Taking Out The Trash

Our Daily Bread

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READ: Psalm 103

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:12

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My wife usually has to remind me to take out the garbage on trash pick-up days. It’s not one of my favorite jobs, but I muster up the determination to get it done and then just do it. Afterward it’s a nice feeling to have it out of the house, and I forget about it till the following week.

Just as we need trucks to pick up the garbage that accumulates in our homes, we need to let Jesus remove the “trash” that inevitably accumulates in our hearts. When we forget to take out the trash, it’s not a pretty picture. Jesus wants us to dump it regularly at the foot of the cross. In fact, He has promised to remove it and forget it.

But wait a minute! Could we be rummaging through the cans, trying to find that thing we weren’t quite ready to part with? A sinful habit we don’t want to give up, a fantasy we want to cling to, a revenge that we still want to ignite? Why are we wanting to hang on to the garbage?

Taking out the trash begins with confession, and then counting on Jesus to get rid of it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Today is garbage day. Take it out and then leave it there! —Joe Stowell

Lord, help me not to cover sin,
Those secret wrongs that lurk within;
I now confess them all to Thee;
Transparent I would always be. —D. De Haan

Confession is the key that opens the door to forgiveness.

For similar resources, search these topics:

Basics Of Faith > Sin > Repentance

Looking For Sinners

Religious Leaders One of Top 12 'Indestructible Careers'

Religious leaders are one of twelve ”indestructible careers,” according to a list created by CareerBuilder.com – the nation’s largest job search, employment and careers site.

The report guarantees the staying power of working as a spiritual guide, something that will last no matter how society has evolved.

Read more of this story on The Christian Post.

UK Schoolgirl Loses 'Virginity Ring' Battle

A teenager whose teachers had stopped her wearing a "purity ring" at school to symbolise her commitment to virginity lost a High Court fight against the ban on Monday.

Lydia Playfoot, 16, says her silver ring is an expression of her faith and had argued in court that it should be exempt from school regulations banning the wearing of jewellery.

Read more of this story on Christian Today.

Isn't It Funny

To Hell and Back

Matthew Dovel believes he saw a glimpse of hell in a near-death experience.

While a number of people have come out, some in books, describing brief experiences in heaven in near-death situations, not many have reported having gone to hell and back.

For the majority of Americans, God and heaven are real, a recent Gallup poll revealed. Fewer, however, said they believed in the devil and hell. Belief in hell peaked in 2001 to 71 percent after the Sept. 11 attacks but fell to 69 percent today.

Some individuals, most notably Universalists, believe God is too good and too loving to allow people to spend eternity in hell. Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, who ministers Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa, Okla., grew his church to 6,000 members as he preached the fundamentals of Christianity - Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. But he now preaches that all of humanity is destined for heaven.

Read more of this story on The Christian Post.

Connecticut church plans services at comedy club

MANCHESTER, Conn. - A comedy club is a place to find a few laughs ... and God?

So say the leaders of St. Paul's Collegiate Church, an independent congregation in Storrs. Starting in August, the church will hold Monday night services at The Hartford Funny Bone, a comedy club.

"Faith just got funnier" reads a news release about the new service. A church leader is quoted as saying, "We sense that a Monday night service in a comedy club at the mall might be just the thing for people who like Jesus but don't like the church."

Read more of this story on One News Now.

We Need A Consultant

No, I'm not offended

Opinion by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Aren't you offended? That is the question many evangelicals are being asked in the wake of a recent document released by the Vatican. The document declares that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church -- or, in words the Vatican would prefer to use, the only institutional form in which the Church of Christ subsists.

No, I am not offended. In the first place, I am not offended because this is not an issue in which emotion should play a key role. This is a theological question, and our response should be theological, not emotional. Secondly, I am not offended because I am not surprised. No one familiar with the statements of the Roman Catholic Magisterium should be surprised by this development. This is not news in any genuine sense. It is news only in the current context of Vatican statements and ecumenical relations. Thirdly, I am not offended because this new document actually brings attention to the crucial issues of ecclesiology, and thus it presents us with an opportunity.

Read more of this opinion on Baptist Press.

Survey Says...

I have placed a poll in the left column of this site. I would love for you to participate. I will have new questions each week. The results are not scientific, but I think the it will be interesting to check out the answers.

The current poll is about reading this Blog.

Driving To Church

The Back Pew

Hate Crimes Bill Opponents Protest for Right to Preach on Biblical Sin

WASHINGTON – Christian pro-family groups from across the nation rallied at the Capitol Wednesday to protest against the hate crimes bill currently being reviewed by the Senate, which opponents argue will endanger the rights of Christians to preach about the sin of homosexuality.

“This hate crime legislation is hatred and intolerance aimed at ministers and good Christian folks who dare to call sin ‘sin,’” said Dr. Johnny M. Hunter, national director of LEARN (Life Education and Resource Network).

“Pastors not only have a right, but they have an obligation to state emphatically, that according to Scripture, a man or a woman should not perform a sex act with a person of the same sex,” he said, as a long yellow banner facing the Capitol read “Homosexuality is a Sin” flapped in the wind beside him.

Read more of this story on The Christian Post.

Giving God Our Best

Our Daily Bread

READ: 1 Chronicles 22

The house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent. —1 Chronicles 22:5

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We had rehearsed the song for several weeks, and it sounded good. But there was one tricky section that we just couldn’t get right. We were ready to call it good enough. Our choir director seemed to agree. He too was weary of rehearsing the same few measures over and over.

Finally he said, “We’ve worked hard on this. You’re tired. I’m tired. We’re running short on time. And 99 percent of the people won’t know whether or not we sing it right.” As we started to put away our music, he continued, “But we’re going to sing it right for the 1 percent who know the difference.” We groaned as we reopened our music to the rumpled page.

On Sunday morning when we sang it right, few people knew. But that didn’t matter. What really mattered was that we were singing from our heart for an audience of One—One who deserves excellent praise.

King David wanted an “exceedingly magnificent” house built for the Lord (1 Chronicles 22:5). So before he died, he made sure his son Solomon had everything he needed to build the temple—an abundance of gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, stone, and skilled craftsmen (vv.14-15).

Whatever we do, our audience of One deserves our very best. —Julie Ackerman Link

O worship the King,
All glorious above,
And gratefully sing
His power and His love. —Grant

When we worship God, only our best is good enough.

For similar resources, search these topics:

Christian Life > Worship > God

Extreme Makeover

Uganda: Police Start Hunt for Wired Pastors

POLICE are investigating the conduct of churches for born-again Christians in the wake of rising cases of pastors' impropriety. Police publicist Asan Kasingye said all allegations - from sodomy to fraud - would be investigated.

The detectives will be interested in the idea of "sowing", the term used to describe the generous tithes that pastors manipulate churchgoers into giving in the honest expectation of miracles.

"We are out to find out really if these [pastors] are using tricks to obtain people's property [and money]," Mr Kasingye said. It also emerged yesterday that there are "ongoing consultations" expected to lead to a policy that regulates the activities of the Pentecostals or balokole, as born-again Christians are popularly called.

Read more of this story on AllAfrica.com.

Sunday, July 15th Schedule

Tomorrow, Sunday, July 15th I will be preaching in Jacksonville and White Springs, Florida.

I will be at The Good Samaritan Church for the 11am worship service. The church is located at 44 Jericho Road in Jacksonville, Florida and is pastored by Rev. David Collins. The will be my first time at this church.

At 6pm I will be preaching the evening worship service at First Baptist Church of White Springs, Florida. I will be filling-in for Pastor Ron Thompson. The church is located on Camp Street in White Springs, Florida.

Please be in prayer for both of these services.

If you would like to receive e-mail notifications about my preaching schedule, please folow this link:
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Attending Church

The Back Pew

Got Questions?

Here's a website that describes itself as "a safe place to explore issues about college, life, and what it might be like to know God." The site is called EveryStudent.com.

Artifact found shows truth of Old Testament

A researcher at the British Museum has made a discovery that supports Old Testament historical accounts as fact, says a report from the Telegraph newspaper.

Last week, Michael Jursa, a professor from Vienna, was searching for financial records among tablets from ancient Assyria, when he found a familiar name. Jursa scanned the book of Jeremiah and found that the name was that of Nebuchadnezzar II's chief eunuch (Nebo-Sarsekim). In the Bible, the eunuch was said to be with Nebuchadnezzar when the Babylonians took Jerusalem.

Read more of this story on One News Now.

UK Called to Vote for Top Ten Hymns

Christians across the UK are being invited to vote for their top ten favourite hymns via Christian internet service provider Surefish.

The top ten chosen on the Great Hymn Sing vote will then be sung by Greenbelt festivalgoers on 26 August.

People can vote for their top ten hymns from a list of 114. The 50 hymns with the most votes will then go through to the next round of voting, which will reduce the list to 25.

Read more of this story on Christian Today.