I don't usually share a lot of quotes here since I have a blog dedicated to quotes, but this one just fit...
"With Jesus, actions always speak louder than words—look no further than the cross." ~ J. Dickerson
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Advent Thoughts
Today our Pastor talked about preparation for Advent leading to Christmas. My husband said that Christmas preparation brings happiness and that is what life is all about being happy. I said...no it's not all about being happy because there will always be things in our life that bring sadness or pain, BUT we can always walk in joy despite our situation. Then I took it to the next level...We should be living now (every day, not just in December as we prepare for Christmas) in JOY as we anticipate the second advent of Jesus. Our conversation continued, but to sum it all up...
We as Christians should be living everyday in joyful anticipation for the second coming of Jesus. Our whole life is an advent season. Live in Joy!
We as Christians should be living everyday in joyful anticipation for the second coming of Jesus. Our whole life is an advent season. Live in Joy!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
How much would you sell Jesus for?
I received the story below in an email - not sure if it's a true story or not, but it's definitely worth pondering...
Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.
When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change
'The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?''
Yes' he replied.'
Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.
When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.
~ author unknown
Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.
When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change
'The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?''
Yes' he replied.'
Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.
When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.
~ author unknown
Saturday, March 15, 2008
What Are You Doing with Jesus?
Flower of the Family shared a post that brought this situation back to my memory...
Christmas 2006
My in-laws gave us a $300 Sears gift card to buy whatever we wanted for Christmas. We were thrilled. My husband loses things easily, so he asked me to keep the gift card. I'm a thrifty person and I try to use things as long as I can and maybe a tad bit longer. Well my wallet was falling apart, so I put the gift card in the front pocket of my jeans for safe keeping. I was traveling sick (antibiotics that didn't agree with me) and we had to stop 3 times with one time in the dark and rain. We woke up the youngest to go to the bathroom and as he got out of the car he stepped into a 6" pot hole full of rain water. It was so cold and the wind was blowing the rain. When we got home we unloaded the car and let the kids unwrap their gifts from my family and then went to bed.
Fast forward to January 10th
My husband asked me for the Sears Gift Card because he wanted to buy something with it and I realized that I had no idea where it was - aughh. They told us NOT to lose it because they bought it with cash and of course the receipt was with it. I was SICK! I could have lost it at any of our stops and I wouldn't have noticed it, especially the wind, rain, and crying stop. I spent the week praying I would find the card to no avail. We prayed that it would turn up, but were afraid that it probably wouldn't because I had no recollection of the gift card after stuffing it into my jeans pocket. I was so upset with myself because I'm supposed to be the responsible one...
Back then I wrote, I'm hoping that I can just rest in God's peace since there is absolutely NOTHING I can do to change what is done, but I have been beating myself up something awful. I'm hoping that it will turn up when we least expect it... I've been praying that God would teach me something through this yucky experience beyond the "Be careful with gift cards..." speech.
My friend, Karen helped to turn my mind with one of her emails. God spoke to me and asked me what I'm doing with the biggest and best gift I've ever received? My salvation and the gift of HIS Son Jesus Christ. I'm always concerned with being a good steward of money/gift cards, etc... and using coupons and getting the best price... But when you get right down to it - you don't take any of that with you when you die... You either have Jesus or you don't and then the question is what did you do with Jesus? Did you say thanks and stick Him in a closet or did you commune with HIM constantly? Did you ask what do YOU think, Jesus before doing anything? Did you seek HIM and HIS will? So if I had to lose $300 to get me thinking, then it was worth it...
Shortly after realizing the gift card was missing, I rushed out to the store and bought a wallet for $9.88. So now, I have my wallet worth $309.88 - for that price it better last 200 years (haha). In all seriousness, I hope the lessons learned here have eternal value beyond anything money could buy.
May 7, 2007
I'm so excited! The other day, my four year son got some books down from the bookshelf and messed it up a bit, so I decided I needed to straighten it up... I noticed a pack of batteries that didn't belong and a couple receipts and a little red piece of cardboard... Guess what I found? You're right - the $300 SEARS gift card. I immediately called my in-laws and shared the good news. They were overjoyed and as you can imagine so was I.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8-10
Christmas 2006
My in-laws gave us a $300 Sears gift card to buy whatever we wanted for Christmas. We were thrilled. My husband loses things easily, so he asked me to keep the gift card. I'm a thrifty person and I try to use things as long as I can and maybe a tad bit longer. Well my wallet was falling apart, so I put the gift card in the front pocket of my jeans for safe keeping. I was traveling sick (antibiotics that didn't agree with me) and we had to stop 3 times with one time in the dark and rain. We woke up the youngest to go to the bathroom and as he got out of the car he stepped into a 6" pot hole full of rain water. It was so cold and the wind was blowing the rain. When we got home we unloaded the car and let the kids unwrap their gifts from my family and then went to bed.
Fast forward to January 10th
My husband asked me for the Sears Gift Card because he wanted to buy something with it and I realized that I had no idea where it was - aughh. They told us NOT to lose it because they bought it with cash and of course the receipt was with it. I was SICK! I could have lost it at any of our stops and I wouldn't have noticed it, especially the wind, rain, and crying stop. I spent the week praying I would find the card to no avail. We prayed that it would turn up, but were afraid that it probably wouldn't because I had no recollection of the gift card after stuffing it into my jeans pocket. I was so upset with myself because I'm supposed to be the responsible one...
Back then I wrote, I'm hoping that I can just rest in God's peace since there is absolutely NOTHING I can do to change what is done, but I have been beating myself up something awful. I'm hoping that it will turn up when we least expect it... I've been praying that God would teach me something through this yucky experience beyond the "Be careful with gift cards..." speech.
My friend, Karen helped to turn my mind with one of her emails. God spoke to me and asked me what I'm doing with the biggest and best gift I've ever received? My salvation and the gift of HIS Son Jesus Christ. I'm always concerned with being a good steward of money/gift cards, etc... and using coupons and getting the best price... But when you get right down to it - you don't take any of that with you when you die... You either have Jesus or you don't and then the question is what did you do with Jesus? Did you say thanks and stick Him in a closet or did you commune with HIM constantly? Did you ask what do YOU think, Jesus before doing anything? Did you seek HIM and HIS will? So if I had to lose $300 to get me thinking, then it was worth it...
Shortly after realizing the gift card was missing, I rushed out to the store and bought a wallet for $9.88. So now, I have my wallet worth $309.88 - for that price it better last 200 years (haha). In all seriousness, I hope the lessons learned here have eternal value beyond anything money could buy.
May 7, 2007
I'm so excited! The other day, my four year son got some books down from the bookshelf and messed it up a bit, so I decided I needed to straighten it up... I noticed a pack of batteries that didn't belong and a couple receipts and a little red piece of cardboard... Guess what I found? You're right - the $300 SEARS gift card. I immediately called my in-laws and shared the good news. They were overjoyed and as you can imagine so was I.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8-10
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Little Missionary
Friday night, while I was typing up information about Work and Witness my seven year old daughter, B was telling her little friend about Jesus. The two little ladies came into my bedroom and my daughter had the biggest smile on her face and she told her friend to tell me her exciting news. B led her friend in a prayer of salvation. After they shared the news B told me to find some Scriptures on heaven so she could share them with her friend. Then a few minutes later I heard B reading the Bible to her friend. Later, B rushed in and quietly asked if she could give her old Bible (Gideon) to her friend. I assured her that we could do that. Unfortunately we couldn't locate it, but we are going to see if we can get her a Bible that will be easy for her to read. Pray for B and her friend as they both grow in the knowledge of the Lord and their faith.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
How Can We Serve as Jesus Would Serve?
A friend (Erin) recently asked a similar question and I thought it would be interesting to post it here to see what answers we can come up with...
Can you think of practical ways we can be Jesus in the world? It would be neat and helpful to all of us to see how many different ideas we can come up with...and then use them in our lives.
Please feel free to share ways people have served you and ways you have been served by others and even ideas that you haven't tried...
11-10-07 Edited to add:
A friend (Chelley) mentioned in her response that we can't be Jesus to others but we are to see others as Jesus and serve them as if they are Jesus. I agree with her statement and would change my initial question to - How can we serve Jesus by serving others? or How have you been served by a Christian? Or How have you served others in Jesus name?
Can you think of practical ways we can be Jesus in the world? It would be neat and helpful to all of us to see how many different ideas we can come up with...and then use them in our lives.
Please feel free to share ways people have served you and ways you have been served by others and even ideas that you haven't tried...
11-10-07 Edited to add:
A friend (Chelley) mentioned in her response that we can't be Jesus to others but we are to see others as Jesus and serve them as if they are Jesus. I agree with her statement and would change my initial question to - How can we serve Jesus by serving others? or How have you been served by a Christian? Or How have you served others in Jesus name?
Friday, September 21, 2007
What Have Your Kids Taught You?
I was cleaning out files on an old computer this evening and came across something I wrote when my daughter, B was 2 and 3/4 years old.
This morning as B and I were walking ouside to run some errands she exclaimed, "Look at the beautiful leaves that Jesus made." Then she stopped on the steps and said, "Jesus, thank You for the leaves You made and for this beatuiful day and all my friends. Amen!" Then she opened her eyes, raised her head and kept walking down the steps.
How many times do we stop in pure joy as we are scurrying out into the world and thank Jesus for what He has made? I'm guilty of not doing this enough, but I'm so thrilled that B's spirit is soft to things of God.
Another instance around that same time frame:
The other day B's eczema flared up again and I suggested that she pray to Jesus about it. She instantly stopped what she was doing and said, "Jesus thank You for my eczema." Hmmm - Are we adults so quick to thank Jesus for the pain that comes our way?
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