Have you ever noticed that when you run into problems that it’s a whole lot easier to look down than it is to look up?  We all get thrown some curve balls in life.  And when the going gets tough, we like to feel sorry for ourselves and wish things were easier.  But when you come to the place where you hit bottom, you finally look up and see the direction that you should have been going all along.  It takes work to climb out of a hole.  And the truth is, it’s a whole lot easier to climb out before you hit bottom.  But regardless of how deep you sink in your sorrows, it’s not until you look up, that you can start climbing in the right direction.

Some people will look at this world and see all the evil that people do, and be hopeless because of it.  But if you look up, and turn your eyes upon Jesus, there is always hope.

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A good dad is good to find.  It seems like the role of fatherhood has been dragged through the mud by many in our culture and mass media.  Fortunately we still have the best example to live by, in our Heavenly Father, God.  After all, that exactly the standard we are all called to live up to.  Jesus said, “You are to be perfect, even as my Father in Heaven is perfect.”

So don’t drop the ball dads.  Be the father you are called to be!

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I think it’s funny how people portray Heaven as a white cloudy kind of place where people dress in robes and have halos and play harps.  And then people look at that made up idea and say it’s boring, so they’re not all that interested in going.

Of course the reality of Heaven is beyond our imagination.  The Bible says it’s massive and full of color and lights and trees and flowing water.  But it’s also a place of worship.  It will be like church 24/7.  And people will be singing praises to God and worshiping him non-stop.  Of course that idea doesn’t appeal to anyone who doesn’t believe in or like God.  So they probably wouldn’t be interested in Heaven anyway.

of course everybody who admits the truth, understands how great God is and how worthy he is of our worship and obedience, and how limitless the blessings of a relationship with God is.  But they like to hold on to the idea that Heaven is like winning the lottery and doing whatever you want without interaction with God.  Many people think they can con God into letting them into Heaven in spite of their sinful hearts and lives and that somehow their hearts and minds will magically change when they die.  But the scary truth is, your heart and mind are judged for what they are and if you’re not purified before you kick the bucket, you’ll be pitched out and burned with all the other impurities that aren’t worthy of entering God’s presence.

What do you think of that thought?

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN – A Well Oiled Machine

I watched a documentary today about how Clay County, Kentucky (and specifically the city of Manchester) has gone through a miraculous change because of unity in the church.  They were top in the nation for prescription drug abuse, and many people were dying because of crystal meth and other drugs.  So finally the city reached a breaking point where all the churches in town got angry at the drug problem because it was killing their children.  So for the first time all the churches united in passionate prayer and marched against corruption in their government and lawlessness in their community, and God showed up in response to the church uniting in prayer.

So the town changed in so many ways.  Many former drug users became Christians, the churches began to fill up, people in the government and schools all turned to God.  Drug dealers and corrupted city officials were arrested and jailed.  The town itself was cleaned up and beautified.  Business began to build and even the local plant and animal life has grown with numbers that haven’t been up for 50 years.

When people turn to God, it makes a difference.  The question is, what will it take for the church to unite in other cities and become a well-oiled machine for the glory of God?

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You know the difference between puppy love and true love?  True love has NOTHING to do with the butterfly feeling in your stomach, or a magical first kiss or “falling” into anything.  Puppy love is the purely emotional stuff.  True love is that which remains committed regardless of emotion–so that even when you don’t feel like it, you still work to serve the other person and make sacrifices to give the other what is best.  A relationship of true love is the only kind that lasts, because it is committed through thick and thin.  Emotions can go up and down and butterflies fly away and initial feelings always change, but true love never gives up.  True love isn’t fallen into, it’s committed to with perseverance and integrity.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN – A Strong and Healthy Body

A virus can actually use your own cells to reproduce.  It will infiltrate the cellular structure in your body, reproduce inside a cell, and then destroy the cell as it releases itself after multiplying.  So it not only grows in number, but it wreaks havoc with your cells to do so.

The same thing can happen in the church.  Wicked people can move in, start causing division and wreck a church.  So it’s wise to be very careful about how people in your church deal with things like disagreements, gossip, etc.

After all we are supposed to be one body.  And we don’t want our body weakened because people weaseled their way into church and started causing problems.

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Luke 6:43-45 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ⁴⁴A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. ⁴⁵A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

⁴⁶“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

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Jesus is alive!  I don’t know about you, but I think that’s the best news ever.  And it’s crazy to think that the King of all creation ever had to die in the first place.  What kind of God would die for a bunch of wicked, rebellious, peons?  He certainly didn’t have to die.  He could wipe us all out with a snap of his fingers and completely get rid of the mess we’ve made of things.  But he hasn’t.  He sacrificed himself to give us the hope of finding a brand new life in him.  What an amazing gift.  He must really love us!  And we can count on him and all the promises he made because he is alive.  Praise the Lord!

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Repent…for the end is nigh!

Have you noticed how many people these days are predicting the end of the world?

Do you ever worry about that?

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CHAPTER EIGHT – More Than Conquerors

Have you ever done something wrong and you wish you could go back and change things?  Probably just about everybody has.  And since we haven’t yet figured out the whole time travel thing, we have to figure out some other way to deal with those situations.  So what do you do with those kinds of problems?

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