Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
11 Ways Jesus Speaks into Your Sorrow
“I, too, have known overwhelming sorrow.” Jesus understands the crushing weight and agonizing loneliness of grief. He has something valuable to teach you as you struggle with sorrow – something you couldn’t learn without going through it. Jesus promises to walk with you every step of the way through your sorrow, giving you the comfort and companionship you need.
“I, too, have heard God tell me ‘no.’ Jesus shows you what to do when God doesn’t give you what you want. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, God still said “no” to His passionate prayer to avoid dying on the cross. Ultimately, after wrestling with God’s plan for His life, Jesus submitted to it because of His confidence in God’s purposes – even when they conflicted with His own desires. When you recognize that God always chooses what’s best – that when he answers “no” to your prayers, He isn’t cruelly punishing you but is actually acting in love toward you – you can entrust your life to His plans without fear or resentment. Your suffering isn’t wasted pain; it’s a powerful tool to help you learn the value of obeying God.
“I am willing to heal your deadliest disease.” Jesus knows what you need most of all. It isn’t physical healing; it’s spiritual healing. Whether or not Jesus chooses to heal a disease in your body, you’ll eventually die anyway. But if you’re afflicted by a disease in your soul – sin – you’re suffering will be eternal if you don’t invite Jesus to heal you. Fortunately, Jesus is willing to take the sickness of your sin upon Himself and transfer to you the healthy state of righteousness before God. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross offers you something much greater than healing from diseases that can destroy your temporary body. It offers you the greatest healing possible: healing from the sin that can destroy your eternal soul.
“I will save you from yourself.” Jesus saves you from a wasted life of always trying to get your own way. Instead of being tyrannized by what you want and chasing after it constantly, you’ll be free to pursue what will ultimately give you the most fulfillment – God’s purposes for your life. Ironically, when you try to save your life, you end up losing it in pursuits that don’t really matter. But if you let go of your own agendas, God’s kingdom can advance through your life and make the world a better place. Leave a life of comfort behind and follow Jesus into a life of significance.
“I will keep you safe.” Jesus protects you from eternal harm. Your eternal soul has much more value than the temporary life of your earthly body. While Jesus hasn’t promised to protect your physical safety, He has promised to protect your soul for eternity. While Jesus won’t necessarily protect your plans for your life, He will protect God’s purposes for you to make sure that you experience the very best when you trust Him.
“I will give you a heart for forgiveness.” Jesus empowers you to forgive people who don’t deserve it. If you’ve received God’s forgiveness for your own sin, you need to forgive your fellow sinners. You can count on Jesus to help you through the forgiveness process, giving you the strength to take each step, no matter how deeply people have hurt or offended you. Rather than focusing on how people don’t deserve your forgiveness, focus on following God’s command to forgive to free yourself from bitterness that poisons your soul. Trust God to bring about justice in each situation, as He has promised to do at the right time and in the right way.
“I am enough for you.” Jesus provides what you need when you need it. Emptiness isn’t necessarily bad; it’s good when it motivates you to come to Jesus to be filled. When you pray again and again for relief from the pain in your life that doesn’t come, Jesus promises that His presence and the strength He’ll give you will be enough. Even when Jesus chooses not to take your pain away, He will give you the grace to endure it. Move from desperately seeking relief from your pain to seeking to grow as a person and glorify God in the midst of it.
“I am giving life to those who believe in Me.” Jesus asks you to believe that death is not the end of life. Depend on Jesus as your source of life both now and forever. Trust Him with your life in this world and in eternity after you leave this world. When you grieve the death of someone you have loved, remind yourself of Jesus’ promises about heaven and look forward with joyful anticipation to the day that you’ll be able to see that person again.
“I am in control of your life and your death.” Jesus soothes your fear of death. He is in control of the beginning of your life, the end, and every day in between. You don’t need to be afraid of your future, because it’s in God’s loving hands – and there’s no better place for it to be. Trust God’s timing for your life on earth and make the most of each day that He gives you.
“I will give you rest.” Jesus opens His arms to you. He invites you to give Him the burden of sorrow that you’ve been carrying on your own. As you connect yourself to Jesus, He will do the heavy lifting in your sorrowful experiences so you can find the rest you need. Rely on Jesus’ strength flowing through you to help you deal with anything that comes your way.
Monday, July 20, 2009
To strengthen unions, marriage experts advise couples to "make weekly dates" or "go away on a couple's weekend." Those are great ideas, but let's be realistic: how often can busy couples expect to drop everything and get away? These 11 quick and simple ways to express love let busy couples rekindle romance among the chaos of everyday life.
1. Embrace your past. Assemble a scrapbook together, pull out your wedding video, or write your own personal romance story. Reliving special memories together is a great way to strengthen your bond.
2. Be kids together. Have a pillow fight, challenge each other to a game of hopscotch, or cuddle on the couch and laugh as you watch cartoons.
3. Wrap your mate in love. While your sweetie showers, sneak his towel into the dryer, and as he steps out, wrap him in fluffy warmth. Or use the same idea to warm her feet when she snuggles in bed on a chilly autumn night.
4. Speak the languages of love. Surprise your "amante" (Italian for "lover") with some international sweet talk. Access an exhaustive list of ways to say "I love you" in different languages.
5. Write love notes to each other. Spell it out in his oatmeal with raisins, on her dashboard with yarn, or use lipstick on your bathroom mirror. Compose your own poem, borrow a verse from Song of Songs, or just write "I love you."
6. Turn on the charm. Who says you have to stop flirting once you're married? At your next party, wink at him across a crowded room, or slip your arm around her as you make social small talk. That personal connection amid the crowd is like saying, "This is great, but I'd rather be with you!"
7. Connect online. E-mail your spouse throughout the day, just to say you're thinking of him.
8. Remember the little things. When you step in to help with the day-to-day "drudge" chores—making dinner, bathing the kids—your spouse knows she's appreciated and loved. And completing a chore for your sweetie frees more time and energy for the two of you to enjoy other activities together.
9. Send it snail mail. Take time to write an encouraging note, slap a stamp on it, and mail it. Your spouse will love the surprise—especially since it won't be a credit card bill or junk mail!
10. Celebrate everything. Most couples celebrate the anniversary of their marriage or first date, but how about the anniversary of your engagement, or first kiss? (If you don't remember, make it up!) There have been all kinds of milestones throughout your relationship, so mark each one with flowers, a card, or a romantic interlude.
11. Just say it. Your spouse needs to hear those three simple words daily. Whisper it, sing it, shout it. Say it.
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A story by a girl.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Maybe. . we were supposed to meet the
wrong people before meeting the right
one so that, when we finally meet the
right person, we will know how to be
grateful for that gift.
Maybe .. . . you should dream what you
want to dream; go where you want to
go, be what you want to be, because
you have only one life and one chance
to do all the things you dream of, and want to do.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Right Words, Wrong Heart
Today he's a respected Christian professional in our community. But legend has it that he had a strong streak of mischief in him when he was a boy, and maybe even now. An older friend from their church told me that when this man was four, his pastor came up to him at a football game and sat down next to him. And the pastor said, "Well, Mark, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" To which Mark replied with a smile, "Would you believe praying?" To which his pastor replied, "No, Mark, I wouldn't believe it." Smart pastor.
It doesn't take long to learn the right church answers, does it? Man, we know what to say. A four-year-old boy can do it! And many of us have been around a lot longer than that and we know the words to say. The danger is that you can really fool yourself spiritually, just because you know all the right words, and go to all the right meetings, and do all the right things. Tragically, a full Christian vocabulary can mask a dangerously empty heart.
Jesus talked about that in our word for today from the Word of God in Mark 7:6. He said of some deeply religious people, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." And you can be sure that getting into heaven will be based on what is in your heart, not on your lips. Your eternal rewards from Jesus will be also be based on what's in your heart, not your lips. Remember, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
Recently, we called some Native American Christian friends of ours whose daughter has been struggling with some serious moral issues and life issues. The daughter was willing to talk with my wife, but only in her mother's words, "after she puts her coat on." Now that expression was new to us. Our friend explained that Indians use that expression sometimes to describe saying what non-Indians want to hear. In other words, saying what you think the other person wants to hear.
Well a lot of church folks "put their coat on" regularly when they're in a Christian setting. After all, you can pretty much learn the vocabulary of Christianity in about a month, and that will be enough to get you through with most Christians for the rest of your life. It's not enough to get you through with God.
It's wise to stand back every once in a while and ask, "How much of my Christianity is really about Christ and how much is a mask, a role I'm playing, human expectations I'm trying to fulfill; just my church?" If there's been more than one you, the Christian you and then the other guys, maybe you're tired of playing charades spiritually, you're tired of the performance, you're tired of the mask. It's time to say, "Jesus, I've been saying all the right words, but You know how hollow it all is really and now so do I. I just want to love You and want to know You for real. I want this to be all about a Christ-relationship, not the Christian religion."
And if you've never really given yourself to Jesus, let this be the day that you move from playing a role to the reality of knowing this awesome Savior. Listen, if you're ready to begin this relationship for real, would you tell Him that? That's the important thing. And say, "Dear Jesus, I believe when You died on that cross, some of those sins you died for were mine. You have paid my death penalty. You walked out of your grave under your own power. You are alive. You can give me eternal life and I turn from the running of my own life, and I place the rest of my life completely in Your hands.
At that moment you go from the role to the reality. At that moment, you don't just know about Jesus, you know Him. At that moment, you're not just believing things about Jesus; you belong to Him.
The words that really matter aren't the ones you say to men about Jesus; they're the ones you say to Jesus about being really His.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Masturbation is the experience of sexual orgasm produced by self-stimulation. Virtually every man and almost as many women have tried it. It is a regular practice of most single men.
One of the major forces preventing young people from obeying the call of God into vocational Christian service is defeat in the area of lust. A teenager hears a challenging call to throw himself into the cause of world evangelization. He feels the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He tastes the thrill of following the King of kings into battle. But he does not obey because he is masturbating regularly. He feels guilty. He can hardly imagine witnessing to a pretty girl about the eternal plight of her soul, because he has so habitually looked at girls naked in his imagination. So he feels unworthy and unable to obey the call of God. Masturbation becomes the enemy of missions.
Is masturbation wrong? Let me address the issue mainly for men. I cannot imagine sexual orgasm in the loins without sexual image in the mind. I know there are nocturnal emissions, which I regard as innocent and helpful, but I doubt that they are ever orgasmic apart from a sexual dream that supplies the necessary image in the mind. Evidently God has constituted the connection between sexual orgasm and sexual thought in such a way that the force and pleasure of orgasm is dependent on the thought or images in our minds.
Therefore in order to masturbate, it is necessary to get vivid and exciting thoughts or images into the mind. This can be done by pure imagination or by pictures or movies or stories or real persons. These images always involve women as sexual objects. I use the word “object” because in order for a women to be a true sexual “subject” in our imagination she must in reality be one with whom we are experiencing what we are imagining. This is not the case with masturbation.
So I vote no on masturbation. There may be other reasons why it is wrong. For now I rest my vote on the inevitable sexual images which accompany masturbation and which turn women into sexual objects. The sexual thoughts that enable masturbation do not help any man to treat women with greater respect. Therefore masturbation produces real and legitimate guilt and stands in the way of obedience.
Three encouragements to single men:
- You are not alone in the battle.
- Periodic failure in this area no more disqualifies you from ministry than periodic failures of impatience (which is also a sin).
- Pursue the expulsive power of a new affection. I walked by a whole section of “photography” books at the Walker Art Center last Thursday empowered by the better pleasure of feeling Christ conquer the temptation to look.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Patient A: "So how.. this book not bad ya?"
Patient B: "Excellent! Astounding work. No nonsense shit, sharp and
concise to the point. But there's a major flaw in this piece of art
too many character names to remember!!!"
Nurse: "Hey! Can the two of you..put the telephone book back to the
original place?"
Record II
One doctor asked a patient: "If I were to cut one of your ear off,
what will happen to you?"
Patient: "Then I will not be able to hear..."
Doctor: "Hmm.. that's normal...So if I were to cut your other ear
off, what will happen to you?"
Patient: "Then I will not be able to see..."
The doctor became nervous and asked: "Why would you not see then???"
Patient: "Because my spectacles will drop down. .."
Record III
IMH has an old lady who wears black everyday, carries a black
umbrella and squats @ the entrance to the IMH everyday without
fail, rain or shine.
The doctor wanted to administer treatment for her and decided to
start by understanding her behaviour.
So, the doctor also wear black and carries a black umbrella; squatted
outside together just next to her, rain or shine, everyday without
fail.
So...days goes by...the two of them squatted side-by-side w/o a
single exchange of words..for one solid month...
One fine day..the old lady finally broke the silence and asked the
doctor: "Err...Excuse me! Are you also a mushroom?"
Record IV (the best)
A nurse saw a patient writing a letter.. She got curious and went to
take a peek.. But the patient didn't wanna let her see.
Nurse (unable to contain her curiosity): "Who are you writing to?"
Patient : "I'm writing a letter to myself..."
Her curiosity grew and she thought to herself (Why would someone
write a letter to himself?)
So she asked again: "So...what's written inside?"
Patient (got impatient): "You crazy ah? I haven't receive the letter,
how would I know??"
Record V
Two patients escape from the IMH. They climbed up a tree and one of
them fell from the tree and started rolling on the ground.
After a while, the patient rolling shouted to the top: "Hey! How come
you are not coming down yet?"
The patient ontop replied: "No..no...I can't...I'm not ripe yet"
Record VI
One patient visited the doctor: "Doc...how? I think I'm a chicken
since I was born..."
Doctor: "Woah! that's very serious...Why do you only come and seek
treatment now?"
Patient: "Because my family needs me to hatch the eggs..."
Record VII (Perfect)
One truck driver was doing his usual delivery to IMH.
He discovered a flat tyre when he was about to go home after
unloading the stuff.
He jacked up the truck and took the flat tyre down.
When he was about to fix on the new tyre, he accidentally dropped all
the bolts into the drain.
The truck driver was very sad as he can't fished the bolts up;
started to panic.
Coincidentally, one patient walk past and asked the driver what
happened.
The driver thought to himself, since there's nothing much he can do,
he told the patient the whole incident.
The patient nonchantly replied: "can't even fix such a simple
problem...no wonder you are destined to be a truck driver..."
he goes on explaining:
"You just have to take one bolt each from the other 3 tyres and fix
it onto this tyre. Drive to the nearest workshop and replace the
missing ones"
The driver was very impressed and asked "You're so smart but why do
you stay in IMH?"
Patient replied: "I stay here because I'm crazy not STUPID!"