(Click On Black Line Just Below To Customize Your View!)
***Hover Cursor Over Pic!
***Endless Scrolling!
#HowdyDadJokes
#HowdyThoughtHumor
#ProfHowdy
First Published In The Last Century - July 26, 1997!
T3H7P12H
Over 9 Million Hits!
Unlimited Scrolling!
An Amusement Park Of Ideas! #ProfHowdy Professor Howdy
My friend Dave got tired of wearing glasses. But if he didn't, he was dangerous. After consulting with a specialist, he determined that he was a candidate for this new Lasik eye surgery. During the procedure, a laser beam was aimed at the parts of his eye that limited his vision and the light of that laser changed everything. Guess who doesn't need glasses anymore? All because of the power of focused light.
For someone you know, for someone you love, their only hope of ever seeing Jesus may be the power of focused light. And you are God's laser to their life. We're not talking about you trying to single-handedly reach for Christ everyone in your town, or everyone in your school, or your workplace, or your neighborhood. We're talking about you focusing your love and prayer and efforts on one person you want to have in heaven with you; someone who, if they died today, probably wouldn't go there.
I call it a mission with a name. Not just some general, non-specific concern for the "lost" or the "unsaved." We're talking about a mission; a burden with a name. Like Andrew had. He may have been the first of Jesus' disciples to recognize who Jesus was. John 1:40-42, our word for today from the Word of God, describes how Andrew was introduced to Jesus by John the Baptist and started following Him. It goes on to say, "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah.' And he brought him to Jesus." Andrew had a mission with a name, one person he was committed to tell about the Jesus he had found. And he brought him to Jesus. And we know what God did through the life of the one he brought - Simon Peter.
We know that Jesus' heart is for just one lost sheep. Matthew 18:12 says, "Will he not leave the ninety-nine (that's the sheep who are already in) on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" Going after one. When you follow Jesus, that's what you'll be doing. That doesn't mean you'll ignore the other lost people around you, but you'll start with one person God lays on your heart as you ask Him to. Then you pray for that person by name every day.
You pray for God to open their heart, and to open up natural opportunities to tell them about a relationship with Jesus Christ. You look for ways to love them in their language of love, demonstrating Jesus' love for them in practical ways that will respond to some need in their life. You tell them your Hope Story of how Jesus is changing your life. You focus the light of Jesus and your efforts on that one lost person.
In a previous generation, a man named John Wanamaker was one of the most looked-to and successful businessmen in America. His department stores were some of the most successful in this country. He was also a lover of Jesus and a Sunday School teacher. One day he wrote laboriously hand-copied letters to each member of his large class. What he wrote to them has really touched my heart, and its message is still a cry from God's heart to our hearts today. He said: "If you are saved, humbly trusting in what Jesus did when His love failed not on the Cross, think of others not saved - going to the eternal darkness; your friend, your relative and do something!"
"Settle your mind and heart on some particular person to pray for and work with and not give up on until that person has come to Christ. Your help is in God. It is an undying soul you are laboring for. Oh, what a pleasure it will be to have some newborn soul beside you at the next supper of the Lord. Do not put off a single hour. Hearts grow harder and colder every day and Eternity is near." Then he signed his letter, "Yours in the hope of heaven and to win our friends to go with us."
God's already speaking to your heart about that person He wants you to pray for, to work for, It's your mission from heaven; your mission with a name. Someone who may one day walk up to you in heaven and say, "I'm here because of you."
To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: Yours for Life or call 1-888-966-7325.
I took up gardening a few years ago. (Well, actually gardening seemed to take me up.) It all started very innocently when a friend gave me a cutting from her jade plant. I knew nothing about plants. I had watched for years as my mother worked in her garden and I appreciated the interplay of color and texture created by the various flowers, trees, and shrubs. But I didn't know the first thing about the process of cultivating or caring for a garden, and as far as I was concerned, the details involved in that process were best left up to my mother.
But all of that changed when I received my Jade cutting from my friend. She knew just how to initiate me into the wonders of gardening, without overwhelming me with the details. Jade plants are succulents; for those of you who do not know what a succulent plant is, it's simply a plant that doesn't need a great deal of water or attention. In other words, it's the perfect kind of plant for a novice gardener! I was amazed by how quickly this one plant put down roots in my heart. Watching this little cutting grow tiny, threadlike roots, planting it in a pot filled with simulated desert soil, and experiencing the wonder as it grew into the small Jade tree that it is today—over 15 years later—amazed me at how something so small, so ordinary could become extraordinary.
I can tell you that it didn't take long before I began to try my hand at plants that required more attention and care: african violets, cyclamen, gerbera daisies, iris, lilies, tulips, and a whole assortment of garden flora and fauna. I grew enchanted by the variety of color, texture, and arrangement each new species added to my garden. I learned about specific care regimens, their particular pests, the difference between a partial-sun and partial-shade plant, and how soil acidity impacts the color of certain types of plants.
More than all of this, gardening took me up because gardening quickly grew in me a sense of wonder. I suspect my friend knew this when she introduced me to my first, little jade plant. She knew that gardening would introduce me to the extraordinary in the ordinary. You cannot help but begin to pay attention to the tiniest details as you garden, and in turn, begin to notice all kinds of other awe-producing details all around you. The varieties of the color green in the trees, grasses, plants and shrubs, the nuances of blue and aqua hues that shimmer on lakes and oceans, and the little creatures that share the world with us—birds, rabbits, coyotes, skunk, deer, dogs, and cats. Living now in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where gardening is beloved and beauty envelopes us, this is all the more true for me.
The Christian Scriptures indicate that the natural response to wonder is worship. Indeed, the psalmist suggests that the very detailed elements of creation proclaim the glory and worship of God: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands! Whether we realize it or not, we are drawn into the very presence of God when we wonder in God's creation. We affirm the beauty and the goodness of God as we wonder at and with and for creation. And as we wonder, we agree with God that all God made "was very good" (Genesis 1:31).
Have you lost your sense of wonder? Has your life gotten too busy, too laden with care or comfort or grief that you cannot see God's extraordinary presence in the ordinary details of life? Or maybe God seems far off and unreachable, and you long for the tending and nurturing of a gardener yourself. I cannot explain away that longing any more than the psalmist, who expressed a similar lament when God felt far off to him. But I do know that nurturing my own garden and wondering aloud at the beauty of color and intricacy, I am comforted by the declarations of creation—of gardens and waters and heavens who seem confident, not only that there is a gardener, but one who is very good.
Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington.
God speaks to the sun and it does not shine; He seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him.
Thanks for leaving a message! All comments are posted even negative ones unless they con - tain family unfriendly words and you are smart enough to know what those are. If you are unsure what these might be, ask your Mom:O)
My friend Dave got tired of wearing glasses. But if he didn't, he was dangerous. After consulting with a specialist, he determined that he was a candidate for this new Lasik eye surgery. During the procedure, a laser beam was aimed at the parts of his eye that limited his vision and the light of that laser changed everything. Guess who doesn't need glasses anymore? All because of the power of focused light.
ReplyDeleteFor someone you know, for someone you love, their only hope of ever seeing Jesus may be the power of focused light. And you are God's laser to their life. We're not talking about you trying to single-handedly reach for Christ everyone in your town, or everyone in your school, or your workplace, or your neighborhood. We're talking about you focusing your love and prayer and efforts on one person you want to have in heaven with you; someone who, if they died today, probably wouldn't go there.
I call it a mission with a name. Not just some general, non-specific concern for the "lost" or the "unsaved." We're talking about a mission; a burden with a name. Like Andrew had. He may have been the first of Jesus' disciples to recognize who Jesus was. John 1:40-42, our word for today from the Word of God, describes how Andrew was introduced to Jesus by John the Baptist and started following Him. It goes on to say, "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah.' And he brought him to Jesus." Andrew had a mission with a name, one person he was committed to tell about the Jesus he had found. And he brought him to Jesus. And we know what God did through the life of the one he brought - Simon Peter.
We know that Jesus' heart is for just one lost sheep. Matthew 18:12 says, "Will he not leave the ninety-nine (that's the sheep who are already in) on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" Going after one. When you follow Jesus, that's what you'll be doing. That doesn't mean you'll ignore the other lost people around you, but you'll start with one person God lays on your heart as you ask Him to. Then you pray for that person by name every day.
You pray for God to open their heart, and to open up natural opportunities to tell them about a relationship with Jesus Christ. You look for ways to love them in their language of love, demonstrating Jesus' love for them in practical ways that will respond to some need in their life. You tell them your Hope Story of how Jesus is changing your life. You focus the light of Jesus and your efforts on that one lost person.
(CONTINUED)
In a previous generation, a man named John Wanamaker was one of the most looked-to and successful businessmen in America. His department stores were some of the most successful in this country. He was also a lover of Jesus and a Sunday School teacher. One day he wrote laboriously hand-copied letters to each member of his large class. What he wrote to them has really touched my heart, and its message is still a cry from God's heart to our hearts today. He said: "If you are saved, humbly trusting in what Jesus did when His love failed not on the Cross, think of others not saved - going to the eternal darkness; your friend, your relative and do something!"
ReplyDelete"Settle your mind and heart on some particular person to pray for and work with and not give up on until that person has come to Christ. Your help is in God. It is an undying soul you are laboring for. Oh, what a pleasure it will be to have some newborn soul beside you at the next supper of the Lord. Do not put off a single hour. Hearts grow harder and colder every day and Eternity is near." Then he signed his letter, "Yours in the hope of heaven and to win our friends to go with us."
God's already speaking to your heart about that person He wants you to pray for, to work for, It's your mission from heaven; your mission with a name. Someone who may one day walk up to you in heaven and say, "I'm here because of you."
To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: Yours for Life or call 1-888-966-7325.
"A Word With You" by Ron Hutchcraft
On Gardening and Hope
ReplyDeleteI took up gardening a few years ago. (Well, actually gardening seemed to take me up.) It all started very innocently when a friend gave me a cutting from her jade plant. I knew nothing about plants. I had watched for years as my mother worked in her garden and I appreciated the interplay of color and texture created by the various flowers, trees, and shrubs. But I didn't know the first thing about the process of cultivating or caring for a garden, and as far as I was concerned, the details involved in that process were best left up to my mother.
But all of that changed when I received my Jade cutting from my friend. She knew just how to initiate me into the wonders of gardening, without overwhelming me with the details. Jade plants are succulents; for those of you who do not know what a succulent plant is, it's simply a plant that doesn't need a great deal of water or attention. In other words, it's the perfect kind of plant for a novice gardener! I
was amazed by how quickly this one plant put down roots in my heart. Watching this little cutting grow tiny, threadlike roots, planting it in a pot filled with simulated desert soil, and experiencing the wonder as it grew into the small Jade tree that it is today—over 15 years later—amazed me at how something so small, so ordinary could become extraordinary.
I can tell you that it didn't take long before I began to try my hand at plants that required more attention and care: african violets, cyclamen, gerbera daisies, iris, lilies, tulips, and a whole assortment of garden flora and fauna. I grew enchanted by the variety of color, texture, and arrangement each new species added to my garden. I learned about specific care regimens, their particular pests, the difference between a partial-sun and partial-shade plant, and how soil acidity impacts the color of certain types of plants.
(Continued Below!)
More than all of this, gardening took me up because gardening quickly grew in me a sense of
ReplyDeletewonder. I suspect my friend knew this when she introduced me to my first, little jade plant. She knew that gardening would introduce me to the extraordinary in the ordinary. You cannot help but begin to pay attention to the tiniest details as you garden, and in turn, begin to notice all kinds of other awe-producing details all around you. The varieties of the color green in the trees, grasses, plants and shrubs, the nuances of blue and aqua hues that shimmer on lakes and oceans, and the little creatures that share the world with us—birds, rabbits, coyotes, skunk, deer, dogs, and cats. Living now in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where gardening is beloved and beauty envelopes us, this is all the more true for me.
The Christian Scriptures indicate that the natural response to wonder is worship. Indeed, the psalmist suggests that the very detailed elements of creation proclaim the glory and worship of God: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their
expanse is declaring the work of his hands! Whether we realize it or not, we are drawn into the very presence of God when we wonder in God's creation. We affirm the beauty and the goodness of God as we wonder at and with and for creation. And as we wonder, we agree with God that all God made "was very good" (Genesis 1:31).
Have you lost your sense of wonder? Has your life gotten too busy, too laden with care or comfort or grief that you cannot see God's extraordinary presence in the ordinary details of life? Or maybe God seems far off and unreachable, and you long for the tending and nurturing of a gardener yourself. I cannot explain away that longing any more than the psalmist, who expressed a similar lament when God felt far off to him. But I do know that nurturing my own garden and wondering aloud at the beauty of color and intricacy, I am comforted by the declarations of creation—of gardens and waters and heavens who seem confident, not only that there is a gardener, but
one who is very good.
Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington.
God speaks to the sun and it does not shine; He seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
ReplyDeleteBy the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him.
ReplyDelete