The Dash of Your Life -- What is Your Dash?

This arrived in my email this morning, and I felt like sharing. It’s a beautiful reminder about what’s really important in life. Be blessed while you read it.

I read of a man who stood to speak, at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on this tombstone from beginning ….to the end.

He noted that first came his date of birth and spoke the following with tears.
But he said what mattered most of all, was the dash in between those years.

For the dash represents, all the time he spent alive on earth.
And how only those who loved him know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own; the cars, the house, the cash,
What matters most is how we live and love and how we spend our dash…

So think about this long and hard. Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left, that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough, to consider what is true and real.
And always try to understand, the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more,
And love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile…
Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say and how your spent your dash?

(By Linda Ellis)

God Will Not Ask -- A GREAT THOUGHT PIECE FOR GRADUATES, THE GRADUATED, AND ALL THOSE HOPING TO GRADUATE TO HEAVEN

God Will Not Ask

REMEMBER THIS: YOU WERE BORN TO BE A BLESSING, THEREFORE --

God will not ask what kind of car you drove, but He will ask how many people you drove who did not have transportation.

God will not ask the square footage of your house, but He will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

God will not ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but He will ask how many people you helped to clothe.

God will not ask what your highest salary was, but He will ask if you compromised your character to obtain it, and how much of your earnings you gave to the church.

God will not ask what your job title was, but He will ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability, as unto Jesus himself.

God will not ask how many friends you had, but He will ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

God will not ask in what neighborhood you lived, but He will ask how you treated your neighbors.

God will not ask about the color of your skin, but He will ask about the content of your character.

God will not ask about your social status, but He will ask what kind of class you displayed to others, especially to those less fortunate than you.

God will not ask how many material possessions you had, but He will ask if they dictated your life.

God will not ask about the quality of the food you ate, but about how much food you helped hungry people to have.

God will not ask how much overtime you worked, but He will ask if your overtime work was for yourself or for your family.

God will not ask how rich you were, but how you enriched other people’s lives, especially when you blessed the poor.

God will not ask how many promotions you received, but He will ask how you promoted others.

God will not ask what you did to help yourself, but He will ask what you did to help others.

God will not ask what you did to protect your rights, but He will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

God will not ask you about your body type, but He will ask how many times you used your body as a vehicle to do service for others.

God will not ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but He will ask how many times they did not.

God will not ask why it took you so long to seek salvation, but He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

~ Author Unknown ~

An Eight Second Prayer that Lasts for Eternity!

Bishop T. D. Jakes has an eight second prayer that brings eternal life:

'Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen.'

Pray that someone who has never embraced the love of Jesus will whisper this prayer today.

And if you have already proclaimed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we encourage you to pray this similar prayer of thanksgiving right now:

'Lord, I love you and I need you, thank you for being in my heart, and for blessing me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen.'

What is Your 168? Take Time for the Important Things in LIfe!

One hundred and sixty-eight—168! This is an important number, but most people are unaware of what it means.

We are talking about time. Time is priceless. If you could sell it, you would instantly be very rich. Many people want more time. Yet, far too often, we waste much of the time that we do have.

There are certain things in life where we have great equality. One is that, In a given day or week, we all have the same amount of time: in a week that is 168 hours. The question is this: how many of those 168 hours do you use well?

How many of your precious hours do you use for sleep, work,
cleaning of self, cleaning house/car/laundry, time with children and/or grandchildren, pets, quality time with your marriage partner, hobbies, eating, playing Sports/ exercise, watching TV or movies, listening to music, on the internet, reading books/magazines/ or newspapers, in prayer/Scripture reading, at church, or in other pursuits?

An honest time inventory can be very revealing and can challenge us to making new priorities of our precious commodity time. I would extend a friendly challenge to everyone to add up how they use their 168 hours.

Then, prayerfully consider if it isn’t possible for you to spend more time with God, with prayer, with the Bible, with church, and with family. At the end of the day, these are the things that matter most of all. Never forget it.

Make time for the important things in life! God gives us time. How we spend that time is our gift back to God!

May You Catch Your Dreams and Make Them True

Today we salute two fine young men graduating from high school -- Mitchell Habeger and Nathan Weiland. Both are exemplary young adults who, we pray, will be successful in the things they feel called to do in life.

Here is some semi-useful information for them and for other high school graduates this May, 2009.

If you are graduating,You have been in school now for approximately 2160 days.

You have spent 12,960 hours in classes. That translates into 777,600 minutes.

So far you’ve lived approximately 18 years. You’ve been around 216 months.

You have been breathing 936 weeks. You’ve been in this earthly realm for 6,552 days. You’ve been here 157,248 hours. You’ve been here in this life for 9,434,880 minutes.

In that time you’ve slept approzimately 52,500 hours. The average person your age has watched T.V. 12,173 hours,and spent 7,488 hours eating (usually with a lot of pizza and burgers in the mix).

WHEN YOU ARRIVED,YOU WERE MORE THAN LIKELY WRINKLED, RED, BALD, TOOTHLESS, CRYING, COMPLAINING, AND YOU HAD NO CLOTHES ON.

YOU HAVE COME A LONG WAY IN 18 YEARS. HOW MUCH FARTHER WILL YOU GO? WE HOPE AND PRAY YOU WILL GO FAR ENOUGH TO CATCH YOUR DREAMS AND MAKE THEM TRUE.

Proceed Gently, With Awe and Reverence

Psalm 118:24 -- "This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!" These are words to live by.

There are many wonderful things in the world, and although it is broken by sin and disobedience, we still see ample evidence of God's glory, of his fingerprints on His creation. Today we had a bright blue sky day with cotton candy white clouds, with a gentle breeze and warmer weather, ending with a bright orange sunset that Da Vinci himself would have trouble matching for beauty and grandeur.

The pattern for our lives is to be found not only in everyday miracles of natural wonder, but in the human wonders, inspired by God, that we find in grace, love,acceptance, kindness, forgiveness,compassion, concern and all the "ordinary" delights we find in being family to each other, and in being good neighbors.

Life is full of meaning. Every act of grace adds meaning. We must slow down and see them, and sometimes we must come to a full stop to carefully observe them, letting God's goodness soak into our souls, reflecting His light for others.

There was a poster I had on my wall in college years ago, which had a profound message for me. It said "Along the way, remember to stop and smell the flowers." Amen. Do not rush through life. Relish it. Live in gratitude to Your Creator. Do not waste time by complaining and moaning. Never stop looking for a reason to smile. Seize the joy that is sometimes hiding.

Proceed gently, with awe and reverence.

Live As Children of Light

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:6-10

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. He shines His light on our hearts – on our lives – and calls on us to reflect his light – to live as children of light.

Light is important. Where would we be without lights? Just consider a typical day. You get up and turn on the light in the bathroom so you can shower and shave and get ready for work. You turn on the light in the kitchen so you can see to pour milk on your cereal. The factory, warehouse, barn or office where you work has lights so that you can see what you are doing and be productive in your work. After work you get into the car and turn on the headlights so you can drive home safely.

You stop at a store and walk down well-lighted aisles to find something for supper. You use lights to cook the meal and do the dishes and read the newspaper. When you tuck the kids in bed, you turn on a nightlight for that added sense of security. After tucking yourself in bed, you breeze through a few pages of that novel and finally switch off the light so you can go to sleep.

And that’s just electrical light! Where would we be without sunlight? We wouldn’t even exist. Without the sun’s warming, life-giving rays this world would be nothing more than a cold, dark, dead sphere floating in space. Yes, light is important. Without light life could not exist.

But without Jesus, we would have no spiritual life in us. Without the Light of the World we would be cold and dark and dead. But, my friends, the Son has shined on us. The Spirit has called us to faith and made us God’s children, children of light.

In Ephesians 5 Paul encourages us to be what God has made us to be, to LIVE AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT. We are Enlightened by Christ. We are empowered to shine. We are human candles of hope, Exposing the darkness! Let your light shine for Jesus!

The Virtuous Woman -- Much Like Many Contemporary Women She Juggles Family and Career, But She Fears the Lord!

Proverbs 31 has the famous passage about the virtuous woman. I see images of my mother and my wife in her. It is a passage worth reading, beginning at verse 10.

It is interesting to note that this last part of Proverbs 31, beginning with verse 10, consists of 22 verses. Each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet (in proper order). The same alphabetical pattern is found in some of the Psalms and may have been used as an aid in memorizing Scripture. The most well-known alphabetical Psalm is Psalm 119 where there are 22 alphabetical sections of eight verses each. In the Hebrew text of Proverbs 31, each verse is also clearly divided into two parts (for example, in verse 10---Part 1: Who can find a virtuous woman? Part 2: For her price is far above rubies). This same two-part format is found in all of these verses. The only exception might be verse 15 which seems to be divided into three parts.

The first part of verse 10 literally reads, "Who can find a woman of strength?" The term "virtuous" is from a noun meaning strength, efficiency, ability. Here it refers to strength of character, that is, moral strength and firmness. The Old Testament uses this expression of a virtuous woman in two other places. In Ruth 3:11 it is used of Ruth. Everyone in the city knew that she was a virtuous woman! When a woman has strength of character (fears God, loves truth, hates sin), then others will take note and recognize this. It will be very obvious because it is so unusual. People are usually so morally weak and so anemic in character, that when a man or woman of strength shows up it is quite evident to all. The other place the term is used is in Proverbs 12:4 where we learn that a virtuous woman (lit--a woman of strength) makes her husband blessed and she is to be praised.

And note that although Proverbs 31 talks of women in the context of wifehood and mothernood, there is ample Biblical evidence of God’s love, respect and call upon single women and widows who serve the Lord. They too may be deemed to be “virtuous women” in the light of the verses that apply to them in their unmarried state, both in Proverbs 31 and elsewhere in the Scriptures. We must give our deepest respect to all virtuous ladies among the godly single women and widows!

There is a lot to be said about women in the Book of Proverbs. As you know, the Book of Proverbs is a list of proverbs or statements of wisdom, and throughout the Book of Proverbs there is a continual interest in women.

There is a woman who appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, and she is the opposite of the "excellent woman;" she is the "adulteress." She flatters with her lips; she forsakes the covenant with her own husband, to seduce someone else. The "adulteress" has lips that drip honey, she has a smooth tongue and she hunts for the precious life of some victim.

There is not only the "adulteress" but there is the "noisy woman," the loud, boisterous woman, with whom no one wants to live, and the normal man would prefer, the proverbs says, "to live in the corner of the roof, in a tiny little place, than in a big house with a boisterous woman. There is the "foolish woman," there is the "rebellious woman," there is the "quarrelsome woman," and they are all really set in contrast to this "excellent virtuous woman" here in chapter 31. There is in chapter 12:4 of Proverbs, this statement, "A virtuous woman is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones."

There is no other Scripture portion that even remotely gives such a detailed description of the “virtuous woman” as does Proverbs 31:10-31. Repeating some of the highlights, the woman that God’s Word describes as praiseworthy:

• is of noble character
• is fully trustworthy
• is an asset to her husband
• is domestically skilled
• is concerned that her household be well and nutritiously fed
• is diligent, arising before dawn and busy until after dark
• is endowed with a good business sense, even to the point of buying a field and planting a vineyard
• may have her own profitable home-based business
• is a hard worker
• is generous to and aware of the poor and needy
• is wise in preparing her household for the needs of the days to come
• is wise in ensuring that she and her family are well and appropriately clothed
• is in proper relationship to her husband, who is out conducting his business affairs at the city gates
• is a woman of wisdom
• shows dignity and strength
• is a faithful instructor to her children
• is diligent to watch over her household
• is the recipient of blessing and praise from her children and her husband
• is above all a God-fearing, godly woman!

Such a woman has been enshrined in the Scriptures for several thousand years as God’s role model for the godly, virtuous woman. To the older women I say, teach these things to the younger women. To the younger women, I exhort you to resist the enticements of the antifamily feminist teachings of our day. Reach out, rather, to embrace God’s vision for you, His “virtuous women”. To such a woman God says (vs. 31), “Let her works praise her at the city gates.”

There is much wisdom in Proverbs, and especially in Proverbs 31—we see a woman described here who is like many contemporary women – balancing home and business, motherhood and a career, domesticity and an example that women can be just as active as men in contributing to society, all aided by divine guidance and wisdom.

All of life, Proverbs proclaims that the wise life is to be lived in the fear and respect of the Lord. A proper respect God is the beginning of wisdom, the end of wisdom, and the whole of wisdom. Or as Jesus, the Wisdom of God incarnate, once put it, "Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear. But seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you as well." We do not need to know much more than that the Lord Jesus abides with us every day and in every situation. The wise live like they really believe that what the Bible says is true. Amen.

Great Women of the Bible

Happy Mother's Day and happy day to all the women of our lives and our churches. You all add beauty and grace to the lives of the rest of us! Praise God for women! Praise God for mothers.

The Bible shows us many women who served God in grace and power - women who contributed to making the world a better place as they served the Lord. Women served God in many ways!

1. Eve, the mother of humanity – a sinner like us, but one created in His image (Gen. 1:27).
2. Sarah, wife of Abraham, mother of the Hebrew people (Genesis
3. Miriam who led the people in praising God after the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 15:21).
4. Rahab, the prostitute, who helped the Hebrews, and became Jesus ancestor (Joshua 2).
5. Ruth who put God first and became the ancestress of King David (Ruth 1:16; 4:17).
6. Deborah, a judge in Israel, who teamed with Barak to save the nation (Judges 5).
7. Hannah who 'lent to the Lord' the child of her prayers (1Sam 1:28).
8. Esther who took her life in her hands to plead for her doomed people. (Esther 4).
9. The widow whose obedience sustained the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:9-16).
10. A little captive maid who told Naaman's wife of the man of God (Elisha) who could cure Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:2-4).
11. The virtuous woman spoken of in Proverbs 31 – a model for noble womanhood.
12. The woman who anointed Jesus with the expensive ointment in love (Mk14:3).
13. The poor widow, whose gift of two mites won Jesus' praise (Mk 12:43).
14. Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, who gave birth to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Luke 1:28), who carried God in her womb.
15. Martha who served and Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42).
16. Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles, who brought spices to anoint Jesus, who first greeted the risen Lord and who received the first commission -'Go tell' (Jn 20:1-18).
17. Lydia, the merchant woman, who was a first convert in Macedonia (Acts 16:14), who opened her home and set a gospel fire in Philippi!
18. Dorcas - full of good works (Acts 9:36), who touched many with her good Christian life, and who God had Peter raise from the dead.
19. Pheobe & Priscilla – good and gracious servants of the church (Ro 16:1-4).
20. Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s grandmother and mother, raised him in the faith (2 Tim 1:5).
21. The Samaritan woman at the well who Jesus transformed into an evangelist, who told many about Jesus the Messiah.(John 4).
22. Persis 'the beloved', and Tryphena and Tryphosa who labored for the Lord (Ro. 16:12).
23. The four daughters of Philip the evangelist, who were prophetesses for God (Acts 21:9)
24.Jael, who God used to kill the evil General Sisera with a tent peg, and therefore give the Hebrews the victory in Judges 5:24-27.
25. Peter’s (Cephas) wife, who traveled with him on gospel missions (1 Cor. 9:5). Jesus often stayed at Peter’s house and healed her mother.

THE POWER OF GRACE!

Here is a great statement about the power of grace:

“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.” ~Timothy Keller

Grace help a believer to trust in God for His constant provision and care on a daily basis. God has promised that He will provide all our needs in Christ Jesus. The daily cares, frustration, and worries of this world must be given to Him. In John 16:33 Jesus said "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Jesus promises that in Him we will have peace and through Him we can overcome our circumstances.

What is the power of grace? Grace means that we can rely on the beautiful simplicity of God's eternal plan because it was obediently fulfilled by Jesus Christ. When we trust Jesus Christ as Savior we know that we are His forever. In addition, we can have peace concerning His daily provision, and we can have that right here and right now. Grace is indeed powerful and practical. May you be overwhelmed by His grace.

If You Do Not Do Things in Love, You Have Missed the Point!

Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another. Romans 12: 10

My Bible tells me that love is the key to Christianity. But so many judgmental Christians are ready to cast stones, spiritual versions of the ones that killed Stephen and battered Paul. So many pastors have preached judgmentalism -- the Pharisees' life milk - -and yet ignore the revolutionary social calls of Christ -- to be known by our love, not by our judgementalism.

Read the Bible. In the New Testament, which is OUR COVENANT (we learn from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, but the New Testament contains the Christian's covenant!), time after time the rule of love is taught. Why is it not obeyed by so many so called Christians?

Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). 1 John 3: 18

Living an authentic Christian life requires only two simple virtues: faith and love. Using these two qualities, a person is able to learn and exhibit the wide assortment of values required for good Christians as well as any good people in general. Faith and love together are the two keys to living a happy life as a Christian. The Bible tells us so!

Love of others and of self can be summarized in the golden rule of, "do onto others as you would want done to yourself", so through learning to love, we can come to understand compassion, respect, and hope for change in Christ. Close, loving relationships, above all, are the key to happiness in life and love is the key to securing those relationships.

He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. 1 John 4: 8

Christians are called to love in all different ways. First and foremost, a person must learn to love themselves, and only then can they learn how to love others. An authentic Christian life of love should be filled with selflessness, sharing, and compassion for others. Through helping others who are less fortunate, we fulfill something in ourselves. To live an authentic Christian life means putting love of others above petty selfishness, judgmentalism, rivalries, and worship of idols like money.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11: 6(NKJV)

The second aspect of an authentic Christian life, faith, allows us to have a basis for our lives, as well as a more intimate relationship with God. If someone questioned everything instead of having faith in others as well as God, that person could never live a happy life because he would never be fulfilled. There are too many questions in life to know the answer to them all, and anyone who searches for them all are misguided. Faith, therefore, is one of the two keys to real happiness in life. Love without faith isn't necessarily an inauthentic way to live for non-Christians, but for Christians, faith is fundamental.

Why are So Many Like Pharisees, When Jesus Rebuked Them?

Jesus said: “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter, without leaving the former undone.” (Luke 11:42)

When we read Jesus’ rebuke to the Pharisees, it is easy to just think, “Boy, the Pharisees sure were bad!” – and then to go no further. Who were the Pharisees in Jesus' time?

They were the experts in the law – which is to say Bible scholars. Or, at least, they thought they knew it all. But according to Jesus, they did not. They lacked love,and without love, all that knowledge is hollow. In our passage in Luke, He is rebuking anyone who acts like a Pharisee. Since Jesus has a low opinion of Pharisees, why do so many people in our churches act like Pharisees, instead of people who truly love as Jesus calls on us to do?

Today, the majority of Pharisitical people are found right here, among us, in the church. Jesus hates hypocrisy, and the greatest hang out for hypocrites is often found in Christ’s church. So let us open and inspect our own hearts and think about the Pharisee inside of us.

In Luke 11:39 it says: “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.’” Jesus points out that a hypocrite will clean the outside of a cup, because he wants people to see how clean he is. But he will not take the time to clean the inside, because he doesn’t really care if he is clean – just so long as people think that he is. He is doing everything for a show, so that people may praise him. How foolish! It is like worrying about dirt on your hands, but ignoring greed and wickedness on your heart. Which is the more important to wash clean?

And then the Pharisee is always pointing out the sins of others, just as they complained and criticized Jesus. He was not respected by the Pharisees because He reached out to the hurting people, the down and out, with love. The Pharisees wanted him to turn such people away, because they did not measure up in outward appearances. But Jesus reached out to the poor, the outcasts -- to the tax collectors and the prostitutes.

What is it about Jesus message that so many in the church simply do not get? Jesus won with love, not force. He won people over with his grace, mercy and love. He changed them from the inside out, not the outside in. He met them in their sin and then He showed them a better way, and they changed for the better. But He did not turn anyone away because they were not "good enough." He said it Himself -- only God is truly good. The fact is, we are all sinners,and, if we are saved, we are saved by grace, not by our works or our own "goodness."

So, I say to you, if you are a Pharisee, who do you think you are fooling? God knows your heart. Jesus said woe to Pharisees then, and He says woe to Pharisees now!If you are a modern day Pharisee, it is time to get right with God. Its time to wash the inside of the cup. It is harder than washing the outside, but it is not difficult. Only our pride keeps us from repenting and confessing our sins. For instance, the Pharisees looked like better people than the tax collectors and prostitutes, but Jesus said that these public sinners would enter heaven ahead of the religious leaders.

The effect of the Pharisee's way is to drive people away from God, and to lower God’s royal law of love to the same standard as their own rules. But this is not the way of Christ, who came to set men free. Jesus proclaimed, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)

Remember that when you point out some one's weaknesses, four fingers are pointing back at you. Try to give out grace the way the Lord is gracious to you.

And know that Jesus will not turn you away. You will not have to pass some kind of test for Him to love you. Do you feel burdened? Come to Jesus who will give you rest. If someone needs help and encouragement, lend a hand. Love them. Jesus said, they will know us as Christians, by our love. (Mark 12:28-31). Be a lover like Jesus, not a loveless, finger pointing Pharisee!