Week Thirty-Five, 2024

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. Ecclesiastes 9:10

In his book, Excellence Wins, Horst Schulze spells how he did it. As co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, he tells how he took it to the top of excellent and respected hotels. He spells out a no-nonsense guide to becoming the best in a world of compromise. An enjoyable read, it tells not just how to build a hotel brand, but how we all should manage our lives.

Though not a spiritual book, as I read it, I couldn’t keep from putting a spiritual spin on it. God wants us to live excellence in our spiritual lives. Like Schulze, who says to put the hotel guests first, God wants us to put Him first in our lives.

Excellence is the quality of excelling, of being the very best at something. Human beings have an intrinsic desire to see excellence. In every people group across the world, excellence is prized and rewarded. Whether it is a tribe celebrating excellence in hunting or a Wall Street accountant promoted because of his excellence in finance, our appreciation of excellence comes from our Creator. To be made in God’s image means that He imparted some of His character qualities to us (Genesis 1:27). We crave justice because He is just (Psalm 9:16). We love because He is love (1 John 4:16). And we strive for excellence because He is excellent in everything He does (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Many things get in the way of human excellence, including apathy, carelessness, and laziness. Our sinful nature is that part of us that is unlike God and is in fact in opposition to God and His excellence. We are all born sinners, and that sin manifests itself in a thousand ways. We cut corners, we shirk, we settle for second best (or third or fourth best) if the effort to achieve excellence is more than we’re willing to give. God’s cure for our careless ways is to remind us that He is our ultimate judge. We must answer to Him for how we spend our time, our resources, and our energy (Matthew 12:36; 1 Corinthians 3:13–15). Striving for excellence should be a part of all we do: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” Colossians 3:23–24.

Aware that it is Christ Himself we are serving, we don’t want to present Him with anything but excellence. Whether it is sweeping streets or running a country, we should strive for excellence in work ethic, in character, and in craftsmanship. No one is good at everything, but we’re all good at something. God expects us to develop the skills and gifts He’s given us in order to serve Him and others better.

Are you striving for excellence in your spiritual life?

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in America, more than 63,000,000 babies have been aborted.

This is a population four times the size of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston—combined!!!!!!!!

And yet, more Americans than ever before think abortion should be legal under any circumstances. More than two-thirds also believe it should be legal in the first three months of pregnancy.

If you believe as I do that life begins at conception, you might be asking yourself:

How can so many people be so wrong on this crucial issue?

Abortion is the moral issue of our day.

— o —

When they said, “Caesar’s,” Jesus then said, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Then the Pharisees marveled at His words and left Him and went away.

“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s…” but we often forget the second part of His response.

“… and to God the things that are God’s.”

Wow… that means everything. Because it’s all God’s. God created it. God gave it to us. And Jesus reminds us and the Pharisees to give God everything that is His.

That means everything. Not just our money, but our possessions. But not just our possession, but our lives and our livelihoods. We are to give Him everything. All that we are. All that we do. All that we have. All back to God for Him and His glory. For Him and His work. For Him to do with as He pleases. What are you giving back to God?

Marty Stubblefield

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Suffering is not an optional class in the university of life. Dana Hardee

Christianity is not a religion. It’s a Divine relationship. God Blesses with His chosen children. Stephen Bernard

Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them. L.M. Montgomery

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large group. George Carlin

The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. Paul Coleho

Beware of false knowledge as it is more dangerous than ignorance. George Bernard Shaw

When Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom so that big sinners like me might fit through it. Charles Spurgeon

We often put ourselves in some pretty miserable positions because we move ahead without seeking God.

There are some people who always seem angry and continuously look for conflict. Walk away; the battle they are fighting isn’t with you, it is with themselves.

If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, we shouldn’t condemn the world, either. Instead, we should “believe the God we believe in and thus share his truth with his grace. R. C. Sproul

We have enough money. We just cannot control our financial appetite. Chris Dodson

You can change what a person looks like on the outside, but can’t change one’s real person on the inside. Too often, we look at people the same way. We form our opinions of them by the outside, when it’s the inside that matters. Rich Jensen

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.

R. Buckminister Fuller

Never, never, never give up!!! Winston Churchill

Heaven has strict entrance requirements, but hell has open borders. Rodney Akers

My worship was empty because I was too worried about filling me… instead of pouring out and worshiping Him – the one that could and would wash me clean and fill me again. Marty Stubblefield

When you have a true encounter with God, you come away with the realization that God is for you. Dan Shock

We go to all kinds of seminars to get all kinds of answers, but God has our answers. Ask Him! Matt Blair

If it’s not in God’s time, you can’t force it. If it is in God’s time, you can’t stop it!

What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet. Anne Frank

All in this world are not disobedient to God but, the devil is the most “cunning” ‘fisher of men’ as his baits are deceitful and enticing. Stephen Bernard

What’s one of the differences between humans and animals?

Animals don’t let the weak lead.

Trying to grasp the incredible gift of eternal life is like trying to understand the generosity of our Creator…watching a sunrise and sunset in just a twelve-hour period is a good way to start. Dwight Short

How closely does your life line up with the Gospel you profess? Brenden Schlappi

Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs. It meets the greatest need; it costs the greatest price; and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results. Forgiveness is Biblical and it is costly. The greatest act Jesus did for me was to make me a child of God by forgiving our sins. When we sin, we sin against God and only He can forgive our sins. When Jesus says your sins are forgiven, He is saying He is ready to pay the price for our sins. Be a great friend and bring others to Jesus. Warren Wiersbe

There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human, are created, strengthened and maintained.

Winston Churchill

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business. Michael J. Fox

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell

To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun? Katharin Graham

***

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2024

August 17, 2024

Thank you, Mrs. Thelma, for teaching me the stories of Jesus in Children’s Church so long ago. Has it really been fifty years since I sat in her weekly service for six of the best years of my life? Along with other amazing memories I can remember standing each Sunday to recite our cornerstone Bible verse in unison. “First Corinthians Fifteen Three B and Four,” we’d begin, our voices just a few notches short of an all-out yell, “‘that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures.’” Today I can still quote that passage without a bobble although I don’t get orange jelly slices any more for saying it. Oh, well!

But, yes, Jesus really existed. The Bible says so, and thanks to Mrs. Thelma, I can’t ever remember questioning the Bible! Perhaps you’ve heard too the same little saying that I picked up somewhere along my faith journey, “The Bible says it. I believe it and that settles it for me!” But truth be told, not everyone believes what the Bible says about Jesus. To many the Bible was written by religious zealots with an ax to grind who couldn’t possibly be trusted. “I would need proof from something other than the Bible if I’m ever to be convinced,” some might be heard saying, and upon hearing this objection most Christians are stopped cold.

Many don’t have the foggiest idea whether or not there even ARE any sources other than the Bible to prove that Jesus lived, and if I have to be honest, other than the early writings of Christians who lived in the one hundred years or so after the death of Jesus, I’m not sure I could have rattled off any myself. So over the next ten weeks that’s exactly what I’ll do—demonstrate for you that there are solid literary and historical proofs outside of the Bible that refer directly to Jesus, and they are quite early! In fact, our list will include only sources within the first and second centuries following the death of Jesus in 33 A.D.

Now you’ll be able to answer any objections that might present themselves to you by those who dispute the historicity of Jesus. I am indebted to the writings of Pastor Bryan Windle of Associates for Biblical Research whose research I have adapted for this series.

—Daniel McCabe

Week Thirty-Four, 2024

Commit to the Lord Whatever You Do. Proverbs 16:3

There have been a lot of books written, speeches spoken and things said about goals over the years. Most of us have gone to conferences and/or seminars that have guided us in goal setting and have reiterated the importance of having goals in business, in our professional life, in our personal life.

But rarely have we heard much about having goals or setting goals in our faith life. Yet, here’s Paul plainly laying it out:

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14 NASB

Our Goal: The prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Now, what does that mean?

Paul’s actions steps to reach his ultimate goal were to…

Know Christ

Be like Christ

Be all that Christ had in mind for him to be

Forgetting what was in the past

Striving for what is ahead

Like an elite athlete in training, we must have a single-mindedness and not allow anything to distract us or keep us from reaching our goal.

Yet still remembering what Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:8:9, as Dr. David Jeremiah so clearly reminds us, “No one is saved BY good works, but every Christian has been saved FOR good works.”

To me, the cool part of this is that Jesus wants to help us reach our ultimate goal.

He wants us to know Him more.

He wants us, even calls us, to be more like Him.

He wants us to have an abundant life and to live it joyfully.

Opposite of what we often face when we set our business, professional and personal goals – instead of folks competing and striving against us, we have our goal, Jesus Himself, cheering us on, supporting our efforts, giving us strength in our weakness, reminding us that all things are possible through Him.

If we make Jesus our ultimate goal and our focus is striving to and pressing on to reach that goal, then all “other” goals (business, personal, professional) should fall in to their proper place underneath the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Set your sights on high. Know from where your help comes.

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Counterculture: a subculture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, often in opposition to mainstream cultural mores.

In a society and culture moving further and further from the values in which it was founded, how then should we live?

A Countercultural Standard For Living:

• Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

• Do not conform to what the world/age says is ok.

• Be transformed by the renewing of your mind so you can discern God’s perfect will.

• Do not think of yourself more highly than you should

• Think sensibly

• Be a functional part of the body of Christ

How, then, will you live? For Christianity is naturally counter cultural.

What, then, will you follow? Mainstream society and the direction it’s world is pulling and leading? Or the counter… a world led by Biblical values, with decisions and choices made through prayer and supplication? Marty Stubblefield

— o —

A.W. Tozer said, what you think about God is the most important thing about you. Because the problem with most of us is that our God is too small. We fail to grasp the greatness and power and majesty of our Lord. Folks if we ever get a glimpse of His glory, we would fall to our knees in worship. Paul says we are changed from glory to glory. We need to get a glimpse of His glory. It will change us and sustain us. Pastor Tony Walliser

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Morals have changed, Churches have changed, Society has changed, People have changed. But God’s Word remains the same. Billy Graham

Because the Bible is inspired by God, it is infallible and inerrant. Dan Shock

It’s impossible to soar like an eagle unless your launching pad is Jesus.

Jesus didn’t come to have coffee. He came to save the lost. Al Vonsteg

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

The only people who are mad at you for speaking the truth are those people that are living a lie. Keep speaking the truth!!!!!

Never confuse education with intelligence. You can have a PhD and still be an idiot.

Children must be taught HOW to think, not WHAT to think. Margaret Mead

You must remember that some things that are legally right, are not morally right. Abraham Lincoln

People claim they know God, but they deny Him by the way they live.

God used Goliath to get David to the throne. Your giants aren’t meant to defeat you. They are meant to promote you.

Every time you get upset with something or someone, ask yourself if you were to die tomorrow was it worth your time being angry.

Satan’s strategy is simple: Make sin look normal and make righteousness look weird.

The optimist says the cup is half full while the pessimist says the cup is half empty. The child of God says, “My cup runneth over.”

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but don’t forget.

An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground in order to rule over the ashes.

God didn’t remove the Red Sea. He parted it. God doesn’t always remove your problems, but he will make a way to get through them!!!!

The one who reads a newspaper knows what is happening in the world. The one who reads the Bible knows why.

Don’t come to church for an emotional experience. Come to church for the truth.

I do not ask you whether you are a Wesleyan, a Baptist or a Presbyterian. My only question is “Are you born again?”. Charles Spurgeon

***

Your feedback is welcome and feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2024

August 10, 2024

Much like the Jewish prayer shawl, the Law does not require the Jews to cover their head during either worship or daily activities, so what has prompted this common practice?

In Exodus 39:28 we read that “they made … a turban of fine linen [and] exquisite hats of fine linen” for the high priest and the other priests who served at the tabernacle.

We also read in 2 Samuel 15:30 that as he fled Jerusalem during Absalom’s revolt, “David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up and he had his head covered … and all the people who were with him covered their heads” though this was probably more of an act of mourning than a requirement for worship

Even so these two passages may have influenced the modern requirement for Jewish men to cover their heads during worship. Interestingly enough, the only commands in the Bible regarding the use of head coverings during worship are from the New Testament where women rather than men are required to do so when they pray, “For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head” (1 Cor. 11:10). For a man to do so “dishonors his head” (v. 4. Yet Jewish rabbinical teaching states the very opposite—that men honor the Lord when they cover their heads for prayer.

Also called a kippah (which literally means “dome”) and sometimes called a yamaka, a skull cap is a round, brimless cap or covering worn throughout the day while eating, praying, studying sacred writings or visiting a cemetery or a synagogue although its use will vary depending on the religious community to which one belongs.

Skull caps are made of various materials, but typically cloth, and often the color or material identifies the specific Jewish community to which the wearer belongs. In conservative communities women are forbidden to wear them, but sometimes you’ll even see newborns wearing one.

—The Talmud, a Jewish commentary on the Bible, commands, “Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you,” and some insist that skull caps should be mandatory as a sign of submission to God since his divine presence is always over one’s head.

—Daniel McCabe

Week Thirty-Three, 2024

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

It is what I do for a living. I help people plan and prepare for what happens legally after they close their eyes for the last time. When I was a Boy Scout, I learned the scout motto: Be Prepared.

Recently, a lady called me and said: “I need a will in case I die.” I told her the only question was whether or not she had a will, but there was no question whether she was going to die. Though time, place, age and the like are unknown, the certainty of the life of everyone is death.

From God’s perspective, death is both menacing and merciful. It is both an ending and a beginning. It can be both a separation and a reunion. It is a certainty. Death is inevitable. Everybody experiences it.

Despite all of the medical progress we’ve seen in prolonging life and improving its quality, the death rate remains virtually unchanged. It just tends to happen later in life these days. The Hebrew writer tells us, “It is appointed for men to die once” (Hebrews 9:27).

We can’t avoid death, but we can prepare for it. Getting our worldly “affairs in order” is important, but what is even more important is getting our spiritual affairs in order. It is something I ask every one of my clients.

It is essential that we understand the progression — that death follows life, and that after death comes the judgment. Some day we all will stand before the throne of judgment and be asked by what right do we enter into Heaven.

Our death could happen today, or it may be a while, but it will. There is no “In case”. Ask yourself if your spiritual affairs are “in order.” May your motto be: “Be prepared.”

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Your work matters: The first person said to be “filled with the Spirit” in the Bible was not a pastor, but a craftsman and artist of wood & stone in Exodus 31:2-5.

Don’t minimize your daily work in the market place – it is nothing less than a Holy Calling.

Your work… your position is your platform.

In the New Testament…

Of the 132 public appearances that Jesus made – 122 were in the marketplace

Of the 52 parables that Jesus told – 45 had a workplace context

Of the 40 miracles in the Book of Acts – 39 were in the marketplace

Work, in its different forms, is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible – more than all the words used to express worship, music, praise and singing combined.

No matter where or what it is, your work is a holy calling. Treat it as such.

Don’t minimize your daily work – it is nothing less than a Holy Calling

• God has you right where He wants you… Right now!

• Remember – Jesus was a Carpenter most of His adult life

Marty Stubblefield

— o —

A Sunday school teacher asked the children, who was upset that the younger brother returned? A child answered, “The fattened calf.”

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Those who control their passions do so because their passions are weak enough to be controlled. William Blake

When you have more years behind you than ahead of you, you think about life differently.

Why must I prove that I am me to pay my bills over the phone? Do strangers call to pay my bills? And if they do, why don’t you let them?

The worst wheel on the wagon makes the most noise. Ronald Reagan

I desire to do what is good and right and pure. And at the same time, I desire to do what is worldly and sinful. Marty Stubblefield

Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. Ralph Waldo Emerson

No matter what we face, God remains above all. No matter what happens—good or evil—God remains above all. In whatever occurs, God remains above all, to turn to and return to. Scott Whitaker

We often look at people who don’t have all the creature comforts of modernity, but the really impoverished are those who do not know Jesus! Dwight Short

But as the Helper and Guide, the Holy Spirit, revives us to stand against the onslaught of the adversary and live in line with His will.

Man is a pawn in the hands of evil, that rules our world. Stephen Bernard

I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well. Theodore Roosevelt

The test of a student is not how much he knows, but how much he wants to know. Alice Wellington Rollins

When I was young, I could run faster, jump higher, and never get tired. There’s only one explanation. Gravity is a lot stronger now than it was back then.

I have learned so much from my mistakes that I’m thinking about making a few more.

What wings are to a bird, and sails to a ship, so is prayer to the soul!!! Corrie Ten Boom

Our limitations come when we refuse to receive God’s power. Dan Shock

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Treat your friends as you do your pictures and place them in their best light. Jennie Jerome Churchill

***

Your feedback is welcome. Feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2024

August 3, 2024

Lester sauntered into my office with a new prize from Wal-Mart in one hand and several colored markers in the other with which he was prepared to do battle.

“Hello there, young man,” I greeted. “Watcha got?”

“A poster,” he replied. “It’s one of those that you can color.”

“Let me see that thing. Wow, a prince slaying a dragon with his sword! Dragons can sure be scary looking, huh?”

“Yeah, but I ain’t scared of no dragon.”

My first thought was to remind Lester that dragons breathe fire, and that he would almost certainly be burned alive in seconds if they were to ever do battle. Then I thought about the claws and teeth of Lester’s dragon. They could go right through his heart and out the other side. And, of course, there’s the dragon’s powerful tail. Whoosh, and a slap, and young Lester would be quickly added to my Thursday afternoon hospital visitation list.

Dragons can definitely be scary. Remember this description of a dragon from the Bible? “Another sign appeared in heaven─behold, a great, fiery, red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born” (Revelation 12:3-4).

This dragon pictures Satan who sought to destroy the baby Jesus soon after he was born. Satan failed to defeat our Lord, but today his fury has not waned. He still seeks to destroy everyone and everything in his path, but he reserves his most venomous attacks for those who are vocal followers of Jesus Christ. You are his number one target. He can think of little else than your destruction.

But Lester isn’t scared of a dragon, and why should he be? After all, this dragon can’t hurt the children of God. His fury became little more than a whimper when Jesus rose from the dead. Satan is toothless and completely powerless now that Jesus Christ has destroyed his gods of sin and death.

Revelation 12:10 reminds us, “Now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

You aren’t scared of a dragon, are you? We are protected by the blood of the Lamb, so “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the dragon” (Ephesians 6:11). Are you wearing your armor today? The armor of God is impenetrable, withstanding Satan’s fire, teeth, claws and even his powerful tail.

“I ain’t scared of no dragon.”

Daniel McCabe

Week Thirty-Two, 2024

The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy (Proverbs 12:22).

He was a friend and a respected member of the community. We served in public office together and I enjoyed serving with him. But then one day, he told me a story about a recent family cruise. It seems that there was a costume party on board and prior to leaving they purchased costumes for the whole family.

They enjoyed the costume party and when they returned, they put all the costumes in the box they came in, made some excuse and returned them for a full refund. He was proud of how much it cost him….. nothing…to have the costumes for the party.

Well, then my whole attitude about him changed. There are few things in the world more important than honesty and integrity. If he would steal from the costume company, then he would steal from me.

Honesty means being truthful and transparent in one’s actions and words, while integrity is adhering to a strong moral code and principles. Together, they create the foundation for trust and mutual respect in relationships. When people are honest and have integrity, they are dependable and reliable. Either you have them, or you don’t.

My father used to say that his word was his bond. What he said he would do, he did. The Bible is replete with verses about honesty, because honesty is integral to developing a deep relationship with God.

Second Timothy 2:15 admonishes us to do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Proverbs speaks volumes about honesty. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

Honesty is marked as being free from deceit or untruthfulness, being sincere. The Christian life should be one marked with integrity and honesty, yet because we all sin and find it easy to do so, honesty is something we must work hard at! An honest life is important on so many levels from relationships with spouses and children, at our workplace, and interacting with our neighbors.

Be careful to not lose your honesty with the little things, for it will infest you with the big things as well.

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM EDGAR APONTE:

• We cannot bless the Lord when we are acting like the world.

• Every trial in life will bring a temptation.

• Resist the temptation to respond to trials with deception. Instead, seek and trust God.

• God keeps His people, even when His people fail to trust Him. Rest in Him.

• People of faith can fail, but their failure is not the final word. If you failed, repent and trust God’s faithfulness.

• There’s more grace in Christ than there is sin in us.

• Face life’s challenges not with fear but with faith.

• God keeps His promise even when His people endanger its fulfillment with their unfaithfulness.

— o —

Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:

• Be old

• Sit in a chair

— o —

During my career in business, I was a list maker. I would spend some time the night before listing those things I wanted to accomplish the next day. At times the list would become quite detailed as to the where and when and expectation.

Seldom, however, was I able to fully complete everything on the list. I was not able to get all the information I needed. My appointment got tied up in another meeting. The weather was too foul. And I had planned so carefully!

I finally came to the understanding that the future, even the next day, was truly in God’s hands. I would find later that I shouldn’t have that account. Things weren’t really as critical as I thought. So, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:15

God is big enough to handle your tomorrows. Rich Jensen

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Worship is not a sixty-minute period during a church service; it’s a lifestyle.

When everything seems like it is falling apart, that’s when God is putting thing together in just the way He wants it.

Great leaders are not the best at everything. They find people who are the best at different things and get them all on the same team.

You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from. Cormac McCarthy

Our identity is that we are children of God. Instead of worrying and getting anxious about the things that are overlapped from the yesterdays, our endeavor should be to renew the image of God in us which will guide us to a peaceful and successful day ahead of us. Stephen Bernard

It’s a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn’t want to hear. Dick Cavett

God canceled your plans to save your life. He sent you the other direction to avoid danger. He fights battles you know nothing about. His plan is better than yours. If God is good to you, Praise Him, Amen! David Jeremiah

God’s view and our view of death tend to be different. We see death as the end. God sees it as a beginning. From God’s viewpoint death is not permanent. It is a necessary step for passing from this world to the next. From God’s perspective death is a small price to pay for the privilege of sitting at his table. The scripture says, “Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God…This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:50, 53 NCV). In other words, we must die for our body to be exchanged for a new one. So, from God’s viewpoint death is not to be dreaded; it is to be welcomed. Max Lucado

Whatever happens, whenever something hits us without warning…God is Above All and there to turn to and return to. Scott Whitaker

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Inspiration is merely the reward for working every day. Charles Baudelai

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Your feedback is welcome. Feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2024.

July 27, 2024

Life in the Land: Series – Dressed for Worship

“You shall write [these commandments] on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6:9).

It might be a new word for you—mezuzah. To me it sounds like a character in a Dr. Seuss book, but mezuzah is actually the Hebrew word for “doorpost.” In order to honor this biblical commandment the Jews literally write Bible verses on a piece of parchment, roll it up inside a decorative case, recite a blessing and affix the case to the right door jamb of their home at around shoulder height. Years ago when the rabbis could not agree on whether the case should be affixed vertically or horizontally, they simply compromised, and now the case is usually affixed at a 45 degree angle with the top of the case pointing to the interior of the home. The angled case has come to signify the entrance of God and Torah into the home.

The parchment inside has been prepared by a trained scribe, written with a special quill in black ink, and if damaged, the parchment must be replaced. All those who enter a doorway displaying a mezuzah are expected to touch the mezuzah with one of their fingers as a sign of respect to God. Many will even kiss their finger after touching the mezuzah.

The parchment inside bears two passages, Deuteronomy 6:49 and 11:1321. The first passage includes the famous “shema” prayer, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one,” and, of course, the verses that command the posting of the mezuzah. The second passage also includes the command to post the mezuzah as well as the popular command, repeated by Jesus in the New Testament, to “love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (11:13). This second passage also promises blessing for the people of Israel if they obey him and a forewarning of judgment if they do not.

On the opposite side of the parchment are the three Hebrew letters that spell Shaddai, often translated “Almighty.” This is the word from which we get El Shaddai, one of the many Old Testament names for God. You may also see a short phrase on the parchment with Hebrew letters that spell in cryptic form the name of God from the shema, the “LORD our God, the LORD.”

You’ll often see mezuzahs affixed to the doors of interior rooms and even closets in Jewish homes, but never on a bathroom door, for there the name of God is forbidden. If you visit Jerusalem, look for the mezuzahs as you enter the Jaffa, Zion and Dung gates, and you’ll probably start noticing them on nonresidential entryways like offices and synagogues.

Although intended as a reminder to obey God’s commandments, the mezuzah is believed by some to serve as protection against evil, demonic forces or natural disasters. A Jewish friend of mine once bemoaned that she failed to affix a mezuzah to two of the rooms in her home and that they were the only two rooms that were damaged during a recent Louisiana hurricane.

– Daniel McCabe

Week Thirty-One, 2024

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

A friend suggested that I read the book. It is entitled: Do I Stay Christian: A guide to the doubters, the disappointed and the disillusioned. In several hundred pages, he recited the mistakes, bad chapters and mis-used sagas of the Christian Church over history. He is right. Christian religion has some bad chapters. However, he totally misses the point of what it means to be a Christian.

One of my friends, a retired pastor, writes pamphlets to give away as a witness. In one, he listed various “religions.” I called it to his attention when I saw a pamphlet that failed to mention Christianity. When I called that to his attention, he told me that Christianity is not a religion, rather it is a relationship. So right he was.

The Christian faith teaches that humanity cannot attain salvation by our own merits, but rather, we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is God, not us, who is the primary actor who enters into a personal relationship with us, setting us free from our bondage to sin and death and clothing us in righteousness. This, of course, is true.

Our justification is solely a gift of God that is firmly grounded on our belief and confession that we are sinners in need of grace and that grace is found sufficient in the death of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, who loves us and gave himself up for us. In other words, we place our faith in Christ, and God enters into our hearts. There is nothing we do to earn this special intimacy with our Creator. Clearly, Christians benefit from a personal relationship with God.

Paul pegged it in Galatians 1:1….. Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.

A religion is a system of rules and practices that are followed in order to make a person feel they are living in a way that satisfies God, their god or gods. If you follow the rules and the practices then you can have confidence that your appeasing God/the gods and thus increasing your chances of a blessed life, and depending on that religion’s perspectives, increasing your assurances of the quality of your life after death.

Religion gives people tangible rails to run on. It gives them a formula that they are in charge of. What you get out of it is entirely up to how much you put into it.

People who are good at practicing religion generally feel they have purpose in life; they experience confidence and peace. In many religions people who are good at it also find acceptance from others. They have a tribe that they have earned the right to be in and thus feel confident, secure and justified to be in it.

However, even if a person is good at religion, if they are also self-aware, then they understand both their ability to fail and consequence of failing. Failure necessitates guilt and shame and that it be born long enough to earn the right to come back, if there can even be any coming back.

A relationship is totally different. A relationship is not without expectations and standards, but a relationship isn’t based on my performance. The goal of a relationship is not to earn the right to be in it, but rather to prosper in it because you have it. Relationships provide you with all the things religion promises, but can’t provide and does so with a foundation that’s not based on you, but the other persons willingness to love you. Therefore, when it comes to a relationship with God, His commitment to love you becomes the most the substantial foundation in the universe.

I like the way Patrick Henry expressed it: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Remember, Christianity is not something you join; it’s a relationship you have.

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

After becoming only the second golfer in history to win two Masters championships in five years on the tour, Scottie Scheffler told interviewers: “I believe in Jesus. Ultimately, I think that’s what defines me the most.” He added: “I’ve been called to come out here, do my best to compete, and glorify God. That’s pretty much it.”

Scheffler met his caddy, Ted Scott, at a Bible study and together they co-hosted an annual retreat with members of the College Golf Fellowship, a faith-based ministry. Even a profile on CBS Sports acknowledges the depth of his faith and his belief that his identity is “secure in the cross.” The article closes with this statement by Scheffler:

“Winning this golf tournament does not change my identity. Rather, my identity is secure, and I cannot emphasize that enough.”

Scottie Scheffler’s public commitment to Christ illustrates an empowering fact believers can embrace in our ever more secularized culture.

— o —

Only one out of four Americans get at least eight hours of sleep per night, according to a recent Gallup poll.

WORDS OF WISDON FROM EDGAR APONTE:

• Sin corrupts a person’s life, the family, and society.

• A godless society destroys the institution of marriage in order to satisfy sinful desires. Resist sin and honor your marriage.

• A godless society disregards the value of human life. Defend the dignity and value of life.

• Believers worship and proclaim the name of the Lord in the midst of ungodliness. Worship and proclaim the name of Jesus.

• Society today does not value human life.

• Technology reveals the sins of our hearts

• Society tries to separate us from God.

— o —

Don’t change the Bible to fit the culture. Jim Denison

We cling to the hope that He is coming soon, that He will establish His kingdom, and that He will bring righteousness and peace to an earth that cries out for it. Dan Shock

Whose life is being changed because of what we are doing? Marty Stubblefield

It’s one thing to inherit and have our freedom; it’s quite another to protect it, keep it, and pass it along to the next generation. Dwight Short

Edgar Aponte:

• The Grace of the Lord defies logic and transcends human barriers. Rejoice in His grace.

• Those who are blessed by God will become a blessing to others. Be a blessing by evangelizing others.

• Saving faith hears the Word of God and obeys God. Obey God’s Word!

Be a doer. James 1:22.

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Prayer is less about molding God’s will to ours and more about molding His will to ours. Laura Story.

Lift up the Word and light up the world. Salem Radio

Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting. William Arthur Ward

John Ortberg responds this way, “Never try to have more faith – just get to know God better. And because God is faithful, the better you know Him, the more you’ll trust Him”.

Only the life lived in Jesus has eternal, lasting benefit. Dan Shock

Without true repentance, there isn’t real forgiveness. Florida Marketplace Ministries

If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney

The home is the chief school of human virtues. William Ellery Channing

Don’t put the wrong things at the top of your priority list. Dan Shock

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, The Lord Jesus Christ… Philippians 3:20 Dwight Short

God lives always by His Spirit, in him, who is saved, the Bible says. And the saved one stays in his salvation, if he lives in the reality that he is a son of God bearing His likeness and is striving to create the attributes of Jesus in him. Stephen Bernard

Who so loves believes the impossible. Elizabeth Barrett Browning

This is always the heart of temptation: to let the flesh rule over the spirit. Dan Shock

The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. William James

The devil won’t come through your front door. He will come in through the cracks in your foundation.

Walk gently in the lives of others. Not all wounds are visible.

You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become responsible. Thomas Sowell

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Your feedback is welcome.\. Feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2024

July 20, 2024

History:–What’s in a Name?

—Do you know the name Jonathan Edwards? I remember first hearing about him during history class in high school while studying the First Great Awakening, a time of spiritual revival in eighteenth-century America. You may also recognize the name of his famous 1741 sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He’s been described by historians as a hard-working, intelligent, godly man.

—In 1900 an American educator named A. E. Winship traced the descendants of Edwards and found one U.S. vice-president (Aaron Burr), one dean of a law school, one dean of a medical school, three U.S. senators, three governors, three mayors, thirteen college presidents, thirty judges, sixty doctors, sixty-five professors, seventy-five military officers, eighty public, office-holders, one hundred lawyers, one hundred clergymen and 285 college graduates. Stunning!

—In 1877, shortly before Winship’s study, sociologist Richard Dugdale made a similar study of the descendants of a man who lived around the same time as Edwards. Dugdale decided to pursue his research after discovering that dozens of men in the New York prison system shared the same last name of Jukes, and Dugdale traced these men back to a frontiersman named Max Jukes. Sadly, the descendants of Jukes included seventy-six convicted criminals, eighteen brothel-keepers, 120 prostitutes and more than two hundred individuals who lived on public assistance. Murder, theft, alcohol and untimely death ran rampant throughout the Jukes family tree.

—I’ve met some rebel teens who had godly parents and godly teens raised by rebel parents. The prophet Samuel raised rebel sons, for example, and wicked King Ahaz fathered godly Hezekiah, so it doesn’t always follow that godly parents will raise godly children, but it’s generally more true than not. Here are two biblical proverbs that reinforce this point.

—Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

—Proverbs 29:17, “Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul.”

—Daniel McCabe

Series–Dressed for Worship–Prayer Boxes, part 1

—“You shall bind [these commandments] as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:8).

—When interpreting the Bible I’m not one who’s quick to look for symbolic meanings when a straightforward explanation will do. For example, when it says seven times in Revelation 20:1-6 that there will be a one thousand year reign of Christ on the earth, I take it at face value. Why not when a literal rendering will do nicely? For that reason I’m quite sympathetic with those who choose to apply the words of Deut. 6:8 in a literal way. The word “bind” in this verse can mean “to fasten or wear,” so it doesn’t strike me as outlandish when Jews today have chosen to write out commandments from the Law on tiny parchment scrolls, place them inside two prayer boxes, and strap them to their arms and to the middle of their foreheads. Admittedly I’d prefer a less ostentatious solution, and Jesus likewise refers to the showy prayer boxes of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:5. On the other hand, Exodus 13:9 describes this same practice as a sign “that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth,” a phrasing that has prompted the Karaite branch of Judaism to read this command metaphorically, and they won’t get any objection from me.

—Also called phylacteries (meaning “safeguards” or “amulets”) or tefillin (a word of disputed meaning), the prayer boxes are made of black leather with leather straps (usually black as well) that attach to the non-dominant upper arm of the worshipper and wind down in strict precision to his lower arm, hand and middle finger. Prominent on the box and straps are the three letters that form the word Shaddai in Hebrew and from which we get the name of God, El Shaddai.

—On the parchment scrolls in both prayer boxes are the four passages that describe the binding of God’s commandments: Exodus 13:1-10, Exodus 13:11-16, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. The scrolls must be prepared by a trained scribe and written with the proper ink in a certain style of script on a particular type of parchment. Conservative communities of Judaism do not allow women to wear them. They’re only for the Jewish men who strap them on for weekday prayers, but not at night or on the Sabbath.—

—Daniel McCabe

History: Five Favorites

—Down through the centuries, countless poets, pastors, pilgrims and politicians have recorded their thoughts and memories about the land of Israel. Here are five truly memorable quotes that you might enjoy.

—1. “Jerusalem is a port city on the shore of eternity”—Israeli Poet Yehuda Amichai

—2. “One who did not see Jerusalem in its glory, never saw a beautiful city”—the Talmud, Babylonian Sukkah 51b

—3. “In Jewish history there are no coincidences”—Elie Wiesel

—4. “Pessimism is a luxury that Jews cannot afford”—Golda Meir

—5. “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel”—Benjamin Netanyahu

—Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study:

The Tenderness of Jesus

—Recently I was moved by a passage that I’ve read too many times to count. But isn’t that part of the beauty of Scripture? Even if you’re already familiar with the content of a passage, the Lord can show you something new each time you read it.

—Let me demonstrate with a familiar story from the life of the disciple Thomas, recorded in John 20:24-29, which reads, “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

—What hit me hard this time was the phrase from v. 26, “eight days later.” Thomas was one of Jesus’ beloved disciples, a man who truly loved the Lord and was zealous for Him, but he was not there when Jesus appeared to the disciples the first time. I think Thomas was lost in his sorrow and depression, and that’s why he questioned whether Jesus really had appeared to the other disciples.

—But then for eight days he had to walk around the city. For over a week he lived in his deep sorrow, knowing that the Lord had reportedly showed Himself to the other disciples and not to him. Can you imagine what that would have been like for Thomas? How lonely that must have been, thinking to himself, “Jesus appeared to everyone else–supposedly–but why not to me?” Those must have been a hard eight days for him. How dejected and hopeless he must have felt!

—But then what happened? Jesus did not abandon His beloved disciple! He loved him enough to come back. Thomas needed to be corrected, for sure, but he also needed to be comforted. Jesus loved Thomas enough to both comfort and correct him.

—I must admit that more and more in recent months I have been laid low and even brought to tears when I think about the moments of tenderness that Jesus has for His loved ones. There are many Bible verses about God’s love for us, but I will leave you with this one from Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

—Adam Keim

From the Archives:

History & Geography

Series–the Beautiful Hills and Valleys of the Shephelah

June 4, 2022

—An Overview—“And [Solomon] made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah,” (1 Kings 10:27).

—Have you ever heard of the Shephelah? (Pronunciation is not important, but you can go with “sh-fay-lah”.) Even if you aren’t familiar with the word, you know of many important biblical events that happened there.

—The Shephelah (meaning “lowlands”) are the hills and valleys that lay between the coastal plains on the west, by the Mediterranean Sea, and the Judean mountain ridge on the east. They are part of the gradually increasing elevation from the coast, all the way up to Jerusalem.

—Five major valleys make up the Shephelah system, and we will look at each of them in the next several weeks of this series. From north to south, the valleys are: Aijalon, Sorek, Elah, Guvrin, and Lachish. They are all oriented west/east, and there is a natural valley that runs north/south between them all. I will refer to the north/south route as the “Shephelah Way” that connects the valleys.

—As you can see in the picture, the hills are forested and the valleys are fertile. The Shephelah is a beautiful landscape, one of the many places that defy the common notion of Israel being just a dry desert land.

—The area was very important to Israel, being one of the most militarily strategic places in the entire region, for reasons that we will consider in the upcoming weeks. I am excited to bring you on a journey where we will see storied places and meet legends such as Joshua, Samson, and David!

—Adam Keim