I will be in PA for a while with Marcia's mother, so try a blog or two when near a computer.  Thanks for your prayers.

Michael

CHOICE

1. the result of exercising the best option
2. that which is approved in preference to others
3. biblical: the decision that determines the paths of life
4. personal: the power you are  granted to determine your life

"Choose this day whom you will follow."  Joshua 24:15  MKJV

In his Philippian letter, the apostle Paul uses an intimate term to describe his relationship to Christ.  He says that Christ has 'taken hold of him'.  It is the picture of a father taking hold of his child with both hands and lifting them up in joy and exultation.  We have all seen that picture lived out in our lives and remember it fondly. 

Then Paul adds that he wants to be able to 'take hold' of that for which Christ had taken hold of him.  To put it another way, God chooses you so that in turn you can choose.  You have to make a choice like God made for you.  You have to reach out and embrace your decisions and opportunities to fulfill your destiny.  By doing so, you discover God's will along the way.

"Life does not give itself to one who tries to keep all its advantages at once.  I have often thought morality may perhaps consist solely in the courage of making a choice."  Leon Blum

Wisdom for the Day

Enjoy some fresh baked bread.

"So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah.  'Quick,' he said, 'get three measures of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."  Genesis 18:6

Humor for the Day

• Birthdays are good for you - the more you have the longer you live.
• Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.
• You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

Seize the day.  It's your choice.  Michael

"A wife of noble character is her husband's crown but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones."  Proverbs 12:4

You May Not Know:

1. Historians and psychologists agree that the greatest single factor that has lead to success and greatness is not intelligence, talent or even beauty.  It was character!
2. Greek literature and philosophy dominate our classical studies but from their own view summarized what they knew to one statement: "Character is destiny".

"A talent is formed in stillness but a character is forged in the world's torrent."  Goethe

"Sow a thought and you reap an act;  sow an act and your reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap character; sow character and you reap destiny."  Unknown

The apostle James knew the life of Jesus and well said:

"Whenever trouble comes you way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when you faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully grown, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."  James 1:2-4  (NLT)

Wisdom for the Day

Pray for your leaders today.

"I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."  I Timothy 2:1,2

Humor for the Day

1. Wear a watch and you'll always know what time it is. Wear two watches and you'll never be sure.
2. How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.
3. Teach a child to be polite and courteous, and when he grows up, he'll never be able to edge his car onto a freeway.

Enjoy the weather and your family!  Michael

char-ac-ter

1. the good qualities that are esteemed and respected in a person
2. the attributes that make a person valuable to society
3. biblical: the fruit of hardship approached in faith
4. personal: what God etches in your life through suffering

"Not only this but we also exult in our tribulations, know that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, prove character; and proven character, hope."  Romans 5:3-4  NASB

Churchill grew up a sickly stutterer whose father truly hated him and young Churchill never did well in school.  He battled depressions all his life so that even when he was prime minister of England he wouldn't stay in a room with a balcony for fear he might throw himself off.  One of his daughters died in infancy, another committed suicide and he was estranged from his son for years at a time. 

Yet this man was considered one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century.  Why?  It was character.  Churchill was proof of Paul's text for today.  God uses our suffering and hardship to shape us in his image and make us useful to this suffering world. 

God uses suffering to wean us from immaturity, break the power the world holds on us and move us to seek Jesus and our destiny with him.

"Once can acquire everything in solitude except character."  Stendhal

Today's Wisdom

Keep a tight reign on your temper.

"A patient man has great understanding but a quick-tempered man displays folly."  Proverbs 14:29

Today's Humor

• There are two rules for success: 1.) Don't tell all you know.
• If #2 pencils are the most popular, are they still #2?
• A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered drawer.

Enjoy the sunshine!  Michael

"The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be."  Romans 8:7 NKJV

As I said yesterday, we are in a fight for our spiritual lives.  That broken part of man robs us of everything from peace to prosperity.  All our culture is against us.  You must feed your soul on the Word, meditate on what is noble and true and do everything possible to strengthen your spiritual self. 

A famous man of letters was recently asked what distinguished us from other cultures in history.  His answers was disturbing.  He said, "We cater to the carnal life like man once catered to the divine."

Psychologists have identified the principle of 'diminishing sensation'.  It means that every pleasure gradually becomes less pleasing and we have to do more to achieve the same levels.  They cite that this obsession becomes the foundation of the addictive process.

"God, my carnality is keep me from you.  Turn to me anyway."   Augustine

"A carnal church is a church which has nothing to offer the world for it is a product of the world in its heart."  Chris Synn

Today's Wisdom

Don't be thin-skinned.  Take criticism as well as praise with equal grace.

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."  Hebrews 12:11

Today's Humor - More Insurance Stories

• I saw a slow moving, sad faced old gentleman...as he bounced off the roof of my car.
• I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the road when I struck him.
• The pedestrian had no idea which direction to run, so I ran over him.
• The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

Have a great weekend.  Michael

car.nal

1. pertaining to the flesh
2. having a physical rather than an intellectual or spiritual orientation
3. biblical: governed by unredeemed human nature and animal desires
4. personal: ruled by your body and a lust for the impure

In the Garden, Adam and Eve enjoyed an unhindered relationship with God, they ruled over creation and delighted in each other without sin or error.  Nice!  But something terrible happened.  They fell from that perfection.

I cannot tell you exactly what happened but I do know that things haven't been the same since.  Since that day we have become increasingly ruled by the cravings of our bodies and lesser natures.  Where once we were noble, spiritual creatures living in fellowship with God and doing His will effortlessly, we have now descended into some kind of slavery to our darker sides.  Our carnal natures.

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."  Romans 5:8 NIV

Carnal literally means 'meat oriented' suggesting that our reasoning is drawn from the body and the drives are centered in that body.  We were designed to have physical drives and enjoy them in God's plan but what was meant for pleasure has come to govern and rule our lives.  No wonder we do find fulfillment when our carnal nature derails the noble purposes of spirit and soul.

"When I am carnal, I am a meathead.  I don't want to be a meathead anymore."  Ken Copeland

Today's Readings

OT  I Samuel 4-6      NT   Luke 12:35-59

Today's Wisdom

Be better prepared than you think you need to be.

"He said to them, 'but now if you have a purse, take it and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.'"   Luke 22:36

Today's Humor : Actual Insurance Stories

• I didn't think the speed limit applied after midnight.
• A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
• The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.
• I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.

I appreciate the jokes you send me but remember that my email filters out FWD: so copy and paste if you want me to get it.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Michael

"The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food."  Genesis 2:9 NIV

You May Not Know:

Confirmed by theologians, psychologist and history is this truth:  Human beings become what they behold.  Behold beauty and the soul flourishes.  Behold the ugly and dark and life becomes the same.

A company became concerned about the 'techno' focus of its employees who spent hours at the computer screen.  It began requiring a ten-minute 'beauty break' every day.  Workers were required to admire something non-technical, of beauty and not on the computer.  They could look at art, listen to music or go for a walk. The result was increased productivity and greater morale.

"Beauty is God's handwriting."  Charles Kingsley

"Beauty is truth and truth is beauty.  That is all you on earth and all you need to know."  John Keats

As I shared yesterday, we were designed to appreciate beauty.  They aren't natures accidents.  They are one way God speaks to you and sure nourishment for your soul. 

Take a 10 minute 'beauty break' and see how it blesses your soul.

The Bible in One Year

OT  I Samuel 1-3    NT Luke 12:1-34

Today's Wisdom

Keep what is told in confidence secret. 

"A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much."  Proverbs 20:19

Today's Humor

There's two theories for arguing with a woman. Neither one works.

Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves you unprotected.

Ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you, but when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window?

Today's Idea

Check out the church web site today:  www.brownstownchristian.org

Talk to you tomorrow.  Michael.

beau.ty

1. that which gives pleasure to the senses
2. a particular grace, feature or ornament
3. biblical: a characteristic of God that is reflected in creation
4. personal: what you esteem in God, appreciate in his creation and seek to become

"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and beauty, for it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want.'"  Luke 4:5-6

When was the last time you heard the phrase 'getting back to nature'?  While we use it as a sign of our displeasure with the world's pace, it better describes a need to renew a simpler communion with nature, beauty and God.  It is a spiritual need at its center.

What most don't realize is that God created the natural world for our blessing and as a revelation of his character and nature.  That is why the apostle Paul in his Roman letter said even the unbelieving is without excuse since God has revealed his invisible qualities, power and nature in beauty of creation. 

Didn't you notice your innate attraction to a sunset or starry sky? 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."  Psalm 19:1

Haven't you wondered about the entrancing quality of water?

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in the great waters; these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep."  Psalm 107:23

"O world, as God has made it.  All is beauty."    Robert Browning

Beauty is more than you imagined as we shall talk about tomorrow.

Today's Reading

OT Ruth                  NT   Luke 11:29-54

Today's Wisdom

When something troubles you and you can't sleep, jot down 2 or 3 things you can do the next day about the problem.

"Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God and the peace of God...will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6,7

Today's Humor

The Invisible Man married the Invisible Woman, but their kids aren't much to look at.

I bought a box of animal crackers and it said on it "Do not eat if seal is broken." So I opened up the box, and sure enough... "

When you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.

Today's Prayer

Keep Esther Hotchkiss in your prayers today.  Some routine tests but we want good results.  Also keep Bill Sterling in your thoughts.  He is in the ICU and making little progress.

Michael

'"God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."  Hebrews 1:9 NIV

Take an inventory of the places in your life where you are striving hard to change and change is coming hard.  Remember, you have the 'anointing' or Spirit of God living within you.  There are some struggles that will require that help from the Spirit.  The scripture calls them the 'fruit of the Spirit' and they come from simply asking and allowing His Spirit to grow them within you.

It is hard to love the unloving, to be patient when you don't feel patient and to lay down your life for others.  It isn't natural but it is what God desires.  You don't do it.  You allow it. 

"It is the common deed accomplished while the common man is under God's anointing that thrills the angels."  Dwight Moody

You May Not Know:

In Isaiah 20:27, the original word translated in the phrase 'the anointing will break the yoke' actually means 'fat'.  The animal would grow so big and fat that he would break the yoke.  The word 'anointing oil' used of old originally came from that fat.

The word for anointing, charisma, is a compound word: icharis, meaning power plus the suffix ma meaning 'toward a goal'.  Scholars agree that the word may be properly translated 'power flow'. 

You can experience the 'power flow' of God every day when you do them by the power of the Lord.  Give what effort you can and trust the presence of God to do the rest, especially what you cannot see.

Today's Readings

OT Judges 20-21                 NT Luke 11:1-28

Today's Wisdom

Decide to get up thirty minutes earlier.  Do this for a year and you will add over seven days to your waking world.

"I rise before the dawning of the morning and cry for help.  I hope in Your Word."  Psalm 119:147

Today's Humor

How do they get the "Keep off the grass" sign on the grass?

A Buddhist monk walks up to a hot dog vendor and asks, "Make me one with everything!"

There are 3 essential tools: duct tape, WD40 and a hammer. If something is moving and it shouldn't be, duct tape it. If it isn't moving and it should be, use WD40. If it still doesn't move, hit it with a hammer. If it breaks, tape it back together with the duct tape.

Enjoy the day.  Michael

1. an application of power or symbol of power
2. a choosing and endowment for service
3. biblical: a flow of power for a specified purpose
4. personal: the power of God to fulfill God's calling for you

"You have an anointing from the Holy Spirit."  I John 2:20  MKJV

It may not be a word you are familiar with or even comfortable considering but it is one of the most prized possessions of God's Word.  God is not a harsh taskmaster.  He doesn't require more than you can do and then condemn you for not doing it.  God has set high standards but then he has made sure you have what you need to meet those standards.

Part of that provision is what the Bible calls 'the anointing'.  The word means 'a flow of grace and power to achieve a desire result'.  Sometimes the word refers simply to the applying of oil because this was the outward sign in the ancient world. 

We tend to think of anointed people as those who have gifts for a special job.  You may think as a pastor that I am anointed to my calling.  We might look at a Christian writer or musician and see how they must be gifted or 'anointed'.  But what you must understand is that YOU are anointed.  That is what the scriptures teach.  You have an anointing from Jesus himself.  Tomorrow I will explain further.

"Not all the water in the rough rude sea can wash the balm from an anointed King."  William Shakespeare

Today's Reading

OT  Judges 12-14                       NT   Luke 9:37-62

Today's Wisdom:  Teach Someone

"And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others."  2 Timothy 2:2

Today's Humor

The things that come to those who wait are actually the things that were left by those who got there first!

If you're on a cruise, you're with newlyweds, over-feds and nearly deads!

Today's Request

We have had a large number of funerals in the last two months and I would like to add some new workers to our funeral meal team.  They do an excellent job tending to a grieving family with some comfort food.  If you think you might like to help now and then, check off the tear off Sunday or give me a call. 

Have a great day.  Don't forget your taxes!

Michael

"Be angry and sin not; do not let the sun go down on your anger."  Ephesians 4:26 NASB

Do you know?

Doctors are increasingly understanding the connection between emotions and illness.  Among all the emotions a person can feel, anger is connected to more sickness and physical deformities than any other single emotion.

It could be argued that people are angrier today than ever before and we are paying a toll in our health and safety.  It is such a safety factor that law enforcement recognizes its violent presence in terms like 'road rage', 'air rage' and 'sports rage'.

What most don't realize is that anger is a mask for hurt.  Yesterday we learned that 'orge' is the anger turned within that steeps and boils.  To mask that pain, we often vent our anger outwardly and become a bitter and enraged person without knowing why.  To deal with the bitterness, we must deal with the pain and face the hurt that lurks within.

To address the anger, we must resolve the hurt by understanding the truth, forgiving the injury, clearing our conscience and outliving the bitterness.  Dare to examine the pain at the heart of your anger.  Otherwise 'orge' will build a fortress in your heart you cannot conquer.

"Anger is a weed; hate is the tree."  Augustine

"Pride was not made for men nor furious anger for them that are born of woman."  Apocrypha

Today's Reading

Morning  Judges 10-11                   Evening    Luke 9:1-36

Today's Wisdom

Return the things that you borrow.  "The wicked borrows and does not repay but the righteous shows mercy and gives."  Psalm 37:21

Today's Humor

• If blind people wear dark glasses, why don't deaf people wear earmuffs?
• How does a Purdue graduate make his car go faster? He takes the Domino's Pizza sign off the top.
• Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Today's Prayer Request

Remember Flora today.  Oscar's service is at 10 am.  Seventy one years of marriage is special.

Michael

1. a passionate response to injury
2. an intense felling of the soul in the face of injustice and cruelty
3. biblical: a strong emotional agitation that must be mastered
4. personal: your souls' negative response to pain

"Man's anger does nto bring about the righteous life that God desires."  James 1:20 NIV

Two Greek words are used for anger in the New Testament.  The first is 'thumos' which is the healthier side of anger.  It means 'the soul's response to pain, suffering and injustice'.  It tends to be more seasonal and is usually tied to wrongdoing and ends when the condition which started it ends.

When Paul told believers to be angry but without sin, he was speaking of 'thumos'.  It can serve us well if handled positively.  It is the second type of anger that is the dangerous one.  It is 'orge' and contains more than just the feeling of anger.  It describes what happens when unanswered anger is allowed to seep into the soul (our very heart) and build a fortress there.  Wrongs are turned over again and again in our mind.  The words and injury are rehearsed a thousand times.  Revenge is the result.  'Orge' is a killer.

The English word for this anger comes from the Latin word which means to choke or strangle.  Our word angina comes from it and implies the tightening of the heart.  Should it surprise us that there is a connection between intense angers and heart conditions.

You may not resort to violence but this anger can diminish your life.  You wind up living out you lesser self and your capacity for love and forgiveness is stifled.  You grow hard, unfeeling and alone.  Do you know people like that?

"Anger is a short madness."  Horace

Today's Readings

Morning Judges 8,9                      Evening  Luke 8:22-56

Today's Wisdom

Become the most positive and optimistic person you know.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13

Today's Humor

I'm a pessimistic optimist. I expect the worst - that way things can only get better.

Ninety two percent of cross-eyed teachers have difficulty controlling their pupils.

Tomorrow

We look at the apostle's answer to anger and find a reason for hope.

Visited with Chris Voss who had half his hand severed at work.  He is optimistic and moving forward to retraining and surgeries.  Keep him and Jennifer in your prayers.

Michael

Things you probably didn't know about abundance:

• One of the words for abundance in the Greek New Testament is hyperbole.  The English word of the same spelling is derived from it and literally means, "to throw far beyond".
• When the English Pilgrims sailed to the New World, one of their number wrote that they dreamed of making their new home 'a land of the abundant life for all nations'.

"Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church and by Jesus Christ throughout the ages."  Ephesians 3:20,21 MKJV

Paul understood abundance as well as need.  He constantly chided the believers he taught for living beneath the life Jesus had come to give them.  He knew they were overcomers, shining ones, heirs of the good gifts of God.  In fact, when Paul's churches misbehaved and he searched for some phrase to describe their behavior, he settled on 'mere men'.  In other words, the worst thing Paul could think of to call Christians who had compromised themselves was that they were merely human, merely existing.  They had slipped beneath the glory God had designed for them.

The key to the abundant life is found in something Paul told the Ephesians.  He told them that there is a power in the believer that is capable of doing far more than human beings can ask or imagine.  This is the dream of the human heart restored.  Ask for it, take it for your own and refuse to live with anything less.

"The abundant life is far more than material prosperity.  It is the life of a heart fulfilled."  Harold Paul

Today's Wisdom - Give someone a thoughtful gift, even a book.

"A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men."  Proverbs 18:16

Today's Reading Plan

Morning: Judges 6-7               Evening:  Luke 8:1-21

Today's Humor

"Doctor, there is a man here who thinks he's invisible." The doctor says, "Tell him I can't see him!"

Today's Prayer

Give God praise for a good report for Rita Coates.  The problem appears to be a bulged disc in the back but that's a good report.

Don't forget Family Hour Wednesday evening.  See you then.

Michael