Sunday, July 19, 2020
MerkV814
Sunday, July 19, 2020
* The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress. -- Joseph Joubert (1754 - 1824) French Philosopher
* Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood -- the virtues that made America. -- Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919) 26th President of the United States
* Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is hard to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline. -- William L. Shirer (1904 - 1993) American Journalist and Historian
* Just because something hurts lie hell doesn't mean you ain't supposed to do it. Sometimes you have to go through the hurt and the pain and the suffering to get away from someone who ain't treating you right. -- From the movie, A Madea Family Funeral
* "Others." -- William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army
* Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human. -- Henri Nouwen
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Seeing is Believing
Scripture Reading — Judges 9:50-57
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” — Luke 23:47
All that Abimelek’s soldiers could see was a dead Abimelek. Ironically, his last command as a self-appointed king had helped him escape an embarrassing death at the hands of a woman—but not really. God set the record straight: with Abimelek’s death “God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.”
Corrupt leadership has its consequences. No matter who holds positions of power, God administers justice in line with his perfect will. Though we may not always understand his timing, God’s justice is equal to the crime committed.
Except in one case. When Jesus died on the cross, the centurion “praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man.’” And the people who had come to watch a spectacle “beat their breasts” (Luke 23:47-48). Why would God allow an innocent man to die so horribly? Could that be just?
We have to admit that we, along with our leaders, cannot pay the true price for all our unrighteous behavior. Instead, an innocent man, the Son of God himself, perfect and without sin, died willingly for all our sins and trespasses. That’s God’s compassionate, merciful justice.
Jesus Christ died, Jesus Christ was buried, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”
Prayer: For your compassionate justice to me, the worst of sinners, I thank you, Lord. Please grant wisdom and righteousness to all who lead your people. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
email: to...@thisistoday.net
TODAY is copyright © 2019, the BTGH
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Pop
From
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Forgiveness Fix
By Paul Lyons
Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. -- John Milton
When I was seventeen, Dad gave me a compliment. I remember it because I think it was the first one. Until that point, nothing I had done seemed good enough for Dad.
When I was young, he would take us — his seven sons — down to help with his janitorial business at St. Thomas Grade School, the same school I attended. The other students lived in big houses, but our family of nine lived in a three-bedroom duplex. I always thought we lived in half a house. (Keep reading)
Reprinted by permission of Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC. In order to protect the rights of the copyright holder, no portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent. All rights reserved.
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Victory Parade
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession. 2 Corinthians 2:14
Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:14–17
In 2016 when the Chicago Cubs baseball team won the World Series for the first time in more than a century, some sources said that five million people lined the parade route and gathered at a downtown rally to celebrate the championship.
Victory parades are not a modern invention. A famous ancient parade was the Roman Triumph, in which victorious generals led a procession of their armies and captives through crowded streets.
Such parade imagery was likely in Paul’s mind when he wrote to the Corinthian church thanking God for leading believers “as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14). I find it fascinating that in this imagery, followers of Christ are the captives. However, as believers we’re not forced to participate, but are willing “captives,” willingly part of the parade led by the victorious, resurrected Christ. As Christians, we celebrate that through Christ’s victory, He’s building His kingdom and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).
When we talk about Jesus’s victory on the cross and the freedom it gives believers, we help spread the “aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). And whether people find the aroma to be the pleasing reassurance of salvation or the odor of their defeat, this unseen but powerful fragrance is present everywhere we go.
As we follow Christ, we declare His resurrection victory, the victory that makes salvation available to the world.
By Lisa M. Samra
REFLECT & PRAY
Jesus is our victorious King. For further study, see christianuniversity.org/NT109-06.
What does Jesus’s victory on the cross mean to you? How are you living out the power of His resurrection?
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Up to this point in his letter, Paul has alluded to the pain he’s endured, including extreme physical dangers (2 Corinthians 1:8-10) and having to deal with serious divisions in the church (see 1 Corinthians 1:10-17). These divisions may have been caused by the “many” Paul mentions: “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit” (2 Corinthians 2:17). Besides that, a church member had been committing incest (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). God preserved Paul and his co-workers (2 Corinthians 1:10-11), unity was being restored in the church (7:8-13), and they had dealt with the sexual sin (2:5-11). This is why Paul’s letter takes a triumphant turn: “But thanks be to God . . .” (v. 14). He concludes the section by affirming his apostolic authority: “In Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God” (v. 17). -- Tim Gustafson
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Today’s Video: 'Praise Him Forever' Chris Tomlin Live Performance
“Praise Him you beating hearts
Sing for the life He's given
Praise Him you rescued ones
Join in the sound of Heaven
From every mountaintop
To every wild ocean
Oh, hear all the universe sing praise”
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Today’s Verse: Isaiah 46:9 ... 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
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Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 22:6 ... 6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Our Daily Journey with God
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Wings over the Mountains of Life
A MountainWings Moment
Make A Plan!
Direct link: www.CoachB.tv/0761
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It Took Six Days To Write
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was the 1986 John Hughes comedy starring Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck. Hughes not only directed the film but he also wrote it. Even more astonishing is the fact that it took him only six days to write the entire script.
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Verse of the Day
From that time Jesus began to announce, 'Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!' -- Matthew 4:17 (CEB)
Voice of the day
One of the things that has to be faced is the process of waiting to change the system, how much we have got to do to find out who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. -- Ella Baker
Prayer of the day
May we be rebelliously optimistic enough to name and address the systems at work in our world today, and work for change, oh God who declared that your Kingdom is near. Amen.
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Even though
You can be happy even when you are not. You can be positive even though there is no positive circumstance to be found in your world.
The smallest light can shine even in the darkest darkness. And it can make an enormous difference.
Some may call you a fool for seeing the positive possibilities when you’re overwhelmed with difficulties. Yet you know that focusing on the positive is the most workable, realistic thing you can do.
For what would you achieve by being miserable? Not only is misery unpleasant to yourself and others, it accomplishes nothing of value.
Instead, when the world tells you to be miserable, don’t listen, don’t buy it. Turn your eyes toward the positive possibilities and focus your energy on the best of them.
You can acknowledge the reality of what is, the reality of your troubles, without letting them poison your attitude. Then look up, look forward, and move toward the best of what can be.
Copyright Ralph S. Marston, Jr. Used by permission. From The Daily Motivator® at www.dailymotivator.com
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A SPECIAL BEAUTY
By Joseph J. Mazzella
I was 17 years old. Along with a dozen other boys I had made a long trip to Iowa in order to see a college that I was thinking of attending. While the trip had been fun for the most part, now that I was there I was feeling depressed, alone, and isolated. I was missing my family and was realizing that I wouldn’t be seeing them very much if I went to school here. I was also missing the Appalachian mountains of my home. I loved walking in their forests of Maple, Oak, Beech, Birch, and Hickory trees. I loved how the leaves turned a thousand shades of green in the Spring and then became an sea of red, gold, and orange in the Fall. I loved the smell of the Clover and countless wild flowers that grew in our meadows. These things were a part of me.
Here in Iowa everything was flat. The grass looked burnt and brown. All that I could smell was a mixture of corn, mud, and pigs. I walked outside the dormitory of the college and sat on an old stump. I closed my eyes and dreamed of being back home again. When I finally opened them, however, I saw something that touched my soul. It was a Prairie Sunset. It seemed to fill the sky from horizon to horizon. Gold, red, purple and pink clouds all flowed together in a picture painted by Heaven’s own hand. It was so huge that it took my breath away. It made our mountain sunsets seem tiny by comparison. I was filled with wonder and felt a special Oneness with God. I realized too that I had been foolish and judgmental. This place too had its own special beauty. This place too was a part of God’s Creation.
Over the years to come I learned something else. Each of us has a special beauty as well. Each of us has our own unique talents and abilities. Each of us has a beautiful, powerful love that only we can share. And God wants us to share it. May you always do so then. May your life always shine bright. And may your love glow from your soul like a sunset on the Prairie.
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THE AWAITED VISIT
by Ron Tranmer
I decided to go to a rest home
to see an old friend one day.
I stopped to speak to a lady
who I noticed was looking my way.
She was happy that I came over.
There was something she wanted to say.
She smiled and said from her wheelchair,
“My boy will come visit today.”
It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen him,
He’s always quite busy you know…
He doesn’t live too far from here,
And he knows that I love him so.
Each morning as I rise from bed
My prayer is the same as I say,
Father In Heaven, I ask but one thing,
That my boy will come visit today.
He was always such a good boy.
And the only child we had.
He was only 10 years old
When I lost my husband … his dad.
He married soon after college.
And got a great job with good pay
He calls me at times on the telephone,
But I know he’ll come visit today.
I’m lonely here in the rest home.
How I long for my son to come by.
They tell me my health is now failing,
But he’ll visit before I must die.”
I leaned over and gave her a hug
And the tears on my cheeks wiped away.
She smiled and said, there’s no need to cry,
My boy will come visit today.”
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Dear God of My Praise,
I lift up Your name and praise You this day, Your day.
For You are the mighty God, creator of the universe, lover of mankind, sustainer of all, most magnificent and awesome father, most caring and devoted nurturer, most powerful, all-knowing and ever-present.
How can I even count the ways that You are worthy of my praise?
Thank You for Your gifts of love and life.
Thank You for Your promise of eternal life with You through Your righteous Son Jesus Christ.
Thank You for Jesus my Savior and Your Holy Spirit who convicts and seals and guides me each day.
Thank You for Your Word, The Bible, which illuminates, instructs, and leads me.
I am grateful for who You are, all You do and all that You will do.
In the name of Jesus, I humbly come before You, Amen.
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Knowing
Who We Are
Read: Psalm 131
Lord, my heart is not haughty . . . (v. 1 KJV)
May I make a suggestion? Read the passages in this set of devotionals aloud. Poetry (like preaching) is an oral art form and is meant to be read out loud. You hear the rhythm and cadence of the words when they are spoken. In this psalm, for example, there is a string of words that begin with the letter h: “heart,” “haughty,” “high,” “hope” and “henceforth” are among the most important words in the psalm, and reading them aloud helps you recognize their unique sound.
Another important aspect of poetry is conciseness. Poets use an economy of words, and that is certainly the case in this three-verse psalm. The psalm is attributed to David, and he was a man whose blood ran hot. Yet here is this beautiful psalm about peace, contentment, and trust. Like all of us, David was a complicated person and had conflicting feelings. He expresses the depths of his soul with great beauty.
The dark side of a psalm like this is that it feeds into the sense of shame so many of us carry. There is a difference, though, between shame and humility, and this psalm is about humility. It’s about having a realistic sense of who we are and who God is. “I’ve settled down,” is another way to put it. Augustine famously said in his Confessions that “our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” That sentiment finds its inspiration here.
As you pray, thank God for passages that help us love the Bible and its beautiful words that feed our souls.
—Jeff Munroe; Words of Hope
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Here’s to Your Health
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Do Sweet Drinks Boost Your Risk for Cancer?French people who consume sweet drinks frequently are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
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Today’s Recipe …
SPICY GRILLED EGGPLANT
This grilled side goes well with pasta or grilled meats. Thanks to the Cajun seasoning, it gets more attention than an ordinary veggie. —Greg Fontenot, The Woodlands, Texas
Prep/Total Time: 20 min.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 small eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp lime juice
3 tsps Cajun seasoning
To Prepare:
Brush eggplant slices with oil. Drizzle with lime juice; sprinkle with Cajun seasoning. Let stand 5 minutes.
Grill eggplant, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat until tender, 4-5 minutes per side. Yield: 8 servings.
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What’s on the Web?
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All-Pro Dad Play of the Day … 3 Ways to Roughhouse You Son Will Love
Have you ever received a knee right to the kidney? It’s pretty uncomfortable. But when it’s followed by the uncontrollable giggling of a child, it’s pretty easy for the pain to melt into laughter. Roughhousing with your son is a blast. Not to mention, it's a terrific way to build deep bonds, get some exercise, and grow your child's emotional intelligence. This isn’t just with toddlers, either. Teenagers can roughhouse, too. Although it gets a little more challenging with a teen, as he may be able to take you.
Many of us worry about safety when it comes to roughhousing—and rightly so. However, we can’t overcorrect. There are many benefits to rough physical play for our sons, so the answer isn't to throw it out altogether. Here are 3 ways to roughhouse your son will love (and that prevent those pesky trips to the ER).
Huddle up with your kids and ask about ways you can roughhouse together.
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Word of the Day: Teleconference
TEL-ə-kahn-fər-əns
Part of speech: noun
Origin: English, mid-20th century
1 A conference with participants in different locations linked by telecommunications devices.
Examples of Teleconference in a sentence
"We'll be on a teleconference for this meeting, because people are in New York and London."
"The teleconference starts at noon, so make sure you have your phone with you."
About Teleconference
Teleconference is a contraction of the English words telephone and conference. If you want to get even more specfic about the etymology, "tele" means far off and "phone" is sound in Greek. In Latin, "conferre" means bring together. So we've got a mishmash of Greek and Latin bringing together people with sound.
Did you Know?
President Rutherford B. Hayes commented to Alexander Graham Bell about the telephone, “That’s an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?” Well, about 250 years later, almost everyone has one in their pocket. And business people around the world are able to communicate through teleconference.
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MEET AARP GAMER REGAN C.
This will make you feel better today:
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English
Fascinating Facts About the Alphabet
The English word alphabet comes from the Latin word alphabetum, which in turn comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha and beta.
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10 Behaviors That Can Lead to Domestic Violence
Anne Peterson
Domestic violence doesn't just appear one day; there are certain signs that a relationship is unhealthy.
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God’s Strength in our Shortcomings
Moses feared he didn’t have what it would take to do the big things God was asking of him. Sound familiar? Watch the video to be reminded that even when God asks us to do bold, brave things, He also promises “I will be with you.”
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Was Jesus a revolutionary?—Abisko National Park, SwedenBelieve That God Is God
http://www.powerminute.com/p/pm2020-02-26.mp3
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Did you miss any of these recent podcasts?
• When Your Child Is Miraculously Meant to Be Yours
• Miracles, Money, and Divine Intervention
• FRIEND FRIDAY - Incest, Murder, and a Miracle
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Compiled by Marilyn L. Van Driesen
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