A Few Moments with God - April

[janbear]

Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
(James 1.21 NRSV)

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Richard F. Shepard in his book, In Enemy Waters, tells about two men he saw pummeling each other in a gutter where each had a car half-parked, one frontward, one backward, in a parking space. The irrationality of it all, he says, was emphasized by a sign in front of the parking place that said, "No Parking." Of course, the point wasn't that they were both trying to park in a no parking zone. The point was that they both were probably carrying around anger that was just waiting to erupt.
Anger is one of our human emotions. We need to make sure we work through those emotions.


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Lord Jesus, help me to work through my emotions of anger when it hits me, so that I won’t take it out on one of your precious children. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
(3 John 1.11 NRSV)

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In the book, WIT AND WISDOM FROM THE PEANUT BUTTER GANG, by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. wrote about some children who offer advice on spotting and dealing with anger:
Morgan, age 11 says, "When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair." Lezlee, age 11 advises, "When your mother is mad and asks you, 'Do I look stupid?' It's best not to answer her." Children become quite adept at spotting the signs of anger because so often they become the unsuspecting target of adult anger.

Martin Luther King admonished his people "to avoid not only violence of deed but violence of spirit." That's sound advice. If we will take charge of our inner emotions, our outer actions will take care of themselves.


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Dear God, may your spirit overcome the violence of my spirit. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
(1 Corinthians 12.31 NRSV)

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We are indispensable, says St. Paul, BUT WE ARE ALSO DIFFERENT. A nose and a mouth are different. Both are indispensable, but they are different. They have different functions, different gifts to bring to the body. So it is with Christ's body. Some of us are strong at some things; others are strong at others. It would be a mistake to try to be something we are not. That would violate God's plan for our life.
According to news reports during one of the past Olympics, one of the most popular places in the Olympic Village was the bowling alley. Interestingly enough, Olympic athletes weren't that good at bowling. One source reports that in more than a half-hour of viewing, she didn't see one strike bowled. Just because you have strengths in one area, doesn't mean you have strengths in others.

Our call is to use our strengths to build up God’s kingdom.


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Loving God, thank you for your blessings. Help me to use my strengths to share your love. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Romans 5.1 NRSV)

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There was a time when heroes could be invented. Many of us remember those more naive times when the press did not report on heroes' shortcomings. The media would often exaggerate the strengths of famous people and ignore their weaknesses. Politically that was true all the way up to Watergate. Nowadays, it seems like things are reversed. We see our heroes' weaknesses, and their strengths are minimized. Even when we do see a celebrity in a favorable light, we don't know how much is hype. We don't know how much is real and how much is just P.R.
There is a book titled Surface Chic. It is a book that gives a tongueincheek treatment of wealth, fame and power. Among other things, the book contains some paper watch faces that simulate an $11,000 Corum watch. You can cut these watch faces out and paste them on your $11 watch. According to the book, by doing this, your friends will be impressed with both your good taste and your great wealth. That's what the authors mean by "surface chic"! Many celebrities today are no more than surface chic. Invariably, when we get a closer look, they disappoint. One reason to make Christ your hero is that other heroes let you down.


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Dear Jesus, you are my true hero. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
(1 Peter 1.21 NRSV)

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Gladys Aylward, a missionary to China a half century ago, was forced to leave her missionary work when the Japanese invaded Yangcheng. In fleeing certain death, she led nearly a hundred orphans over the mountains to Free China. It was a frightening journey. At times she was burdened by despair. One morning after a sleepless night, fearing they would never reach safety, she shared her hopelessness with the orphans. A 13yearold girl reminded her of their muchloved story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.
"But I am not Moses," Gladys Aylward replied.

"Of course you aren't," the girl responded, "but Jehovah is still God!"

And that is the point, isn't it? Christ can help us. Christ can enter our lives and transform us into people who can accomplish more good things than we ever dreamed possible. All we have to do is trust him.


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God of love, help me to trust in Jesus. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
(Psalm 144.15 NRSV)

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Katherine Elliot writes: "When I was about 10 years old, Grandma received a gift of perfume in a bottle that fascinated me. Made of green pottery with a long, slender neck and square bottom, it looked like pictures I had seen of ancient ware. I begged Grandma to open it. 'No,' she said. 'I'm going to save it until later.' When I was 33, Grandma gave [the perfume] to me saying, 'Let's see how long you can keep it without opening it.'”
"One day when I picked up the perfume bottle, I was shocked to discover that it was empty, although still sealed. Turning it over, I could see why. The bottom of the bottle had never been glazed. The perfume had slowly evaporated through the porous clay. How sad that no one ever enjoyed the perfume not Grandma or anyone else! How disappointing for the gift giver! Then it struck me that I frequently treat God's gifts to me in the same way, not using them because of shyness, selfishness, or just plain laziness.

Failing to use our gifts disappoints God, and we deny others the opportunity to enjoy God's blessings with us."


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Dear God, may I be a blessing to others as you have blessed me. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
(John 4.42 NRSV)

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Winston Churchill knew the difference between celebrities and heroes. In the summer of 1941, Sergeant James Allen Ward was awarded the Victoria Cross for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington bomber at 13,000 feet above ground to extinguish a fire in the starboard engine. Secured only by a rope around his waist, he managed to smother the fire and return along the wing to the aircraft's cabin. Churchill, an admirer as well as a performer of swashbuckling exploits, summoned the shy New Zealander to 10 Downing Street. Ward, struck dumb with awe in Churchill's presence, was unable to answer the prime minister's questions. Churchill surveyed the unhappy hero with some compassion.
"You must feel very humble and awkward in my presence," he said.

"Yes, Sir," managed Ward.

"Then you can imagine how humble and awkward I feel in yours," returned Churchill.

I am sure the disciples felt the same way about Jesus.

Jesus is our savior!


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Dear God, thank you for sending me Jesus to be my savior. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.
(1 Corinthians 14.12 NRSV)

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Those of you who are basketball fans remember a few years back when Michael Jordan decided he should be a professional baseball player. He put on the right uniform. He used the right equipment. He even was assigned to the right field. But watching Michael Jordan play baseball was not anything like watching Michael play basketball. Fly balls hit him in the chest. His swing lagged inches behind a fast ball. He referred to the umpires as "referees." He ended up being sent to a Birmingham minor league club.
Each of us has strengths. Each of us has places God can use us most effectively. The secret of having a strong and vital church is to make certain that every one of us is using the gift God has given us that we are doing what we can do best. If we do not use our gifts to God's glory, it is a tragedy both for us and for the family of Christ.


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Lord Jesus, may I use my talents to glorify you. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.
(2 Corinthians 12.21 NRSV)

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There is an old legend about a New England town that was suffering through all manner of dissension and back-biting. The people were constantly involved in petty feuds pitting neighbor against neighbor. One day, the people came together and consulted a wise pastor as to how they could resolve their differences. The pastor agreed to think on the matter and send them a letter soon detailing his judgment.
A few days later, the pastor sat down and wrote his letter to the people, full of advice on how to make peace in their town. He also sat down and wrote a letter to a farmer friend of his who was having trouble with a bull. Then the pastor called up two messengers, gave them the two letters, and sent them on their way.

You can guess what happened. The pastor accidentally mixed up the letters. The message for the town got sent to the farmer friend. The message for the farmer friend got sent to the feuding town. Here is the message that the townspeople received: "You had better see that your fences are put up well in the first place. Plough your ground deep; and sort your seed; be careful not to sow foul seed; and take care of that great, ugly bull. I think you had better poke him. The rest I will tell you when I come."

The townspeople sat in silence for a long time, contemplating the pastor's strange message. Finally, one man stood and attempted to interpret it. The putting up of fences must refer to the rules of discipline in the church. The people had neglected these rules of discipline for too long. And ploughing up the ground must be another way of saying the people need to open their hearts, to allow the good seed of brotherly love to be sown. The warning against foul seed was obvious: the citizens had an obligation to sort the truth from the untruth, and not believe every morsel of gossip they heard. And the great, ugly bull could only symbolize the devil, who had come into their midst and stirred up so much strife among them.

The people were so moved by the pastor's advice that they began confessing their sins and offering forgiveness to one another. They opened up their hearts to one another and prayed for each other. And peace reigned in the once-feuding town.

Feuds can be settled by spreading God’s love through hope and forgiveness.


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Dear God, forgive me and help me to share your love. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
(John 17.11 NRSV)

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In Yakima, Washington, sometime back a dying man made a strange request. On his deathbed, Grant Flory said to his family: "Get me to the Mustangs' playoffs. No matter what." He was referring to his old high school team, The Prosser Mustangs. So in early December, when the Mustangs played in Seattle's Kingdome, Flory's cremated remains were in attendance. His son Dwight approached the stadium gate wearing a camera bag that contained his father's urn. He was stopped by a guard who asked what was in the bag.
"It's my dad," he replied.

The guard looked puzzled but allowed the ashes inside. Family members said anyone who knew Grant Flory wouldn't be surprised by his request. He was a real football fan.

It is the dream of every pastor to have a congregation filled with people who are that determined to be in worship every Sunday. I need not even say to you that there are church members who are much more dedicated to their favorite sports team than they are to God. They give more money to their team. They know more about the players on the roster than they ever will about the heroes of the Bible. And I will not live to see the days when people in the average congregation will sit in a cold, miserable rain to worship God like many will do to cheer on their favorite team. Perhaps that's because we don't understand the essential nature of the church. I believe if we could see the church as Christ sees the church, we would not take attendance as casually as we do.


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Loving God, help me to know and see the importance of being an active part of your church. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody.
(Psalm 57.7 NRSV)

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Harold S. Kushner tells of an incident from his youth that made a distinct impression on him. A business associate of his father's died under particularly tragic circumstances. Kushner accompanied his father to the funeral. The man's widow and children were surrounded by clergy and psychiatrists trying to ease their grief and make them feel better. They knew all the right words, but nothing helped. They were beyond being comforted. The widow kept saying, "You're right, I know you're right, but it doesn't make any difference."
Then a man walked in, a big burly man in his eighties who was a legend in the toy and game industry. He had escaped from Russia as a youth after having been arrested and tortured by the czar's secret police. He had come to this country illiterate and penniless and had built up an immensely successful company. He was known as a hard bargainer, a ruthless competitor. Despite his success, he had never learned to read or write. He hired people to read his mail to him. The joke in the industry was that he could write a check for a million dollars, and the hardest part would be signing his name at the bottom. He had been sick recently, and his face and his walking showed it.

But he walked over to the widow and started to cry, and she cried with him, and you could feel the atmosphere in the room change. This man who had never read a book in his life spoke the language of the heart and held the key that opened the gates of solace where learned doctors and clergy could not.

God needs people like you who can speak the language of the heart.


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Dear Jesus, help me to speak the language of your love and heart. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.
(1 Corinthians 14.12 NRSV)

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Christ desires his church to be a close-knit family! He desires us to be unified. I suspect many of us underestimate how much we need one another--how much we crave contact--how much we hunger for true Christian fellowship.
Recent research has indicated that those persons who attend church are less likely to be ill over time than those who do not attend church. I don't know what that says to you. Possibly, it says something about a life of discipline. Perhaps it says something about avoiding self-destructive habits. My guess is, though, that it says the most about our need for one another.

Revealing studies have been done on depressed people. Depressed people want to be alone. Should we let them be? Not if we want them to improve. There is something about being with others that lifts our spirits. We need genuine fellowship. The church serves two vital functions in the world, and the first is to put us in touch with one another. We need one another--particularly when life caves in on us. The church also serves to help us experience and know God’s love for each one of us. The church is vital to our well-being.


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God of love, thank you for your church that keeps me healthy. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
(Psalm 46.1 NRSV)

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Theodore H. White, Pulitzer Prize-winning expert on American politics, coined a new word. Someone asked him about the effect of television on politicians. White answered, "Politicians remind me of a certain variety of plant--the kind that grow under porches and other places where the sun doesn't penetrate. Botanists call these plants Heliotropic, meaning that as they grow, they bend in the direction of the sun. Well, politicians today are what I call Videotropic. As they grow, they follow the camera because that's where the votes are."
If I might build on that analogy, you and I are here because we are Theotropic--that is, we are drawn irresistibly in the direction of God. In God is our help and our strength. We gather in our church each Lord's day to acknowledge that He is our hope and the foundation of our lives.


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Dear God, you are my help and strength. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
(Ephesians 4.13 NRSV)

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During a frightful storm in the Georgian Bay of Canada years ago, a ship was wrecked. Many perished. The mate, with six strong men and one timid girl, escaped in a boat, but the waves were high and the craft turned over and over until, one by one the strong men lost their hold and disappeared beneath the angry billows.
The mate, however, lashed the girl to the boat, and thus she drifted to the shore where she was found, safe and unharmed. When the stalwart men went down with shrieks of despair, she alone was saved. She didn't escape by her skill or wisdom. She escaped because she was fastened firmly to that which would not sink.

As Christians, we fasten ourselves firmly to that which will not sink. We find it in our unity with one another, but even more so, in our unity with God.


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Dear God, guide me in strengthening my unity with you. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
(Matthew 10.32 NRSV)

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I'm reminded of that wonderful story about a time when Senator Jacob Javits of New York was visiting England. A constituent happened to be in Washington, D.C., and decided to stop in and see his senator. He found Javits' office, introduced himself, and asked to see the senator.
"I'm sorry," said the secretary, "but Senator Javits has gone to the United Kingdom."

"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed the visitor, clearly taken aback. "Is it too late to send flowers?"

We don't talk much about Heaven. And I suspect one reason is that Christ gave us so few details as to what it will be like. Some of the popular images of Heaven do it a disservice, I am certain. I was amused to read something former Prime Minister Lloyd George once said about the celestial realm. He said, "When I was a boy the thought of heaven used to frighten me more than the thought of hell. I pictured heaven as a place where time would be perpetual Sundays, with perpetual services from which there would be no break. It was a horrible nightmare and made me an atheist for ten years."

None of our language about Heaven can possibly do it justice. Our minds are too small to get around the concept of eternity. There is only one thing we can say about Heaven. We will be united--with Christ and with those we love. The unity we have here is but a poor reflection of a more perfect unity there.


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Lord Jesus, I look forward to my full unity with you now and in God’s heavenly kingdom. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Philippians 3.20 NRSV)

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Writer and speaker Carol Kent tells about a couple she met in Indianapolis, Indiana, named Pam and Bill Mutz. She was immediately impressed with the quality parenting these two were giving their three children. Carol asked her hostess what made their home so uniquely special. She began her story.
A few years earlier, when their older daughter, Cari, was just two-and-a-half years old and their son, Jonathan, was seven months old, the children were in the bathtub together. That week Pam and Bill had out-of-town company, and the guest had brought two dogs with him that were left outside in the yard. While Pam was bathing her children, she became concerned that the dogs might get too far from the house. Jonathan had been sitting up well on his own, and Pam turned to Cari and said, "Honey, please watch your brother for just a minute while Mama checks on those dogs."

Pam was gone a short time, but when she returned, Jonathan was under water. Cari didn't realize the danger. Pam grabbed her son and screamed for the guest, who came down and did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Pam called for an ambulance.

"They laid my Jonathan on a stretcher and worked feverishly over him, but even before we reached the hospital, I knew that he was gone," Pam said. In the days that followed, friends and family gathered, feeling Pam and Bill's grief as their very own.

Carol asked Pam about the long-term effect of this crisis point in their home. She said, "Carol, God has done an emotional and spiritual healing here that even psychologists do not understand. We know it's the Lord."

She continued, "Cari speaks often of her brother and looks forward to seeing him in heaven someday. Every time she gets a helium balloon, she rushes outside. Then she lets it go as she shouts into the heavens, `Jesus, this is for Jonathan, and tell him it's from Cari!' I just know those balloons will make it--all the way! One day, perhaps, Jonathan will greet us with an armful of balloons when we have the privilege of joining him in heaven!"

Jesus' prayer is that each of us would have that same confidence. He wants us to have unity with one another. He wants us also to have unity with God. God is our refuge and strength. He also wants us to know that the bonds that join us to one another and to God are eternal. Nothing will ever break them. Not even death will snatch us from Him or from those we love.


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Dear God, thank you for your heavenly kingdom that surrounds me. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
(Isaiah 8.10 NRSV)

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They were shooting the movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on the day after Pearl Harbor. The cast listened as President Roosevelt announced on the radio that the United States was at war with Japan and Germany. At that point director Michael Curtiz came on the sound stage with Jimmy Cagney. They all listened in silence for the national anthem to finish. As the women dabbed tears from their eyes, and the men were deeply moved, Curtiz said in his best Hungarian accent:
"Now, boys and girls, we have work to do. We have bad news, but we have a wonderful story to tell the world. So let's put away sad things and begin."

That's our challenge, too. We remember with sadness and gratitude the sacrifices others have made in our behalf. Now we go out to tell the story that in tragedy God is with us. We are not alone.


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Loving God, thank you for being with me through all of the ups and downs of life. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
(Matthew 16.18 NRSV)

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Many years ago, the world stood shocked to learn that the former President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, and his wife, Imelda, had amassed a personal fortune. During his 20year reign, while their country was devastated by poverty, the Marcos family's wealth grew to between 5 and 10 billion dollars. And yet with a 5 to 10billiondollar empire, they had no place to set it because no country on the face of God's globe wanted them. That's what happens when your life is built on sand.
The other side of that coin is that we can build our lives on the rock. I am reminded of the passage where Jesus asked that impetuous fisherman, Simon Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon answered, "You are the Christ, the son of the Living God." Do you recall what our Lord's response was? "You are right Simon Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." I submit to you that the rock on which Jesus Christ builds His church is the same rock on which He intends us to build our lives. "On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand."


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Dear Jesus, remind me often to build my life on the rock of your salvation. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
(Acts 10.38 NRSV)

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I read about a report to a State Industrial Commission on a man injured while in the act of repairing a chimney. He says, "when I got to the building, I found that the hurricane had knocked some bricks off the top. So I rigged up a beam with a pulley at the top of the building and hoisted up a couple of barrels full of bricks. When I had fixed the chimney, there were a lot of bricks left over. I hoisted the barrel back up again and secured the line at the bottom, and then went and filled the barrel with extra bricks. Then I went to the bottom and cast off the line. Unfortunately, the barrel of bricks was heavier than I was, and before I knew what was happening, the barrel started down, jerking me off the ground. I decided to hang on and halfway up, I met the barrel coming down and received a severe blow on the shoulder. I then continued to the top, banging my head against the beam and getting my finger jammed in the pulley. When the barrel hit the ground, it burst its bottom, allowing the bricks to spill out. I was heavier than the empty barrel, and so I started down again at high speed. Halfway down, I met the barrel coming up and received a severe injury to my shins. When I hit the ground, I landed on the bricks, getting several painful cuts from the sharp edges. At this point I must have lost my presence of mind, because I let go of the line. The barrel then came down giving me another heavy blow on the head and putting me in the hospital." We are not exempt from the storms of life. They come at us from all directions.
What do we do with the storms of life? Become bitter? Hopefully, we will allow God to heal us.


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God of love, heal me and draw me close to your healing love. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1.9 NRSV)

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A sunny day in September, 1972, a stern-face, plainly dressed man could be seen standing still on a street corner in the busy Chicago Loop. As pedestrians hurried by on their way to lunch or business, he would solemnly lift his right arm, and pointing to the person nearest him, intone loudly the single word "GUILTY!"
Then, without any change of expression, he would resume his stiff stance for a few moments before repeating the gesture. Then, again, the inexorable raising of the arm, the pointing, and the solemn pronouncing of the one word "GUILTY!"

Members of the lunch hour crowd would stare as they passed by at the strange performance. They would stop for a moment, look away, glance at each other, look back at the man, and then hurry on their way. One man, turning to another, exclaimed: “But how did he know?”

Are we all guilty? And, if so, of what? And before whom? And can we ever straighten it out?

There was a joke going around a few years back when the transgressions of certain prominent televangelists were being very painfully exposed., "Did you hear that Jimmy Swaggart and Jimmy Bakker have decided to give up their television ministries. They are going to start a magazine. It will be called 'Repenthouse.'" John the Baptist preached, "Repent for the kingdom of God is near." Jesus did likewise. The Apostle Paul declared, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." and "the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 3:23 and 6:23). The author of 1 John asserts: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1:8-9).


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Dear God, please forgive me. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.
(1 Timothy 1.15 NRSV)

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Tony Pena is a former catcher for the Boston Red Sox. Tony grew up in the Dominican Republic. Life was not easy. Tony Pena says that the person who had the greatest influence on his life was his mother.
It is the dream of most every Dominican boy to play ball in the United States. Throughout the Dominican Republic young boys swing old rake handles or "anything else they can get for a bat, trying to hit a ball a little quicker, a little farther than anyone else" -- hoping to one day to play in our major leagues.

Tony credits his mother not only for teaching him and his brothers how to play baseball but also for giving him a love for the game. His mother had been a pretty good softball player herself when she was young. When school was out and their chores were done, she'd walk her boys to a nearby pasture. She would stand on a rough dirt patch that served as the pitcher's mound and pitch to her sons. "All right, little Luis," she'd call in, "this pitch will be right down the middle." When it was Tony's turn she would say, "Okay, Tony look for this one in on the fists. You must learn to hit the inside pitch."

Tony Pena is thankful for the influence of his mother. Before he left for the United States, he prayed, "God, all I want from life is to be able to help my family. Please help me do that." Tony has helped his family. "Not long after I made the majors," he recalls. "I drove with Mama through the streets of Santiago." As they were driving Tony asked his mother, "what do you think of that house over there? Take a good look, Mama." They stopped in front of the house. "It's a wonderful house," his mother replied, "why do you ask? Are you thinking of buying it?" He paused--hardly able to contain himself. He handed her a set of keys, "I already have, Mama. For you." "Oh Tony," she said as tears began to stream down her face. At that special moment, Tony writes, "I thanked God for giving me such a mother."

We have a lot to be thankful for, especially the gift of Jesus Christ.


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Dear God, thank you for sending me a savior. Amen.

[janbear]

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.
(3 John 1.2 NRSV)

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Willis Moore recalls that his grandmother always ate cold grits. She preferred them hot. It was her priorities that caused them to be cold. Willis fondly remembers how his "Grandmother would cook a hot breakfast--fresh farm eggs, crisp bacon, homemade blackberry jelly and biscuits, and bowls of hot grits." The family would gather around the table. His grandfather would ask the blessing.
While the family was eating breakfast the grandmother would read devotions to the family. When she prayed everyone stopped eating and bowed their heads. Afterward everyone cheerfully joined in table conversation while finishing breakfast. "Only then," Willis remembers, "did Grandmother start to eat her breakfast and that is why she always ate cold grits."

Willis remembers those special mornings and the example of his Grandmother. At that time it didn't seem all that important, but as the years rolled on he came to recognize the significance of those cold grits. "Spiritual formation," he writes, "is the memory of Grandmother putting God first at breakfast. Of course she did so in the other areas of her life, too, but the memory of her putting aside a hot breakfast to share God's word with her family feeds me yet."

Are you eating cold grits so you can feed your soul?


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Lord Jesus, may I take the time I need to feed my soul. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
(Matthew 7.25 NRSV)

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The Leaning Tower of Pisa has not always been called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Built from 1173 to 1372, the 12story, solid marble structure stands 17 feet out of line. After the first three stories were completed, the ground underneath began to sink. And thus it continues to lean until someday it may topple. A life that is built on shaky soil will be an unstable life. The foundations of life consist of the ground upon which you build. Whether you're a teenager, an adolescent, a young adult, or a senior citizen, you are always building a foundation.
Now lets look at the storms of life and note that THE STORMS OF LIFE CONFRONT EVERY HUMAN BEING. Jesus said both men, the wise man and the foolish man were surprised by the suddenness of the storm. It matters not your educational background, your place of position or prestige, we are all confronted with life's storms. You may be upper class, middle class, low class or no class; storms are no respecters of persons.

Look at the intensity of the storm. The storms Jesus spoke of are described with deliberate accuracy and similarity. From what we can tell it may have been one and the same storm. He described them with identical words. Jesus used five conjunctions to show the intensity of the storm. In our English translations we lose this intensity. It reads like this: "And the rain came down and the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and yet it did not fall." We need not go far to see the intensity of life's storms. Look at the Kennedy family. In the early 60's President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated on a street in downtown Dallas, Texas. Robert Kennedy, while campaigning for president, was assassinated. One of the Kennedy’s was born mentally retarded. Another lost a leg to cancer. It was a few years ago that David Kennedy, the son of the late Robert Kennedy, was found dead in his hotel room as a result of alcohol abuse. And we are aware of the Mary Jo Kopechne tragedy that has overshadowed Edward Kennedy. Our lives are obliterated at times by the intensity of the storms that confront each and every one of us. We are not exempt from storms of life. They are as much a part of life as breathing. That's the intensity of the storm.

There is also the diversity of the storm. Jesus, in relating the storm that hit both houses, used very descriptive language in explaining the storm. There are three dimensions of the storm. He said the rain came down so as to test the roof. He said the streams rose so as to test the foundation. And He said the wind blew and beat against the house so as to test the walls. That is the diversity and the intensity of life's storms that you and I are confronted with every day.

No matter the storm, Jesus is with us. Sometimes he is even carrying us.


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Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to walk with me through the storms of life. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.
(1 Thessalonians 3.12 NRSV)

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One day Chuck Swindoll found a book on his shelf that had once belonged to his mother. As he was paging through it he recalled some special memories of her. She had died some twenty years before. She had written notes in the margins of this book little knowing the impression her words would make on her son twenty years later.
At the end of the book Chuck's mother had written these words, "Finished reading this May 8, 1958." That started a flood of memories for Chuck Swindoll. He began thinking where he was and what he was doing in May 1958. The month his mother finished reading this book he was a Marine stationed on a tiny island in the South Pacific. That very month he had written in his journal, "The Lord has convinced me that I am to be in His service. I will begin to make plans to prepare for a lifetime of ministry." Amazingly, at the same time his mother was finishing reading her book.

"As I looked back over the pages, I found one reference after another to her prayers for me as I was away." Charles writes. His mother was concerned for his spiritual welfare and for God's best in his life.

That afternoon years after his mother had died Charles was sitting in his study reading his mother's book and recalling those precious memories. "There I sat," he writes, "thanking God anew for my mother's prayers, [for] my pilgrimage and especially [for] His presence. Faithfully, graciously, quietly He had led me and helped me and blessed me. I bowed my head and thanked Him for His sustaining grace...and I wept with gratitude."


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Loving God, I am grateful for all you have sent my way to show me your love. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”
(Luke 15.6 NRSV)

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James Moore remembers the time when he was seven years old and got lost at the Ringling Brothers Circus. It was a frightening experience for a seven-year-old boy in a crowd of over twenty thousand. Jim and his older brother, Bob, went to the concession stand to buy some cotton candy. People were pushing and pressing toward the counter. Since Bob was taller he was waited on first. After Bob got his cotton candy he stepped aside for his brother. Just then loud laughter came from the arena. Bob wanted to see what was going on. Certainly he didn't mean to leave his small brother alone. He simply got caught up in the excitement listening to the crowd laugh at the clowns.
Little Jim also got his cotton candy and then he looked around for his big brother. His brother was gone. In that moment of panic nothing looked familiar to this little fellow. He was lost. At that point he wondered if he would ever see his family again. "I started to run," he recalls, "trying to fight back the tears. Everyone was laughing loudly at the antics of the clowns, but they weren't funny to me at that moment." In this young boy's moment of panic and confusion he thought, "How can they laugh at a time like this? How can they laugh when I feel so lost?"

Just then Jim felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his father. "My father had come after me and had found me. He held me down, reassured me, then bought me a Coke, a hot dog, a Yo-Yo, a lizard, a little stuffed bear, and a candy apple. I learned a valuable lesson that day: Being lost is terrible...being found is wonderful!"

Have you allowed our Father in Heaven to find you?


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Dear Jesus, come close to me. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
(Colossians 3.1 NRSV)

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A little girl had a cut near her eye. Her father quickly took her to see the doctor. The cut was not serious, but the location of the injury made it important that it be fixed properly. The doctor decided a couple of stitches were needed, but he didn't want to give the child an anesthetic. He explained to her that the procedure would be painful and asked if she could stand it. The little girl replied that she could, if her father would hold her hand. The father then took her in his lap, slipped his arm around her, and held her tight. The doctor did his work, and the little girl never flinched. The father could not possibly have erased the pain from this process. If he had not been there, though, the girl's reaction would have been much different.
Our Father is always with us. Do we allow His presence to cause us to react differently?


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God of love, may my life be different because of you. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

We endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 9.12 NRSV)

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A few years ago a group of Christian musicians traveled to Russia to proclaim the gospel in word and music. They had the privilege of taking their talents to Moscow during the Russian Orthodox Easter. They met in the Palace of Congress where the Supreme Soviet had met for years. It was a massive room, with the enormous oversize picture of Lenin hung in the front for all to see. Except that day Lenin's portrait was covered. In that massive hall the gospel message of Jesus Christ was preached to a huge gathering of Christians and nonChristians alike. The hall was filled with majestic music and Christ's message of forgiveness and grace was broadcast by television to millions of viewers throughout Russia. For the American Christians who made this trip it was a service they would never forget.
On Sunday afternoon the group went into Red Square and distributed more than a hundred thousand pamphlets that told the message of Jesus Christ, including Testaments and Bibles in the language of the Russian people. They were warned against doing that too aggressively, not because the authorities were opposed to it, but because they might be mobbed by people starving for more information about Christ.

I believe the response those musicians received in Moscow is but a foreshadowing of the way the whole world will one day move. There will come a time when Christ will rule over all. In the meantime let us look outward, let us look upward, and let us look forward.


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Dear God, may I hunger for you and hunger to share your word. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 2.38 NRSV)

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Calvin Miller tells about a Pentecost Sunday he spent in Brussels, Belgium worshipping in the Cathedral of St. Michael. The worship service was in two languages both of which were foreign to him. Part of the service was spoken in Latin, of which he understood a few words. The rest of the service was spoken in Flemish which he did not understand at all. Since it was Pentecost Sunday he thought the unintelligible service might be about the Holy Spirit. He thumbed his English Bible to Acts 2 and tried to follow the cardinal who was leading the service. The cardinal was totally unaware that a Christian from America was there, spying on his litany but very much in need of the Lord.
Calvin Miller testifies that he was able to worship there far away from home in two unknown languages because, as he puts it, a fire was loose in the world that makes Jerusalem, Oklahoma, and Belgium all one.

There was a fire loose on that first Pentecost. That fire was fanned by the very wind of God.

Are you allowing the wind of God to blow on you?


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Dear God, may your spirit blow on me. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.
(1 Thessalonians 2.13 NRSV)

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A man named Allen Danforth had a dramatic conversion experience. Shortly afterward he was invited by a missionary evangelist to go to Ghana, West Africa. While there, he saw starvation and deprivation beyond comprehension. He was bombarded by one horror story after another. After a month in Africa, Allen boarded a plane for the United States. On the long flight home he asked, "Lord, why did you ever send me here? What can anybody do? It's absolutely hopeless."
Then Allen heard the voice of God. God told him that he would be held "accountable" for what he had seen. "I got a knot in my stomach," Allen recalls. "I didn't have a vision, but in my mind's eye I could see myself standing all alone before Christ, accounting for my life..." That experience became a priority in his life. "When I got off the plane," Allen says, "I didn't know anything about being a missionary, but I knew that I could share a vision. I could tell people what I'd seen."

Allen was alert to God's action in his life. Are you?


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Lord Jesus, help me to be alert to your action in my life. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

[janbear]

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
(James 5.16 NRSV)

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Sometime back a cardiologist at a California hospital conducted an experiment in healing. The study included 393 seriously ill cardiac patients. From this group 192 were selected randomly for special treatment. The special treatment was prayer. Selected people around the country were asked to pray for each of these 192 patients. Their conditions were described in detail. The people praying were to focus their prayers toward "beneficial healing and quick recovery." The remaining patients were given the usual medical care without prayer.
Ten months later, the results revealed a startling conclusion. The patients who were prayed for experienced markedly fewer incidences of cardiac related infections, pulmonary edema and mortality than did the 201 patients not prayed for. It's important to note that the patients selected for prayer did not even know they were being prayed for. And the people praying had never met the patients for whom they were asking Divine help. To them they were just names. And yet, their prayers worked!

If prayer can accomplish so much at a distance, what might happen in our lives and our church if we were to pray for those close at hand?


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Dear God, may I take the time to pray for those in need. Amen.
Ron Newhouse