Psalm 14:1

An atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared, 'Case dismissed!'

The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, 'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah... yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!'

The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, 'Obviously your client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own atheists' holiday!'

The lawyer pompously said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?'

The judge said, 'Well it comes every year on exactly the same date --- April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as 'April Fools Day,' consider that Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st is his holiday! Now have a good day and get out of my courtroom!!'

True Religion

What a tragedy that we have lost our ability to function in society the way God intended! He left us here to be a light to the world. People should be able to look our way and see something wonderfully different about us. Not our clothes and our hairstyle -- but US! The good things God places on the inside of us should show up in practical ways on the outside.

The prophet Micah says: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Mic. 6:8) Then again the NT tells us in James 1:27 : "Pure and faultless religion before God our Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

This surely means that there should be something different in the way we live out our lives. There sholud be some clear differences in the way we raise our children. Our marriages should testify to the love of Christ. Those outside the church should feel powerfully attracted to the fellowship and love seen among us.

Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Consequently, our society has a warped view of the person and work of Christ. We cannot expect anyone to embrace a Savior they know nothing about. We certainly cannot expect them to surrender to a LORD whose servants can't even get long with each other. As ambassadors for Christ, we have the God-given responsibility to live in such a way that others see Christ in us. As the body of Christ, we are His hands and His feet. We are His mouthpiece.

Like St. Francis d' Assisi said: "Preach the gospel always. When necessary, use words."

Pardon the cliché, but we are the only Jesus most people will ever know.

Humble Prayer

Lord, be generous with your grace to those who pray to you: by your power, may they follow your commandments closely, receive consolation in this present life, and embrace the joys that are to come.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Indescribable - Chris Tomlin

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God

All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet, conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God

All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart
And You love me the same
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

Beautiful Eventually

Just think about the promise of Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." This signifies that there will be unavoidable things in your life that appear to be ugly, unwanted and uncomfortable. No doubt, there are issues that immediately spring to mind -- there's nothing good about them as far as you can see.

Perhaps that's because there are just too many overwhelming unknowns about your situation that blind you to the good God is doing. Or maybe you're simply so bogged down and disheartened by your heavy load that you can't imagine it ever getting any better. Don't be surprised that there are supposed to be seasons like that in your life (see 1Peter 4:12-13)

Why does God burden us with such times???? The second part of Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

Though you may never know everything God is doing in your life, you can always count on the fact that God is preparing your heart for eternity. 2 Corinthians 4:17 states, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." So remember, your seasons of trial --- however long and heavy they may seem --- are brief and light compared to the great things God is doing in you (see Romans 8:18-21, 28)

As you've been promised in Eccl. 3:11, this difficult situation will eventually be beautiful in your sight. Now is that hard for you to imagine??? It's okay -- because God's wonderful plans for you are by definition beyond imagination (check Eph. 3:20-21) So until you see God's lovely workmanship taking shape in your circumstances, just hold on to His promise. Eventually, this season too will be over and you'll find that it was all worth it.

(The image above is of 'The Crooked River, Oregon'... the reason I put it there is because the name maybe 'crooked' but look at what God makes of it in the season of Autum.... Beautiful Eventually)