The Happiest Season!

Good News 120710- Happiest Season  

“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.

On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;

others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

(Mark 8 vs 27-29)

            It is a great time of the year when we look forward to celebrating Christ’s birth. We are blessed because we believe and are warmed by His presence in our everyday lives. Amongst the daily stresses that our society places on us we have a God given relief.

            I find it interesting that 30 plus years after his birth he was asking who they believed he was. My thoughts are that the Christmas story would be enough. But then, nothing in this world is ever easy; not then and certainly not now.

            So what is Christmas really about? Gifts, material giving and a recharging of our spiritual batteries. It is a great time of the year, the happiest time of the year. We need to enjoy the season while we recharge our batteries, reinforce our beliefs and prepare for the New Year ahead. 

             Katharine McPhee said in her song:

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on our troubles
Will be out of sight” 

Blessings to you all for a great season of Joy! 

Thought for Today: The Christmas season is not all joys. We will encounter stress, financial hardships, bad weather and all the events of winter life. They are all blessings that are part of our lives. We need to keep Christ as our focus and our stresses will be overcome. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father we give thanks for Christmas and all the festivities. We give thanks that “our troubles will be out of sight” through prayer.

Amen

Tough Times

Good News 012411 Tough Times

“Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me.
Take up shield and armor;
   arise and come to my aid.”

(Psalm 35 vs. 1&2)

 

            All days are not created equal. Often there are negative forces in our competitive society that seem overwhelming. There are career issues; most people don’t awaken every day with enthusiasm to go to work.

 

Financial issues always need to be dealt with and seem to recreate themselves monthly, weekly or quarterly. The calendar always seems too crowded. All together it is easy to wonder where God is in all of this. Is someone working against us?

            Early Christians had it a lot tougher than we do. In David’s case above the majority of the crowds wanted him dead. That was also the case for Paul and Silas almost everywhere they went; “But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.” (Acts 17 vs. 5)  Being an early Christian required a strong faith dedication and I personally think they had to be able to run fast and far!

            The early Christians turned things around through their belief system. We can also do that. We do it with prayer and meditation; God is always with us and available to help.

Thought for Today:  Today let us start out without fear, stress and conflict. If somehow it finds us, interrupts us let’s deal with it in a Godly way. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father today we give thanks for your presence in our lives; for the opportunity you give us when we speak to you. We give thanks for the peace you bring us.

Amen

Turn Around

Good News 012411 Turn Around

“May those who delight in my vindication
   shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
   who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
   your praises all day long.”

(Psalm 35 vs. 27 & 28) 

                In basic physics we are taught that perpetual motion does not and cannot exist. Something in motion will eventually stop due to outside forces unless we apply energy to it to keep it moving. If you don’t believe it, take your foot of the gas! For non technical people reading this a good summary statement is that there is no free lunch.

            Yesterday we read about the resistance felt by early Christians. The majority did not believe or support them and they had some long days. Of course, many were martyred like Paul and Peter. We will have stressful days, negative days. Yesterday’s message was entitled “Trouble” because at some level we encounter it daily.

            We need to understand that somehow negativity is an opportunity for growth. When we resolve it, we will feel better. Through dedication and prayer and a bit of effort, we can always turn things around.

            We can apply physics to our lives, our congregations, our careers. We need to apply our skills and efforts to keep the ball rolling in a positive way. There is no free lunch and no penalty for success. As stated above “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

            We are asked to turn negativity around through our strength and faith. 

Thought for the Day: Today we will have an opportunity to turn over a negative force; to improve our lives. Today let’s make it happen through our strength, efforts and prayers. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today is the first day of the rest of my life, it will start carefree with a beautiful sunrise. We may run into negative forces, difficult situations and items we would rather not deal with. We pray that you guide us and give us the faith and strength to  make it through.

Amen

Thanksgiving Thought!

Good News Thanksgiving Concept 

"As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so live in him, rooted and built up
in him and established in the faith,
just as you were taught,
abounding in Thanksgiving"
(Colossians 2:6-7)

 
            This is just a short prayer of Thanksgiving today for all of you. The best part of Good News, God is my Spinach and this blog is the many of you who contact me that I have never met. Our Good News list of friends includes four CEO's (at least two take time to share the Good News with staff), many salesmen (because that is my world), several clergy in several countries, many retirees and all sorts of others. Thanks to you all because you each enhance my life at some level.

        Several years ago my pastor spoke of "returning thanks" to God this week rather than "Giving Thanks". It was something his grand father used to do three times a day. His basis was that God gave us the things we are thankful for and he wanted to hear from us but that we were really giving back or returning thanks.  
        This week I return thanks you all, as well as to God, and share my love of people and life with you.

Prayer for Thanksgiving: Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, we return blessings and thanks to you today for the many wonderful experiences we have, the love that we feel from our friends and acquaintances and for the guidance that you give us in our daily lives. We pray that through out the world people learn to appreciate your blessings and to live the life that you desire for us; one of peace and good will for all.
Amen

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Thanksgiving Blessing!

Good News 112102A Thanksgiving 

"As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so live in him, rooted and built up in
him and established in the faith,
just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving".
(Colossians 2:6-7) 

            June and I are especially thankful for a family running event we started in 1990, now called the Turkey Day 5K. Each year we are tearfully proud when 10,000 plus runners, walkers, pets and wheel chair participants enjoy their Thanksgiving morning in downtown Minneapolis.  As an aside, but probably more important, will be the contributions of food and hard cash that will be received by the Second Harvest food shelf.  This year, owner operator has fulfilled our dream and taken the event to several cities and it is now a national event. (Boise, Chicago, Minneapolis, Phoenix and San Frisco) We both feel blessed that the Lord gave us the inspiration start this event and placed people in our path who have made it special.

             Thanksgiving is the traditional start of what we call the holiday season. While giving thanks we must be aware and focusing on the good rewarding parts of our lives; focusing on the positive. 

I like the way H. Norman Wright put it, "Thanksgiving is not to be limited to only the times when we are aware of blessings. Let us give thanks even when we have a problem to solve, when there are difficulties to be met.  At these times, we give thanks to God for unconditional love and goodness, for unlimited wisdom and abundance. When we give thanks continually, we are rejuvenated- spirit, mind and body."

    Let us hold those thoughts and be thankful for all of our blessings.

Thought for Today: Let us focus  on giving thanks to God for the love we have for each other and the support we both give and receive.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, this week we give you thanks for our friends, our families and our troubles. Yes, we give you thanks for our financial crises, our family stress and the ripples in our personal seas of tranquility. Trough our troubles we learn to pray and appreciate the many blessings that seem greater when compared with the ripples of life. We give you thanks for our lives, your love and your Grace.
Amen

Desire

Good News 060101 Desire

"Flee the evil desires of youth,
and pursue righteousness, faith love and peace...”
(2timothy 2 verse 22)

            In this letter, Paul sounds a lot like my mom sounded during high school. During my teen years listening was not my strong suit. How could a ranked athlete and honor student be a bad guy? In my mind my record justified my behaviors and the price paid was ten years that today I refer to as my dark period. Those year were the times I spent learning how life really was a two way street as opposed to a one way street that I owned.

            Faith somehow stayed with me and praying was often present when the darkness was dominant. God was with me in spite of my behaviors. He was always there and I would reach out to him just as Popeye would grab for his spinach. And, just like Popeye’s spinach, He always came through for me. He will also come through for you.

Thought for Today: Today will not be perfect so keep your prayer close by and ask for support! 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we thank you for the goodness in our lives and the hope and love that tomorrow will surely bring.

Amen

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