Daily Potpourri

Keeping Out The World

wanderingforgod — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:53:44 -0400

A ship is made to be in the water, so the task is not to keep the ship out of water but rather to keep water out of the ship. The same is true with us. The world is our normal element which we were made to live in, so the problem is not how to keep us out of the world, but how to keep the world out of us.

Cares, worries, anxieties, and problems are all around. When we open our hearts to Christ, he does not make them go away, but he will keep them from entering the soul and bringing down your life.

Living To Serve

wanderingforgod — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:35:47 -0400

“The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve” —Jesus

True life is ministry, People tend to think that they rise in this world by getting away from service, but the opposite is true. No person really begins to live at all, in any worthwhile sense, until selfishness dies. We should not be asking ourselves how we can use other people to advance our own interests and well-being, but how can we do good for them, serve them, and in some way be a blessing to them.

Be A Happiness-Maker

wanderingforgod — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:20:08 -0400

Stay at the feet of Christ until your heart overflows with love for everyone — even people whom you do not like. Then begin to think about them and live for them. Christ was always making people happy. You too can scatter happiness and grace as a flower scatters fragrance. It is a wonderful thing to put gladness and joy into the heart of another person.

Appreciation Too Late

wanderingforgod — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:02:08 -0400

We should not need night to come before we see how wonderful the day was. We should not need sorrow to fall upon us before coming to appreciate the joy in our lives. But it is true that too often we come to learn the true values in our lives only after they have been lost. Too often an empty chair teaches the worth of friendship. O that we could learn to appreciate our good things while we have them. Then we could have joy, and not just the dull pain of regret while looking back at blessings which are gone.

Comfort In Prayer

wanderingforgod — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:02:31 -0400

Though many Biblical editors choose to leave out the sentence, it is one which teaches us better than any the depths of human sorrow, and how to find comfort in times of deep sorrow and pain. There was a tremendous amount of “grief” which lay upon Jesus the night of his arrest. As he prayed in Gethsemane, we watch his agony and bitterness leave, and peace take their place.

What we learn from watching this is that there is no other place to go but prayer. Then, what is more, we also learn how to pray. God will never blame us for asking to have the cup removed, nor will he get defensive over the intensity of our asking. But what we must do is always pray with submission. It is when we finally say: “Not my will, but yours…” that comfort comes and the blessings of peace descend upon us.

“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.” -Luke 22:44

If We Knew

wanderingforgod — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:54:24 -0400

We should look at the faults of others only through love’s eyes — with charity, patience, and compassion. We do not know the history of people around us. We do not know what scars mark another’s soul. We do not know the pains which make life hard for some with whom we are tempted to be impatient. If we knew all of the secret burdens, and all of the hidden wounds which are carried below a smiling face, we would be more gentle.

Love's Pure Moments

wanderingforgod — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:54:38 -0400

Love, in its best moments, does not stop at doing a little. It does not calculate what it will get back; it does not analyze the pros and the cons; it does not measure what it gives against what it receives. It simply thinks the highest and works for the best of another.

If our love for Christ was stronger, deeper, richer, and truer, we would not calculate so closely how much we can afford to give or do. Neither would we consider what we get out of the relationship.

“Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair;…But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples…said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’” (John 12:3-4) Those who do not love also do not get it…

Living Sermons

wanderingforgod — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:46:00 -0400

People are tempted to be jealous and upset when viewing what other people have, as compared to themselves. If you tend to do that, think of Jesus. With all of his great power and his rich life, he never lived anywhere, or possessed anything which fit his “exalted character.”

If you can do nothing but live a true Christian life — patient, gentle, kind, pure; whether in your family, out in society, or at your work, you will perform a great service to the world and leave behind many blessings. Such a life is the Gospel, telling in sermons without words, the wonderful story or Jesus.

God May Forgive, But...

wanderingforgod — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:53:10 -0400

Though our sins are forgiven by God, the penalties imposed by this world for our sins may afflict us through life. God may choose to remember our wrongs no more, but the effect we have on those who surround us in this world, and the effect which the world has on us in return, are things which may be borne by us to the end of our days. Christians often believe that if our sins have been forgiven then all is forgotten and there are no further consequences to our actions. But that is not always so – nor should it be.

“The sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me.” —II Samuel 12:10

Living The Life

wanderingforgod — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:37:25 -0400

“How do we win others for Christ?” is an old question. The answer is surprisingly simple — by being Christ to them. By showing others Christ in ourselves; by living so that others may be attracted to Christ; by carrying self in such a way that someone else may be attracted to Christ by what they see in you. Words are powerful, but what is seen speaks louder still.

Losing Self

wanderingforgod — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:52:46 -0400

People can lose their health, their money, their social standing, and even their friends through no fault of their own. But when they lose the best within themselves — truth, honor, integrity, principles — then they have lost the best themselves. These virtues are never taken, but always surrendered. What happens then to self-respect?

Unspoken Prayers

wanderingforgod — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:40:23 -0400

Every thought which flies through the mind is heard in heaven. God hears wishes, yearnings, aspirations, hungers, and desires. Don’t worry if the words to tell God something are not found. Don’t be concerned if hungers of the heart are not spoken in well defined phrases. When words, and even thoughts fail, pray in silent yearnings, in unutterable longing, and God will understand just as well as if spoken in a known language. Much of our best praying is done when we sit at God’s feet and do not speak at all — just letting our hearts do the talking.

Ministry

wanderingforgod — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:34:50 -0400

Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever. -Question 1 of the Shorter Catechism

The central law of the Christian life is ministry — serving others; blessing them, loving them, doing good toward them. We are in debt to Christ, therefore we owe grace toward other people. He loves us, so we owe love toward others; he served us, so we must serve those around us.

We are not to ask to be served, rather we are to do the serving. As Christ did unto us, so we do unto others.

“The Son of man came not to be served but to serve” -Matthew 20:28

Being A Friend Of Christ

wanderingforgod — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:34:48 -0400

Has Christ’s friendship been to you as close, personal, tender, and constant as the human friendships which you hold dearest? The close friends of Christ find no other influence so strong as his transforming their lives. In all of its purity and spotlessness, its strength and heroism, its gentleness and beauty, its grace and trust, his life shines a pattern for you. No one who has had Christ for a friend has failed to be blessed by him, or grown into a richer and nobler life.

Life's Quest

wanderingforgod — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:16:39 -0400

Christianity is not an art or a science — it is a life. It is not learning and following a set of rules — it is growing into the fullness of a Christ-like heart. It is setting the Kingdom of Heaven inside of you. It is following the rule and authority of Christ. It is recognizing the supreme rule of love — “that you love one another, even as I have loved you.”

A Christian life is the personal reign of Christ in the heat of every one who accepts him. It is slow and it is hard, because the human heart loves the world. But given the opportunity, Christ can overcome the old and bring forth the new.

Bringing Happiness

wanderingforgod — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:44:05 -0400

More than anything, the world needs people who bring happiness — there is too much sadness and anxiety around. The Bible is a book which can make people happy. The angel’s announcement of great tidings of joy; the story of the love of Christ changing darkness into light, despair into hope, tears into laughter, and sorrow into rejoicing.

The Christian is to bring happiness into the life of others, and we can do this in a thousand different ways: by being joyful ourselves, making our lives a sweet song, telling others the joy-filled gospel story, doing kindness, comforting the sorrowful, lifting the burdens of others, cheering the sad and weary, and scattering benedictions wherever we go.

The Gift Of Speaking

wanderingforgod — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:37:09 -0400

Is any stinginess so mean as withholding a gentle, loving word from people when our words could feed them the joy and grace they are starving for? Words are for comfort, cheer, and hope to all who surround us. They are to encourage the disheartened, warn those in danger, inspire the lazy, and turn the weak toward heaven. Speech is a gift, it is to be used as one.

Blessing In Sorrow

wanderingforgod — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:03:44 -0400

Do we trust God only when he is bringing us good stuff, and not also trust him when bad things happen in life? Is God good only when he causes things to happen which make us happy? Is God not just as good when pain and loss enter life?

If we believe God, and take pain with the same confidence as the pleasures of life, then the darkness will be as rich with blessing as the light, and sorrow will bring us as close to God as joy.

Fight The Good Fight

wanderingforgod — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:58:10 -0400

Things come at the Christian daily which present the opportunity to behave in a most un-Christlike manner. But then that is part of the truth of Christianity, and part of the growth.

A soldier can only learn to be a soldier when practicing war, and honors can only be won in battle. If a person wants to grow into the beauty of the Master, then conflicts must be accepted and battles must be fought. Life can be easy by avoiding struggle, but then there will also be little of true nobleness and worth. The best things in life lie beyond the fight, after the battle has been waged and won. No one gets to heaven without conflict — except for the child called home in infancy.

The Peacemaker

wanderingforgod — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:50:53 -0400

A game which we humans like to play is feeding the distrust or the anger which one person has toward another. We like to approve or justify the person with whom we are speaking. But Christ calls us to be peacemakers. Christ tells us to fill the chasms and narrow the gulfs between people. None of the other beatitudes hold more radiance than that of the peacemaker because “they shall be called children of God.”

Matthew 5:9