Forwarded Messages

It's the right time of the year. Maybe not the exact week nor the exact day. But this is the time of the year when Jesus Christ was crucified. For many of us, it's hard to imagine all of that really happening: the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the conflicts at the temple, the Last Supper, the prayerful night in Gethsemane, the betrayal, the arrests, the trials, the terrible death on the cross. It's easier to think of this story as a fable or fairy tale. Fodder for movies, Renaissance paintings and children's picture books, but not a part of the world we live in. But the crucifixion is a fact of history. God sent his Son to the earth, and evil men put him to death. Even the resurrection seems out of place in our world, though it fits the season better. Dead people stay dead in our world; the thought that Jesus escaped unscathed from the tomb seems like an unrealistic plot twist. Yet the resurrection also has its place in history. The two things go toget...

There was an old country doctor who would take his dog along with him  when visiting patients. The dog would remain outside while the doctor  went in for the house call. On one occasion, the physician went to the home of a man with a  terminal disease who didn't seem to have much time to live. The man  confessed to the doctor his fears about death and said, "What's it like  when you die?" The doctor thought for a moment, then got up and opened the front door.  His loyal canine friend, who had been waiting patiently on the porch,  gleefully bounded in to join his master.

by Tim Archer I didn't find any gold today. Haven't found any all week. In fact, I've  never found gold. Nor diamonds. Nor silver. Not once. I'd be more than happy to stumble across any of those things. But it  hasn't happened. I'm guessing that you're not surprised. Neither am I, especially since  I've never gone out looking for gold, or diamonds, or silver. I haven't  gone to the places where they tend to be found. I haven't done the  things people do to try and find them. So it's not all that surprising that I've never found any of these  treasures. Have you found God? If not, it's possible that you're not really  looking for Him. It's one thing to say, "I'd like to find God." It's  quite another to actually look for Him. There are some basic things you need to do:

By Tim Archer They were fishermen, men who worked the Lake of Galilee in northern  Israel. The lake was full of fish, and a man could make a good living  working there, especially if he knew what he was doing. Simon and  Andrew, brothers born into a family of fishermen, knew their trade. It  might not make them rich, but they would never go hungry. It was a  safe, secure way of life. The account of what happened is fairly brief: "As Jesus walked beside  the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net  into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said,  'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and  followed him" (Mark 1:16-18). We do need to understand that this wasn't the first time Andrew and his  brother had seen Jesus; they had spent a day with him once, listening  to his teachings. (John 1:35-42). Still, I can't help but be amazed at  what happens when...

My head gets sunburned. It didn't used to, but now I have to be careful  when I go out. If I'm in the sun for more than a few minutes without  some sort of hat, I'll probably spend the next few days with an itchy  scalp. For some reason, my head burns more easily than it used to. I'd like to blame it on the ozone layer or global warming or something  of the sort, but I know the truth: with every passing year, I've got  less hair on the top of my head. My body is wearing out. There are other signs of this, like my need for  reading glasses, and more things seem to show up all the time.