Friday Favorites:

Some of my favorite Bible Verses:

1. Ephesians 2:8-9 was preached the night I saw my need for salvation and put my trust in Jesus Christ and asked God to save my lost soul.

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” 

2. 1 Corinthians 10:13 was the first verse that I ever memorized.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 

3. Romans 12:1-2 was preached the night that God called me into the ministry.  I remember that night as clear as if it happened yesterday.

“1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

4. Ephesians 4:11-12 was a passage of scripture that God showed me when I started pastoring.  I had asked Him to help me focus on what I needed to do in the ministry.

“11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:"

Do you have a favorite?


Chuck

Old Bay

The other afternoon was beautiful so I decided to sit outside on the boat dock while I did some needed reading.  About a half of chapter into it Bro. Berny walked down to the dock with a white, five-gallon bucket in his hand.  "I need to check my crab traps" he said, and he asked if I wanted to handle the net in case any tried to escape.  That sounded great to me.  I hadn't been crabbing in years.  He pulled up the first one, which was attached to the side of the dock where I had been reading.  You could tell by its condition that this trap has been in the business for a long time.  Twisted wires and bungee straps held together panels of moss covered grates, yet with all those years of operation the devise still served its purpose; there were crabs.  Eight in all had found their way to the fish head, but only three were "keepers", which was perfect; one for Bro. Berny, one for Sis. Cindy, and one for yours truly!

As you can see, those blue claws are about to have their lives spiced up.  The smell of Old Bay seasoning invokes wonderful memories of many crab feasts, but it isn't a great experience for the crab, it's the smell of death, as with various activities in many peoples lives.  Some love the smell of beer but the brew will eventually destroy their liver, or their family or their life.  It's the smell of death.  The smell of burning rubber may be evidence of a fast car on a city street until that young man who is showing off meets with a tragic end.  Be careful of what smells attract you, they may end up being the smell of death.  Your Death!


Chuck

"Thy Word" Wednesday

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:12

Don't Bug Me

The sun was rising over the Moriches Bay the other morning.  The air was cool and the birds where singing.  It was beautiful.  I hate to spoil the view, but the mosquitoes where terrible.  Why do those little pests have to ruin all the pleasant moments?

Sin always shows up when we are enjoying the pleasures of God's creation.  The life-sucking parasite reeks havoc on everything it can.  We need the repellent of prayer and the Word of God swatter.  That pests will always be around but we don't have to let them land and bite.

Chuck

Friday Favorites:

My favorite place to run is OUTSIDE.  Treadmills work in a pinch, but they are not my thing.  It just seems like such an unproductive exercise, lots of sweat and you get nowhere.  Reminds me of some jobs I've had in the past.  Come this winter, when there's 20" of snow on the ground and the temperature is 14 below I may be tempted to drag our collapsible treadmill out of the corner, but for right now I'll take the fresh air, the sun, and the open road.


“I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:”
1 Corinthians 9:26



Chuck (195)

"Thy Word" Wednesday

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” 

1 Corinthians 9:24

Super Tool

The grass needed to be cut today, no matter what the temperature predictions were.  I started early to beat the heat, but 15 minutes into the weed harvest I broke my mower.  The pull start sting snapped right at the starter clutch and so I had to rip the top off my mower.  It's a relatively easy fix ... if you have the right tools!  I couldn't find my 1/4" drive ratchet anywhere (Sorry if this term is too technical for you.  Simply replace it with 'Thing a ma jig'.)  Since it was only going to get hotter if I waited, and since the lawn was half cut, I really needed to get 'er done.  So I reach for my "Super Leatherman" and figure out what to do to get my mower apart.

This has got to be my favorite tool in the toolbox.  I can do just about anything with it, and have:

 * Gutted a deer and many squirrels
 * Re-wired several rooms in my house 
 * Trimmed drywall and molding
 * Cut down a Christmas Tree
 * Cut & bent Ductwork
 * Installed several doors
 * Auto, bike & weed-eater Repair

I think you get the point.

The Bible is the greatest tool that you can have in your toolbox.  It is so versatile that it can be used to fix your Marriage, your Finances, your Family, and your Eternal Future.  You can carry it everywhere and it requires little if any instructions to begin to use it and see immediate results.  It's light but indestructible.  It's design in simple, practical and will fit countless applications.  If you were ever stranded in a hostel world, I would recommend that if you could only have one tool, bring your Bible along.

Chuck

All Rise

Here I was, sitting in an airport in Shreveport, LA.  The clock was striking 12-Noon and an announcement comes over the P.A.; "Will you please stand for the playing of our National Anthem."  I had never heard that one before, with the exception of baseball games.  What was equally surprising is that everyone that I could see stood and faced the flag the was hanging from the rafters in the center of the concourse.  Even those who were walking to security or heading to the only food joint in that airport all stopped and waited for the music to finish.  Oh, and no one shouted "Play Ball!" either.  I can't image that happening in the Philadelphia International Airport, and if it did I don't suppose too many folks would stop or stand.  

As we should honor our Nation so should we honor our Lord.  There are time that we should stand when His Word is read, we should pause before we eat to say a word of thanks.  We should stop our work week on the Lord's Day and give Him our undivided attention.  Just as Patriotism is never out of style so we should never grow weary in Honoring our God.


Chuck (197)

Friday Favorites:

"If you don't take the time to be healthy, you'll have to take the time to be sick."

wellnesswork/bloomfire.com

Wordless Wednesday

(Yes I know it's Thursday ... I took Yesterday off)

The Home Stretch

This Blog seems to be turning into a runner's Blog, but that's what I've been doing a lot of lately, running.  The home stretch is defined as the portion of a racetrack from the final turn to the finish line, it's where the runner has the end in sight.  I have the finish line in view in a few areas of my life right now.  Last year, at this time, I was about to turn 50 and was 50 pounds over weight and dealing with the possibility of starting blood-pressure medicine, today my BP is around 122/71 and I'm 7 pounds from my goal.  Last year at this time I couldn't run a whole one mile, yesterday I ran 11, next week I plan to run 12 and, if all works well, I want to run 13.1 miles on my morning of my birthday.  That's the distance of a Half Marathon.  Some of my kids and I have ran in five races since March and are planning on a race each month through out the year.  Yes, if I can find some Winter ones I plan on running.  It is a good feeling to have the finish line in sight.

Yet with a any race, once you cross that line you don't hang up the shoes and stop running.  You look for the next track, the next race, the next challenge.  When the Apostle Paul said "I have finished my course" he wasn't anticipating retirement from the ministry but the sword of the executioner, because only physical death should stop the child of God from serving his Lord.  Find a race, train and complete it.  Set another goal, another challenge, work towards a good finish, collect the tee-shirt and move on to the next. We are always rounding another turn on to the Home Stretch.


Chuck (197)

Big Dog

This morning whilst running through Birmingham (NJ not AL) I had quite the surprise when this VERY big dog comes running across a lawn, barking and heading straight for me.  No, there wasn't a fence, and no, the owner was no where is sight.  I thought I was a going to be breakfast.  The big guy was only 20 feet from me when he came to a complete stop.  The barking continues and he followed me along the property line until I was around the corner.  I'm sure he was proud of warding off a stranger, and I was relieved that I still had my arms and legs.

I could see a small black box on the dog's collar, so it appears that there was an invisible fence around the perimeter of the property.  Fortunately for me that dog knew and respected his limits.  When we understand and respect the limits that God sets, everyone wins and no one gets hurt.  We don't run off and get lost or cause a mess in someone's life.  Everybody benefits when lines are defined and limits are enforced.  


Chuck (196)

Friday Favorites:

My FAVORITE Fast Food Restaurant is Chick-Fil-A.

I never went to one growing up, never really knew they existed until one of my wonderful DIL's suggested it.  She is not a red meat eater but chicken sandwiches are on her menu of eatable items.  After my first visit there I fell in love with the place.  We seldom hit the Burger joints any more, nothing against them, but those chicken sandwiches are great.  Oh and they're also healthier.  And besides all that, all Chick-Fil-A franchises have a policy of not opening on Sunday.  The founder of the chain, Trueet Cathy, has stated that the business exists "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."  Sounds good to me! 

"Eat More Chicken!"

Chuck (194!!!!)

Sock Monkey!

This PIC is from GB#2's birthday dinner the other night at Chick-Fil-A, and you can see clearly one of the presents that she received, a Sock Monkey.  She has a few of them already but one is worn out and another is pink, so she was excited to get another "Real" Sock Monkey as a replacement.  There are lots of people who take this Sock Monkey thing seriously.  There are web sites, there is a Facebook page that you can "Like", there are festivals to attend and different exhibits found in various museums.

Anyone can take the simplest item, or the strangest ideas and create a cult following.  A few examples: The Flying Spaghetti Monster, L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology, and of course the latest fiasco from Harold Camping.  These examples runs the gamut from Bazaar to Blatant disregard of the truth.  God is not a fictitious creature of imagination, nor a θ (theta), nor do His truths need to be discovered through the engineering calculations of man's wisdom and education.  Some people will bow down to the strangest things.  “Then said Jesus ... If ye continue in my word ... ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)  Monkey, Madman, Mathematics or Messiah ... Think before you bows.

Chuck (198)

"Thy Word" Wednesday

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” 

Psalm 33:12

SPAM

I hope you don't consider my Blog to be that, but I do hope that you will pause a few minutes to recognize that on this date, back in 1937, the Hormel Food Corporation introduced SPAM into the food markets of America.  Happy Birthday to you! All kidding aside, I like SPAM.  We often ate it when I was a kid.  Mom would slice it for sandwiches or we would fry slices up for breakfast along side of eggs.  It is also great for dicing & mixing into an omelet.  Yes I know the jokes: Some People Are Missing; Yes I've heard the Monty Python Skit; Yes I've read the ingredients.  But I still like SPAM.

Hormel has been able to market this product all over the world and it has caught on in many different countries yet one of the down sides for SPAM here in the US has always been it's price.  It is manufactured cheep and sells for cheep.  You may ask, 'Why is that a down side?'  Many folks in this country believe that it's poor people food. 

There are many people that have the wrong opinion about true, biblical religion.  There are no thrills, there is no extra cost.  It's simple and easy to practice, so basic that even children can take part in it.  Many have said that religion is just a pacifier for the poor.  Too many people would rather make fun of it instead of partaking in it.  The cost of this faith is low because the price has already been paid by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  The way is simple because that is God's way of making available to whosoever will come.  Simple faith.  Nothing extra needed.

Chuck

Friday Favorites:

This week's 'Friday Favorite' is a quote from one of my grand daughters.

"I know everyone that I know.  But I don't know strangers."

GB#3