| Thought For The Week December |
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| 2 to 8 December 2002 Are You Prideful? |
| A man stood next to a beat up old car. Inside the car a woman sat holding a baby. In the back seat were boxes and clothing piled up. The man held a sign that read, "Will Work for Food". Two businessmen looked at the man as they walked by talking. "The government needs to do something about the homeless around here." says one. "He could find work if he really wanted to. He's just lazy." answers the other. "Speaking of work, I was able to more then double my donation to the church thanks to the increase of sales at my stores." "I was able to increase my donation too, thanks to the overtime I put in." replied the first businessman. "I may have to have personnel hire two more people." Now another man who was on his way to work saw the man with the sign. Without hesitation he walked up to him. "Sorry. I have no job for you nor any money on me. But I do have this sack lunch and I hope you will accept it." Handing the sack to the man, he continued on his way to work. Why is it those who have the least give the most? Sure the businessmen gave money at the church. But they took away something. They took pride in their giving. Self-righteousness and pridefulness is a sin that we all have to guard against. At first glance, the last man offered only a sack lunch. But take a deeper look. He humbled himself before the first man and his family. In so doing, he humbled himself before God. He gave away his lunch which seemed to be the only thing he had. But in giving away his lunch he also gave his love for another. What would God say about this story? Isaiah 58:1-14 speaks quite clearly to it. Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. Isaiah 58:10 (NLT) |
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| 9 to 16 December 2002 What's Your Mileage |
| Several men were sitting around a table in the break room at their work shop one morning. "What kind of mileage are you getting?" asked the first man. "Well, I stop in once a week. That seems to be enough for me." answered the second man. "I make two stops a week." the third man stated. "Well, I only stop in every once in awhile." the first man said. "I figure that I've got plenty of time to go before I have to worry about it." A fourth man looked at the other three and shook his head. "I stop in every chance I get. The rest of the time I check in with the Maker. The better you maintain it, the better it operates. It will last you forever. After all, it's the only one you'll ever have." Which one of the four are you like? What kind of mileage are you getting? Do you stop in only once in awhile, or once a week, or twice a week, or every chance you get? There are a lot of churches around and the Maker would like to hear from you every day. The more you maintain it the better. Like the fourth man said, it will last you forever and it's the only soul you'll ever have. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT) |
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| 16 to 22 December 2002 Is God On The Internet? |
| You can go on the internet and find almost everything that you will ever need. Just type in a word in the search box, hit enter, and a whole list comes up with that word. You can buy almost anything you need and some things are even given away for free. However, just like going to a store, the old saying of "Buyer Beware" applies and not everything you read is true. Now while I was looking for some information on something else, it came to my mind, is God on the internet? With this in mind I began to look. I typed in His name, "God". There was over 7 million listings. However this included mythological listings as well. But a good start anyway. Next I tried "Holy Bible". Here I found over 3 hundred thousand listings and, although I did not look thru each one, the ones I did look at were what I expexted to see with many translations. Then I tried "word of God". Here again I found pretty much what I expected. Both those who believe and those who do not with over 6 hundred thousand listings. Now I looked deeper into the listings for an answer to my question and it did not take long for me to get my answer. A search of the internet quickly revealed to me the word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Wisdom and understanding in His word can be found there. (Proverbs 3:13-18) Many more then two gather at one time to read his word and chat about it. (Matthew 18:20) Yes. God is on the internet. J.L. Sager We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are near. People everywhere tell of your mighty miracles. Psalm 75:1 (NLT) |
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| 22 to 28 December 2002 The Greatest Gift |
| This is the week of Christmas in which we rejoice at the time of the birth of Christ Jesus. (Unless you are Eastern Orthodox. Then you are waiting for 6 January 2003.) We give each other gifts and say that it is to celibrate the birth of Jesus and represents the gifts given to Him. Among all of the beautiful lights, yard scenes, decorated trees, and multi colored wraping paper, we seemed to have forgotten the the greatest gift of all was given to all of us by God. No matter if you celibrate on the 25th of December or on the 6th of January, it is important to remember that our gift from God was His only Son to redeem us of our sins. (John 3:16-17) J.L. Sager And the angel said unto them, fear not for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 (KJV) |
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