I showered and shaved....... ....... I adjusted my tie. I got there and sat......... .... In a pew just in time.
Bowing my head in prayer...... .... As I closed my eyes. I saw the shoe of the man next to me..... Touching my own.. I sighed.
With plenty of room on either side...... I thought, 'Why must our soles touch?' It bothered me, his shoe touching mine... But it didn't bother him much.
A prayer began: 'Our Father'..... ...... I thought, 'This man with the shoes.. has no pride. They're dusty, worn, and scratched. Even worse, there are holes on the side!'
'Thank You for blessings,' the prayer went on. The shoe man said. ...... a quiet 'Amen.'
I tried to focus on the prayer...... . But my thoughts were on his shoes again. Aren't we supposed to look our best.. When walking through that door?
'Well, this certainly isn't it,' I thought, Glancing toward the floor.. Then the prayer was ended....... .... And the songs of praise began.
The shoe man was certainly loud...... Sounding proud as he sang. His voice lifted the rafters..... ... His hands were raised high. The Lord could surely hear.. The shoe man's voice from the sky.
It was time for the offering.... ... And what I threw in was steep. I watched as the shoe man reached.... Into his pockets so deep.
I saw what was pulled out......... . What the shoe man put in. Then I heard a soft 'clink.' as when silver hits tin.
The sermon really bored me.......... To tears, and that's no lie. It was the same for the shoe man... For tears fell from his eyes.
At the end of the service..... . As is the custom here. We must greet new visitors. And show them all good cheer.
But I felt moved somehow..... ..... And wanted to meet the shoe man. So after the closing prayer..... ... I reached over and shook his hand.
He was old and his skin was dark..... And his hair was truly a mess. But I thanked him for coming...... ... For being our guest.
He said, 'My names' Charlie..... ..... I'm glad to meet you, my friend.' There were tears in his eyes....... But he had a large, wide grin.
'Let me explain,' he said........ . Wiping tears from his eyes. 'I've been coming here for months..... And you're the first to say 'Hi.''
'I know that my appearance.. .......'Is not like all the rest. 'But I really do try......... ........' To always look my best.'
'I always clean and polish my shoes..'Before my very long walk. 'But by the time I get here........ .'They're dirty and dusty, like chalk.'
My heart filled with pain........ .... and I swallowed to hide my tears. As he continued to apologize... ...... For daring to sit so near.
He said, 'When I get here........ ...'I know I must look a sight. 'But I thought if I could touch you..'Then maybe our souls might unite.'
I was silent for a moment...... ... Knowing whatever was said Would pale in comparison.. . I spoke from my heart, not my head.
'Oh, you've touched me,' I said......'And taught me, in part; 'That the best of any man......... ...'Is what is found in his heart.'
The rest, I thought,.... ......... ... This shoe man will never know. Like just how thankful I really am... That his dirty old shoe touched my soul.
Be Blesed & Be a Blessing to One Another!
Dawn
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
" It's Covered"
If we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and choose to follow Him, the Bible promises our salvation. We can rest assured that we are forgiven and redeemed. What’s more, nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39), and we can trust that He will provide everything we need to accomplish His purpose in our lives
STORY:
A wealthy, well-dressed man was walking down the street when he passed a homeless man. He stopped for a second, turned around, and said, "Excuse me. You look familiar. Do we know each other?" The man said, "Yeah, I'm Steve. English—third period. Remember?"
"I do remember you, Steve." The man could see that his former classmate had fallen on hard times. So he pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for $500. He said, "Listen, I want you to have this. Let the past be in the past. I want to give you a fresh start. I hope this helps." Then he turned and left.
The next day, he walked down the same street and found Steve still there. When he asked what happened, Steve told him, "Well, actually I never cashed the check. I went down to the bank, saw all of those well-dressed people, and I thought they would take one look at me, think that I forged this check, and refuse to give me the money. I just didn't think it would work. So I didn't cash the check."
The man said, "What makes that check good is not your clothes or your appearance. What makes that check good is my signature. Now go and cash it."
In the same way, our worthiness is not what gives us access to God. It is based on the signature of Jesus Christ, written in His blood over our lives when He gave us salvation. We don't have to live in constant fear of what God thinks about us. We don't have to do things to earn His approval. We don't have to worry about where we will spend eternity. This is all covered in Christ—and this is what God has done for each of us.
STORY:
A wealthy, well-dressed man was walking down the street when he passed a homeless man. He stopped for a second, turned around, and said, "Excuse me. You look familiar. Do we know each other?" The man said, "Yeah, I'm Steve. English—third period. Remember?"
"I do remember you, Steve." The man could see that his former classmate had fallen on hard times. So he pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for $500. He said, "Listen, I want you to have this. Let the past be in the past. I want to give you a fresh start. I hope this helps." Then he turned and left.
The next day, he walked down the same street and found Steve still there. When he asked what happened, Steve told him, "Well, actually I never cashed the check. I went down to the bank, saw all of those well-dressed people, and I thought they would take one look at me, think that I forged this check, and refuse to give me the money. I just didn't think it would work. So I didn't cash the check."
The man said, "What makes that check good is not your clothes or your appearance. What makes that check good is my signature. Now go and cash it."
In the same way, our worthiness is not what gives us access to God. It is based on the signature of Jesus Christ, written in His blood over our lives when He gave us salvation. We don't have to live in constant fear of what God thinks about us. We don't have to do things to earn His approval. We don't have to worry about where we will spend eternity. This is all covered in Christ—and this is what God has done for each of us.
Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom
also we have access by faith into
this grace in which
we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. — Romans 5:1–2
DAWN
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
There is a similarity between eyesight and faith simply in the effect that they have--one on the physical, the other on the spiritual. Nevertheless, in terms of II Corinthians 5:7, faith and eyesight are opposites. Recall that Hebrews 11:1 says that "faith is . . . the evidence of things not seen." Faith is the conviction of what we have heard but cannot see. "Faith comes by hearing" (Romans 10:17).
Man says. "Seeing is believing." So when a man sees something, he is convicted, and his mind, then, is inclined to what he has seen. In the life of the righteous, faith is the controlling factor that motivates his conduct. The importance of eyesight is true in the physical realm, but it means almost nothing in the spiritual realm.
Consider physical Israel. The Israelites saw multiple miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they seem to have profited them almost nothing. They saw the Nile turn to blood. They saw the frogs. They saw the lice. They saw the darkness. They saw the hail. They saw the fire on the ground. They saw the murrain kill the cattle. They saw the firstborn die. They saw the Red Sea part. They saw the pillar of fire and the cloud. They saw water coming out of the rock. They saw manna on the ground every day for forty years. They saw all those things.
Yet, what they saw did not affect their minds spiritually at all because eyesight means almost nothing in terms of the spiritual. Faith is the foundation, the assurance, the substance, the confidence, of things not seen--the invisible realm of God. In terms of faith, what a person can see with his eyes is more likely to frighten him and create doubt than it is to build faith.
Faith, according to Ephesians 2:8, is a gift of God. It is a gift because we did not have real spiritual faith until God began to call us. It is a gift because, by a mighty miracle, God opened our minds to enable us to understand His Word so that we can process the evidence we hear from His Word and make right choices relevant to His Kingdom.
Be Blessed!
Dawn
Man says. "Seeing is believing." So when a man sees something, he is convicted, and his mind, then, is inclined to what he has seen. In the life of the righteous, faith is the controlling factor that motivates his conduct. The importance of eyesight is true in the physical realm, but it means almost nothing in the spiritual realm.
Consider physical Israel. The Israelites saw multiple miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they seem to have profited them almost nothing. They saw the Nile turn to blood. They saw the frogs. They saw the lice. They saw the darkness. They saw the hail. They saw the fire on the ground. They saw the murrain kill the cattle. They saw the firstborn die. They saw the Red Sea part. They saw the pillar of fire and the cloud. They saw water coming out of the rock. They saw manna on the ground every day for forty years. They saw all those things.
Yet, what they saw did not affect their minds spiritually at all because eyesight means almost nothing in terms of the spiritual. Faith is the foundation, the assurance, the substance, the confidence, of things not seen--the invisible realm of God. In terms of faith, what a person can see with his eyes is more likely to frighten him and create doubt than it is to build faith.
Faith, according to Ephesians 2:8, is a gift of God. It is a gift because we did not have real spiritual faith until God began to call us. It is a gift because, by a mighty miracle, God opened our minds to enable us to understand His Word so that we can process the evidence we hear from His Word and make right choices relevant to His Kingdom.
Be Blessed!
Dawn
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Our Faithful Father
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Read
2 Timothy 2:11-13
All of us experience times when circumstances feel unbearable, prayers appear to go unanswered, and God seems distant. When that happens, we may wonder if He is the same as we once believed Him to be.
During such periods of helplessness, faith falters for some people yet grows stronger for others. What is it that can cause such opposite responses to suffering? The key is simply one’s understanding of and trust in God’s faithfulness. This term means that the Lord never changes—He always does what is right, remains true to His promises, and is 100 percent reliable. In other words, we can trust our almighty God, regardless of our situation or attitude.
Our understanding of God relates to this concept. Do we trust Him enough to obey, even when obedience seems foolish? Are we so confident He hears and answers prayer that we consistently bring requests before His throne, even when we don’t see an immediate response? Are we daily sacrificing our selfish desires and patterns of living because we believe His promise of eternity, joy, and peace? An answer of “no” may indicate a deficient understanding of God’s character. That’s why reading the Bible is so important—through scripture’s countless illustrations of our Father’s attributes, we learn who He is and increasingly trust Him.
Thankfully, the Lord’s faithfulness does not depend upon our circumstances, our feelings, or even our own faithfulness. He is true to His Word and true to Himself. How would your life look different if you had complete confidence that God was trustworthy and unchanging?
Be Blessed!
Dawn
Read
2 Timothy 2:11-13
All of us experience times when circumstances feel unbearable, prayers appear to go unanswered, and God seems distant. When that happens, we may wonder if He is the same as we once believed Him to be.
During such periods of helplessness, faith falters for some people yet grows stronger for others. What is it that can cause such opposite responses to suffering? The key is simply one’s understanding of and trust in God’s faithfulness. This term means that the Lord never changes—He always does what is right, remains true to His promises, and is 100 percent reliable. In other words, we can trust our almighty God, regardless of our situation or attitude.
Our understanding of God relates to this concept. Do we trust Him enough to obey, even when obedience seems foolish? Are we so confident He hears and answers prayer that we consistently bring requests before His throne, even when we don’t see an immediate response? Are we daily sacrificing our selfish desires and patterns of living because we believe His promise of eternity, joy, and peace? An answer of “no” may indicate a deficient understanding of God’s character. That’s why reading the Bible is so important—through scripture’s countless illustrations of our Father’s attributes, we learn who He is and increasingly trust Him.
Thankfully, the Lord’s faithfulness does not depend upon our circumstances, our feelings, or even our own faithfulness. He is true to His Word and true to Himself. How would your life look different if you had complete confidence that God was trustworthy and unchanging?
Be Blessed!
Dawn
Monday, July 5, 2010
A Nation Gone Astray
1 Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. 2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. 3 Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption. No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin. 5 They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs. Whoever falls into their webs will die, and there’s danger even in getting near them. 6 Their webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark. 7 Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace
or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace. So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom. 10 We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead. 11 We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
12 For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. 13 We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. 14 Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.
15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. 16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him. 17 He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. 18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth. 19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.[a] 20 “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,”[b] says the Lord. 21 “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken! Is. 59: 1-21 (NLT)
The principle of sowing and reaping applies not only to individuals but also to nations. A country that ignores or rejects God and His Word will suffer the consequences of that choice. Though Israel had once honored the Lord, it went astray during the days of the prophet Isaiah and suffered the dire results of turning from the heavenly Father.
When a nation begins ignoring biblical commands and principles, truth becomes relative as false philosophies and "liberated thinking" take root. Leaders tend to consider themselves advanced and intellectual, but in reality, if they are separated from God, their thinking is foolish and their understanding darkened (Eph. 4:17-18).
A society always behaves according to its belief system, so the inevitable result of skewed thinking is sin. Once sin becomes acceptable in the eyes of the people, sensuality and self-gratification dominate as restraint is lifted. The baser nature of man emerges in the form of immorality, greed, and violence. Injustice reaches its peak when laws permit the killing of the most helpless and innocent of all its citizens—unborn children. Even if the majority of citizens disapprove of the injustice and immorality, unless they act, that nation will continue its downward spiral into depravity.
Our ultimate hope, of course, is in our coming King who will reign on earth with righteousness and justice. But the church must still awaken to its responsibility to be salt and light in a depraved world. Each generation is called to be alert and active during its appointed time on this earth
Be Blessed!
Dawn
or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace. So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom. 10 We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead. 11 We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
12 For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. 13 We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. 14 Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.
15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. 16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him. 17 He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. 18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth. 19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.[a] 20 “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,”[b] says the Lord. 21 “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken! Is. 59: 1-21 (NLT)
The principle of sowing and reaping applies not only to individuals but also to nations. A country that ignores or rejects God and His Word will suffer the consequences of that choice. Though Israel had once honored the Lord, it went astray during the days of the prophet Isaiah and suffered the dire results of turning from the heavenly Father.
When a nation begins ignoring biblical commands and principles, truth becomes relative as false philosophies and "liberated thinking" take root. Leaders tend to consider themselves advanced and intellectual, but in reality, if they are separated from God, their thinking is foolish and their understanding darkened (Eph. 4:17-18).
A society always behaves according to its belief system, so the inevitable result of skewed thinking is sin. Once sin becomes acceptable in the eyes of the people, sensuality and self-gratification dominate as restraint is lifted. The baser nature of man emerges in the form of immorality, greed, and violence. Injustice reaches its peak when laws permit the killing of the most helpless and innocent of all its citizens—unborn children. Even if the majority of citizens disapprove of the injustice and immorality, unless they act, that nation will continue its downward spiral into depravity.
Our ultimate hope, of course, is in our coming King who will reign on earth with righteousness and justice. But the church must still awaken to its responsibility to be salt and light in a depraved world. Each generation is called to be alert and active during its appointed time on this earth
Be Blessed!
Dawn
Sunday, July 4, 2010
It's Time to Put Our Thinking Caps On
It's Time to Put Our Thinking Caps On
There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by Barna.
According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves "Christian" don't believe that Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth. Further, 25% dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches."
The pollster concluded, "Growing numbers of people now serve as their own 'theologian-in-residence.' One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs."
So it's time to put our "thinking caps" on.
God wants us to think, not just feel.
The Lord entreats us in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together" (NKJV), or another translation puts it, "Sit down, let's argue this out!" (THE MESSAGE)
When you become a follower of Jesus, you do not have to "check your brains at the door." Christianity is a reasonable, even logical, faith. That is not to say we don't need to have great faith to follow Christ, but it is to say the teachings of the Bible quite simply make sense!
We need to think and act biblically, not emotionally
Far too many people, when stating their opinion, will say, "I think," "I feel," "I believe," or "My God would never do thus and so."
We need more "The Bible says," because then we will learn to think, feel, and believe the right things. This is called theology, and we neglect it at our own peril.
Experience is never to be the basis for theology. Sound theology, however, is the basis for experience.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago: "If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones!"
We need, as Chuck Swindoll once said, "Sound theology without apology." Because what we believe about God will affect the way that we live. As 1 Timothy 4:16 says, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (NIV).
Be Blessed & Be a Blessing to One Another!
Dawn
There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by Barna.
According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves "Christian" don't believe that Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth. Further, 25% dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches."
The pollster concluded, "Growing numbers of people now serve as their own 'theologian-in-residence.' One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs."
So it's time to put our "thinking caps" on.
God wants us to think, not just feel.
The Lord entreats us in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together" (NKJV), or another translation puts it, "Sit down, let's argue this out!" (THE MESSAGE)
When you become a follower of Jesus, you do not have to "check your brains at the door." Christianity is a reasonable, even logical, faith. That is not to say we don't need to have great faith to follow Christ, but it is to say the teachings of the Bible quite simply make sense!
We need to think and act biblically, not emotionally
Far too many people, when stating their opinion, will say, "I think," "I feel," "I believe," or "My God would never do thus and so."
We need more "The Bible says," because then we will learn to think, feel, and believe the right things. This is called theology, and we neglect it at our own peril.
Experience is never to be the basis for theology. Sound theology, however, is the basis for experience.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago: "If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones!"
We need, as Chuck Swindoll once said, "Sound theology without apology." Because what we believe about God will affect the way that we live. As 1 Timothy 4:16 says, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (NIV).
Be Blessed & Be a Blessing to One Another!
Dawn
Friday, July 2, 2010
"Purpose in the Mundane"
So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans.
But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there!
Kings 7:5
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of the will of God when you were doing a rather mundane thing? In 2 Kings 7 we find the story of four men with leprosy whose hunger sent them in search of their next meal. Little did they know that God would use them in the process to herald His message of provision for the people of Israel.
Israel not only was in the midst of a famine, but they were also under siege from the Syrians. As these four men sat at the entrance of the city's gates, they decided that things couldn't get much worse. So they came up with a plan to go to the camp of the Syrians in the hope of getting some table scraps. But when they arrived, they discovered the Syrians had fled—and had left food everywhere.
The Syrians ran away because they heard the noise of an approaching army. They assumed the Israelites had joined forces with their allies to drive them out of the camp. God had supernaturally cleared out the Syrians with this noise, but He also had naturally led the four men to the camp. Hunger drove them—something as simple as wanting to get a meal.
The will of God is not always easy to discern. But often while we are looking for visions and angels and audible voices, God is saying, "You know what? I have an opportunity for you right now if you will just pay attention."
Galatians 3:11 reminds us, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." God will lead you both supernaturally and naturally, but for the most part, the Christian life is one of faith where you study His Word, pray for direction, apply His principles, and then go out and do the right thing.
Be Blessed and be a Blessing to One Another!
Dawn
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