Just for Today

Just for today....
I will choose and display the right attitudes.

Just for today....
I will determine and act on important priorities.

Just for today....
I will know and follow healthy guidelines.

Just for today....
I will communicate with and care for my family.

Just for today....
I will practice and develop good thinking.

Just for today....
I will make and keep proper commitments.

Just for today....
I will earn and properly manage finances.

Just for today....
I will deepen and live out my faith.

Just for today....
I will initiate and invest in solid relationships.

Just for today....
I will plan for and model generosity.

Just for today....
I will embrace and practice good values.

Just for today....
I will seek and experience improvements.

Just for today....
I will act on these decisions and practice these disciplines, and

Then, one day,
I will see the compounding results of a day lived well.

Remember:

GOOD DECISIONS - DAILY DISCIPLINE = A plan without a payoff

DAILY DISCIPLINE - GOOD DECISIONS = Regimentation without reward

GOOD DECISIONS + DAILY DISCIPLINE = a masterpiece of potential



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Story of Einstein

An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the problem Science has with God. He asked one of his new Christian students to stand.

Professor: You are a Christian, aren’t you, son?
Student: Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Professor: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Professor: My brother died of cancer, even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is God good, then? Hmm?
: (Student was silent)
Professor: You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Professor: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From.. God.
Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Professor: So who created evil?
: (Student didn’t answer)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immortality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them?
: (Student had no answer)
Professor: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son.. have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your God.
Student: No, sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God, for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Professor: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, Science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my Faith.
Professor: Yes, Faith. And that is the problem Science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student: No, sir, there isn’t.
: (The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of Heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
: (There was a pon-drop silence in the Lecture Theatre)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light… But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called Darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, You would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is, your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality. You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Professor: If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
: (The professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
: (The class was in uproar)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
: (The class broke out into laughter)
Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? .. No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable and Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures?
: (The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable)
Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student: That is it, sir.. exactly! The link between man and God is Faith. That is all that keeps things alive and moving!
: ----------------------------------------------------
: That student was Albert Einstein.
: Brilliant.
: ----



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spelling: A

1. aard·vark [ahrd-vahrk] –nouna large, nocturnal, burrowing mammal, Orycteropus afer,  ofcentral and southern Africa, feeding on ants and termites andhaving a long, extensile tongue, strong claws, and long ears.
2. ab·a·cus [ab-uh-kuhs, uh-bak-uhs] a device for making arithmetic calculations, consisting of aframe set with rods on which balls or beads are moved.
3. ab·a·lo·ne [ab-uh-loh-nee]–noun
   a large mollusk of the genus Haliotis,  having a bowllike shellbearing a row of respiratory holes, the flesh of which is used forfood and the shell for ornament and as a source of mother-of-pearl.

MY JUDGMENT

MY JUDGMENT

            I was standing at the end of at the end a long, endless queue of people, waiting impatiently for my turn to enter that door that led to what seems to be an auditorium. When my turn to enter came, a huge auditorium, full of people came into view.

            Though it was full of people, I was surprised to notice the eerie silence. I could hear some whispers here and there, but generally, it was silent. Then, a man entered through a small side door on the left carrying what seems to be a long pole. He stood up and all eyes focused on the rather large door on the right side of the stage. He said, “Hear yea, hear yea. Everybody, on your feet, for our honourable judge,” as he tapped the floor three times with his pole.

            We all stood up, and all eyes focused on the rather large door on the right side of the stage. “That should be the judge,” I thought. He was rather tall and very impressive, elegant, and even magnificent. His presence could be felt in the four corners of that hall. We could only gape at Him. He walked to the judge’s seat. As he sat, he said in a relaxed powerful voice that pierced the heart and soul of everyone, “Let the prosecutor and the defender come in.”

            A third door at the back opened and in came to two opposing sides. First, the prosecutor, he was also big, smelled foul, and hissed as he walked to the front. He sat on the left side facing the judge, and turned his back and stared – at me. He smiled but all I could see was the most cruel pair of eyes I’ve ever seen. I tried to look elsewhere, evading his stare. I felt my heartbeats and my knees tremble.

            Then, the defender came. He walked quietly to his seat on the right side facing the judge. Before he sat down, I noticed his hands. Each had a hole in it. He also turned around and looked at me. It was the most compassionate pair of eyes I have ever seen.

            Three more taps on the floor and everyone sat and kept quiet. It was a nervous silence – eerie and nervous. The prosecutor, the accuser stood up and started talking. “You,” his finger pointed to me, “you are first.” Someone pushed me to the platform. I didn’t even see who it was.

            The prosecutor then started his litany of my sins. I was shocked at how detailed and precise he was at narrating them. Even the things I did in secret were now announced for everyone to hear. At the corner of my eyes I could see some people whispering and some others giggling. They were talking about me, my sins. Oh, if I could only melt away right then and there. If I could only disappear at will. Imagine my most embarrassing secrets being announced for everyone to hear. The prosecutor ended with a roar – an insulting sarcastic roar. “She belongs to hell! Sentence her to hell. No one deserves hell more than she does.” Then, he sat down.

            Again, there was a hush in the room I expected the judge to echo what the prosecutor said. “She does deserves to be in hell!”

            Then, the defendant stood up. “Your honor,” he started. “She is not guilty.” Everyone reacted. “Not guilty? How can that be? She’s guilty! Guilty, guilty!”

            I could only bow my head down in admission.

            The prosecutor stood up again. In an angry voice, he announced, “the sin of covetousness?” The defender said, “Not guilty.”

            “What about the sins of commission? When she did what she should not have done?” “Not guilty,” my defender said.

            “What about the sins omission? When she did not do what she ought to do?” “Not guilty.”

            “The sin of lying and cheating?” “Not guilty.”

            “The sin of hatred?” “Not guilty”

            “What?” the prosecutor screamed. And my defender stretched out his open hands and said, “Not guilty, Your Honor. Because of this,” and he showed everyone his nail-pierced hands. The Judge stood up and with a powerful compelling voice declared the verdict, “Not guilty.”

            It’s true. It is true. Those who are in Christ have been forgiven. We have been declared not guilty. Amen and amen!

Job’s Wife

        I used to be wealthy... very wealthy. My husband and I had many children. Each one of them had a considerable amount of riches – animals, land, gold, and slaves. And we, oh ho ho, we’re probably the richest in our land. But the most amazing thing is how my husband, instead of becoming arrogant, became all the more close to God. He remained humble and obedient to God – honouring Him with every wealth we had.

        My husband was one of God’s favoured men. He loved God so much... so much that whenever our children had a party, he would offer sacrifices to the Lord the day right after the party. You know just in case my children sinned during the party.

        Well, as rumors had it, one day, Satan went to God and asked if he could touch my husband. According to him, the only reason why my husband loved God was because God bribed him with wealth, and children. You know, wealth is from God and children are blessings from God. It was double the portion of blessings, actually.

        Of course, God will say yes. He trusted my husband. He was so sure that my husband truly loved Him, with or without the blessings. So, to prove God wrong, Satan went on a rampage, and in one swift blow, he took all our wealth and children. How did he do it? Did you not hear? Our children were having this huge celebration, when fire rained from Heaven, as if to convince us that it came from God. Oh, of course, we knew better. We knew that the fire came from the evil one. The fire killed all our children and burned everything we owned – as in everything. One day, we were one big, happy, wealthy family, and the next day, we were poor, and childless! As if, I was barren. And as if that wasn’t enough, I was so shocked to see my husband covered with bleeding, oozing sores – boils from his head to toes. Ah! What has happened? How did all these happen? This holy, wealthy man is now someone whom nobody wants to look at. He’s so gross. Eew.

        And what did I do? What did I say? What could you have said? Oh, come on! If you were in my shoes, what could you have said? Wouldn’t you say that? Who would have not said what I said?

        You see your good husband, a good man, suffering in that way. Why shouldn’t he curse God? He does not deserve this. He is a good man. He is a good man. I would rather see him dead than be covered with boils like that.

        This was several years ago. I have left him since then – couldn’t stand seeing him that way. I took what little is left from what he had and left. I thought at the very least, I will not see him die. Of course, he will die, or so I thought. For who will survive those infected sores? No one!

        I came back last week. I got tired of touring the world actually, so I came back. And then, I visited these old familiar places, went back to where our property was, and I was surprised to see an even bigger house – more animals, wider vineyards, and more servants. And then, and then, to the shock of my life, a man came out. He was handsome, and, and, he looked like my husband. He is my husband! He is clean and smooth. He even looked younger and more handsome than he was years back... before the... boils.

        And then, and then, from where I was, a beautiful woman came out of the house, followed by children – many children. They all kissed him goodbye. There were on their way to school. Are these his children? Is that woman his wife?

        Whatever happened? Has God given back to him what Satan has taken away? Has He even doubled it? It seems He has. And why am I not in the picture? Oh, ohh, ohh (wails loud and long)

        Oh God, I’m sorry. Please forgive me for asking Job, my husband, to curse you and die. I’m so sorry...

A NIGHT IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE

        One terrifying Halloween night, a young man who was dared by his friends, approached an old, dilapidated, abandoned house at the end of a deserted cul de sac. His friends dared him to stay for one night in this house that everybody feared. Haunted stories about this house have been going around and this young man, known for his courage and bravery, accepted the dare, saying, “I will stay for one night in that house and nothing wrong can happen to me.”

        Reliable sources claimed that on nights, especially Halloween nights, when there was a full moon, they heard the sound of chains being pulled while blood curdling screams can be heard from the background. On other nights, an anguished moaning came from the windows, where, if one took a peek, the three dead former owners could be seen walking in their funeral attires, plotting their revenge against their killers.

        That Halloween night, the brave young man clutching his father’s shotgun, cringed as he walked to the haunted house. He looked up and saw that indeed the moon was full. When he reached the house, he swung his sleeping bag and canteen through a broken window, climbed through the tree, and entered the house. Lighted by the full moonlight that seeped through the holes in the roof and ceiling, he found his way to one of the bedrooms after he walked through cobwebs, trash, broken furniture, and torn curtains. He laid out his sleeping bag next to the fireplace in the very spot where the former owners supposedly gasped their last terrified breath.

        He heard so many sounds as he tried to close his eyes, lizards saying, “Tuk-cooo,” doors and windows opening and closing slowly, and making that eerie horrible sound. Even the rustling sound of the leaves on the trees around the house combine with the many nocturnal insects and birds to even heighten the uneasy feeling of freight and terror.

        The young man consoled himself by thinking, “They are just sounds. They will not hurt me.” And then, a thunderstorm came. And with it, the flash of lightning and sparks of light in the room. And these are now creating some forms of moving shadowy figures in the room. He looked around and saw “someone” floating towards him, his hands ready to strangle him. He closed his eyes tight, and waited for the cold hands to touch his neck but... nothing touched him.

        When he opened his eyes, there they were: two wide burning eyes were at his feet staring at h8im. As if someone left his head at his feet, facing him, and now, his eyes are focused at him. He thought, “Now, these are for real, there really is a monster in this house, and he is in this very room.” He looked again, and there they were. He closed his eyes and he looked again, and again, and again, hoping that the pair of eyes would disappear, but they just stayed there. They continued to stare at the terrified young man. Suddenly, he realized one thing. His father’s shotgun was beside him. He mustered all the courage he had, slid his right hand to the gun’s trigger and with his left hand propped himself up, and while sitting down, aimed at the pair of eyes. He shot and then screamed so loudly that the neighbours were awakened and thy all rushed to the haunted house.

        They all went to the house where the young man’s screams has not stopped. What they saw baffled them. He had shot his toes.

        When darkness is all around us, we cannot see clearly. We see things that are not even there. And we make the wrong decision and the wrong move.

        Jesus Christ warned that we should not walk in darkness. He even called Himself “The Light” that will make our ways visible, clear, and therefore, correct.

        As Christians, we should not walk in darkness. We have the light of the world in us and with us. We don’t need to see things that are not there. We don’t have to shoot our own toes.

REFLECTIONS FOR THE LORD’S SUPPER SUNDAY

            “Our Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed...”(1 Corinthians 11:23). Immediately, our wandering attention is caught and we are compelled to focus on the unfolding drama of an experience of a person that finds no rival anywhere else in terms of the intensity of its pain and on the other hand, the boundless good that it would bring to humanity.

            “Our Lord Jesus...”: such a powerful confirmation of the identity of Jesus. He is Lord. He is not just any other guy with the name Jesus (which was not exactly a rare name in those days). He is the Lord. He is not even to be classified with any other powerful man in the political or social scenery. He is the Lord Jesus.

            “Our Lord Jesus...”: such a powerful confirmation of our unusual spiritual privilege. He is not only the Lord Jesus. He is OUR Lord Jesus. He is not a stranger. To others, He may be the judge. To others, He may be an acquaintance. To many others, He may be just a name. To some other people, He may just be a person whose historicity is of doubtful certainty and whose claims in life are open to disbelieving questions. To us, He is OUR Lord. He is not only just any Lord. He is OURS. He is not only OURS, We are HIS.

            “Our Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed...”: such a silence – generating description of the reign of darkness. It was at night. It happened in the darkness of the night. It happened at a time usually devoted to finding rest for tired bodies and dried up spirits.

            “On the night He was betrayed...”: there would be no rest for the Saviour that night. There would be no soothing words for the entire duration of the agony-filled night. The day’s troublesome scenarios became troublesome realities that night.

            “On the night He was betrayed...”: It was all the more painful because a friend led it. Of course, only a friend can betray another. The harm inflicted by an arrogant enemy is called an assault. The harm inflicted by one knight to another in an even contest is called honourable defeat. Only the harm inflicted by a friend may properly be called a betrayal. “On the night He was betrayed...”

            It was even more painful that the betrayal took place at the time and place devoted to prayer. They were there to pray. They were there to seek the face of God. However, in the darkness of the night, it was the face of the betrayer that would appear and with a kiss that humanity would never forget, identified the Lord to those who came to arrest Him.

            “Our Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks...” Such majestic attitude! Such a sublime demonstration of spirituality! Betrayed, and yet, He gave thanks! Betrayed, and yet He would not forget the giver – The Father in heaven. Betrayed, and yet He would not neglect the duties of relationship – He had to say thank you to the Father.

            “Our Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks...” He took bread. He would give nothing less than His own life. He took bread. He would love by giving up His own life. He took bread. Nothing else would suffice. His finest gift was His own life. He gave all and He gave everything. He gave fully for you and for me.