Away With Christianity! Crucify It!

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: "He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him."'"¹

"In about 1930, Nikolai Bukharin journeyed from Moscow to Kiev. His mission was to address a huge assembly; his subject, atheism. For a solid hour, he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling every argument and ridicule he could think of. At last he was finished and viewed what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith.

"'Are there any questions?' Bukharin demanded.

"A solitary man arose and asked permission to speak. He mounted the platform and moved close to the Bolshevik. The audience was breathlessly silent as the man surveyed them first to the right, then to the left.

"At last he shouted the ancient Orthodox greeting, 'CHRIST IS RISEN!'

"The vast assembly arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche, 'HE IS RISEN INDEED!'"²

Today here in America at least it isn't Communists who are screaming "Away with Christianity! Crucify it! Crucify it!" It is some of our radical fellow so-called progressive Americans. So let those of us who name the name of Christ—not just on Good Friday but every day of the year—by our life and testimony rise to the occasion and stand up as one to claim: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for your great love sacrifice to the world in giving your Son, Jesus, to die in my place on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins so that you could grant me forgiveness and give to me the gift of eternal life. Because you died for me please give me the courage to live always for you in all ways regardless of the circumstances. Please make my life a living testimony and powerful witness for all you have done for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen.

Written by Dick Innes

Wesley Took Action!

He Got Involved

by Ron White

Wesley Autrey took action when others wouldn't.

Wesley is the New York City man who jumped on the subway tracks when a man having a seizure faced sure death as a subway sped toward his helpless body. Wesley said later that he knew something needed to be done and “I'm the only one to do it.”

Wesley jumped on the tracks, rolled with the man to a hole and covered the man's body with his own. The subway train just barely skimmed the body of Wesley as it passed over the two men.

Cameron Hollopeter is alive today because a man took action and got involved in the life of another. I believe Wesley when he said he thought, “I am the only one to do it.” Most will watch tragedy with onlooker curiosity, but very few will get involved in the life of another. And nothing I could write will most likely change that instinct.

However, the greater tragedy is this: many not only watch the lives of others helplessly unfold without getting involved, but also watch their own lives unfold as spectators and fail to get involved in their own lives and destiny!

Take a lesson from a New York City hero and get involved in life! Get involved in your OWN life. Jump on the tracks of life today and don't be a bystander. Be courageous with your ideas, set goals, dare to be rejected, dare to fail, dare to look like a fool, dare to lose it all and dare to get involved in your own life.

You don't have to jump in front of a subway train to get involved in your life—but you do need to get involved.Jump on the tracks of life and don't be a bystander in your own life.

A Handful of Candy

A little boy and his father visited the country store, upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. "get a hand full of candy", the merchant said to the boy. 

The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son get a hand full of candy, it's free." 

Again the boy did not move continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son. 

As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. 

The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said "Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine." 

Needless to say, in your time of sorrow and grief, place it in your Father's hand because His hand is bigger than yours. 

You just have to learn to trust Him. 

I have to admit that sometimes trusting Him isn't easy because our sinful nature would like to take over. 

But letting go and letting God is the sure way to victory. 

How Much Are You Worth?

The price of a dead body to be used by medical students and CNBC had the following information: 

Spine - $900 
Hand and Forearm - $385 
Shoulder -$500 
Heart - $500 
Corneas - $6,000/pair 
Kidneys - $300-500 
Intact Head - $6,000 
Brain - $600 
Knees - $650 each 
Tendons - $1,000 each 

Every corpse that travels through the system can generate anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on how it is used. 

The real question is, what does God think you are worth? 

ANSWER: Priceless! 

You're so precious that He gave His only son Jesus Christ to die for you. 

The Donkey With Green Glasses

Jesus said, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."¹

 

"In the middle of Parable Land lived a donkey of medium age. He looked like a donkey … acted like a donkey … and sounded like a donkey. The unusual thing about him was that he wore a pair of bright green glasses, which he found while grazing, and thought they suited him very well. His behavior was very normal, except for when he met one of the other animals. The reaction was alarming; he went into a state of sheer panic and demanded they seek urgent medical help.

"Faced with such alarm, they usually did and always received a clean bill of health. It seemed that the trouble was those sunglasses. Everyone who was seen by the donkey looked very sick indeed."²

In a similar way we all wear tinted lenses that have been formed and shaped by past experiences that cause us to see things "not the way they are but the way we are."

For example, if a person has been hurt in the past and has a poor self-concept, he will have distorted lenses that will negate other people's words. If someone gives him a genuine compliment, he may misconstrue this and see it as a form of manipulation. If a woman, when a child, had an abusive father, she will tend to view all other men through the same lenses she saw her father. Or if a man, when a child, had a controlling or smother mother, he will tend to view all other women through the same lenses he viewed his mother. Counselors and communicators call this "selective distortion."

What we need to do is to look into a "relational mirror" so we can see the colored lenses we are wearing and the distorted view of life and of others that we have. This takes great courage and can be rather threatening. However, if we truly want to overcome "the donkey with green glasses syndrome," we can. Here's how:

1. Look at your overreactions, for whenever we are overreacting to a given situation, we are seeing things through colored lenses and are reacting on the basis of unresolved past issues.

2. Find a trusted, non-critical friend whom you can ask to point out to you whenever you are overreacting and are seeing things through past negative experiences.
3. Ask God to face you with the truth about yourself, and help you to see your colored lenses, and,

4. If necessary, see a wise, understanding and well-trained counselor to help you see your colored lenses and work through and resolve past hurtful and frightening experiences.

If we do this, our relationships and all of life will improve dramatically!

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to see any colored lenses that are distorting the events in my life and hurting my relationships, and to find the help I need to clear my vision so that I will see all situations as they truly are. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Jeff Daly, Encounter magazine (ACTS Australia), Issue No 4, 2005.
2. Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV).



By Dick Innes

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The Key To Overcoming Temptation

A minister traveling on a train in Europe was the sole occupant of a compartment, except for a young man reading a newspaper.

The youth was also a Christian, but so weak was his faith, and so many were his temptations, that he told the minister he did not think he would be able to stand life a week longer.

The minister took from his pocket a Bible and a penknife and said, "See, I will make this penknife stand up on the cover of this Bible, in spite of the rocking of the train."

The young man, thinking that this was some conjuring trick, watched the proceeding with interest, saying, "I am afraid that it will not be very easy to do that , sir."

"But," said the minister, "I am doing it."

"Oh, but you are holding it," retorted his fellow passenger.

"Why of course. Did you ever hear of a penknife standing up on its end without being held up?"

"I see," was the young man's comment. "I see you mean to teach me that I cannot stand unless Christ holds me. Thank you for reminding me of that."

My brethren, you just can't stand a day without Christ. Maybe you think you can but the REALITY is you just can't.

You have no chance resisting temptation without Christ.

How Valuable Is Salt?

Thousands of Napoleon's troops died because of the lack of salt.

Let me ask you this: How valuable is salt? 
 
40 million tons are required each year to fill our needs. Homer called it divine. Plato called it a "substance dear to the gods." 

Shakespeare mentioned salt 17 times in his plays.

Perhaps Leonard da Vinci wanted to send a subtle message about purity lost when he painted "The Last Supper."

In that painting an overturned salt cellar is conspicuously placed before Judas.

In ancient Greece a far-flung trade involving the exchange of salt for slaves gave rise to the expression, "...not worth his salt."

Special salt rations were given to Roman soldiers and known as "Solarium Argentums" the forerunner of the English word "salary."

Thousands of Napoleon's troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal--their bodies lacked salt.

The human body contains about 4oz. of salt. Without enough of it, muscles won't contract, blood won't circulate, food won't digest and the heart won't beat a beat.

Without a doubt, salt is the essence of life. And Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth."

Simply stated, you are here on earth for a reason. And one of your missions is to share Christ to people.