Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the d

I was studying the book of Philippians this week and had a great thought,
(well I thought it was great). I thought, "Wouldn't you like to see God's
refrigerator?"

OK, where am I coming from with this, what refrigerator and why would God
have one? I am speaking metaphorically or using a figure of speech or just
one of my weird ideas, but follow along with my reasoning. You see, in
Philippians 2:12-13 we read, "Dear friends, you always followed my
instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more
important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with
deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire
and the power to do what pleases him." (NLT)

Now the first 11 verses in this chapter deal with our lives as Christians
and our relationship to other Christians. Paul is urging the Philippian
Christians to follow Christ's example in their lives; to live lives of
humility, love for others and in obedience to God. Then he says that working
hard doing this will not only result in our salvation, but it will please
God.

I got to thinking about what we do when something our done by our children
pleases us. In our home when our children were growing up we stuck a lot of
things on the refrigerator. Even now as grandparents we have lots of things
sticking to the door and sides of our refrigerator. Those things are
pictures of people, school papers and pictures our grandchildren have drawn.
It doesn't matter if anyone else appreciates the art or the scores on the
papers, we do and we proudly display them.

If you are a child of God, wouldn't you like to see his refrigerator (if he
had one of course)? Don't you think he would proudly display your picture
because you are his child and you bring him pleasure? What about the test
you go through here on earth? You may not get a perfect score, but as long
as you are trying it pleases God and he proudly sticks your test paper up on
the refrigerator.

Paul said, "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God
with deep reverence and fear." Isn't that the same thing we tell our kids,
"Just work hard, do you best to do what you know is right." If they do that,
it pleases us doesn't it. Paul said it pleases God too.

Yes, if God had a refrigerator, I'd sure like to see it, just to see my
picture or my amateurish attempts to do something good stuck up there right
beside yours! "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the
power to do what pleases him."

Russ Lawson,

Is Sasquatch real?

Have you had any encounters with Sasquatch lately?  If so, you might be invited
to make a television appearance to talk about it.  "Finding Bigfoot" is a show
that appears weekly on Animal Planet, and a recent episode focused on the region
in which I live!  Who knew that one of the most famous humans / beasts was my
neighbor?

Of course, the vast majority (I suspect) don't believe there is such a creature.
The "proof" that is put forward is sketchy or subjective at best.  Photos that
purport to show Bigfoot are usually out of focus, and even at that more resemble
someone in an ape costume.  Stories that are told of encounters are fanciful.
To this point I've seen no convincing evidence that Sasquatch has actually
lived.

But what about Tim Hall?  Is there proof that he has actually lived?  An email I
received recently posed it this way: "A birth certificate shows that we were
born; a death certificate shows that we died; but photographs show that we
lived."  By "photographs", they meant photographs that we might take while doing
things or visiting people; experiences of life that we enjoy.

Doesn't everyone enjoy life?  Couldn't everyone point to proof that they have
"lived"?  Unfortunately not.

Jesus was once asked to intervene in a financial dispute between two brothers.
Our Lord responded with these words: "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for
one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke
12:15).  When Jesus Christ speaks about what life is not, we really should
listen.

Much of our world today is caught up in the very thing Jesus warned against -
covetousness.  Just think of the TV commercials you've seen; they typically urge
us to want something that we don't have, and to want it enough to buy it.  A
catalog came to me in the mail entitled "Things You Never Knew You Needed".  If
I don't know that I need it, there's a strong possibility I really don't need
it.  But cravings take hold, and we reach for even more things.  But does
accumulation equal living?

Life consists of more than an abundance of possessions, Jesus stated.  Stated
positively, here is where to begin looking if you want to leave behind proof
that you lived: "... I have come that they may have life, and that they may have
it more abundantly" (John 10:10).  

Living as Jesus teaches us to live - that will leave plenty of evidence that we
actually lived.  Deep, compassionate relationships will be formed.  Deeds of
kindness and service will be remembered.  Memories of relaxed joy and laughter
will be abundant when we approach life as God teaches us.  God created life; He
certainly knows the traits that will lead to an abundant life.

Stephen R. Covey wrote in his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" that we
should think of what we would want others to say at our funeral, and then begin
living in such a way as to make that happen.  His point is just what we're
saying here: Make a difference in others' lives by loving them, spending time
with them, and doing good for them.  In being like Jesus, no one will ever
question whether we actually lived.

Come to the light God offers!  Study His word, the Bible.  Worship Him in spirit

--Timothy D. Hall

 

Female golden orb

"Collective Effort"

I have a definite fear of spiders.  It's not a panic-type fear, but I'd rather
not have one sharing my space.  I don't think I'm unique in this; spiders seem
to be on the list for most people's dislikes.  There's just something about the
way they look ...

Maybe this common uneasiness with arachnids is at the root of a fascinating
exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.  A story from
January 26, 2012 on CNN.com tells about a stunning golden cape on display there
that is made entirely from the silk of the golden orb weaver spider.
(http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/world/europe/spider-silk-cape-on-
display/index.html)

To be exact, the cape was made from the silk of 1.2 million female golden orb
spiders.  The project took seven years to complete, and had to be carried out on
the island of Madagascar, the spider's natural domain.  Nicolas Godley, who had
previously manufactured handbags, converted his factory into a "spidery", where
the creatures were "milked" and their silks woven into fabric.  The only hint at
the cost of such an item was Godley's statement that it was "hugely expensive".

This is not likely to become a fashion trend, due to the cost of production.
Also to be considered is that the fabric shrinks if washed.  You may have to
plan a trip to London if you want to personally view a garment made from the
silk of spiders.

You couldn't call the spiders that participated in this project willing
participants, but it was certainly a collective effort.  Without the spiders, no
silk would have been available.  Without human workers to collect the silk, no
fabric could have been woven.  Working together, a remarkable cape came to be.

God put into motion a long time ago another collective effort that yields
stunning - and practical -  results; it's called the church.  "Church", as you
may know, is from the Greek word ecclesia, a word that means "those who have
been called out".  In our case, God has issued the call; it is a call that
extends to everyone, regardless of nationality, race or any other background
(see Acts 10:34,35).

But why has God called us?  Peter gave the answer to that question: "But you are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).  Those who respond to God's call will proclaim
God's praises as they live according to His plan.

Paul agreed with this idea in Ephesians 3:10: "To the intent that now the
manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities
and powers in the heavenly places."  When God's people from multiple backgrounds
weave together the works God has given for them to do, the world is made a
better place.  More than a garment on display in a museum, the fruits of
Christian service grace the lives of people all around, whether they follow God
or not.

Jesus challenged us all with these words: "Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven" (Matthew
5:16).  "Your" in the Greek is plural.  When each of us, collectively, give our
best efforts for the Lord's sake, beautiful things will happen.  More than a
golden cape, God will be exalted as our works adorn Him in the eyes of the world
(Titus 2:10).

Come to the light God offers!  Study His word, the Bible.  Worship Him in spirit
and truth (John 4:24).  Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these
ideas further.

Timothy D. Hall.