Bill Gate's Eleven Rules for Life

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it! 

Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were: So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room..

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one!

Spiritual Warfare, Part 1

I just posted the first of a two part message on Spiritual Warfare that I taught for our staff this morning on my Sermon Player. Notes are included. 

Healthy Churches

I can honestly say, based on all the churches that I've had the honor of visiting with and preaching in, that the healthiest ones have at least two to three services a week.

I can also say that the healthiest Christians I've met, attend all those services.

I'm sorry folks, but 1.5 hours of corporate worship each week is not enough. That is exactly why the church in America is so anemic (lacking vitality, listless and weak).

If you're not going to a church that offers you that, my counsel to you is that you find one that does. I know that's a pretty tall order in the day in which we live, but they are out there. Don't settle!

Almost There

Matthew 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 

Sometimes I believe that in our world of "tolerance", we've forgotten what happens to those who have not been born again. There is no such thing as the “middle” when it comes to salvation. The Bible clearly and emphatically states that either God is your father or Satan is your father. Either you are in a relationship with Christ, or you’re not; either you are born again, or you’re not. You are either God’s child, or you are God’s enemy; you are either storing up wrath, or you are storing up mercy; you are either heaven-bound, or you are hell-bound. No one is in the middle. No one is “almost there.”

The Chick-fil-a Controversy

"This controversy is not ultimately about Chick-fil-a or boycotts. It’s about whether or not private citizens can hold views contrary to their government."

Bigotry should be made of sterner stuff | Denny Burk

Alter Your Course!

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message" "Alter your course 10 degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north." The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!" Soon another message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones." Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship." Then the reply came "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse."

Complaining

“Don't complain and talk about all your problems--80 percent of people don't care; the other 20 percent will think you deserve them.” - Mark Twain

Does Christianity Satisfy?

2 Corinthians 6:16-17 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE."  (17)  Therefore "COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU."

"I am afraid that when we, as Christians live like the world, act like the world, dress like the world, drink alcohol like the world, listen to the world's music, read the world's books, etc....then we are in effect saying to the world, "There is not enough in Christianity to satisfy me, therefore I must copy you." -  Mark Agan

Hate Is Like Acid

Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured.

Faithful to Forgive

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside. But how does he get in there? Simple! An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom. Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out. Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart and works out through a person's thoughts, words, and actions.

He is Faithful to Forgive

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside. But how does he get in there? Simple! An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom. Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out. Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart and works out through a person's thoughts, words, and actions.

Rescuing the Perishing

Proverbs 24:11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

"One night I had a dream. A woman clutched a little girl, struggling to hold her child's head above the water. Nearby, a wave plunged a man into its salty depths. He choked for air as he thrashed his arms against a ceiling of water. All around, the ocean churned with drowning people, gasping for air and desperately trying to push their heads above the surface. Their screams were doused by the roar of the relentless waves. Their cries caught the wind, but only in vain. They were alone in their terror, with no help in sight. Then a huge rock appeared, and a voice called into the darkness. People began crawling up the rock's craggy sides to safety. But when they got to safety, something happened that drove me almost goofy. The people who emerged from the waves got busy. They got involved in building rock gardens, rock lives, rock jobs, listening to their rock music, and going to rock meetings where they talked about the people who were still drowning in the ocean. But nobody went back to the water's edge to help them. Those who were once drowning have gotten so busy and involved with the safety of "The Rock," they've forgotten those who are still in the water." - William Fay

The Sin of Silence

Matthew 26:31-35 Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' (32)  But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." (33)  Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."  (34)  "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." (35)  But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same. 

Many times we comfort ourselves and say, "I'm glad that I never did that."  However, we deny Jesus every time that we do not open our mouths. We deny him with our silence.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Countless people have demonstrated that ignoring one's responsibilities and pursuing happiness at all costs ends in failure and disappointment. We, the people of the United States, have done this as a nation. We have taken the positive concept of individualism to such an extreme that we have created a culture marked by irresponsible individualism, that is, we are quick to make God and society responsible for the happiness of the individual, but we are reluctant to make the individual responsible to God and society." - Rit Varriale in Reformation in Responsibility

BILLY GRAHAM: “MY HEART ACHES FOR AMERICA”

BILLY GRAHAM: “MY HEART ACHES FOR AMERICA”; New letter addresses nation’s declining morality and the need for spiritual revival « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

This is a must read.

Two Types of People

The simple truth is that there are two types of people in the church today.  There are those who talk about the lost and those who talk to the lost.  It's not enough to simply tell people that you love the Lord.  It's not enough to simply pray for them.  It's not enough to simply give them "hints" of gospel truth.  Eventually, you are going to have to open your mouth and share the gospel with them. Do you know how?