Is Our Number Up?
This last couple of weeks has been pretty shocking. People we have known about are going by the wayside. Ed McMahan, Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and just today, Billy Mays (the TV Oxy-Clean spokesperson. He was only 50 years old also.)
Our Lord has His plan, and all we know is that it is perfect. This doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer when a loved one passes on. BUT, it does tell us something. God tells us to be ready at any time. He also tells us to spread His word. Matthew 28:19-20 tells it all: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” I know I have mentioned this before, but it stands. These passages do not specify pastors, ministers, or professional people, it speaks to us. It doesn’t specify age, sex or race. It says get the Word out. Well…….Do we need anymore convincing? The next number could be someone very close to us.
Know when to speak #7
What Faith is NOT!
Faith is faith, right? To have faith simply means believing in something. We have all kinds of faith in different items and issues in our lives. We have faith in our spouses, our children, our jobs, our homes, our vehicles, our government (most of the time), our friends, and, oh yes, our God. For the most part, we take all of these for granted.
Jesus offered us the gift of eternal life, and we can receive it through faith. Are there any conditions here that we should be aware of? Is this faith principle that Jesus offers us the same as the faith we have in other issues in our lives? Or, is there something different in the scheme of things? Let’s look at a couple of faiths that are not considered ‘saving faith’.
The first one we’ll examine is what is referred to as head knowledge. We all believe certain things have happened, such as historical events. We believe they occurred. Many say they believe that Jesus existed, and that He was a good man, did good things, is well known. They believe these facts. They say they have faith by this explanation. Is this saving faith? I don’t think Jesus had this type of faith in mind. Many say that all these issues in our lives fall under faith. Absolutely! However, we are missing a key ingredient that ignites everything. We’ll get in that later. Now let’s take a look at another type of faith that is not ‘saving faith’.
We’ll call this one temporal faith. Another word for this is temporary faith. You can probably guess what this one means. It’s like taking God off a shelf when you need Him. Things like, illness, air travel, financial stress, and anything else that comes on suddenly. When through asking God for whatever it is your asking for, we put Him back on the shelf. Now, let’s not confuse this with actual faithful prayer, which covers all of the above mentioned items, plus much more.
If we look at scripture carefully we will see how God illustrates some of these faiths that are not really faiths. For an example, let’s
look at James 2:19: ¨You believe that God is one, You do well; the demons also believe,
and shudder.” If just believing is the key, it would appear that we are going to have some strange company in heaven, as the demons also believe. Do we think for a moment they are going to heaven?
Possibly this will give you something to chew on. Next month we’ll take a look at ‘Saving Faith’, and what it is…really.
A Little Humor
The 8th OF JULY??
What is so different about the 8th of July this year?At five minutes and six seconds after 4 AM on the 8th of
July this year, the time and date will be 04:05:06 07/08/09.
This will never happen again.
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Here we go…..The Man Rules-------------
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down
Finally, the guys' side of the story.
We always hear "the rules" from the female side.
Now here are the rules from the male side. Please note these are all numbered "1"
ON PURPOSE!
Men are NOT mind readers.. 1. Learn to work the toilet seat.You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.We need it up, you need it down.You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports: It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides.Let it be. 1. Shopping is NOT a sport.And no, we are never going to think of it that way.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work!Strong hints do not work!Obvious hints do not work!Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question. 1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. When ever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
1.. Christopher Columbus did NOT
need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors...like Windows default settings.Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no Idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing, " we will act like nothing's wrong.We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really.
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or golf.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this..Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But, did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.
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I know this was quite a bit of ‘Humor’, but sometimes we need to laugh a bit more. I sure would like to see some ‘humor’ stories coming in. We can use a bit of fun.
….Editor
My book has finally been released. If you would like to see the Press Release, please go to:
http://eloquentbooks.com/BeneathTheSurface-MX02.html
It will tell you a bit about the book and author.
Another Note:
If you are new to the Signpost Newsletter and would like to read previous months, you can go to our blog and catch up.
http://TheSignpostnewsletter.blogspot.com.
See you next month,
Hope you have a—
Happy 4th of July !
