GOOD FRIDAY

It is only the fact that He DIED so that we might LIVE that makes it GOOD FRIDAY. That is not a product of culture, it is living biblical truth. Good Friday is the one holiday the world could not hi-jack. No bunnies, no cartoons here. This is love and commitment in action and forces me back to the real question. . .

IS WHAT I AM LIVING FOR WORTH WHAT HE DIED FOR?

Rom 5:6-7: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Daisy Petal Theology

He loves me - He loves me not 

He loves me - He loves me not.  

It seemed to be the best way to determine one’s romantic fate when we were young.  We quickly realized that daisies don’t know diddley about love!

Unfortunately, as we grow up we continue that type of thinking when it comes to the love of our Heavenly Father.  

I had my devotions today - - God loves me.

I got angry with my spouse today - - God loves me not.

My kids are such a blessing - - God loves me. 

What’s with this -45 weather?? - - God loves me not

Just as daisies can’t predict romantic futures, circumstances are not a good indicator of God’s love.  He loves you.  Period.  End of story.  Nothing you can do will change that.  Get over trying to understand it and just accept it.

Check out Wayne Jacobsen’s book, “He Loves Me”.   

http://www.lifestream.org/helovesme/index.html

Shipwrecked

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. 

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?' 

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied. 

The Moral of This Story: 

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

7 Reasons Not to Mess With Children

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah". The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"
The little girl replied, "Then you ask him".

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."


A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honour" thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, "Thou shall not kill."


One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.
She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?"
Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."
The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, "Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"


The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture.
"Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'
A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And there's the teacher, she's dead."


A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face."
"Yes," the class said.
"Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?"
A little fellow shouted, "Cause your feet ain't empty."


The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE . God is watching."
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.
A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

EAT THAT FROG

Brian Stacy wrote a great book on leadership. He starts with three sayings that inspired his title:

1. If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.

2. If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest first.

3. If you have to eat a live frog, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it for very long.

So what I'm wondering is...

What are the frogs that are staring at you??

Would you like to know more?

Check out this short 2 minute video clip:

Eat That Frog Video Clip

Or learn more through this free E-book:

Eat That Frog E-book

Or check out this 5 page book summary:

Eat That Frog Summary

Two Wolves

One evening an old man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside every person.  He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,  benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:

"Which wolf wins?"

The old man replied simply, "The one you feed."  

So the question is...  Which wolf are you feeding?

Galations 6:7-8

Francis Chan - on 1 John 2:6

I'm not sure that I've ever heard it said any better than this. As a disciple of Jesus, we are called to a life of service to Him - not to ourselves. We're called to nail our desires to the cross and follow His example of sacrifice and humility. This is definitely not casual Christianity!