Verse of the Day

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Intention


Alexander de Seversky, U. S. aviator and engineer, was once visiting a fellow flyer in the hospital. The young man had just lost his leg; de Seversky, who had had an artificial leg for some time, tried to cheer him up. “The loss of a leg is not so great a calamity,” he said. “If you get hit on a wooden leg, it doesn’t hurt a bit! Try it!” The patient raised his walking stick and brought it down hard on de Seversky’s leg. “You see,” he said cheerfully. “If you hit an ordinary man like that, he’d be in bed for five days!” With that he left his friend and limped into the corridor, where he collapsed in excruciating pain. It seems the young man had struck de Seversky on his good leg!  (from Today in the Word, October 29, 1992)

I wonder if de Seversky, when entering this man's hospital room, intended to get hurt.  Well, no he didn't.  His intention was to try and help this man by encouraging words.  Those words resulted in a different outcome - for de Seversky at least anyway.  That brings me to the topic of choices.

Even with intentions are good, choices can result in a different outcome.  In Luke 14:28-30,  Jesus talks about careful decision making during an illustration.

"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?  "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Luke 14:28-30 (NASB)

A lesson in counting the whole cost before taking action is what we must learn.  However good they may be, our intentions can not be seen.  After all, we have had much more time to formulate those intentions before starting our 'action'.  While during the event, other people can only see actions - current actions.  So, that leads me to benefit of the doubt.  What does this idiom mean?  Thanks to an internet search, I found, "to believe something good about someone, rather than something bad, when you have the possibility of doing either."  Wow, the possibility of doing either - ouch.  I'm guilty of not thinking about the possibilities during an event.  I have some people to apologize too.  But is not that how things go?  We are in the middle of some event where we are thinking of ourselves?  Yes, we are all selfish creatures at times and some more than others, but that is another topic for another post.

Intentions are not a means to an end - in other words -  a means to achieve your goal.  Look at it this way, that left de Seversky with his only good leg in a lot of pain.  Bad for de Seversky - good for the man in the hospital bed - in that story.  But, how many times does the coin land on its other side and the outcome hurts others?  "...sit down and calculate the cost..." (from Luke14:31) sitting down with people around us and explaining our intentions is the only way intentions become external.  But as my three-year-old is learning, consequences still apply.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

God's Call

Can you remember a time when God called you? Summarizing, the apostle Paul explained God's call to salvation in Christ with a few words. "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me," Galatians 1:15-16. He reveals Christ in us. The call of God to salvation is through the gospel by His grace.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Can you put your name into this verse?

Try it!

"For God so loved ____________ that He gave His only begotten Son for ____________, that (if) ____________ believeth in Him, (then) ____________ will not perish, but ____________ (will) have everlasting life" (John 3:16)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Studying the book of Hebrews

The Letter to the Hebrews is an amazing book -- nothing like anything you see in the rest of the New Testament.
  • In some places it soars. The "Hall of Faith" of Hebrews 11, for example, recites the faith of the patriarchs in terms that always lifts me up and inspires me.
  • In other places it's downright difficult. Several verses are frankly hard to understand clearly, but intriguing nonetheless.
  • Here and there you'll find stern warnings and exhortations. How should we take them?
  • Occasionally you almost need hip-boots to wade through the various tabernacle sacrificial rituals from the book of Leviticus. But if you take the time to understand what is being said, you'll be staggered by the implications.
  • It's filled with high-grade nuggets of Christian truth that will stay with you all your life!
 For more information and to study the book of Hebrews follow this link.
http://www.jesuswalk.com/hebrews/

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Interesting data about why people go to church.

Have you ever wondered why people choose to go to church. The people over at Church Relevance have the results of studies conducted to answer just that question.

Friday, July 3, 2009

i am second

If you haven't found this site yet ... please take a moment to view at least one of the videos. http://iamsecond.com

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Quote for today ...

“Water which is distant is no good for a fire which is near.”
-Apples of Gold

Ran across this verse today ... it's my new fav of the day.

I have been trying to get back into Wednesday night Bible study preparation since my Church has been taking the past several to host a health and wellness class. I have found that it has made me idle in studying. This verse however has stoked the fire again.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
1 Cor 9:22 (KJV)

Commentary about this verse that really brought this home to me.
... the example of St. Paul, attend to the end he had in view, and the manner in which he pursued that end. It was not to get money, influence, or honor, but to save SOULS! It was not to get ease but to increase his labors. It was not to save his life, but rather that it should be a sacrifice for the good of immortal souls!
—Adam Clarke's Commentary

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

A Map ...

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby and said, 'Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today.'

After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. 'Oh,' she said, 'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together.'

Does your heart and life have Jesus in it? Where are your priorities? If Jesus isn’t first, then I’m sure you’re experiencing difficulties. Put Jesus back where He belongs, and everything else will just fall into place!

(from an e-mail forward)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Alive

Praise God!

Please watch the following video (link), its to a site that has videos for churches ... you can preview it. Wow, wonderful imagery.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Why am I a broken Christian?

Was reading a blog the other day where the poster was commenting that he felt like a broken Christian. The following was my response to that post:

I was raised in Church, and also have been part of ministries that are still going strong for the Lord today. These ministries have one goal and that is the spreading of the Good News of the Gospel of Christ - not judging. To make this post more to the point, that is our goal; to spread that news just as Paul did (and instructed) to the churches and in his letters. People are going to come to know the Lord if they have only been under the Truth (the Word). Faith comes by hearing. What people do with that truth we really have no bearing - just as we can't create anything with just speech as God did in the beginning times. It's a freewill choice. Sometimes I think that churches today mask evangelism as really judging people (blanket statement I know but the church is failing somehow by not showing the Love of Christ in their out reach).

I don't know where I lost it (joy), but I read in Psalms 51:12 where the writer was asking God to restore the joy of HIS salvation. Well, the only way that I know to loose the joy of God's salvation is by my sin. I am eternally secure, but my relationship with God is broken when I sin. So, what am I saying, I'm broken because of my sin? I read that God does break down His children to build them back in the way He has planed for us ... all I can say to that is God, build away! Happiness is a feeling that is as fleeting as the wind. Joy is something that I have when I'm in the presence of God.

The presence of God's joy should come through corporate worship. Unfortunately, many times worship services are anything but a joyful experience. I realize that God reveals Himself to us in worship in a variety of ways. Nevertheless, the only thing I can find to describe His revealed presence in worship is joy according to Psalm 16:11.

I pray that God will show me the path of life He has for me. And in that path the Bible promises me/us that in that presence is the fullness of joy and at His right hand (Heaven? or earth? I'm thinking Heaven as that is where His right hand is ...) are pleasures for evermore.

Thanks for reading,
Jamey

The following was left in the comments of the other blog site: (emphasis mine)
I think what you’re tired of (in responce to being tired of being broken) is what all Christians who really stress relationship over legalism desires; being real. We (as Christians) strive to look above reproach so much, that we seldom focus on what God is really showing us about ourselves that’s keeping us from getting closer to Him, so while we’re stressing 8 ways to this, 12 keys to that & 20 steps to prosperity, none of those things really center around Jesus Christ & that is where the real fatigue sets in. As far as not being broken, I don’t think that it’s a bad thing to be broken (based on Mark 4), but I think that the joy should be in the gift of eternal life that we receive by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as well knowing that these light afflictions don’t compare to eternity spent with God. Living life in light of eternity instead of basing it on these clown hucksters that peddle the gospel for attention and/or profit financially.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

My first 2009 quote ...

It has been some time since my last quote ... so for my first one of 2009:

"Is the work you're doing actually leading you where you want to go, or merely keeping you busy?"

This quote was from a blog by Seth Godin talking about what we keep ourselves busy with may be taking us away from and connecting with people.