place for the unfit
Downsize Fitness is a health club with a unique niche. It caters only to people who want to lose at least 50 pounds. Tara Lawton, a member of Downsize Fitness, quit her health club because she sensed she didn’t fit in. She said that people always seemed to be silently judging her. Then she found Downsize Fitness and loves it. Downsize is attractive to people like Lawton because it welcomes overweight people and then encourages them as they shed pounds and get healthy. Just as Downsize reaches out to the physically unfit, 2 millennia ago Jesus reached out to the spiritually unfit and used them to spread the good news about the kingdom of God.
intimidation of the Bible
The Bible can intimidate me sometimes. Certain statements bring on the guilt. Here are just a few of them: “You are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48); “You must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Peter 1:15). Psalm 119 elicits enough guilt to last a lifetime: “I have devoted myself to Your commandments” (Psalm 119:45); “I rise at midnight to thank You for Your just regulations” (Psalm 119:62); “I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of Your laws” (Psalm 119:99); “I have done what is just and right” (Psalm 119:121).
village of eternity
British journalist Tracey Lawson visited Campodimele, Italy, and dubbed it the “Village of Eternity.” The 1,000-year-old town rests like a crown atop a mountain, and the average resident lives 95 years. The locals eat well—mostly simple, fresh food. According to Lawson, the village is a “little cluster of medieval houses [with] olive trees on the slopes in the background.” The main piazza boasts a panoramic view of the Liri Valley, and twilight patrons of the Moonlight Café can sit outside and watch the moon ascend like a slow-moving lantern.
backslap back?
When I lived in China, I had an American friend who was radically committed to bringing the gospel to that nation. He mastered the Chinese language until even the Chinese thought he spoke exactly like them, with no foreign accent; and he aggressively shared Jesus at every opportunity. Once he was attacked by thugs, and rather than use his larger size to fight back he obeyed Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek. His pummeling increased my admiration for him, though I also think he missed Jesus’ point.
hate to love
She hated anyone who believed in God. A self- proclaimed atheist, the young woman did everything she could to destroy the faith of believers in Jesus. She would even write vulgar things on the pages of their Bibles. But then, as the Holy Spirit worked in her life and Christians continued to reach out lovingly to her, her hard heart began to melt. Soon she considered herself an “agnostic.” Then came the day she fell to her knees and tearfully received Jesus as her Savior. Recently, I was privileged to have a part in her baptism. Faith had replaced disbelief. Love had conquered hate.
you choose Q: how come things go wrong even when a Christian lives by God's Word?
Q: Why is it that everything in life seems to go wrong when a Christian tries to live according to the Word? Examples: faithful wives, loving, sacrificing moms who have husbands cheat . . . children call only when they need something . . . friends and family only contact me when they need help. —Kim
A: I take it from…
you choose Q: where were the disciples when the Holy Spirit came?
Q: Where were the disciples when the Holy Spirit came on The Day of Pentecost? —Pat
A: No one knows for sure where the disciples were gathered. Some have believed that it was the upper room mentioned in Acts 1:13. Others think that the place could have been a room in the temple, a synagogue, or the temple courtyard itself. The…
strong as an ant
Thirty-five years ago, Thomas Daigle and his wife signed a home loan. On the way out of the bank, he found a penny on the ground. On a lark, they said they should save pennies to pay off their loan. Decades later, they had amassed 62,000 pennies. They hauled the accumulated coins to a bank teller to finish off their mortgage’s balance. It took bank employees 2 days to count the coins, but the Daigles’ mortgage was no more.
Fathers Day 2013
F for Fervently
However long or much it takes,
either in time, efforts or money,
however many wrongs dad makes,
he still performs his tasks FERVENTLY.
A for Abiding And Asserting
Abiding always in God’s Word
By being fruitful, and not absurd.
ASSERTING godly values on the meek and bold,
dad is never too young, too busy or too old.
T for Through Trials
By God’s surmounting strength, love and grace,
dad…
June 10, 2013
What does taking communion (The Lord’s Supper) mean to you? Why is it so important?
not leaving
I am just 3 months into my elected role as youth deaconess in the local church that I attend, and I’ve already received three requests from people who want to step down from serving. A few have simply gone MIA (missing in action). So I feel like a general who’s trying to rally his army to fight a battle even as he’s losing his soldiers.
boys to men
Studies of children who grow up in fatherless homes reveal that they often face major challenges in life. The statistics are alarming: Youths who grow up in fatherless homes are twice as likely to end up in jail as those who come from traditional two-parent families. Eighty-five percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders and 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. Ninety percent of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes—32 times the average!
if . . . then
With our house on the market, my husband and I regularly spend time looking at online real- estate sites. Planting a church 35 miles away, we eagerly anticipate the day when we will be able to live in the community where we will be ministering. As we wait, we could easily fall prey to the temptation of “if . . . then.” If You promise us success, we will go; if You promise us a great house, we will move. But a commitment to “if . . . then” does not set a strong foundation for weathering seasons of uncertainty.
