Week Twenty-Two, 2019

THE CHOICE

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Mark 8:34

American culture has never embraced unbiblical morality as it does today. Ten years ago, would you have imagined that same-sex marriage would be legal? Hollywood would be producing shows celebrating polygamy? Would be livestreaming their abortions? Would believe more than one hundred million people would view pornography every day?

Our secular society will cheer us as we scale the “first mountain” of popularity and temporal success. The more we agree with cultural wisdom on moral issues, the more our culture will applaud us. And the more our Father will grieve (Psalm 78:40; Ephesians 4:30).

Conversely, the more we focus on the “second mountain” of eternal significance, the more our culture will caricature and castigate us. And the more our Father will be glorified (Matthew 5:16).

Life is a series of choices. Where you will live? Who will be your friends, marry? How you will react to what happens to you? What you will do with your time, talent and energy?

When you look back at your life you can usually see the line it took by plotting out the choices you made along the way. Christian life is like this as well. Jesus tells all of His would-be disciples that their lives will eventually bring them to three choices and what they choose will determine the direction of their spiritual lives.

Peace or Conflict: Being a Christian will always bring the disciple into conflict with one’s surroundings. Christianity goes against the grain of this world – its ideas, actions, desires.

His Will Over Your Will: Whatever it means in your life the choice is always the same, to choose Christ is to choose to do HIS will over your own!

The Next Life Over This Life: The one who chooses Christ chooses also the life that is to come over this one, the world that is unseen over the one around us, the pleasure and riches of the heavenly kingdom over the glitter and temporary delights of the earthly kingdom.

If you’ve put off choosing to follow Christ by obeying the gospel or have made bad choices as a Christian, I encourage you to make the right choice by giving your life to God today.

Which “mountain” are you climbing today?

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

LOOKING FOR A BARGAIN?

We live in a nation that loves a good deal. Hardly anyone wants to pay full price. So we wait for our favorite store to have a sale. Go to garage sales. Look on E-bay. Or surf the web for an internet deal.

The craziness on Black Friday, the crowds at after Christmas sales, and the shoppers at tax-free weekends all attest to the bargain hunter mindset. And their mantra is simple–To get the best quality merchandise for the lowest possible price.

Unfortunately, this mentality sometimes surfaces regarding spiritual matters. Some folks want to receive the most they can get while giving the very least they can get by with.

God is not in the business of making you a deal. Spiritual blessings, forgiveness of sins and communion with the Creator comes with a price to be paid. He made salvation available by giving the greatest sacrifice possible. Jesus’ death on the cross.

In turn, He calls for our commitment, consecration, and sacrifice. In a shocking and striking passage, Jesus speaks to the cost of discipleship.

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Lk. 14:26-27).

These seemingly radical words almost grate on our ears. Hate? Hate your parents? Hate your spouse? Hate your siblings? Really? That doesn’t sound like Jesus, does it?

We need to be reminded that Eastern language often spoke in vivid and colorful extremes to make a point. Jesus is not literally saying that we should harbor ill will, animosity, and antagonism toward others. That would violate the second commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39). As well as numerous New Testament passages about the love we ought to express in our families.

Furthermore, the context tells us that when Jesus left the Pharisees’ house that a great crowd of people followed Him. Apparently, Jesus was not impressed with their superficial interest. As on other occasions, some may have followed because he fed folks. Or to see a miracle. Or hoping He was the Messiah that would overthrow Rome and restore the nation of Israel to greatness.

Jesus was not interested in the quantity of the crowd but the quality of their character and commitment. Discipleship, he tells them, is not for the faint of heart. The casual Christian. Or the bargain hunter. There is a price to be paid.

— o —

When Pew Research Center asked a representative sample of more than 1,300 religiously unaffiliated people why they were anti-church, their first answer was, “I question a lot of religious teachings” (60 percent). In second place was “I don’t like the positions churches take on social/political issues” (49 percent).

The number of Americans who say they have “no religion” (23.1 percent) now exceeds the number of Catholics (23 percent) and evangelicals (22.5 percent). This equates to fifty-eight million “nones.”

— o —

Fifty-nine Jewish gravestones in Massachusetts were vandalized. Two of the gravestones had been knocked over. The stones were desecrated with swastikas and phrases including “Hitler was right.”

According to experts, America is experiencing a resurgence of anti-Semitism that is unprecedented in the last half-century. Anti-Semitism is also rising sharply across Europe: France reported a 74 percent increase in the number of offenses against Jews, while the number in Germany surged by more than 60 percent.

Discrimination is also escalating in America against those who affirm biblical morality.

We are certainly not facing aggression on a level experienced by Jews around the world, but Jesus’ prediction for his followers is nonetheless true for us: “The world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14).

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

We have always needed heroes or, more specifically, a Hero. From our beginning, humans have been creatures, dependent on our Creator.

Your love for the Lord must supersede all fleshly and family relationships. Our love for Christ must be so deep and strong that by comparison we “hate” our own family. Even our own life. Preacherman

C. S. Lewis: “God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He, Himself, is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.

I Am Thankful for My Past. I’m Just Not Moving in that Direction. I am thankful for my past, but I am not moving in that direction. My past has been lived and can never be re-lived. Forward is the only direction we can live our lives.

The body of Christ is not composed of cell phones but of humans. Jim Denison

Our sedentary lives are evidence of the digital nature of contemporary connectivity. Unsurprisingly, researchers have discovered that we are spending more time sitting in front of screens than ever. This is problematic since sitting too long has been linked to numerous chronic diseases that can lead to an early death.

It would be easy to abandon hope for our culture. But it’s always too soon to give up on the future because it’s always too soon to give up on God. Jim Denison

We don’t stop playing because we are old; we are old because we stop playing.” I had been learning a similar lesson: “We don’t stop exercising because we are old; we are old because we stop exercising. Dr. Richard Furman

“The Lord is my shepherd;

I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows;

he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

bringing honor to his name.” – Psalm 23: 1-3 NLT

By Senator John Grant, Florida (Retired)

Week Twenty-One, 2019

THE TONGUE

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. James 3:5

The Chicago Fire of 1871 burned for three days, and destroyed thousands of buildings, killed an estimated 300 people and caused an estimated $200 million in damages. It all happened when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire.

Seemingly little things can lead to big things and not always good things. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Consider what great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it can set in motion great things, both good and bad. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.

Words, delivered at the right (or wrong) moment, can change the course of history.

Consider Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” oration on the eve of the American Revolution. This was the most influential speech in inspiring the war of independence against Britain.

General Eisenhower on the eve of the Normandy invasion turned to his staff and said to his staff “Let’s go,” and Operation Overlord was set in motion committing 156,000 troops.

But, it is not only the great and historical events which are guided by the tongue. It guides things like telling someone you love them or telling your children you are proud of them. As the tongue can change the course of history, it also can change the relationships in a family or fellowship in our churches.

We should use caution with how we use our tongue. Words from the mouth are like messages after we hit the send button. We can’t get them back. One kind or unkind word can change someone’s entire day. We should be careful with our words, because once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten. We can say something hurtful in ten seconds, but ten years later, the wounds are still there.

The tongue does a lot of physical things for our body, but I believe that the prime gift God gave us with our tongue is to edify the saints and spread the Word to the sinners.

Perhaps the greatest use of the tongue was give to us by Jesus: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

– Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:7

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

TASTE BUDS:

Sometime during the 6th day of creation, while omnipotence was fashioning man, the Creator must have said, “Let there be taste buds!”…and God saw that it was good.

With that one stroke of divine creativity, our Maker so decreed that eating would be an act of diversity, not monotony—a sovereign gift to us fans of Ben and Jerry. Ah, God is good!

Taste buds—or gustatory cells, as the lab coat crowd calls them—are the unsung heroes of the mouth. These highly complex little buds were designed to recognize life’s four distinct flavors—sweet and salty, which, as the myth goes, are colonized at the tip of the tongue; sour, which sits along the sides of the tongue; and bitter, which does its work way back just before the food plunges into the digestive system.

Infants are the real beneficiaries of taste buds, possessing more than 10,000. In fact, babies have taste buds in every nook and cranny of their tiny, little mouths. Obviously, it’s God’s brilliant plan to encourage eating and growth.

However, by the time those infants get to be our age, their quantity of taste buds will greatly decrease—no doubt God’s gift to encourage restraint as they grow older.

Apparently, most Americans believe they do not need to trust in Jesus’ atonement for our sins to go to heaven.

What can we say to them?

— o —

Florida has over 5.3 million residents who are 60 years or older. That’s over a quarter of our total population.

— o —

Since “Unplanned” Movie Released, 300 Abortion Clinic Workers Have Quit Their Jobs.

— o —

Not one crisis or challenge in today’s headlines would have existed in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve tried to “be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Every natural disaster and disease we face is a direct consequence of their sin (Romans 8:22).

But we make our fallen world even worse when we continue repeating the sin that caused the Fall. Either God is God of our lives or we are. Either He is on our throne or we are.

Unlike the IRS, the King of the universe demands not part of our possessions but all of us. He calls us to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), to be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). Jesus told his followers, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up His cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

This is not because God needs what we have. His government requires not one penny from its residents. It is because He can do so much more with us than we can do with ourselves. He will use every gift, ability, and resource we surrender to Him for his greatest glory and our greatest good.

In this sense, every day is Tax Day.

— o —

From 2011 to 2017, 259 people have died while taking selfies, according to the National Institutes of Health.

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge. 1 Timothy 6:20

Our significance does not depend on our status.

Servant leadership is the key to a great leader’s success. Serve wholeheartedly. Remember, don’t serve yourself, but the team and the mission, never the face in the mirror.

D. A. Carson: “It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross . . . it was His love for sinners like me.”

Rabbi Evan Moffic writes: “Heaven has [an] open door policy: Heaven is not a gated community. The righteous of any people and any faith have a place in it. Our actions, not our specific beliefs, determine our fate. No concept of Hell exists in Judaism.”

You have never lived until you have done something for someone who cannot repay you. John Bunyan

Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

God measures success by fruit. The tree had a trunk and roots, branches and leaves. It might have been tall and beautiful. But it did not produce what it was created to produce. The good news is that when we give God’s Spirit control of our lives, he manifests the “fruit” we were created to produce (Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22–23). And, as Good Friday shows, there is nothing Jesus will not do to pursue such intimacy with us. Jim Denison

Early Christians knew that they were the church. Buildings they used to gather for worship were just that—buildings. Jesus launched the church as a movement intended to attack the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18). The church is not a location but an army that marches on its knees as it makes disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).

Get ready for the future. Change is coming at a fast pace. Social media is great if used properly and with discipline to affect change. Unbridled, it could cause a disaster in a life or business.

Week Twenty, 2019

THE STIGMA

By Senator John Grant, Florida (Retired)

Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. It will not be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone.

The story begins in 1815 in Digne, as the peasant Jean Valjean, just released from 19 years’ imprisonment in the Bagne of Toulon—five for stealing bread for his starving sister and her family and fourteen more for numerous escape attempts—is turned away by innkeepers because his yellow passport marks him as a former convict. He sleeps on the street, angry and bitter.

Valjean simply could not shake off the stigma of being an ex-con. He had done the crime and served the time, but the stigma lasts forever. He couldn’t get a job because of his status.

Do we have that situation in modern day society or even in the church? I suggest we do. Those who have served their time and attempt to re-enter life on the outside can’t be a dietician, a barber, join the military, easily find a place to live, travel abroad, hold public office, serve on a jury, vote and the list goes on. The stigma is for life, even in the church.

As Christians, we believe in reconciliation. Acts 3:19 says we are to repent and turn to God, so that our sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. But too often we shoot our wounded.

Someone finds some derelict, washes him off and brings him to church, where he dedicates his life to Jesus and we put him on a pedestal and brag about how we reconcile with sinners.

Now, one of our own falls from grace, is charged and convicted before going off to prison to serve his time. When his sentence is completed and he is released, he goes back home, tries to rehabilitate and get back on with life. He goes to his church and is told he is not welcome. What kind of reconciliation is that?

Matthew (6:12) states that for a person to earn God’s forgiveness they must also be willing to forgive others. Those who do not forgive will not be forgiven by God.

How quick we are to judge others, hold a grudge against them and refuse our hand in reconciliation. We all do wrong, it’s just a matter of degree or a matter of getting caught. What Christian can say they are totally free from sin?

Do we want to place a “Valjean” sticker on people for life, even Christian brothers who have turned from their wicked ways and come home to the cross?

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

A seminary student was playing basketball with some friends at a nearby high school gym. He noticed the school’s custodian sitting on the steps of the building with a Bible open on his lap. He made his way over to the elderly gentleman and asked him what he was reading.

“The Bible,” the man replied. The seminary student grinned and said, “I can see that. What book of the Bible?” The man responded, “The book of Revelation.”

The student was surprised and asked, “The book of Revelation? Do you understand it?” “Of course, I understand it,” the custodian answered. What does it mean?” the seminary student asked. The custodian smiled and said, “It means, we win.”

— o —

According to the Washington Post, 226,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school since the Columbine shooting. At least 143 children, educators, and others have been killed in assaults, and another 294 have been injured.

— o —

According to the Mayo Clinic, “When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge—or embrace forgiveness and move forward.” Mayo reports that refusing to forgive causes us to become depressed, live in the past, bring anger and bitterness into every new relationship, and lose purpose in life.

— o —

Nearly 70 percent of Americans say they’re in the middle, whether their household earns $50,000 or $500,000. There is little consensus on what middle class really means, but everyone certainly wants to be middle class: Nearly 70% of Americans consider themselves middle class, but only about 52% would qualify based on income. The Pew Research Center found that middle-income families–in a three-person household–earned between $45,200 and $135,600 in 2016.

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

No matter how hard we push the envelope, it will always be stationary.

I stayed awake all night and then it dawned on me.

It’s hard for a new idea to shine through when our old ideas are so staunchly in place, even bright rays of sunshine get blocked out! Dwight Short

Your best efforts will never put you in God’s business.

Encouragement provides us with motivation to persevere. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise.

Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life.

The mind will never accept what the heart has already rejected. —Ken Whitten

16 May 2019

Rejoice in All Things

By: Annonyous

On March 24th, after months of undiagnosed stomach pain and swelling, with several visits to the E.R. and two stays in the hospital, the preacher’s surgeons decided to perform an emergency procedure. They removed a few inches of his small intestine, along with a malignant carcinoid tumor that was causing an increasingly dangerous bowel blockage. They also removed 15 lymph nodes, three of which were infected.

So, then he had special blood tests and a PET scan, and they found another swollen lymph node in the deep pelvic area, and another 1.2 cm carcinoid tumor in his liver. It seems the carcinoid, which is a slow-growing cancer, goes right for the liver. And he might also have prostate cancer.

Sounds nasty, but the preacher trusts the Lord.

To him, the great news is that he suffered agonizing pain on and off through several months, and the scans and x-rays didn’t show the cause.

How could that be great news? Because, had he not suffered that pain, those insidious malignancies would still be growing quietly inside him. He believes that it was God’s providence to reveal the danger in time, to turn aside this attack of the evil one.

He has been referred to some outstanding specialists. Two of his doctors said that they are praying for him. The liver surgeon is the head of a hospital’s “Abdominal Transplant Department,” an expert in liver treatment. This side of heaven, he couldn’t ask for better care. And from the other side? Well there is the Holy Spirit and God’s ministering angels who came to his side under similar circumstances many years ago.

He remembers well those who came to his bedside to comfort and pray with he and his beloved wife, and he remembers leaving the isolation room after nearly two weeks, declared infection free, and all his GP could later say was, “You must be perplexed that all those specialists couldn’t tell you what you almost died of.”

But he wasn’t perplexed. He was rejoicing in the Lord!

By Florida Senator John Grant (Retired)

Week Nineteen, 2019

A TIME TO PLANT

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest (Ecc. 3:2).

Recently I was in a rural farming community where they grow cotton, peanuts and corn. In talking with the locals, I learned how important science is to the process. I thought you just plowed the field, dropped the seed and waited for the crop to be ready for harvest.

Not so. Optimum soil temperatures at planting can make a significant difference in emergence of crops. They recommend planting cotton when the average soil temperature has been 65 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 consecutive days and warm temperatures are forecast. The farmer should plant when he can expect 50 degree-days in the next 5 days. The optimum window usually extends about thirty days.

In life there are optimum times to do various things. Solomon speaks of that writing in the book of Ecclesiastes. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die

a time to plant and a time to uproot

a time to kill and a time to heal

a time to tear down and a time to build

a time to weep, and a time to laugh

a time to mourn, and a time to dance

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing

a time to seek, and a time to lose

a time to keep, and a time to cast away

a time to tear, and a time to sew

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak

a time to love, and a time to hate

a time for war, and a time for peace

It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself. So often we do the right thing at the wrong time or the wrong thing at the right time. Bad timing, even with good intentions can poison relationships, cause financial disaster, can destroy and a lot of other things.

God created you uniquely at the right time. God sent His Son to die for your sins at the right time. Jesus helped us and heard us. Now in the time of salvation. Not tomorrow, not next month, not next year. God is giving you an opportunity to receive His grace. You will either accept or reject. If you reject, there is no guarantee that there will ever be another opportunity.

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Reading God’s Word

S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S.

a) Is there a sin to confess?

b) Is there a promise to claim?

c) Is there an attitude to change?

d) Is there a command to obey?

e) Is there an example to follow?

f) Is there a prayer to pray?

g) Is there an error to avoid?

h) Is there a truth to believe?

i) Is there something to thank God for?

—Ken Whitten

Paul noted: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Jesus has the final word: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

When God looks to make changes, He is not likely to use “artificial intelligence”, but instead will plant a seed in the heart of a committed believer. —Dwight Short

2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water systems.

Rational people don’t risk what they have and need for what they don’t have and don’t need. —Warren Buffett

2014 life expectancy at birth in years: Male 76.4, Female 81.2

All mistakes are lessons to be learned and challenges to be overcome. And they come in the form of objects, events and people.

Green tea is considered one of the world’s healthiest beverages. The origination of green tea began in China around 2737 BC.

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

God will strip you externally in order to get to you internally. —Jonathan Evans

“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Exodus 14:14 (NLT)

In a secular society defines success by secular means. In a postmodern culture that rejects absolute truth and biblical morality, it is inevitable that some people will do whatever they can to achieve what they seek. —Jim Denison

One small positive thought can change your whole day. —Aristotle

Don’t discourage those who are doing what God called them to do.

Let God do God’s work and get out of His way.

If you want to go broad, you need to go deep.

When the Holy Spirit came, He went viral. Nothing has not stopped.

We must understand that post-modern is not post Jesus, but we must modify our methods of penetration into the general community.

Week Eighteen, 2019

SIGNS OF THE END TIMES

By Florida Senator John Grant (Retired)

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 Timothy 3:1 NLT

Men have been predicting the end times for centuries even to the present. Who knows? Only God himself knows, but we certainly can look for signs…. difficult signs. Paul gives us some suggestions as he writes to Timothy and makes some suggestions of some pre-end signs to look for.

After reaffirming that the end will come, he paints a societal picture. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power.

He warns us to have nothing to do with such people, but he gives us behavior patterns to look for two millenniums in the future. Don’t these social patterns sound familiar in today’s world?

Just look around and see self-centeredness, greed for money, pride, parental disobedience, ungratefulness, lack of self-control, conceited pleasure seekers and more. We see an increasingly secular world that seems to have lost its moral center.

Whether it’s legislation around issues such as gay marriage and transgenderism . . . or the debates around what religious liberty really is (and whether it even matters) . . . or the popularity of the “new atheists” like Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan . . . or just the way our neighbors and co-workers look at us if we mention that we agree with what Christ said about salvation, relationships, or truth . . . we’re in a new era.

It was one thing to move toward a pluralistic society where we lived among those who looked and thought differently than us, and who disagreed with us on some of our closest-held beliefs. Now that’s not good enough. We’re currently experiencing the intolerance of intolerance. Christians with “traditional” convictions and understandings of sexuality and marriage are seen as “bigots”—churches are being viewed as “hate groups.” Our beliefs are “hateful,” and our positions are “backward.” Welcome to the age of unbelief.

I don’t know when the end time is coming, but I sure see increasing social and spiritual signs. Have we lost sight of our salvation? Have we forgotten God or never known Him? The signs are increasingly evident.

The second coming of Jesus Christ is the greatest thing that is to happen in the near future. The world is presently self-destructing and the stability of the past is rapidly disappearing. So many are wondering just what is going to happen next. No one seems to know how to fix the problems we have in the world any more. A cataclysmic ending of our world involving finances and destructive forces are surrounding us and many are now searching for how they can escape what they see is coming ahead.

Are you ready?

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

The average person has 30,000 conversations per day. Men 20, women 30, we spend a fifth of our life talking.

— o —

Eighty-five percent of everyone over the age of fifty has some significant blockage in the arteries of their heart, without experiencing any symptoms. That is a scary. Prescription for Life

— o —

Blood from the heart is carried through our bodies by sixty thousand miles of arteries, plus veins. The condition of the arteries determines how well the body is supplied with all it needs to function at 100 percent. As those arteries become damaged by certain cholesterol particles, the walls begin to respond by developing a battlefield to fight those foreign bodies, and either plaque buildup or inflammation results in a clot. Both events can cause the blood flow to either completely stop or become markedly decreased. The downstream area becomes starved for oxygen. If the heart is involved, a portion of the muscle quits working and the remaining fibers are called on to carry an extra load of pumping your blood. The result is a less effective pump. Prescription for Life

— o —

We must speak biblical truth with biblical humility. When we convey the impression that we think we are better than others or are judging them, they are understandably resistant to our message. “Speaking the truth in love” is the mandate of our day (Ephesians 4:15).

— o —

Jesus is clearly popular in our culture. Barna Research reports that 73 percent of Americans identify as Christians. According to Gallup, that’s far higher than the percentage of Americans who identify as Republicans (26 percent) or Democrats (30 percent). Census data shows that Christians outnumber any racial demographic in our country. However, while nearly three in four Americans say they are Christians, Barna reports that only 55 percent attended a church service in the last six months. Other studies show that only 23 to 25 percent of us attend three Sundays out of eight.

Clearly, Jesus is more popular than the church today. What can you and I do about this?

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

The God of the mountain is also the God of the valleys.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill

Marriage is not a destination. It is a journey.

Desire is of the mind; commitment is of the heart. Dr. Richard Furman

What you think is living is not living.

The height of the palace shows the depth of the pit. God will allow you to have bad experiences when you are in the pit so you can experience good things in the palace. Jonathan Evans

Week Seventeen, 2019

THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine (Psalm 16:5).

“The man who is content to sit ignorantly by his own fireside, wrapped up in his own private affairs, and has no public eye for what is going on in the church and the world, is a miserable patriot, and a poor style of Christian. Next to our Bibles and our own hearts, our Lord would have us study our own times.” J. C. Ryle, 1879.

How much is enough? When asked, John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil and one of the world’s richest men said “just a little bit more.” How much is enough money? If John Rockefeller always needed a little more will you ever have enough? And how will you know when you have enough money to make you happy?

What does the Bible say about abundance? Abundance is frequently mentioned in the Bible as something God offers to those who trust in Him. Scripture says that God will provide an abundant life to those who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Abundance in this sense means a life full of everything you need to sustain yourself in joy and purpose.

It is a fatal mistake to assume that God’s goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in any endeavor.

Unfortunately we live in a power driven, self-centered materialistic world. Prosperity and abundance is measured by power, position and possessions. On the other hand Jesus said that He came to bring abundant life.

Of course, we all want an abundant life, but what is it? It’s not about materialism. It’s about the more important things like faith, family and friends. The key to an abundant life is satisfaction and satisfaction is knowing and feeling that you have enough. Satisfaction is not always the fulfillment of what you want; it is the realization of how blessed you are for what you have.

To really have abundance and satisfaction, put first things first and the rest will follow. As St. Mathew said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

We Don’t Buy Things with Money, We Buy Them with Hours from our Life.

As Henry David Thoreau put it, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

This is a life-changing principle. When we begin to see our purchases through the lens of exchanging life, rather than dollar bills, we can better appreciate the weight of our purchases and understand their full cost.

For that reason, I thought it might be helpful to take a hard look at how much life some of our purchases actually cost us.

For the sake of conversation, let’s use the median US household income. In 2017, that number was $61,400. For simplicity sake, let’s round down to $60,000 annual income.

If your household income is $60,000, working a typical 40-hour work week, here is how many hours of work are needed for the following purchases:

▪ Grande Starbucks Cappuccino ($4.00) = 8 minutes of work

▪ Pair of Wrangler Jeans ($24.99) = 50 minutes of work

▪ Coach Brand Purse ($119.99) = 1/2 day of work

▪ 256GB iPhone XS ($1,249) = 1 week + 2 hours of work

▪ Dinner at a restaurant for your family of four ($80.00) = 1/3 day of work

▪ Dinner at home for a family of four ($17.00) = 1/2 hour of work

▪ Ford Fusion SE Hybrid ($26,550) = 5 months + 10 days of work

▪ 2,500 square foot house (10% down payment, 30-year mortgage of monthly payments, $303,000 purchase price) = 11 years + 6 months of work

▪ 1,600 square foot house (15% down payment, 30-year mortgage of monthly payments, $196,000 purchase price) = 7 years + 2 months

Keep in mind, the amount of work needed for the items above is based on an annual salary of $60,000. If your annual salary is $30,000, the work time will be doubled. If you make $120,000/year, the measurements should be halved.

Of course, there are alternatives to exchanging our hours and lives for material possessions…

▪ It takes just 10 minutes to tell your child a bedtime story.

▪ 45 minutes for an evening walk with your spouse.

▪ 60 minutes to help your son/daughter with homework.

▪ Or 2 hours/month to volunteer at your local soup kitchen.

The money we earn is ours to keep and we can spend it as we wish. But it can be a helpful exercise to realize how many hours of our lives go into each purchase we make.

And it is always wise to remember we can spend our hours pursuing items of far greater value than material possessions.

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

The stronger your heart muscle mass is, the less work it has to do each time it beats. Remember, your heart is beating in your chest around one hundred thousand times a day! You will learn to determine how effectively your personal pump is functioning, as well as learn a simple routine to make certain it is as strong as possible. —Dr. Jim Frist

Realize that the health of your arteries is one of the major factors in aging. —Dr. Richard Furman

C.S. Lewis said that “our bodies and our souls live so close together that they catch each other’s diseases.”

We may get chosen last by those forming a basketball team, but when God pulls together His team, He looks each of us square in the face and says, “I want you!” —Dwight Short

Be the change you want to see in the world! —Author unknown

Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of constantly applying basic fundamentals. —Author unknown

By Florida Senator John Grant (Retired)

Week Sixteen, 2019

THE HEART

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

The first organ to form after conception is the heart. It begins to beat in twenty-two days and during a normal span of life, it will beat nearly three billion times. When an embryo is made up of only a very few cells, each cell can get the nutrients it needs directly from its surroundings. But as the cells divide and multiply to form a growing ball, it soon becomes impossible for nutrients to reach all the cells efficiently without help.

The cells also produce waste that they need to get rid of. So the blood and circulatory system, powered by the heart, together form the first organ system to develop. They are essential to carry nutrients and waste around the embryo to keep its cells alive.

Human life begins with the heart and throughout life it is the focal point of human life. As a central part of the circulatory system, the heart is primarily responsible for pumping blood and distributing oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. It reaches each and every part of the body for if parts are unreached with fresh nutrient’s and blood, they will die.

There is a real parallel between the physical heart and the spiritual heart. The word heart appears more than a thousand times in the Bible, because the spiritual heart is as important to spiritual life as the physical heart is to physical life. Physically our heart and arterial peripherals can become hardened. The Bible teaches that our hearts can become spiritually hardened as well. Many people have spiritual heart disease.

The greatest counter to spiritual heart disease is to put Jesus in your heart, by trusting him and admitting that you are a sinner and that you need God’s help. You must be willing to repent, to change your mind and turn from your sin. Believe that Jesus died for you and was buried and rose from the dead. Through prayer, you can invite Jesus into your heart to become your personal Lord and Savior.

To surrender in spirituality and religion means that a believer completely gives up his own will and subjects his thoughts, ideas, and deeds to the will and teachings of Jesus.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor 5:17). He will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you (Ez. 36:26).

Human life is all about the human heart. Spiritual life is all about the spiritual heart, one changed forever by the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ.

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR 2059

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California and Mexico.

White minorities still trying to have English recognized as the third language.

Spotted Owl plague threatens Northwestern United States crops and livestock.

Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped.

Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation.

Last Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Ocasio-Cortez has banned all smoking.

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2060.

Postal Service raises price of first-class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.

85-year, $75.8 billion study completed with following findings:

Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.

Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in Mexifornia and Floruba, formerly known as Florida and Cuba.

Free abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States.

Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for 4,532 Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Supreme Court rules any punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

A Couple Finally Had Sexual Harmony. They had simultaneous Headaches.

Average of NBA players is now nine feet seven inches.

President Ocasio-Cortez signed a New federal law requiring all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2060.

IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.

Florida voters still having trouble with voting machines.

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

The essence of fallen human nature is the enthronement of self. It is seeking what is best for me at the expense of what is best for you. Jim Denison

From cover to cover the Bible is all about personal choices. Bob Sprinkle

Trials never call for an appointment.

If you don’t have problems, check your phone line.

When going through the pains of life don’t throw in the towel. Live through your problems so you can experience the joys He has for you on the other side. Jonathan Evans

How to fix America – Put Jesus back in all the places He has been asked to leave – the home, school, government and the heart.

One of the key pillars in success is building relationships and you can’t do that without being a dedicated listener. No distractions, no interferences, just full attention.

Week Fifteen, 2019

WHO ARE YOU HOLDING UP?

By Florida Senator John Grant (Retired)

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset (Exodus 17:11-12).

Originally built for the State, War and Navy Departments between 1871 and 1888, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington now houses a majority of offices for White House staff. It took seventeen years to build and it’s the largest granite building in the world. It houses eight monumental curving staircases of granite with over 4,000 individually cast bronze balusters.

The elegant staircases total 1,784 steps and each granite step weight 1,000 pounds. There are many architectural “firsts” in the cast iron and granite building, but one that is unique is the staircase design. Each step is held in place by the stair above it.

When you think about there are many examples of things and people who are held up by others. A famous quarterback needs a receiver and a good hockey player needs another player to assist in scoring a goal. No army can succeed unless each soldier does his assignment and holds up his buddies.

The Bible is filled with examples of how people held up one another. My favorite is in Exodus. The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

Remember that God is holding you up and is always guiding us. Who are you holding up?

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

When churches are started, they must focus on evangelism and ministry to their communities in order to grow. After a few years, many have gained so many members that some begin focusing on what the church can do for them.

Parents want better programs for their children; adults want programming focused on their needs. The church stops focusing externally on those it is called to reach and starts focusing internally on itself. And it plateaus and often declines.

The same can happen to individual Christians when we focus more on what Jesus can do for us than what we can do for him. We come to church and to God for what we can receive. And we stop fulfilling the Commission to which we are called.

— o —

While man-made tragedies deservedly generate headlines and global sympathy, natural disasters affect millions across the country. The global annual death rate from natural disasters has fallen significantly over the years, but such tragedies affect 218 million people each year and claim 68,000 lives.

— o —

S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S.

• a) Is there a sin to confess?
• b) Is there a promise to claim?
• c) Is there an attitude to change?
• d) Is there a command to obey?
• e) Is there an example to follow?
• f) Is there a prayer to pray?
• g) Is there an error to avoid?
• h) Is there a truth to believe?
• i) Is there something to thank God for?

‑Ken Whitten

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

When we serve God and others, we find a greater significance than we can ever experience by serving ourselves. —Jim Denison

Justice is making wrong things right.

God would rather reward you for mercy than condemn you for judgment. —Ken Whitten

Personal discipline will bring organization out of chaos. —Bob Sprinkle

Indeed, a hallmark of virtuous adulthood is learning to find freedom in your work, rather than freedom from your work, even when work hurts.

Life is like a tea bag. You do not know what’s in it until you put it into hot water.

Week Fourteen, 2019

FOLLOW THE STAR

By Florida Senator John Grant (Retired)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2).

Perhaps you have noticed when you get on an elevator and push a floor button, one floor and one floor only has a star on it. This is required by law. It is not for convenience now is it to advertise the most popular floor. Rather it is for safety and depicts that floor where a person can get off and escape to the nearest building exit. It is the star one should follow in case of an emergency.

Recently I was on an elevator and happened to focus on the star and thought how it was reminding me what to follow if I needed a quick exit. I thought of the world’s first admonition to follow a star more than two thousand years ago when the Magi were told that if they wanted to find the “Miracle of Bethlehem” they should follow the star.

There are many stars in the world today and I am not talking of those in the heavens. Some follow the stars of Hollywood. One singer has 107 million followers on Twitter. Some follow the stars of sports…. hundreds of thousands on Twitter. Some follow stars from city to city. Celebrity worship syndrome. (CWS) is an obsessive addictive disorder in which a person becomes overly involved with the details of a celebrity’s personal and professional life and follows them everywhere.

Some people just follow the crowd, often not really knowing what or whom they are following. Some follow power, possession and position. After all, they are what the people think are so important to follow.

Over two billion people worldwide profess to be “Christians”, but not everyone has the same definition of what being a Christian means. Some people say they are Christians because they were born into a “Christian” family or go to church. Others explain being a Christian in terms of a religious denomination. Some claim to be Christians because they have done certain religious acts like pray a prayer, have been baptized, or give to charity. None of these definitions, though, fully explain what it means to be a Christian, according to the Bible. These people follow family tradition and religious institutions of significance.

No wonder many people are faith confused. Christians believe in justification by faith – that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and in his death and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose forgiveness was made once and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.

Who or what star are you following?

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

World Birth and Death Rates

Birth Rate Death Rate

131.4 million births per year; 55.3 million people die each year

360,000 births per day; 151,600 people die each day

15,000 births each hour; 6,316 people die each hour

250 births each minute; 105 people die each minute

— o —

Have you ever prayed:

• For success without effort?

• To pass the driver’s license without your glasses on?

• Have you ever prayed for your favorite team to win?

• For bad things to happen to a bad person?

• Finding a parking spot?

— o —

30 million pages headed for the moon:

Israel launched its first spacecraft recently. “Beresheet” (Hebrew for Genesis) will be the smallest craft to land on the moon, but it is carrying something of great significance: the so-called Lunar Library.

This is a disc containing twenty-five thousand books, a full copy of Wikipedia, and information on understanding earthly languages—in total, a thirty-million-page tome. The “library” is intended to preserve humanity’s knowledge and history long after we’re gone.

Did your story make the Lunar Library? On the day of your salvation, you joined a faith family that will be alive in Paradise ten thousand millennia after the moon and everything on it perishes.

Here’s the point: what makes history seldom makes headlines.

— o —

The San Antonio City Council recently voted 6–4 to prevent Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant at the city’s airport.

Councilman Robert Trevino, who made the motion to exclude the restaurant, stated: “With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion. San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”

Chick-fil-A responded: “The press release issued by the councilmember was the first we heard of his motion and its approval by the San Antonio City Council. We wish we had the opportunity to clarify misperceptions about our company prior to the vote. We agree with the councilmember that everyone should feel welcome at Chick-fil-A.”

The statement added, “In fact, we have welcomed everyone in San Antonio into our 32 local stores for more than 40 years.”

Snoopy

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Some people who the world calls mature are among the most immature people I have ever met. —Ken Whitten

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. —Mark Twain

The more people reject God’s truth, the more they need to hear it.

Worship begins with a heart that is obedient.

Little is much when God is in it.

One in three divorces begin through online affairs.

Currently there are 199 countries in the world.

There’s more to life than buying stuff.

Research has shown us that having too many toys reduces creativity and negatively impacts a child’s ability to focus.