Evangelism: Trusting the Lifeboat

And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." --Acts 16:30-31

Now, the matter of complete trust in the person of Christ.

No man has any hope for eternal salvation apart from trusting completely in Jesus Christ and His atonement for men. Simply stated, our Lord Jesus is the lifeboat and we must fully and truly be committed to trusting the lifeboat.

Again, our Lord and Savior is the rope by which it is possible to escape from the burning building. There is no doubt about it--either we trust that rope or we perish.

He is the wonder drug or medication that heals all ills and sicknesses--and if we refuse it, we die.

He is the bridge from hell to heaven--and we take the bridge and cross over by His grace or we stay in hell.

These are simple illustrations, but they get to the point of the necessity of complete trust in Jesus Christ--absolute trust in Him! Who Put Jesus on the Cross?, 52.

"Lord, help me to make this clear as I share the Gospel. So many seem to persist in wanting to trust Christ plus their own efforts. Thank You for this free gift of salvation. Amen."

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Today's "Insight for Leaders" is taken by permission from the book, Tozer on Christian Leadership, published by WingSpread Publishers

Prescription Check

An old man strode in to his doctors office and said, "Doc, my druggist said to tell you to change my prescription and to check the prescription you've been giving to Mrs. Smith."

"Oh, he did, did he?" the doctor shot back. "And since when does a druggist second guess a doctor's orders?"

The old man says, "Since he found out I've been on birth control pills since February."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

*Eye Laugh*

"Comedian Wannabe"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw13

Tree Trouble

Unexpected cold snaps had destroyed the buds on my father's young peach tree for two years in a row. This spring, Dad was ready. He replanted the sapling in a large box, mounted it on wheels, and put the tree in the garage whenever the temperature dropped.

One warm April day, Dad was wheeling the tree out into the yard, and he stopped to give our dog a drink from the garden hose. A neighbor watched the scene with amusement. "Frank," he finally commented, "you're the only man I know who walks his tree and waters his dog!"

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

*Eye Laugh*

"Elephant Caddy"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw12

Psalm 111

Praise for the LORD's Works

1 Hallelujah!
I will praise the LORD with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

2 The LORD's works are great,
studied by all who delight in them.

3 All that He does is splendid and majestic;
His righteousness endures forever.

4 He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered.
The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

5 He has provided food for those who fear Him;
He remembers His covenant forever.

6 He has shown His people the power of His works
by giving them the inheritance of the nations.

7 The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His instructions are trustworthy.

8 They are established forever and ever,
enacted in truth and uprightness.

9 He has sent redemption to His people.
He has ordained His covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow His instructions have good insight.
His praise endures forever.

From the Holman Christian Standard Bible

Cell Phone Find

An employee of the airport found a cell phone in one of the boarding areas. She switched it on, hoping a caller would identify the owner. It rang, and she answered it, but there was no response. When it rang a second time, another female employee answered, and the same thing happened.

Moments later, a supervisor came by and picked up the ringing phone. "This is Bob. May I help you?"

"Bob," the bewildered woman caller finally spoke. "Where is Bill, and who are those two women he's with?"

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

*Eye Laugh*

"Japanese Proverb"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw8

I met God in the morning

I met God in the morning
When my day was at its best.
His presence came like sunrise,
A Glory in my breast.

All day long the presence lingered.
All day long He stayed with me.
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O’er a very troubled sea.

So I think I know the secret,
Learned by many a troubled way.
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day.

Author Unknown

Sermon Comment

After a very long and boring sermon the parishioners filed out of the church saying nothing to the preacher. Towards the end of the line was a thoughtful person who always commented on the sermons."Pastor, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God." The pastor was thrilled. "Nobody has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why." "Because it endured forever." *Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!* cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

The Beginning

When the new patient was settled comfortably on the couch, the psychiatrist began his therapy session.

"I'm not aware of your problem," the doctor said. "So perhaps, you should start at the very beginning."

"Of course," replied the patient. "In the beginning, I created the heavens and the earth..."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh



*Eye Laugh*

"Bad Day Convertible"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw5

Meditation:

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even
Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our
preaching is useless and so is your faith.
--1 Corinthians 15:13,14 (NIV)

_______________________________________________________________

Quotation:

If it be all for naught, for nothingness
At last, why does God make the world so fair?
Why spill this golden splendor out across
The western hills, and light the silver lamp
Of eve? Why give me eyes to see, and soul
To love so strong and deep? Then, with a pang
This brightness stabs me through, and wakes within
Rebellious voice to cry against all death?
Why set this hunger for eternity
To gnaw my heartstrings through, if death ends all?
If death ends all, then evil must be good,
Wrong must be right, and beauty ugliness.
God is a Judas who betrays His Son,
And with a kiss, damns all the world to hell,--
If Christ rose not again.

... Anonymous, Unknown soldier, killed in World War I,
included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James
Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948,
p. 205
See the book at http://cqod.com/r/rs132

_______________________________________________________________

Quiet time reflection:
Lord, You vindicate Your creation.

ID Card

The day I immigrated to the United States, I was given an alien ID card that featured a cute photo of me at age 15. Years later, when I went to the courthouse to become a citizen, a clerk confiscated my card.

"What will you do with it?" my wife asked.

"We burn it" was the answer.

"Could you please cut the photo off and let us keep it?" asked my wife.

"Certainly not," said the clerk. "This card is official U.S. government property. As such it cannot be mutilated before it's destroyed."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

Now a note from me: With the above noted bureaucratic nonsense think what government run health care will be like. "So you have a broken leg. Go home take two aspirin and come back in two months."



*Eye Laugh*

"South Driving School"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw1

Collateral

Be sure to open the "Eye Laugh" at the end of the post! I accompanied my husband when he went to get a haircut. Reading a magazine, I found a hairstyle I liked for myself, and I asked the receptionist if I could take the magazine next door to make a copy of the photo. "Leave some ID, a driver's license or a credit card," she said. "But my husband is here getting a haircut," I explained. "Yes," she replied. "But I need something you'll come back for." *Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!* cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh *Eye Laugh* "Mom Sleigh" http://www.cybersalt.org/g07.php?id=146

God's Peace

Now the God of peace be with you all. — Romans 16:33

It is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, that we find the knowledge, the assurance, the certitude, which create true peace within us. He brings a revelation of the Divine which is marked by a clarity, a unity, an authority, and a finality, such as we find nowhere else. In Him we see and know and possess God. We have certitude about the Divine. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is such, in His holiness and love, that we may know for certain He will never mock us in our human littleness and weakness. He loves us too dearly. He has suffered to save us. To know God thus in Jesus Christ is the first step to a true peace.
But the Lord Jesus gives us equally clear intelligence and assurance about the Beyond, about the Future, and about the Present. As for the Beyond, which has ever been a vexed question in the human heart, He tells us of “the Father̓s House,” and assures His people that He goes to “prepare a place” for them. As for the Future, He promises, “I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there ye may bc also.” As for the Present, He covers all the waiting-time until His glorious reappearing by His gracious provision of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter of whom He says, “He shall abide with you”; “He shall be in you”; “He shall teach you”; He shall guide you.”
Dear Christian, these are the first things that belong to our peace. We must feed our hearts on the solid comfort of these glorious certainties which our Divine Lord gives to us. When we possess such assurance concerning God and the Beyond, and such a provision for the Future, ought not our peace, to be as a full, deep, smooth-flowing river?

– J. Sidlow Baxter From: “Climbing the Heights” Commpiled by Al Bryant, Page 226, Copyright 1956 by Zondervan Publishing House

THE TICKET

The other day I went downtown to run a few errands and stopped by the local coffee shop for a snack. I was only there for about 5 minutes, and when I came out, there was this cop writing out a parking ticket. I said to him, 'Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break'?

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. His insensitivity annoyed me, so I called him a 'Nazi.' He glared at me and then wrote out another ticket for having worn tires. So I proceeded to call him a 'doughnut eating Gestapo.' He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.

Then he wrote a third ticket when I called him a ‘moron in blue’. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I talked back to him the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't really care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had one of those bumper stickers that said, 'Obama '08.'

I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. The doctor tells me that it's important for my health.