Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “He (Esau) said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ … Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said, ‘What good is the birthright to me?’ But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.” Genesis 25:30-34 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Resist the urge for instant gratification.”

Yesterday I told you the story about my mother. She was a great mom and an exceptional person. Everyone loved her, and for good reason – it was because she was so nice and she was such a big blessing to others. One of the reasons she was that way was because she had her priorities right. She understood what mattered and what didn’t. She was willing to sacrifice and do without, and she was very patient, especially when it came to deferred gratification.

Back in that day, grocery stores used to give what were called “S&H Green Stamps” as a reward for your purchase. The more you spent on your purchase of food, the more “green stamps” you received. You then pasted the green stamps in a sort of savings book and when the book was full, you started another one. You then saved the books so you could eventually redeem them for merchandise. There was an “S&H Green Stamp Catalog” that had everything from toys to toasters, from bicycles to vacuum cleaners. As a family we saved our green stamps so we could redeem them for products we needed or wanted. Sometimes it would take a long time, depending on the value of the product we were saving for, but it was always worth the wait. That’s a special memory from my childhood that I cherish to this day. In that way my mother taught us about delayed gratification and saving for the things we wanted.

Interestingly, after I finished writing that devotional yesterday, in my daily Bible reading I came across the story of Esau. Esau was a man who wasn’t willing to wait or sacrifice for the things that mattered. Instead, he was focused primarily on instant gratification. He wanted what he wanted, and he wanted it now. That’s what we just read about in Genesis 25:30-34 when he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob in exchange for a hot meal.

Instant gratification is not a healthy or helpful motivation in life, and it seldom produces good long-term results. That hot meal satisfied Esau for a few hours but then it was digested, it passed through his body, and soon he was hungry again – and he never got his birthright back.

It has been said that we gain nothing by choosing the immediate over the significant. That’s true. If you have the personal discipline to consistently choose the significant over the immediate, in the long run yours will be a rich and full life that leaves a lasting legacy. True quality of life takes patience, discipline, and a focus on the things that really matter. I encourage you to resist the urge for instant gratification.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your life matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry, but rather what is inside the heart – the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:3-4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s the kind of person you are that matters most”

My mother was the greatest woman I ever knew. She was kind, gracious, and friendly towards everyone. She genuinely liked people and she cared about them. For many years she worked as a deli clerk in a local grocery store in our hometown, and she came to be known as “The Deli Lady”. Everyone knew my mother, and people often went to the store just to see her because they enjoyed talking with her so much.

In addition to being such a nice person she was also a great mom. She spent hours upon hours with us six kids playing games, organizing neighborhood activities, teaching us to play baseball and football, building snow forts, and so much more. Our house was the hub of the neighborhood, all the kids hung out at our house because there was always something going on. My Mom also taught us how to cook, bake, and sew, and she had us in church every Sunday.

We were the poorest family in the neighborhood by far, so our house was small, it was seldom clean, and we never had much money. But none of that mattered because we did have my mother – and she made life fun for all of us. She was the kind of woman Peter wrote about in 1 Peter 3:3-4. She was a truly good and godly woman, and that made all the difference.

I had the privilege of caring for my mother for the last eleven years of her life. She died on April 12, 2012, and so Mother’s Day 2012 was the first time in my life when my mother wasn’t here on Mother’s Day for me to honor. So that year, as a final Mother’s Day gift, I wrote an essay about her entitled, “What Makes A Woman Truly Beautiful”. It was based upon 1 Peter 3:3-4 and it illustrated how it is that godly attributes make all the difference in a person’s life – regardless of any other circumstances. If you would be interested in reading that essay let me know and I would be happy to send you a digital copy of it. The story is about my mother but the lesson pertains to all of us, women and men alike – it’s who you are, not what you have, that really matters.

The real measure of your life isn’t determined by what’s in your bank account, but by what’s in your heart.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your life matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.’” Luke 12:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You’re using the wrong measure”

Many years ago, when I was serving as the Pastor of a church out in the California desert, I knew a woman who was without question one of the kindest, most gracious, and happiest people I have ever known. At that time she was in her late seventies, she lived alone in a very old and very small mobile home on the outskirts of town, she drove an old car with high mileage, and she just barely made ends meet on a small fixed income.

And yet, she absolutely glowed with love and joy. She thoroughly enjoyed people, she was constantly looking for ways to bless others, and everyone looked forward to being with her. Her circumstances were meager by the measures of this world, but she was living a rich and full life, with more true joy and contentment, than were other people with much higher incomes and with many more possessions.

We live in a culture today that tends to measure a person’s significance by things like education, professional achievements, income, possessions, attractiveness, physical fitness, etc. But those things very often do not add up to a life that is blessed and meaningful in all the ways that really matter. There are plenty of wealthy good-looking professionals driving expensive cars and living in big houses whose lives are filled with pain and heartache. And there are many others, like my friend above, who have little by the measure of this world, but who absolutely glow with joy and contentment.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus made it clear that the true measure of your life isn’t found in the things you own. Instead, it’s what’s in your heart that matters. It’s a deep and rich relationship with God and with other people which produces in our lives true joy and real contentment. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in Galatians 5:22-23 when he explained, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Those are the virtues and attributes that make the real difference in a life.

I submit to you this morning that spiritual maturity, not the balance in your checkbook, is what really matters. More about this tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your life matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17-18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Suicide is not the answer”

This morning I want to return to the story we thought about two days ago of George Bailey, from the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. George was a good man, a decent man, and he was simply doing his best to meet his responsibilities and to live an honorable life. He was loved and respected by those who knew him, and his life was making a subtle but significant difference for good in hundreds of ways.

But George didn’t see it that way. He saw himself as a failure and he somehow convinced himself that everyone would be better off if he was dead, so he decided to commit suicide. What’s really amazing about that story is that George wasn’t able to see himself as other people saw him. And while everyone else loved, admired, and respected him, he saw himself as a failure.

That’s very common. We are our own worst critics. And like George, we all have times of despair when thoughts of suicide enter our minds. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in 2018 approximately 9.8 million Americans had serious thoughts about suicide; 2.8 million made a plan to commit suicide; 1.3 million actually made the attempt; and 47,173 people did take their own lives.

But as was so beautifully portrayed in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, suicide is never God’s desire for us. We are precious to Him (1 John 3:1). He lovingly created us in our mother’s womb (Ps. 139:13-16); He has a great plan for each of our lives (Jer. 29:11); He watches over us every moment (Ps. 121:5-8); and it breaks His heart when we are suffering (Ps. 37:17-18).

As George Bailey learned in the movie, he was wrong in his belief that everyone would be better off if he was dead. And so are you. Your life matters. It matters to God and it matters to those who know you and love you. It has been said that when a person commits suicide they take their own pain, put it on the ones who love them the most, and multiply it by ten. I’m convinced that is true.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please know first of all that Psalm 34:17-18 is true – God hears your cries and He is near to you. Second, there is help. Call out to God and He will rescue you from the act and from the thoughts – He will provide help. Then call a friend, call a loved one, call your Pastor, or call the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-8255.

Your life matters. It matters more than you realize. It matters to God and it matters to all the rest of us too.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your life matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Psalm 139:13-16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are God’s greatest miracle.”

One of the most uplifting, encouraging, and helpful books I’ve ever read is “The Greatest Miracle in the World” by Og Mandino. It’s a tiny little book, only 4 x 6 in paperback and just 100 pages. It’s an easy and fun read. The story is loosely based on the real events of Mandino’s own life. It tells the ongoing story of a man he calls “The Ragpicker” and how this seemingly simple and poor old man (who is actually exceedingly kind and wise), befriends people who are down and out, at rock bottom in life, and helps them to see their true worth in God’s eyes. Once a person sees and embraces this important truth, it brings about an amazing transformation in their life.

It’s a beautiful and inspiring story. The most important chapter is the final one which is titled “The God Memorandum” and which is inspired by Psalm 139:13-16. “The God Memorandum” is a letter from God to you and it describes in exquisite detail what an amazing creation, an absolute masterpiece of God, that each person is.  The memo also helps us to see how it is that God is aware of and present in all the circumstances of our lives, and how He wants to use each moment and issue for your ultimate good. I encourage you to get the book and read it. If not, then at least Google “The God Memorandum” and read that chapter.

The point of the book, and especially of the last chapter, is the same point the Psalmist makes in Psalm 139:13-16: You are an amazing creation of God. He presided over your conception; He patiently and lovingly formed you in your mother’s womb; He was there for your birth; and He has observed every moment of your life since then. Beyond that, He has been involved in every moment of your life to the extent that you have allowed Him to be – and that will continue to be true to the extent that you allow it in the future. You are precious to God. He loves you more than you know. He wants the very best for you, and He will work in your life to bring that about if you will only let Him.

Og Mandino was right – you are God’s greatest miracle. You are His masterpiece and He loves you beyond words. Would you like to gain a better appreciation for how important you are to Him and how much your life matters? I encourage you to read the book.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “The world is a better place with you in it.”

A few weeks ago my wife and I went to Dollywood for the annual “Christmas in the Smokies” celebration. I love Dollywood at Christmastime! The entire park is strung with thousands of lights and Christmas decorations. There are eleven different Christmas musicals you can see throughout the day and evening as you wander the park, going from theatre to theatre. The evening concludes with a big Christmas parade complete with floats, costumed characters, and of course, Santa. But underlying and woven throughout all of it is a strong emphasis on the true reason for the season – the birth of Jesus.

One of the shows Linda and I saw this year was a stage production of the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. That is by far my favorite Christmas movie of all time. I’m not going to spend much time explaining the story, you probably know it well, but George Bailey is a middle-aged man who believes he has wasted his life in the little town of Bedford Falls. While facing a crisis that might ruin the family business, he decides everyone would be better off if he was dead, and so he decides to commit suicide. But before he can, Clarence, a friendly but bumbling angel, is sent to convince George not to do it. In a dream sequence Clarence shows George what life for his family, and for everyone else in Bedford Falls, would have been like if he had never lived.

Long story short, what George learned was that his average and seemingly insignificant life had actually made a subtle but huge difference in more ways and in more lives than he could have ever imagined. Not only was his direct impact on people important and meaningful, but his influence then radiated out like concentric circles on the surface of the water, making a positive difference on people he had never even met.

The reason I love George’s story is because it is actually all of our stories. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is really about you and me. Your life makes more of a difference than you realize. This world is a better place because you are in it.

All this month we’re going to explore the many ways in which your life makes a meaningful difference. The truth is, your life matters. It matters very, very much.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “A New Year, A New Beginning”

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Train yourself to be positive”

A positive attitude will be one of your greatest assets in life. How we think matters more than we realize. Thoughts are powerful, and we tend to attract to ourselves the things that we expect. People with an optimistic and positive outlook tend to be happy and successful in life, partly because they expect to be and partly because their winsome nature is attractive to other people. People with a pessimistic and negative outlook tend to be brooding, unhappy, and relatively unsuccessful, partly because they expect to be and partly because their dark countenance turns people away.

Most people tend to lean in one direction or the other, either they’re mostly optimistic or mostly pessimistic. However, almost always that proclivity in either direction is a matter of conditioning rather than biology. Although in some cases there may be a neurological reason for a person to be dark and brooding (like Asperger’s syndrome), in most people they’ve simply learned to be that way. Our mindset is a combination of social conditioning, circumstances, the kinds of people we associate with, and it’s a matter of the influences we allow into our mind (like music and television).

Whatever your normal frame of mind is, optimistic or pessimistic, it’s a learned pattern of thinking and therefore it can be changed by learning to think differently. That’s what the Apostle Paul was getting at in Philippians 4:8. He was encouraging us to fill our minds with good influences and to train ourselves to dwell on thoughts that are wholesome and positive.

I’m not suggesting that changing your pattern of thinking is an easy thing to do, it isn’t. You will find it much easier to change your diet and exercise habits than to change your way of thinking. It’s a lot easier to turn a spendthrift into a frugal money manager than it is to turn a pessimist into an optimist.

And yet, it happens all the time. As a Christian you have the Holy Spirit at work within you bringing about the needed transformation. He won’t do it by magic, and He won’t force the change on you, but if you want to change from a pessimist into an optimist, or if you want to strengthen and enhance your already bright and cheery optimistic outlook, the Holy Spirit will help you to do it. You do your part by intentionally filling your mind with positive influences and making an effort to think positively instead of negatively, and the Holy Spirit will multiply your efforts. With His help, the change will come.

One of your most important and helpful assets going into 2020 will be a positive attitude. You can train yourself to be positive.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “A New Year, A New Beginning”

Our Bible verse for today: “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” Luke 14:28 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Make a plan, get going, and stick with it.”

All this month we’ve been considering New Year’s resolutions we could make to help improve some aspect of our lives that need a little improvement. We’ve thought about things like diet and exercise, finances, spiritual growth, and relationships. There are many more categories we could have addressed but we just didn’t have the time.

Hopefully you have a short list of resolutions, and so now it’s time to come up with a plan. Good intentions are nice, but success will be determined by how good your plan is and how closely you stick to it. In Luke 14:28 Jesus made reference to the fact that having a good plan to guide you as you strive to accomplish your objective is simply a matter of common sense.

Throughout the month I’ve suggested numerous resources that would be good guides and which can serve as your plan. A nutrition guide becomes your guide for eating. A workout plan keeps you on track for exercising. A Bible reading plan, regular church attendance, and a commitment to ministry activities will help you with your spiritual growth.

A good plan is essential. Visualize what it is you want to accomplish, compare that to where you are now, and then ask yourself, “What steps do I need to take to lead me from where I am now to where I want to be?”  Then write them down. That progressive sequence of steps is your plan. Now just get going and keep walking it forward one step at a time, one day at a time.

If you make a plan and stick with it by this time next year you will have made significant improvement in the areas of your life that needed some work. So, I encourage you to make a plan, get going, and stick with it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “A New Year, A New Beginning”

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Choose your friends carefully”

I’m pretty sure that when you were a child your momma probably warned you, “Choose your friends carefully.” It was good motherly advice and it still applies. Over time we become like those we associate with and therefore it’s important for us to be very selective about who we’re hanging around with.

But beyond being a classic and time-honored thing that mothers have always said to their children, it’s also solidly Biblical and is expressed in the Bible numerous times, in different ways, by different writers. Solomon said it in Proverbs 13:20. He said it again in Proverbs 27:17 when he wrote, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” In 1 Corinthians 15:33 the Apostle Paul expressed it this way, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.”

As we conclude our thinking about New Year’s resolutions regarding relationships, I want to encourage you to give careful thought to who you plan to associate with in 2020.  As has been noted already in this series, your most important relationship is the one you have with God, and paying extra attention to that relationship is certainly important.

But there are also other relationships that will help to enhance your growth and development as a person. Do you have a mentor in your life, someone who is older, wiser, more experienced, and who will spend time with you, building into your life? That’s what Proverbs 13:20 is talking about. Spend time with people who are wiser than you and in time you will learn from them and become wise like them.

How about close Christian friends, especially those of the same gender? Are you part of a small group of men or women who are open and honest with each other, who hold each other accountable, and who help each other to grow and to navigate the difficult times in life? Proverbs 27:17 can be about one-on-one relationships, but it is also often used regarding small accountability groups of men or women.

And then there’s 1 Corinthians 15:33. If you hang around with bank robbers then pretty soon you will probably be robbing banks too. If you associate with people who drink a lot and who use foul language, in time those behaviors will define you too. Find people who have the kind of life that you would like to have and spend your time with them.

Perhaps a good New Year’s resolution would be to find a mentor (Proverbs 13:20); become part of a small accountability group (Proverbs 27:17); and maybe even say good-bye to some associates who really shouldn’t be part of your life anyway (1 Corinthians 15:33). Relationships in life are crucial. We’re either helped or hurt by the nature of our relationships with others, so choose your friends carefully.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “A New Year, A New Beginning”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.” Ephesians 4:1-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be an easy person to be with”

I once had the pleasure of working with a man who was a joy to be around. He was humble and kind, he had an easy-going way about him, and he laughed easily and often. And also, importantly, he was seldom offended. Even when someone did or said something unkind to him he was able to shrug it off and quickly return to his typical easy-going and joyful self.

That was many years ago but I remember it vividly to this day because he made such a positive impression on me. Oh, and by the way, that took place in a work environment where there was a considerable amount of strife and dissension between many other workers. It was a place where there was frequently arguing, backbiting, and distrust. But his man was a breath of fresh air and a positive influence in an otherwise unpleasant place. He was the kind of person the Apostle Paul was writing about in Ephesians 4:1-3. Being a person like that will make a positive difference in your home or your workplace, in your neighborhood and in your church.

As we consider New Year’s resolutions that would help to improve the health of our most important relationships, becoming a kinder, gentler, happier person who is not easily offended would be a good move for any of us. There are many Bible studies and other books on this subject which would be well worth your time and which would help to develop better relationship skills. “The Bait of Satan” by John Bevere is a Christian classic. It explains how Satan uses the emotion of being offended, to create innumerable unnecessary problems in human relationships. The study teaches us how to recognize the bait for what it is, and then how to resist taking the bait.

“The Anger Management Workbook”, by Les Carter and Frank Minirth will help you recognize the many forms anger can take, the damage it does, and how to handle it effectively.

And then a non-Christian book which has also helped millions of people develop better relationship skills, and which is a time-honored classic is, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.

One of the best things you can do to care for and nurture your most important relationships is to be an easy person to be with.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim