But his master answered and said to him, "You wicked, lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. "Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money with interest. "Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents (Matthew 25:26-28).
This week Helen and I drove to Austin, Minnesota to visit son Paul's family. Though it is only a 3 hour drive, it seems that we do not get to see grandson, Micah, enough.
While we were there we had the opportunity to watch our daughter-in-law, Jenny, rehearse with her orchestra for a concert the next day. The concert was in the Austin high school auditorium. After the rehearsal I was reading the plaques hanging on the wall of the commons area outside the auditorium. These plaques were hung in honor of the distinguished alumni of Austin high school. One of them stood out to me. His full name I have forgotten*, but his advice to the students of Austin high I have not. Here it is:
"Be a risk taker. Let your failures be your education and your successes be your legacy."
When one is committed to our Lord Jesus Christ our risks always pay off, either in education or in honor. What made the servant "wicked" in the parable of the talents was that he refused to take a risk.
So, take a risk for the Lord today--you can start small.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
*I will try to post his complete name--it was Timothy something, from the class of '63.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
MANAGING FEAR
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (I John 4:18).
Some people are by nature more anxious than others. The influence of genetic anxiety on our lives is major. I begin with this because it is important for a person to understand that managing his anxiety will always be important to his physical health, social, emotional and spiritual health. Anxiety does not make one a bad person. One of the reasons the Savior left Heaven to die for us was to help us deal with our anxiety.
In 1738, Charles Wesley was suffering from illness and dealing with doubts about his faith. He began to read the Bible and meditate on his reading. A sense of peace came over him. As a result of his experience he wrote the hymn, O For a Thousand Tongues. In the hymn is this verse that has helped me many times: "Jesus, the name that calms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease; 'Tis music in the sinner's ears; 'Tis life and health and peace."
1 John 4:8 tells us: "God is love." That short description of God is so full of meaning, but I will only touch on one facet of it. God loves you! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17). God's desire is not to punish, but to save!
Salvation is more than waiting it out to go to Heaven. Salvation begins now, trusting God to help with your fears: . . . casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Some people are by nature more anxious than others. The influence of genetic anxiety on our lives is major. I begin with this because it is important for a person to understand that managing his anxiety will always be important to his physical health, social, emotional and spiritual health. Anxiety does not make one a bad person. One of the reasons the Savior left Heaven to die for us was to help us deal with our anxiety.
In 1738, Charles Wesley was suffering from illness and dealing with doubts about his faith. He began to read the Bible and meditate on his reading. A sense of peace came over him. As a result of his experience he wrote the hymn, O For a Thousand Tongues. In the hymn is this verse that has helped me many times: "Jesus, the name that calms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease; 'Tis music in the sinner's ears; 'Tis life and health and peace."
1 John 4:8 tells us: "God is love." That short description of God is so full of meaning, but I will only touch on one facet of it. God loves you! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17). God's desire is not to punish, but to save!
Salvation is more than waiting it out to go to Heaven. Salvation begins now, trusting God to help with your fears: . . . casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Sunday, October 05, 2014
THE RESULT OF HALF-HEARTED WORSHIP
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be . . . .holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
These days we are watching ISIS terrorize the Middle East. They have become a formidable adversary. One thing that has interested me is that they are able to recruit young people from the West into their ranks. We wonder, "How can this be? We have given them everything, care from cradle to grave and they renounce it all to fight with the enemy. How can this be?"
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Man does not live by bread alone . . ." It is absolutely true that you can give everything to a person that is necessary to physical life and he will not be happy. For a person to find fulfillment he needs to love and be loved and he has to find something worthwhile to do! For how many years have socialists sought to meet physical needs without meeting the metaphysical needs--the needs of the human spirit? Materialism does not fulfill the needs of the whole person! A culture cannot denigrate Christianity and Christian values and then be surprised that their young would run off and collaborate with the enemy. How could it be any other way. Every person is designed to have a sense of purpose, even if that purpose is evil.
We have come to this in part because the church has not stood strong for the truth. Our worship has been half-hearted and our prayers are filled with cliche`s. It has always been true that if there is congruence between what a parents says and what he actually does, the children generally will follow. I think it is as well true in church leadership, if we truly live out what we say we believe the church will generally follow along. If we are truly people of faith, the church will follow. If we say we trust God, but act as materialists, our flock will scatter.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
These days we are watching ISIS terrorize the Middle East. They have become a formidable adversary. One thing that has interested me is that they are able to recruit young people from the West into their ranks. We wonder, "How can this be? We have given them everything, care from cradle to grave and they renounce it all to fight with the enemy. How can this be?"
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Man does not live by bread alone . . ." It is absolutely true that you can give everything to a person that is necessary to physical life and he will not be happy. For a person to find fulfillment he needs to love and be loved and he has to find something worthwhile to do! For how many years have socialists sought to meet physical needs without meeting the metaphysical needs--the needs of the human spirit? Materialism does not fulfill the needs of the whole person! A culture cannot denigrate Christianity and Christian values and then be surprised that their young would run off and collaborate with the enemy. How could it be any other way. Every person is designed to have a sense of purpose, even if that purpose is evil.
We have come to this in part because the church has not stood strong for the truth. Our worship has been half-hearted and our prayers are filled with cliche`s. It has always been true that if there is congruence between what a parents says and what he actually does, the children generally will follow. I think it is as well true in church leadership, if we truly live out what we say we believe the church will generally follow along. If we are truly people of faith, the church will follow. If we say we trust God, but act as materialists, our flock will scatter.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
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