Verse Of The Week (03/10/17)

Verse of The Week (04/22/16)

1.  There are those who are satisfied but not saved.
2.  There are those who are saved but not satisfied.
3.  Jesus -- He alone can satisfy and save!

My Prayer (02/10/16)

Read Luke 10:20.

Lord, You have done amazing things for me and for many.  For each I thank You.  It is marvelous, Your work.  Thank You for the reminder that my greatest joy is in knowing I'm your child and that my name is written in heaven in Your book.  Thank You for salvation!  May no one or no thing ever stir me to more joy than this.

Verse of The Week (12/25/15)

photo: http://tinyurl.com/pld62zg

Challenges & Conversations (12/22/15)

Read Mt. 7:21-23.

Today's Challenge: Do you have a relationship with Jesus?

Before you are quick to answer yes, consider that . . .

• Just because you know about Jesus doesn't mean that you know Him.  You know of President Obama, but most of you can't say that you know him. Why?  You haven't invested time, effort and energy in mutual interests so you can get to know him (really know him).
• Just because you do good deeds doesn't mean you know Jesus.  You pay your taxes.  That's a good deed.  It doesn't, however, mean that you are on a first-name basis with the Secretary of the Treasury.
• Just because you say that you know Jesus doesn't mean that He will say that He knows you. Relationship goes two ways.  It is dynamic, not static.  There is movement, togetherness and delight.  There is talking, listening, investigating, walking.  There is discovery and mystery. The one who says he knows Jesus should seek to please Him by seeking what He wants.
• A relationship with Jesus is not automatic.  You are not born into right standing with Jesus. You are not right with Jesus simply because you take Communion, got baptized or regularly attend church.
• Just because you claim to be a Christian doesn't mean you have a relationship with Jesus.

Thursday night, many will end up at a local church for Christmas Eve service.  More likely than not, Communion will be served. Why are you going to participate?  I mean, if you have no relationship with Jesus, what do you think taking Communion will accomplish?  What you should do is not take Communion and, instead, ask the Pastor how to start a relationship with Jesus.

Just Why Did You "Get Saved" Anyway?

You saw, heard or experienced something that caused you to pursue the choice of following Jesus. Just why did you "get saved" anyway?

• To escape Hell.  All you got was fire insurance.  That's consumerism.  You saw a good deal and took it.  Problem?  It's about what happened to you.  Serving Jesus wasn't part of the equation.  You were just hedging your bets.
• To relieve pressure.  You had to do something to get that stubborn, uncomfortable feeling off your back, right?  What better way than to pray a prayer you didn't understand or say things you didn't really mean?  Problem?  It was about you again.  (By the way, that uncomfortable feeling is called conviction.  It's a good thing.)
• To accumulate benefits.  Some altar calls are garbled or twisted.  They're not biblical.  Perhaps what you were asked to embrace wasn't a cross but a crown, not the gospel but a benefits package.  Health, wealth and prosperity were disproportionately emphasized.  You were told your life would dramatically improve with Jesus in your life.  Problem?  Yep, it's still about you.
• To try Jesus.  Problem?  You treated Jesus like peanut butter.  If you didn't like Him, you didn't have to stick with Him.  You remained in control.  There was no absolute surrender to Jesus.  The transaction was about your benefits, your taste, what was good for you.

Hopefully the reason you "got saved" (repented of your sin, gave your life to Jesus, became born again) was because you were captured, enthralled by the good news of God's demonstrated, costly love for you.  Then you responded in lifelong surrender and lifestyle obedience -- not to earn favor or merely enjoy benefits but to express gratitude for the kindness God already lavished on you.

Big Prize Missed by Two Points

Family Feud.  July 6, 2011.  Playing for $20,000.  Question:  Name a holiday that occurs in the fall.  Answer:  Christmas.  Survey says:  zero.  Final score:  198.  The contestant missed $20,000 by 2 points.  Two points!  If only he remembered Christmas is in winter.  At least the family gets to play again tomorrow. 

Heaven.  The only question that matters:  Why should I let you in?  Answer:  "I'm a good person."  Survey says:  zero.  Total score:  Not enough.  The contestant missed heaven completely.  Not even close.  There's no coming back to play again.  No mulligan.  No do-over.  No reincarnation.  The time to get the right answer to that question is now.

What's the basis for getting into heaven?  Being right with God through Jesus, His Son.  How do you do that?  E-mail Ronedski@yahoo.com.  I'd be glad to share with you.

Squirrel 911

Clyde (Hey, I saved him so I get to name him.) somehow got stuck in my swimming pool.  I'd been draining it the past few days.  Clyde got in but he couldn't get out.  He underestimated how much problem a little water can cause.  There was less than a foot left to drain.  He had nothing to grab onto, side-stroking for his very life.  It was a good thing Lisa heard all the splashing or else bye-bye Clyde!

How did I get him out?  That's what skimmers are for!  Well, that's what I used, anyway.  So now Clyde was on the end of the skimmer.  What to do with him.  I decided he needed to look more like a squirrel and less like a wet rat, so I gently positioned him on the ground in the sun.  Clyde looked cold and scared, so I spread an old hand towel over his body.  My boys thought he would need nourishment, so in came two crackers.  Then it was time for church.  After the service, no Clyde.  I'm assuming he made it.

There are parallels between Clyde the squirrel and man the sinner.

• You can easily get in to sin.  Let's see . . . you can fall into sin, outright choose sin, or have sin find you.  How you got in isn't the issue.  You were in the thick of it.
• You couldn't get yourself out of sin.  The more you tried to help the worse your situation became.  Someone had to rescue you.  His name is Jesus!
• Once rescued by God's kindness, you were covered and blanketed by His love.
• As you enjoyed warmth in the Son, all your needs were provided.  Eventually you began to walk in newness of life.
• You didn't deserve to be rescued, but God did it anyway.  I could've said, "It's just a squirrel" and walked away.  God didn't say, "Oh, relax, it's just another sinner."  He didn't walk away.

God Unleashed (Hab 3:8-15)

God is love. No question. Equally, God is just. No question. We hear about God's love today. Rarely do we hear (or want to hear?) about His justice. He must and He will respond to sin. Where there is sin there are sinners (those who habitually act contrary to God's prescribed standard and purpose; those who have rejected Jesus and His offer of forgiveness).

1. Look at the verbs: "cleave" (split), "march," "trample," "strike" (smash), "pierce," "tread on."
2. Look at the nouns: "anger," "wrath," "chastisement," "indignation" (avenging wrath).
3. Look at the result: God's wrath upon His enemies brings deliverance for His people.
4. Look at the hope: Jesus "smashed the head (Satan - Gen 3:15) of the house of evil" (Hab 3:13) "to lay him open from thigh to neck" (to deprive him of his weapons: sin, death and condemnation). Jesus used Satan's own weapons against him, conquering each one. Read Romans 5:12-21. You don't have to experience the wrath of God! (1 Thess 5:9).

The Cross in Psalm 103:11-12

1. The vertical beam is found in verse 11. The cross was God's ultimate act of lovingkindness sent down from heaven to earth.
2. The horizontal beam is found in verse 12. The result of the cross is that man can be permanently separated from his sins.
3. In the vertical beam, the gap between God and man was closed; in the horizontal beam, the gap between man and his sin was widened infinitely.
4. The vertical beam is mentioned first. Without this, there is no need for the horizontal beam. God must be satisfied before man can be saved. Wrath was appeased before sin was removed. Our salvation means so much more than sins forgiven and penalties removed!

The Lost Sheep (Lu 15:1-7)

Today's reading is Luke 15-16.

Notice the contrast at the start: Tax collectors and sinners want to listen, but the Pharisees and scribes want to complain. Don't miss that. It sets up the whole story.

1. Jesus knows how many sheep He has. Perhaps He knows this from His omniscience. Maybe He counts. Are you one of His sheep?
2. Each sheep matters to Jesus. The ninety-nine matter. The one matters. Jesus knows what's good for the group and what's good for the individual.
3. To Jesus, seeking one is more important than comforting many. Priority #1 is to seek (Lu 19:10). There is a hint of negative reaction from the ninety-nine. That will always happen when priority #1 remains priority #1.
4. Jesus will find the lost sheep. ("When He has found it...") Let that be a hope for you who are praying for wayward family.
5. The one sheep was lost because it needed to repent. It did more than just stray. Straying leads to playing and playing leads to separation. What grace Jesus shows: He seeks out the one sheep that everyone else labels a "bad" or "rebellious" sheep. (If you don't think that's you, read Isaiah 53:6.)
6. When the one comes hope (repents), there is joy in heaven. Why is there not more joy on earth? Only Jesus' friends and neighbors -- those close to Him and those who share His heart -- can rejoice. If you do not get excited about sinners coming to repentance, maybe you don't know Jesus like you think you do.