Love and Respect!

0528 Good News 050111 Respect & Love 

“May the Lord make your love increase

and overflow for each other and for everyone else,

just as ours does for you.”

(1 Thessalonians 3 vs. 12)           

            Love and respect are the two things that abound in our faith. If we could spread this around the world we could save a fortune on armaments. Unfortunately, jealousy, hate, and disrespect tend to fester all around us also. Maybe we just have to learn to live with it.

            The founding fathers set us up as a democratic republic; a free nation of free people. They also said “In God we trust” and then set up a clear separation between the Government and religion.We want to be free and we Christians want our God, our friends and peace on earth. It is a conundrum!

            Our role is stated clearly by Paul’s message in Thessaloniki: Our role is to grow in the Spirit and with that will come love. The result of spiritual growth is that love and respect blossom and jealousies, hate and disrespect fade away. 

Thought for Today: Today we will interact with people. Many we will choose to see and are glad. That is the easy piece. We will also have to interact with someone we would rather avoid. No matter what the reason, let us show our Christian love and respect for them. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we give thanks for our friends family and acquaintances; the people that bring pleasure and peace to our lives. Today we pray that we can also bring pleasure and peace to everyone through our love and respect.

Amen

This is the Day!

Thought for the Week: This is the day (week)  that the Lord has made, let us rejoice! We will experience ups and downs but with the hope of God in our hearts, the downs can be short, the ups can be high it can be a week of joy. It is our choice.

Aristotle said it this way: “Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” 

Romans 15verse 13

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace

 as you trust in him,

so that you may overflow with hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Slow Down!

"Be still and acknowledge that I am God"

(Psalm 46:10)           

            The coming holiday season will be very busy. A joke went around last week that we need to stuff our thanksgiving turkey with Prozac to help with holiday stress. 

            In his book Bread for the Table, Henry Nouwen says it this way, These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on … It is important to keep a still place in the "marketplace". This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. …with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think and do. 

Thought for Today: As the holidays approach, let us take time to be at peace with our loved ones. Let us be sure that God will be a present in our lives. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, the world around us is confusing, sometimes cruel and always difficult to understand. Please allow us time to step aside from our busyness and dwell upon "your will" rather than "our needs". Let us find the peace or stillness to allow "thy will to be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Winter Thoughts!

Thought for Today: Today let us be thankful for those around us. Be at peace and demonstrate our passion and love to others. We are facing a long winter with short days and long nights. Let us be the light that people are searching for!

 From "Strength To Love," Martin Luther King, Jr.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.  

(Matthew 5:14-16)

“You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Win-Win !!!!!

Good News 011803 Win-Win 

"...what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor."
(Psalm 8:4,5) 

           In America there seems to be a win lose philosophy running rampant through out our society. There is a lot of hero worship devoted to overpaid athletes and a lack of compromise in our political system. We seem to have adopted Vince Lombardi's attitude "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing". Well, that may be our world, but it is not God's world.

        The Psalmist above clearly demonstrates that we were created a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory. There is plenty of God's love for each of us. There are world wide resources that when shared in God's way will do for all. We live in a great world with great people and somehow we taint it with our own un-Godly behaviors.

        As a young athlete in the 40's, I remember the expression "It's not whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game that counts". Somehow that has stuck with me through out my life. It is an expression of a win-win philosophy. I think that is what God had in mind.

Thought for Today: Today let us focus on creating win-win situations in our lives. Observe our surroundings and lighten them up a bit. Slow for the other drivers, merge rather than block. Open a door and allow a few people through. Sit forward in church and leave some room in the back for late comers. Let's show everyone that we all can win.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, the world is a place of high stress with unrest in the mid east and financial crises in the free world. There has developed a winner take all attitude. This week we pray for reason and understanding. We pray that we can find peace and fellowship with our fellow man rather than anger and violence. Amen.

 

Try!

Thought for the Week: We will encounter bad news this week and is important to overcome it and make a positive contribution to those around us. Today let us show others our hope for future generations. 

John F. Kennedy said it this way: "One person can make a difference and every person must try." 

In Psalm 19, the psalmist says:

Psalm 19 verses 1-4 

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

 There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.”

Hope Through Prayer!

Folks, This is from my book for March 7^th. Since October 7^th I have been undergoing treatment for two blocked arteries in my heart. The stents have been installed and are working great. But, I developed a significant blood clot in my leg that will be scary and bothersome for weeks or months. This is one that I read often during the process.

Blessings,

Bob

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.”

(Romans 12 vs. 11 & 12) 

            Hold on to your faith, keep holding on. When the going gets tough, when choices are hard, when the stress builds, pray about it; turn it over to God. Paul’s letters repeat that time and time again and often we are not hearing it. Our faith is not always strong and we can be confused.

            In his message above, he is talking about a great way to get through a day, week or month. He is preaching a way of life through faith that leads to confidence and peace.

            Memorize this one, try it and you will like it! 

Thought for Today: Let’s attack today with “fervor”, being “joyful” and by all means prayerfully. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord we give thanks for the day you have made for us to have. We thank you for the opportunity to do your will and contribute to each other’s peace.

Amen