AM I A TALKER OR A DOER?

Scripture:

22Do not merely listen to the word,
and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

23Anyone who listens to the word but does
not do what it says is like a man who looks
at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at
himself, goes away and immediately forgets
what he looks like. 25But the man who looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,
and continues to do this, not forgetting what
he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed
in what he does.
James 1:21-25 (New International Version)

Reflection:

These versus from the Book of James have
always hit home to me.  When I was active
in the ministry, I considered myself a
somewhat Biblical scholar.  I would always
look at the Scriptures and read the words
and decide how I was going to present the
words to my congregation. I very rarely
applied Gods words to my life.  I quickly
became a man of a lot of words and not
a man that lived by those words.  I was
not a man of action.
I began to see that this was true of my
congregation.  We all talked the game
but we didn’t participate.  We would read
the word, and hear the word, but we
would not live by the word.
It is so very true what David C.
McCasland said,
When I study God’s Word, my first
question should not be, “What am I
going to say about this?” but “What
am I going to do about this?”
Remember what it says in James
2: 14-17: “4What good is it, my brothers,
if a man claims to have faith but has no
deeds? Can such faith save him?
15Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says
to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and
well fed,” but does nothing about his physical
needs, what good is it? 17In the same way,
faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action,
is dead.
ASK YOURSELF, “ARE YOU ALIVE OR DEAD”.

Prayer:

Oh God as I look at and hear Your Word, I pray
that I apply Your Word to my life.  Oh God
I want to be a doer of Your Word. Let my first
question be “What am I going to do about this?”

JUST AS I AM

“Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God I come! I come!”
Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871)

A simple invitation

“The simple message of the song
“Just as I Am” was so popular in the
early days of Billy Graham’s evangelistic
crusades that it became a regular part
of the response to each appeal to make
a public commitment for Christ.

Charlotte Elliott seemed to have
everything going for her as a young
woman. She was gifted as a portrait
artist and also a writer of humorous
verse. Then in her early thirties she
suffered a serious illness that left her
weak and depressed. During her illness
a noted minister, Dr. Caesar Malan of
Switerland, came to visit her. Noticing
her depression, he asked if she had
peace with God. She resented the
question and said she did not want to
talk about it.

But a few days later she went to
apologize to Dr. Malan. She said that
she wanted to clean up some things
in her life before becoming a Christian.
Malan looked at her and answered,
“Come just as you are.” That was enough
for Charlotte Elliot, and she yielded herself
to the Lord that day.

Fourteen years later, remembering those
words spoken to her by Caesar Malan in
Brighton, England, she wrote this simple
hymn that has been used to touch the hearts
of millions who have responded to Christ’s i
nvitation to come just as they are.”

from The One Year Book of Hymns by Mark
Norton and Robert Brown (Tyndale) entry for
June 22

ALL YOUR HEART!

Scripture:

Proverbs 3:5

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Blondin was a 19th century acrobat, famous
for his tightrope act 160 feet above Niagra Falls
on a rope which was over a thousand feet long.
In 1860 a Royal party from Britain saw Blondin
cross the tightrope on stilts, and again blindfolded.
After that he stopped halfway and cooked and ate
an omelet. Next he wheeled a wheelbarrow from
one side to the other, and returned with a sack of
potatoes in it.
Then Blondin approached the Royal party. He asked
the Duke of Newcastle, “do you believe I could
take a man across the tightrope in this wheelbarrow?”
“Yes, I do” , said the Duke.
“Hop in, then” , replied Blondin.
Well, the Duke declined Blondin’s challenge.
He might have believed Blondin could do it, but
he wasn’t about to trust him with his life.

Reflection:

You see that’s what trusting in the Lord with all your
heart is, “GETTING IN THE WHEELBARROW!”.
Trusting God with your whole life.
God trusted us so much that He gave us a gift.
He gave us the gift of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
If we accept this gift from God we are a forgiven
people, we are an eternal people.
Now we can’t repay God for His gift, but we can give
God a gift back, the Gift of Trust.  Now this gift of
trust to God means that we completely trust Him with
everything that is in us. It means that we don’t rely
on anything else but God. We do not rely on our
own strength or the strength of others.  We give
all the strength we have, both physically and
mentally to the will of the Holy Spirit.  WE
TRUST GOD AND ONLY GOD!
HOW’S YOUR TRUST BEEN LATELY?

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THIS!

U.S. House & Senate have voted
themselves $4,700 and $5,300 raises.

1.     They voted to not give you
a S.S. Cost of Living raise in 2010 and 2011.
2.     Your Medicare premiums will
go up $285.60 for the 2 years and
you will not get the 3% COLA.

Your total 2 year loss and cost
is $1,600 or $3,200 for husband and wife.
3.     Over 2 years they each get $10,000.
4.     How’s that hope and change
workin’ out for ya?
5.     Will they increase your cost
of drugs – doctor fees – local taxes -
food, etc.?

Maybe it’s time for the 28th Amendment…

“Congress shall make no law that
applies to the citizens of the United
States that does not apply equally
to the Senators or Representatives,
and Congress shall make no law
that applies to the Senators or
Representatives that does not apply
equally to the citizens of the
United States.”

WWJD

SACRIFICIAL LOVE

God is always ready to help
us and expects us to help
others

Scripture:

“Don’t forget to do good
and to share what you
have with those in need,
for such sacrifices are
very pleasing to God.”
Hebrews 13:16 NLT

In His steps

“Have you seen kids
wearing bracelets with
the initials WWJD—
“What Would Jesus Do?”
The story behind those
bracelets begins a century
ago, when a minister
named Charles Sheldon
wrote a novel titled In His
Steps. One Sunday morning
at First Church, Pastor
Henry Maxwell is preaching
a sermon about how to follow
Christ’s example of sacrificial
love.

The service is suddenly i
nterrupted when a tramp
stands up. He’s been out
of work for a year, he says,
yet not one person in town
has helped him find another
job. Twisting his shabby hat
in his hands, the tramps says,
“I was wondering if what you
call following Jesus is the
same thing as what he taught.…
I get puzzled when I see so
many Christians living in luxury
and remember how my wife
died in a tenement.…what
would Jesus do?” At that point,
to the congregation’s horror,
the tramp collapses and dies.

The following Sunday, the
minister makes a stunning
proposal: He’s looking for
volunteers willing to pledge
themselves for an entire year
to do nothing without first
asking, “What would Jesus
do?” Some fifty people make
the pledge, and a remarkable
series of events begins.

Some of these people pay a
high price for their obedience.
But they also learn the joy of
following faithfully in his footsteps.

A few years ago, a Holland,
Michigan, youth leader was
so inspired by this classic
story that she had bracelets
made bearing the letters WWJD
and gave them to the kids in her
church. The idea caught fire, and
today millions wear them.

adapted from How Now Shall We
Live? Devotional by Charles Colson
(Tyndale) pp 585-86

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1.       Drink plenty of water.
2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch
like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3.       Eat more foods that grow on
trees and plants and eat less food
that is manufactured in plants.
4.       Live with the 3 E’s — Energy,
Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5.       Make time to pray.
6.       Play more games.
7.       Read more books than
you did in 2009.
8.       Sit in silence for at least
10 minutes each day.
9.       Sleep for 7 hours.
10.     Take a 10-30 minutes walk
daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11.    Don’t compare your life to others.
You have no idea what their journey is
all about.
12.    Don’t have negative thoughts or
things you cannot control. Instead invest
your energy in the positive present moment.
13.    Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14.    Don’t take yourself so seriously.
No one else does.
15.    Don’t waste your precious energy
on gossip.
16.    Dream more while you are awake.
17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already
have all you need.
18.    Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind
your partner with his/her mistakes of the past.
That will ruin your present happiness.
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating
anyone. Don’t hate others.
20.    Make peace with your past so it won’t
spoil the present.
21.    No one is in charge of your happiness
except you.
22.    Realize that life is a school and you are
here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the
curriculum that appear and fade away like
algebra class but  the lessons you learn will
last a lifetime.
23.    Smile and laugh more.
24.    You don’t have to win every argument.
Agree to disagree.

Society:
25.    Call your family often.
26.    Each day give something good to others.
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    Spend time w/ people over the age of 70
& under the age of  6.
29.    Try to make at least three people smile
each day.
30.    What other people think of you is none
of your business.
31.    Your job won’t take care of you when you
are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32.    Do the right thing!
33.    Get rid of anything that isn’t useful,
beautiful or joyful.
34.    GOD heals everything.
35.    However good or bad a situation is, i
t will change..
36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress
up and show up.
37.    The best is yet to come.
38.    When you awake alive in the morning,
thank GOD for it.
39.    Your Innermost Being is always happy.
So, be happy.

ABOVE ALL REMEMBER EACH DAY “GOD
LOVES YOU”

DO YOU HAVE JOY OR SADNESS?

Scripture:

[Jesus said,] “I have loved you even
as the Father has loved me. Remain
in my love. When you obey me, you
remain in my love, just as I obey my
Father and remain in his love. I have
told you this so you will be filled with
joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
John 15:9-11 NLT

Reflection:

Studying for my masters degree in
Divinity was one of the most difficult
periods of my life. Three long years of
research, studying, and test taking.
Learning a language that was no
longer used, Biblical Greek, was
really hard.
But I had a friend going through it
with me.  This friend was an amazing
Christian.  She was struggling even
more than me, and on top of that
she had a physical disability that
made it extremely hard for her.
But Joanie had a sense of joy
about her. She was never down
and always, I mean always, so happy
to be a Christian.  Despite hard times
in her life, she was filled with over-
flowing joy.  Nothing was more eye-
catching or more attractive than that.

This is an example and reminder
that no matter what your current
difficulty, the more you are convinced
of Christ’s unconditional love for you,
and the more you are committed to
loving Him, THE MORE YOU WILL
KNOW THE REAL LASTING JOY OF
JESUS CHRIST.

Prayer:

Oh Lord I want to know Your Love.
Rekindle my desire to be within Your
love, so that I may overflow with Your
Joy.
In Jesus name AMEN

“Life need not be easy to be joyful.
Joy is not the absence of trouble
but the presence of Christ.”
(William Vander Hoven)

GOING FOR THE GOAL!

Scripture:

I don’t mean to say that I have
already achieved these things
or that I have already reached
perfection. But I press on to
possess that perfection for
which Christ Jesus first
possessed me. No, dear
brothers and sisters, I have
not achieved it, but I focus
on this one thing: Forgetting
the past and looking forward to
what lies ahead, I press on to
reach the end of the race and
receive the heavenly prize for
which God, through Christ
Jesus, is calling us.
(Philippians 3:12-14)  NLT

Reflection:

The Apostle Paul has one goal in life,
his goal is to know Christ, to be like
Christ and to be all Christ has in mind
for Him.  This goal, that consumes Paul,
takes all of his energy, it even takes the
power of the Holy Spirit.
This is a helpful example for us.
We should not let anything take our eyes
off our goal, that of knowing Christ.  With
absolute single mindedness just like an
athlete in training, we must lay aside
everything harmful and throw out
anything that may distract us from
being effective and loving followers
of Jesus Christ.  WHAT’S HOLDING
YOU BACK?

DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER 3

Page Three

December 25
M E R R Y Christmas!  20 more inches
of the darn slop tonight – Snowed in.
The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil.
gosh, I hate the snow!  Then the snowplow
driver came by asking for a donation and I
hit him over the head with my shovel.  The
wife says I have a bad attitude.  I think she’s
an idiot.  If I have to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life”
one more time, I’m going to stuff her into
the microwave.

December 26
Still snowed in.  Why the heck did I ever move
here?  It was all HER idea.  She’s really getting
on my nerves.

December 27
Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze;
plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him,
he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes.

December 28
Warmed up to above -20.  Still snowed in.  The
stinking cold and snow are driving me crazy!!!

December 29
10 more inches.  Bob says I have to shovel the
roof or it could cave in.  That’s the silliest thing I
ever heard.  How dumb does he think I am?

December 30
Roof caved in.  I beat up the snow plow driver,
and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not
only the beating I gave him, but also for trying to
shove the broken snow shovel up his backside.
The wife went home to her mother.  Nine more
inches predicted.

December 31
I set fire to what’s left of the house.
No more shoveling.

January 8
Feel so good.  I just love those little white pills
they keep giving me.  Why am I tied to the bed?

THE DIARY SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT EXPLANATION ENDED!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE A HAPPY, HAPPY WINTER!!!!!!!!

DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER 2

Page Two

December 16
Ice storm this morning.  Fell on my behind
on the ice in the driveway putting down salt.
Hurt like heck.  The wife laughed for an
hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17
Still way below freezing.  Roads are too
icy to go anywhere.  Electricity was
off for 5 hours.  I had to pile the blankets
on to stay warm.  Nothing to do but stare
at the wife and try not to irritate her.
Guess I should’ve bought a wood stove,
but won’t admit it to her.  Man I hate it
when she’s right.  I can’t believe I’m
freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20
Electricity’s back on, but had another
14 inches of the darn stuff last night.
More shoveling!  Took all day.  The
lousy snowplow came by twice.
Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel,
but they said they’re too busy playing
hockey.  I think they’re lying.  Called
the only hardware store around to see
about buying a snow blower and they’re
out.  Might have another shipment in
March.  I think they’re lying.  Bob says
I have to shovel or the city will have it
done and bill me.  I think he’s lying.

December 22
Bob was right about a white Christmas
because 13 more inches of the white stuff
fell today, and it’s so cold, it probably
won’t melt till August.  Took me 45 minutes
to get all dressed up to go out to shovel
and then I had to the bathroom.  By the
time I got undressed, went to the bathroom
and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel.
Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck
for the rest of the winter, but he says he’s
too busy.  I think the jerk is lying.

December 23
Only 2 inches of snow today.  And it warmed
up to 0.  The wife wanted me to decorate the
front of the house this morning.  What is she,
nuts?!!  Why didn’t she tell me to do that a
month ago?  She says she did but I think s
he’s lying.

December 24
6 inches – Snow packed so hard by snowplow,
I broke the shovel.  Thought I was having a heart
attack.  If I ever catch the jerk who drives that
snowplow, I’ll drag him through the snow by his neck
and beat him to death with my broken shovel.
I know he hides around the corner and waits for
me to finish shoveling and then he comes down
the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow
all over where I’ve just been!  Tonight the wife wanted
me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our
presents, but I was too busy watching for the
stinking snowplow.

TOMORROW PAGE THREE (FINAL PAGE)