Tag: God

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Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

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 We have a book in our bookstore that is been featured each day on this site. It is my first book called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This books has special pricing right now. It is not too early to start thinking about Easter, and this book is a great gift that fits the season.

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

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Chapter 45

 

Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

 

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things

[food and clothing] will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

 

There once was a famous painter whose paintings were much in demand. He was doing really well selling them.

One day his son became ill and the father took care of him as best he could. The painter eventually carried him to the doctor, but on the way the son died. The painter later died, and his paintings became very valuable.

Everyone showed up to bid on the painter’s work at the auction to sell off his paintings. Some of them were now worth many thousands of dollars. The first painting—a portrait of the painter’s son—was put up for auction. “What do I hear for this fine painting?” asked the auctioneer. No one said a thing.

Again the auctioneer said,” We need a bid on this wonderful painting.” Still no one spoke.

A person in the back said, “Why would we want a painting of the painter’s son? Let us bid on his real paintings!”

The auctioneer gave the bidding one more try: “Do I hear $10 for this painting?”

An old man near the front raised his hand and said, “I bid $10, but that is all I have. I knew the boy and I would like to have a picture of him.”

“Do I hear higher?” Silence. “Going once … going twice … sold!” The auctioneer banged his gavel.

“Good, now we can bid on the real paintings!” the crowd shouted.

“I’m sorry—the bidding is closed,” the auctioneer announced.

A man shouted, “How could that be! There are several more paintings that are worth thousands of dollars.”

“The painter said that whoever bids the highest on his son’s painting would get all of the paintings!” the auctioneer responded.

There are people who live their lives like that! They are greedy and want the real prize—the riches. Look at this story as if it were God who had lost His Son. He has planned for us to have all kinds of riches in Him but first we must accept His Son.

Too many wait to get in a bid on the “good stuff” and overlook the invitation to accept the Son. Which one should we bid on? Are we going to be greedy and end up with nothing in the end?

We all would like to have many things for our families. It would be nice to have all the toys—for the big boys (and girls), as well as for the little boys (and girls). But what good are they in eternity? We can’t take them with us! 

We can’t begin to imagine the beauty of heaven and all that is there for us. The streets of gold. The music of a thousand angels. No pain. No suffering. New bodies. Loved ones to see.

That is what we should be working for—not the pleasures of this earth. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to what is in heaven. There is a prize above all prizes waiting for all that believe in God.

 

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Proverbs 21:21

 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians3:14(emphasis mine)

 

Further Adventures

What are your priorities in life? Sit down and list them. Is it security? Is it happiness? After you have written your list, notice how many of those you can have by knowing God and depending on Him.

Everything in life was created by God. No matter what you see and what you do, God had His hand in it. Your job? Your happiness? God helped you get your job, and He orchestrated the things that bring you happiness.

I have learned that with God in charge of my life, nothing that has happened to me or will happen to me is or will be “by accident.” God is in charge of everything I do.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that atheism is a “non-prophet” organization?

 

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If You Are Going the Wrong Way, God Allows U-Turns

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We have a bookstore for you to check out. There is the book I feature as excerpts in my post for sale there. The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” is on a special sale right now with some good savings.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering with anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.  

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Today’s excerpt lets us know that no matter what path we may take, God allows U-turns to get us on the right path.

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 Chapter 44

 

If You’re Going the Wrong Way,

God Allows U-Turns

 

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,

that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Acts3:19

 

Time is always ticking away! In my home we have a battery-operated clock that makes a loud ticking noise for every second of the day. The clock had been right at my computer desk and I could hear it as I worked. It made me think that my life was slowly going by. What have I done with my life? My life was ticking away, and I could see (and hear) each second go by.

The clock got moved into the utility room, but not before its cadence of marking time prompted me to do a “bed check” of my life. Bed checks are something that all military people understand. As you sleep, the barrack sergeant comes through and makes sure everyone is in bed—to make sure everything was OK.

So now every day I do a bed check to see if I am OK. It is so easy to “slide” if I don’t constantly check up on myself.

We tend to get all fired up about our commitment to God, even go to the church altar for prayer. We have a close encounter and are very happy. Life is good and we’ll serve God forever.

Then we get very busy and miss a few Sundays at church. Bible study gets scheduled on the evening all of our friends get together to play Bunco or go bowling—or whatever. We rush out of the house in the morning and collapse into a chair when we get home at night. There’s just no time for reading the Bible and praying.

Eventually, we fail “bed check.” We get wrapped up in our own world and get in touch with God only when there is a crisis. He will still be there to help, but our lives have lost their real meaning. We have allowed ourselves to go into a spiritual twilight zone.

Time is ticking away. There is no way to buy it back. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. But as long as God gives us another breath, it is not too late to turn around and get back into the loving arms of God. Our God is an awesome God. He loves us very much, and He will be there to accept us in whatever state we have allowed ourselves to lapse into.

As we get back into the center of His love and try to walk in His path, we will have done a spiritual U-turn.

 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

 

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:7

 

Further Adventures

Do your own bed check. Think about the direction you’re going. Do you need to make a U-turn? God allows you to get back in His love any time you want to seek Him more. His love is everlasting. He never forgets you. He never turns His back on you. After all, He even knows every hair on your head doesn’t He? Make that big turn and drive (or dive) into the loving arms of your heavenly Father.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just enough to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong?

 

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Grace, Oversight and Direction Spell G-O-D

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I am sharing another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. ” It talks about the grace of God, and how we sometimes ignore it and feel we are doing fine on our own. Dr. Phil might ask, “How is that working for you?

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” is on sale on this site. In the bookstores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping has been cut in half. A total savings of over $6.00.

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Chapter 34

 

Grace, Oversight and Direction

Spell G-O-D

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8–10

 

As I have grown in my Christian faith, I have seen some disturbing trends in Christianity. One that particularly disturbs me is that we have so many what I call “Sunday Christians.” Oh sure, they’re in church on Sunday—they even may teach a Sunday school class or usher or be the preacher—but on Monday they go back to telling their raciest jokes, padding their expense accounts, cutting corners in business deals and doing things that would make even the average pagan blush.

They attend church on Sunday and then disgrace themselves—and their Savior—the rest of the week. Saying someone is a Christian just because he goes to church is the same as saying you’re a hamburger just because you eat hamburgers! (Yes, this is a bumper sticker that I used earlier. You are very sharp!)

 

I read a book called “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey.1 He is a wonderful writer who doesn’t pull any punches and goes directly to the heart of the matter on any subject. He talks about people who avoid grace.

Grace is one of the most important things God has provided for us. He showed His own tremendous grace by sending His only Son down to earth to die for us.

But people avoid grace because grace brings about change. It causes them to live righteous lives. It causes them to love their neighbor. It causes them to give their hearts away to God. It causes them to give up their sinful desires for power and lust. And, frankly, some people don’t want that kind of change in their lives because it totally rearranges their lives.

We see these people in our churches. They have an outer face of love and grace, but on the inside they are greedy and selfish, and wonder what they can do to help themselves look more important. They come because it is the proper thing to do, and it makes them look good in their community.

Experiencing true grace is seen in the account of the prodigal son. He knew he was wrong. He knew that he had wasted all his inheritance. He was ashamed of everything he had done. The only thing that saved him was his father’s grace. He realized he needed to go back to his father and ask for forgiveness, hoping (no, knowing) his father would extend grace.

The truly gracious person was the father. Instead of turning his back on his wayward son (which he had every right to do), he ran toward his son with tears in his eyes, embraced his son and welcomed him home. He even had the best calf in his herd slaughtered to celebrate the occasion.

However, the brother of the prodigal son hated him because of the disgrace he had caused the family. He was livid that the father accepted him back without punishing him. His hatred and envy were not very far below the surface of what probably looked wholesome and loving.

Think of the prodigal son’s father as our God and how He will accept us back no matter what wrong we have done. His grace is every day. He loves us seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day—not just on Sundays.

Not only does God extend His grace to us in providing salvation and welcoming us into His family, there are two other things He wants to do for us—the last two things in the acrostic at the beginning of this chapter: He wants to provide oversight and direction in our lives. Those are things we must give Him permission to do for us.

We can accept His salvation and then decide we’ll simply go on with life, using our own intuition and “smarts” in plotting the course of our lives. But that’s not very smart. He has a so much wiser plan for our lives. It’s in our best interest to turn that part of our lives over to Him as well.

 

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

 

Further Adventures

If you were given grades for your commitment to going to church, helping others, or loving God, what would those grades be?  (I love giving out grades since I once was a teacher.) Would you get an “F” for going to church? Have you decided there is no way that going to church can make a difference in your life? Do you think that you can grow spiritually on your own? What about helping others? What grade would you receive for giving to the poor, or helping a homeless family?

Now for the most important grade that will help you pass your requirements to go to heaven: How much do love and serve God? Are you a non-believer? Are you an occasional churchgoer who believes in God but doesn’t seek to grow? Are you a dedicated Christian who seeks more knowledge about God and tries to help others to do the same?

Think on this: Study up on the real meaning of life by reading the Bible. Learn how to be compassionate to others in their time of need. Place God first in your life, and be in fellowship with others who have also put God first in their lives. Then you’ll be in line for the final BA (Bible of Advancement) degree that will advance you into heaven.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that when we show grace enough to help others shine, we begin to shine ourselves?