One More For JC

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  (Philippians 2:3-4) Dee and I watched the movie “Pay it Forward” earlier today and it really touched my heart.  It told the story of a 7 th grade Social Studies teacher who assigned an extra credit project to his class to do something to change the world.  One student took it to heart, and devised a plan to “Pay it Forward.”  His plan was to touch the lives of 3 people, who would touch the lives of 3 people, and so on.   Some students laughed at the idea, but nothing stopped the boy from seeing his plan come to life. It made me think about those times when others made a huge difference and impact upon me.  I thought about the darkest day of my life a few years back.  I remember backing out of a few Memorial Day family and friend part...

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.  (Hebrews 9:27-28) The Easter weekend always brings mixed emotions to me.  I can remember growing up as a kid and watching “Jesus of Nazareth” on television every year.  I witnessed the love of Christ unfold before my eyes in a very real and powerful way:  I marveled as I watched all the miracles He performed.  I winced as I watched Him being tortured and beaten.  I cried as I watched Him being crucified.  I rejoiced as He arose from the dead, reunited with His disciples, and ascended into heaven.  On Good Friday, I always think about the death of Christ – His suffering, His pain, and His sacrifice.  What makes Him so special to me is that I know His death was no accident.  He willingly ...

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.  (James 1:22-25) It took nearly two years, but the “Verse of the Day” has made its way through every book of the bible.  Proverbs began the journey on 4/28/1999 and 2 Corinthians concluded it on 3/4/2001.  Over 400 verses were selected, with an average of seven verses per book and one book every ten days.  Of those verses, 51 were highlighted in the “Verse Application.”  It’s been a tremendous blessing to me, as I’ve found my way into books I didn’t know existed.  I even ventured into ...

But mark this:  There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them.  (2 Timothy 3:1-5) I don’t know whether we’re living in the “last days” or not, but shows like Fox’s “Temptation Island” certainly lead me to believe we’re not that far away.  Fox first raised my ire about a year ago with “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?”  They brought together a man and woman in “holy” matrimony, after the groom whittled out the rest of the competition through the course of a two-hour episode.  Now they’re back, and worse than ever with “Temptation Island.”  The concept this t...

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.  (Titus 2:11-14) For years I kept a journal to document the events of the calendar year gone by:  my accomplishments and failures, my highs and lows, my goals and plans.  With this web site, those journals have become a thing of the past as I now have an on-line journal that is accessible for anyone (most notably myself) to see.  Unfortunately, this isn’t always such a good thing.  It can be a bit disconcerting as I flip over to the archive sections of the site and review the things I did and said in each ...

Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.  Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?  God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you.  And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”  (2 Chronicles 1:9-12) The 2000 U.S. presidential election has been a wild and crazy one.  On election night, the press kept us on an emotional roller coaster; first declaring Al Gore the winner of Florida (and essentially the next president), then declaring ...

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  (Matthew 7:7-8) Nine months ago, I wrote the following in my “ The Competitive Fire Within ” verse application:  “I still enjoy winning and I still love to compete.  But I pray I never let those desires negatively impact another person’s life again.”  After Game 1 of the World Series last Saturday night, I realize I still have a long way to go.  Throughout the game between my most beloved team (N.Y Mets) and my most despised team (N.Y. Yankees) I was a nervous wreck.  I couldn’t sit still, I couldn’t relax, and I could barely speak to my family who I had flown half way across the country to visit for the weekend.  At the time, I rationalized it as a once in a lifetime event transpiring before my very eyes.  The Mets and Yankees had neve...