TRY TO UNDER-REACT

PHILIPPIANS 2:14-15

on February 28, a Florida resident Latreasa Goodman called 911 three times. The emergency? McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets. She had paid for them, but McDonald's wanted to switch them for a McDouble, and Ms. Goodman appealed to 911, saying, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." She was cited for misusing the 911 system.

Last February, Jean Fortune, another Florida resident, called 911 because the local Burger King was taking too long to fill his order. What's more they didn't have lemonade. He wanted the police to come to the scene and settle the matter.

I guess you might say these were over-reactions. It's frustrating when a fast-food place doesn't get your order right, but it's not really an emergency, is it?

The truth is, many of the things that stress us aren't really worth it. We have a tendency to take little events and blow them up into big things -- especially in relationships. In the movie Ruthless People, Danny DeVito wants to kill his wife because "I hate the way she licks stamps." We all have a tendency to blow little things out of proportion.

In Colossians, Paul gives some very simple and straightforward advice. "Put up with each other." (Colossians 3:13 CEV) The King James Version uses the word 'forbear,' but the CEV captures the real meaning of the Greek.

An important part of living the Christian life is learning to put up with annoying situations and the annoying habits of some people, responding instead with a spirit of love and patience. When events irritate you, strive to under-react.

Paul said, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing. Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God." (Philippians 2:14-15)

An Atheist Comments On Christianity in Africa.

Matthew Parris, a writer for the London Times and a 'devout' atheist, grew up in what is now known as Malawi, a small country in Africa. He returned for a visit shortly before Christmas, and the work he witnessed there among Christian organizations challenged his world view. In a Times column, he wrote ...

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

You can read the entire column here. As I read this article, I kept thinking, "This is how the church should appear to non-Christians." The article also reveals, I believe, what non-believers are looking for -- what they hope to see -- in people who profess the Christian faith.

Let The Weak Say I Am Strong

Joel 3:10

The average person talks to himself or herself thousands of times a day. For many people, much of that self-talk is negative. "You're so stupid!" one says to oneself. "Why can't you do anything right? You'll never get a break. You'll never succeed. You don't have a chance. You'll never change." These words reinforce what we believe about ourselves, and they influence the actions we take.

We find it far too easy to believe in the power of our weaknesses and failures; we find it far too difficult to believe in the power of the God who came to transform us into his likeness.

God spoke through Joel this simple phrase: "Let the weak say 'I am strong.'" (Joel 3:10) He was talking about the day of battle; he was guaranteeing his people a victory.

Every day is the day of battle for followers of Christ. We fight temptation, discouragement, apathy, and failure -- day in, day out. And in the midst of battle, God reminds us that victory is ours. Therefore, let the weak say I am strong -- for (as David proclaimed when facing Goliath) "The battle is the Lord's."

CHANGE YOUR COURSE

DEUTERONOMY 30:19-20

As a ship approached the coast of New England, a heavy fog set in. The ship's radar detected what appeared to be another vessel in its path, so the captain sent the following message: "Change your course 10 degrees port."

Shortly they received a reply: "Change YOUR course 10 degree starboard."

The captain became annoyed and said: "I am a Lt. Commander of the U.S. Navy. Change your course."

This was the response: "I am a seaman 3rd class. Change your course."

By now the captain was furious. His message read: "This is a battleship! Change your course."

Moments later a message came across the wire that said: "This is a Lighthouse! Change Your Course!"

There are certain laws at work in the universe, and no amount of power, or money, or influence can change them.

These laws are God's laws. He designed them to work for us, not against us. In order for this to happen, we sometimes have to change our course. His laws don't change; we must change.

When we try to find happiness, fulfillment, and meaning in life through any method other than a personal relationship with God, we are setting ourselves up for failure.

But it doesn't have to be that way. We can change our course at anytime. We can choose life over death; we can choose spiritual blessings over self-destruction.

God doesn't change his course to accommodate us, but if we are willing to change our course, to chart the path of lives in his direction, he will to open his arms wide to receive us, and will shower us with blessings from heaven.

These are his words...

"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life..." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

2 CHRONICLES 31:21

Charles Lamb said "New Year's Day is every man's birthday." We're just a couple of weeks away from changing the calendar, so we've all got a birthday coming up. We'll all have a chance to reflect a little bit on the past 365 days and, hopefully, focus a lot on the next 365 days. If we choose, we can wipe slate clean from the past and begin a new day. There's nothing special about January 1, of course, but there is something special about the decision to break away from old habits and develop new ones. It can be done any day -- January 1 is as good a day as any. The important thing is to devote oneself to doing better and trying harder.

It was said of Hezekiah: "In everything he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." (2 Chronicles 31:21)

My resolutions for 2009 are centered in this verse. I want to seek God more and to serve him better.

ONE WEEK TO LIVE

JOHN 13:1

What would you do if you knew you had only week to live? Would you go away? Would you go home? Would you do some last minute sinning, or some last minute repenting? Would you be sad? Angry? Hopeful? Afraid? How would you spend those final hours?

Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. (John 13:1)

When Jesus had one week to live, he chose to wash his disciples' feet. He did the work of a common slave, ministering to those who were closest to him. He washed their feet (John 13), he comforted them (John 14), he encouraged them (John 15-16), prayed for them (John 17), and then he died for them. He spent the last week of his life fulfilling his purpose; he spent the last week of his life being a servant.

...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

You and me, we have a week to live: this week — and most probably hundreds more. I want to spend this week fulfilling my purpose, doing that which is most important in terms of eternity: serving Christ by serving others.

AN UNLIKELY AMBITION

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18

I came across this story and I am going to be using it in an upcoming sermon but I could not wait to share it.

It's the story of Ronald Mallet, a man who lost his father to a smoking related illness 53 years ago. When his father died, his lifelong quest began: to build a time machine that would enable him to travel into the past, see his father again, and warn him to change his lifestyle.

It sounds crazy, I know. If Ronald Mallet was a wild-eyed Emmet Brown type (that was Christopher Lloyd in the Back to the Future trilogy), it would be easy to laugh him off as a nutcase.

But he's nothing like Emmet Brown. He is a tenured theoretical physicist at the University of Connecticut, only the 79th African American to earn a doctorate in physics. Why did he choose physics? Because of his crazy dream: he wanted to find a way to travel through time, because he desperately wanted to see his father once again.

He hid his obsession hidden for decades, knowing that if the secret got out, he would become a laughingstock. So he worked at home each night in solitude, and along the way made some amazing discoveries -- discoveries that the academic community is beginning to pay attention to.

Read his story if you have time; it's fascinating. It also illustrates how there are many things that drive us to choose the career we choose -- and if the motive is strong enough, it can drive us to do the seemingly impossible.

I can't imagine devoting my life to something as crazy as time travel. Instead, I've devoted my life (we've devoted our lives) to something that many find crazier -- the foolishness of preaching.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Our calling is not to rewrite the past but to rewrite the future. Our words can change a destiny; our work makes a difference for all eternity. So let's devote ourselves with the focus and determination to this foolish task.