A Little Humor For The Heart's Sake

A rich man went to his pastor and said, "I want you and your wife to take a three month trip to the Holy Land at my expense. When you come back, I'll have a surprise for you." The pastor accepted the offer and he and his wife went off to the Middle East.

Three months later they returned home and were met by the wealthy parishioner, who told them while they were gone, he had a new church built. "It's the finest building money can buy, pastor," said the man, "No expense was spared." And he was right. It was a magnificent edifice both outside and in.

But there was one striking difference. There was only one pew and it was at the very back. "A church with only one pew?" asked the pastor.

"You just wait until Sunday." said the rich man.

When the time came for the Sunday service, the early arrivals entered the church, filed onto the one pew and sat down. When the pew was full, a switch clicked silently, a circuit closed, the gears meshed, a belt moved and, automatically, the rear pew began to move forward. When it reach the front of the church it came to a stop. At the same time, another empty pew came up from below at the back and more people sat down. And so it continued, pews filling and moving forwards until finally the church was full, from front to back.

"Wonderful!" said the pastor, "Marvelous!"

The service began, and the pastor started to preach his sermon. He launched into his text and, when 12 o'clock came, he was still going strong with no end in sight. Suddenly a bell rang and a trap door in the floor behind the pulpit dropped open.

"Wonderful!" said the congregation, "Marvelous!"

Today's Media

If today's media got a hold of these Biblical stories . . .
-On Red Sea crossing:
     WETLANDS TRAMPLED IN LABOR STRIKE
             Pursuing Environmentalists Killed

-On David vs. Goliath:
     HATE CRIME KILLS BELOVED CHAMPION
            Psychologist Questions     Influence of Rock

-On Elijah on Mt. Carmel:
     FIRE SENDS RELIGIOUS RIGHT EXTREMIST INTO FRENZY
              400 Killed

-On the birth of Christ:
     HOTELS FULL, ANIMALS LEFT HOMELESS
              Animal Rights Activists Enraged by Insensitive Couple

-On feeding the 5,000:
     PREACHER STEALS CHILD'S LUNCH
              Disciples Mystified Over Behavior

-On healing the 10 lepers:
     LOCAL DOCTOR'S PRACTICE RUINED
              "Faith Healer" Causes Bankruptcy

-On healing of the Gadarene demoniac:
     MADMAN'S FRIEND CAUSES STAMPEDE
              Local Farmer's Investment Lost

-On raising Lazarus from the dead:
     FUNDAMENTALIST PREACHER RAISES A STINK
              Will Reading to be Delayed

Protect Your Reputation

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

The original Greek word for protect in this verse is pronounced stegō. It means: (1) to preserve, (2) to cover over with silence, (3) to keep secret, and (4) to hide, conceal the errors and faults of others. To protect someone means to protect all that concerns them. My wife protects mine. She is always building me up to others. I often think she makes me sound better than I am. She goes out of her way to make me look good. She does this because she loves me.

If we want to love others then we have to learn to protect their reputation. We don’t protect people’s reputation when we allow rumors to spread. Proverbs shares many verses on this subject and the reasons why we need to avoid it.

Proverbs 18:8 shares the most important reason. Solomon must have thought so because he repeated it in verse 26:22. The NLT version explains it as “Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart”.

Rumors contaminate our heart. 2 Timothy 2:16 says, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”

When we put others down we take ourselves down as well. Idle words may seem harmless and feel good at the time, but it gradually hardens our heart. It is impossible to love others when our hearts are hardened.

Proverbs 16:28 shares another reason why we need to avoid false conversations. It reads, “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.”

I wonder how many friendships have been destroyed by rumors? I wonder how many families have been divided because of false assumptions? Rumors spread like wildfire and don’t go out until someone put them out.  The more a rumor spreads the more it deceives. Usually the story told is twisted so far from the truth that you eventually know each person who shared it had to have added something new as they shared it with the next. What hurts the most is that often there was nothing wrong in the first place. The one who started the rumor didn’t like someone else being blessed, so they took something out of context and twisted it to make that person look bad. I almost lost a great friendship because of something I said in a private conversation that was repeated as fact outwardly with more stuff added to it. I learned my lesson that day.

Proverbs 26:20 says, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”

Every one that shares a rumor throws their wood onto the fire to keep it going. All it takes is one person to stand up and say, “I’m not going to accept that.” The fire would’ve ended there.

We may not be the ones who spread rumor, but how many times do we sit in the middle of rumors and just listen? To protect someone’s reputation means that we’ll have to stand up in others’ defense when they’re being talked about.

Leviticus 19:16 says, “Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD. “

People’s lives can be dramatically affected by rumors. How many people do you know that will never be respected because their mistakes have been shared with the world? We are to build up, not tear down. When we build others up and protect their reputations, God will protect ours.

I encourage you to pray for God to help you protect others. Pray for courage to stand up and defend those who are being slandered. Remember, as you build others up God will build you up.

1 Corinthians 8:1b AMP “Knowledge causes people to be puffed up (to bear themselves loftily and be proud), but love (affection and goodwill and benevolence) edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow [to his full stature].”

 

 

Integrity

If something is credible, it is believable. A credible witness is one whose testimony is trustworthy. His life and his words line up together.

The word authentic goes from English back to French back to Latin and ultimately to the Greek authentikos. It means “conforming to the original” or “reproducing the essential features” of something, as in “authentic French cuisine.”

 If something is authentic, it is not a fake or an imitation. Collectors will pay a lot of money for an authentic Abraham Lincoln signature. Another definition says that authentic means “being actually and exactly what is claimed,” and the example given is “genuine maple syrup.” Not watered-down, but maple syrup through and through. Therefore to be credible means that you are believable and to be authentic means that you are genuine and real, not a fake or phony.

Put the words together and a credible, authentic leader is someone who can be trusted because he is what he professes to be. He is the real deal, what you see is what you get.

Pollsters tell us that confidence in religious leaders has declined in the last few years. With all the scandals involving ministers lately, it’s not surprising that people look at spiritual leaders with jaundiced eyes. When I was serving at one of my former churches I had a good friend who had access to several major ministry folks in radio and television. He was deeply saddened at the carnality that existed when they walked away from the microphone. He told me then that very, very, very few of them exercise humility in their lifestyle. He also said that many people would turn the dial if they knew how these men talked and conducted themselves in private away from the cameras.

 Here are some observations about credibility.

-Credibility is earned over a long period of time.
-Credibility is not about what you do or what you say. It’s about who you are on the inside.
-You cannot fool the people closest to you forever.
-Your ministry will have lasting impact in direct proportion to the integrity of your own life.
-The great enemies of credibility are pride, arrogance, isolation, and excessive self-confidence.
-Ironically the more gifted you are and the more successful you are, the easier it becomes to fake your way through life.
-Credibility once lost is very difficult to regain.

 What qualities then does God use to mark a person as credible and authentic?

-Honesty.
-Willingness to admit your faults.
-Consistency.
-Kindness under pressure.
-Accountability in the small areas of life.
-Willingness to answer hard questions.
-Quick to take blame, quick to praise others.
-Not taking yourself too seriously.
-Knowing your own limitations.

-Not blaming others for your own problems.
-Confrontable.
-Approachable.
-Handling anger appropriately.
-Not offended when others get the credit you deserve (no need to brag).
-Keeping your word.

There’s another word for living like this. We call it integrity.

 

He Wasn't Cured But He Was Healed

Tony Compolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Compolo prayed boldly for the man's healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man's wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Compolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Compolo felt terrible.

But she continued, "Don't feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn't take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.

But the lady told Compolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We've sung. We've laughed. We've read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they've been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."

And then she said something incredibly profound. She said,  "He wasn't cured, but he was healed."

Family

Two men met at a bus stop and struck up a conversation. One of them complained of family problems.

Finally, the other man said, "You think you have family problems? Listen. A few years ago I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter, and we got married. Later my father married my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter my stepmother and my father became my stepson. Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law. Then the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son. This boy was my half-brother because he was my father's son, but he was also the son of my wife's daughter, which made him my wife's grandson. That made me the grandfather of my half-brother. This was nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the half-sister of my son, my stepmother, is also the grandmother. This makes my father the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father's wife. I'm my stepmother's brother-in-law, my wife is her own child's aunt, my son is my father's nephew and I'm my own grandfather. Now - tell me about your family problems."

I don't know if sorting out your family is a problem. A bigger issue for many of us is that we want more from family life than just knowing who's who, and more than we're presently getting. One of the most common complaints I hear from families is that they are not as close as they used to be. They may be close in proximity, but still not feel close as a family due to divorce, separation, or loss in a household. They may live next door to one another or even in the same house, but feel more like strangers today than they ever have before.

Families today should value closeness and work hard to keep anyone from feeling left behind or forgotten. Again, closeness is not so much about distance, but about the attitude we have toward each member of our family. We may live far apart from one another, so we need a willingness to do what it takes to keep our relationships close. Everyone feels closer when they feel understood, loved, and can look forward to time they can spend together with other family members. No one wants to feel left behind or forgotten.

Here are 10 ways to help keep closeness and appreciation for your relationships within your family:

-Treat your family members in a way you would like to be treated.
-Let them know that they are priority in your life and always will be.
-Set aside time to remember as a family both the good and hard times.                     -Show appreciation for the good things that they do and have done.
-Don’t let jealousy over a family member’s success cloud your relationships.
-Be available if possible in a time of crisis or need.
-Resolve any conflict with mutual understanding. Don’t let it fester.
-Be glad when a loved one fulfills their dreams.                                                                   
-Pray one for another. Even though it’s just a saying, prayer still works.

Cherish every moment you can spend with your family. In the long run, you will be glad that you did.

That Gift Is Hope.

My eyes have never beheld what I believe I will one day possess.

My hands have never touched hands damaged in crucifixion, yet I believe I will one day touch them.

My feet have never touched pavement of gold, yet one day I fully expect to walk on such streets.

My mind has never understood the mysteries of God, yet there will come a day when it will all make sense.

So until then, I will rejoice in what I do not possess because I have something that will carry me in confidence until that moment arrives. What will carry me is the belief that the Father has fully paid my sin debt which gives me the freedom to love and follow where He leads.

I don’t need to see it or hold it in my hands to believe that it is real.

Some say seeing is believing, but for me it’s the opposite. Belief comes first, seeing will come soon enough. I am willing to wait.

I have been forgiven. I have been loved. I have chosen to love and forgive in return. My heart yearns for a day, a time, a moment. Yet in that special moment there will no longer be a need for time. I don’t have to understand it all to hunger for my first taste of eternity.

My life can be lived in no other way than to believe, for without this trust, this conviction, this joyous confidence - I would become a pitiful cynic. A man in desperate need for the one thing I have rejected; The one thing that provides a doorway to joy, peace and contentment, the one thing so closely linked to love and faith.

We have a future and a promise. God has a plan for our good. He’s preparing a place just for us. He’s promised to come back for us.

We, more than all others, have the greatest reason to bubble over with this most joyous anticipation.

It is because of the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus’ that we have been given yet another wonderful gift from the hand of God Himself.

That gift is hope.