Category: General stuff

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Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

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 We have a book in our bookstore that is been featured each day on this site. It is my first book called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This books has special pricing right now. It is not too early to start thinking about Easter, and this book is a great gift that fits the season.

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

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Chapter 45

 

Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

 

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things

[food and clothing] will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

 

There once was a famous painter whose paintings were much in demand. He was doing really well selling them.

One day his son became ill and the father took care of him as best he could. The painter eventually carried him to the doctor, but on the way the son died. The painter later died, and his paintings became very valuable.

Everyone showed up to bid on the painter’s work at the auction to sell off his paintings. Some of them were now worth many thousands of dollars. The first painting—a portrait of the painter’s son—was put up for auction. “What do I hear for this fine painting?” asked the auctioneer. No one said a thing.

Again the auctioneer said,” We need a bid on this wonderful painting.” Still no one spoke.

A person in the back said, “Why would we want a painting of the painter’s son? Let us bid on his real paintings!”

The auctioneer gave the bidding one more try: “Do I hear $10 for this painting?”

An old man near the front raised his hand and said, “I bid $10, but that is all I have. I knew the boy and I would like to have a picture of him.”

“Do I hear higher?” Silence. “Going once … going twice … sold!” The auctioneer banged his gavel.

“Good, now we can bid on the real paintings!” the crowd shouted.

“I’m sorry—the bidding is closed,” the auctioneer announced.

A man shouted, “How could that be! There are several more paintings that are worth thousands of dollars.”

“The painter said that whoever bids the highest on his son’s painting would get all of the paintings!” the auctioneer responded.

There are people who live their lives like that! They are greedy and want the real prize—the riches. Look at this story as if it were God who had lost His Son. He has planned for us to have all kinds of riches in Him but first we must accept His Son.

Too many wait to get in a bid on the “good stuff” and overlook the invitation to accept the Son. Which one should we bid on? Are we going to be greedy and end up with nothing in the end?

We all would like to have many things for our families. It would be nice to have all the toys—for the big boys (and girls), as well as for the little boys (and girls). But what good are they in eternity? We can’t take them with us! 

We can’t begin to imagine the beauty of heaven and all that is there for us. The streets of gold. The music of a thousand angels. No pain. No suffering. New bodies. Loved ones to see.

That is what we should be working for—not the pleasures of this earth. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to what is in heaven. There is a prize above all prizes waiting for all that believe in God.

 

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Proverbs 21:21

 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians3:14(emphasis mine)

 

Further Adventures

What are your priorities in life? Sit down and list them. Is it security? Is it happiness? After you have written your list, notice how many of those you can have by knowing God and depending on Him.

Everything in life was created by God. No matter what you see and what you do, God had His hand in it. Your job? Your happiness? God helped you get your job, and He orchestrated the things that bring you happiness.

I have learned that with God in charge of my life, nothing that has happened to me or will happen to me is or will be “by accident.” God is in charge of everything I do.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that atheism is a “non-prophet” organization?

 

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If God Brings you to it, He Will Bring you Through it.

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We have a special going on right now in our bookstore. The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly world,” is on sale for $15.99. In the retail stores it is $19.99. There is a special price cut in shipping as well. A total savings of over $6.00.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

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I have another excerpt from the book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This is one of my favorite chapters in that it shows us the way to be strong when the storms and trials hit.

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Chapter 43

 

If God Brings You to It, He Will

Bring You Through It

 

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Psalm 91:4–6

 

Sometimes God allows things to happen to us to let us know He is there for us. I have known people who have had things happen to them that caused them to turn to God for help—for the first time in their lives. 

September 11, 2001changed many lives. Events of this proportion seem to change lives every time. He uses situations to make people stronger and to send them a message. These are the close encounters that help us grow.

If the steps we take seem to come to a wall we can’t climb over, we need to consider whether or not God might have another plan in mind. We need to pray to Him and seek His will. That kind of prayer will be answered faster if we ask for the wall to be moved!

We’ve all been through personal crises—health issues, loss of a job, separation from a family member, the death of a dear friend or other things that have thrown us for a loss. At those times we wondered if we’d make it through the situation. It was devastating at the time.

God knows everything about us, and knows what will happen to us even before we face hardship and fear. The most important thing to understand is that God prepares us for this kind of hard times.

I told you about how close I came to committing suicide and how I thought I had nowhere to turn. In reality, I had a source that was there for me all the time. It just took me that frightful moment to realize I could turn to God for help. God let me come to that point. He brought me through it, and He will bring each one of us through any pain and tragedy we face.

We need to stay close to God, and always rely on Him for comfort. We can do this by reading the Bible each day and praying. There is never a time I read the Bible without finding something new that gives me peace and strength. The same verse in the Bible can have a different impact depending on what I’m going through at that time.

I have a friend who puts the date next to a verse that stands out to her and notes what it means to her at the time. When she looks back years later, she can recall the circumstances that made that particular verse stand out to her.

God does allow sorrow, sadness and danger in our lives, but we will be able to cope with it much better with the knowledge that He is there for us when we need Him.

Second Corinthians 1:9 says: “In our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Another version says that Paul thought it was good that they thought they were doomed! How amazing to see that his faith let Paul know that he and those traveling with him would be killed if it weren’t that God was there to save them. Do we have that level of trust? We should. The same God who saved Paul is the same God that is with us today.

I would like to suggest a book for you to read. It is an amazing book about a man who was declared legally dead for 90 minutes and lived to have a huge impact on people’s lives. The book is 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. It was published in 2004 by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group,Grand Rapids,Michigan.

Don Piper was in a horrible car accident and was pronounced dead by the medics. He was stuck in his car for 90 minutes, and the first part of the book is about what happened to him while he was supposed to be dead.

A friend “just happened” to be going by the accident scene that day and refused to agree with the medics that Don was dead. He prayed over Don the whole time he was supposed to be dead. That part of the book is amazing enough, but then when Don began to recover, many wonderful things began to happen. It is a story of lost hope, and how God brought him through the hard times and made him a stronger person than he could have ever dreamed.

 

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.”

Isaiah 41:13

 

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:24

 

Further Adventures

  1. Spend time praying each day. This will help you know ahead of time what God has for your future. Often through prayer God sends a message for you to understand. We shouldn’t wait for a crisis to start seeking God’s help.
  2. If you know of someone who is troubled by a trial God is allowing, be there for them and help them to know that He will help them through it. Let them know they don’t have to fear, because God is with them.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that the more we depend on God, the safer we are?

 

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Hate is Not a Family Value

I want to thank those who have been signing up for the RSS feed. It helps us climb up the Google Search Rankings. Help us keep climbing by signing up today if you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

_________________________________________________________

Our bookstore has a timely book on a special sale right now. It is called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

In the world we live in today, there are many who are facing one or more of those afflctions mentioned above. Click on the “Booksote,” tab at the the top of this page to check it out.

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I have another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This excerpt talks about how hate is not a family value. People spread hate, and don’t seem to care how it affects others.

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Chapter 42

 

Hate Is Not a Family Value

 

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemy.” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 5:43–44

 

I have had students say things to other children that I couldn’t help but think came from their own homes. Surely these 8–11-year-old children couldn’t have learned so much hate anywhere else. They learned about discrimination and bigotry right in their own homes—perhaps because the parents also grew up with hate and prejudice.

Hate should not be a family value, but it feeds on generations of hate. And it will not stop being handed down as long as each family member continues to let hate breed within them. Someone needs to break the chain so that it stops in this generation.

If you are one who fuels hate, prejudice or discrimination, it has to stop with you! We must realize that it can stop when each of us decides to do something about it and banish it from our thinking. We accomplish nothing by showing hate or even simply looking down on other people as “beneath” us. We are all people of worth, and we need to respect that in everyone.

Proverbs 22:6 reminds us of this important thought: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.”

As parents and grandparents, change can start with us. We have the responsibility to teach our children to love and respect others. Imagine what a change there would in the world if everyone started to respect and love each other.

God didn’t create anything that wasn’t good. Each and every person (and thing) on earth was created by God. He does not make mistakes. He has a purpose for everything and everyone He created. Each of us has the same value to Him. Therefore, we should consider everyone around us as one of His creations and love them as we would love ourselves.

Hate never works any good in the end. We may try to hate, and shun someone, but we are the losers when we do. We wallow in our own mire and muck trying to hate our neighbors, but the only misery it causes is our own.

It really is so much easier to love someone than to work so hard at hating him or her. The stress level is much higher when you hate someone, and you never feel like you’ve won the game. Loving someone reaps many rewards—peace, for instance. Hating someone only destroys the crop—and eats away at you.

Avoid the rush. Be one of the first in your world to reach out and love those with whom who you’ve had conflict. They will be surprised, and may not react right away. But in the end they will respect you. They will have the burden on their shoulders to either accept your peace offering, or they will be the ones who get to wallow in the muck and mire.

Who would you rather it be—them or you?

 

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:27–28

 

Further Adventures

Think about what your parents taught you. Are they values you want to pass on to your children? Are they values you live by today? Do they teach tolerance and love? If not, do some soul-searching. For the sake of your children, take time to evaluate your thinking. If it isn’t quite what you think you want your children to know, do something about it. Get into the Word and see what God says about loving your neighbor—and yes, even loving your enemy.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that when you smile you have more face value?