...mirror

Have you ever been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking, "Surely I can't look that old?"  I love this story that has been widely circulated:

I was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist. I noticed his DDS diploma, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 37 years ago. Could he be the same guy that I had a secret crush on, way back then?

Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate. Hmmm..., or could he?   After he examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended Morgan Park High School.  "Yes. Yes, I did. I'm a Mustang," he gleamed with pride.

"When did you graduate?" I asked.   He answered, "In 1967. Why do you ask?"

"You were in my class!" I exclaimed.

He looked at me closely. Then, that ugly, wrinkled old man asked, "What did you teach?"

It's so easy, isn't it, to see the faults in someone else?  We see their wrinkles.  We see their gray hair.  Even more than that, we see all the "specks" in their eyes Matthew 7:3.  But we are not so quick to notice those flaws in ourselves.

When I was young, I was determined to change the world and make it a better place.  As I grew older, I realized that was an unrealistic goal and re-committed myself to changing the people around me.  I've gotten a little bit older (and grayer).  I still want to try to influence people around me, but I have learned that, ultimately, the only person I can change is me, and there is plenty that still needs to be changed.

James compares reading the Word of God with looking in a mirror:

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." James 1:22-25

May we truly view the Word of God, not as a microscope to examine the lives of others, but as a mirror to search into our own hearts and lives.

-alan smith

...move

 

"You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north." Deuteronomy 2:3

Listen to this wonderful challenge from Ruth Graham...    "Either we can be victimized and become victims, or we can be victimized and rise above it.  Often it is easier to play the victim than take off our masks and ask for help.  We get comfortable with our victim status. It becomes our identity and is hard to give up.  The Israelites often played the victim card, and I love what God finally tells them, 'You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north' Deuteronomy 2:3.   

Turn north!  It's time to move on!  Self-pity, fear, pride, and negativity paralyze us. Taking off our masks takes courage, but if we don't do it, we will remain in our victim status and end up stunted."

What about you?

     Do you keep talking and talking and talking about something you just can't get over? 

     Are you living in the past because you just can't "let it go"?

     Do you keep wallowing in self-pity wondering what "could have been"?

     Have you discussed it over and over with different people, but you've never taken action?

     Have you worried and worried about it, but you've never done anything?

     Are you still living in misery because it's something you can't forgive or forget? 

     Have you circled and circled and circled this issue all your life? 

The time has come!!!

You have circled this mountain long enough.  Turn north!!!

-david langerfeld

baptism

 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."  Rom 6:4.

When Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, he took them to the edge of the Red Sea. The people saw the sea before them and heard the chariots of the Egyptians behind them. They knew they were trapped - and they lost their faith in God. They thought God was no longer at work in their lives.

In panic and despair, they turned on Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out into the desert to die?  When we were slaves in Egypt, didn't we tell you, 'Just leave us alone and let us continue serving the Egyptians.' Better to live as slaves than to die out here!"

They couldn't imagine that God's path to freedom actually led straight into and through the deep waters! The waters of the Red Sea, like the New Testament sacrament of baptism, are a symbol of death. When Moses parted the Red Sea, the people of Israel walked upon the dry seabed with walls of water on either side. They descended into the depths of the sea. They died to their old selves and rose to a new life that led to the Promised Land.

Like the people of Israel in their journey, we panic and cry out to God, "Did You bring me out into this desert of adversity to die?" We would rather live as slaves than die to self and yield control of our lives to God. But God takes us through the depths so that we can emerge as new people, ready to enter the Promised Land.

If you find yourself in deep water, thank God today that He is preparing you for a life that is designed to show others the glory, power, majesty and deliverance of God.

-os hillman

simple

Today is my 70th Birthday.  Throughout these seventy years, I have tried to complicate things - but God, in his infinite wisdom, always keeps things very simple.   In Proverbs 3:5-6, God makes it very clear and simple how we are to walk daily with Him.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will direct your paths."

 
Simple... 
     Trust and Obey. 
     Love God with all your heart.
     Follow Him. 
     Seek Him and His will.  
     Don't trust you own feelings or emotions, trust Him. 
     Don't lean on your own experiences or knowledge base, lean on Him! 
     Don't complicate it, keep it simple!
 
When you do...
     He will guide your every step 
     He will lead you all the way
     He will go before you and walk beside you
     And one day, you will dwell in His house forever!!! Psalm 23:6, John 14:2-3

"A Simple Prayer"
 
Today,
     For what I am that I ought not to be,
     Forgive me
     For what I am not that I ought to be,
     Forgive me
 
Be with my mouth in what it speaks.
Be with my hands in what they do.
Be with my mind in what it thinks.
Be with my heart in what it feels
 
Work in me
     through me
          for me
               in spite of me

-david langerfeld

....fragrance

 "The fragrance of the knowledge of Christ is spread through the believer" 2 Cor.2:14

I looked out the window and noticed a thorny plant in bloom. The flowers look like clover... Round little purple heads on a tall and gangly stalk. The amazing thing, though, is the amount of bees this plant has drawn. About thirty bees are literally swarming around this bush. There is no fragrance to this flower that I can detect, but, there is something most definitely appealing about this perennial to these busy insects!

In the Bible, God talks about fragrance a few times in both the Old and New Testament. In 2 Cor. 2:14 He says, "the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ is spread through the believer". In the next verse, it says that we (Christians) are "the sweet fragrance of Christ to God". 2 Cor. 2:15

So, therefore, we are the fragrance of Jesus Christ, to God, and we spread this fragrance of Jesus Christ to others. Just like the bees were drawn to the flowers which emitted no sweet smell to me - likewise, non-believers can be drawn to a Christian - by some undetectable pull.

In the New Testament, the story of a nice aroma is told in the book of John. In this story, Mary took expensive perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet. This wonderful smell permeated the entire house. John 12:3 Likewise, sometimes our love for Jesus Christ is overflowing in such a manner that the fragrance of joy is obvious to others, and draws them near to see what is going on.

In either of these manners, obvious or subtle, Christians must draw the secular population to the saving grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

This is the fragrance which is pleasing to our God.

-dave langerfeld

....possibility

 "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive each other as the Lord forgave you."  Colossians 3:13

Are there things that someone has done to you that you think you could never forgive?              

You are not alone. Ron Luce, president of Teen Mania Ministries, shares a story that many can identify with.

Ron came to faith in Christ as a teenager after enduring an abusive home life. Not long after his conversion, God began to convict him of his need to forgive his mom for the evil things she had done and said to him as a boy. Things like hitting him in the face. Crushing a cigarette butt out on his back.  Telling him when he was 13 years old, "Why don't you do me a favor and kill yourself?"

Initially, Ron reacted with typical human disbelief. How could he forgive his mom? She didn't deserve it. But in time, God broke through, and Ron decided he needed to forgive his mother.

So Ron started carrying around Scriptures on little cards - verses about forgiveness he could meditate on and memorize. He began desperately praying that God would give him the ability to give up his right to punish her. It wasn't easy, and it didn't happen overnight. But one day as a senior in high school, he remembers praying, "Lord, You need to reach my mom and touch her, because I love her."

He couldn't believe what he'd just said. "I love her?" He had never spoken those three words before in his entire life! "But I do love her. I do love my mom. And You're the One who put it there, Lord. You must have done it."

We can forgive, because He forgave us. He shows us a better way. A way of freedom from bitterness and punishment. Christ does it through us. And He can do it through you.

-dave langerfeld

....agape

In the early 60s, Brother Andrew, a man from Holland, smuggled a load of Bibles in his VW across the Romanian border and past communist guards. He checked into a hotel and began praying that God would lead him to the right Christian groups - the ones who could best use his copies of the Scriptures.

That weekend Andrew walked up to the hotel clerk and asked where he might find a church. The clerk looked at him a little strangely and answered, "We don't have many of those you know. Besides you couldn't understand the language." "Didn't you know?" Andrew replied, "Christians speak a kind of universal language." "Oh, what's that?", asked the clerk. "It's called Agape." The clerk had never heard of it, but Andrew assured him. "It's the most beautiful language in the world."

Andrew was able to locate several church groups in the area and managed to arrange a meeting with the president and secretary of a certain denomination. Unfortunately, although both Andrew and these men knew several European languages, they found they had none in common. So there they sat staring at each other across the room.

Andrew had traveled thousands of dangerous miles with his precious cargo but there seemed no way of telling whether these men were genuine Christian brothers or government informants.

Finally he spotted a Romanian Bible on a desk in the office. Andrew reached into his pocket and pulled out a Dutch Bible. He turned to 1 Corinthians 16:20 and held the Bible out, pointing to the name of the book, which they could recognize. Instantly their faces lit up.

They quickly found the same chapter and verse in their Romanian Bibles and read: "All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss."

The men beamed back at Andrew. Then one of them looked throughout his Bible and found Proverbs 25:25. Andrew found the verse and read: "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." These men spent half an hour conversing and sharing - just through the words of Scripture. They were so happy in this fellowship that crossed all cultural boundaries that they laughed until tears came to their eyes. Andrew knew he had found his brothers. When he showed them his load of Bibles, the Romanians were overwhelmed and embraced him again and again.

That evening at the hotel, the clerk approached Andrew and remarked, "Say, I looked up 'agape' in the dictionary. There's no language by that name. That's just a Greek word for love." Andrew replied, "That's it. I was speaking in it all afternoon." 

-dave langerfeld

dinosaurs

We know there were dinosaurs roaming the earth before the flood. There were not only giant reptiles, but also giant mammals. For example, there’s a fossilized skeleton of a beaver 13 feet tall! 

Noah was told to take pairs of most of the animal kinds onto the ark. In respect to dinosaurs, he wouldn’t have had to take a full-grown triceratops; he could have even taken the eggs. But he probably took a sample of all the major species on earth at that time. 

After the flood, it’s likely that a lot of animals became extinct because the environment changed so much. And there were people like Nimrod, “the mighty hunter before the Lord” Genesis 10:9. Anything as big as a Tyrannosaurus Rex was probably a threat, and it’s likely that the people of that time hunted them down and rendered them extinct before too long. 

“Dinosaur” is a relatively modern name. The Bible does mention a beast that could very well have been a dinosaur. The “behemoth” mentioned in Job was evidently a massive beast that ate vegetation and had a “tail like a cedar” Job 40:17. Scripture also describes this creature as living near water and being quite fearless. We don’t have anything that meets that description living on earth now. 

The book of Job also speaks of a sea creature called “leviathan.” In the book of Isaiah, “Leviathan” is referred to as a “twisted serpent” and “the reptile that is in the sea” 27:1. We know some dinosaurs were ocean dwellers, and it’s possible that this refers to a type of dinosaur as well. 

"Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox."

"Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly."

"He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together." 

"His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron." 

"He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him." 

Job 40:15-19

-doug bachelor

.....alone

 “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”— Exodus 14:14

There was no way the Israelites could get across the Red Sea. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Egyptian army was in hot pursuit. The people got so upset that they turned to Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?” Exodus 14:11

The Lord caused the waters of the Red Sea to part, and the Israelites crossed through on dry ground. Then those same waters closed on the pursuing Egyptian army. God didn’t keep the Israelites from the trial, but He kept them through it.

The same is true of the three courageous teenagers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had them thrown into a fiery furnace because they wouldn’t worship a false god. God could have delivered them from the furnace altogether. Instead, He allowed them to be thrown into the furnace. When the king looked in, he said, “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” Daniel 3:25. The Lord kept them through the trial but not necessarily from it.

What about when an accident or a tragedy happens in the life of a child of God? Where’s the keeping power of God then? In asking a question like that, we’re assuming that we somehow have the inherent right to live long, easy lives and die peacefully in our sleep one day. The Bible says that our “future is in [His] hands” Psalm 31:15. This means that the Lord will walk with us through life, no matter what we’re facing.

 

We’ll never be alone.

-greg laurie

.....weak

When I am weak...

     When I am weak I feel like a failure.

     When I am weak I want to quit.

     When I am weak I want to give up.

     When I am weak I want to cry.

     When I am weak I want to run away.

     When I am weak I feel lost.

     When I am weak I think my life is a waste.

Paul said, "When I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

It is rare for us to hear anyone admit a weakness in our day, much less take pride in our weakness like Paul does. You almost never hear an athlete admit a weakness. When a celebrity admits a weakness, it is usually only after a scandal has been uncovered. Certainly not in our current political conversation will you hear any of the contenders admit a weakness.

Paul had reached a level of spiritual maturity where he not only admits his weaknesses, but takes pride in them 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. A man who read and believed the Scriptures, considered a spiritual giant, takes pride in being a failure.

 

What is the message? 

What are we to learn from Paul's example?  

Simply and profoundly this: God is our strength.

When you feel that you are weak that is when God will fill you with His strength.

     When you have failed, God will give you victory.

     When you want to quit, God will help you go on.

     When you are crying, God will renew your Spirit.

     When you feel lost, God will be your home.

     When you think your life is a waste, God will show you your value.

     When you are weak, God's grace will be sufficient.

If this week is anything like last week, or the week before, or the week before that, there will be something that happens this week that makes you realize that you cannot handle everything by yourself. It could be a family disturbance. It could be an upset customer. It could be a disgruntled employee. It could be a bad report from the doctor.

Whatever it happens to be, you may find yourself feeling weak, helpless, and powerless. When that happens listen closely and carefully and you will hear God saying, "My grace is sufficient for you."  Trust that. Lean into that. Know that is true.

Thank Him, and when you are sharing your story include this statement: "When I am weak, then I am strong."

-tom norvel

....reserve

My husband and I enjoy dining out, but he does so only under one condition. When I suggest a new restaurant to try, he says, "do they take reservations?" He absolutely hates to wait in line for a place to eat dinner!

We make reservations for a variety of things - renting cars, purchasing air line tickets or making hotel plans. We can do these for ourselves, or we can ask or travel agent to do so. Having reservations is a nice option; our plans are secure in the accommodations we are seeking.

Isn't it reassuring to know that Jesus made a reservation for each of us in heaven? He told is in the Bible that he would go to prepare a place for us John 14:2,3, and I know he has! We won't have to wait in line or be unsure of the security of our plans.

Our life eternal will be spent with Jesus, in our special room inside God's great house, once we ask Him to be our travel agent. He will make those reservations with a happy heart, knowing some more of His children are coming home - you and me, and everyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

-marion smith

.....you

I don't know how God will do it, but somehow, while you are in your dark and lonely place, God will come to where you are and confirm His faithfulness and His promises to you!  

God will use your dark, lonely place of despair as a banner to write His love over your life!

Elijah had his ravens; 

Moses had his burning bush; 

Daniel had his quiet night in a lion's den.  

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had their deliverance from a fiery furnace.  

God has a way of showing us that it will be all right. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us, and He never will.  Hebrews 13:5

-john patterson

.....choice

 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

The Psalmist had made a decision.  The Lord God had given him that day.  Now he chose to live through it with a positive spirit and a hopeful heart.

Nothing is more crucial to the quality of our lives than the choices we make about HOW we will approach the circumstances, relationships and crises of each day.  In the end it is that attitude which largely determines the outcomes we will find.  I CHOOSE God as my refuge . . . I CHOOSE to believe . . . I CHOOSE to find a way.

Mrs. S. had lived alone for many years and got out only with the help of a wheelchair.  Every Saturday she wheeled herself into the side aisle of our sanctuary (one without handicap access) where she worshipped attentively.  She always seemed to be "up," a radiant person who made people smile just to be around her.

One evening Mrs. S. spoke to the youth of the church and was asked how she could always be so alive, so full of joy.  She responded, "Well, 

I certainly didn't choose to live the last half of my life as a widow.  

And I didn't choose to have my son killed in the Korean War.  

I didn't choose to have to ride around in this chair for the past ten years.  

But one thing I did choose - to be happy.  

I decided to make the best of every day and to see the best in every person."

A friend who has been a missionary in South America for many years told me of taking some American visitors through his city.  One of them spotted a beautiful large poinsettia tree in front of a small house as they passed by.  The visitor wanted to take a picture and, not realizing that the plant was brittle, reached up to pull down a branch for the camera.  A six-foot length of flame-red poinsettia snapped to the ground.

At that moment the woman of the house stepped out of the door and confronted the gringos standing there, poinsettia branch in hand.  Humiliated, they tried to express regret and offered to pay for her loss.  But they could no more fix the personal damage than they could repair the tree.  Still, instead of adding to their embarrassment, the woman cheerfully asked them in for tea.  

She chose to forgive them, to overlook their clumsy behavior.  She CHOSE to offer them grace.

This is the day the Lord has made.  

We are responsible to decide how we will live in it.

-michael halleen

.....treasure

… I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."  Colossians 2:2-3

I once heard an illustration about a couple who purchased a large piece of land. They liked the idea of having the space, but never cultivated it or invested time in the property. Instead, they spent their days going back and forth to work, just making enough money to get by.

One day they decided it would be better to sell the land and hopefully make a little profit from it. Eventually, they found a buyer for the property and they went on to live their lives. The new owner saw much potential in the land and started cultivating it and planting seeds. One day while digging, the owner found petroleum! The profit he made from selling the petroleum was far greater than he could have imagined. All this time the first couple had been sitting on hidden treasure, but since they never took the time to cultivate the land, they missed out on the riches found therein.

The same is true with God's Word. It is filled with great treasures that could impact our lives and allow us to live rich lives. We have access to God's wisdom and knowledge right at our fingertips, yet many times we neglect it and live mediocre lives as a result. Monetary wealth is temporary, but the riches we obtain from studying and applying God's Word to our lives will bring true joy and lead to a meaningful life.

If you are not investing time in God's Word, may I suggest you start by setting aside just a few minutes a day to read a couple verses? As you start "digging" into the Bible, you will start finding treasures for every circumstance. And when you apply these nuggets of wisdom to your daily life, you will notice the positive impact it can make on your life in the long run.

-dick innes 

....jello

 

Carla stirred Jello into boiling water, added cold water, and put the bowl with the watery mixture in the refrigerator to set. "Didn't Dana ask you to come over to play this afternoon?" asked Mother after Carla had finished washing the dishes.

Carla shrugged. "Yeah," she said, "but I don't feel like playing with her. I'm beginning to think she's hopeless. She always wants her own way, and she says mean things about other kids--stuff like that."

"Hm-m-m-m. That's too bad," said Mother. "Well, maybe it's time to check your Jello."

Carla went to the refrigerator. "It's getting there," she said. "It's ready for the fruit." She added apples and bananas to the Jello while she continued to complain about Dana.

"Tell me something," said Mother. "Dana became a Christian just recently. Has she improved at all since then?"

"Oh, sure." Carla nodded. "She used to be just awful--nobody liked her. Now she's not as bad, but she still has a long way to go."

"Like the Jello," said Mother.

"The Jello?" repeated Carla. "What do you mean?"

"The Jello has improved since you started it, but it has a long way to go, too," explained Mother. "It isn't hopeless, though. In time it will be set and ready to eat. It reminds me that Christians don't usually 'set' all at once, either. It takes time. As Christians grow in the Lord, they improve in outward behavior. We need to be patient with them."

"Maybe we can add some 'fruit' to help them." Carla was enjoying the comparison. "Like. . .we can pray for them, and we can be friendly."

"Good," approved Mother, "and let's remember that you and I aren't finished yet, either. Let's grow together."

HOW ABOUT YOU? 

Do you know Christians who need a lot of improvement? 

Are you praying for them? 

Are you helping them by being friendly and encouraging them to attend church and study God's Word? Do you set a good example for them? God finishes what He starts. He'll finish what He has begun in them--and in you.

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil. 1:6

The Children's Bible Hour, July 27th, 2005

....poor

I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.

By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.

When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. 

Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1.

We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.

Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.

The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change.

We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before.

That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.

We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet.

But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.

When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20.

As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.

Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night.

We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor.

That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed--I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!

I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. 

Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way.

Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week.

Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering.

When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."

Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100."

We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!

-willard caddell

....spider

One of the most amazing materials in nature is the light, flexible, yet incredibly strong compound spiders use to catch unsuspecting insects. It’s spider silk. Pound for pound, the threads produced by these little arachnids can hold more weight than the most sophisticated manufactured materials. The silk in a spider web is an extremely strong substance that has a tensile strength of 300,000 pounds per square inch and is both stronger and lighter than compounds based on steel.

For a long time people have known about the impressive properties of spider silk, and some have dreamed of being able to create it, perhaps the way that the ancient Chinese learned to produce silk from silkworms. But unlike the gentle silkworm, spiders are aggressive, territorial, and not easily domesticated. Up until now all attempts to synthesize spider silk have failed, but a new venture involving gene-splicing is showing considerable promise.

A Canadian company, Nexia Biotechnologies, appears on the verge of manufacturing a substance similar to spider silk through a surprising method, using the milk of goats. Researchers put the spider silk gene into milk animals, since there are close anatomical similarities between the silk-producing glands of spiders and the milk-producing glands of these mammals. The scientists spliced the spider silk gene into cells taken from the mammary glands of goats. The silk genes worked with amazing efficiency in the mammary cells, and Nexia scientists were soon producing high-quality spider silk.

Now the challenge will be to mass breed these transgenic goats and extract the pure silk protein from the milk and spin it into fabric. If the new stock of genetically altered goats produce as expected, Nexia will have the beginnings of a spider-silk dairy. The product, called “BioSteel,” may soon be used for a variety of applications, from medical sutures to artificial tendons or ligaments. It could be used to create lighter and stronger bulletproof vests, and even for the coatings of space stations to protect them from micro-meteorites.

It’s interesting to consider how many of man’s inventions have been plagiarized from the amazing creatures God has designed. The most amazing fact is that many people think all these wonders of nature have evolved by chance!

"O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." Psalms 104:24

-doug batchelor

.....coming

Several years ago, an elderly preacher worked his way to the pulpit and said, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming” and then sat down.  Two more times, with ever-growing intensity and excitement in his voice, he made his way to the pulpit and proclaimed, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!”.  

For the disciples and the women who had faithfully followed Jesus, everything seemed hopeless. It was Friday afternoon and their friend has just died.  The one who had been their teacher and comforter was gone.  Everything they had been doing for the past three years seemed worthless.  They were depressed...  they were defeated...  they were in despair.  It was Friday, and all hope was gone. 

But wait!  Sunday’s coming! Sunday would bring Hope.  Sunday would bring Salvation.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ on that first Easter Sunday would bring indescribable Joy to those broken hearts!  No more would death have a strangle-hold on their lives.  No more darkness; no more gloom; no more despair. 

The hopeless, helpless, defeated feeling of Friday afternoon was replaced with the victorious Joy  of Sunday morning.  The tomb was empty and “He is Alive”!!!! 

Heavenly Father, forgive me when I allow the Friday’s of my life to defeat me and make me feel hopeless and helpless.  Help me to remember and to claim all of your promises, the one who defeated death and the one who brings hope and Joy when we trust in You..  You went all in for me - I want to go all in for you.  In Jesus’s name.  Amen 

   

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

It's Friday, But Sunday's Coming!!!

-dave langerfeld