SPLITTING STUFF UP

     “Why would they be putting in a nursery?” Stella Peterson kept asking her self, “Is their mom going to have another baby?” And the more she pondered the questions the more curious she became until she decided she needed to get to the bottom of this and took off for the Miller house. Before she could even get to the front door, Mindy came running at her screaming “HELP!! HELP!! HELP!!”

     “What's wrong, Mindy?” Stella asked as she was plowed into. “Its MOM” Mindy said, “She keeps siding with Cindy.” “Siding with Cindy?” Stella said, “What are you talking about?” “We're trying to divide up our stuff and MOM keeps siding with Cindy.” “And that's a problem?” Stella asked. “It is when she keeps letting her have all the neat stuff.” Mindy replied.

     “Like what?” Stella asked. “Like all the stuff that is actually mine.” Cindy answered running up to them. “And don't believe a word Mindy tells you.” “It is not yours!” Mindy said. “It is too.” Cindy answered back, “And Mom even agrees with me.” “That's because she likes you best.” Mindy snorted “Probably because you’re such a neat freak and take care of all your stuff.”

     “Well,” Cindy said, “If you would take care of your stuff, maybe you would have something to claim as your own.” “So, who's stuff is it?” Stella asked, “Is it yours, Mindy or is it Cindy's?” “Well, I use it sometimes.” Mindy started to say. “Only because yours is broke.” Cindy said cutting her off. “So what.” Mindy said, “I don't care.”

     “That's just the problem.” Cindy said, “You don't care. I tell you what. I have an idea. Why don't I just give you all my stuff.” “What”? Mindy and Stella said in unison. “What are you plotting?” Stella tacked on. “I just got to thinking.” Mindy said, “Stuff only crowds up my room, besides I don’t use most of the stuff, so I’ll just give it to you so we can live in peace.”

      “Oh no you don’t.” Mindy shouted “I insist.” Cindy said politely, “Besides, we need to get our old room cleaned out for Mom to make her nursery.” “There you go talking about a nursery again.” Stella said when she heard that, “Is your mom having a baby?”

      “No.” Cindy said, “Our mom is going into daycare.” “And to think Cindy thought Mom was going to have a baby.” Mindy tacked on. “You thought she was too.” Cindy said. “Did not.” Mindy added, “Did too.” Cindy snapped back. “You both did.” Stella injected, “And I guess I did too.”

     “By the way, Mindy,” Cindy said, “Mom said you need to go finish cleaning.” “What do you have left to clean, Cindy?” Stella asked, “Oh, I'm done.” Cindy said, “I'm heading to the park. Do you want to go with me?” “Sure.” Stella said and the Cindy and here took off running and skipping to the park. “Oh, no you don't!” Mindy hollered after them, “Get back here. I'm not going to let you get away that easy.”

      And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." - Genesis 20:15 (ESV)

     Abraham had traveled to Gerar where he had caused problems for Abimelech. Once the problem was solved, Abimelech let Abraham stay. While there, Sarah gave birth to Isaac but now Abimelech comes back and another problem needs to be solved.

      At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned." And Abraham said, "I will swear." When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today." So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well." Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

Genesis 21:22-34 (ESV)

     Like Cindy, Like Abraham, sometimes we need to take the initiative and make peace, we need to work to solve problems. To solve problems we should...

• Use wisdom as Solomon did – 1 Kings 3:16-28 tells how he used wisdom to solve the problem of which of two women was a baby's true mother.
• Work Together as the Apostles and Elders did - Acts 15:1-29 tells of a problem that revolved around rules that should be followed and how the Apostles and Elders got together to solve the problem.
• Solve it quickly as Jesus taught – Matthew 5:23-26, part of the Sermon on The Mount, tells tells how we should solve problems quickly, before things get worse.
• Be humble and think of others as better than self - Philippians 2:3 Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. (NLT)
• Strive for peace - Romans 12:18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. (NLT)

     Here's Something To Ponder

• In what ways do you work toward peace?
• In what ways do you stop peace from happening?

A TIME TO SPLIT UP

     Mindy and Cindy Miller are identical twin sisters but only a few people can tell them apart at first glance. Stella Peterson thought she was one of them but when she bumped into them at the mall she got them all mixed up. “What are you doing at the mall?” one of the twins asked Stella. “My mom though she needed me to help her do some shopping.” Stella said, “But somehow I managed to lose her. This is suppose to be our meeting point if we got separated.”

     “Sounds about right.” Mindy said. “Our mom drug us down here to help her do some shopping as well.” “Yeah,” Cindy added, “She wanted us to help her get some stuff for the move.” “MOVE!” Stella gasped, “What in the world are you talking about?

     “We're moving.” Mindy said, “And if all goes well we will be moving by the end of next week.” “But you can't move.” Stella said, “You're my friends and I'll miss you and....” “Hold on, hold on.” Mindy interrupted, “We’re not moving, moving were just moving.” “What?” Stella asked with a confused look on her face, “That doesn't make sense.”

     “She means we're getting new bedrooms.” Cindy said. “So, You're not really moving, moving you're just moving.” Stella said. “I get it.” “Yeah,” Mindy added, “And mine is going to be in the attic, and hers is going to be in the basement.” “And its all her fault.” Cindy added. “It is not.” Mindy shot back, “It's your fault.”

     “Well, if you would keep your stuff picked up we probably wouldn’t have to move.” Cindy said. “Well, if you would quit throwing my stuff in the garbage.” Mindy continued. “Alright” Stella injected, “I didn't mean to start you two arguing, especially here in the mall.” “But it is her fault.” Mindy said. “No it's not.” Cindy countered, “It's yours because you're a slob.” “Can I help it that your such a neat freak.” Mindy said.

     “I am not a freak.” Cindy protested, “Besides, Mom and Dad are always telling us to keep our room clean, and to do our school work.” “But that’s too much work.” Mindy protested this time. Trying to keep this from becoming a big argument, Stella quickly asked, “So, what’s going to happen to the room you’re in now?”

     “Mom said she was going to turn it into a nursery.” Cindy said. “That's why we're here. She wants us to help her pick out some wallpaper, some decorations and some furniture.” “What is your mom going to do with a nursery?” Stella asked. “What do you think you do with a nursery.” Cindy snickered, “She going …..” “Oh no.” Mindy interrupted, “She can't be.” “MOM!” the twins hollered together and took off. “Does this mean what I think it means.” Stella said with her eyes growing as big as saucers.

      Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

Genesis 16:1-4,15 (ESV)

     God had promised Abraham a son but when Sarah wasn't getting pregnant, she devised a plan to have Hagar get pregnant for her, she did and now, many years later, after Sarah had her promised son, problems arose. Here is the story

     The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. … And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation." Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Genesis 21:1-21 (ESV)

     In this story we can find a story of conflict between Sarah and Hagar and their sons. What does the Bible have to say about unnecessary conflict and the arguments that often pursue.

• Proverbs 13:10 Pride only leads to arguments, but those who take advice are wise. (NCV) Can you see potential conflict in the story? How about between Mindy and Cindy?
• James 4:1 Spells out another source of conflict when he says Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that war within you. (NCV)
• Acts 5:29 shows us another source - Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not human authority! (NCV)

To combat conflict and arguing or fighting remember the words of Solomon..

• Proverbs 26:20 Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down. (HCSB)
• Proverbs 17:14 To start a conflict is to release a flood; stop the dispute before it breaks out. (HCSB)
• Proverbs 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up conflict, but a man slow to anger calms strife. (HCSB)

     Here's Something To Ponder

• In what ways do you stir up conflict?
• In what ways to you strive to keep conflict from turning into fighting?

TAKEN WITH THE WRONG CROWD

     It was New Years morning and kids were still zonked out around the McDonald's farm house form the New Years eve party the night before but since the animals didn't party, they were up and needed taken care of so John put on his warm clothes and headed out to the barn. “Hopefully someone will wake and come help me.” He thought to himself.

      As he sat next to one of the cows to milk her, he started singing “Old McDonald.” As he sang he started to notice the animals were joining in on cue. “I sure have some smart animals.” he said out loud. “Of course we are.” came a reply in a deep voice. As he continued singing, and animals kept sounding on cue, John suddenly stopped, “Wait a minute,” He said “Animals don't talk. Who's in here with me?”

      The next thing John knew, Harold Peterson fell out of the hay loft landing next to him. “Ouch” he said sitting up and shaking hay out of his hair. “What were you doing in the hay loft?” John asked

seeing Harold would be alright. “Oh, I was just following Tracy to see what she was up to?” “She should be up tp helping me with the chores.” John said.

      “I kind of figured that but she wasn't acting normal?” Harold said. “What do you mean?” John asked. “Well,” Harold said, “I've never known her to like to sew but all she kept talking about to night was sewing.” “Sewing?” John said “Tracy doesn't like to sew. Are you sure she was talking about sewing?”

      “Well, I'm not 100 percent sure.” Harold said, “But see kept muttering something about how she was suppose to get some flag sewn. And on top of that, I heard her tell one of the other kids that she was Betsy Ross.” “I take it you never payed attention in History class at school?” John said. “Betsy Ross was the person who sewed the first flag for the United States.” “Paying attention cost too much.” Harold said and then after a short pause added, “Oh, no. She must have the disease too.”

     “But how would she have got it?” Harold asked, “It was Mindy and Cindy who helped my sister escape from the hospital.” “To make a long story short,” John said, “After Mindy and Cindy helped Stella escape they brought her here to the farm and hid her in Tracy's fort.” “Didn't Tracy know she was sick?” Harold asked, “She should have known better.”

      “I think she did know better.” John said, “At least she claimed to know better. Tracy told me that she tried to talk them out of it.” “But she helped them anyways.” Harold added. “Bad company corrupts good morals. Or something like that. I think that's in the Bible.” “Yeah, I'm sure it is.” John said, “By the way, can you take over the milking for me? I need to go find Betsy, I mean Tracy, and get her to the hospital.”

 

      And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. - Genesis 13:10-13 (ESV)

      Sometimes we see things we know are not right and yet we go along with them, like Tracy going along with Cindy and Mindy, Like Lot going along with Sodom.... After all, he needed to take care of his family and possessions.... Of course, there were consequences for his choice. The first of which is found in Genesis 14

      In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).... four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. After his return the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.' I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. (ESV)

      Lot was living in the city of the wicked and while Abram rescued them because of Lot, he would have nothing to do with them and their stuff – he preferred to take God's side and gives a tithe to God's high priest Melchizedek.

      One can only wonder why Lot was in Sodom. The Bible says...

• My child, if sinners try to lead you into sin, do not follow them. - Proverbs 1:10 (NCV)
• Don’t follow the ways of the wicked; don’t do what evil people do. - Proverbs 4:14 (NCV)
• But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. - 1 Timothy 6:9 (ESV)
• Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." - 1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV)
• Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. - Romans 6:13 (ESV)

      Here's Something To Ponder

• Will you follow the crowd even if you know you shouldn't?
• Would you lead others astray?

DON’T BLAME ME

     Daisy had been looking forward to getting some after Christmas shopping in and the day after Christmas she headed to the mall. She had no idea what she was going to buy but she knew she had to get some shopping in with all those after Christmas sales. As she walked by the food court she couldn't help but notice the Miller twins sitting with their backs to each other.

     “Did you have a good Christmas, Mindy?” Daisy asked as walking over to the girls. “NO!” Mindy said with a scowl. “You didn't?” Daisy asked. “How could I with you know who around.” Mindy snapped while pointing to her sister. “It’s all her fault and she’s trying to blame me for it.”

     “It is not my fault.!” Cindy shouted and gave her sister a shove, “It was your idea.” “Was not, you liar!” Mindy yelled back while returning her sister's shove. “My sister indeed..” “Well, Cindy snapped back, “She would probably be a better sister than you!” Not wanting a fight to break out Daisy intervened asking them “What is going on here?”

     “I told you. “ Mindy said, “It's her fault.” “Don't believe her.” Cindy interrupted, “It's her fault.” “What is?” Daisy demanded “She came up with the idea to get Stella out of the hospital.” Mindy said, “It's her fault.” “It was your idea to dress her up like one of us.” Cindy retorted, “So it's your fault.”

     “Well, it was your clothes we used.” Mindy said. “It was your make up.” Cindy returned. “But why in the world did you help Stella escape?” Daisy asked. “She's our friend.” Mindy said. “And we wanted to help her.” Cindy added.

     “Where is Stella now?” Daisy asked. “In the hospital.” Cindy said looking at the floor. “And she had to miss Christmas.” Mindy added. “Is Harold still in the hospital?” Daisy asked next. “No.” Mindy said, “He got to go home.” “But Stella had to stay because she wasn’t there when she needed to be.”

     “Sounds like your plan didn't work, did it.” Daisy said. “And it's all her fault that it didn't.” Mindy said “It was not, It was your fault!” Cindy countered. “Was not!” Mindy said raising her voice. “Was too” Cindy returned raising her voice as well. And the next thing Daisy knew Mindy and Cindy were screaming at each other “WAS NOT! WAS TOO!”

     “Alright you two.” Daisy interrupted, “That's enough” “Fine!” Mindy said, “By the way have you seen my husband Joseph? We are suppose to be going to Bethlehem.” “What did you say Mindy?” Daisy asked not expecting that kind of a response. “Mindy?” Mindy said, “I'm Mary.” “Oh no!” Daisy said, “She's got the disease. Cindy, quick, you need to get your sister to the hospital. She’s got whatever Stella had.”

     “Help her?” Cindy scoffed, “No Way. Besides, I need to go find my brother Moses.” “Joseph! Joseph!” Mindy hollered, “ I think it’s time to have a baby.” And then both Mindy and Cindy took off in opposite directions. “Oh, no!” Daisy said again, I need to find the mall security, those girls need to be caught.”

     Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. - Genesis 12:1,5 (ESV)

     Abram did as God told him but it wasn't long before strife broke out. And just like Mindy and Cindy, there was likely pushing and shoving and arguing and.... well, let's see what happened.

      So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 13:1-18 (ESV)

     Strife is something that should be frowned upon and we are warned of such in the Bible.

• Proverbs 3:30 Don’t accuse anyone without cause, when he has done you no harm. (HCSB)
• Proverbs 25:8 Don’t take a matter to court hastily. Otherwise, what will you do afterwards if your opponent humiliates you? (HCSB)
• Proverbs 26:20 Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down. (HCSB)

     Here's how we should be living

• Romans 12:16,18 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. (NLT)
• Philippians 2:3 Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. (NLT)

     Here's Something To Ponder

• In what ways do you cause strife?
• In what ways do you bring about harmony?

WORK, WORK, WORK

     It was time. Time to fix all the damages that had occurred to the church building from the tornado and what better way to do it than host a WORK AT THE CHURCH AND BARBECUE. With all the work that needed to be done some people thought there wouldn't be enough workers but with the offer of a barbecue when the work was done, well it was supplies they didn't have enough of.

     It wasn't long before John McDonald and his daughter Tracy headed off to get some of those supplies. When they arrived and Frank's Do-It-Yourself Hardware store they not only found the supplies they were looking for but they also found someone who wasn't working. It was Cindy Miller and she was, will, not doing anything.

     “Hey, Cindy.” Tracy called out, “Don't you know what weekend this is?” “I know what it is.” Cindy said with a sigh, “It's a weekend for work.” “So you do know.” John said. “I thought everybody knew this was the weekend we all have to work.” Cindy sighed again. “I guess so.” John said, “But it is also the weekend we celebrate work and all the people who do it.”

     “Celebrate work!” Cindy exclaimed in shock, “Why would anybody want to celebrate such a thing?” “Well,” John said, “Aren't you thankful for all the workers and the work they do?” “I guess so.” Cindy replied, “As long as it isn’t me that has to do the work.”

     “Oh yeah,” Tracy said, “It Mindy who likes to work.” “You can say that again.” Cindy said, “When it comes to work I avoid it like the plague. Why else do you think I’m here and not helping at the church.” “That's too bad.” John said, “There is plenty of work around the building and work is a good thing especially when you are doing it for God.” “You could have even helped Daisy in the kitchen.” Tracy added.

     “What.” Cindy Scoffed, “Did the tornado scatter all the pots and pans?” “The kitchen is fine.” John said. “She working on the food for after were done.” Tracy added, “Obviously you weren't listening to the announcement.” “Announcement?” Cindy questioned. “Yes.” John said, “There having a big barbecue dinner after the work is done.”

     “They are!” Cindy said with excitement, “I better get over there for that.” “It won't do you any good.” Tracy said. “Why not?” Cindy demanded to know. “ I love barbecues.” “That may be.” John sad “But the dinner is only for those who work.” “WHAT?!” Cindy hollered “That's what you get fo not working.” Tracy said.

     “Well then.” Cindy said with her nose in the air, “I guess I might as well go home and do nothing.” And then she hopped on her bike and took off. “I'm glad you're such a good worker.” John said to his daughter as they loaded the stuff in John's truck. “So am I.” Tracy said “And I can't wait for the barbecue. Do you think we should have told her about the hayride she'll miss too?” “I'm sure she'll find out soon enough.” John said, “We better get back to the church.”

For the people had a mind to work. - Nehemiah 4:6b (ESV)

     How many of you enjoy work? How many of you try to avoid work? What happens when we fail to work? In Nehemiah the people had a mind to work and as a result, something got done. It all started in Nehemiah 2:1-5 where we read In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it." (ESV)

     Nehemiah made a request of the king to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and if we were to keep reading, we would learn that he received it. We would also learn that Nehemiah would ride to Jerusalem and inspect the walls, that he would incite the people to rebuild the walls. We would learn that the people started working everywhere and they were teased and then more trouble came and they had to stand guard but, work went on and 52 days later the wall was done.

     It's amazing what can get done when someone or a group of people have a mind to work. There are some who would think work to be a four letter word – meaning it is a bad thing but work is a part of life and comes from God Himself.

• Exodus 34:21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. (ESV)
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, (NIV)
• 1 Corinthians 3:9 We are God’s workers, working together; you are like God’s farm, God’s house. (NCV)
• Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. (ESV)
• Acts 20:35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help the poor by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " (NLT)
• Ephesians 4:28 If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. (NLT)

     Here's Something To Ponder as you celebrate Labor Day.

• Do you value the work that you have been allowed to do?
• Are you grateful for the work for which you reap the benefits?

THE 4TH NO MORE

     It was the Saturday after the 4^th of July and the Girls are Girls club was meeting at the park to talk about all the fun they had enjoyed over the past week. They talked about the parade, and the carnival and the fireworks. They talked about picnics and family trips and boys.

     Arriving late to the gathering was Mindy Miller. “Did you have a wonderful 4^th of July?” Tracy called out to her as she jumped off her bike. “Don't ever mention that day again!” Mindy growled back at her. “The 4^th of July?” Tracy asked to which Mindy replied with a scream. “What's wrong with the 4^th of July?” Mindy questioned but Mindy just screamed again.

     “Is something wrong, Mindy” Stella asked a little perplexed by Mindy's screams. “The 4^th reminds me of independence which reminds me of freedom which, which, which,” Mindy started to answer and then screamed again. “This wouldn't have something to do with wanting to do only what you wanted to, would it?” Came the sound of the leader's voice, the leader being Helen Grey.

     When Mindy heard Helen she just turned at her and growled. “I take it you learned something about responsibility and consequences.” Helen commented. “If I Ever Try Such A Foolish Thing Again As To Never Listen.” Mindy stated in return, “MAKE ME!” “I take it then” Helen said, “Things didn't go so well.” “You can say that again.” Mindy's sister chirped in.

     After giving Cindy the evil eye, Mindy told everyone about her horrible 4^th of July. “I woke up on the forth and decided I wouldn't make my bed.” She told them. “Further more, I decided I wasn't going to clean my room, I would eat what ever I wanted and go where ever I wanted too. I was even going to stay up till midnight but I couldn't stay awake and sleeping was miserable.”

     While Mindy was telling everyone what had happened, Cindy sat back and giggled for she knew all to well what had happened. “Have you ever tried to sleep on a lumpy bed with a tummy ache and a sunburn?” Mindy asked “I even missed the parade and the fireworks because I didn't listen and I heard they were great.”

     “And now.” Cindy piped in giggling, “Her favorite china doll is broke into a hundred pieces.” “Shut up!” Mindy hollered at her sister. “So,” Helen asked, “was freedom to do what ever you really wanted really worth it?” Bowing her head, Mindy admitted “Not really. I think from now on I'm going to listen, besides I should have know things wouldn't have worked out.”

     “Why do you say that?” Helen asked. “Because,” Mindy answered, “They never work out for Harold.” “That's for sure.” Stella chirped in, “You should here what happened to him on the fourth.” “No Thanks!” all the girls said in unison. “Let's talk about girl stuff.”

     Can you think of times when obedience to rules would have saved you problems. Can you see how Mindy would have saved herself a lot of problems had she forgone her desired freedom and had done what she had been told to do?

     Sometimes God says to do something and we don't know why but we should still do it and sometimes God says not to do something and we don't know why but we should still not to it. Jeroboam was king of the newly Divided Kingdom and was well in to idolatry when a “Man Of God” was sent to him. This story is about the “Man Of God”

      And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD … And the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward." And the man of God said to the king, "If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.' " So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel. Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. And he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am." Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread." And he said, "I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, 'You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.' " And he said to him, "I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.' " But he lied to him. So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water," your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.' " And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him.

1 Kings 13:1-24 (ESV)

     God doesn't tell us to do or not to do things to keep us from enjoying life but that we might enjoy life. One of the reasons Jesus came was for us to have life and to be able to live it to its fullest - John 10:10 - A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness. (NCV) We need to remember that rules are their for a reason and it not to break them for God knows what happens when we do.

• Joshua 1:8 - Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. (NCV)
• Psalm 119:9 - How can a young person live a pure life? By obeying your word. (NCV)
• Psalm 119:11 - I have taken your words to heart so I would not sin against you. (NCV)
• Psalm 119:92 - If I had not loved your teachings, I would have died from my sufferings. (NCV)
• Psalm 119:93 - I will never forget your orders, because you have given me life by them. (NCV)

     Here's Something To Ponder

• How often have you wished you had obeyed the rules and avoided the consequences?
• How much do you appreciate those who don't listen to you when they should?

YOU CAN'T HAVE IT

Love is not rude, is not selfish, - 1 Corinthians 13:5A (NCV)

     It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon, Randy thought, as he walked through the fellowship dinner line at church. He had just finished giving a great sermon on how love is not selfish and now he was sharing in the wonderful cooking of so many of those in the church. Even the teens, at least Mindy and Cindy, were commenting on the sermon and how they needed to work on their sharing.

     After making it through the line and eating twice what he should have, Randy decided he better not go back for deserts, that was until he caught the aroma of a fresh baked pie. The aroma came from the table behind him and he wasn't the only one to catch drift of it and what he heard in relation to that pie made him wonder if the Miller twins had truly been listening.

     “Is that wonderful aroma coming from you?” Randy heard Cindy ask her sister, “It smells delicious,” she continued, “What is it?” “It's you're favorite.” Mindy replied, “It's a … fresh … baked … blueberry … pie. And I made by myself.”

     “YUM!” Cindy exclaimed, “You're such a wonderful sister. “Thank you.” Mindy replied. “When do I get some?” Cindy asked next but what Randy heard after that, well, it wasn't pleasant. “Get some?” Mindy snorted, “You gotta be kidding. “I don't care if your my sister, I made this pie by MYSELF and I am going to eat it by MYSELF.”

     “Then why did you bring it here?” Cindy demanded to know. “Why do you think I brought?” Mindy laughed, “I brought it to tease you because I know you love blue … berry … pie.” “That's not nice!” Cindy snapped at her sister. “I don’t care.” Mindy laughed again, “It’s MY pie and I’ll do with it as I please. I'm not sharing with anybody, not even you.”

     Randy sadly shook his head, “I guess Mindy didn't learn a thing.” he thought to himself, “I wonder if Cindy did.” Of course, it didn't take long for Randy to find out. “That’s too bad.” He heard Cindy say, “I guess I’ll just have to eat this all too my self.” “Eat what?” Mindy asked, temporally forgetting about her pie.

     “Oh,” Cindy smirked, “Just this banana split I thought of sharing with you since they are your favorite, but you probably don’t want any since you have a whole blueberry pie to eat all by yourself.” “Well, I, um, um.” Mindy stuttered, “Are you sure you won’t share?” “How about some of that pie?” Cindy asked.

     “Pie!” Mindy exclaimed, “What pie? I don’t smell any pie? Besides, you know I would share with you if I had one.” “Wow Randy thought “Now she's lying through her teeth. What next?” “You're just a big liar.” Cindy snorted at her sister. “Oh, yeah,” Mindy exclaimed, “Well, take this.” and then Mindy stood up and through the pie into her sister's face.

     That didn't sit well with Cindy and she grabbed her banana split, covered it in hot sauce and stuck it down Mindy's back. Before Mindy could retaliate Randy saw their dad step in. “Well, now,” Randy heard him say, “Since you couldn't share you treats, you're going to have to share the punishment for your behavior.” and then he marched them out of the church building.

     How selfish can a person be? How unthoughtful of others can a person be? How unsharing and uncaring can a person be? David had been on the run because the king wanted him dead. The king wanted him dead not because he had done wrong but because he had served faithfully and the king was jealous. While David was on the run and unable to settle down in any one place, he didn't let that stop him from serving his country and protecting he fellow country men of which Nabal was one.

     The story of Nabal can be found in 1 Samuel 25 if you would like to read it in full. Here I'll just try to summarize the story.

     Nabal was very rich owning 3000 sheep and 1000 goats and had a beautiful and wise wife named Abigail. Unfortunately, Nabal was not well behaved and was harsh towards others. Now the time had come for Nabal to have his sheep shaved and was in Carmel, (the place)

     David had been protecting his flocks behind the scenes and decided that it was time to send some men to see Nabal and ask for some handouts in return. What the men received was a harsh no and they were sent away and that didn't set well with David. Nor did it sit well with Nabal's servants.

     As a result of Nabal's treatment of David's men, David prepared to go to war against Nabal while Nabal's servants went to Abigail knowing that Nabal's response was going to bring trouble. Quick to see that the servants were right, Abigail responded by loading up lots of food and immediately heading out to intercept David, all without telling her husband.

     When Abigail saw David, she hurried and fell before him on her face and bowed to the ground and she pleaded with him not to make war on her husband, her household and the servants. Upon hearing Abigail's plea, David blessed the Lord, restrained himself from going to war and accepted Abigail's gift of food.

     Latter, Nabal found out what had happened and to make this long story short, God took Nabal's life and David got Abagail as a wife.

     1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us that love is not selfish or self seeking. It may vary depending on the version you read but the idea is still the same. Selfishness comes in many forms including that of Cindy, Mindy and Nabal.

     The opposite of selfishness could be what we find in ....

• Romans 15:1-3 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." (ESV)
• Philippians 2:4 - Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (ESV)
• 1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (ESV)
• 2 Corinthians 5:15 Christ died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from the dead so that they would live for him. (NCV)

     Here's Something To Ponder

• In what ways are you selfish?
• In what ways do you put others first?

RED, PINK, WHITE AND I'M BLUE

Love must be without hypocrisy. - Romans 12:9a (HCSB)

      SLAM! Went the bedroom door. Wham! Went Cindy's back pack against the wall. Plop! went Cindy Miller on her bed. And then to Mindy's surprise, Cindy started bawling her head off. Mindy couldn't remember the last time she had seen her sister act like that for normally it was herself that slammed doors and threw things around.

     “What happened to the bright cheerful girl that crawled out of bed this morning?” Mindy asked, a bit puzzled by her sisters actions. “SHUT UP and leave me a lone.” Cindy replied, “I don't want to talk about it.” and then she pulled a blanket over her head. “No problem.” Mindy said shrugging her shoulders, “I don't have time to talk now any ways.”

     After a few minutes Cindy's bawling turned into a quiet sobbing and Mindy heard her call out from under her blanket “I hate Valentines.” “What?” Mindy asked, “The other day you told me you couldn't get enough of Valentines day and red, pink and white valentine cards from , who was it, someone named Dave.” When Cindy heard her sister mention the name Dave, she started bawling out loud again, this time even louder than before.

     “Um...” Mindy said, “Did I say something wrong?” “That Dave is nothing but a two timing, cheating, rotten scoundrel.” Cindy answered back, “He’s worse than Harold.” After thinking about it for a few minutes, Mindy asked, “Isn't Dave that cute blond haired boy in science class?” “Don't mention his name.” Cindy snapped back in response

     “Why?” Mindy asked, “He's a great kid. I think I even got a red, pink and white valentine card from him. It was cute, It said 'I Love You' on it and asked 'Would you be mine forever?' “You got one too?” Cindy snapped, “What he do, give one to every girl in school?” “Huh,” Mindy said a little confused, “Who else got one?”

     “Molly and Penny for certain.” Cindy whined, “I thought Dave really meant what he said on that card, I thought he really loved me.” “Is that what this tantrum is all about?” Mindy laughed, “You know that no-one really means what they put on those cards.” “But” Cindy protested, to which Mindy added, “You didn't mean what you put on your cards, did you?”

     “No.” Cindy sheepishly replied. “Can I see the card?” Mindy asked next. Crawling out from under her blanket, Cindy found the card and threw it at her sister. After looking the card over, Mindy broke out in uncontrollable laughter. “This card isn't from Dave, it's from Dale, that smelly kid in history class.”

     “What?” Cindy shouted, jumping up and snatching the card out of her sister's hand. After looking it over carefully, she ripped it into shreds crawled back under her blanket. “How embarrassing.” she mumbled and started quietly sobbing.

     What would you rather have, a real $100 bill or a monopoly $100 bill? I think most people would prefer the real bill over the play one. For the most part, I think we want things to be real. Unfortunately, things are not always real, like the love behind Cindy's Valentine Card.

     Throughout out the early part of the Old Testament, God sets down many rules.

• In Exodus 23:14 He says Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. (ESV)
• In Exodus 30:1-7 He says You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. … And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it,(ESV)
• In Leviticus 1:14-17 He says If his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (ESV)
• In Leviticus 22:29-31He says And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the LORD. "So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD. (ESV)

     God wants all these things from Israel yet Isaiah says Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Isaiah 1:10-15 (ESV)

     Did you see that? There was no delight in their sacrifices, their offering were vain, their incense was an abomination, and their feasts were hated Why Because they were no longer real, their hearts were far from God, they were just going through the motions. (Isaiah 29:13)

     In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us that without love we're meaningless. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (ESV) but the love that we are to have is to be real

• 1 Peter 1:22 - Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, (ESV)
• Romans 12:9 - Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. (HCSB)

     Here's Something To Ponder

• Are you loving others as you should?
• Is your love for real or pretend?

SWITCH A ROO

Proverbs 24:28b Do not deceive with your lips. (NASB)

      It was a cool October afternoon in Pupperville and Martha Peterson was out shopping As she finished piling her shopping cart full of candy to hand out for Halloween, she headed over to the costume aisle to see if she could find something for Harold and Stella to wear to the school costume party.

     As Martha rounded the corner of the costume aisle she walked right into a girl trying on a pirate costume and tipped her shopping cart over. “I know you, don’t I” Martha said as stood her shopping cart back up. “You’re one of the Miller twins.” “Yep!” the girl replied, “I’m Mindy” “Mindy?” Martha said a bit puzzled, “I thought I just talked to Mindy in the candy aisle.”

     “You must have us mixed up,” the girl said, “People do that all the time” “Than why does your shirt have the name ‘Cindy’ on it?” Martha replied. “I..I..I..” Cindy stuttered, “I borrowed her clothes.”

     “You know,” Martha smiled, “A couple of weeks ago Harold tried to be some one he wasn’t.” “I was there,” Cindy reminded her, “And he failed miserably. Well, I can do a better job than he can any time.” she continued, “ Beside I look just like Min.......dy.” she went on to say and than ended with a “Oops” as she realized she had just given herself away.

     “Okay CINDY!” Martha said, “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? Have you been around Harold too much.” Actually,” Cindy sheepishly replied, “It’s not his idea, it’s Mindy’s” “Does that mean Mindy’s been hanging around Harold too much?” Martha asked, sure that her son had to have had something to do with it.

     “It’s like this.” Cindy fessed up, “Mindy wants to go to the school costume party with some one named Greg, and she wants to go bowling with Peter, and since we’re identical twins she thought I could pretend I was her so as to keep her friendship going with Greg.” “The Ole Switch A Roo.” Martha said as she shook her head.

     “You’re not going to tell, are you?” Cindy nervously asked. “Don’t you think your parents will be able to tell?” Martha asked. “Well,” Cindy started to answer but Martha went on “God will know too.” “But,” Cindy started in again, “If I don’t I’ll be in big trouble with my sister.” “And if you do you’ll be in trouble with your parents.” Martha tacked on.

     After a few minutes of thinking Martha piped up,“Why don’t you just go as Cindy?” “You mean, pretend that I am Mindy pretending to be me.?” Cindy replied. “No.” Martha answered, “I mean simply be yourself. No pretending at all.” “I’ll think about it” Cindy told her and than put the costume she was trying on back and left.

     In Proverbs 24:28 we read these words Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips. (NASB) Mindy and Cindy are plotting or at least Mindy is plotting, plotting to deceive, or at least have her sister deceive one of her boyfriends. But deception is something the Bible speaks against.

     In the middle of Genesis we read about a gal named Rebekah who's having a problem, baby problems. Apparently she was not able to have children and than she was.... Genesis 25:21-23 Isaac’s wife could not have children, so Isaac prayed to the LORD for her. The LORD heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant. While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?“ Then she went to get an answer from the LORD. The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your body, and two groups of people will be taken from you. One group will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. (NCV) These words were remembered and when the time came, deception reared its dangerous head and someone had to run for his life..

      When Isaac was old, his eyesight was poor, so he could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him and said, “Son.“ Esau answered, “Here I am. Isaac said, “I am old and don’t know when I might die. So take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the field for an animal for me to eat. When you prepare the tasty food that I love, bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die. So Esau went out in the field to hunt. Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. She said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father saying to your brother Esau, Kill an animal and prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die. So obey me, my son, and do what I tell you. Go out to our goats and bring me two of the best young ones. I will prepare them just the way your father likes them. Then you will take the food to your father, and he will bless you before he dies. But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth! If my father touches me, he will know I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me but will place a curse on me because I tried to trick him. So Rebekah said to him, “If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame. Just do what I said and go, get the goats for me.” So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother, and she cooked them in the special way Isaac enjoyed. She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house and put them on the younger son Jacob. She also took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. Jacob went in to his father and said, “Father.“ And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?“ Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat some meat of the animal I hunted for you. Then bless me. But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find and kill the animal so quickly?“ Jacob answered, “Because the LORD your God helped me to find it.“ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son. Then I will know if you are really my son Esau.“ So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice, but your hands are hairy like the hands of Esau.“ Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his hands were hairy like.... Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob." But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you. This is what you should do. Flee to your uncle Laban in Haran. Esau’s hands, so Isaac blessed him.

Genesis 27:1-23,41-43

• Sometimes doing wrong seems great but wait - Proverbs 20:17 - Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel. (ESV)
• How mad would one want to be - Proverbs 26:18-19 - Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!" (NIV)
• Should we not abhor what the Lord abhors - Psalm 5:6 - You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors. (NIV)
• Don't deceive yourself -Psalms 101:7 I will not allow deceivers to serve me, and liars will not be allowed to enter my presence. (NLT)

      Here's Something To Ponder

• How do you respond when you know you've been deceived?
• Do you ever try to justify deception?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Colossians 4:2a - Be persistent in prayer, (TEV)

      It was two weeks before Mother's Day and Cindy Miller was desperate to earn some money so she could get a certain gift for her Mom. As she scanned through the help wanted section in the local newspaper she found an ad for a baby sitter and the house was only two blocks away. “How hard could baby sitting be?” She thought to herself and picked up the phone and called the listed number. Now, she wishes she hadn't and so does Tracy McDonald.

     For the last two hours Tracy has been on the phone with Cindy listening to Cindy whine and complain about her babysitting job. “I never in my life thought a three year old girl could be such a pain.” Cindy told Tracy. “Three year old girls are suppose to sit quietly and play with baby dolls.” “Did you play with baby dolls when you were three?” Tracy asked but Cindy never quit talking long enough to hear her.

     “I thought I was going to be able to just sit and watch television and talk on the phone while the pest played dolls but no way. Before I could even get comfortable on the couch I had a ton of books dropped on my lap. I told her I didn't want to read and was that ever a mistake. Every time I answered her she just kept asking Why? Why? Why? and she wouldn't quit.

     “Did you...” Tracy started to ask but Cindy cut her off. “I tried to read to her but she kept interrupting me with questions. She asked more questions than the test we had in history last week. And every time I tried to answer one she started asking Why? Why? Why? I would have loved to have found a dirty old sock and shoved it in her mouth but than I probably wouldn't have gotten payed. As it was I don't think I got payed enough.”

     “How much did...” Tracy tried to ask but Cindy kept right on complaining. “I wonder if I could find a dirty old sock/” Tracy thought to herself “I sure hope my mom appreciates what I had to put up with .” Cindy kept on jabbering. “Kids are nothing but a nuisance. It took me nearly three hours to get the brat to be quiet.”

      Finally, Tracy had enough and decided the only way she was going to get Cindy to quit was to start asking why?. After asking why to everything Cindy said. Three minutes later Cindy fell very quiet and then Tracy heard a click and buzzzzzzzz.. “I should have thought of that sooner.” Tracy thought to herself and headed to the barn to do some chores. As for Cindy she called Stella and started complaining all over again until Stella started asking why.

     Little children can be very persistent when it comes to asking why or anything else. As children of God, how persistent are we when it comes to asking?

     We honestly and earnestly pray to God to give us blessings, and he withholds them. The sickness is not removed, the life not spared, the burden not lightened, the child not reclaimed, the friend not reconciled, the cause not blessed, the wrong not stayed, the faithful not delivered; and the hearts of the people of God are filled with sorrow and dismay; and the question that rises to their lips is, “How long, O Lord, how long will you not respond?” And we give up asking, we give up praying just like that.

     We have many exampled of people praying in the Bible, people who didn't just say a simple short prayer and then go on, They kept praying, and they kept coming back to pray. I can think of Hannah praying for a child, Daniel under threat of a lion's den continuing 3 times a day, the apostles and the early church that dedicated themselves to prayer and let's not forget Jesus who at times would pray all night.

     Jesus used two different parables to teach us to be persistent in our praying and to not give up. The first parable is in Luke 11:5-8 He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. (HCSB)

     The second parable is in Luke 18:1-7 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes. "There was a city judge," he said, "a very godless man who had great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for justice against a man who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves. " `I fear neither God nor man,' he said to himself, `but this woman bothers me. I'm going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!' " Then the Lord said, "If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, don't you think that God will surely give justice to his people who plead with him day and night? (TLB)

     If these parables are not enough, try these verses.

• 1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! (ESV) J. Vernon McGee's in his Thru The Bible commentary asks some questions in regards to this verse. He asks; Do you seek His face continually? What is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning? When you go to bed at night, what is the last thing you think about? Do you think about God all during the day? Or do you just leave God behind when you go to work or go to school or go to a social gathering?
• Ephesians 6:18 - Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people. (NCV)
• Colossians 4:2 - Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. (TEV)
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray all the time; (MSG)

     Phillips Brooks said that prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness. Persistence in prayer is not an attempt to change God's mind but to get ourselves to the place where He can trust us with the answer.

      Here's Something To Ponder

• What are your needs, wants or desires?
• Are you consistently bringing them to God in prayer?

LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:13b (NKJV)

      Some people think they always need to be the center of attention and some of those people go to great lengths to make sure they are getting everyone's attention. One girl I know of even hung upside down from a ferris wheel in a dress that flopped down over her head showing the world her yellow, and purple polka dot panties.

      It all started when a bunch of girls got together at the county fair to go on all of the amusement park rides and Stella Peterson started daring and double daring the other girls to do some stupid and dangerous things on some of the rides.

     First came the dare to ride in the roller coaster backwards. While it was not easy to get turned around once she was buckled into her seat, Mindy took the dare. She wished she hadn't for heading down the second hill she lost her orientation, got dizzy and threw up and of course it all landed in her face. Stella thought it was funny and till she saw that the worker who was helping her was cute.

     When they got to the go-carts, Cindy dared Stella to drive the hardest obstacle course at full speed. Trying to get out of the dare, Stella double dared Cindy to stand on the back of the cart while she did it. To her dismay, Cindy jumped on the back and triple dared her to make her fall off. Stella tried her best to make Cindy fall off and as she did a large crowd gathered. When her time ran out, the crowd started applauding and circled around Cindy giving her high fives.

     “Hey, what about me?” Stella called out, “I did all the driving.” but no one was paying attention to her. Not liking that Cindy was getting the attention and she was being ignored, Stella decided she could do even better than standing up on the back of a go-cart, she was going go on the ferris wheel and have the operator make it go really fast and than she would stand up and clap her hands above her head while spinning around yelling “Look at me! Look at me!”

     Well, it didn't take long and Stella became the center of attention. On her fourth time around the ferris wheel came to an abrupt stop and she went flying over the side. Luckily her foot had gotten wrapped up in the safety strap and it kept her from falling to the ground but it did leave her hanging upside down.

     As she hung from the top of the ferris wheel, she watched the crowds gather below her, she saw them pointing at her and heard them laughing. “This isn't funny!” she thought to herself and than she realized her dress and flopped down and she was showing everybody in the park her polka dot panties and there was nothing she could do to hide them.

     By the time the ladder truck made it the fair grounds to rescue her, everyone with in a mile had gathered to laugh at her. She wanted to be the center of attention and she was. She even got her picture in the national paper, at least her panties did.

     Depending on the translation of the Bible you read, the second half of Matthew 6:13 which says For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (NKJV) may or may not be present. There are many who believe these words, called a doxology, were not spoken by Christ and were not a part of the original Lord's Prayer because they do not appear in the oldest manuscripts. It is believed that these words were added because of a Jewish custom of ending all daily prayers with a brief doxology.

     While Jesus may not have used this doxology, there is nothing to say we can not, for the “Lord’s Prayer” is only an example. Furthermore, it seems to give a better ending than the words “evil one” to the prayer, or any prayer. For many of us though, we might as well leave this doxology out for just like Stella in the above story, we want to be the center of attention we want to say “It's all mine.”

     Like Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30, we want to say “My kingdom,” for it is there we read that The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" (NKJV) We often say MY Kingdom instead of Your Kingdom because we want our time, our money, our plans, our way period

     Let's not forget our power. Muhammed Ali said of himself before his 1971 fight with Joe Frazier: "There seems to be some confusion. We're gonna clear this confusion up on March 8. We're gonna decide once and for all who is king! There's not a man alive who can whip me. I'm too smart, I'm too pretty, I am the greatest. I am the king! I should be a postage stamp, that's the only way I could get licked!" - he was beaten - (Life magazine - Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations) To many of us think we have the power to do anything and we want the praise for what is done.

     As for the glory that should go to God we are often like Hezekiah who had been given extra years t live by God but instead of showing off God he showed off his riches. As to say Look at what I have. In Matthew 5 Jesus said we are to let our light shine – not so that we would receive glory but so that God would receive it.

     We need to be able to let God be king – king over our bodies. our behavior. our plans. in our families, etc. after all, He is creator and all belongs to Him.

     Instead of trying to do everything on our own by our own might or power, we need to back off and let God work through us.

     And let's avoid the lime light. We don't need to be the center of attention – all the attention should be focused on God.

 

     Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep, and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him! Psalm 95:1-7 (TLB)

     Are we ready to pray - Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory

      Here's Something To Ponder

• Do you consider your self more important than God?
• Do you steal glory from God?

I WISH HE WAS (My Dad)

Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, - Matthew 6:9a (NAS)

      It was a cold snowy afternoon and Stella had got together with the Miller twins to do some browsing for clothes at the Teen Shop in the mall. After about an hour looking through rack after rack of the latest spring fashions they decided to head to the food court and get a bite to eat. After ordering some food they found an empty table and sat down to eat.

     As they snacked on their fries, they started talking about all the cute boys they saw walking around and how great it would be to go on a date with some of them but since their dads had so many restrictions on any attempt they made to date, their conversation soon turn to complaining about their dads.

     “My dad is so lame.” Stella complained, “And he looks like a Martian.” “Well, our dad is so lazy,” Mindy said next, “I wish he never existed.” “Yeah,” Cindy added, “He makes us do all the work and he never does anything.” “Well, my dad does do one thing,” Stella spoke next, “But I wish he didn't.” “What's that?” the twins asked in unison. “Ground me!” Stella answered.

     “I wonder what it would be like if we could pick our dads.” Cindy said after gulping down a big bite of ice cream. “What a great idea sis!” Mindy told Cindy in reply. “Yeah,” Stella added and then they chatted back and forth for the next half hour on what kind of dad they would choose and how their dream dad would be rich, good looking, famous, important, never make them do anything they didn't want to do and never ever ground them.

     The next thing the girls knew, a young lady pulled up a chair and sat down with them and asked “Are you sure you want a dad like that?” Looking at each other with puzzled faces, Stella finally piped up and asked “Who are you? And Who invited you to but in on our conversation.”

     “My name,” the young lady said, “Is Rosita Roselli and I couldn't help over hearing you talking about your dream dad. Well, dream dads aren't that great.” “What would you know?” Mindy sneered at her. “My dad,” Rosita replied, “Is everything you dream of, He's rich, good looking, famous, and important and he never makes me do things and never grounds me because he's never there.”

     “That's awesome.” Mindy said. “Can meet him?” Cindy added “Maybe we could trade” Stella tacked on and none of the girls noticed how sad Rosita was. “It's not so awesome.” Rosita said as she looked Mindy in the eye. “You always have to live perfectly, you always have to have a body guard, you can only go to schools full of snobs, you can't have real friends and if you even walk funny you get in trouble. I have to live as if my Dad is all that matters in the world and everything I say or do has to be perfect.” and than turning to Cindy she continued, “No, you can't meet him, I told you, he's never around and besides, you're not good enough.” then turning to Stella she finished by saying, “If you want, I'll gladly trade dads with you for I would much rather have a dad like yours.”

     Through out the Bible you will find God being addressed by various names an attributes. He is God Almighty, He is I Am, He is a consuming fire, He is compassionate, He is a great and Awesome God, He is the Lord of Lords and God of gods, He is a righteous judge, and the list goes on. In the opening words of what is called the Lord’s prayer, Jesus turns our thoughts to God as our Heavenly Father

     There are many reasons for wanting to address God as Father:

• It acknowledges Him as our Creator for He created us in His image
• It show we have a relationship with Him
• Because He treats us like a father
  • Psalm 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. (NAS)
  • Proverbs 3:12 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. (NLT)

     There are more verses we could look at but lets go on to the heart of what it means to call God – Father.

     In John 8 Jesus was talking to some Jews, Jews who were claiming to be descendants of Abraham, Jews who were claiming that Abraham was the father but what they claimed didn't match with what Jesus saw. "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham.” Jesus told them. On top of this, the Jews claimed the God was their father but Jesus told them their only father was the devil for it was the devil's desire they wished to fulfill, not Abraham's and not God's.

     In calling God – Father one must be willing to behave as one of God's children. Look at these verse on how a child of God is to behave for when we call God – Father we are saying this is how I will behave.

• 1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. (NIV)
• Matthew 5:48 You must be perfect—just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (TEV)
• 1 John 3:10 This is how God’s children—and the Devil’s children—are made evident. Love’s Imperative Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. (HCSB)
• 1 Peter 1:14 Obey God because you are his children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then.(NLT)

     1 John 3:1 says See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children...(NLT) Yet, as you can see, calling God your Heavenly Father requires more than just calling Him Father. Calling yourself His child requires more than just calling yourself His child - It requires you to live as His child. Are you ready to pray “Our Father in Heaven?”

      Here's Something To Ponder

• Do you treat God as Father?
• Do you live as you're God's child?