A WAY OF LIFE

Acts 9:1-6 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, (2) And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. (3) And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:(4) And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (5) And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.(6) And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Many people confuse religion with serving God. Saul was such a man before his conversion. He was religious, just like many today are religious. He strongly believed that what he was doing was the right thing. Being sincere does not make something true.
The prophets of Baal were so sincere that they even cut themselves and committed suicide to call upon their false god. He did not answer because he did not exist even though they sincerely believed in him.
There are many today who believe just as sincerely and just as wrongly in their religions.
Saul became the apostle Paul and he learned that Christianity was not just a religion. It was a way of life. It was a whole new way of living and thinking. It did not include persecution and violence but was based upon the teachings of a loving Savior who did not want to mete out justice but forgiveness. He did not spread hate but love.
Let us pray that many of the religious fanatics of the world today will meet Jesus on the road to somewhere and will find a new way of life.

Patience In Our Trials

By Jeremy Burkes

James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Temptations come on us real fast. It first starts with a thought and sometimes thoughts seem to come from out of nowhere. Thinking is not necessarily a bad thing but it can be dangerous to dwell on bad thoughts. We then might start to put our thoughts into action and it becomes sin.
I wrote sometime back about a sin garden and how the Devil goes and picks out our pet sins. James tells us here to count it all joy when Satan brings us temptation.
God will help us crush the devil's plan and that gives us victory which makes us stronger over sin. Sometimes we wonder why we go through trials and difficult times but it is at these times we can not depend on our own strength and we draw closer to God.
As James says, "...the trying of our faith worketh patience."
Trials give us the patience and faith to bring us closer to God and make us depend upon Him more. Through Bible study and prayer we and have patience in our trials.

BEING IN CHRIST

1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

There are some wonderful benefits to being saved and being in Christ.

Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

All true riches are in Christ. The things that last, fulfill, and enrich our lives are all in Christ. Not money, not clothes, not position, nor any other thing can satisfy. Only Christ's love can bring full contentment, peace, and purpose.
In Christ, you can know how best to live as a young person, how to choose a mate and raise a family, how to prosper, what to do in times of trouble, what to do when you fail and everything you need to help you be the best you can be.
All real knowledge and wisdom is in Jesus and in learning of Him. Everything you need to know to have the best life comes from knowing Him and knowing of Him.

SHOW THE LIGHTED PATH

By Jeremy Burkes
Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Have you ever been caught out in the woods after dark?I have and it is not a very comforting situation. What is easy in the daylight becomes much harder after dark.If you get off the right path you can run into a lot of trouble.
There is a lot of darkness in this world too and it is important to have something to light our path as we travel through life. That is why it is important for all of us to know God's word. It helps light the way.
Sometimes new Christians are not familiar enough with the Bible to avoid the dangers and pitfalls in the dark. It is import more mature Christians to help guide them along the right path.
Be sure and lend young Christians a hand and help lead them through the darkness safely.

Planting the Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called together all the young executives in his company.
He said, "It is almost time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you." The young executives were shocked as the boss continued, "I am going to give each one of you a seed today, a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring and, based on your results, I shall choose the next CEO."
One of the young executives, a man named Jim, who was there that day and received a seed went home and excitedly told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he watered it and watched to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. The others were all talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company took their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she insisted that he be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.
When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful – all shapes and sizes! Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him.
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back.
"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
Then the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives,"Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"
Jim couldn't believe it! The others in the room couldn't believe it either. He couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new boss?
Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But, I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead. It was not possible for them to grow.
"All of you, except Jim, brought me trees and plants and flowers. Obviously, when you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"
(Copied)

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking

(Written by a former child)
A message every adult should read, because children are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."

RIGHT NOW

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

I am one of the world's biggest procastinators. It seems that I usually put off things until I absolutely have to do them (unless it is something really fun and exciting).
There are some things we should not put off. We should do them right now.
If you are not saved, there is no better time than right now to ask Jesus to save you. Why would you want to stay lost even one more second?
There are other things we should not put off even if we are already saved.
We should make up our mind to be obedient. What good does it do us to say I will obey the Lord later? God wants to bless us right now if we will only be obedient.
If we have sin in our lives we should put it away right now. Why would we want to have something destructive hanging around to bring suffering into our lives?
If you have strayed or gotten away from your spiritual walk there is no better time to turn around than right now. The prodigal son didn't have to go all the way to the pig pen. He could have turned around at his father's gate and been welcomed back home.
Tell others about Jesus. Why wait? It could be too late for them when you have another opportunity.
I am sure there are many other things you can think of that you realize should be done right now. Make a list and start to work on it- Right Now!