ACT LIKE MEN

1 Cor 16:13-14
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. NASU
** Where are the real men? What does it take to be a real man? Here it says that if you are one who stands on the alert and are firm in the faith you can act like men and be strong. Real men are not easily distracted from the task that is laid before them by the Lord. “Be alert” always be watching for your adversary the devil roams seeking whom he may devour. If you can’t see him coming then you can’t be prepared to fight back when he attacks. How’s your faith? Firm or flabby? When trouble comes do you get weak knees and light headed and cold sweats? If so then you need faith aerobics! Exercise your faith by using the little troubles to build up your faith so when the big troubles come you will not fear (which is the opposite of faith) and you will stand firm in the faith. Working on both of those things will cause you to “act like men and be strong.”

WHAT I DO AFFECTS YOU

Josh 7:10-12
10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. NIV

Josh 7:13
13 "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. NIV
** Oh how great our sins affect others! How many times have I thought that what I do is my own business and it will only affect me….. according to these scriptures that is totally untrue. It sobers me to think that my undisciplined life could be making a difference in the army of God weather or not we win or loose or that others may loose their lives over my sin. I’ve thought why didn’t God just make sure Achen was sent to battle and then make sure he gets killed in the first battle? Why is it that innocent people (so I assume) lose their lives because of someone else? This makes me examine my life more closely to make sure I don’t cause others to fall.

A FUNNY FOR TODAY..... ENJOY!

THE "MIDDLE WIFE"
By an anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant: "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!'" Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

"My dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my mom to lie down in bed like this." (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'Push, push" and "Breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

[forwarded by Amanda Scott]

IMAGINE

1 Cor 2:9
9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen,
no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" NIV
** Well, I read and I know that I am excited about what I do know that I am going to get from God but here it says no matter how much you think or imagine that heaven is like or that God is going to bless us with, it’s not even close to what we will experience!!! I mean, of all that I’ve ever thought about or dreamed that I would receive the blessings of God, it’s not even close to what He has for me!!! Oh I do love Him more than anything ever. There is nothing that even compares to how much I love Him. I know that I will one day stand face to face with Him and I will be blown away with all the greatness of His presence. Just try to imagine what heaven will be like and you will not even touch a drop in the bucket of what it really is.

YOU CHOOSE

Deut 30:19-20
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. NIV
** What we choose today may make a difference for the rest of our lives. I was reading a sad blog the other day about a man who wished he could find a time machine and go back in time and re-make a decision he had made to sleep with a woman who gave him 3 different kinds of sexually transmitted diseases. My heart hurt for this man and the decision he had made and now he would have to live the rest of his life dealing with ONE decision he made. My hope is, that others will read his blog and make a decision now to be able to see the future thru this man’s life and make right decisions. Notice that it says “choose life so that you AND your children may live.” So here we have the decisions that you make today will also affect you AND your children for the rest of your lives! Be of courage though, the end of the verse says…. “listen to His voice and hold fast to Him….. He will give you many years!”

CHILDREN OF GOD

Gal 4:6-7
6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. NIV** It is good to be a son of the most high God! If we were slaves we would not have any authority or any right to say or do what we want to do. But God sent His Spirit into our hearts and now we are sons of God. Now if you are around my children, you will know that they have not problem taking advantage of my name. They enjoy all the benefits of being a McAlister. We have taken on the name “Christian” to remind us who we belong to and what family we are a part of. We often find ourselves look in the bible to make rules of all the “thou shalt nots” and what we need to be doing is looking in the bible for all the “thou shalls.” There is so many “children of God” blessings in the bible because God wants us, His children, to know how much He loves us and all the blessings He put in there for us to enjoy. So we need to spend our lives obeying Him and enjoying all the benefits of carrying His Name.

WOLVES IN SHEEPS CLOTHING

Deut 13:1-3
13:1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. NIV
** This reminds me that there will be people who will do wonderful things and or miracles and signs and yet they will not be followers of Christ. I’ve watched people who attended church for a long time and just because they were attenders and they looked like a well dressed Christian and they talked like a Christians they were filled with themselves so much I couldn’t recognize Jesus in them. Sometimes it’s hard to separate their words of God from the real words of God. I knew a person one time that walked the walk and talked the talk but when it came down to the bottom line, it was all about them. They would speak in tongues louder than others, jump and shout more than others and make a great show when praying for others at the altar, but when it came down to it, all they cared about was their own recognition and their own glory. It was really hard to separate them from our flock because everyone had already accepted them as a leader and I would have been questioned if I would have removed them from the church. I prayed and waited on the Lord and made sure there was no sheep being hurt as I waited them out. (sooner or later these people will expose themselves for who they really are.) through several circumstances and trials in their lives, they showed their real colors and left the church. Some people are very clear that they want to draw you away from God and others are not so clear. We must always be in His Word and know His voice so we will make the right decisions when the time comes to choose.

WATCH

Mark 13:35-37
35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'" NIV
** As a Christian for as long as I can remember, I understand the urgency of this word “Watch.” It is so easy to get relaxed when you’ve been watching for many many years. I remember when I lived in the south for many years and we would go out during the heat lightning storms and watch the lightning come out of the sky. As the storm would taper off, I would just sit there waiting for the next bolt of lighting and after it would take a long time I would take my eye off of the sky to look at someone and then bam! The bolt would come down and I’d miss it. There were many distractions around me and I would get my eyes off of the sky and get my eyes on other things around me. So also it is when we are waiting and watching for the return of Jesus. It is so easy to get distracted and forget to keep our eyes on the sky where He is coming back. I believe the time is near and His return is closer than we think. I want to be focused and stay alert so I will not miss all He has for me as I look to the sky for His return.

ALL SHE HAD

Mark 12:41-44
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on." NIV
** This is an amazing story! Often times we think that God is impressed or sometimes we are impressed with ourselves at how much we give to the church. God, however, does not look at amounts but the cost of the giving. This poor widow…. Look at those two words… “poor widow” and you see the cost of the gift she gave. She was poor, meaning that she didn’t have any money in the first place and then she was a widow, meaning there was no one else to help provide for her. I remember the days when I would be sitting there in church and I would feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to give the contents of what was in my wallet to the guest speaker that evening. I was often times, all that I had. It meant that I would not be able to go out for that burger and fries after the service with my friends, but I still gave it because I wanted to be obedient. I know that I am blessed today because of my obedience in what God told me back then. I want to continue to be obedient to God and be generous with my giving so I can please Him and set myself up for future provisions.

CONTINUAL FRUIT

Mark 11:12-14
12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening. NASU
** Now it was not the time of figs but Jesus was demanding that there would still be figs there. Often times we thing that we can take time off of bearing fruit for the kingdom of God. Many times I don’t feel like producing fruit weather I’m not in the mood or that I’m going thru difficult times or maybe because I’m so busy with deadlines. I must always remember the good Samaritan story about the people who were too busy to produce fruit even though they on important journeys and didn’t want to stop to help. I must always focus on producing eternal fruit over earthly fruit. What I mean is, often times I’ll get caught up in doing things for the Lord that is good (like building a stage or running electric to the modular) and stop for a coffee, then feel the Holy Spirit tugging at me to share with someone about Jesus and I know that it will take a lot of time out of my day. My decision must be eternal, even though the other things are important to God’s kingdom. Who knows, that maybe the person you were asked to witness to may be getting ready to face eternity tomorrow and you’re their last contact before judgment.