Archive for November, 2008
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.
The young man held out his package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.
“Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.
The auctioneer pounded his gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?”
There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.” But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?”
Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!” But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?”
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. “We have $10, who will bid $20?”
“Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.”
“$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?”
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!” A man sitting on the second row shouted. “Now let’s get on with the collection!”
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”
“What about the paintings?”
“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!”
God gave his son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross.
Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, “The son, the son, who’ll take the son?” Because you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
“For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
-John 3:16-
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Today’s Scripture
Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria
When someone gives you a meaningful or costly gift, how do you show your appreciation? Do you tell them how grateful you are? What do you do with that gift? When it’s something you are truly thankful for, you probably don’t just throw it in the back of a closet; you openly and proudly display the gift. When others see and admire it, you probably tell them about where it came from and about the generosity of the giver.
In the same way, as believers, we should give thanks to the Lord and constantly show our gratefulness and appreciation for all He has done for us by displaying the gifts He’s given us. We should display love, peace, joy, kindness, and hope. We should live our lives in such a way that our very actions proclaim His greatness and cause others to take notice.
Proclaim His greatness by living a life of gratitude to Him and let the whole world know what He has done for you!
A Prayer for Today
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Why People Regret At The End?
-Author Unknown-
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.
He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.
The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter.
“This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort.
Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently. Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely.
It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.
The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.
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Today’s Scripture
Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria
Righteous living is simply following God’s ways. When we honor God and His Word above all, it pleases Him, and He promises to make our way smooth. Righteous living keeps us connected to God and closes the door to the enemy. Righteous living is the evidence of our faith in Him. In other words, when we follow God commands, it proves that we have faith in Him because Hebrews tells us that faith without action is dead, or useless.
Today, take time to search your mind and heart. Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any areas that need adjusting. Don’t allow yourself to be comfortable with any unrighteous, self-defeating thoughts or actions. Be determined to live, think, speak and act the way God does! Let His righteousness flow through you today and every day so that you can keep your faith alive and move forward into the abundant life He has for you.
A Prayer for Today
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My Failure Becomes Success!
-Author Unknown-
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck.
One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master’s house it had leaked much of it’s water and was only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them.
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God’s great economy, nothing goes to waste.
Don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.
“My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.” –Jesus Christ
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Today’s Scripture
“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close” (Revelation 3:8, NLT).
Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria
God is ready to present you with new opportunities. He wants to open new doors before you. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world around you, in the economy, the housing industry, or with job reports; God’s Word still remains true. He rewards the people who seek after Him. He’s not the least bit concerned about how He’s going to supply your needs.
There is no recession in heaven. He has His eye on you, and He still opens doors that no one can shut! In an instant, He can bring the right people into your life, the right opportunities, and the right resources to take you to a new level.
But in order to go to a higher level, you have to have a higher way of thinking. You can’t stay focused on what’s happening in the natural nor allow worry and fear to fill your thoughts.
Remember, God’s ways are higher than our ways. He is working on your behalf behind the scenes in the supernatural realm. Choose to keep an attitude of faith and expectancy. As you do, you’ll move forward through the open doors of blessing God has prepared for you.
A Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, I bless Your holy name. Thank You for opening doors for me that no one can close. Fill me with Your peace and joy today as I wait on You. In Jesus’ Name Amen.
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“If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” -Joshua 24:20
Let’s face it, culture is what makes different groups of people what they are, and subsequently, different from other people. It’s passed on from generation to generation as a legacy of uniqueness and individuality.
In World War 2, fighting on the Australian side of the trenches stopped at 4:00 P.M. as the Aussies stopped for a tea break. Many European shops close promptly at 12 noon and reopen at 2:00 P.M., the very time that other shopkeepers do a land office business as people have time to shop on their lunch hours.
Stand on a corner in Tel Aviv and notice how people are almost nose to nose in deep conversation, but stand that close to an American when you carry on a conversation and he’s quite uncomfortable because Americans usually want a comfort zone of about 24 inches, at least when they are talking with strangers.
Europeans and Americans shake hands, while their Japanese counterparts bow when they meet each other, and even in that act of greetings there are marked differences in how it is done. An individual of great importance merits a much deeper bow than a person of low social status and rank. A stranger in the Middle East is afforded hospitality even by an enemy, whereas that same hospitality among the Sawis of New Guinea would be treacherous and surely bring danger with it.
It’s called culture, and in a very real sense culture is neither right nor wrong in itself; it is only right or wrong in relationship to the revealed Word of God, the Bible. We tend to think that anyone who is different from ourselves is strange or wrong, but not so. But there are a couple of observations which I’d like to make and then continue our discussion on the next edition of Guidelines.
Observation #1: The Bible is cross-cultural, cutting across the differences which separate us.
Another way of putting it is that God never gave one set of guidelines for Asian families, another for Europeans, and a third for Hispanics. He gave us a book and said, “This is the way to life!” This book is a dynamic book which changes the lives of all who will read it. It has survived the test of time, and in so doing crosses those idiosyncrasies of human nature which we call culture.
Observation #2: This great book for living, the Bible, is not only cross cultural; it is counter cultural as well.
Hundreds of times I have heard people rationalize, “It’s our culture here,” excusing some act of unfaithfulness or dereliction. I should expect that God’s counsel should cut across some of my culture as well as my old nature because the heart of man needs to come into tune with God’s plan and purpose for living.
It is not cultural for me to forgive my enemies, to do good to those who hate me, or to learn to live with those whose ideas are different from mine. Culture demands an “eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth,” but the principles of Scripture focus on love instead of hatred and grace instead of hatred and revenge.
There was no shortage of culture prior to the coming of Christ to earth; part of their culture was offering children as a sacrifice to heathen gods, and practices which we think of as pagan today, but the culture needed to be remade, regenerated, and that is why Jesus Christ set aside the splendors of a heavenly palace and came to our earth.
Whether you live in a large city or in a rural village somewhere, your family is impacted by the culture which surrounds it. But is culture greater than the impact of your home and family? That’s our topic on the next edition of Guidelines.
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