Meadows

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This is the day that the Lord hath made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

A New Year Prayer -- Poem by Janet (click HERE)

by Paul Harvey

Do you remember Paul Harvey, the famous ABC radio commentator? Paul Harvey? Millions of Americans listened to his programs which were broadcast over 1,200 radio stations nationwide. When you listen to it, remember the commentary was aired 47 years ago.... April 3, 1965. It's short... less than 3 minutes.

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Who, Who Said the Wise Old Owl

A book about care-giving and care-givers.

Baby Laughing

God Is Real

5-year-old tells atheist dad about realness of God

Proverbially Speaking

It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.

Proverbs 11:12 (NLT)

Today's Text

Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

– Psalm 86:11-13 NRSV Read Psalm 86 (New KJV)

Divide and Conquer

By Don Meadows

The devil is a good general. He knows the ancient tactic of divide and conquer.

Whether it be a game of chess or combat on the battlefield, it’s basic. Separate the enemy from his resources or allies and you win. Satan knows this; he is an expert at doing it.

The division he creates is not always between people or organizations. One of the most-lethal divides occurs in the mind, i.e. the heart. David knew this very well, yea, from experience, so he prayed: "Give me an undivided heart." The reason? "To revere (show the highest respect to) God’s name."

A dangerous reality of a heart divided is that it goes unnoticed until time comes to pay the piper. Families are broken, along with hearts. Relationships collapse; One’s integrity disintegrates; Trust evaporates; Affections integrate until it’s impossible to distinguish what is important and what’s useless, what’s right or what’s wrong. The spirit can be so anesthetized that one will march into hell with a heart confident that all’s well.

Think about it! What is the root cause of much of our troubles today? Heart division!

A man and woman pledged to be one in union with each other and with God. Eventually the "tingle" of their emotions is felt less and less and one of them wants the excitement restored. Without God being allowed to intervene, they’re doomed to stand in front of a judge; the marriage dies. Many people suffer, pitifully the innocent.

This year the Miami Heat won the National Basketball League’s championship. The glue that held them together was mutual focus on the goal. They played as a team. No one player, no one person, is strong enough to carry all the load in a relationship – athletic or personal.

The Psalmist understood the spiritual truth of division. He prayed: Teach me your way, Lord; may I walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

If your desire is an intimate fellowship with God, pay attention. We do not know how to revere God. That comes to us through God. We do not understand how to love God. We must be taught by Him. Probe 1 John 4 with an open heart. You can’t love unless God is in your heart.

Love is such an abused word in our vocabulary today. Ancient Greeks had several words to describe the differing kinds of affections we call "love." The epitome of love is the self-giving decision to regard others before one regards himself. The was illustrated best, of course, by Jesus on the Cross of Calvary.

To be sure, it’s a demanding and humanly-impossible task. It requires surrender to God, a giving up of one’s rights, pride and, sometimes, material possessions. It means being singularly-focused on acting in accord with the directions of God for the accomplish of God’s purpose and His glory and honor.

Though none of us, save One, has ever attained this purity of union with God, we dare not say it is impossible. We cannot excuse ourselves by saying "we’re only human," for that suggests Jesus was too demanding of those who try to follow him.

Remember, he said: "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-4).

Perfection in God’s eyes is not impossible for you and me. This is revealed in Genesis 17:1 (KJV): "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."

Note, the ability to be perfect is that one "walk before" God. Andrew Murray said, "God’s realized presence is the school, is the secret, of perfection. It is only he who studies what perfection is in the full light of God’s presence to whom its hidden glory will be opened up."

This drives us to the inescapable conclusion that when we come up short of perfection, it is not because of our humanity. It is because our heart is divided between God and self or something other. It means we are not walking with God to as closely as others, or even we, might think.

The choices we have, of course, are to continue in our "dividedness" from God or confess our sin of idolatry. A harsh term, to be sure, but idolatry still, for anything which gains our affections enough to distract us from fellowship with God is an idol.

He waits patiently, my heart to divide,

The evil one who feeds on my constant pride;

Spirit of Truth, guide me to understand

I'm safe only so long as I cling to your hand.

dcm22july12

Christian Consistency

2 Samuel 23:11–12; Acts 17:9

Back to Being Ourselves

The Egyptians scored immense gains in the first few days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. But on the tenth to twelfth day the initiative shifted to the Israelis when their armor smashed an Egyptian advance and opened the prospect of a swift, punishing Israeli counterattack. The Israeli chief of staff called Premier Golda Meir from the Sinai. His message—simplicity itself—told Golda all she needed to know: "Both the Israelis and the Egyptians are back at being themselves."

God’s people sometimes fall from grace in setbacks that humiliate them and disgrace him. Caught by surprise, as the Israelis were in the Sinai, we fall before Satan’s sneak attack, our righteousness collapsing before his overwhelming advances. However, we need not worry. The faith that serves as our vanguard serves also as our rearguard. It will stop the panicked chaos of retreat, stabilize our lines, rush reinforcements into the breach, and begin a counterattack! We can be ourselves again, rebounding from sin to righteousness, from defeat to victory. Temporary defeats are expected in any war, even when the enemy is being beaten. What God wants from us is consistent effort and a forward-looking witness.

Jeremiah 12:5; 1 Timothy 6:12

Well Worth the Extra Effort

The camera caught them at the instant of total exhaustion—heads back, open mouths gasping for relief, lungs and muscles screaming their distress. The University of Washington Crew had just finished a sub-six-minute victory, only the ninth such in the history of the Crew Classic. They had succeeded, but not easily. Victory had come only after punishing physical, mental, and emotional effort. They won by extending their fit bodies to the limit and then stretching them even more.

Have we ever resisted temptation to the point of screaming at the tempter? Have we ever given such an effort for Christ that it wrings out our energy, drains our reserves, and leaves us flat on our backs, wiped out? Who can calculate what would be the result if we underwent intensive, harrowing spiritual training equal to the training of the members of the Crew when they prepare to compete for the Classic.

Above from "Speakers Sourcebook of New Illustrations," Virgil Hurley

Now, there's an educator --

Speech by Dennis Prager of Colorado

We watched high school principal Dennis Prager of Colorado, along with Sara Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple of weeks ago....what a dynamic, down to earth speaker. Even though Palin and Brokaw were also guest speakers, they did little but nod and agree with him.

A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give

By Dennis Prager.

To the students and faculty of our high school:

I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

First , this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American.

This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America , one of its three central values -- e pluribus Unum, "from many, one." And this school will be guided by America 's values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.

Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.

Second , I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English --but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue... There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately fortunate -- to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.

Thanks to Trudy Burton for sharing Top of Page