Payday Everyday!

    My title was taken from the book by R.G. Lee, but this is not about his life and times.  As I studied Job, he lost all he had; his children, his wealth, and even his health.  In today’s economy, many people are losing what they have; their jobs, their life’s savings, and their health.  Just as Job did, people are going through hard times.  As a banker I have helped restructure the debts of many in an effort to get them back on a financial budget they can afford.  Most of the debts that are out of control are credit cards.  When the Lord asked Satan in Job 2, “Where have you been?” Satan answered, “From going to and fro in the earth.”  Satan is still doing this today.  He does not knock just once, he continues to bang on the door to people’s hearts and minds.  If he can keep people in debt there will be no money to give to the Lord and the Lord’s work.  The guilt and stress can become a stumbling block in your relationship with God.  

   I have found that the majority of people live in the today with their spending habits.  “I want it and I want it now!”  With the advent of credit cards this has become an easy world of acquiring possessions.  However, when the bills come around and the interest rates jump up, there is no end in sight.  Some become frustrated, but do not change their spending habits.  I have seen many of my customers come back, in just a year, after I have helped them pay off credit card debts with the same recurring problems.  Then there are others who struggle along with the plan and goal they set.  They learn from the experience, they grow stronger from the experience, they worry less, they are finally able to begin to save for the time when they will be required to live on a fixed income (if they are lucky enough to have a retirement fund), and as a result ,their health might just be better.  

   So I say, unless you are fortunate enough to pay off your credit cards at the end of every month  or can resist continually charging until the debt is paid in full, resist the temptation of credit card companies sending out preapproved lines, and shred those that come to your children even before they graduate from school.  Don’t float the malls as entertainment.  Satan is “going to and fro in the earth.”  He wants you in debt. 

   If you are already in debt and want out, ask God for the wisdom and the power to resist the temptation of spending on things you don’t have to have, and establish a budget and a goal.  Most of all, stick with it. 

     Make everyday a payday!

God- You'll just have to wait!

I usually find a friendly shade and post my blog on Sundays.  Somehow, for whatever reason, I just didn't take the time to think about what I wanted to say about God and what He has done for me so I didn't post.  I could make all kinds of excuses but it would be like say telling God that I was in too much of a hurry and He'd just have to wait.   Isn't that what most of us do every day?
                                       

Hurry And Wait!

I threw the cover from my arm as I shut off the alarm;

Then jumped from my bed to get everyone fed.

I’d overslept, but still got the floors all swept.

I threw on the wash, but I was late, “Oh my gosh!”

“At this rate, Lord, you’ll just have to wait.”

I rushed into work, and said “Hello” to the clerk.

It was half past eight, and I was running late.

As I sank into my job my head began to throb,

But soon it was ten, and I threw down my pen.

It was time for my break, and that’s something I’d take.

I’d enjoy the time for it was all mine.

I had to relax, find some coffee and snacks;

Read the news and get other people’s views.

As it came to an end I had more work to attend.

“I’m in such a state, Lord, you’ll still have to wait.”

I had unopened files which I stacked in different piles.

They were enough to make me swoon, but I planned to quit at noon. 

As I looked at my watch, my task looked top-notch. 

So I wrapped up loose ends to lunch with my friends.

 Reservations had been made, and all was prepaid.

As I entered Mel’s I knew there’d be stories to hear and to tell.

The noise was loud, coming from all of the crowd.

“Lord, it’s no time to pray- not in this café.

I’m sure it’s alright to wait till tonight.” 

At the end of the day there were events to convey;

Kids to get into bed and stories to be read;

There were movies to view and mail to go through.

Time was slipping by as I began to close my eye.

I crawled into bed -fluffed up the pillow as I laid down my head.   

“Lord, it’s awful late. I’m so sleepy you’ll just have to wait?”

                                                                 Mary Crisp Jameson  

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock… Revelations 4:20

                                                                

9/11 Memorial

     9/11 or Sept. 11, 2001 is still being remembered, and rightfully so.  When I think of Sept 11, my first thoughts are that it was my mother’s birthday, but then I remember the tragic hijacking of four airplanes and the destruction of two of New York’s skyscrapers in the World Trade Center, the crashing of a jet into the Pentagon and the attempt to crash a fourth into the U.S. Capitol in Washington. D. C.   It was the brave passengers and crew on Flight 93 who decided to stop the hijackers from hurting more people and foiled the crash into the U.S. Capitol.  They lost their lives but saved our country from further destruction. 

     As we honor the heroes and the victims of 9/11 let us not forget that it was God who sent His only beloved Son to sacrifice His own life for the lives of others.    Through the sacrifice of the passengers on Flight 93 many lives were saved in the United States of America, but through the sacrifice of Jesus the world was offered a saving grace.

     I truly believe that it was God who placed those brave young men on Flight 93 just as I believe God has a plan for all His people if they will accept and have the courage to follow His plan.  When the men on Flight 93 said, “Let’s roll” they knew they would probably lose their lives and were willing to do what was needed so others would live.   In John 19: 30 Jesus said, “It is finished; and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”  for us, so we could live. 

Labor Day Devotional Thought

Labor Day has been observed for so many years most people don’t even know why.  According to Wikipedia the first big Labor Day in U.S.A was observed on Sept. 5, 1882 by the Central Labor Union  of New York.  It became a federal holiday in 1894, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military & U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike under the presidency of Grover Cleveland.  Fearing further conflict with the labor union, legislation, making Labor Day a national holiday, was rushed through Congress & signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.

 My pastor talked more on work today which gave me pause for thought.  The Bible instructs people to stay busy, to work and earn the bread they eat.  There are those who are unwilling to work but all too willing to accept free handouts.  Then there are those who do nothing but work.  As we stop and think about the work we do, remember that our work is not only to provide for our families and to have the luxuries of life, but, rather, work for the service of God.  Our work is never finished for God.  There was a free handout given for all but, so often, this is the one free handout that is rejected by man.  This free handout of Salvation was given with love.  We can’t earn it.  It is by grace that we receive the free gift of Salvation.   

   
     Jesus did the work for which He was sent
     To save His people was God’s intent.
     God allowed the torture and watched as Jesus died.
     It was for all mankind, nationwide.

Joke and Scripture for the Day

Joke for the Day:

The young grandson called the other day to wish his grandmother Happy Birthday. He asked how old she was, and when she told him "62" he was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

Application:

Age changes the looks of individuals.  To a child an adult looks old, wrinkled, and frail, and only after the child has matured and aged, himself, can he understand the wisdom of older people.   That’s the way it is with God’s Word.  His Word is timeless and only after we have caused the pages of His Word to become aged, wrinkled, and frail with wear can we understand God and His ways.  To know God’s wisdom we must first read the Bible and apply its words to our lives.  The world may change, but God and His direction for our lives never change.

Scripture:

Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

Blessings

"What if you woke up today with ONLY the things you thanked God for yesterday."  Quotes like this should make a person stop and think.  We have so many blessing every day; some we don't even realize.  How many do you thank God for at the end of the day?    

Why Me?

 I counted once, then counted twice;

What was this in black and white?

I simply had to count them thrice;

The blessings I can recite. 

How could it be! What could I say?

They’re not deserved!

Too many I counted this day;

The blessings that I observed.

I cannot explain;

I don’t know why!

It muddled my brain,

The blessings I cannot deny.

Those blessings I counted thrice;

They overwhelmed me,

So I recounted to be precise;

Then stood in amazement and glee.

 No rhyme or reason could be found.

Why me Lord? I don't deserve a single one-

All those blessing on which I expound.

There is nothing that I have done.

It puts my soul in bliss,

To have the blessings you have bestowed.

Please let me not be remiss

To give you the praise as I travel this road.

                                                                                 Mary Crisp Jameson

The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.  Proverbs 10:22

Prayer for Teachers

When we think about bowing the knee it is about prayer time with our Lord and Savior.  But as my pastor said this morning, there are ways to pray.  He said we are to pray constantly, confidently, confidentially, evangelistically, and personally.   We were also reminded in our service this morning about the beginning of a new school year and about the teachers who are in charge of molding the lives of children; children who will be our leaders in future generations.  Our teachers and schools are in need of daily prayer.  As I thought about this I put together the following poem. 

It’s the beginning of a new school year!
The students are excited, and the teachers in full gear.
There are tons of smiling faces
With children moving to new grades and new places.

But there is something terribly remiss

When you think back and reminisce.

There are parents not offering support;

Disrespectful children of every sort.
The Pledge of Allegiance- It can still be said;
And children asked to bow their head.
But it’s only a moment of quietness;  
God’s not in their thoughts, if I had to guess. 
It just makes no sense;
God was taken away at the children’s expense.
There are no ten commandments on the wall;
They’ve been removed, once and for all. 
There can be no Bible reading
Tho that’s what children are needing.

It’s the teacher who's left out in the cold

As she strives to teach and mold.
Giving more of her time
Is a long hard climb.

So, I ask, “Who prays for the teacher all day long

As she teaches a child right from wrong?”