God's Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

Happy Easter

* In chemistry, He turned water to wine.
* In biology, He was born without the normal conception;
* In physics, He disproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven;
* In economics, He disproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with two fishes & 5 loaves of bread;
* In medicine, He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs;
* In history, He is the beginning and the end;
* In government, He said that he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace;
* In religion, He said no one comes to the Father except through him; So. Who is He? He is Jesus!

Join me and let's celebrate him; He is worthy. The eyes beholding this message shall not behold evil, the hand that will send this message shall not labor in vain, and the mouth saying amen to this prayer shall smile forever. Remain in God and seek his face always. Amen!

In God I've found everything!

The Greatest Man in History, Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.

Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army, yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. I feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us!

Always Say A Prayer ASAP

Ever wonder about the abbreviation A.S.A.P.?

Generally we think of it in terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days along the way.

**********************************

There’s work to do, deadlines to meet;

You’ve got no time to spare,

But as you hurry and scurry –

ASAP – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

In the midst of family chaos,

“Quality time” is rare.

Do your best, let God do the rest –

ASAP – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

It may see like your worries

Are more than you can bear;

Slow down and take a breather –

ASAP – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

God knows how stressful life is;

He wants to ease our cares,

And He’ll respond to all your needs –

ASAP – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

Jerusalem Obituaries 33 AD

Palm Sunday

The week we now call Holy Week, started with Palm Sunday.  Why was this week so important
that three of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) devote a full third of their contents to
reporting this week, and The Fourth (John) dedicates its entire last half?  Jerusalem, which had
a normal population of about 50,000 at this time, had at least tripled
in size because of the influx of pilgrims celebrating the Jewish
holiday Passover.  Early Sunday morning Jesus made his baldly public
entry into the city.  This was the end of all privacy and safety, and
the beginning of what would be an inevitable collision course with the
religious and political authorities.  Crowds began to gather to see the
rabbi from Galilee.  The procession began accompanied by shouting and
singing from the throngs as they threw down their garments on the
pathway to cushion his ride - an Oriental custom still observed on
occasions - as well as palm fronds, the symbol of triumph.  The Old
Testament prophet Zechariah had foretold the arrival of the Messianic
king in Jerusalem via the humble conveyance of a colt.  Here the crowd
hailed Jesus as "the son of David", a loaded name used at a loaded
time.  The priestly establishment was understandably disturbed, as the
palm was the national emblem of an independent Palestine.  These were
Jewish flags.  What if Jesus should claim to be the heir of King David?
(Recent archiological excavations have turned up Roman coins, which have
the head of Tiberias (idolatrous to the Jewish subjects) but overstamped
with a palm.)

The "conspiracy" against Jesus had been building for at least 3 years,
and the sources record seven instances of official plotting against
him, two efforts at arrest, and three assassination attempts before
this time.  This intrigue was no spur of the moment idea.  A formal
decision to arrest Jesus had in fact been made several months earlier.
The Jewish religious officials were afraid that if Jesus were to
continue performing his signs, he would win over the people and the
Romans would come in and destroy the Temple and nation.  According to
legal custom at that time, a court crier had to announce publicly or
post an official "wanted" handbill in the larger towns of Judea about
forty days prior to a trial.  Small wonder that there was some debate
over whether Jesus would dare appear in Jerusalem for the next
Passover.  This discussion ended abruptly on Palm Sunday.

There were political reasons for dealing with Jesus.  There had been a
dozen uprisings in Palestine in the previous 100 years, most of them
subdued by Roman force.  Another Messianic rebellion under Jesus would
only shatter the precarious balance of authority, break Rome's
patience, and might lead to direct occupation by Roman legions.

Religiously, Jesus was a dangerous item.  The people were hailing the
Teacher from Galilee as something more than a man, and Jesus was not
denying or blunting this blasphemous adulation.  Personally, the
Pharisees had been bested by Jesus in public debate, being called
vipers, whitewashed tombs, and devourers of widow's houses.
Humiliated, they would be only too happy to conspire with the scribes,
elders, and chief priests.  There were economic motives for opposing
Jesus as well.  Seeing the commercialization of the Temple, Jesus had
driven the dealers and animals out, as well as turning over the tables
of the moneychangers causing a major disruption in business.  There
were many reasons for dealing with Jesus.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com/holidayhistory

Angel Food Ministries!

Well, another Distribution day over! And another very successful and fulfilling day!

Angel Food Ministries is a fantastic outreach program that our church has participated in since January of 2006. Each month, we take orders for a box of food which costs the families $25, but gives them between $50 and $75 worth of food! And it's all good quality food too, not second hand or dented. There are usually 4-5 frozen meats, lots of vegetables and some canned or boxed food, along with a dessert.

Our church has been so blessed with this ministry as it has helped hundreds and hundreds of people save money on their food bill each and every month. This month we fed over 145 families!

Check out our Angel Food site to see the current month's menu and learn more about the program.

Jesus Painting

Please take the time to watch this YouTube video. It's pretty long, but so worth watching! Very touching. Very beautiful. Very powerful.

Jesus Painting

God Bless You all....

Bev

"Idol" or "Gifted"?

Like it or not, Christian music is influenced by pop culture, to the point where it's often imitative rather than innovative. The best example of this is the new "Christian alternatives" to American Idol— Gifted.

Former American Idol stars Clay Aiken, George Huff, Mandisa Hundley all have been open about their faith, particularly now that they've moved on from Idol. For that matter, Carrie Underwood's star-making single after winning the competition was the prayerful, award-winning single "Jesus Take the Wheel."

I haven't seen this show, and I think it's actually over now for this season... but it is one that I would enjoy watching. I listen to a lot of Contemporary Christian music and would love to see if anyone from Gifted can make it big.

I'll do some more digging and see what I can come up with.

Lost Chapter in Genesis (Joke)

Adam was walking around the garden of Eden feeling very lonely, so God asked him,
"What is wrong with you?"
Adam said he didn't have anyone to talk to.
God said that He was going to make Adam a companion and that it would be a woman.

He said,
"This person will gather food for you, cook for you, and when you discover clothing she'll wash it for you. She will always agree with every decision you make. She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them. She will not nag you and will always be the first to admit she was wrong when you've had a disagreement. She will never have a headache and will freely give you love and passion whenever you need it.

Adam asked God, "What will a woman like this cost?"
God replied, "An arm and a leg."
Then Adam asked, "What can I get for a rib?"
The rest is history..

Church Steeples

I love looking at different church steeples! I know, it's strange, but when I drive through a town, my eyes are drawn to them automatically....

Here are a few that I thought were beautiful!