THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE

Sisters and brothers, may I ask you a very personal question: “How is your love life?”  That is to say, is there substantial and consistent evidence that you are indeed a disciple of Jesus Christ, i.e. that you truly LOVE Him AND those fellow human beings whom He has created?

Listen prayerfully and attentively to the Word.  The hallmarks of true Christianity are unmistakable.

John 13:35 (NKJV)

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

I John 4:7-8 (NKJV)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

John 14:15

If you love Me, keep My commandments. (NKJV)

John 14:21 (NKJV)

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

I Corinthians 13:4-7 (The Message Bible)

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “Me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

In the words of JESUS CHRIST, who is the personification and embodiment of love: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)

Let’s frame this issue another way, in a somewhat judicial way.  Hypothetically speaking, IF LOVE WAS A CRIME, is there SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE IN YOUR LIFE to produce a conviction, or would you be exonerated because it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you have proactively committed GODLY ACTS OF LOVE wherever you go?  Think. 

The key question for today (and every day): HOW IS YOUR LOVE LIFE?

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!

ARE WE DOING OUR BEST?

ARE WE DOING OUR BEST?

Some time back, I read an essay by an unknown author that challenged me to recalibrate my personal commitment and service to the Creator of life and all things.  Please read it, and prayerfully ponder your own productivity and connectivity to the Kingdom of God.

What If…GOD wouldn't bless us today because we didn’t thank Him yesterday?

What If…GOD decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today?

What If…GOD sent no more flowers because we grumbled when He sent rain?

What If…GOD took away the Bible tomorrow because we would not read it today?

What If…GOD didn't send His only begotten Son because we had to pay the price for sin?

What If…GOD stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others?

What If…GOD would not hear us today because we did not listen to Him yesterday?

What If…GOD answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service?

What If…GOD met our needs in the same way that we give Him our lives?

This brief essay calls to mind a scriptural challenge penned by the Apostle Paul.  “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.” (II Corinthians 13:5, NKJV)

My friend, we must be emotionally present, spiritually discerning and keenly AWARE OF OURSELVES, i.e. our PERSONAL COMMITMENT and CONNECTION to CHRIST.  Amen?  Amen!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!

THE BRIDGE KEEPER

THE BRIDGE KEEPER

Although I have posted this story before, its message is so powerful that it bears repetition.  Enjoy and be blessed by the knowledge that God’s grace and mercy is always powerfully prevalent in our lives.

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river.  During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river parallel to its banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge.  At certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing the train to safely cross it.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place whenever a train crossed.  One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights.  He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within the prescribed distance when he would turn the bridge.  As he turned the bridge into position, to his horror he discovered that the locking control did not work.  If the bridge was not locked securely in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends as the train crossed, causing it to jump the track and go crash headlong into the river.  And this was a passenger train with many people onboard.  

He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually.  He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed.  He could hear the rumble of the train now, so he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his full weight against it, locking the bridge in place.  He kept applying strong pressure to keep the mechanism locked.  Many lives depended on this one man’s faithfulness and strength.

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.  “Daddy, where are you?”  His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him.  His first impulse was to cry out to the child, “Run! Run!”  But the train was too close and his tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety.  But he realized that he could not get back to the lever.  Either the people on the train or his little son must die.  He took a moment to make his decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train.  Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed.  They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked, to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

If you can wrap your head around the powerful emotions that overwhelmed this man’s heart, you will begin to understand the feelings of OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN when He sacrificed HIS SON to bridge the gap between us and eternal life.  Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when HIS SON died on Calvary?  How does He feel when we speed along through life without giving serious thought to what He has done for us through JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON?

JESUS CHRIST is both THE LAMB OF GOD (John 1:29) and THE GOOD SHEPHERD…the Sacrifice and the Savior.

John 10:11-16 (New King James Version)

¹¹ I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  ¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  ¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!

HOW TO GATHER HONEY INSTEAD OF BEE STINGS (Part II)

HOW TO GATHER HONEY INSTEAD OF BEE STINGS (Part II)

Moises P. Reconalla blesses us with a tremendous article that speaks so eloquently about the power of our words. I reprinted half of it yesterday. Following is the second half; please read and prayerfully ponder.

When we understand the importance and power of our words, we can use them for good. The Word of God clearly declares, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21, NIV)

James, the disciple of Jesus Christ, adds this: “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider that a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a word of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6, NIV)

The foregoing scripture texts mean that life is controlled by words.

I repeat, life is controlled by words.

Words release authority.

Words determine the course of events.

Words matter.

So what should you and I do about this?

In her book entitled “Ministry of Healing,” Ellen G. White offers a practical answer to this question. “Cultivate the habit of speaking well of others. Dwell upon the good qualities of those with whom you associate, and see as little as possible of their errors and failings.”

She further encourages us, “When tempted to complain of what someone has said or done, praise something in that person’s life or character. Cultivate thankfulness. Praise God for His wonderful love in giving Christ to die for all of us.”

And for those who actually enjoy criticism, she warns, “Evil speaking is a twofold curse, falling more heavily upon the speaker than upon the hearer. He who scatters the seeds of dissension and strife reaps in his own soul the deadly fruits. The very act of looking for evil in others develops evil in those who look. By dwelling upon the faults of others, we are changed into the self-same image.”

She continues, “Instead of criticizing and condemning others, say, ‘I must work out my own salvation.’ If I cooperate with Him who desires to save my soul, I must watch myself diligently. I must become a new creature in Christ. Then, instead of weakening those who are struggling and striving against evil, I am enabled to strengthen with encouraging words.”

She adds, “We are too indifferent in regard to one another. All too often we forget that our fellow laborers are in need of strength and sympathy. Help them by your prayers, and let them know that you are ready and willing to do so.”

James concludes in his writings that, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (James 1:26, NIV)

We must remember that no one knows when life is over. Our life is like a vapor that appears for a moment and then disappears! So I encourage you, don't let your life die like an insect’s without doing something good for yourself by doing right by your fellows.

Rebecca Barlow Jordan agrees: “It’s not how much you accomplish in life that really counts, but how much you give to others. It’s not how many goals you reach, but how many lives you touch. Believe in the impossible, hold tight to the incredible, and live each day to its fullest potential. You can make a difference in your world if you are generous with your affirmations and love.”

Sufi Bayazi says this about himself: “I was a revolutionary when I was young, and all my prayer to God was ‘Lord, give me the energy to change the world.”

As I approached middle age and realized that half my life was gone without changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to “Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me. If it is just my family and friends, I shall be content.”

Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, my one prayer is “Lord, give me the grace to change MYSELF. Had I prayed for this right from the start, I would not have wasted my life.”

In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable...if anything is excellent or praiseworthy...think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

Thank you, Moises P. Reconalla, for sharing such simple yet profound wisdom with us. If we can discipline ourselves to live in this manner, we will always manage to gather honey, instead of attracting bee stings.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

HOW TO GATHER HONEY INSTEAD OF BEE STINGS (Part I)

HOW TO GATHER HONEY INSTEAD OF BEE STINGS (Part I)

I was blessed to read a thought-provoking article by Moises P. Reconalla. It speaks quite eloquently and cogently about the power of words, utilizing two of my favorite books. It’s rather long, so I’ll reprint half of it today and half tomorrow. Please read and prayerfully consider.

Few people realize the importance of the words they speak. There is almost no way to overemphasize the importance of what we say, yet most people give it almost no thought, usually speaking without thinking.

The inspirational and classical author, Og Mandino, once asked, “Why is it then that so many of us go out of our own way to offend others with criticism and offensive judgments that so often come back to haunt us? Why do we allow our big mouths to dig ruts in our path so deep that our forward progress is finally nil?” He continued and commented, “If your tongue has been busy accumulating enemies for you, enemies you do not need who can harm you, now is as good a time as any to cease and desist. How sad it would be for such a petty habit to destroy your great potential.”

Another very well-known author described the worst effects of criticism on the receivers. In Dale Carnegie’s book entitled “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” he declares “Criticism is futile because it puts a man on the defensive, and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a man’s precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses his resentment.”

Dale Carnegie reminds us, “When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.” He warns that “criticism is a dangerous spark – a spark that is liable to cause an explosion in the powder magazine of pride – an explosion that sometimes hastens death.”

Carnegie offered two very good examples to clarify his statements. “General Leonard Wood was criticized and not allowed to go with the army to France. That blow to his pride probably shortened his life. Bitter criticism drove Thomas Chatterton, the English poet, to suicide.”

The famed Greek mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras, once said, “A wound from a tongue is worse than a wound from a sword for the latter affects only the body, the former affects the spirit.”

In the Bible, James the brother and disciple of Jesus Christ, issues a warning about the evil poison that can emerge from the tongue. He described people who use their tongues to praise and bless God, then turn around to use their tongues to speak evil of one another. “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9-10)

We cannot use our tongues to curse and bad-mouth our brethren, then continue ‘business as usual’ with our relationships with God.

The Bible clearly states that such tongue-behavior is a principle characteristic of hypocrites. “The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor.” (Proverbs 11:9)

The greatest teacher of all times, The Lord Jesus Christ, reveals to us that our words are extremely and eternally important. In Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus exclaimed, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.”

My friends, this should cause all of us to think soberly and enter into self-examination mode.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

RAISE PEOPLE UP!

RAISE PEOPLE UP!

I love the inspirational saga that is the life of Mike Marino.  It speaks of the need to forge genuine human connections.  It is an indisputable fact that TOGETHER, we are significantly greater than the sum of our individual parts.  Let’s tune in on a conversation between Mike and Marlene, a person who was offering to help him.  Read and listen with your heart.

I know that I was not sent to help you, Marlene.  You were sent to help me.  However you cannot help me, Marlene, unless I lift you up first, higher and higher.

Did I ever tell you about Emma, a little four-year-old girl that I met while doing volunteer work at the Crippled Children's Hospital in 1970?  Many women had taken a morning sickness drug called Thalidomide before it was officially approved by the Food and Drug administration.  As a result, numerous babies came into the world with profound birth defects.  Little Emma was born without arms and legs.

Many of these babies were brought to children’s hospitals all across America.  Since Emma had no other means of mobility, a caring therapist made a leather bucket for her to sit in.  The bucket was attached to an -eighteen-by-eighteen-inch board with casters on all corners.  Emma would wiggle her torso back and forth to propel herself forward in the hospital halls.

Emma was a cute kid who wore pink burettes in her pigtail hair.  She also wore a diaper and a white T-shirt, adorned with a bunny rabbit picture.

I was doing volunteer work and they put me in a room with all boys.  Each of those boys had serious disabilities from birth.

Emma rolled right up into the boys’ room.  One of the boys told me not to let Emma in because she was a girl.  I let her in the room any way and Emma made her way over to my ankle.

Then Emma said, “Mr. Mike, pick me up, I want to see what they are doing on the table.”

I told Emma, without looking down at her, “I cannot pick you up because I am not allowed to touch any of the children.”

The nurse that was observing the scene said, “You can pick her up, Mr. Mike.”

One of the boys shouted out, “No.  Don't pick her up, Mr. Mike, don't pick her up!”

I had no idea how I was going to get her out of the bucket.  But I put my knee on the board and managed to free her from the bucket.  Emma had a diaper on and I was afraid the diaper would come off.  I held Emma up for two seconds so she could see the model cars and coloring books on the table.

When I went to put her back into the bucket, Emma looked at me with big brown eyes and said, “Don't put me down, Mr. Mike.  I want you to hold me.”

I said, “I am holding you.”

Emma said, “I want you to hold me close, Mr. Mike!”

I said, “I am holding you close.”

Emma said, “No, Mr. Mike, you have to hold me real close.”

I pulled Emma close to me and Emma put her head on my shoulder.  She had one tiny finger growing directly out of the side of her shoulder, and underneath her T-shirt sleeve she pressed her little finger against my shoulder and said, “I love you Mr. Mike!”

I broke down and cried like a baby.  I could not stop crying.  The boy who said “Don’t pick her up” shouted out loudly, “I told him not to pick her up, and this guy just doesn’t listen!”

The nurse came over, brought me a box of Kleenex and took Emma away from me.  She smiled brightly and said, “You're going to bed young lady.  You’ve had enough fun for today.”

Little Emma was grinning and laughing out loud!

I told the nurse, “That little girl has a finger under her T-shirt sleeve and she pressed it against me.”

The nurse replied, “Mr. Mike, you are not the first person Emma has touched with that little finger and you will not be the last.”

In that unexpected moment, Emma had touched me and somehow transformed me into a caring person!

After that, God's grace was increasingly manifested in my life.  I become stronger and accomplished many things by the grace and power of God.  The reason I tell you this story, Marlene, is because Emma knew that I needed help really badly, but she could not possibly help me until I raised her up!

That’s what I do now, Marlene.  My purpose in life is to RAISE PEOPLE UP!  So now, nobody can begin to help me until I raise them up first.  

Thanks Mr. Marino!  I am inspired by your story and I love the positive theme you’re now living by.

In the optimistic words of Mike Marino, “This is going to be a good day, because I am going to make it a good day!  If I cannot see the bright side, I polish the other side that I can see.  Nobody is going to rain on my parade!”

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!

DON'T BE AFRAID OF YOURSELF

DON’T BE AFRAID OF YOURSELF

You may not know it, but I have the fondest affection for poetry.  So I will share one of my all-time favorites with you.  It’s a poem by Robert Frost, popularly known as “The Road Less Traveled,” but originally entitled “The Road Not Taken.”  Enjoy, and I’ll add a bit of application afterwards!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

My friend, please remember that when the major events of faith were proclaimed in The Holy Writ, they were typically preceded by the following divine pronouncement: “FEAR NOT!” (Luke 2:10)  In fact, this powerful phrase appears (in one form or another) approximately 170 times in scripture.  By the sheer number of biblical inclusions, it seems obvious that GOD IS TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING, a mission-critical truth that reveals one vital aspect of our faith journey, i.e. the need to have TOTAL TRUST IN GOD and to have COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN THE DIVINE PURPOSE that has uniquely positioned us on this planet.

Believe it or not, SOME PEOPLE EXIST IN LITERAL FEAR OF THEMSELVES.  Consider this.  While it is actually commendable to embrace ‘getting along’ with others, you and I were not created to BLEND IN with every person or situation.  Just because someone does not seem to understand you, i.e. those individual quirks and idiosyncrasies that are part and parcel of your overall life experience, there is absolutely no need to discard or diminish yourself, becoming a carbon copy or clone of others.

Bottom-line: DON’T BE AFRAID TO TREAD LESS TRAVELED ROADS AND MANIFEST YOUR UNIQUENESS.  Truthfully speaking, when GOD made YOU, He threw away the mold!  Please understand the spirit of my words.  In no way am I seeking to minimize CHRIST (or others) and maximize YOU.  After all, true believers are being daily conformed to “the image of Christ.” (Romans 8:29)  What I am saying here is that there is something so uncommon and special about GOD’S DESIGN AND DESTINY FOR YOU that (as you are being transformed into the image of His Son) The Father never seeks to nullify or eliminate the particular PERSON(ALITY) that He specially crafted on the day of your birth.  Therefore, you must understand it; you must embrace it; and, you must use it for HIS glory.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!