Saturday Funny

Having been under the weather recently, this just hit home with me! Hope you think it's funny too. Have a great weekend!

For Better or For Worse, by Lynn Johnston, 11/14/09

The Apple of His Eye

It’s apple-picking season. Fall is a great time to grab a Seattle’s Best Coffee and head out to the orchards to pick some apples. While picking apples, I picked up some analogies about my relationship with God.

When I come home with a big bag of apples my family has picked, undoubtedly there are some that don’t look so great. (When you have a four-year-old helper, you never know what might end up in your bag!)

This time we had some funny shaped apples that I would have never picked. However when I cut them down the middle, they look just as nice on the inside as many of the others, and taste just as fresh and crunchy too.

Meanwhile, some of those “pretty” apples that I picked weren’t so great. Once I cut them open a couple of them had a rotten core. One even had a worm inside! How did that happen? It looked so nice on the outside. Sometimes it’s hard to judge a bad apple from a good one.

Isn’t that the way it is with people sometimes? So much of life we base on the outward appearances. But the bible says: "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)

Sometimes the apple isn’t bad. It just has a little bruising. We all bear the “bruises” from the knocks of life. Just as an apple may have a bruise from rough handling, many of us are bruised by life. But that doesn’t make us bad apples! Bruised apples make the best applesauce. Bruised lives can make the best lessons, especially when your willing to share how God worked in your life in spite of the bruises.

How abut that ugly browning? Apples often turn brown after slicing. Soaking sliced apples in orange juice prevents them from browning. When I soak up the God’s word with daily devotion readings, it keeps me from turning ugly too. Daily time spent in God’s word keeps my attitude in check and reminds me of scriptures I can use through out the day.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Staying in the word every day, keeps you spiritual healthy!

Apple picking is a great way to enjoy a fall day. Whether you’re making apple cider, applesauce or apple butter, it all starts with apple picking which may seem like work to some. Just as regular bible reading may seem like work when you start, you will soon reap the sweet rewards of a relationship with God…sweeter than apple pie!

Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Proverbs 7:2 (NIV)

This is a reprint of my article which appears this month in the Inspirational Stories section at ithirstnw. My daughter is now 5.

Veteran's Day

Ugg boots - $140.00



Riding Boots - $754.00

Designer Boots - $1,332.00

Combat Boots - Priceless

THANK YOU TO OUR VETERANS!!!

**Idea from Cathy Comic Strip**

Speed Trap

I was cruising down the interstate on a glorious day! The temperature was just perfect out, the sun was shinning and I was feeling fabulous. As I traveled along, a glance at the speedometer showed I was exceeding the speed limit. Well, I wasn't speeding, exactly, I was just keeping up withh traffic. I mean no one drives the speed limit, do they? Well, there were a couple of people over in the slow lane, but I mean like some body's old grandma or something. None of the cool people. I'd just stay in the middle lane and keep up with everyone else.


As I continued along, my favorite song came on the radio. Wow, I love that song! I sped up a bit, enjoying the music. I drifted over to the passing lane, so I could get out of the traffic flow in the middle lane. I was only going a little bit faster now, but it just felt right. I mean, if it feels right, you have to do it, don't you?


Suddenly I saw some flashing lights in my rear view mirror. "Oh, snap!" I pulled over. Great, the policeman was in the mood to give a lecture. Didn't I know that speeding was dangerous? I could hurt someone, or even myself. I could have an accident and end up killed. Thanking the officer (but not particularly meaning it), I took my summons and drove off, paying particular attention to the speed limit. Yes, I'd slowed down, but I wasn't happy about it. I mean who did that cop think he was anyway? He probably speed too on his off time. He was just making his monthly quota.


This fictitious account is meant to help you reflect on sin. Speeding represents sinning. How often do we do some "little thing" with the excuse that it's not really sinning, or that everyone else is doing it? Maybe it's taking the Lord's Name in vain, which I hear so often from non-Christians and Christians alike. People down play it as just a phrase or saying - but it is the name above all names! And we're using it as a swear word. But whatever "little thing" we're doing, we excuse.


Next the little thing may lead to another little thing, or a bigger thing. Sin leads to more sin. Once we begin hardening our hearts to sin, it's harder for the Holy Spirit to prompt us. And the Police Officer? He represents a godly friend. You know the person who comes to you and tells you they're worried about one of your behaviors. This analogy shows what is often best case scenario. A "thank you" we don't mean, and a changed behavior for a short time. Often times we actually get defensive or enraged that the person should point out OUR behavior. THEY too are a sinner.


I pray today for godly people in my life, and in yours, to point out our short falls. I pray for a humble spirit to hear the truth, and not become defensive. Just like speeding, sinning can lead to hurt people and even to death. May we all get caught in a "speed trap," trapping our sin and changing our behavior.

Matthew 18:15 -- If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

For Them

I am doing the Bible study Esther, by Beth Moore. She said something that really moved me. She talked about having a past. She called it a "risky identification." We try to hide that "risky identification" so that we won't be judged.

But Beth Moore said that perhaps God wants you to tell. She went on to say, "you went through it 'for them,' and if they can't see it, what good is it?"

In the Bible, when Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers he spent years falsely imprisoned before he finally was put into service under the Pharaoh. When he saw his brothers again, he didn't lament all his troubles to them, instead he said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Gen 50:20)

In the book of Matthew, a blind man is brought to Jesus. Jesus' disciples asked Jesus who had sinned, the man or his parents, for the man to be blind. Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:3)

What pain are you going through in your life today? Or what past pain are you holding against God because He let it happen to you in the past?

Maybe it happened "for them" to save lives or so that God may be displayed to others through your story. I have a hard time with why God let my childhood go as it did. Yes, I've even been mad at God. But to think that it happened "For them" makes it hurt a little less.

Why not try to let go of your pain today, and instead focus on who can benefit as a result of your experiences. Display God. He let it happened for them.

Digging Deeper

Do you garden? I'm not a fan of gardening. It's so much work! The worst part are the weeds. You need to pull even the tiniest weeds. It's better to get them while they are small. Those tiny little ones are the monsters of the patch a week or two later. The weeds that are close to your plants rob them of moisture and nutrients. And the worst part is, most weeds require pulling out all of the root system.

Isn't sin that way too?

To read the rest of this post, head on over to Titus 2 in Action, where I'm a guest contributor every other Wednesday, starting today!

The Recipe

When baking a cake, it calls for flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, flavoring such as vanilla or cocoa, oil or shortening, and liquid such as milk or water. Each of these ingredients is important to the recipe. Without flour, they're be no cake. Without sugar it would be bitter, without baking powder it would be flat, without egg it would be dense, the flavoring gives it the yummy taste, the oil/shortening gives it texture and the liquid makes it light. Every ingredient is important, and to take one out would change the end result.

Likewise, there are 5 ingredients to salvation. They are:
Hear
Believe
Repent
Confess
Be Baptized

You must "hear." If you haven't heard the Gospel, you can't believe it. You must believe that the Bible is true. You must repent, being truly sorry for your sins, and admit you need to turn away from them. You must confess Jesus is the Lord of your life, and finally your must be baptized.

If you leave out any of these steps, just like the cake recipe, you will end up with a different result. Follow the recipe and you'll end up with a sweet treat - eternal life.

Romans 10:9 -- That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Acts 2:38 -- Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.




For more information on how to be saved, Visit the How 2B Saved Website.

Don't forget to visit the kickoff post of Titus 2 in Action today! I'll be serving there as a guest contributor every other Wednesday, starting this Wednesday.