clearly about Christ (Col. 4:3).

Ask God to show you possible open doors of service. You might be surprised at what you see.

Jesus said to one and all:
“Take your cross and follow Me.”
When you sense the Spirit’s call,
Seize the opportunity! —Hess

 

God writes opportunity on one side of the door and responsibility on the other.

No Greater Love

Our Daily Bread

Read: John 15:1-13

 

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. —John 15:13

 

Bill and his wife were driving through the Rocky Mountains when a near-miss with a truck caused their car to swerve off the road and plunge into the Colorado River. After scrambling out of their sinking vehicle, they frantically treaded water in the swift current. A truckdriver, who had seen the accident, ran ahead along the shore and threw a rope to them. Bill swam behind his wife and pushed her to where she could grab the rope—and the man pulled her out. Bill, however, was carried downstream and didn’t survive. He had given his life for the woman he loved.

To give your life so another person can live is the ultimate proof of love. During the night that Jesus was betrayed, He told His disciples of His intention to give His life in exchange for mankind. He told them: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). And then He set the ultimate example of self-sacrifice by going to the cross.

Have you ever given any thought to the fact that Jesus did that for you—that He died in your place? In so doing, He not only proved His love for you, but He also made it possible for you to be forgiven of your sins and to have an eternal home in heaven.

He who gave Himself to save me,
Now will keep me to the end;
In His care securely resting
On His promise I depend. —Bosch

 

Christ’s sacrifice was what God desired and our sin required.

The Dalton Gang

Our Daily Bread

Read: Proverbs 4:10-19

 

He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death. —James 5:20

 

The Dalton brothers were infamous outlaws during the late 1800s in the US. They started out on the right side of the law as officers. But then they followed a gradual descent into crime and became known for bank and train robberies. Their day of reckoning came when they tried to hold up two banks at once. Hearing of the robberies, the townspeople armed themselves and began to fire on the Dalton Gang. When the smoke cleared, Emmett Dalton was the sole survivor.

After serving 15 years in the penitentiary, Emmett was pardoned and set free. While in prison, he had come to see the error of his ways. So when he was released, he wanted to deter young people from a life of crime. Drawing from his own experience, Emmett wrote and starred in a film about the Dalton Gang in which he showed the folly of being an outlaw. In many ways, Emmett’s film was telling others: “Do not enter the path of the wicked” (Prov. 4:14).

In a similar way, when we have sinned but have genuinely repented and experienced God’s forgiveness, we can tell our own story. We can encourage others not to make the same mistakes we have made. James wrote, “He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death” (5:20).

If others learn from our mistakes,

And it saves them from the pain

That we ourselves experienced—

Then it wasn’t all in vain. —Sper

 

When we learn from our mistakes, we are less likely to repeat them.

Should Tebow tone it down?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) -- Denver Broncos quarterback and former University of Florida football star Tim Tebow has been getting a lot of advice lately about how much he should be talking about Jesus.

In November former Bronco quarterback Jake Plummer said about Tebow, "I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ then I think I'll like him a little better. I don't hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff ... like you know, I understand dude where you're coming from." In other words, Tim, tone it down.

Just before the turn of the millennium, another Christian quarterback, Kurt Warner, was the Cinderella story of the NFL. Never in the history of professional football had a player so rapidly ascended from unknown to Super Bowl champ and MVP. When the lights were shining the brightest and the platform was the largest, Warner seized the opportunity to boldly proclaim his faith in Jesus Christ to millions.

For a decade, through ups and downs, Warner was consistent in his bold public witness. During the postgame celebration of the 2009 NFC Championship, a game in which Warner led the Arizona Cardinals to victory, Warner declared before millions watching on TV, "Everyone's gonna get tired of hearing it, but I never get tired of saying it. There's one reason why I'm standing up on this stage today…that's because of my Lord up above. I gotta say thanks to Jesus. You knew I was gonna do it; I gotta do it."

So one would think that if anyone is excited about Tebow's bold witness, it would be Warner, right? Well, not necessarily. Not long after Plummer's comments, Warner weighed in on the issue with the Arizona Central's Dan Bickley: "Put down the boldness in regards to the words, and keep living the way you're living. Let your teammates do the talking for you. Let them cheer on your testimony." Again ... tone it down, Tim.

Read more of this article on Baptist Press.

What's It All About?

Luke 2:1-20 (NKJV)

Christ Born of Mary

 ¹ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

    ⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

The Gospel According to Peanuts

How A Charlie Brown Christmas almost didn’t happen

Few headlines about network television make me giddy. Fewer still make me hopeful that all is good in the world. But back in August of 2010, I read the following headline from the media pages with great excitement: “Charlie Brown Is Here to Stay: ABC Picks Up ‘Peanuts’ Specials Through 2015.” The first of these to be made, the famous Christmas special, was an instant classic when it was created by Charles Schulz on a shoestring budget back in 1965, and thanks to some smart television executives, it will be around for at least another five years for all of us to see and enjoy. 

What people don’t know is that the Christmas special almost didn’t happen, because some not-so-smart television executives almost didn’t let it air. You see, Charles Schulz had some ideas that challenged the way of thinking of those executives 46 years ago, and one of them had to do with the inclusion in his Christmas cartoon of a reading from the King James Bible’s version of the Gospel of Luke.
The more things change, the more things stay the same.

As far back as 1965 — just a few years before Time magazine asked “Is God Dead?” — CBS executives thought a Bible reading might turn off a nation populated with Christians. And during a Christmas special, no less! Ah, the perils of living on an island in the northeast called Manhattan.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a groundbreaking program in so many ways, as we learned watching the great PBS American Masters series on Charles Schulz, known by his friends and colleagues as “Sparky.” It was based on the comic strip Peanuts, and was produced and directed by former Warner Brothers animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for Snoopy.

We learned in that PBS special that the cartoon happened by mere serendipity.

“We got a call from Coca-Cola,” remembered Melendez. “And they said, ‘Have you and Mr. Schulz ever considered doing a Christmas show with the characters?’ and I immediately said ‘Yes.’ And it was Wednesday and they said, ‘If you can send us an outline by Monday, we might be interested in it.’ So I called Sparky on the phone and told him I’d just sold ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ and he said, ‘What’s that?’ and I said, ‘It’s something you’ve got to write tomorrow.’” 

We learned in that American Masters series that Schulz had some ideas of his own for the Christmas special, ideas that didn’t make the network suits very happy. First and foremost, there was no laugh track, something unimaginable in that era of television. Schulz thought that the audience should be able to enjoy the show at its own pace, without being cued when to laugh. CBS created a version of the show with a laugh track added, just in case Schulz changed his mind. Luckily, he didn’t.

The second big battle was waged over voiceovers. The network executives were not happy that the Schulz’s team had chosen to use children to do the voice acting, rather than employing adults. Indeed, in this remarkable world created by Charles Schulz, we never hear the voice of an adult.

The executives also had a problem with the jazz soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi. They thought the music would not work well for a children’s program, and that it distracted from the general tone. They wanted something more . . . well . . . young.

Last but not least, the executives did not want to have Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke. The network orthodoxy of the time assumed that viewers would not want to sit through passages of the King James Bible.

There was a standoff of sorts, but Schulz did not back down, and because of the tight production schedule and CBS’s prior promotion, the network executives aired the special as Schulz intended it. But they were certain they had a flop on their hands.

“They were freaking out about something so overtly religious in a Christmas special,” explained Melendez. “They basically wrote it off, like, hey, this is just isn’t going to be interesting to anyone, and it’s just going to be like a big tax write-off.”

Melendez himself was somewhat hesitant about the reading from Luke. “I was leery of the religion that came into it, and I was right away opposed to it. But Sparky just assumed what he had to say was important to somebody.”

Which is why Charles Schulz was Charles Schulz. He knew that the Luke reading by Linus was the heart and soul of the story.

As Charlie Brown sinks into a state of despair trying to find the true meaning of Christmas, Linus quietly saves the day. He walks to center of the stage where the Peanuts characters have gathered, and under a narrow spotlight, quotes the second chapter of the Gospel According to Luke, verses 8 through 14:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.

“ . . . And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus concluded.

The scene lasted 51 seconds. When Linus finished up, Charlie Brown realized he did not have to let commercialism ruin his Christmas. With a sense of inspiration and purpose, he picked up his fragile tree and walked out of the auditorium, intending to take it home to decorate and show all who cared to see how it would work in the school play.

When CBS executives saw the final product, they were horrified. They believed the special would be a complete flop. CBS programmers were equally pessimistic, informing the production team, “We will, of course, air it next week, but I’m afraid we won’t be ordering any more.”

The half-hour special aired on Thursday, December 9, 1965, preempting The Munsters and following Gilligan’s Island. To the surprise of the executives, 50 percent of the televisions in the United States tuned in to the first broadcast. The cartoon was a critical and commercial hit; it won an Emmy and a Peabody award.
Linus’s recitation was hailed by critic Harriet Van Horne of the New York World-Telegram, who wrote, “Linus’ reading of the story of the Nativity was, quite simply, the dramatic highlight of the season.”

A Charlie Brown Christmas is equaled only perhaps by the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in its popularity among young and old alike. Thank God the Grinch-like executives at CBS chose to air the special back in 1965 despite their misgivings. If it had been left to their gut instincts, we would have had one less national treasure to cherish come Christmas time.

— Lee Habeeb is the vice president of content at Salem Radio Network, which syndicates Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, and Hugh Hewitt. He lives in Oxford, Miss., with his wife, Valerie, and daughter Reagan.

Singing Bowl

Our Daily Bread

Read: Deuteronomy 4:32-40

We therefore ought to . . . become fellow workers for the truth. —3 John 1:8

Artist and scientist Michael Flynn designed a singing bowl for display in ArtPrize, an international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The bowl requires no electricity but it does require something that is in short supply: cooperation.

As I observed people trying to make the bowl sing, I was surprised that none of them bothered to read the directions about rocking it gently. Instead, impatient to make music, they kept trying their own ideas. After a few minutes they walked away frustrated and disappointed, as if the bowl was defective.

How many times, I wonder, do we become frustrated that life isn’t working the way we think it should? We keep trying ways that seem right, but things keep turning out wrong. Instead of following God’s Word, we continue trying to find our own way.

The singing bowl reminds us that we can’t expect life to go well if we ignore the instructions of the Designer (Deut. 4:40). Failing to obey divides us from one another and separates us from God. To fulfill His plan for the world and make the way of salvation known (Ps. 67:2), we need to follow His instructions about living and working peacefully together. When life doesn’t go well, it may be that we’ve stopped following God’s plan.

Sure it takes a lot of courage to put things in God’s hands,
To give ourselves completely, our lives, our hopes, our plans;
To follow where He leads us and make His will our own;
But all it takes is foolishness to go the way alone! —Kline

Life is a beautiful song that God is teaching us to play.

Thanksgiving Pardon

Our Daily Bread

Read: 1 John 1:1-10

The blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin. —1 John 1:7

Each year at the end of November, the President of the United States issues an official pardon for the National Thanksgiving Turkey. During this lighthearted ceremony, one president remarked: “Our guest of honor looks a little nervous. Nobody’s told him yet that I’m going to give him a pardon.” The poor turkey had a good reason to be uneasy—without an acquittal, he was doomed to be Thanksgiving dinner.

We are in a similar situation when it comes to our sin. Without God’s pardon, we’re on our way to certain demise. This condition is a direct result of our own wrongdoing. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). However, we can be set free from this death sentence because God’s Son bore our sin in His body on the cross, “that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). First John 1:7 tells us that Jesus’ blood “cleanses us from all sin.”

We can accept God’s pardon for our sin and receive eternal life when we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9). Today, consider how you will respond to God’s offer of forgiveness.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide.
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow—
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! —Chisholm

Through faith in Christ,
we receive God’s pardon and escape sin’s penalty.

When God Cleans House

Our Daily Bread

READ: Jonah 1

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. —Ephesians 4:31

God did some fall housecleaning this week. He sent a mighty wind through our neighborhood that made the trees tremble and shake loose their dead branches. When it finished, I had a mess to clean up.

In my own life, God sometimes works in a similar way. He will send or allow stormy circumstances that shake loose the “lifeless branches” I’ve been refusing to release. Sometimes it’s something that once was good, like an area of ministry, but is no longer bearing fruit. More often it’s something that’s not good, like a bad habit I’ve slid into or a stubborn attitude that prevents new growth.

The Old Testament prophet Jonah discovered what can happen when one refuses to get rid of a stubborn attitude. His hatred for the Ninevites was stronger than his love for God, so God sent a great storm that landed Jonah in a giant fish (Jonah 1:4,17). God preserved the reluctant prophet in that unlikely place and gave him a second chance to obey (2:10; 3:1-3).

The lifeless limbs in my yard caused me to think of attitudes that God expects me to dispose of. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians lists some of them: bitterness, anger, and evil speech (4:31). When God shakes things up, we need to get rid of what He shakes loose. —Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, give me a listening heart and help me
to cooperate with You when You
point out changes that need to be made in my life.
I want to honor You and please You. Amen.

Christ’s cleansing power can remove the most stubborn stain of sin.

Halloween Ministry?

I'm always looking for unique opportunities to minister for our Lord.  On October 31st I donned my leprechaun attire and visited a nearby nursing home.  I purchased 80 tiny jack-0-lanterns and went on a reverse trick-or-treating mission giving one to each resident.  The visiting took a little over three hours as I talked with each resident and prayed with several.  The 80 tiny gifts only cost $22, but you would have thought the leprechaun was handing out real gold by many of the reactions.  I think the Lord blessed me more than the recipients.  It was a wonderful visit.

Many of the staff wondered about the location of the leprechaun's gold and were surprised when I produced a "gold" coin for them from my green jack-o-lantern (hey, it matched the hat).  A friend provided me with the gold coins inscribed with a verse of scripture.  The tokens were left over from Vacation Bible School.  One of the residents, looking at my bright green container, said "you picked that one a little early."

Now, I know some may take issue with the idea of even recognizing "Halloween".  I prefer to think by witnessing, sharing scripture, praying and laughing with residents a little "light" illuminated the evening.  In Matthew 5:14-15 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

Nursing home residents - 80

80 small gift items - $22

Time spent visiting - 3 hours

Joy & smiles of residents - PRICELESS!!

Recalculating, Recalculating

I picked up an unwanted object in one of my car's tires last week as I was on my way to visit a nursing home in Lake City, Florida.  This "bolt" was about the size of a pencil and approximately 6 inches long!  My brother, John and his son Jay, came to my rescue even with the heat index hovering around the century mark.  They got me on the road again with that little "doughnut" spare tire.  Now, my plans had quickly changed as I headed to the store where my tires were purchased last October.  Two hours later I began the nursing home visit.

It's amazing how something so small can rearrange your day, and sometimes your life.  I mean, think about the "little" things that have caused you to change your daily activities and develop another plan.  It's kind of like making a wrong turn and hearing your GPS unit say, "Recalculating, recalculating."  I personally know these changes can, sometimes, completely throw us for a loop.  Let's look at some of the resulting "recalculations" brought on by this object in my tire.

• How do I get to the tire store, after all there is no way I can change a tire.  "RECALCULATING"... I called my brother, and with God's timing, he was able to come to my rescue!
• I had planned to pick up lunch at a drive thru and eat with my great-aunt at the nursing home.  "RECALCULATING"...  There was a take-out pizza place just a few feet from the tire store.
• How much will this cost?  "RECALCULATING"... My warranty covered everything!
• My nursing home visit and other errands will be delayed.  "RECALCULATING"... I spent more quality time at the nursing home than I had planned, and took care of the errands the next day.

Now, I know not every "recalculating" event we face is always painless, trust me, I've had my share of those too.  But, we also know the Lord has never let us down in the past, and He's not going to start now!  So, let's praise Him even when He's "RECALCULATING".

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The New Number One Objection To Christianity

Posted on Pray4SBC By Bryant Wright, President of the Southern Baptist Convention.



“He who is of God hears the words of God…” John 8:47

In the last twenty years, a new number one objection to Christianity has emerged: “Why do Christians think you have the only way to God and heaven?” In our pluralistic world, this is hard to take. In a world of “tolerance,” this seems intolerable.

But here’s the problem: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” Was Jesus really that narrow-minded and egocentric? A natural question, but the wrong question.

The key question is this: “Was He telling the truth?” If He wasn’t, we certainly don’t want to believe in Him. But, if He was, many have a problem with that. For if we feel there are many ways to heaven, we’re calling Jesus a liar, and wrong. Our problem is really with Jesus, more than with Christians who believe Him.

So what do you believe? Do you believe Jesus tells the truth? That’s the decision we must deal with if we are open and honest.