Archive for the Uncategorized Category
by Os Hillman
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God” (Lev 19:9-10).
God has a special place in his heart for the poor. In the book of Isaiah we read these words:
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh? -Isa 58:6-7
So how does God want us to care for the poor? Is it through government welfare programs, food stamps, or soup kitchens? God gives us his answer in the Old Testament story of Boaz, Ruth and Naomi. It was customary for farmers to not glean their entire fields in order to leave some of the crop for the poor to glean. This allowed the poor to come at the end of the day and work to receive their provision. This is how the widow Naomi was able to care for herself. Boaz allowed the poor in his community to come to his field at the end of the day to get the leftovers of the harvest.
Notice that God created a partnership between the marketplace and the poor. I believe it is the marketplace that has a responsibility to the poor. By providing an opportunity to glean something from our businesses through an opportunity to work, we provide provision and dignity to the poor.
What are the gleanings in your business? Consider how you might serve the poor.
(from TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1)
January 5th, 2012 in
Uncategorized |
No Comments
By Robert J. Tamasy
At this time of year your workplace probably has some festive lights on display. Sparkling lights are a common symbol during the holiday season: Colorful lights on Christmas trees; white lights adorning homes, retail stores and businesses; candles displayed in windows and atop tables. For some people a highlight of the season is a “festival of lights.”
For some, these lights are merely a pleasant tradition. At a time of year when nights are longer and darker in the Northern Hemisphere, the lights serve to brighten otherwise cold and gloomy days. For followers of Jesus Christ, the lights relate to elements of the story of the first Christmas, especially “the star in the east” that the wise men known as the Magi followed so they could worship the Christ child (Matthew 2:1-12).
For all who profess to believe in Jesus, light represents more than the Nativity star. Matthew 4:16 in the New Testament repeats the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah 9:2: “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” These passages refer to Jesus as “the light.” And during his three-year earthly ministry, Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
But what is the significance of this “light” as we pursue our careers every day in the 21st century workplace? Here are some principles from the Bible:
Christ’s light promises life. Many people choose vocations in the business and professional world to satisfy their material needs and desires, and find a measure of fulfillment in the process. But too often they get caught up in “the rat race,” a relentless treadmill that takes them at a frenetic pace to nowhere. Instead of “making a living,” they must focus on merely surviving. Jesus promised to give his followers purpose and meaning, as well as to meet their daily needs. “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4). “Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
Christ’s light offers freedom from darkness. Today’s workplace seems increasingly dark. Lingering economic woes have dimmed our hopes. Deadlines and demands challenge our convictions and values. Leaders we once admired have revealed the dark sides of their character. Jesus promised to give light to lead us through the deepening shadows. “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it…. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (John 1:5,9).
Christ’s light provides direction. “What should I do?” “Where should I go?” “How can I get through this?” These and many other questions consume us. We all need direction and guidance. Jesus assures his followers that when they look to him, he will show the way and provide the wisdom they need. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).
In celebrating Christmas, are you resolved to “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7)?
Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. A veteran journalist for 40 years, he is the author of Tufting Legacies (iUniverse); Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace (River City Press); and has coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring (NavPress). For more information, see www.leaderslegacy.com or his blogs, www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com and www.bobtamasy.wordpress.com.
CBMC INTERNATIONAL: James Firnstahl, President
1065 N. 115th Street, Suite 210 ▪ Omaha, Nebraska 68154 ▪ U.S.A.
TEL.: (402) 431-0002 ▪ FAX: (402) 431-1749 ▪ E-MAIL: info@cbmcint.org
Please direct any requests or change of address to: www.cbmcint.org
Reflection/Discussion Questions
1. When you see the lights displayed during the holiday season, what thoughts come to your mind?
2. For you, what is the significance or meaning of Jesus Christ’s declaration that he is “the light of the world”?
3. What has been your primary experience at work – are you “living” as you expected you would, or are you finding yourself merely “surviving,” hanging on through the stresses and struggles of every day? Explain your answer.
4. Have you discovered that a relationship with Jesus has brought light for finding much-needed guidance and direction in your career, or in making critical decisions? If so, in what ways?
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to review additional passages that relate to this topic, consider the following verses:
Psalm 36:9, 119:130; Isaiah 58:6-10; Micah 7:8-9; Matthew 5:16; Luke 11:33-36; John 3:19-21
The Bible talks a lot about money. Money in itself is not evil, but the Bible states that the love of money gives root to all sorts of evil. As business leaders, we often focus on profit or success – and there is nothing wrong with that! However, as leaders, we also have the responsibility to protect the vulnerable. Our value as leaders is not so much for ourselves as it is to help others. Many leaders start out well, talking about loving people and using money . . . but often get dyslexic along the road to ‘success’ and end up loving money and using people! Oswald Chambers was quoted as saying “Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity.”
Did you ever consider prosperity a test? Why do you think Chambers would call it the most exacting test of all? Joseph and Solomon were the first two names that came to my mind when I read his quote.
My personal belief is that lack of character may be the root issue Chambers is considering. You either have character and values or you don’t. However, all is not lost – you can build character! Businessdictionary.com defines character as: the sum total of a person’s behavioral traits, history, reputation in community, and values. Character and values only make sense in the context of a relationship. Values are shared beliefs/ideals within a culture. Stop and think about it for a minute. Ask yourself: ‘What do I value? What does God value?’
The 10 Commandments all deal with relationships – with God, with family, with others. Are we going to be a person of character or a person of conquest? Those with character define their conquest while those with a conquest mindset allow the conquest to define or change their character. Character produces life, while conquest leads to death. Values define your direction, while character is the implementation that allows you to get to your destination. Character is like the orange peel, which protects the values, which is the fruit.
God’s glory is weighty and it is character that provides the strength to carry God’s glory. Character is proven, or revealed, in the midst of adversity. The ‘muscles’ of character have to be trained PRIOR to the crisis, because when the crisis comes, it squeezes out what is already inside of you. How do you make a fine wine? You start out with ripe grapes, then you crush them to get the juice out of the fruit. If the grapes are still green (lacking character), or over-ripe (immoral values), you get very bad tasting wine.
Character will take the responsibility to right a wrong, if possible, even though it may be costly. Character produces HOPE. He who gives the most HOPE, leads! The Bible talks about us as being like broken bread and poured out wine. The next time you are ‘squeezed’ in a crisis, will you whine, or, will your character produce a fine wine?
LEARNING TO REVEL IN YOUR LIMITATIONS
By Robert D. Foster
Of all the phobias we face – fears that leave us trembling – for many of us none is greater than the fear of growing old. Several months ago I reached the age of 91! While some people might consider that “old,” I regard it only as the latest stage in the great adventure that has been my life.
Think about it: The fourth quarter of a basketball game is the most exciting; why should that not be true in life as well?
I have been told there are three phases in life – youth, middle age, and “My, you’re looking great!” But many people fail to get to that third phase, at least not in a meaningful, productive manner. One of my friends, for example, saw his life come to an end on his 50th birthday. By today’s standards, he was comparatively young.
Another friend checked out of productive living at 65, turning his back on the commendable life and reputation he had built over more than six decades. He was at the height of “Silver Threads Among The Gold” (a song recorded numerous times during the 20th century about the joy of aging gracefully and proudly). In spite of the legacy he was still in the midst of building, he quit! Too old, too tired, he said.
Becoming older need not be viewed as a handicap, a personal liability. “To be 70 years young,” wrote the esteemed jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, “is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.”
Of course, aging is just one of countless circumstances that can be perceived as either disability or opportunity. Here are examples of people who overcame limitations to accomplish great things in their lives, individuals that refused to lean on the crutch of their so-called “handicap”:
• Author Robert Louis Stevenson was an invalid most of his life.
• Poet Lord Byron had a clubfoot.
• Roman statesman Julius Caesar suffered from epilepsy.
• Composer Ludwig von Beethoven was deaf.
• French political and military leader Napoleon Bonaparte was extremely short in stature.
• Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart suffered from consumption, now known as tuberculosis.
• American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a victim of polio.
• Author, political activist and lecturer Helen Keller was blind and deaf from childhood.
In the Bible’s New Testament, the Apostle Paul summed up in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 his view of the right attitude toward weakness and limitations: “I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Three times I asked God to remove it and HE told me: ‘My grace is enough; it’s all you need, MY strength comes into its very own in your weakness.’ Once I heard that, I was glad he let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer.”
We would all be wise to live by that attitude: Never use your limitations as an excuse for failure.
Taken and adapted from Take Two on Monday Morning, written by Robert D. Foster. Permission to reproduce with proper credit is freely given and encouraged. For questions or comments, write: 29555 Goose Creek Rd, Sedalia, CO 80135, U.S.A., or fax (303) 647-2315. Mr. Foster recently celebrated his 91st birthday. True to his exhortation, he continues to “seize the day” on a daily basis.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
1. What is your greatest fear in life? Is it, as Mr. Foster writes, of growing old? Or are you sometimes troubled by some other fear or “phobia” that affects your daily life? Explain your answer.
2. Aging is just one of many possible limiting factors in seeking to live successfully and productively? What other limitations have you – or someone you know well – had to deal with?
3. Think of someone you admire that has been able to overcome considerable limitations. What do you think has enabled that individual to succeed, perhaps even excel, despite disability or weakness?
4. In the Bible passage cited, the apostle Paul writes about “the gift of a handicap.” The explanation that Paul believed he received was that God’s strength is made evident (another translation says “perfected”) in our weakness. Do you believe this? Why or why not?
If you would like to consider other Bible passages that relate to this topic, look up the following:
Isaiah 35:3-4; 40:31; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:26-29; 2 Corinthians 13:3-4; James 1:2-8
Christian Business Ministries Canada | #104 – 360 King Street West | Oshawa | ON | L1J 2J9 | Canada
Hearing the Father Speak
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Thursday, May 26 2011
“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” – John 10:27
An Englishman tells a true story of his encounter with a Muslim man while walking in the country. The Englishman wanted to share the gospel with this man but knew little of Muslim beliefs. The two men talked as they walked and agreed they would each share their beliefs with one another. The Muslim went first and dominated the time of sharing. The Englishman asked the Holy Spirit how to share his faith with the Muslim man. “Do you consider your god your father who speaks?” asked the Englishman.
“Certainly not,” replied the Muslim man.
“That is one of the big differences between your god and my God. I consider my God as my Father who speaks to me personally.”
“You cannot prove that,” stated the Muslim man.
The Englishman again prayed to himself, “Lord, how do I prove this to this man?” A few moments later the two men began walking toward two young ladies on the other side of the road coming toward them. As they approached, the Englishman spoke to the ladies and made small conversation. He then said to one woman, “I believe you are a nurse, is that correct?”
The woman was startled that a man whom she had never met had just informed her of her occupation. “How would you know that? I have never met you before,” she questioned.
He replied, “I asked my Father and He told me.” The Muslim had his proof.
Many of us do not hear God’s voice because we do not believe He speaks or desires to speak to us. In order to hear, we must listen. In order to listen, we must believe that He speaks. Ask the Lord today for a listening ear so that others might know that you have a heavenly Father who speaks.
Christian Business Ministries Canada | #104 – 360 King Street West | Oshawa | ON | L1J 2J9 | Canada
A Reflective Location
Quite often, one of the reasons Christian pilgrims come to the Holy Land is to help themselves visualize biblical stories they’ve read and re-read so many times. People, whom I met, told me how some stories held a different significance after they were able to tie a specific piece of scripture to a location they visited.
Of course, many significant biblical events are now celebrated by having churches or religious structures constructed on those sites; there is a large church built on the pastoral hill where Jesus was believed to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount. There is the Church of the Nativity, built over the supposed location of the manger in Bethlehem and of course a huge cathedral, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, over the reported site where our Saviour’s crucifixion, entombment and resurrection took place.
Sometimes I found these structures jarring, they didn’t help me tie the biblical story to the location; at times I had to shut my eyes, to get rid of those man-made distractions that were present. But occasionally I ran into a site that cemented a biblical happening to the landscape of Israel; here’s my story of one.
About 25 years ago, the Christian Hospital in Nazareth was planning an expansion and when they started to prod adjacent lands to see about the viability of that site, they discovered what scientists believe are the remnants of a first century Israeli village. This lead to the formation of an international group lead by a number prominent Christians, including former president of the USA Jimmy Carter to raise funds and complete a full examination of the site.
One of the first objects they unearthed was a communal grape press. In harvest season each family would take their grapes to this press, which was really a pit, cut out stone. It was about the size of two side-by-side bathtubs, roughly 5 feet square; at one end there was a trough cut into the rock and that led to a cistern, which was about five deep. The women would crush the grapes; the juice would run down the trough into the cistern where it would be collected and stored in wineskins.
Historians have suggested that there would be a sturdy canopy constructed over this grape press and hanging from the canopy would be a number of leather straps. The woman of each household would hang onto one of the straps to steady herself while stomping on the grapes; but she wouldn’t alone, she would have her closest friends or relatives helping her. And she in turn would help her neighbours when it was their turn to press their grapes. In fact, the stomping was most likely dancing aided by song, as the harvest was a time of celebration.
Around this grape press area, the young children of the women who were pressing the grapes would gather; they would join in on the celebration, singing and clapping their hands to the music, enjoying this time of joy with their mothers.
Derek, a young Christian who was aiding the restoration of this site, said this was his favourite spot to come and contemplate the life of his Saviour. He could see Jesus as a young child, maybe two or three years old, clapping his hands and enjoying the harvest with his Mother. I fully agreed with him.
Even though there is no biblical reference to this site and there is no mention of Jesus at this age in the Bible, I found this location one of the most profound sites that I saw in my three weeks of touring Israel; Jesus, the son of man, as a child, enjoying the warmth and love from his earthly family.
An eight-point check-up to help you extend the power of God in the world
When’s the last time you had a prayer check-up? Performance appraisals of employees are commonplace; routine medical check-ups have become a way of life for many people. But when’s the last time you assessed your prayer life?
If you did undertake a prayer check-up, what standard would you use?
Doesn’t it make sense to use Jesus Christ as that standard? After all, He claims that “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” and that “I and the Father are one.” The ‘Father’ He is referring to is God, and it is to God that we pray. So if we pray to God, and if Jesus calls God ‘Father’ and claims to be the exact representation of the Father, one with the Father, then we can expect to learn a great deal from Him about how to communicate with the Father.
By reflecting Jesus in our prayer life, we can engage with God in the way God desires, and experience God in the way Jesus experienced Him on this earth. At the same time as our prayer life is enriched, our understanding of God will be expanded. As our understanding gets stretched, our service to God will increase. As our service increases, the transforming power of God will become more evident, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of those we influence. To reflect Jesus in our prayer life is to extend the power of God in the world.
Thus, Jesus provides the model for how to pray.
All but one of Jesus’ recorded prayers are brief, pointed, and uttered in absolute confidence that the Father knows what is essential. As the all-knowing Father, God does not need to be instructed as to the situation or person being prayed for; He simply needs to be included in one’s efforts to intercede, or to seek clarity as to what course of action to take. Secure in the knowledge that God knows what is essential, Jesus willingly subsumes His will to that of the Father.
Mark, the author of the second Gospel, records that “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Solitude, quiet, a place where God could get at Him without external interruptions or distractions, preparing Himself before the challenges of the day began — those were key to Jesus’ prayer time. We would do well to practice that.
Evening, too, could be a time of prayer for Jesus. After feeding the 5,000 late in the afternoon, He sent the disciples by boat to go on ahead of Him to the next town, while He “went into the hills to pray.” His prayer continued long enough that the disciples “straining at the oars, because the wind was against them” had reached the middle of the Sea of Galilee, some five kilometres distance before He looked up and saw them. Jesus did not need to be with His disciples, His followers, every moment, even in times of storm. No leader needs to be present to her staff all of the time. There are times when prayer alone is much more valuable than ‘busy’ time in the presence of others, even when those others seem to require one’s personal attention.
The Gospel writer Luke pulls back the curtain and lets us see Jesus in the midst of demands, and in the process gives us a model to follow. “… crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Now there’s a picture designed to get our attention! Our schedules are over-flowing; the demands of the ‘crowds’ are ever present; our Blackberries bear constant testimony that we really are indispensable and just have to at least read, if not immediately respond to, the latest email. In fact, our lives bear a striking resemblance to that of Jesus at the height of His ministry. Too many demands, too few resources, too little time. So what did He do, habitually? “Withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Isn’t there something there in His practice that can help us in ours?
On occasion Jesus would do the unthinkable. Sometimes, He “spent the night praying to God.” Our thought is, “Well, I could do that too if I had nothing to do but sleep in the next day.” We can’t (usually), and He didn’t. After one notable night of prayer, Jesus the next day selected his ‘inner circle,’ the Twelve to whom He would entrust the entire future of the Christian faith. Then He went on that same day into the midst of “a large crowd of his disciples … and a great number of people” from the major population centres of Judea. He healed in the midst of throngs pushing in on Him, and taught patiently, all the time walking as He went until He reached the next town. Talk about a demanding schedule! As a great Christian has said, “I have so much to do tomorrow that I have to get up two hours earlier for prayer so I will be prepared.”
Jesus had a way of packing a great deal of content, of pain, agony, heartbreak, into a very succinct sentence. Faced with the prospect of the crucifixion, recoiling from the horror that lay ahead, He would say only a handful of words: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Again, a model of placing ourselves at the disposal of the Father, in absolute confidence not only that He is wiser, but that His strength is sufficient for us in our time of greatest trial and need.
In addition to being a model for prayer, Jesus also asks us to understand that He is the means through whom prayer is offered. Jesus is very specific that general prayers offered generally to some general deity are of no avail. We are to pray to a very specific God, whom we are to call, by invitation, “Father,” for very specific items. But more than that, we are to pray in the name of Jesus Himself.
As He was preparing the disciples for the pending events of His trial and crucifixion, Jesus made an astounding statement. “…the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” A short time later at the same meal, as if to ensure that the disciples would not misunderstand the import of His words, Jesus repeated the promise: “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
Now we need to understand two elements of this. The first is that we need to put aside our fuzzy thinking about the One to whom we pray. We pray to God the Father, not to Jesus, and we pray in the name of Jesus.
Secondly, when we pray in the name of Jesus, it helps us to clarify our understanding about what to pray for. In human terms, there are certain claims we do not make about specific individuals, because we know them well enough to know that such claims would not be true. While supermarket tabloids may be able to make the most outrageous claims about movie stars we do not personally know, with some expectation that people will actually believe the claims, we are much more careful about what we believe about the behaviour of our friends and family members. We put all rumours and charges through the filter of what we know to be true about that individual. Similarly, as we come to know Jesus better, and allow Him greater sway in our life, our prayers become more refined, more reflective of what we know is in keeping with His teachings and His representations of God, the Father. To pray with the assurance that the Father will give us whatever we ask in the name of Jesus is not a licence to pray for outrageous outcomes, or personal glory. Such prayers are not at all consistent with Jesus’ teachings or the meaning of His life, death, and resurrection; the words for such prayers would catch in our throat before we utter them, because they are not ‘in the name of Jesus.’ To pray in His name is to pray as He would pray, for the things for which He would pray, and always with the desire that God’s will will be done, not our own.
James, the half-brother of the Lord, writing a number of years after the resurrection of Jesus, comments on what it means to reflect Christ in prayer. “You want something but don’t get it. … You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. … Submit yourselves, then, to God.”
Reflecting Jesus in our prayer life is not always easy. It requires that we spend some time in solitude, whether morning, evening or other times of the day. It requires that we willingly turn people and circumstances over to the Father, and give up the notion that we are indispensable. It requires that we develop the capacity to pray and to do at the same time. Just because our schedules are busy and people press in does not mean that prayer is impossible. In fact, it is in those times that prayer is especially essential. It requires that we allow God’s will to prevail, and to not mistake our wisdom or desires for His. And it requires that we pray in Jesus’ name, and allow our prayers to be guided by His desires, not our own.
How’s your prayer life? By using the eight-point check-up outlined above, you’ll be able to take corrective action where you need to. In the process, you’ll be reflecting Jesus in prayer and extending the power of God in the world.
November 8th, 2009 in
Uncategorized | tags:
Prayer |
No Comments
A fresh perspective on living in this world when compared to eternity
Do you think you could be happy with one million dollars? Suppose I were to give you $1 million, with one stipulation. What would you buy? A new house? A pleasure boat? Undergo cosmetic surgery? Buy that beautiful luxury car you have dreamed about? Yes, without question, becoming a millionaire could be tremendous fun, opening up many new opportunities for you.
But remember, I said “with one stipulation.” What stipulation is that? Simply this: You would become a true, bank-certified millionaire — but for only one day. After the end of that day, you have to give everything back. Return the house, the boat, the car, or whatever else you chose to purchase. You would also have to reverse the surgery.
Suddenly, becoming a millionaire does not seem as appealing, does it? Maybe it just does not seem worth the effort and the momentary enjoyment wealth can provide if it is to be lost so quickly.
We live in a world like this, however. We want what we want, and we want it now. Interestingly, it has been observed that a mark of maturity is one’s willingness to defer immediate gratification for long-run gain.
There are two distinctly different scoreboards in life, regardless of whether your vocation is in the business and professional world or an athletic field. The first scoreboard is found on “Planet Earth.” It has at least four general categories: Beauty, Intelligence, Strength, and Money.
Beauty equals external appearance. This relates to your physical appearance, the clothes you wear, whether your spouse or “significant other” is attractive to others. “Beauty” also concerns whether your house, car, personal attire, children, work or hobby possessions inspire admiration and envy.
Intelligence relates to mental capacity and skill, real and imagined. For the past 200 years, doors of opportunity were often opened based on the college attended and the degrees earned. Now a “killer-concept” (such as innovations that started enterprises like Federal Express, Apple Computer, Microsoft and Google) can open those same doors. Today, as never before, one creative or innovative idea can change your life.
Strength pertains to physical strength, physical appearance and physical health. You cannot fully enjoy the other aspects of life if you are not healthy.
Money often equals power. It’s amazing how we envy and cater to people with money. Dollars open doors — providing the best seats in restaurants, special attention at social events, deference in important meetings.
But the harsh reality is that this life on earth, no matter how enjoyable, is a vapour. Our life spans, compared to eternity, are as fleeting as steam escaping from a tea kettle. We spend our lives playing according to the Planet Earth scoreboard, but one day, sooner that we can imagine, everything is going to vanish. It will all be replaced with what we might call a “Heaven or Hell” scoreboard: Where will you be spending eternity?
The Bible explains it this way: “And just as it is appointed for people to die once, and after this, judgment” (Hebrews 9:7). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Suddenly, beauty, intelligence, strength and money will become useless. Sooner or later we will discover that the Planet Earth scoreboard is just not worth the effort.
October 26th, 2009 in
Uncategorized | tags:
Devotional |
No Comments
