Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:21-22

Today's Preaching Insight...

As Symbols Crumble, God Remains

We may want God to answer our questions. What have you done for me lately? But Isaiah suggests that we take a much longer look. What have you been told from the very beginning about God? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? The God we look to is the one who is constantly business with the work of creation. The God we think has forsaken us and abandoned us, made the sun to shine, stretches the heavens like a curtain for all creation. The God we talk about as powerless is the Lord of all history who makes all rulers and kings rise and fall and pass away. Lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these? Slowly and steadily Isaiah reminds us of the God to whom we turn. God is the one who makes the winds to blow and the oceans to churn. We are reminded of the strength of God in creation and his attentiveness to all details. God is the one who governs the affairs of all nations and guards and redeems his people from despair. The praise of God's greatness is in all places. Everything in this passage becomes an object of God's actions. He sits. He stretches. God spreads. God brings, God makes. God gives. Everything submits to God's power. All life is very fragile and weak and quickly fades under the judgment of God's love.

So if you and I are reminded of the greatness of God who has done great things in all creation, who has created this world and give us life and breath this day, who has been the judge of the kings and princess who have risen up and thought they would last forever. Hitler declared, "It does not matter whether I live or not. It does not matter whether you live or not, what matters is that Germany lives on forever." God who has continued to provide and to sustain his people throughout all these ages. If we who can remember the greatness of God in God's acts of creation and history, if we can remember all of God's blessings and joys to us in the past, how can we claim that God is not able and who can we claim that God is not attentive.

(To read the entire article, "Casting Out Demons" by Rick Brand at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Scripture is at the heart of the Christian life, and that means it is vital that we be able to read and understand God's Word. Understanding and Applying the Bible (Moody) by Robertson McQuilkin has been released in a revised and expanded version. This volume offers practical guidance in interpreting Scripture, and the helpful additions to this edition include an expanded bibliography (including Internet resources for biblical study) and a treatment of postmodern presuppositions and how those impact Bible study. This is a good introduction to hermeneutical principles that can benefit pastors and others who want to interpret Scripture more effectively.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
2 Kings 21:5-6

Today's Preaching Insight...

God's Way or Our Way

On the first day God created the cow. God said, "You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of 60 years."

The cow said, "That's a kind of tough life you want me to live for 60 years. Let me have 20 years and I'll give you back the other 40." And God agreed.

On the second day, God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of 20 years."

The dog said, "That's too long to be barking. Give me 10 years and I will give you back the other 10." So God agreed. (Sigh)

On the third day, God created the monkey. God said, "Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I'll give you a 20-year life span."

The monkey said, "How boring. Monkey tricks for 20 years. I don't think so. The dog gave you back 10, so that's what I'll do too. Okay?" Again God agreed.

On the fourth day, God created man. God said, "Eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy. Do nothing, just enjoy, enjoy. I'll give you 20 years."

Man said, "What? Only 20 years! No way, man! Tell you what. I'll take my 20, the 40 the cow gave back, plus the 10 the dog gave back and the 10 the monkey gave back. That makes 80 years. Okay?"

"Okay," said God. "You've got a deal."

So that's why for the first 20 years we eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy and do nothing. For the next 40 years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next 10 years we do monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren, and for the last 10 years we sit in front of the house and bark at everyone.

We are a do-it-yourself people by nature. As this story shows, we bargain the best deal for ourselves, even when it turns out not to be the best deal.

(To read the rest of the article, "Do-it-Yourself Religion" by John A. Huffman Jr. on Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

God's Creation
by Robert C. Shannon

A. D. Correll is the CEO of Georgia-Pacific, the leading forest-products company in the country. Recently Sky magazine quoted Correll on the value of trees. He said that a growing tree is "the most wonderful pollution control device ever devised. It takes carbon dioxide out of the air and converts it to oxygen and stores the carbon in the tree. When you make lumber and paper, you preserve that carbon storage and start the cycle all over again."

Surely it is by God's design that the environment renews itself, and a tree is only one of countless examples. God has provided his own means to deal with pollution -- both the pollution of the earth and the pollution of the soul. The earth, so wonderfully made, will pass away, and like the apostle Peter and the apostle John we look for "new heavens and a new earth" because the earth will pass away. But the soul, the spirit, the inner person, was created for eternity. When God "restores my soul," He is not only making it possible for me to continue to live abundantly on earth; He is preparing me to live eternally in Heaven.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Nature of Redemption

Evelyn Underhill... one of the most influential writers on Christian spirituality in the first half of this century[, said,]

"Redemption does not mean you and me made safe and popped into heaven. It means that each soul, redeemed from self-interest by the revelation of Divine Love, is taken and used again for the spread of that redeeming work" (Christian Century, October 31, 1990, p. 997).

"Redeemed from self-interest by the revelation of Divine Love." Those words caught my attention because that is exactly what happens in the story of Jacob.

The first thing the Bible tells us about Jacob is that he was a two-timing, deceitful, manipulative crook. He was born grasping his twin brother's heel, and that's exactly how he lived his life: grasping for all he could get by his own ingenuity and power. He tricked his brother, deceived his father, and finally had to run for his life to escape his brother's anger. Then, as a man on the lam, he had a dream of a ladder connecting heaven and earth. For the first time in his manipulative, self-centered life, he began to realize that God might be actively involved in his human experience. How he lived his life on earth might actually have some connection with God's purpose in heaven. It was a revelation of God's presence with him.

But God's transforming power is never just a deal between God and myself. It's not just "me and Jesus." Redemption, the fulfillment of God's saving purpose, always involves other people.

(To read the entire article "Finding The 'New' You: The Things We Do for Love" by James A. Harnish at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

Toy Disclaimers

Here are some disclaimers to be found at a toy department near you:

* No beanies or babies harmed in the manufacture of this product.

* Warning: This fad will disappear in 6 weeks.

* Caution: Care Bears do not actually care very much.

* Warning: This toy produces substantially less childish glee in real life than it does in the TV commercial.

* Some dismemberment may occur.

* In case of breakage, scream until dad buys a replacement.

* Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously.

* Use as an actual terrorist device not recommended.

*Do not attempt to combine your Ultra Mega Warrior with your cat to make Ultra Mega Cat Warrior.

* NOTE: The makers of "Queen Amidala's Naboo Dream Palace" assume no responsibility for the quality of the movie which spawned it.

* Some assimilation required. Resistance is futile.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 1 Timothy 4:1 

Today's Preaching Insight...

Why Churches Decline

Tony Morgan—author, church strategist, and pastor of ministries at West Ridge Church in Atlanta—recently remembered a conversation he had with a denominational leader about the attributes of a declining church. Morgan remarked, "When I work with churches for the first time, sometimes they're frustrated with me because I'm not willing to help them fix something specific...Churches can become convinced they know why their church isn't growing." Morgan said these five foundational aspects need to be addressed first:

Lack of mission and vision clarity
Failure to define a concise strategy to help newcomers become fully devoted followers of Christ 
A complex structure 
Inward-focus with little connection to the community 
Weak leadership, especially in the senior pastor role
Morgan also said he was surprised by the number of churches that "would rather close their doors than make the necessary changes" to avoid decline. He concluded by saying churches unwilling to address these elements will not shift their decline, no matter how hard they try. (TonyMorganLive.com 7/15/10, via Church Leaders Intelligence Report)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book: The Slow Fade

A huge percentage of 20-somethings walk away from the church during those years, even though they may have been actively engaged as children and teens. In The Slow Fade (David C. Cook), Reggie Joiner, Chuck Bomar and Abbie Smith help us understand why they are leaving and offer ideas for re-engaging them in those critical early adult years. This will be a valuable book for pastors and church leaders.

[Judy Harder]

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Way to Have Eternal and Temporal Security Is to Divest (Mark 10:17-27)

A man runs up to Jesus. We call him the rich young ruler because when we put Matthew, Mark, and Luke together, we get the whole picture. In Matthew, he is young. In Luke he is a ruler. In all three accounts, he is rich. In this now famous encounter with Jesus, we can put together a picture of what a man must divest himself of in order to have eternal life.

There can be no mistake, this man had zeal. He ran to Jesus. He called Jesus Good Teacher. But did He really know who Jesus was? The Lord calmed him down with a strong dose of caution. "Only God is good." Jesus was not denying the claim but was showing that this young man had zeal but lacked knowledge.

When I was ten, I wanted to drive my uncle John's car. I had a great zeal when he came out to see us on a Sunday afternoon. But he would say, "Mike, if you had it, what would you do with it? You don't know how to drive!"

The Bible speaks of those who have zeal without knowledge. Paul wrote of his countrymen in Romans: "For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge" (Rom. 10:2, NIV).

Zeal, an enthusiasm that is not biblical, can actually stand in the way of our relationship with God. Being excited about religion is not the same as trusting in Christ as Savior.

(read the full article, "What In it for Me?" by Michael Milton here)

Today's Extra...

Why the Bible Matters

Why the Bible Matters: Rediscovering Its Significance in an Age of Suspicion (Harvest House) by California pastor Mike Erre would provide the launching pad for an excellent sermon series on the grand story that we know as the Bible. So many contemporary believers know so little of God's Word -- perhaps 2012 would be a good time to begin to introduce them to the story that can change our lives?

[Judy Harder]

Psalms 89:1
I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 

Today's Preaching Insight...

Chasing Armadillos

When I was a boy, I chased armadillos. If you have never seen an armadillo, they look like a possum with a turtle shell. Well, actually, they just look like an armadillo and nothing else. Aunt Eva would ask, "If you were to catch that filthy thing, what would you do with it?"

Praying the Lord's Prayer can be like chasing an armadillo. We all believe that the Lord wants us to pray it, but what if you really understood what you were praying? And what would you do if God began to answer your prayer?

To pray "Your kingdom come" is to be involved in a gospel conspiracy to take over the world! It is a prayer that changes the make-up of the cosmos, beginning from your very heart and moving out in space and time to everything under creation. Are you really ready for that?

Here are eight biblical truths about the kingdom of God as it is revealed in Scripture and eight ways that this prayer changes our world.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website.)

Today's Extra...

Illustration: Marriage

On their 50th wedding anniversary and during the banquet celebrating it, Tom was asked to give his friends a brief account of the benefits of a marriage of such long duration.

"Tell us Tom, just what is it you have learned from all those wonderful years with your wife?" an anonymous voice yelled from the back of the room.

Tom responded, "Well, I've learned that marriage is the best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, meekness, forbearance, self-restraint, forgiveness -- and a great many other qualities you wouldn't need if you stayed single."

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Matthew 5:24
Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift

Today's Preaching Insight...

A Baby in the Belfry

There are many people who make predictions about many things. Nostradamus would be one of them: He predicted that in 1792, Venice, Italy, would become a world power. (Venice is still waiting.) That same year, he predicted the Catholic Church would cease to exist because of the persecution in North Africa; he was wrong once again. In 1607, he predicted all astrologers would come under persecution; he missed it again.

Jeanne Dixon made 100,000 predictions, all of which were wrong except for one: In a kind of serendipitous way, she predicted the death of John F. Kennedy; but some suggested it was a lucky guess. Unlike these, there is a certainty in the Word of God that whatever God says will come to pass.

Charles Campbell holds the distinguished Peter Marshall's Chair of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. In November 2007, he visited Korea and toured as many sites as possible. While there, the guide took him to the base of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, pointing upward to the hill's zenith. Atop that mountain was a small chapel where the service members gathered and worshipped. Campbell was a Presbyterian preacher, and Korea was the place where Knox Presbyterians had infiltrated the land with the gospel. The largest Presbyterian churches in the world were on that particular terra firma.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website.)   

Today's Extra...

Actual Signs from Hotels around the World

In a Tokyo Hotel:

Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such a thing is please not to read notis.

In a Bucharest hotel lobby:

The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.

In a Leipzig elevator:

Do not enter lift backwards, and only when lit up.

In a Belgrade hotel elevator:

To move the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order.

In a Bangkok dry cleaners:

Drop your trousers here for best results.

In a Paris hotel elevator:

Please leave your values at the front desk.

In a Japanese hotel:

You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid.

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:

Our wines leave you nothing to hope for.

On the menu of a Polish hotel:

Salad a firm's own make; limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country people's fashion.

Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop:

Ladies may have a fit upstairs.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Acts 10:43
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Today's Preaching Insight...

What is the Unforgivable Sin?

When I served as pastor of a church in North Alabama during the early 1980s, there was an usher in our church named John. He was a sweet man who was always present in his regular spot to greet people and hand out bulletins, but John was a very troubled man. On several occasions, I met with him, and he began to weep as he told me that during World War II he had done something he thought was so evil that he was certain he had committed the unforgivable sin.

I tried to help him by telling Him God could forgive every sin except the sin of unbelief, but that didn't change his mind. John never told me what he had done, but he was convinced he never would go to heaven. He attended church and served the Lord faithfully. His family was active in the church, and his children were talented singers; but he was tormented with the belief that he had committed the unpardonable sin and never would make it to heaven.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website.)

Today's Extra...

Heaven

The Maldives is an island nation. Rising sea levels in the Indian Ocean threaten this land of 376,000 people. It is, in fact, the lowest nation on earth. The county is still facing terrible effects from the 2004 tsunami. In a desperate attempt to save their people, they want to buy land from Sri Lank or Australia to relocate the entire country. Christians hope someday to be relocated. We hope for a better land where there will be no tears, pain or death. The good news is there is plenty of room in eternity, and Jesus has paid the price for our new home.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Acts 10:43
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Today's Preaching Insight...

When You Get Bent Out of Shape

Some of us are just never satisfied. Frank and Mabel had been married for 40 years. Frank turned 60 a few months earlier, and they now were celebrating Mabel's 60th birthday. During the birthday party, Frank walked into another room and was surprised to see a fairy godmother appear before him. She said, "Frank, this is your lucky day. I'm here to grant you one wish—what would you like?"

He thought for a moment and said, "Well, I would really like to have a wife who is 30 years younger than me."

The fairy godmother said, "No problem." She waved her wand, and "poof"—suddenly Frank was 90 years old.

I imagine old Frank was a little bent out of shape by the way that turned out!

I have a friend in Alabama whose favorite expression was "bent out of shape." When he was upset about something he always said he was "bent out of shape" about it, and I recall he stayed "bent out of shape" much of the time.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website.)

Today's Extra...

Righteousness

State mottoes often give us insight into the thinking of a particular state's founders. The motto of the state of Hawaii was officially adopted in 1959, but has been used unofficially since 1825. The motto is, Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono. Translated into English it means, "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." There is a debate as to the origin of the slogan, but it is certainly not a bad slogan for any state, society or nation.

[Judy Harder]

             
Today's Word for Pastors...

1 Corinthians 6:20
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Today's Preaching Insight...

Footsteps in the Garden: Guilt and Grace

Does anyone ever say, "I did it because I wanted to. I chose to do it. I wish I had never been caught." Does anyone say, without being forced, "Now I see how I hurt others. I am ashamed." How refreshing this would sound.

There is something deeper here. Why the inability and unwillingness to confess and repent?  When do we feel the guilt and shame most deeply? It's the moment we confront the person offended or when the person confronts us. Behind the initial guilt, is the shadow of someone we have betrayed. Sin is always a personal matter, even if the person betrayed, is ourselves. That's why people hide their faces from the T.V. Cameras. They are hiding from the one betrayed, the face they do not want to see. A mother, a father, a friend, a teacher, a public, God.

It's the pain we want to run from. It is the judgment we feel we deserve but which we cannot bear. So, when the confrontation finally happens, the first response is denial.

(To read more of this article, click here to visit the official website.)

Today's Extra...

Encouragement

Joel Manby is the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, a company that operates theme parks, aquariums and other family attractions. Manby was featured in the TV hit, "Undercover Boss." In the show, he mentioned that he took a job with Herchend because of their Christian values. While working undercover, Joel discovered what most of the bosses discover. Their employees work hard, have overcome many challenges and have good ideas. At the end of the show, when the workers find out they're working with the boss, Manby seemed genuinely touched when people wept at the words, "Well done," from him. In a later interview, Joel said he has come to the conclusion that CEO ought to stand for Chief Encouragement Officer.