Making and Drinking Wine
Most juice was allowed to ferment to make safe for storage and later drinking
Took full fresh goatskin, sewed up cuts, filled with juice, hung up
Some would sew skin with hair inside for distinctive flavor, done today in some cultures
Fresh skins were used to allow expansion from fermenting process
Matthew 9:17
17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
Fermented wine was stored in amphorae, large pointed jugs
When ready to drink, wine poured into kraters (large bowls) and mixed with water
Typically 3 parts water to 1 part wine, up to 8:1, 10:1 or even 20:1
Mixed wine poured from kraters into kylix (cups) for drinking
Only drunkards and barbarians drank wine straight or in 1:1 mix, called strong drink
Leviticus 10:8-9
8And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Granpa's Hands
Grandpa's Hands.......
Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.
He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands.
When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the
longer I sat I wondered if he was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him
at the same time, I asked him if he was OK. He raised his head and
looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' he
said in a clear voice strong.
'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here
staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I
explained to him.
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' he asked. 'I mean really
looked at your hands?'
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them
over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at
my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.
Grandpa smiled and related this story:
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have
served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled
shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to
reach out and grab and embrace life.
'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the
floor.
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my
mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled
on my boots.
'They have been dirty, scraped and raw , swollen and bent. They were
uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son and daughter. Decorated
with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone
special.
They wrote my letters to my children and trembled and shook when I
buried my parents.
'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and
shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the
rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried
and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works
real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to
fold in prayer.
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out
and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to
His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.'
I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God
reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home.
When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my
children and wife I think of grandpa. I know he has been stroked and
caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.
When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to
you, and watch God's answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue
praying for one another.
Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both.
Passing this on to one not yet considered a friend is something
Christ would do.
-- Author Unknown
Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.
He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands.
When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the
longer I sat I wondered if he was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him
at the same time, I asked him if he was OK. He raised his head and
looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' he
said in a clear voice strong.
'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here
staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I
explained to him.
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' he asked. 'I mean really
looked at your hands?'
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them
over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at
my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.
Grandpa smiled and related this story:
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have
served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled
shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to
reach out and grab and embrace life.
'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the
floor.
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my
mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled
on my boots.
'They have been dirty, scraped and raw , swollen and bent. They were
uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son and daughter. Decorated
with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone
special.
They wrote my letters to my children and trembled and shook when I
buried my parents.
'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and
shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the
rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried
and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works
real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to
fold in prayer.
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out
and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to
His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.'
I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God
reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home.
When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my
children and wife I think of grandpa. I know he has been stroked and
caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.
When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to
you, and watch God's answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue
praying for one another.
Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both.
Passing this on to one not yet considered a friend is something
Christ would do.
-- Author Unknown
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Jim Reeves Trouble In The Amen Corner
It was a stylish congregation you could see they'd been around
And they had the biggest pipe organ of any church in town
But over in the Amen Corner of that church sat Brother Ayer
And he insisted every Sunday on singing in the choir
His voice was cracked and broken age had touched his vocal chords
And nearly every Sunday he'd get behind and miss the words
Well the choir got so flustered the church was told in fine
That Brother Ayer must stop his singing or the choir was going to resign
So the pastor appointed a committee I think it was three or four
And they got in their big fine cars and drove up to Ayer's door
They find the choir's great trouble sittin' there in an old arm chair
And the summer's golden sunbeams lay upon his snow white hair
Said York we're here dear Brother with the vestries approbation
To discuss a little matter that affects the congregation
Now it seems that your voice has interfered with the choir
So if you'll just lay out are you listening Brother Ayer
The old man raised his head a sign that he had hear
And on his cheek the three men caught the glitter of a tear
His feeble hands pushed back the locks as white as silky snow
And he answered the committee in a voice both soft and low
I wonder if beyond the tide that's breaking at my feet
In that far off heavenly temple where my Master and I shall meet
Yes I wonder if when I try to sing the song of God up higher
I wonder if they'll kick me out of there for singing in heaven's choir
A silence filled the little room and the old man bowed his head
The committee went on back to town but Brother Ayer was dead
The choir missed him for awhile but he was soon forgotten
A few church goers watched the door but the old man entered not
Far away his voice is sweet and he sings his heart desire
Where are there no church committees and no fashionable choirs
Let me hide myself in Thee
And they had the biggest pipe organ of any church in town
But over in the Amen Corner of that church sat Brother Ayer
And he insisted every Sunday on singing in the choir
His voice was cracked and broken age had touched his vocal chords
And nearly every Sunday he'd get behind and miss the words
Well the choir got so flustered the church was told in fine
That Brother Ayer must stop his singing or the choir was going to resign
So the pastor appointed a committee I think it was three or four
And they got in their big fine cars and drove up to Ayer's door
They find the choir's great trouble sittin' there in an old arm chair
And the summer's golden sunbeams lay upon his snow white hair
Said York we're here dear Brother with the vestries approbation
To discuss a little matter that affects the congregation
Now it seems that your voice has interfered with the choir
So if you'll just lay out are you listening Brother Ayer
The old man raised his head a sign that he had hear
And on his cheek the three men caught the glitter of a tear
His feeble hands pushed back the locks as white as silky snow
And he answered the committee in a voice both soft and low
I wonder if beyond the tide that's breaking at my feet
In that far off heavenly temple where my Master and I shall meet
Yes I wonder if when I try to sing the song of God up higher
I wonder if they'll kick me out of there for singing in heaven's choir
A silence filled the little room and the old man bowed his head
The committee went on back to town but Brother Ayer was dead
The choir missed him for awhile but he was soon forgotten
A few church goers watched the door but the old man entered not
Far away his voice is sweet and he sings his heart desire
Where are there no church committees and no fashionable choirs
Let me hide myself in Thee
Monday, September 22, 2008
This Kid could teach a lot of folks a thing or two?
This Kid could teach a lot of folks a thing or two?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Why Jesus
Why Jesus
Because
Because He emptied Himself of all but love,
. . . you can be filled.
Because His body was broken,
. . . your life can be whole.
Because His blood was shed,
. . . your sins can be forgiven.
Because He submitted to injustice,
. . . you can forgive.
Because He finished His Father's work,
. . . your life has worth.
Because He was forsaken,
. . . you will never be alone.
Because He was buried,
. . . you can be raised.
Because He lives,
. . . you don't have to be afraid.
Because He was raised,
. . . you can be strong.
Because He reached down to you,
. . . you don't have to work your way up to Him.
Because His promises are always true,
. . . you can have Hope!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Testimony Tony Snow
This is an outstanding personal testimony by Tony Snow, President Bush's former Press Secretary, and his fight with cancer. As a commentator and journalist, he announced that he had colon cancer in 2005. Following surgery and chemo, Tony joined the Bush Administration in April, 2006 as Press Secretary. Unfortunately, on March 23, 2007, Tony, age 51 and a husband and father of three, announced that the cancer had recurred, with tumors found in his abdomen. This lead to surgery in April, followed by more chemotherapy. He returned to work in the White House Briefing Room on May 3, 2007, but resigned some time after that 'for economic reasons and to pursue other interests. He wrote this testimony some time after his departure from the White House and it needs little intro . . . it speaks for itself.
MY TESTIMONY
'Blessings arrive in unexpected packages, - in my case, cancer. Those of us with potentially fatal diseases - and there are millions in America today - find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence 'What It All Means,' Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.
The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the 'why' questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things. And the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.
I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths began to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.
But, despite this, - or because of it, - God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.
Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.
To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life - and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non-believing hearts - an institution that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live fully, richly, exuberantly - no matter how their days may be numbered.
Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease, - smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, - but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension - and yet don't. By His love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.
'You Have Been Called'. Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet, a loved one holds your hand at the side. 'It's cancer,' the healer announces.
The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. 'Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler.' But another voice whispers: 'You have been called.' Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter, - and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our 'normal time.'
There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived, an inexplicable shudder of excitement as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.
The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world scorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing through the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.
There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue, - for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.
Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the Holy City. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.
We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquired purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two peoples' worries and fears.
'Learning How to Live'. Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms, not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of live.
I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was an humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He restrained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. 'I'm going to try to beat [this cancer],' he told me several months before he died. 'But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side.'
His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity - filled with life and love we cannot comprehend, - and that one can, in the throes of sickness, point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.
Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?
When our faith flags, He throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up, - to speak of us!
This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.
What is man that Thou are mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place, in the hollow of God's hand.'
T. Snow
deceased July 12, 2008
The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the 'why' questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things. And the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.
I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths began to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.
But, despite this, - or because of it, - God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.
Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.
To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life - and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non-believing hearts - an institution that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live fully, richly, exuberantly - no matter how their days may be numbered.
Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease, - smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, - but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension - and yet don't. By His love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.
'You Have Been Called'. Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet, a loved one holds your hand at the side. 'It's cancer,' the healer announces.
The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. 'Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler.' But another voice whispers: 'You have been called.' Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter, - and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our 'normal time.'
There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived, an inexplicable shudder of excitement as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.
The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world scorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing through the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.
There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue, - for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.
Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the Holy City. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.
We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquired purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two peoples' worries and fears.
'Learning How to Live'. Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms, not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of live.
I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was an humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He restrained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. 'I'm going to try to beat [this cancer],' he told me several months before he died. 'But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side.'
His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity - filled with life and love we cannot comprehend, - and that one can, in the throes of sickness, point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.
Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?
When our faith flags, He throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up, - to speak of us!
This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.
What is man that Thou are mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place, in the hollow of God's hand.'
T. Snow
deceased July 12, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
माय Prayer
When I wake in the mourning I look to the sky praying to the holly one as a tear runs from my eye. So happy to be me with a friend like you God, with nothing to fear because your son is so near. Joy full am I Lord as I play in your land as part of your plan so happy I am.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
cnn-msnbc-cbs-timewarner-times-war-protesters-abc
http://socialismandliberation.org/mag/index.php?s=recent
http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_about_us
For only the few people who are protesting this war today I think that our troops would be much saferwithout these reports about protests. If you go to the protest sites Communism and socialism is this what your real ambitions lie? Every time the media shows protests Ham mas and Al-Qaida groups gain members and commit more jihads in the next month after each show of Demonstrations. You are effectively killing our troops.
Each time a protest is shown?
http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_about_us
For only the few people who are protesting this war today I think that our troops would be much saferwithout these reports about protests. If you go to the protest sites Communism and socialism is this what your real ambitions lie? Every time the media shows protests Ham mas and Al-Qaida groups gain members and commit more jihads in the next month after each show of Demonstrations. You are effectively killing our troops.
Each time a protest is shown?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
News Media
The News Media
Media Moguls out there in the Magazines, Newspapers, Movies and Television are all about the bad in the world today. I think they are so unhappy that they need to make every one else miserable. Nothing is good or at least reported about. It is easy to take the negative side and not find good in anything. Today they even skew statistics, polls and views to their propaganda machine of hate and ignorance of reality.
Easter day they would rather report on a kid getting run over by a car hunting eggs than the kids enjoying the day with their families. The weather is even the bad weather not the good it just is not healthy. If you want to live a better life and be happy find other ways to use your precious time?
The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement. Yet, almost no one gets the encouragement they need to grow to their full potential. If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond the wildest dreams. We would have more than one Einstein, Edison, Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, Dr. Salk and other great minds in a century. Sidney Madwed, poet, philosopher, business consultant. Here are some good places
The Bible
Goodnews.org good news reports
Happy News
God news
Good news Iraq
Media Moguls out there in the Magazines, Newspapers, Movies and Television are all about the bad in the world today. I think they are so unhappy that they need to make every one else miserable. Nothing is good or at least reported about. It is easy to take the negative side and not find good in anything. Today they even skew statistics, polls and views to their propaganda machine of hate and ignorance of reality.
Easter day they would rather report on a kid getting run over by a car hunting eggs than the kids enjoying the day with their families. The weather is even the bad weather not the good it just is not healthy. If you want to live a better life and be happy find other ways to use your precious time?
The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement. Yet, almost no one gets the encouragement they need to grow to their full potential. If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond the wildest dreams. We would have more than one Einstein, Edison, Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, Dr. Salk and other great minds in a century. Sidney Madwed, poet, philosopher, business consultant. Here are some good places
The Bible
Goodnews.org good news reports
Happy News
God news
Good news Iraq
Sunday, March 9, 2008
> When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the
> Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but
> this is what they
> heard:
> 'Heavenly Father,
> We come before you today
>
> To ask your forgiveness and
>
> To seek your direction and guidance.
>
> We know Your Word says,
>
> 'Woe to those who call evil good'
>
> But that is exactly what we have done.
>
> We have lost our spiritual equilibrium
>
> And reversed our values.
>
> We have exploited the poor and
>
> Called it the lottery.
>
> We have rewarded laziness
>
> And called it welfare.
>
> We have killed our unborn
>
> and called it choice.
>
> We have shot abortionists
>
> And called it justifiable.
>
> We have neglected to discipline
>
> Our children and called it
>
> Building self esteem.
>
> We have abused power
>
> And called it politics.
>
> We have coveted our neighbor's
>
> Possessions and called it ambition.
>
> We have polluted the air
>
> With profanity and
>
> Pornography and called it
>
> Freedom of speech and expression.
>
> We have ridiculed the time Honored values of our Forefathers and
> called it enlightenment.
>
> Search us, Oh, God, And know our hearts today; Cleanse us from every
> sin
>
> And set us free.
>
> Amen!'
>
>
> The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked Out
> during the prayer in protest.
>
> In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is
> pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 Of those
> calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international
> requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea
>
> Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio Program, 'The
'
Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program
than
any other he has ever aired.
>
> With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and
> wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one
nation under God.'
>
> If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends 'If you
> don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.'
>
> Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone On your
> email list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by The world.
>
> How many people in your address book will not receive This
> prayer.....do you have the guts to pass it on?
>
>
> I just did!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Easter
There’s good news from the graveyard this morning.
Good news that the tomb is empty.
Good news that Jesus rose from the dead.
Good news that the devil couldn’t hold him.
Good news that death has lost its sting.
Good news that the grave has lost its victory.
Good news that we need not fear death any more.
As far as I know my heart this morning, I am not afraid to die. Not because I am especially brave. For I am not. But I know what’s on the other side. My Lord has come back and told me what I can expect. I don’t have anything to worry about.
If you hear that I have died tonight, when you bury me, stick up a sign that says, “Temporary residence.” I’m coming back up. You can count on it. I say that without any sense of pride or boasting. For my resurrection does not depend on me.
It does not depend on my good deeds.
It does not depend on any merit in me at all.
It depends solely and wholly on my Lord Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. He promised that if I would trust in him, someday I would rise with him. I’ve staked my entire life on that promise. If it’s not true, I have no other hope.
But it is true. That’s why I don’t plan on staying dead forever.
Don’t Look in the Graveyard
Good news from the graveyard? That’s a strange place for good news. But that’s what Easter is all about. If you’re looking for Jesus today, don’t look in the graveyard. He isn’t there. He left the graveyard 2,000 years ago and never went back.
The really good news is this … If you are looking for Jesus today, you can meet him right now. May I introduce you to him? His name is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the Son of God from heaven. God so loved you that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for you. He was buried in Joseph’s tomb. He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. He paid for your sins so that if you believe in him you will never perish but have everlasting life.
Are you trusting the One who rose from the dead? Jesus is alive and standing with open arms inviting you to accept his offer of eternal life. The door to Heaven is wide open. I invite you to take a step of faith and allow Jesus to prove to you that he is alive. I extend to you a personal invitation to consider becoming a Christian: If your soul is hungry for something more than you have found, try Jesus. If Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart, make sure you open the door.
Each of us has an appointment with death sooner or later. But that is a cause for rejoicing—not for fear, provided we have put our trust in the One who holds the keys of life and death. Here is the final proof that death has been destroyed. When Jesus rose from the dead, he left the door to the tomb wide open. That means we won’t have to fight our way out of the grave when he calls us to wake up. He left the door open 2,000 years ago. That is God’s guarantee that even though we die, we won’t stay dead forever.
One final word and I am done. Perhaps you’ve seen the billboard with a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross. Underneath the picture are three words: “It’s your move.”
Jesus died on the cross. It’s your move now.
Jesus rose from the dead. It’s your move now.
God has answered our deepest questions with the simplicity of an empty tomb. On this happy Easter morning I declare to you that Jesus Christ is alive. My friend, what will you say to that? What difference does it make to you? Will you give him your heart and your life? Will you trust him as Lord and Savior?
It’s your move now.
Good news that the tomb is empty.
Good news that Jesus rose from the dead.
Good news that the devil couldn’t hold him.
Good news that death has lost its sting.
Good news that the grave has lost its victory.
Good news that we need not fear death any more.
As far as I know my heart this morning, I am not afraid to die. Not because I am especially brave. For I am not. But I know what’s on the other side. My Lord has come back and told me what I can expect. I don’t have anything to worry about.
If you hear that I have died tonight, when you bury me, stick up a sign that says, “Temporary residence.” I’m coming back up. You can count on it. I say that without any sense of pride or boasting. For my resurrection does not depend on me.
It does not depend on my good deeds.
It does not depend on any merit in me at all.
It depends solely and wholly on my Lord Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. He promised that if I would trust in him, someday I would rise with him. I’ve staked my entire life on that promise. If it’s not true, I have no other hope.
But it is true. That’s why I don’t plan on staying dead forever.
Don’t Look in the Graveyard
Good news from the graveyard? That’s a strange place for good news. But that’s what Easter is all about. If you’re looking for Jesus today, don’t look in the graveyard. He isn’t there. He left the graveyard 2,000 years ago and never went back.
The really good news is this … If you are looking for Jesus today, you can meet him right now. May I introduce you to him? His name is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the Son of God from heaven. God so loved you that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for you. He was buried in Joseph’s tomb. He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. He paid for your sins so that if you believe in him you will never perish but have everlasting life.
Are you trusting the One who rose from the dead? Jesus is alive and standing with open arms inviting you to accept his offer of eternal life. The door to Heaven is wide open. I invite you to take a step of faith and allow Jesus to prove to you that he is alive. I extend to you a personal invitation to consider becoming a Christian: If your soul is hungry for something more than you have found, try Jesus. If Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart, make sure you open the door.
Each of us has an appointment with death sooner or later. But that is a cause for rejoicing—not for fear, provided we have put our trust in the One who holds the keys of life and death. Here is the final proof that death has been destroyed. When Jesus rose from the dead, he left the door to the tomb wide open. That means we won’t have to fight our way out of the grave when he calls us to wake up. He left the door open 2,000 years ago. That is God’s guarantee that even though we die, we won’t stay dead forever.
One final word and I am done. Perhaps you’ve seen the billboard with a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross. Underneath the picture are three words: “It’s your move.”
Jesus died on the cross. It’s your move now.
Jesus rose from the dead. It’s your move now.
God has answered our deepest questions with the simplicity of an empty tomb. On this happy Easter morning I declare to you that Jesus Christ is alive. My friend, what will you say to that? What difference does it make to you? Will you give him your heart and your life? Will you trust him as Lord and Savior?
It’s your move now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
