I Sam 3:10 "Then the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth."
It has often been said that the English language is the most difficult to learn. I can see how that would be the case when some many have such a hard time speaking it correctly and it is their native tongue. As a preacher, words are of interest to me. I also enjoy puns and using words in ways that are somewhat strange, I guess some would say. One thing that intrigues me is how you can take a sentence and verbally say it in reverse and it has a whole new meaning. Let me show you what I am talking about. Let's take the sentence "the mind is a terrible thing to waste". A very good statement, I think we would all agree. Now, let's reverse it and see what message we get. "the waist is a terrible thing to mind". Another very true statement. I know you are saying that I changed the words up a little and you are correct. But, the pronunciation is the same - remember I like puns. Another interesting thing about our English language is how that in certain regions of the country, people talk differently. They have accents that actually change the pronunciation of words. When you speak with someone like that you have to pay very close attention so that you don't miss what they are saying to you. Now, here is what I am getting to. Our God speaks every language known to man, because He speaks the language of the heart. And when God speaks to us, He makes His message very, very clear. No puns, no cliches, just plain talk that all can understand. Even when He speaks in that still small voice.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
It's All In How You Look At It
I Cor 13:12a "For now we see through a glass darkly: but then face to face..."
I received the following story the other day and thought you might enjoy it as well. It really hits home when it comes to the matter of how we look at others.
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young Woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap"
Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the Young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?"
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and Cleaned our windows."
The point is that most of the time it isn't what we see as much as it is how we look at things. Too often we view matters through our own somewhat distorted, preconceived opinions. Paul reminded the Church in Corinth that "now we see through a glass darkly". We may think we see everything as clear as a bell, but we don't. By the way, the subject of Paul's statement is that of Love. Godly love does allow us to see things more objectively. Or, see them as God sees them. I hope this will help us to be more understanding and less critical of others.
I received the following story the other day and thought you might enjoy it as well. It really hits home when it comes to the matter of how we look at others.
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young Woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap"
Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the Young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?"
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and Cleaned our windows."
The point is that most of the time it isn't what we see as much as it is how we look at things. Too often we view matters through our own somewhat distorted, preconceived opinions. Paul reminded the Church in Corinth that "now we see through a glass darkly". We may think we see everything as clear as a bell, but we don't. By the way, the subject of Paul's statement is that of Love. Godly love does allow us to see things more objectively. Or, see them as God sees them. I hope this will help us to be more understanding and less critical of others.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Good News And Bad News
Heb 4:2 "For unto us was the Gospel [good news] preached , as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
A man was flying along in a small plane when his engine died. The good news is that he had a parachute on. He jumped from the plain and began to descend to safety. The bad news is that when he pulled the rip cord, his chute didn't open. Down he plummeted. The good news is that directly below him was a big pile of hay. Yea, he is saved! The bad news is there is a pitchfork in the hay. On, no, doomed again! The good news is that he missed the pitch fork. Whew! The bad news is that he missed the pile of hay. Just a little reminder that as we go through life, we are going to be receiving news of both kinds. Obviously, we hope that the good news comes more often than the bad. Speaking of bad news, let me share the worst news you could ever hear and unfortunately, far too many are faced with it each day. The Dr. comes in and say that you have an incurable disease and there is nothing that he can do about it. You can just imagine how devastating that would be. What if, immediately after that another Dr. enters and says "I understand that you have a life threatening disease, but I am here to tell you I know of a cure". Now, that would some very good news. Here is another bit of horrifying news. You were born with a major heart problem called sin and it has doomed you to die. And when you die, you will be cast into the lake of fire - Hell - forever more. There is nothing that you can do about it. But, the good news is, that God has sent His Son, Jesus, to bring you a cure through His sacrifice for your sins on the cross of Calvary. That is some very, very good new. But, only if you heed what has been said and accept it for yourself. If you don't then the good news becomes bad news, because you are accountable for it for all of eternity.
A man was flying along in a small plane when his engine died. The good news is that he had a parachute on. He jumped from the plain and began to descend to safety. The bad news is that when he pulled the rip cord, his chute didn't open. Down he plummeted. The good news is that directly below him was a big pile of hay. Yea, he is saved! The bad news is there is a pitchfork in the hay. On, no, doomed again! The good news is that he missed the pitch fork. Whew! The bad news is that he missed the pile of hay. Just a little reminder that as we go through life, we are going to be receiving news of both kinds. Obviously, we hope that the good news comes more often than the bad. Speaking of bad news, let me share the worst news you could ever hear and unfortunately, far too many are faced with it each day. The Dr. comes in and say that you have an incurable disease and there is nothing that he can do about it. You can just imagine how devastating that would be. What if, immediately after that another Dr. enters and says "I understand that you have a life threatening disease, but I am here to tell you I know of a cure". Now, that would some very good news. Here is another bit of horrifying news. You were born with a major heart problem called sin and it has doomed you to die. And when you die, you will be cast into the lake of fire - Hell - forever more. There is nothing that you can do about it. But, the good news is, that God has sent His Son, Jesus, to bring you a cure through His sacrifice for your sins on the cross of Calvary. That is some very, very good new. But, only if you heed what has been said and accept it for yourself. If you don't then the good news becomes bad news, because you are accountable for it for all of eternity.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Becoming Familiar With Your Bible
II Tim 3:16a "All scripture is given by inspriation of God, and is profitable..."
The Bible tells us that there are three distinct times or occasions to read God's Word each day. In the Old Testament, as Israel was rebuilding the city of Jerusalem they gathered and stood for hours as someone just "read" the Law of God aloud to them. So, we see that we are to read the Bible, which allows us to become familiar with what it says. Then, we also see that we are to "meditate" on what we read - or simply stop and think about what we have read and how that applies to our lives. Finally, we are instructed to actually, "study" it for even deeper meaning and understanding. Think with me about the first part, that of simply reading to become familiar. I think it is of great importance, because with that familiarity we gain the knowledge that allows us to refer back to passages that can help us at any given time. But, there is also a negative side to that familiarity. Because we are well versed in what a particular passage says, we may be prone to read over it quickly and miss it's application for the day. We need to remember, that when we read the Bible, just as when we come to Church, we do so by Divine appointment. By that I mean, Sovereign God has a plan for our life that day and is preparing us through His Word to face whatever it is that may be coming. It we speed over it, we miss the blessing of the moment. My point is simple. Yes, let's become familiar with the Wonderful Holy Book, the Bible. But not to the point where we skip right over the good part. Don't miss the profit.
The Bible tells us that there are three distinct times or occasions to read God's Word each day. In the Old Testament, as Israel was rebuilding the city of Jerusalem they gathered and stood for hours as someone just "read" the Law of God aloud to them. So, we see that we are to read the Bible, which allows us to become familiar with what it says. Then, we also see that we are to "meditate" on what we read - or simply stop and think about what we have read and how that applies to our lives. Finally, we are instructed to actually, "study" it for even deeper meaning and understanding. Think with me about the first part, that of simply reading to become familiar. I think it is of great importance, because with that familiarity we gain the knowledge that allows us to refer back to passages that can help us at any given time. But, there is also a negative side to that familiarity. Because we are well versed in what a particular passage says, we may be prone to read over it quickly and miss it's application for the day. We need to remember, that when we read the Bible, just as when we come to Church, we do so by Divine appointment. By that I mean, Sovereign God has a plan for our life that day and is preparing us through His Word to face whatever it is that may be coming. It we speed over it, we miss the blessing of the moment. My point is simple. Yes, let's become familiar with the Wonderful Holy Book, the Bible. But not to the point where we skip right over the good part. Don't miss the profit.
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