Archive for December, 2009

(By Ron Hutchcraft)
 
The plane bound for Newark Airport was full. Now all those passengers are waiting for their suitcase to arrive on the baggage carousel along with passengers from a couple of other flights. And to think people pay to go to the zoo! There are times when that crowd of people gets pretty big and we’re all crammed together in an area that can get pretty wall-to-wall. Recently the claustrophobia got worse than ever, they have put up a wall that reduces the already limited space. You could get pretty steamed about it if you didn’t realize that wall was there to cover up some construction that’s in progress. See, they are improving and enlarging that whole area! Now how do they make us feel good about this crunch in the meantime? They put up a sign on that construction wall and it seemed to do the job. I didn’t forget it and it said this, “Thanks for your patience. We are getting rid of yesterday so we can get ready for tomorrow.”
 
That’s God’s construction strategy, too, for improving and enlarging your life. Our word for today from the Word of God, Philippians 3:13-14. Paul says, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Or, I am getting rid of yesterday so I can get ready for tomorrow.
 
Well, are you hanging on to yesterday. Those construction people at the airport have to make a choice. Shall we hang onto what’s been in the past or leave that behind and build something for the future? You can’t have both. They can’t have the future if they keep hanging onto the past, and neither can you.
 
It may be that you are writing the verse this way, “Dwelling on what is behind,” “remembering what is behind.” You won’t let go of the past: the hurts, the slights, the pain, the problems, the miss understandings, the grudge, and the resentments. You keep reliving and replaying them and consequently you have pretty much identified your place in life, I’m a victim. And you may very well have been a victim. But you will be tomorrow a victim, only if you insist on carrying your yesterday into your tomorrow.
 
You’ve got Jesus now. Your identity is “child of God,” not victim. Your tomorrows need to be focused on pursuing what Jesus can make you, not what your past has made you. Maybe the yesterdays you won’t forget are your failures. You’ve got to leave them behind, too.
 
You cannot change the past, and the Devil would love to have you focused on what can’t be changed. Then you’re a slave for life. Jesus wants you to focus on what can be changed, the future. That has yet to be written. You can determine right now, no matter what the past has been that the rest of your days will be the best of your days and that your past will not infect your future. You draw a line today.
 
The choice is clear, just like that construction company; you have to choose between yesterday or tomorrow. Dwelling on your yesterdays will cost you what your tomorrows could have been. Releasing your yesterdays, deliberately moving past them, makes room for what God wants to build in your future. Jesus is in the construction business with you, getting rid of yesterday so He can get ready for tomorrow.
 
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“If you want to feel helpless and depressed, try assuming God’s responsibility for Him. It is not our responsibility to change the world. It is our responsibility to trust and obey, and to become the people God has called us to be.” – Neil T. Anderson

 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see
the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  –  John 3:3

~ I can’t come in to work today because I’ll be stalking my previous boss, who fired me for not showing up for work. Okay?

~ I have a rare case of 48-hour projectile leprosy, but I know we have that deadline to meet…:)

~ I am stuck in the blood pressure machine down at the Food Giant.

~ Yes, I seem to have contracted some attention-deficit disorder and, hey, how about them Skins, huh? So, I won’t be able to, yes, could I help you? No, no, I’ll be sticking with Sprint, but thank you for calling.

~ I just found out that I was switched at birth. Legally, I shouldn’t come to work knowing my employee records may now contain false information.

~ The dog ate my car keys. We’re going to hitchhike to the vet. 

~ I prefer to remain an enigma. 

~ I can’t come to work today because the EPA has determined that my house is completely surrounded by wetlands and I have to arrange for helicopter transportation. 

~ I am converting my calendar from Julian to Gregorian. 

~ I am extremely sensitive to a rise in the interest rates. 

~ I refuse to travel to my job until there is a commuter tax. I insist on paying my fair share. 

~ I’ve used up all my sick days…so I’m calling in dead. 

~ I set half the clocks in my house ahead an hour and the other half back an hour Saturday and spent 18 hours in some kind of space-time continuum loop, reliving Sunday (right up until the explosion). I was able to exit the loop only by reversing the polarity of the power source exactly e*log(pi) clocks in the house while simultaneously rapping my dog on the snout with a rolled up Times. Accordingly, I will be in late, or early. 

From Pearly Gates by Pastor Tim Davis

Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Prayer, Praise and Promises
Scripture Reference: Psalm 150:1-6

An Orchestra of Praise

Read Psalm 150:1-6

The hymnbook of the Bible is the Book of Psalms, and the last psalm summarizes what God wants us to know about praise and worship. The Christian faith is a singing and praising faith. No other religion has praise and singing such as we have, because we have the song of the Lord in our hearts. The psalmist answers some important questions about praise in this psalm.

Who is it that we praise? “Praise the Lord” (v. 1)–not the church, not the preacher, but the Lord. Our problem is that we often don’t see the Lord. We look at gifts or lack of gifts from God. We say, “Why didn’t the Lord do this, or why wasn’t it done differently?” We don’t really see Him. Let’s get beyond the gift to the Giver. Let’s get beyond the blessing to the Blesser. Let’s praise the Lord. “Rejoice in the Lord,” Paul said. “Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).

Where do we praise Him? “Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament” (v. 1). What an interesting combination. When we praise God in church, it’s just like the praise of the angels in heaven. In the sanctuary or wherever we are, let’s praise Him.

Why do we praise Him? “Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!” (v. 2). We praise Him for what He is and for what He does.

How do we praise Him? With the sound of the trumpet, with the psaltery, the harp, the timbre!, the dance, the stringed instruments, the flute and the loud cymbals. The psalmist is saying, “Get the whole orchestra together. Find every instrument you can, and let’s praise the Lord.” Some people don’t like that kind of praise, but we are commanded here to praise Him and to make a loud song to His glory.

* * *
All of nature is praising God today, but His people are prone to forget to praise Him. Ask yourself these praise questions of Psalm 150 and then meditate on the psalmist’s answers. You have much for which to give praise. Bring joy to God’s heart by praising Him.

A ministry of Back to the Bible

by Randy Smith
Pastor/Teacher

We’ve watched the biblical content of services shrink beyond visibility. But doesn’t faith come by hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17)? Are the spiritually dead not born again by the living and abiding Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23)? Do the people of God not grow by the pure milk of God’s Word (2:2)? Then does it not matter what we read, preach, and sing in our services, and in what quantities? Should we not be alarmed when we see self-centered sermons replace biblical exposition, repetitious choruses replace biblically rich hymnody and psalmody, token prayers replace a full-diet of biblical prayer (for example, praise, confession, thanksgiving, intercessions), and Scripture reading disappear altogether?  - 
Terry L. Johnson