Grac*e-mail for 04/25/11 got grace?

Grac*e-mail for 04/25/11 got grace?

Here is one of my fb posts from today…

Heard this in a teaching... wonder why it makes me want to cry?

"Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell;
I want to run a Rescue Shop within a yard of hell."

...- C.T. Studd

C.T. Studd (1860-1931) was an English missionary who faithfully served His Savior in China, India, and Africa. His motto was: "If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

Now, a few more thoughts on the matter…

Why is it soooooo hard for pastors and ministers to reach the lost? Have we lost the vision of the unsaved burning in hell for an eternity? Have we somehow convinced ourselves that there is some “option” other than eternal life or eternal death?

I believe it is time to stop blaming the culture and start looking at The Church who needs to REPENT!

John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!

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John 14:1-6

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

NKJV

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The High Calling

Published on The High Calling (http://www.thehighcalling.org)

The Inevitability of Death

By Mark D. Roberts

Apr 16, 2011

Psalm 49:1-20

Those who are wise must finally die,
just like the foolish and senseless,
leaving all their wealth behind.

Psalm 49:10

Psalm 49 isn’t exactly what you’d call cheery. Its main point is that the rich will die just like everybody else. The psalm ends on this note: “People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals.” Not exactly an upbeat thought, is it?

Yet Psalm 49 offers us the possibility of looking at our lives differently, of living with deeper purpose and wider vision. Even if we’re not striving for riches, most of us spend generous amounts of time and effort seeking that which, in the end, will be left behind. We worry about so many things that don’t matter when we look at life from the perspective of death’s inevitability. Psalm 49 gives us the chance to see life from the point of view of death, and therefore choose to live with significance.

As a pastor, I’ve spent more time in memorial services than just about anybody I know. You might think this is a downside of ordained ministry. But, in fact, I consider it a blessing. I’ve officiated in memorial services where eulogies have been relatively empty because the deceased lived their lives devoted to emptiness. And I’ve overseen memorial services that are joyous celebrations of lives well led. What makes the difference? Not wealth. Not position or power. Not even success, as the world defines it. Lives that matter even after death were focused on loving God and loving others. It’s really that simple. So when I’m reminded, either by my involvement in memorial services or by Psalm 49, that I will die, I’m encouraged to live this day with eternal significance. Today I want to be a person of love.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: When you reflect on your own death, what thoughts or feelings come to mind? What are the things in your life for which you strive and which really don’t matter all that much? Given the inevitability of your death, how will you live differently today?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you for Psalm 49. When I first read it, I must confess I felt rather distressed. I wondered why I had to think about death today. But the more I have reflected upon this psalm, the more I have come to appreciate its sober reminder.

Yes, Lord, the day will come when I will die. On that day I will leave behind my possessions and obsessions. When I stand before you and have my life examined, will you and I rejoice over what you have done through me? Will I have loved you with all that I am? Will I have loved my neighbor as myself? Will I have invested my life in the things that last forever?

Thank you, dear Lord, for the reminder to live fully for you this day. May I live today, and each day ahead, with the wisdom that comes from knowing my days on this earth are numbered. Amen.

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Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!

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This is a video that will give your faith a “kick in the pants”…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTaJleuDcq4&feature=related

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Check out this short video…

http://worshiptogether.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/42/Mechurch

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Got these from “Pun of the Day”. You can subscribe at
http://www.punoftheday.com/

Anyone hear about that dictionary that fell into the river? It was un-a-bridged.

I did a theatrical performance about puns. Really it was just a play on words.

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Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net

God's people should plan for a voyage of a thousand years, but be prepared to abandon ship tonight. --Joseph Bayly

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Got this from a member of my home church, Magnolia UMC in Suffolk, VA…

God is so good, He just keeps revealing His love to us in so many ways. Thank you Lord for all you do, are doing and will continue to do in and through our lives. Amen and Amen.

Love is a learned behavior. We are only capable of loving the way we have been loved by others or the lack thereof. Most of the time our love comes with restrictions, caution and conditions because of past hurts and rejection. It is easy to love someone when everything is going fine and life is bright and cheery but what about when someone rejects our love repeatedly? Do you continue to reach out or do you pull back. We begin to put conditions on that love out of fear or frustrations. God puts no restrictions on His love for us, even His discipline is given in love. Imagine for a moment if God said I will only love you if you do this or change that, or if He said I’ve given you all the chances you deserve I just can’t love you anymore. Not one of us would ever know the love of God if He put conditions on His love.

Growing up the only love I knew was distorted by years of all types of abuse. I grew up so confused about love, I thought love was total sacrifice of anything I needed or wanted in life. It meant pain and suffering. As I grew up I realized I could not be loved nor could I love anyone else, the price was to high for me to pay. I shut out the world from my heart and protected it at all costs. I rejected and hurt people before they had a chance to hurt me, I pushed everyone away. When I came to Christ I was so broken and wounded by life and all I heard was how God loved me. My heart sank cause I knew He couldn’t love me and I couldn’t love Him. Yet the more I grew closer to God the more he was healing me from the inside out. He revealed His love to me and never once put conditions or restrictions on it, He just loved me. I have had to relearn everything I ever knew about love. Only through the love of Christ am I able to love others and to let them love me. You see God sent me to a church that was so full of love that I could not deny it existed. It was through all of you that I first saw the love of God. It’s been a process but more and more He reveals His amazing love to me so that I may share it with others.

So the next time someone is nasty, hateful or distant towards us, we need to stop and think for one moment, maybe they too have not learned to receive or give love and we just need to love them the way God has loved us. We may never know the path their lives took or the wounds they bear in silence, inside they may be crying out for the love they never received. Will you give what God freely gave you? “Unconditional love”.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes hi Him should not perish but have eternal life”.

I Corinthians 13:4-7

(4) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up (5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. (6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; (7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

May God Bless You
Lesley

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Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."