Thought of the Day !!

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalms 94:19 (NLT)

Is there any turmoil in your life today? If there is, take a few moments and ask God to bring you His promised comfort and hope.

I there isn't, pray for someone else who may need these gifts today.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3

We live in a world of my, my, my and take, take, take. Our society teaches us to strive to be the best we can be. In our country we're taught that we can do anything we want to do. We're raised going to school and college to better ourselves.

All these things have one thing in common. The emphasis is on ME. It's not bad to do things for ourselves, but we must remember that this life is NOT all about us. When it all boils down to it, we aren't even our own. We are God's creation; we are His people.

Let us live as His people, enjoying life, but putting Him first and serving others. It's then that we'll find true joy.

In the love of Christ,
greg

I'm Gilligan!

You are most like Gilligan. You're the clumsy goof, who got the rest stranded in the first place!

Which Gilligan's Island Character Are You?


Working on a sermon about Christian Community and small groups. I'm using Gilligan's Island as a theme and came across this.

Thought of the Day !!

Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?
Matthew 6:26 (NLT)

How cool is it that God knows everything about you and loves you just the same?

How cool would this world be if we, who in comparison know very little about others, would try to do the same?

This may seem like an impossibility. But it's only an impossibility if we never make the attempt.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

Which of these are more important to you (which do you find yourself using the most)?

1) Blogs
2) Facebook
3) Myspace
4) Twitter
5) Google Reader (or some other reader)

Thought of the Day !!

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’
Numbers 21:4-5 (NRSV)

As I read this passage, I couldn't help but smile as I thought of how my response to the Israelites' complaints would be if I were Moses. They complain that there's no food. Then they follow that complaint up by saying that they "detest this miserable food." Hey, wait a minute. I thought you said there was no food. Which is it? No food...or miserable food? It can't be both.

I guess what really made me smile was thinking back on how I've gone through my kitchen before and opened all the cabinets and the refrigerator only to shut the doors and complain, "There's no food in this house!" Was there actually no food for me to eat? Oh there may be a can of chicken noodle soup. There may be some peanut butter and some saltines. There may have been something I would have to take the time to cook. But the truth of the matter is that I didn't want what I had in my kitchen. And so I've complained before that there's no food, when in reality it was right in front of me.

The Israelites were getting spoiled. They evidently had access to food. They just didn't want it. And so they complained.

The problem was that the Israelites forgot. You see, they forgot just how miserable they were in Egypt. They forgot how they prayed for God to save them. They forgot how God sent Moses to them. They forgot how God brought them out of Egypt and how God saved them again at the Red Sea and how God had produced food and water for them and protected them. They evidently forgot all that God had done for them because they complained. And if they had thought about how good God had been, they would realize that there was nothing to complain about.

I think we can get just like the Israelites from time to time. We forget all the blessings we have. We forget how good we actually have it when we see someone who has it better than us. We forget that life itself is a blessing, and that there is much good to find in it. We simply forget. And we do the same as the Israelites. We complain. Why did I get.... Or why didn't I get.... Why did so and so do better.... Why oh why. And the whys become whining. And negativism or envy or jealousy or whatever turns us into complainers.

I wonder what would happen if every time we started to complain about something, we found something to be thankful for first. Maybe this world would become a more positive place. And maybe God would be happier with us.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done.
Galatians 6:4 (NCV)

I've heard people tell me that they could never be as good a Christian as someone else in the church that they were comparing themselves to. Have you ever done that? Have you ever taken some "saint" that you see as nearly flawless and compare your Christian life to theirs? Often times when people do this, they simply give up trying to grow in certain areas because they believe that they'll never be as good as such and such.

One of my dear friends who has gone to be with the Lord now, Wayne McCord, used to just irritate me to death. He irritated me because of his great humility and gentleness. What was irritating was not that he had these great qualities, but the fact that I judged my own humility and gentleness according to what I saw in him. He, on the other hand, was simply trying to live up to the way that Jesus would desire him to live.

I learned a great deal from Wayne. I see how his influence on my life has helped me to be more gentle and humble. But as I look at myself as a follower of Jesus, I'll never be happy as I look at others and judge my actions and compare myself to them.

I believe we're called to live our lives patterned by the example of Jesus as he walked this earth. We must understand that there will be times we fail and areas of life that need more growth than others. We must celebrate the giftedness of others and not compare ourselves to them. And we must also celebrate our success in growing in whatever areas we grow. I definitely believe God does.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.
Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

Have you ever had a situation in your life that seemed nearly hopeless? Christ can give you the hope you need to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Have you ever had something go really, really wrong in your life? Christ can give you the strength you need to recover.

Have you ever had an problem you didn't know how to handle? Christ can give you the discernment you need.

Have you ever needed a little direction in your life? Christ can give you the wisdom you need.

Christ is our help in times of distress and trouble. He's our help in times of joy and satisfaction. He gives us the strength we need everyday to do what's right and good. He gives us the strength to make it to a place where we can be happy and have peace. He can do all these things if we will only let him.

Have you ever...Christ can help you do everything.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are."

But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.
Jonah 1:1-3 (NLT)

Here we see a conflict of wills. God's will was for Jonah to go Northeast to Nineveh and preach to the people there. But Jonah didn't want to go. He probably hated these people, who were wicked Assyrians. So his will was to go anywhere but Nineveh. This led him to go down to Joppa and head west...the opposite direction of God's will.

How often is it that we're like Jonah? How often does God have a will for us to live, behave, give or receive differently than what our own will is? I'd say that this could be often for many of us. The question is, what will we do about it? Jonah decided he could do whatever he wanted, no matter what God's wishes were for him. If you already know the story of Jonah, you know that he created a mess for himself (If you don't, check it out in the Old Testament for a good short story). When we are so stubborn as to continually do things our way instead of God's better way for us, we create a mess for ourselves just like Jonah did.

God's will is for us to have a more abundant life. Even when we don't understand how this works out with what He's calling us to do or who He's calling us to be, we can be sure that His way will lead to a better life for us.

So will you be like Jonah and run from God's will for your life? Or will you be like Jesus as he prayed at Gethsemane "Father not my will, but yours"?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6 (NRSV)

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness have a deep desire to be right with God and to have a right relationship with God. That's basically what righteousness is. So Jesus teaches us that if we truly want to be filled with God through the Holy Spirit, then we will. But how many of us truly desire that?

Something to think about today - Do you really want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, especially if it might mean going places you now don't want to or acting in different ways or giving up some things you'd rather hold on to?

If you truly hunger and thirst for God, you will receive God. But I think that many people claiming to be Christians don't really have a hunger or thirst for righteousness. Imagine what this world would be like if we all did.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

[God says,] "Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry."
Amos 5:23 (NLT)

Does God want us to worship Him in song? Of course. Does He want us to praise Him? Yes. So of course He desires to hear hymns of praise from us. But when these hymns of praise come from people who are not being obedient, who are something totally different within the walls of the church than they are outside them, then He'd just assume not listen to their false praise.

As Christians, God wants us first and foremost not to become hypocrites, thinking we're better in any way than others. Neither does He want to see us becoming the kind of people that put ourselves and our selfish desires before Him. So let us submit ourselves to a life's purpose of putting God first, through the life and teachings of His Son Christ Jesus. And let us strive to live that life out to the best of our ability. Then justice and righteous living will flow from us naturally. And our worship will be pure and received by the Father with joy.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Romans 13:7 (NIV)

APRIL 15th!!! Have you filed your taxes yet? Rather you're getting a refund or having to pay out, this is the day it must be dated by. That is what is mandated by our laws. So in essence, you could say that is what we owe. If you owe taxes, then pay them. If you owe someone respect, then show it. If you owe someone honor, then honor that person. The same goes with credit, forgiveness and love. The only things you should not pay back today are things that are hurtful or harmful. Remember that the Golden Rule is not to do to others as they deserve, but to do to them as you would like them to do to you. So give everyone the love and good things that they are owed, and who knows, it just might come back around to you.

In the love of Christ,
greg

**NOTE**
I will be out of town today through Saturday, which means no more devotionals this week. See you next week, and be blessed.

Thought of the Day !!

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you."
Mark 16:1-7 (NRSV)

The women had evidently lost their hope. They were going to anoint a dead body instead of welcome a risen Savior. These have been the most faithful to Jesus. They were there when all the men abandoned Jesus. They cried at the foot of the cross and are now trudging towards the tomb to anoint a body that's already begun decomposing. Yes, these ladies were truly committed to Christ.

But even they have fallen short of the understanding of what Jesus told them. They were told by Jesus himself that he must die and would rise. But evidently, they forgot. And so they had lost hope.

Another one who had lost hope was surely Peter. The women get to the tomb, and the "young man" tells them that Jesus has risen. Then he tells them to share this good news with the disciples "and Peter". I love this wonderful nugget of God's grace. Peter had not only abandoned Jesus with all the rest, but he..."the Rock"...the leader of this ragtag group...the one who would never leave Jesus' side...had denied Jesus not once, but three times just as Jesus had predicted. Peter must have felt lower than dirt. God knew this. And so God's messenger shares with the women that Peter really needs to hear this good news. Peter really needs a lift. Peter must know that everything is not lost.

Have you ever been in Peter's shoes? Have you ever needed this same message of good news? The women had lost their hope. Peter had lost his hope. And maybe there's been a time or two where you have come close to losing all hope as well. But the good news of Christ's Resurrection is that there is hope. There is always hope in a risen Savior who can overcome even death.

May the hope of Easter go with you throughout the rest of the year and sustain you.

Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen Indeed!

In the love of Christ,
greg

Holy Week Thought of the Day !! (Day 5)

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. Then at three o'clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"*

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. "Wait!" he said. "Let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down!"

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

When the Roman officer* who stood facing him* saw how he had died, he exclaimed, "This man truly was the Son of God!"
Mark 15:33-39 (NLT)

Easter is right around the corner. When it gets here, let us celebrate the Resurrection. Let us celebrate life. Let us celebrate hope. Let us celebrate the love of God that is so deep that He would do what he did. Let us celebrate LIFE.

But today is Good Friday. Before we can celebrate life, we must remember the death. For Easter is just another Sunday without the darkness and death of this day. Remember today what Jesus did for you. Remember what he suffered for you to have a way out of this sinful life leading to eternal death. Remember the sacrifice that he made to bring us all back to God. Remember.

On Easter let's celebrate. But for today, let's remember.

May you have a meaningful Good Friday and a true celebration on Sunday.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Holy Week Thought of the Day !! (Day 4)

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.^*
Luke 22:19-20 (NRSV)

Today is Maundy Thursday, also known as "Holy Thursday". According to Wikepedia.com:

On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' Feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.

My dear friend Andy Stoddard wrote a nice piece about this today that I'd like to share for our Maundy Thursday "Thought of the Day !!"

Today is Maundy Thursday. This is the day we remember the betrayal of our Lord, and His giving to us the sacrament of Holy Communion.

It’s a bitter sweet day. There is joy for the gift of communion. In this meal, we receive grace, and we are drawn closer to God, and to each other. It is a powerful moment for us, and for the church, to join together in receiving this meal. Jesus told us that He is the bread and the Wine, and when we eat this meal, He is there with us. In our hearts, His presence is made known as we receive this meal.

There is the sorrow of His betrayal. Judas, one of the 12, one of His friends, betrayed Him to His enemies. In this time, instead of standing with Jesus, he abandoned him.

But, lest we think that Judas was the only betrayer, let us also remember that Peter, one of the very closest to Jesus, on this night, 3 times denied Jesus name, cursing His name. It was not just Judas that betrayed. It was Peter as well.

And, He was taken to the cross.

And killed.

For sin.

Mine, and yours.

He suffered and died.

May we remember. Today is Maundy Thursday. Our Lord endured much today, and tomorrow. May we not forget. May we take time to remember.

You can read this, and other thoughts, on my blog - http://atstod.blogspot.com
--
Andrew "Andy" Thomas Stoddard


Have a holy "Maundy / Holy Thursday", and prepare yourself for the agony of Good Friday where we remember the death of our Lord for us.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Holy Week Thought of the Day !! (Day 3)

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:3-5 (NIV)

I've been a part of a few foot-washing services that were truly powerful. I've also known people to say that they didn't want to have anything to do with one of these because it's disgusting. They didn't want anyone touching their feet.

Peter, too, didn't want Jesus touching his feet. But his was for another reason. He believed that Jesus was too good to do such a thing. (Read the rest of the story in John 13:1-17) Jesus teaches us through this story that no one is too good to do the simple acts of kindness for others...even when those things might seem disgusting.

Today is Wednesday of Holy Week. As we make our way to Friday and the death of Jesus, and ultimately to Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus, let us reflect upon the ways that Jesus has served us. Then let us ponder the ways in which we are called to serve others.

Whose feet might you be called to wash today?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Holy Week Thought of the Day !! (Day 2)

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the king of Israel!"
John 12:12-13 (TNIV)

The Bible tells us that there was a great crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem in this triumphal entry. Many people have wondered and tried to explain why there were shouts of "crucify" later in the week from these same people. Some say that they are not the same crowd. But I believe the truth to be found in how Jesus was perceived on the day he entered and how he was perceived on the day that they yelled that horrible word "crucify".

Jesus was perceived as the king that would save them...the long awaited Messiah when he entered Jerusalem. So they hailed him as such. But throughout the week he would teach things that were simply too hard for the people to accept or that they didn't understand. Surely this couldn't be the Messiah.

So in the end the people who were disheartened by the fact that Jesus taught them to love each other instead of putting their enemies to the sword, decided that they had chose the wrong Messiah. And what do we do with our mistakes? We dispose of them. So the once "king of Israel" chants turned to shouts of "Crucify".

What about us? What do we do with the things that Jesus teaches that we don't understand or like? Will we take the teachings that are easy and "crucify" the ones we feel are too difficult or just don't like? The problem with the crowd in Jesus' day is that they didn't accept Jesus for who he was. They were too intent on making him what they wanted him to be.

Be careful not to do the same.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Holy Week Thought of the Day !! (Day 1)

Today is the beginning of Holy Week. So today I ask that you begin thinking about the last week of Jesus' life and how it affects your life. Read Mark 11-15 for the more succinct version and Luke 19-23 for the great storyteller's version of the Passion story. Do not read the story of Jesus' resurrection. We must go through the darkness of Good Friday first and then Sunday we'll celebrate the light of Easter.

I learned yesterday in our Lenten Bible Study that the Greek word for the Passion of Christ actually means suffering. And that is exactly what God did for us as Jesus was denied, betrayed, mocked, beaten, berated, abandoned and crucified. Think about your own life this week, and ask yourself if there is anything that you've gone through that God cannot understand. Make sure you remember the death of Jesus this week. For when Sunday comes, it's just another day if we don't realize the significance of the Friday before when Jesus died.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

And after the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face....
1 Kings 19:12-13 -- (NIV)

This is one of my favorite verses where Elijah is told that God will speak to him, and then God makes the earth quake and sends a fire. These are powerful examples of God's might. Elijah might have expected the great God of his forefathers who spoke the world into existence and wiped out enemies at will to be heard in these forces of nature. But instead, God came in the quietest and most humble way possible, "a gentle whisper".

We can become distracted by so much in our daily lives; TV, cell phones, the internet, and much more. There seems like there's hardly ever a quiet moment in our fast paced lives.

To top it all off, many expect that when God speaks to them that it will be in some spectacular way. But how many of us will receive a burning bush?

If God is whispering to you today, will you hear Him...or will you be so distracted as to miss His message for you. Take time out to listen, for you never know. You just never know.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.
Proverbs 12:1 (NLT)

Who likes to be corrected?

I didn't think so. But discipline and correction are all a part of the learning process no matter how old we are. When we think we're too old to learn anything new, we're in trouble. This world is ever-changing, which means that there's always something to learn. And while the Truth of God remains the same, what God has to teach us is so vast that it will take a lifetime to comprehend.

So to learn, we must discipline ourselves to spending time with Him in various ways. We must also be willing to be open-minded enough to listen for times when we may be wrong. Correction from God can come through inner feelings (our conscience) or through another devout Christian or even through the actions of others or events surrounding us. The more you learn and are disciplined, the more in tune you can be when you're open to correction.

Finally, test all correction that comes from outside sources because there is as much false teaching out there as there is God speaking to us. The devil is trying hard as well to teach us...to lure us...to bring us away from the the love that Christ teaches us. So listen with ears willing to hear, while using the reason and the Word of God that He gave you.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

O LORD, I am your servant;
yes, I am your servant, born into your household;
you have freed me from my chains.
Psalm 116:16 (NLT)

Chains bind us. Mere human strength cannot break them. But God can. It's the same with metal chains that physically bind us as well as those invisible things in our lives that hold us down and keep us from living a life of freedom.

We can struggle with things like addiction, low self-esteem and depression, among other chains that the devil uses. But we cannot defeat these things on our own. The Psalmist understands that it is God who frees us.

So what chains might have you tied up in bondage? Are you struggling with something that just seems to be hopeless, that you feel helpless against? If so, know that the God that freed the Israelites, who freed David, who freed us from our sins through Christ, can also free you from your chains here on earth.

In the love of Christ,
greg