I'm Not Getting It And That Is A Good Thing

We ask the waitress, “What’s good here that I will like”? We ask the politician “What you will do for me if I put you in office”? We ask the clerk “Do you have the item I want”? We ask the employer “What benefits do you offer”? We ask the church “What programs do you have for me and my family”?

We want. Not only do we want, we want it faster, better, cheaper, and more convenient. Our consumer mentality isn’t just limited to the retail world. It’s in the schools, the home and the even the church

Provide for my needs. I want it. Give me. Now.

The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give."

Proverbs 30:15

The call of Jesus is something altogether different. Not to be served but to serve. To be last instead of first. The least of these not what's best for me.

How can I help? Let me assist. I’ll volunteer. Whenever

No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave

- Calvin Coolidge

The ironic thing is the more we want the less satisfied we are. It is never enough. Yet the more we give the more we get.

Honor. Happiness. Heaven.

“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

Acts 20:35

Instead of asking what is in it for me, why not think of what I can do. Using our hands instead of holding them out. Not to get but to give.

Comments

Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Mighty Gulf

It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding. To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two. Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God? In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

How Dare You!

Lewis Keseberg was tired of all the accusations against him so he filed a defamation lawsuit against Ned Coffeemeyer the man he saw as responsible for the rumors. The court found that Ned had indeed called Keseberg a “thief and murderer” without any proof but it didn’t rule very strongly in his favor by only imposing a fine of one dollar. Maybe they were lenient because Ned Coffeemeyr had earlier rescued Lewis Keseberg from a terrible situation. Maybe it was because the accusations while not proven were highly likely. And maybe because Lewis Keseberg had admitted to eating people. Lewis Keseberg was one of the members of the infamous Donner Party, a wagon train that got caught in the Siera Nevada mountain and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Keseberg wasn’t known as a very good person before those events and they certainly didn’t help improve his image. But to sue the very person who saved you seems to define the kind of person he was....

Ecclesiastes 12:10

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