Romans 1:19-20 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/9/2016)...

To sustain the belief that there is no God, atheism has to demonstrate infinite knowledge, which is tantamount to saying, “I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge” 

- Ravi Zacharias

Romans 1:19-20 (NLT) They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Image: Creative Commons (Flickr: Nima)

Joshua 1:8 (ESV)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/8/2016)...

When Rembrandt’s famous painting, The Night Watch, was restored and returned to Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, the curators performed a simple, yet remarkable experiment. They asked visitors to submit questions about the painting. The curators then prepared answers to over 50 questions, ranking the questions according to popularity. 

Some of these questions focused on issues which curators usually don’t like to include: How much does the painting cost? Has this painting ever been forged? Are there mistakes in the painting? 

Other questions focused on traditional artistic issues: Why did Rembrandt paint the subject? Who were the people in the painting? What techniques did Rembrandt pioneer in the particular work?

In a room next to the gallery which held the painting, the curators papered the walls with these questions (and answers). Visitors had to pass through this room before entering the gallery.

The curious outcome was that the average length of time people spent viewing the painting increased from six minutes to over half an hour. Visitors alternated between reading questions and answers and examining the painting. They said that the questions encouraged them to look longer, to look closer, and to remember more. The questions helped them create richer ideas about the painting and to see the painting in new ways. 

- Source: Bits and Pieces

Joshua 1:8 (ESV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Psalms 1:1-2 (NLT) Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.

- Image: Creative Commons (Wikipedia Commons: The Night Watch)

Psalm 78:5-8 (ESV)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/7/2016)...

FATHER'S DAY THOUGHT...

“We’re all selfish. Selfish to the core. God sometimes chooses to deal with our selfishness by giving us someone to care for who is infinitely more selfish than you. Babies are not only the cutest creatures on the face of the earth, they are by far the most selfish. Farrar goes on to write: “The way God deals with my own selfishness is to give me someone to serve who has zero interest in serving me. You can’t tell me that God doesn’t have a sense of humor. Not too many people in the world could out-selfish me one-on-one. But every time we’ve had a baby, I’ve met my match. Each of my kids resembled me. I don’t mean they looked like me, I mean they were as selfish as me. That meant that somebody in the family was going to have to grow up. Guess who was nominated?"

- Steve Farrar (Point Man)

Psalms 78:5-8 (ESV) He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Ephesians 4:29-30 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/6/2016)...

The Optimist vs. the Pessimist

 

An optimist sees the best in the world, while a pessimist sees only the worst. An optimist finds the positive in the negative, and a pessimist can only find the negative in the positive.

 

For example, an avid duck hunter was in the market for a new bird dog. His search ended when he found a dog that could actually walk on water to retrieve a duck. Shocked by his find, he was sure none of his friends would ever believe him.

 

He decided to try to break the news to a friend of his, a pessimist by nature, and invited him to hunt with him and his new dog. As they waited by the shore, a flock of ducks flew by. They fired, and a duck fell. The dog responded and jumped into the water. The dog, however, did not sink but instead walked across the water to retrieve the bird, never getting more than his paws wet. This continued all day long; each time a duck fell, the dog walked across the surface of the water to retrieve it.

 

The pessimist watched carefully, saw everything, but did not say a single word.

On the drive home the hunter asked his friend, "Did you notice anything unusual about my new dog?" "I sure did," responded the pessimist. "He can't swim."

Ephesians 4:29-30 (NLT) Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/3/2016)...

Pessimist vs. Optimist

 

The pessimist finds fault;


The optimist discovers a remedy.

 

The pessimist seeks sympathy;


The optimist spreads cheer.

 

The pessimist criticizes circumstances;


The optimist changes conditions.

 

The pessimist complains about the apple seeds;


The optimist plants them.

 

The pessimist imagines impending peril;


The optimist sees signs of prosperity.

 

The pessimist disparages;


The optimist encourages.

 

The pessimist creates loneliness;


The optimist finds friends.

 

The pessimist nibbles at the negative;


The optimist is nourished by the positive.

 

The pessimist builds barriers;


The optimist removes roadblocks.

 

The pessimist invents trouble;


The optimist enriches the environment.

Philippians 4:8 (NLT) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Hebrews 10:35-39 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/2/2016)...

 "The easy days ahead of you will be easy. It is the hard days—the times that challenge you to your very core—that will determine who you are. You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive." 

- Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO...2016 commencement address at UC Berkley)

Hebrews 10:35-39 (NLT) So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. 

For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.

But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

John 20:24-29 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/1/2016)...

"You are familiar with Albrecht Durer’s famous painting "The Praying Hands," but do you know the story behind it? The painting was inspired by the sacrificial, loving acts of a friend. Durer and an older friend were struggling to make a go as artists. Recognizing Durer’s talent, the older man took a job to provide for both of them until Durer could complete his art studies. The work was labor, but he did it gladly for his friend. Finally, Durer made a sale. The money was enough to care for both of them for several months. Now his older friend could resume his painting, but the older man’s hands had become so stiff from the hard labor that he was unable to paint.

One day when Durer returned home, he found his friend in prayer, his work-worn hands folded reverently. Durer painted a picture of these hands, capturing them for ages to come as a memorial to the love and sacrifice of his older friend." 

- Frank Morgan, Jr. ("Keys To Unlock Yourself" Nashville : Braodman Press, 1985, pp. 75-76). 

John 20:24-29 (NLT) One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “

My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Image: Creative Commons (Wikipedia)