Tomorrow begins a new month. In His last words on earth, Jesus told us to teach everyone to obey all He commanded. Too often ‘religion’ gets in the way of following His teaching as people tend to push or become rigid with their particular church agenda, religious tradition or religious ideas. All of His teaching He wished to pass on to us in His words is recorded in 4 books. One can read three short chapters a day and discover all His teaching through His words and deeds as recorded in these four books in a month. Give it a try and see how it makes a difference in your life.
Through The Gospels in a Month
Jesus told us to teach everyone everything He commanded us. To know what he commanded, we must become familiar with his teachings and life. The following is a plan to read the Gospels in a month. There are 89 chapters in the four Gospels. Each day one should read three chapters on the corresponding day to complete the reading each month.
Day Chapters
1. 1-3 (Matthew)
2. 4-6
3. 7-9
4. 10-12
5. 13-15
6. 16-18
7. 19-21
8. 22-24
9. 25-27
10. 28- Mark 2
11. 3-5
12. 6-8
13. 9-11
14. 12-14
15. 15- Luke 1
16. 2-4
17. 5-7
18. 8-10
19. 11-13
20. 14-16
21. 17-19
22. 20-22
23. 23-John 1
24. 2-4
25. 5-7
26. 8-10
27. 11-13
28. 14-16
29. 17-19
30. 20-21
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
True Grit
A popular movie, True Grit, follows more faithfully to the Charles Protis’ novel than the older movie starring John Wayne. Young Mattie Ross shows courage, spunk and knowledge beyond her 14 years of life as she seeks to find Tom Chaney to avenge his cold-blooded murder of her father. She seeks a lawman who has grit to do the job. She is led to Marshall Rooster Cogburn who has several failings but she decides he has the ‘True Grit’ needed for this task.
As the viewer watches the adventure unfold one cannot help but notice familiar themes in the background music. The score contains and cleverly weaves excerpts of ‘Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand’, ‘What a Friend We have in Jesus’ and ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms’. Carter Burwell, upon composing appropriate music wondered about Mattie Ross who had unquestioning determination to go to the wild country in pursuit of her father’s killer. “Where would a 14 year old girl come by the audacity to browbeat outlaws and lawmen, follow them into the wilderness and even correct their spelling? Church of course!”
It was a hard time but folks in that day found strength to sustain any hardship through their faith. The strength of young Mattie’s faith shows her to be the one with True Grit that never wavered and lasted until the end. Today times have changed in may fashions however there are these constants that still exist. There are always situations in life that are difficult and often potentially devastating, such as 14 year old Mattie experienced with the murder of her beloved father. There are always unreliable, unfaithful and even evil people that will disappoint discourage and deceive. However, there are always those who remain faithful and unshaken to righteousness and justice no matter the circumstances. Even though they may seem few their faithfulness gives them True Grit. They are the ones who make a difference for good. They are the ones who go to work everyday, make their marriage work, teach children to behave and hold the moral fiber of society together. They may not be glamorous, famous or wealthy. In fact they usually are not. However, there has always been, will always be, as is necessary the minority who have True Grit required to maintain morality and civility in society.
There is a Biblical teaching called the Doctrine of the Remnant referring to God’s faithful who are always there even when the majority seems to be moving in an evil destructive path. My hat is always off to those who have the True Grit to stand faithful no matter the odds.
Elisha the prophet give a great example as the king of Aram was frustrated with Elisha’s prophecies that worked against his agenda to the point that he sent his army against this single prophet. Elisha was traveling only with his servant. One morning the servant woke to find outside was the powerful army of Aram surrounding the city. They had come for Elisha. He was scared to death as they were greatly outnumbered and outgunned by the powerful army. He asked what they would do. Elisha had the True Grit to trust God. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." God’s angels of protection were not visible to the one who had fear. However the prophet had faith, vision and 'Grit' to hang in there with God was able to see God’s hand that would always be present for his faithful.
Fear not, remember those who are with us are more than those who are with them. True Grit is shown in always following, trusting and being redeemed by ‘God’s Unchanging Hand’. Press On!
As the viewer watches the adventure unfold one cannot help but notice familiar themes in the background music. The score contains and cleverly weaves excerpts of ‘Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand’, ‘What a Friend We have in Jesus’ and ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms’. Carter Burwell, upon composing appropriate music wondered about Mattie Ross who had unquestioning determination to go to the wild country in pursuit of her father’s killer. “Where would a 14 year old girl come by the audacity to browbeat outlaws and lawmen, follow them into the wilderness and even correct their spelling? Church of course!”
It was a hard time but folks in that day found strength to sustain any hardship through their faith. The strength of young Mattie’s faith shows her to be the one with True Grit that never wavered and lasted until the end. Today times have changed in may fashions however there are these constants that still exist. There are always situations in life that are difficult and often potentially devastating, such as 14 year old Mattie experienced with the murder of her beloved father. There are always unreliable, unfaithful and even evil people that will disappoint discourage and deceive. However, there are always those who remain faithful and unshaken to righteousness and justice no matter the circumstances. Even though they may seem few their faithfulness gives them True Grit. They are the ones who make a difference for good. They are the ones who go to work everyday, make their marriage work, teach children to behave and hold the moral fiber of society together. They may not be glamorous, famous or wealthy. In fact they usually are not. However, there has always been, will always be, as is necessary the minority who have True Grit required to maintain morality and civility in society.
There is a Biblical teaching called the Doctrine of the Remnant referring to God’s faithful who are always there even when the majority seems to be moving in an evil destructive path. My hat is always off to those who have the True Grit to stand faithful no matter the odds.
Elisha the prophet give a great example as the king of Aram was frustrated with Elisha’s prophecies that worked against his agenda to the point that he sent his army against this single prophet. Elisha was traveling only with his servant. One morning the servant woke to find outside was the powerful army of Aram surrounding the city. They had come for Elisha. He was scared to death as they were greatly outnumbered and outgunned by the powerful army. He asked what they would do. Elisha had the True Grit to trust God. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." God’s angels of protection were not visible to the one who had fear. However the prophet had faith, vision and 'Grit' to hang in there with God was able to see God’s hand that would always be present for his faithful.
Fear not, remember those who are with us are more than those who are with them. True Grit is shown in always following, trusting and being redeemed by ‘God’s Unchanging Hand’. Press On!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Making the Most of Time
As I reflect on the passing of another year and look forward to the year ahead, I become more conscious of the passage of time. In our youth we often think we are indestructible and will always have all the time we need. As we age we seem to focus more on how quickly time zooms along. I once had a deacon tell me he seemed to have a birthday each week after turning 65. While I have yet to hit that number I must admit that the calendar does seem to be increasing in speed.
Bank accounts and society structures measure us at different levels but there is one measure that places us all on equal ground, levels the scale for everyone and gives us all equal opportunity. That equalizing measure is time. It does not matter how wealthy, strong, intelligent or powerful one may be we all have the same amount of time. Neither Bill Gates nor Oprah has any more minutes in their hour than you or me. However, the difference often lies in what someone does with this equal resource. Some make the most of each moment while others waste precious time with bad habits, poor decisions, and poor time management. I have a poster of an African proverb in my office that reminds me to make the most of each moment entitled ‘Every Morning in Africa’. It says; “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It does not matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.”
This is one of my reminders that each day I wake with life I must set myself with purpose to make the most of each moment. There is not a moment to waste being lazy, angry, selfish, upset, or simply wasting time due to poor time management or repeating bad decisions. Each moment is not to be taken for granted. The next moment or breath is never promised. One does not know how long one has to live. So we are left with an interesting situation. While we do not know how much time we will have in our life span, we all have the same amount of time that is given in equal measure each day. Time is equal for everyone in that sense and it is a resource that is not retrievable once spent. It can only be wasted or used wisely. Therefore, since I (and you) have just as much of this precious resource as the most powerful and wealthy person on the planet each day we are alive and since it is not something we can store or retrieve once it is spent it just makes sense to spend or invest it wisely.
That is why God tells us to do that very thing. Ephesians 5:15-16 says “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit could have used either of two common Greek words for time: chronos or kairos. Chronos refers to time in general or clock time. It is the root word for chronological. Kairos refers to a predetermined, specific amount of time. It is measured, allocated and fixed. The Holy Spirit led Paul to use kairos.
That intentional word choice by God is huge. It reminds us that we have a specific amount of time given by God on earth. While He knows the measure of our days we do not. We need to make the most of each moment. I have been with people in their last moments on earth. No one has said, “I wish I had more time for my job or hobby”. Rather, people are comforted in their last moments when they have love with their family, friends and God. So, it makes sense to use every moment to love God and others as much as possible. My dad had a plaque on his desk that read, “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” It was a reminder to get over things and make the most of each moment in a positive joyful manner. The clock is ticking even now. How are you spending your seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years or life? What are you doing with your time?
Bank accounts and society structures measure us at different levels but there is one measure that places us all on equal ground, levels the scale for everyone and gives us all equal opportunity. That equalizing measure is time. It does not matter how wealthy, strong, intelligent or powerful one may be we all have the same amount of time. Neither Bill Gates nor Oprah has any more minutes in their hour than you or me. However, the difference often lies in what someone does with this equal resource. Some make the most of each moment while others waste precious time with bad habits, poor decisions, and poor time management. I have a poster of an African proverb in my office that reminds me to make the most of each moment entitled ‘Every Morning in Africa’. It says; “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It does not matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.”
This is one of my reminders that each day I wake with life I must set myself with purpose to make the most of each moment. There is not a moment to waste being lazy, angry, selfish, upset, or simply wasting time due to poor time management or repeating bad decisions. Each moment is not to be taken for granted. The next moment or breath is never promised. One does not know how long one has to live. So we are left with an interesting situation. While we do not know how much time we will have in our life span, we all have the same amount of time that is given in equal measure each day. Time is equal for everyone in that sense and it is a resource that is not retrievable once spent. It can only be wasted or used wisely. Therefore, since I (and you) have just as much of this precious resource as the most powerful and wealthy person on the planet each day we are alive and since it is not something we can store or retrieve once it is spent it just makes sense to spend or invest it wisely.
That is why God tells us to do that very thing. Ephesians 5:15-16 says “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit could have used either of two common Greek words for time: chronos or kairos. Chronos refers to time in general or clock time. It is the root word for chronological. Kairos refers to a predetermined, specific amount of time. It is measured, allocated and fixed. The Holy Spirit led Paul to use kairos.
That intentional word choice by God is huge. It reminds us that we have a specific amount of time given by God on earth. While He knows the measure of our days we do not. We need to make the most of each moment. I have been with people in their last moments on earth. No one has said, “I wish I had more time for my job or hobby”. Rather, people are comforted in their last moments when they have love with their family, friends and God. So, it makes sense to use every moment to love God and others as much as possible. My dad had a plaque on his desk that read, “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” It was a reminder to get over things and make the most of each moment in a positive joyful manner. The clock is ticking even now. How are you spending your seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years or life? What are you doing with your time?
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