| Thought For The Week March |
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| Turn No One Away 2 to 8 March 2003 |
| One day, while I was sitting with some employees at their shop during their breaktime, another employee came in and sat at a table next to us. He listened to us discussing a passage in the Bible for a minute or two. Then he began to make comments without speaking directly to us, but pur-posely loud enough for us to hear him. "Jesus freaks." That's how he started. Then with everything we spoke of, how God supplies you with what you need, he would make a rude comment of his own. A supervisor allso heard him al- though he did not sit with us. He began to say something to the man rebuking him for his inter- ruption of us. "That is quite all right." I told the supervisor. "I did not ask him to be quiet or to leave us alone. In fact I wish to invite him to set with us." The supervisor looked at me with one of those 'Why?' type looks. "Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees when they asked why he ate and talked to the tax collectors and other sinners?" And Jesus answering said unto them, "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32 (KJV) Well, the man gave a bit of a snort and moved to the other side of the breakroom. The super- visor and the others just laughed. However, as I left, I stopped and told the man he was always welcomed to join us. J.L. Sager And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, "Follow me." And he left all, rose up, and followed him. Luke 5:27-28 (KJV) P.S. Yes, I am proud to say that Philip has now been a part of our group for over 3 months now. J.L.S. |
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| Are You A Braggart? 9 to 15 March 2003 |
| "Here comes Dave." Ted said. "I don't know why he doesn't get a better car then that used one he's got." "I know what you mean." Cid answered. "He makes as much as we do and we've got new cars. He must be hoarding his money." Ted shook his head. "I don't know what he does with his money. I think he should use it to help all those people he keeps talking about. You know, the homeless and others that he takes donations for. I never see his name in the company paper on the donor's page." "I saw that you made top donor of the month again." Cid said. "That's what? The third citation you've won? I have two on the wall in my cubicle." Know someone like Ted and Cid? You know, the ones that brag about all they do for others? Know someone like Dave? The kind that always asks for help, but never says much about what they have given? Why are there people like Dave? Maybe because they are looking for their reward in heaven. How? Read on. J.L. Sager "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV) Are you a Ted and Cid, or a Dave? |
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| Can You See? 16 to 22 March 2003 |
| Have you ever looked for something but could not find it? Then someone says to you, "If it were a snake, it would have bitten you." Then they point it out to you or pick it up and hand it to you. That is when you realize it was right in front of you all the time, yet you were blind to it. And you wonder why you could not see it. How much more are we blind to God and His Word? How often have you searched for an answer to a question and have not been able to find it? Then someone opens the Bible and points out the answer to you. Now Jesus healed many of the blind. You can read about some of them in Matthew 9:27-30, 20:29-34, Mark 8:22-26, and one man by name of Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43. However, the one that stands out the most to me can be found in John chapter 9. The others gave praise to Jesus and God when they gained their sight. But I always wondered if they gave praise for a miracle or in their belief in Jesus as the Son of God and in their faith? Could they really see or were they still blind? But in John 9, this man not only gave praise to Jesus, but also gave his testimony of faith in Jesus as the Son of God. And he even kept his faith after he was thrown out of the synagogue by the Pharisees. Do you only think that you can see and praise Jesus? Or do you give testimony to the truth and the Word of God, to Jesus as the Son of God, even in the face of ridicule from non-believers? J.L. Sager Then Jesus told him, "I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind." John 9:39 (NLT) |
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| Is There A Plan For Me? 23 to 29 March 2003 |
| You have, I'm sure, seen those cute T-shirts for children that say, "Please be patient. God is not thru with me yet." Well, the same can be said for all of us, both young and old alike. He has a plan for all of us. It may be to be of help to one person or to many. It may be to be a comfort to many or to give your life for another. You may know His plan for you or you may not until you meet face to face with Him. I know He has a plan for me though I do not know what it is. I know this because of the life I have had. In 1954 I contrated Polio and was totally paralyzed. I was placed in an iron lung, how- ever the doctors told my parents that I would not survive. A year later I began to breath on my own. Then I ran the entire gambit. I went from a wheelchair to legbraces and crutches, to leg- braces and canes, to just canes. In 1967 I threw away the canes and enlisted in the U.S. Army where I served for 23 years to include two years of combat in Vietnam. No. God was and is not thru with me yet. What he wants of me yet I do not know. How He has used me I am as yet una- ware of yet. I only hope that in my duty to God that I have had a positve effect on at least one person. Now if you are reading this, you can be sure that he is not thru with you yet either. Even if you do not know why, He does and you can be assured that He has a plan just for you. J.L. Sager Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NLT) |
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