“Read to make good decisions,” is only one of the ten great reasons to read.

“10 Great Reasons To Read”

Let me tell you about two good decisions I made in my life.

Decision Number ONE: 

In my early life I decided to become a missionary.  

Decision Number TWO:

I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and I decided to get married to a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why  did I make those two good decisions? Because my guidebook is the BIBLE, the Word of God.

The Bible says in Mark 16:15 “‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'”

And in Second Corinthians 6:15 the Bible says “What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”

I want to close with Matthew 6:33, where it says “But seek first his kingdom, and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Money Week

Money Week

Money Week is co-ordinated and managed by the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income. And this is the second annual Money Week.

THE CROSS

William James says,

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.”

In his letter to the holy people in Philippi the apostle Paul is telling them that they must have the same attitude that the Lord Jesus Christ had.

“Though he was God,

Philippians 2:6-11

Intr.: 

he did not think of equality with God  as something to cling to.

A.   INSTEAD,

1.  he gave up his divine privileges;

2.  he took the humble position of a slave and

3.  was born as a human being.

4.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and

5.  died a criminal’s death on the cross.

B.   THEREFORE,

1.  God elevated him to the place of highest honor and

2.  gave him the name above all other names,

3. that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow,

a.  in heaven and

b.  on earth and

c   under the earth,

4. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

End: to the glory of God the Father.”

A hairdresser establishment on Commerce Street here in Kaitaia, in the Far North of New Zealand, has a blackboard outside the shop and on the board I read today:

“A bad attitude is like having a flat tyre …

It never gets you anywhere.”

I saw this flower today

“As someone has said, ‘Patience (hupomone) is that quality of endurance that can reach the breaking point and not break.'” – Billy Graham, in UNTO THE HILLS

I saw this flower today

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” – William James

“Looking Back,” it says at the top of one page  of one of our local newspapwers, the NORTHERN NEWS, August 28, 2013.

It says there also “The NORTHERN NEWS has a wealth of photographs from days gone by – what we need are the stories that lie behind them.”

I have hardly any photographs from my past, but I remember stories.

There is one story I will never forget.

“Milestones” is a feature in the same paper. And the following story is a milestone in my life. It happened exactly 55 years ago – September 2, 1958 – when  I passed from darkness to light, from death to life. 

On September 2, 1958 I had my second birthday. When a person is born the second time the Holy spirit creates new life in that person.

The second birth is not different to the first birth. In a second we pass from darkness to light, from death to life. With other words there is a “once” and a “now” in our lives.

We are reading about the “once” and “now” in Ephesians 5:8 and First Peter 2:9. Notice also the words “darkness” and “light”.

In the verses John 5:24 and First John 3:14 we are reading about “death” and “life.”

This is what the Lord Jesus Christ says about DEATH and LIFE in John 5:24: 

“‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from DEATH to LIFE.'” 

Can you look back to a second birthday in your life?