Good Things

by E. Christian, McAlester, OK
Thursday, April 5, 2012

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. - Romans 12:9-13(New International Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23(New King James Version).

A QUOTE
Herein is love: When I cannot rise to Him, He draws near on wings of grace to raise me to Himself. - Puritan Prayer -

A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER
People who succeed are like postage stamps: They stick till they get there. - The Lunn Log -

NOTES
Today has been partly cloudy with a high temperature of 69 degrees and a low temperature of 47 degrees. I had lunch with Charley. I went by the post office and then home. Emmy was already snuggled down again today when I lay down for my nap and Beau came along later. Smokey came by but I don't know how long he stayed. Rascal also napped with us today. My neighbor mowed my front lawn this afternoon. I went outside at 5:30 p.m. with the cats and read for over an hour. I always observe everything that goes on while I am sitting outside. While I was sitting outside this evening I observed at least 10 vultures circling high in the sky. I don't think they were searching for food as they were too high. They gradually moved in a southern direction as they circled. In a minute or two I looked for them again and they had all disappeared. I am still lonely and think about my sweet Flonnie and our children and grandchildren and things we did together in days gone by. My cats trust me completely and some of them are usually around me.
The cats are fine. Little Girl and Rascal are here in the den in their usual places. The others have all been around.
Tomorrow is Good Friday. Lets remember what happened on Good Friday on that day a little over 2000 years ago. Our Precious Jesus died that day that each of us can have eternal life. In three days He would live again to live forevermore. Praise The Lord!
! I will see you next time.
With Christian Love, Everett

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Apr. 5, 2012

“Keeping Your ‘Eyes on the Prize!’ ”
“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you….” – Proverbs 4:25

In the effort to “guard your heart,” there is more to it than just avoiding certain elements and attitudes—it is just as much about what you should be doing as well! In this case, Solomon is calling on us to stay focused on what is important, or as the cliché goes, keeping your eyes on the prize!
This certainly doesn't come easy nor without effort. Anything worth having is worth working for—and as we have learned over the past several days there are a host of elements that have a way of distracting us—diverting both our physical and spiritual eyes away from the Cross. And should we fall along the way, which is certainly no disgrace by any means, that does not mean that the prize (God’s glory) is lost or out of reach.
A great example of this is the life of speed skater, Dan Jansen. At his first Olympics in 1984 as an eighteen year old, Jansen finished fourth in the 500 meters, beaten for a bronze medal by only sixteen one hundredths of a second, and he finished sixteenth in the 1,000 meters.
At his second Olympics in Calgary in 1988, on the morning he was to skate the 500 meters, he received a phone call from America. His twenty-year-old sister, Jane, had been fighting leukemia for over a year. She was dying. Dan spoke to her over the phone, but she was too sick to say anything in return. Their brother Mike relayed Jane’s message: She wanted Dan to race for her. Before Dan skated that afternoon, however, he received the news that Jane had died. When he took to the ice, perhaps he tried too hard for his sister. In the 500 meters, he slipped and fell in the first turn. He had never fallen before in a race. Four days later in the 1,000, he fell again, this time, of all places in the straightaway.
At his third Olympics in 1992, he was expected to win the 500 meters, where he had already set world records. For four years he had been regarded as the best speed skater in the world. But he had trouble in the final turn and he finished fourth. In the 1,000 he tied for twenty-sixth.
At his fourth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994, he again was expected to win in the 500 meters, which was his specialty. Again, tragedy struck. He did not fall, but in the beginning of the final turn he lost control of his left skate and put his hand down, slowing him just enough to finish in eighth place. Afterward, he apologized to his home town of Milwaukee.
He had one race left, the 1,000 meter. One more race and then he would retire. At the midway point of the race, the clock showed he was skating at a world-record pace, and the crowd, including his wife and father, cheered. But with 200 meters to go, the hearts of the fans skipped a beat. Jansen slipped. He didn’t fall, but he slipped, touched his hand to the ice, regained control, and kept skating. When Dan crossed the finish line, he looked at the scoreboard and saw the letters, WR (World Record). Dan Jansen had finally won the gold medal.
Later that day as he stood on the award stand, he looked heavenward, acknowledged his late sister, Jane. He was then asked to skate a victory lap. The lights were turned out, and a single spotlight illuminated Dan’s last lap around the Olympic track. With a gold medal around his neck, roses in one arm, and his baby daughter, Jane, in his other arm, he finally realized his dream. In the closing ceremonies Jansen was chosen for one of the most honored positions—to carry the U.S. flag.
When life and the enemies weapons are coming at us it is easy to get distracted and/or slip and “fall.” I do not think any of us are out to achieve gold medals—but we do have a prize waiting for us. Look straight ahead and keep your eyes on the Cross! You will find it there!
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Good Things

by E. Christian, McAlester, OK
Wednesday, April 4, 2012

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
(The Apostle Paul wrote) 16 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16(New King James Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
36 For of Him (the Lord) and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen - Romans 11:36(New King James Version).

A QUOTE
God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill all His promises . . . leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer -

A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER
Get out of Grumble Lane and live on Thanksgiving Street. - From The Lunn Log -

NOTES
Today has been a partly cloudy day with a high temperature of 71 degrees and a low temperature of 60 degrees. I had lunch by myself as Charley had a luncheon at his church. I went to the post office. I had a routine appointment with my eye specialist, Dr. Dunagen, at 1:00 p.m. There was not much change in my eyesight and the Glaucoma pressure was still okay since I use my eye drops every day. I went by Walgreens for a couple of items. I sat out for a few minutes with the cats before I took my nap. I lay down for my nap around 2:00 p.m. and Emmy was already snuggled down. When I got up from my nap Beau was with us. At 5:25 p.m. I went outside and sat with the cats and read for about 30 minutes. At 6:00 p.m. I watched a really old Billy Graham Crusade from San Francisco, California in 1958. Of course it was in black and white. Dr Graham was very young, about 39 or 40 years old. Since last time I have had e-mails from Leela, Burlene, Tiyan, Geneva and Patti. I always appreciate your e-mails.
The cats are fine. Little Girl in the den with me. Rascal just left the den. Emmy just came through going outside. I just gave the others some canned food.
I will see you next time,
With Christian Love, Everett.

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carne//, McAlester, OK
Apr. 3, 2012

“Guard Your Heart…Find the Passion”
“Above all else, guard your heart….it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23

I had not intended to spend as much time as I have on this one verse and “issue” but the more time I have put into this the more I realized how important this is and why we must be on our alert at all times and in all ways guard against any and every attack that is leveled against us.
I would to like to conclude by using an illustration from the life of one of my favorite authors, Mr. C.S. Lewis. Lewis is recognized as one of the greatest Christian theologians and apologist (a defender of the faith) of the 20th Century. The following is a little about his life and why I consider him to be a man of passion! Some of the quotes may be difficult to read, since he was an English scholar, but take the time read it carefully and catch the passion for yourself.
Raised in a church-going family in the Church of Ireland, Lewis became an atheist at 15, though he later described his younger days as being "very angry with God for not existing". His early separation from Christianity began when he started to view his religion as a chore and as a duty; around this time he also gained an interest in the occult as his studies expanded to include such topics. Lewis quoted Lucretius (De rerum natura, 5.198–9) as having one of the strongest arguments for atheism: "Had God designed the world, it would not be a world so frail and faulty as we see." Lewis's interest in the works of another author, George MacDonald was partly what turned him away from atheism. This can be seen particularly well through a passage in Lewis's book, “The Great Divorce,” chapter nine, when the semi-autobiographical main character meets MacDonald in Heaven: “...I tried, trembling, to tell this man all that his writings had done for me. I tried to tell how a certain frosty afternoon at Leatherhead Station when I had first bought a copy of Phantastes (being then about sixteen years old) had been to me what the first sight of Beatrice had been to Dante: Here begins the new life. I started to confess how long that Life had delayed in the region of imagination merely: how slowly and reluctantly I had come to admit that his Christendom had more than an accidental connexion with it, how hard I had tried not to see the true name of the quality which first met me in his books is Holiness.” (My interpretation: Lewis realized that McDonald’s faith was far more than duty. It had joy, it had purpose and meaning and Lewis tried his best not to let that get to him…but he could not help it.) Lewis was later influenced by arguments from his Oxford colleague and friend J.R.R. Tolkien, (author of The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings) and by the book The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton. Through these influences he slowly rediscovered Christianity. He fought greatly up to the moment of his conversion noting that he was brought into Christianity like a prodigal, "kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape." He described his last struggle in his book, Surprised by Joy: “You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Lewis was very interested in presenting a reasonable case for the truth of Christianity. Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and Miracles were all concerned, to one degree or another, with refuting popular objections to Christianity, such as "How could a good God allow pain to exist in the world?" He also became known as a popular lecturer and broadcaster, and some of his writing (including much of Mere Christianity) originated as scripts for radio talks or lectures. I apologize if this seems boring or overkill—but the truth of the matter is Lewis is a classic case of a man who, once finding his passion, used that passion to be an incredible Christian. His writings have impacted thousands—helping them to both develop and strengthen their faith. His children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia, are now reaching millions thanks to (of all things) Hollywood, and the Disney Corporation. The message in the pictures is subtle, but the Gospel message in them is clear. A relationship with God is more than duty…more than routine. Guard your heart against anything that would make you believe or accept that.

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Apr. 4, 2012,br />
“All Natural Mouthwash”
“Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” – Proverbs 4:24

I am about to make one of those “guilty-pleasure” confessions—I am a hopeless Scifi (that’s science fiction for some of you folks) fanatic. It started as a child when the television series, “Lost in Space” was all the rage and then increased to higher levels when the enormously popular series “Star Trek” aired. I have been hopelessly hooked ever since. For those who may not have been exposed to such elements, Star Trek was supposedly taking place in the 23rd century. It revolved around the adventures of the Starship Enterprise and its crew. Many of the crew members (characters) were not only of various races but many also were supposedly different planets. One of the main characters was the ever-logical thinking Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who was from the planet Vulcan. In the 1980’s there were a series of six Star Trek movies filmed and released. One of the movies, the fourth in the series, was called “The Voyage Home.” A series of events lead the crew of the Enterprise to return to the 20th Century Earth to capture and retrieve a humpback whale and take it back to the 23rd Century. As Spock and Captain Kirk search for a whale they must first go through a series of encounters that Spock would find peculiar. He also notices that in Captain Kirk’s speech (William Shatner), he was using a number of “colorful metaphors” that Spock was unfamiliar with. Essentially, he was using swear words. Apparently, such words were not used on Vulcan, nor were they used by earthlings in the 23rd century. Wouldn’t that be great? I went through that entire dialogue (and three centuries) to make a point—that swearing, or as Spock would say, the use of “colorful metaphors,” is both unnecessary and pointless. The Apostle Paul makes a great statement in the book of Ephesians that also goes along these lines: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29). The King James Version uses the word, perverse. (As does the NIV in the verse from Proverbs.) The Message says, “…let nothing dirty or foul come out of your mouth.” The Amplified Bible uses the word(s), worthless talk. The word perverse means: “…to turn away from what is right or good.” That leads me to what Jesus says that makes a person “corrupt.”
"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' “(Matthew 15:17-19)

Jesus is saying that our words and actions are the direct result of what we are feeding our mind, heart and spirit. The use of perverse speech is all over the place. We hear it on the television. Movies are rated based primarily on the use of strong language. I hear it on the streets. A recent event in our neighborhood—a couple just a few houses away got into a very heated discussion (they were arguing…loudly) and a number of “f” bombs were thrown. Most of you will know what that stands for. What was the most bothersome and troubling about this particular event is this couple has three small children who had front row seats to what was happening. The bottom line here, those who have to use color metaphors to express themselves are obviously not feeding themselves with a spiritually healthy lifestyle. The conclusion here is Guard Your Heart and keep your speech clean by keeping your heart clean. There is absolutely no need to use words or actions that in truth—make no difference. In fact, wouldn’t it be great if we did not have to wait until the 23rd Century to eliminate the use of words that are completely unnecessary?
Pastor J. T. Carnell