Jesus Christ is the same

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NLT)

The present-tense Christ. He never says "I was." We do. We do because "we were."

We were younger, faster, prettier. Prone to be people of the past tense, we reminisce. Not God. Unwavering in strength, he need never say, "I was." Heaven has no rearview mirrors....

Can God be more God? No. He does not change. He is the "I am" God. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

- From: Everyday Blessings Copyright (J. Countryman, 2004) Max Lucado

Today's Promise: Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Change is great until it happens

Pity Jay Leno. The Tonight Show host for 17 years, Mr. Leno is scheduled to lose his late night stage at NBC in 2009. Conan O’Brien was promised the spot several years ago, and now speculation is heating up regarding Mr. Leno’s future. Today’s New York Times tells us that the comedian may move to ABC, sending Nightline into oblivion. He may move to Fox, which has no network late-night programming at present. He may replace David Letterman when his contract is up in 2010. He may replace Larry King on CNN. Or he may do none of the above. He’s been making $27 million a year, so finances probably aren’t his chief motivation.

Transitions come to all of us. Today’s Times is speculating on the future at Microsoft after Bill Gates. Tennis fans wonder how much longer Venus Williams will compete at Wimbledon, though she’s still in the tournament and Maria Sharapova isn’t. Barry Bonds is apparently retired from baseball, though not of his own volition. Someone noted that change is good until it happens. Another wit observed that the only person who really likes change is a wet baby.

You can’t step in the same river twice, Heraclitus observed 25 centuries ago. How different is your world from last summer? Gas prices have doubled; two unlikely presidential candidates are running against each other; the subprime lending crisis has affected the global economy; the Texas Rangers actually have some pitching. The Chinese have a saying: to predict is difficult, especially with regard to the future.

We can be frustrated at the unpredictability of life, or we can welcome the changes and challenges it presents. I’m glad it won’t be this hot in October, and that the presidential campaigns won’t last into Christmas. But it’s a mistake for me to wait for cooler weather or less political rancor and miss the privilege of this Friday.

A counselor once told me that 90% of his clients’ troubles stemmed from guilt over the past or fear of the future. What is worrying you this morning? How many of your burdens have to do with this day? And yet this is the only day there is. “Tomorrow” is just a word, not a reality. All of God there is, is in this moment. He is the Great I Am, not the I Was or the I Will Be.

Have you connected with the personal God of the universe yet today? He is waiting to be as real and present on earth as he is in heaven. He stands at the door and knocks—if we will open, he will enter (Revelation 3:20). Philip Yancey observed that God goes where he’s wanted. Have you made him welcome in your day?

from God Issues by

By Dr. James C. Denison
Pastor for Teaching, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas

June 27, 2008

THE BROOK HAS DRIED UP by Charles R. Swindoll

Read 1 Kings 17:5--7

One morning Elijah noticed that the brook wasn't gushing over the rocks or running as freely as it had in days past. Since that single stream of water was his lifeline, he checked it carefully. Over the next few days he watched it dwindle and shrink, until it was only a trickle. Then one morning, there was no water, only wet sand. The hot winds soon siphoned even that dampness, and the sand hardened. Before long, cracks appeared in the parched bed of the brook. No more water. The brook had dried up.

Does that kind of experience sound familiar to you? At one time you knew the joy of a full bank account, a booming business, an exciting, ever-expanding career, a magnificent and exciting ministry. But the brook has dried up.

At one time you knew the joy of using your voice to sing the Lord's praises. Then a growth developed on your vocal chords, requiring surgery. But the surgery removed more than the growth; it also took your lovely singing voice. The brook has dried up.

Your partner in life has grown indifferent and has recently asked for a divorce. There's no longer any affection and no promise of change. The brook has dried up.

I've had my own times when the brook has dried up, and I've found myself wondering about the things I've believed and preached for years. What happened? Had God died? No. My vision just got a little blurry. My circumstances caused my thinking to get a little foggy. I looked up, and I couldn't see Him as clearly. To exacerbate the problem, I felt as though He wasn't hearing me. The heavens were brass. I would speak to Him and heard nothing. My brook dried up.

That's what happened to John Bunyan in seventeenth-century England. He preached against the godlessness of his day, and the authorities shoved him into prison. His brook of opportunity and freedom dried up. But because Bunyan firmly believed God was still alive and at work, he turned that prison into a place of praise, service, and creativity as he began to write Pilgrim's Progress, the most famous allegory in the history of the English language. Dried-up brooks in no way cancel out God's providential plan. Often, they cause it to emerge.

Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Contentment

We learned the end of last week that the missing young lady returned home....
Answered Prayer - and we give thanks.
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Contentment

He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor. Proverbs 21:21 (NKJV)

In our world, contentment is a strange street vendor, roaming, looking for a home, but seldom finding an open door. He moves slowly from house to house, knocking on doors, offering his wares: an hour of peace, a smile of acceptance, a sigh of relief. But his goods are seldom taken. We are too busy to be content.

"Not now, thank you. I've too much to do," we say. "Too many marks to be made, too many achievements to be achieved...."

So the vendor moves on. When I asked him why so few welcomed him into their homes, his answer left me convicted. "I charge a high price, you know. My fee is steep. I ask people to trade in their schedules, frustrations, and anxieties. I demand that they put a torch to their fourteen-hour days and sleepless nights. You'd think I'd have more buyers." He scratched his beard, then added pensively, "But people seem strangely proud of their ulcers and headaches."

- From: No Wonder They Call Him the Savior Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2003) Max Lucado

Please pray

Dear Trace Crossing family -
We normally don't use this blog as a prayer board; however, tonight (after the 10 p.m. news) our hearts are burdened. A young lady that we know and love (and love her parents and grandparents) was described as missing since Monday. Please join us in praying for her safe return. She is a Tupelo girl that has grown up in Harrisburg Church. Apparently she was last seen at ICC by the news report.

Thank you for joining us in prayer,
Marilyn and Jennie