Ecclesiastes 12:10

  After completing many years as a journalist, Arthur Brisbane was offered six months of paid vacation time by William Randolph Hearst, the publisher of the San Francisco Examiner. Brisbane refused to accept the kind offer because of two reasons. He said, "First, if I quit writing my newspaper column for six months, it might affect circulation of the newspaper. Second, is that it might not affect the circulation of the newspaper   So what about you? If you took six months off from your service to the Lord, would you be missed? Would the church suffer? Would it even notice?   I’m afraid that the fact of the matter is too many of us have such a low commitment to the Lord’s work that we feel that the extent of our duty is just to show up occasionally. Our benefit to the church is as head to count.  Now I would be the first to tell folks that they need to be in the assembly of the church. But it’s not enough just to show up. Consider “the” verse on church at...

In Ephesians 4:29 we read; “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”   Now think about what that verse is telling us. Before you speak, you need to consider what you will say. Don’t just let it flow. Think. Is it appropriate? Is it worthwhile? Will it build up the person hearing it? Is it timely? Will what’s said be helpful?   That’s a lot to think about before you talk. It might mean he have to slow down before we respond (James 1:19). Now while this verse is referring to what we say from our mouths, I don’t think it is a stretch to also apply it to what we what we post online. In times past, it took longer to write down and send a message, enough time that our brains could catch up and remind us of the power of words. But in today’s word of instant messages, we can type out mistakes just as fast as we can say them. Those w...

  There was a church where the preacher and the song leader were not getting along. As time went by this began to spill over into the worship service. The first week the preacher preached on moving forward and letting go of the past. The song leader led the song " I Shall Not Be Moved ". When he preached on how we should pay our debts, the song leader led " Jesus Paid it All ". When he preached on gossip, the song leader led the song " I Love to Tell the Story ."  With all this going on, the preacher became very disgusted and told the congregation during the evening sermon that he was considering resigning. The song leader led " Oh Why Not Tonight" ? As it came to pass, the preacher did indeed resign. The next week the preacher informed the church that Jesus was leading him elsewhere; the song leader led " What a Friend We Have in Jesus" .   This may be a funny story but in reality when brothers bring their personal differe...

   A young and nervous bride planning her wedding was increasingly terrified about her upcoming marriage. To calm her nerves, she decided to have a Bible verse which had always brought her comfort ( 1st John 4:18, " There is no fear in love; for perfect love casts out fear ") engraved on her wedding cake. So she called the caterer and all arrangements were made.    About a week before the wedding, she received a call from the catering company. "Is this really the verse you want on your cake?" they asked. Yes, she confirmed, it was the one she wanted, and after a few more questions they said they would decorate the cake as requested. The wedding day came, and everything was beautiful...until the reception, when the bride walked in to find the cake emblazoned with John 4:18 : " For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. "    Well, that wasn't the right verse but we can see how the mistake w...