I have to say that this past weekend, especially Sunday was an extraordinary weekend all together. We had time for "family", we had time for "friends", we had "special" time that was dedicated to a "very special" member of our family.
My wife and I have two boys, whom are grown and gone now with their own families. However, we have been "Blessed" to have a young lady who has adopted us as her second set of parents. We had the opportunity to have her with us on Sunday and the day was just incredible! Time was spent together and also one on one. She was afforded the opportunity to learn how to crochet from my mother and also learned a "few more tricks" from the Matriarch of the family! We even had time to take the dog for a walk and have some quiet time as a Dad and a Daughter only can. We discussed several things, but one stood out to me, that is to Love one another.
I know almost no one who is contented with him or herself today. Men and women seem to be groping for something higher and beyond materialistic things. No one seems to sit alone with fortune full content. Merely making money is no longer to make good. One must be useful to others. This is the center of Jesus' teaching: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you......Love one another."
We are living in a complex world and its problems are difficult and confusing. Even in doing good one must use wisdom. We have not yet reached that point in spritual advancement where we can sell everything that we have and give it to the poor, but we have caught something of the real meaning of Jesus' teaching.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Disciple or Pretender?
It has been about a week since my last writing. It has been hectic, confusing, frustrating, but still in all, I am a child of God and I always have to remember that He is in charge! (Sometimes, very difficult to do).
I have been working with my fellow co-worker that I had mentioned in my last rendering. We have continued our discussion on being a Disciple.
We talked about how Jesus and how He healed the sick, raised the dead and taught about these miracles. As briefly as possible, I will put down in words what was said.
Unusual events always draw crowds like a magnet. Jesus saw superficial curiosity in His ministry. When word spread about His teaching and miracles, crowds gathered to hear Him speak and see Him perform miraculous healing (Matthew 4:24-25). Modern day consultants might have advised Jesus to exploit His popularity and develop the broadest following possible by avoiding controversy.
Jesus was not concerned with breaking attendance records. When the crowds reached their peak, He preached a confrontational message with such offensive content that the multitude melted away, leaving only a few devoted disciples behind (John 6:66-71). The crowd's superficial attraction to an unusual teacher did not last long. They did not like His teaching. So they rejected the miracles and returned to their former ways of living.
A few persisted. Why did they stay? Peter spoke first for them when he said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life" (John 6:68). Peter followed the Lord even when Jesus lost His popularity because he knew that Christ was the exclusive source of teaching that leads to forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Peter valued those precious words more than being a part of the crowd.
I then asked some thought provoking questions of my co-worker:
Do the prevailing opinions of those around you affect your enthusiasm for the Christian life? Or do you hunger and thirst after Christ regardless of what the next guy thinks? I told him that a "TRUE" Christian will follow even when the pretenders start to fall away.
More to come on this.
On the other front, I would ask for prayers as my work situation continues to get bleaker as the months go on. We were informed Friday that we are going to 40 hours per week and that instead of working our "normal" night shift, that we are to come in at 2:30pm and work until 11:00pm. This has made many of my co-workers upset and wondering if we will really have a job next year. I know that there will be some who will search and find other work. But there are those of us, who will stick it out and see if things really do turn around. I am believing that this will be the case and would ask for prayers regarding this situation.
I have been working with my fellow co-worker that I had mentioned in my last rendering. We have continued our discussion on being a Disciple.
We talked about how Jesus and how He healed the sick, raised the dead and taught about these miracles. As briefly as possible, I will put down in words what was said.
Unusual events always draw crowds like a magnet. Jesus saw superficial curiosity in His ministry. When word spread about His teaching and miracles, crowds gathered to hear Him speak and see Him perform miraculous healing (Matthew 4:24-25). Modern day consultants might have advised Jesus to exploit His popularity and develop the broadest following possible by avoiding controversy.
Jesus was not concerned with breaking attendance records. When the crowds reached their peak, He preached a confrontational message with such offensive content that the multitude melted away, leaving only a few devoted disciples behind (John 6:66-71). The crowd's superficial attraction to an unusual teacher did not last long. They did not like His teaching. So they rejected the miracles and returned to their former ways of living.
A few persisted. Why did they stay? Peter spoke first for them when he said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life" (John 6:68). Peter followed the Lord even when Jesus lost His popularity because he knew that Christ was the exclusive source of teaching that leads to forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Peter valued those precious words more than being a part of the crowd.
I then asked some thought provoking questions of my co-worker:
Do the prevailing opinions of those around you affect your enthusiasm for the Christian life? Or do you hunger and thirst after Christ regardless of what the next guy thinks? I told him that a "TRUE" Christian will follow even when the pretenders start to fall away.
More to come on this.
On the other front, I would ask for prayers as my work situation continues to get bleaker as the months go on. We were informed Friday that we are going to 40 hours per week and that instead of working our "normal" night shift, that we are to come in at 2:30pm and work until 11:00pm. This has made many of my co-workers upset and wondering if we will really have a job next year. I know that there will be some who will search and find other work. But there are those of us, who will stick it out and see if things really do turn around. I am believing that this will be the case and would ask for prayers regarding this situation.
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