Good Things

by Everett Christian, McAlester, OK
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. - Psalm 77:11-12(New International Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
(From David) 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. - Psalm 32:5(New International Version).

A QUOTE
The only way to escape judgment is to follow the plan spelled out by God. - Jim Edlin -

THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
Worry wastes today's time cluttering tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles. - From Reminisce Magazine - It's OK to let your mind wander as long as you don't lose it. - From Reminisce Magazine -

NOTES
I had lunch with my brother, Charley, and our friend, Bill, today. I went to the post office. I took my nap in early afternoon. When I got up I worked in my office filing and throwing stuff away. Rascal was there for a few minutes and then went on to other things. I watched a Billy Graham Crusade at 6:00 p.m. This was the final service of a crusade from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Mn. in 1961. Two weeks ago I watched another service from the same crusade. I never cease to be amazed and humbled at how Billy Graham held so many crusades for so many years throughout the world. I sat outside with the cats and read for a few minutes this evening. Since last time I have heard from Michele Filitti, Geneva, Steve and Alice. It is always good to hear from people from time to time concerning the Good Things. Even if I don't hear from you I am very grateful that each of you read the Good Things.
The cats are fine. Rascal is on the table close to me at present and Little Girl is on the filing cabinet. I have seen all the other cats this evening. Today has been a sunny day with a high temperature of 86 degrees. Low temperature this morning was 58 degrees. At 9:35 p.m. skies are mostly clear with a temperature of 73 degrees.
I will see you next time, In Christian Love, Everett

Daily Jewel

by Pastor J.T. Carnell, McAlester, OK
Sept. 21, 2011

“O Happy Day!”
“Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence…” – Proverbs 8:30

“Rejoice in the Lord, always. I will say it again…rejoice!” - Philippians 4:4

I have heard from more than one source that boat ownership has two days that every owner relishes: the first one is the day you buy it, and the day you sell it! All the days in between are just days when you take cash out of your wallet and throw it into the hull of the boat! The following is the story of one such boat owner. "It was the start of spring and time to open our boat for the summer. So we picked it up from where it had been stored, uncovered it, and took it to the car wash for cleaning/vacuuming. We noticed a ton of “stuff” in there like leaves, pine needles, and small pieces of trash that we hadn’t seen before, but figured we’d just missed it. So we started the vacuum, and opened up the back hatch to see what we thought was water in the bow–it turned out to be gasoline. Squirrels had gnawed into the gas tank, along with all the lines, and insulation. The cost to repair was $2,800. We threw a lot of money into the hull on that day." Have you ever had a season like that, where if anything could go wrong, it did—that in the midst of a crisis, or suffering, or tragedy, you couldn’t see any way out? But looking back later, you learned something? The truth is we all have difficult experiences in our lives. Doubt reigns supreme, and we sometimes can’t find relief or see any way out of whatever it is we’re facing. The Apostle James understood this. He wrote:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2, 3)

The Greek phrase James uses is “pasan charan”– it means FULL and COMPLETE JOY. It means to decide to have a joyful attitude in all things. Why? Because as James points out, in doing so we are strengthened and our endurance becomes full and complete. It’s a level of spiritual maturity not everyone achieves easily, but it is a level of spiritual maturity we all need to try to reach. There was book recently written by Marcus Luttrell entitled, Lone Survivor. It’s a story about a Navy Seal who was dropped into Afghanistan with a team of other Seals. He writes of being surrounded by the Taliban and his entire team is pinned down and eventually killed (not before those Seals killed more than 70 Taliban). Marcus miraculously escaped, and literally crawled 7 miles to a safe village where he was eventually rescued. He credits his survival to his training. No one just walks through Seal training. It’s a grueling process of forever-long swims, running with logs over their heads—crazy stuff. But it was that training that got him through the battle; the training process prepared him for what he would endure later. It’s that discipline that saw him through, and it’s that discipline that sees us through our spiritual battles. Let’s be clear – you and I cannot survive everything that comes our way by simply thinking positively. We must prepare for those battles by training in the good times. How do we prepare? Listen to Paul’s suggestion: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7) Paul urged his friends to pray for things big and small. When we do that, hope comes alive; hope is like oxygen for our soul. I think we’ve done a disservice to the concept of “hope,” using it to mean almost anything – we hope for better weather; we hope our team wins. But hope is more than just wishful thinking; it’s true confidence that God is in control from start to finish! Our hope in God includes more than those times when things are good. It includes those times when trials come our way – it’s when we’re unemployed; or our marriage is failing; or that diagnosis isn’t what we’d prayed it would be; or we have teenagers making bad decisions about their lives, their choice to “try” things. Rejoicing in the Lord is also rejoicing with the Lord. It is a decision that when made will change the outlook of all circumstances. That way we can say, regardless of what that day brings, “O Happy Day!”
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Good Things

by Everett Christian, McAlester, OK
Tuesday, September 20, 2011

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
(The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel) 18 "If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so." - Ezekiel 33:18-19(New International Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO FROM HIS HOLY WORD
9 For he (the Lord) satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. - Psalm 107:9(New Living Translation).

A QUOTE
A virtuous person neither looks up to the rich or down on the poor. - George Washington Carver -

THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
It's not the distance you travel but the direction that counts. - From Reminisce Magazine - Listening is a kindness anyone can show. - From Reminisce Magazine -

NOTES
Today I had lunch with my brother, Charley. As I came home from lunch I went by the post office and then by Walgreens to pick up a couple of prescriptions and some other items. I took my nap as usual in early afternoon. At about 4:00 p.m. I went out again to the Petsense store and then to Walmart. I saw my brother, Abe, at Walmart. He lives at Stuart, 20 miles west of McAlester. People from Stuart come to McAlester to do most of their shopping. I went outside with the cats at about 6:55 p.m. and came back in around 7:30 p.m. It gets darker earlier every night. Did you realize that Friday is the first day of Autumn? Time marches on! I want each of you to know that I take the writing of Good Things very seriously. Last night as I lay in my bed thinking and talking with the Lord and Flonnie I wondered if I should just drop the notes out of the Good Things. I had a nice e-mail from Alice who is church secretary of Bereans Baptist Church in Tulsa. I am going to share her letter with you and that may give you some idea as to why I keep doing the Good Things. Her note as well all the others that I hear from is what gives me the will to keep on keeping on. Here is her letter:

So, what's not to like? Leo - that's the Leo we all know and love "in the basket of clean rags"! I like each of the quotes, because each has a good strong message if you ponder for a moment. And, I believe that each part of the Word that you read has a special lesson or blessing intended just for the reader - so I look for it. Good Things is GOOD! And, my motto is "Think on the good things." That's before I ever met you, the author. Love & Hugs, alice
The cats are fine. Some of my readers may not like to hear about my family of cats every day, but I hear from enough of my readers that do like cats that I will keep on writing about my cats. Today has been a sunny day with a high temperature of 85 degrees. Low temperature this morning was 52 degrees. At 10:00 p.m. skies are clear with a temperature of 67 degrees.
I will see you next time, I LOVE each one of you with Sincere Christian Love, Everett

Daily Jewel

by Pastor J.T. Carnell, McAlester, OK
Sept. 20, 2011

Do We Really Know How to be Loyal?
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." – Proverbs 3:3

I received a note from one of the readers of this daily message giving me their idea of what loyalty means to them. They compared it to their marriage – having compassion and loyalty with one another with that based firmly in their faith in Christ. What a great analogy – especially in a day and age where loyalty and faithfulness is almost non-existent. Marriage is under attack on practically every front and according to Focus on the Family, for those recently married and those who will be getting married in the near future - one out of every two marriages, Christians included will likely end in divorce. Not a very positive note is it?
It used to be that people lived in one place for practically all of their lives. Today, according to statistics, American’s will move an average of five times in their life-times. I counted up that I have moved 19 times in my life. That includes living in Georgia, Missouri (twice), Kansas, Colorado (twice), Oklahoma (twice) and Texas. I have a friend that claims to have lived in 18 states. There’s a man who needs to collect some frequent flier miles!
It also used to be that when a person took a job both the employer and employee worked together to make the business successful. It would be easy to blame one or the other (the employee and/or employer) but the truth of the matter neither side provide any level of stability as they once did. We truly live in a “throw-away” society – and the proof is in how we treat our friendships…jobs…marriages…and, even more sadly, our faith!! Perhaps the answer to our problem comes down to where we place our trust! Where our trust is, or what our trust is in could be the key to unlocking the door to stronger relationships, marriages and churches!!
John G. Paton (1824-1907) was a Christian missionary to the natives of the New Hebrides . He was born on a small farm near Dumfries, Scotland. The eldest of eleven children, he was led to Christ as a child by his godly father, James. Among John’s early memories was the mental picture of his father going three times a day into the “prayer closet” at home and later coming out with a shining face “as of one who had been on the Mount of Transfiguration.” As a youth he remembered the voice of the Lord saying, “Go across the seas as the messenger of My love; and lo, I am with you.” He obeyed.
Years later—as a pioneer missionary to the New Hebrides—part of his work was translating the Scriptures into the language of the people of that distant place. He struggled with finding a word for “faith” in their language; there seemed to be no equivalent. One day a native worker came in from a hard day’s work and said, “Oh, I’m so tired. I feel I must lean my whole weight on this chair.” Paton said at that moment, “Praise God, I’ve got my word.” He thus translated John 3:16 to read, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever leaneth his whole weight on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

We live our lives daily, trusting on man-made things—roads, bridges, overpasses, sidewalks, ladders—to do what they were built to do, and to keep us safe. We seldom ask, “Is this sidewalk safe?” We just step on it, trusting that whoever poured the concrete did it right. Jesus wants us to do that with Him. He wants us to lean our whole weight on him in everything we do, important and unimportant. He wants to engage with us in everything that goes on. I think of the words of that great hymn:
“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms! Leaning (on Jesus), leaning (on Jesus), Safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning (on Jesus), leaning (on Jesus), Leaning on the everlasting arms.
My hope is that we can truly reverse the trends of failed marriages – lack of loyalty – the unsettled lifestyles – the lack of Church involvement – and it begins by knowing where our trust is!
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Good Things

by Everett Christian, McAlester, OK
Monday, September 19, 2011

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
(The Lord said) 12 “Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD." - Leviticus 19:12(New International Verssion).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
(Jesus said) 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?" - Matthew 6:25-30(New International Version).

A QUOTE
We bring praise to God when we love our neighbor as ourselves. - Jim Edlin -

THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
If you feel you can take it or leave it, maybe you never had it. - From Reminisce Magazine - An error becomes a mistake only when you refuse to correct it. - From Reminisce Magazine -

NOTES
I had lunch today with Charley and Bill. I then went to City Hall to pay my water, garbage and sewage bill. Then I went to the post office and then by Country Mart for a few items. I took my afternoon nap. Emmy was sleeping with me when I went to sleep but when I woke up she had moved to the living room. I did some filing of bills and other papers in my office room. Rascal came in to help me but didn't stay long. At 6:35 p.m. I went to the back yard with the cat treats and food for outside animals. I doubt if I have any animals except cats but there used to be opossums around. Since yesterday I have had e-mails from Alice, Geneva, Burlene and Gail. If you especially liked or disliked any part of the Good Things today I would love to hear from you. If you would like to be dropped from receiving my e-mails I would like to hear from you and I will certainly understand. The picture tonight is Leo in some cleaning rags that my house cleaning lady uses. The cats are fine. Little Girl on the file cabinet. Rascal has been in as well as Tony from across the street coming in for a bite of food. As you can tell from my e-mails my cats are very much a part of my family. Today has been a sunny day with a high temperature of 82 degrees. Low temperature this morning was 64 degrees. At 9:40 p.m. skies are clear with a temperature of 64 degrees. I will see you next time
, In Christian Love, Everett.