Thought of the Day !!

[God says,] "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence."
Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT)

Trust in the Lord for all things and He will see you through. What areas of your life might you need to place a little more faith in Him and His ways and have a little less confidence in your own?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

"For nothing is impossible with God."
Luke 1:37 (NIV)

Not your problems. Not your pain. Not your finances. Not your past, present, or future. "Nothing is impossible with God."

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:7 (NIV)

God loves you no matter who you are or where you've been or what you're life has been like. That's called grace. He accepts you and is lovingly patient with all your flaws.

Paul tells us to accept one another in this same way. And when we do, we'll bring praise to God.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.
Colossians 4:5

It's been said by Phillip Yancey that "the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians...who claim Jesus with their lips and deny Him with their lifestyles. This is what an unbelieving world finds so unbelieveable."

Let's take a look at ourselves as a family of believers and ask ourselves if we are living on Monday what we're claiming on Sunday.

"Live wisely among those who are not Christians." We can put this another way. Live as Christians ought to live when we go outside the church doors. We're not perfect. But, as John Wesley might say, we're striving for perfection in love of God and love of neighbor, and we're teaching others the same by our words, our actions and our lifestyles.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10 (NLT)

In a world that's "all about me" let us think about others and share our genuine affection them. Honoring others can be fun. See how many little ways you can find to honor someone else today. You might also see what ingenious ways you can come up with too. And then enjoy being a part of giving to someone else.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! And be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand-and even more, besides. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them.
Mark 4:23-25

Do you ever find yourself going to Scripture to prove something you already believe? I've done that before, and on too many occasions. Reading Scripture is one of the ways we listen to Jesus speak to us. We must be open to whatever God will say through God's Holy Word, not listening for when we hear what we want to hear.

As you open your bibles and begin to read, ask God to speak to you. Ask God to take away any prejudices that may blind you. And be open to how God speaks to you.

"To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given." Jesus is saying that if we are open to what he wants to share with us we will grow in wisdom.

"But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them." I would hate to speculate the number of people today who call themselves Christians and yet do not know more than they did when they first had some sort of conversion experience. If we are not willing to grow with Christ, then even what we've received will be taken away from us.

Be open to the Word and Will of God today to lead, guide and direct your ways. And stay in communication with Christ through the Holy Spirit by your prayers and your Bible Study. Then nothing will ever be taken away.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (TEV)

Many pastors fight the call to ministry and miss out on many years of fruitful ministry because they don't want to accept what God's calling them to do. Many people fight the urge to share their faith with somebody because they don't think that they are gifted enough to do so. Others claim that they're not leaders and are unwilling to be an example for others.

Could it be that many of us are waiting for all the stars to line up in just the right position and for God to speak to us from a burning bush and mystically change something about us before our very eyes before we will be the people God wants us to be already? Obviously this is not all of us. But how often would it take a miracle from God to get you going on something that He's calling you to do? If we wait too long for that perfect moment or that perfect calling, we just might miss out.

It takes stepping out in faith for real miracles to happen in this world. St. Augustine once said that we should pray for miracles, but work for results. Are we waiting for the perfect moment to arrive? Or are we working for the results of daily miracles?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

[The LORD said to Moses,] "Now go! When you speak, I will be with you and give you the words to say."
Exodus 4:12 (CEV)

I want you to think about something today. Have you ever been speaking to someone about Christ or giving some kind of Christian counsel to a friend and you realized later that what you said was just what the other person needed to hear?

I've had times where somebody would come to me with a problem or a faith question that I really didn't know how to answer in a way that they could understand. Then all of a sudden it comes from me so clearly. They "get it", and I wonder where "it" came from.

Actually, I don't wonder. In those occasions I know that the Holy Spirit used me to help someone else. God spoke through me.

You don't have to be a pastor for this to happen. Just open yourself up to the Spirit and pray for opportunities to reach out to people in their need. God will provide the opportunities (sometimes when you least expect them), and He "will be with you and give you the words to say."

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the LORD Almighty, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!"
Malachi 3:10 (NLT)

Tithing literally means giving ten percent of what you have. Those who have more will obviously tithe more than those who have less. My own personal belief is that this is kind of like the standard amount and anything given over this is what's called offering. Of course our offerings come in other ways as well. We offer our time, our words, our witness, our prayers, our life, etc. But this particular verse in Malachi is speaking to the tithes of the people.

God commanded the people to give back. One reason is that the tithes that filled the storehouses fed the priests, for the priests worked in the Temple and owned no land or animals. Another reason for tithing was so that the people would show their faith in God to take care of them.

How much faith do you have in God? Do you trust Him enough to give Him a full ten percent of your paycheck? Some people believe that's a whole lot...even too much. This can show a lack of faith in a God who promises to bless those who will submit to Him though.

Many people believe that they can't give ten percent because they have bills to pay. But I've known of people who've tithed faithfully and seen that over the years when they were in need, God provided.

As a pastor I know that there are those out there, especially those outside of the church, that believe I'm just wanting more money in the offering plate when I speak to people about giving more. But the truth is that our giving is directly proportionate to our faith. It's not a money matter. It's a spiritual matter. It's also not just giving to charity. It's giving to the Church (for the Israelites it was the Temple). And by the way, the Church is the Church as a whole and not one building or even denomination.

So think about how much you give. Speak to God about it. Ask if it's enough. Don't ask for help in giving. Ask for increased faith. And with increased faith, you'll gladly give more of your money, your time and your efforts.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

The pastor arrived early to church one Sunday morning as he always did. But on this particular day someone had beat him there. It was one of the members who needed a private audience with the pastor. The member felt that the pastor needed to know that the Sunday School teacher was not using the "right" material, and therefore should be stopped. It evidently didn't matter that the Sunday School class has almost doubled in size since the teacher had changed over.

As the pastor was making coffee for the early arriving parishioners, one of the ladies of the church came into the kitchen complaining about the mess that had been made over the weekend and the stain in the carpet that would "never" come out. "Those kids just have to be taught to be more careful", she exclaimed. The pastor simply responded that he'd ask someone to bring in a steam cleaner and that the kids in question had been there for a youth retreat where several had claimed that they'd be in church this day. The only response was that she hoped they'd behave.

On the way to Sunday School a man met the pastor and said that he felt the pastor really needed to read from the real Bible (evidently not the one he'd been using) and shorten his sermon. Otherwise he was going to leave for another church that worshiped the right way, from the right bible and got out on time.

After Sunday School was over and the pastor had spent some time in his office praying, he headed for the sanctuary. Before entering he was stopped yet again. This time by the choir director. The choir director told him not to expect much today out of the choir, and asked how he could be expected to bring about quality specials with people who couldn't even read music.

After the service was over some people went by the pastor praising God and thanking the pastor for bringing God's message. One person shared some good news about her job. Another asked for prayer as he was taking his daughter to have surgery later in the week. Others simply smiled and went by.

Then the first person the pastor had met that morning reminded the pastor to speak to the Sunday School teacher. The lady from earlier complained about how distracting the newer kids had been. The unhappy worshiper simply looked down at his watch, shaking his head and never said a word. And the choir director ranted about every missed note...even though others had praised the choir for such a good job.

We can go through life positively or negatively. We can affirm people of put them down. We can fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise (as Paul listed). Or we can fix our thoughts on more negative attributes. Which of these will we choose? And which are more Christ-like?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field."
Matthew 13:44 (NLT)

This is what it's like to have an obsession. The man found a treasure that he felt he just couldn't live without. He didn't take any shortcuts. He didn't try to steal what wasn't his. He hid the treasure again and ran off to get enough money to buy the field where the treasure was.

He was so obsessed that he willingly sold everything he owned. Do we understand what that means? He sold his wedding ring, his car, his insurance policy, his home, his television, his computer, his books, his clothes and then emptied his bank account. He was so obsessed with having the treasure that nothing else mattered until he had what he was so desperate for.

Can you feel the man's intensity? Can you sense the urgency? Can you understand the passion and desperation that he had?

Being obsessed with God means that without Him nothing else matters. It means that we're desperate enough to do anything to sense His presence and feel His touch. This is what true life is all about. It's Kingdom living, which is asking, seeking, knocking constantly and receiving what God has for us.

Is God and the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth an obsession for you? Would you do anything for the mountaintop experiences that come only from being in the presence of God? Keep on searching, knocking and asking, for we're told that if we do, we will receive.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NLT)

Good words to live by.

In the love of Christ,
greg

In Remembrance of 7 years ago

I received an email devotion from Andy Stoddard today, who is a friend of mine from seminary and pastor of Ripley First UMC. It was a 9/11 prayer. I wanted to pass it along today as our Thought of the Day!! As we remember the tragedy of 7 years ago, may we continue to heal and strengthen and carry the love of Christ forward in a love-starved world.

In the love of Christ,
greg


Today is the 7th Anniversary of the attacks of September 11. In remembrance of this tragedy, I share with you a prayer that I have found. May we remember this day, remember those that gave so much, and pray for all that put themselves in way of harm for their country.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today is a difficult day. The memories are painful and some of the wounds I fear may never heal. Yet I pray you will help me to go on living for truth, firm in my hope of your salvation. May I live for you, Lord, and by doing so, be an example to my friends and family. I pray, just like Jesus, I may learn obedience through these things that I have suffered. Help me not to question why, yet even if I do, give me courage to continue to trust you. Help me take the comfort and strength you've poured into my life and use it to comfort and strengthen others who need hope.

I pray I might become a better person and help make the world a better place because of this terrible event. Thank you for the heroes that gave so sacrificially on September 11. Help me to remember their courage and learn from them. I want my life to be worthy of you Lord, so make of it what you desire, and use me to fulfill your purposes. May the evil of that day cause me and my family to work harder to do good on this Earth and to bring your light into the dark places. Help me to never stop believing in you and living my life for you.

Lord, heal all those who were crushed and broken on that day. May they come to experience your presence and know your peace.

Amen.

Thought of the Day !!

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
Romans 14:13 (NIV)

It's easy to criticize or judge others, but it's not the Christian thing to do. If we were to try to work together, instead of placing stumbling blocks in each other's way, we could get so much more done for Christ.

Today, search for places where you might need to put your feelings for someone aside and work with him or her. Sometimes when we do this, we find out that we're not nearly as different as we thought.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!"
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)

The Israelites are given a choice and asked by God to make a decision. They are told to choose between life and death. Now at first glance one might say, "That's easy. I'd choose to live rather than die." But this is not God holding a gun to their heads telling them "your money or you life" kinda thing. This is not a question of whether or not lightning will strike them dead or not. God plans on them surviving the day and existing after this day.

So what is God asking the Israelites to choose between?

He's telling them that they can choose between a life of purpose and meaning and fulfillment and a life that has no purpose, meaning, or fulfillment. He's telling them that they can choose between being a people that are blessed and a people who are cursed. They must decide.

Again, at first glance one might think this an easy decision. But what are the consequences of the decision to choose life? They are consequences of change. And often times people would rather stay in the same old rut rather than become blessed. This is because staying the same is easy. It's familiar. We can grow accustomed to it and settle for it.

Today we have the same choice. Will we either choose life or death, blessings or curses, change or whatever is most comfortable? Which will you choose?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

Did you know you weren't alone in your Christian journey? First, and most importantly, there is Jesus who walks with us. But there are also all those who went before us. If you listen closely, you might hear them cheering you on through life's struggles.... Well, maybe you won't actually hear them, but they're there all the same. We are intertwined with the memories of the cloud of witnesses, who were the people of faith that came before us. These are the grandparents, the Sunday School teachers, the nice old lady down the road, and all the others who loved God and touched us is some way. They are there in Heaven cheering you on, especially when things get tough. They're saying, "Don't give up! We made it. And so will you. Just keep the faith."

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

[God] has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 (NIV)

This is our true offering to God...more than any amount of money that can be put in Sunday's offering plate. When our lives are filled with seeking God and then lived out in humility, acting justly and showing mercy to others no matter their color, status or disposition, we become who we were meant to be.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the LORD said to him, "You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over."
Joshua 13:1 (NIV)

Joshua had already lived in the Wilderness, brought the Israelites to the Promised Land, taken the city of Jericho and defeated many enemies. He was well passed normal retirement age. But God had more for him to do.

In our lives many will look forward to the day that they retire. Celebrations will be had. Plans will be made for life after work. And there's nothing wrong with this. But remember that we never retire from doing ministry. God will use those who are willing until the last remaining days of their lives. Our ministries will change from time to time. We might not be physically able to do what we did when we were younger. But we can always be a part of God's work in some way.

So don't ever plan a retirement party from doing ministry, for the Lord may still have something important for you to do.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Asking for prayers this Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to everyone! I hope you have a good fun-filled day of grilling out or whatever you enjoy doing on your holidays.

This is a note to let you know that there may not be any Thought of the Day !! devotions for a few days. I'm at home now sitting and waiting to see what will happen with Gustav. We live in Vicksburg, MS (for those of you who didn't know) and could be without power for a while if the strong winds come our way as predicted. Of course we may not have much damage, but I'd rather let you know ahead of time that it's a good possibility that our power will go out for a while.

Please pray for those who've lost loved ones or homes already in places like Cuba. Pray for those who are just now starting to get their lives back to normal after Katrina from three years ago. Pray for those who will be adversely affected by the winds and rain of Hurricane Gustav. Pray that Hannah dies out in the waters. And pray for all those who will be cleaning up and working in disaster relief of any kind. Please pray.

In the love of Christ,
greg