MEM

We Just Do Not Get It

This world is going through great economic stress and turmoil. The leading nation facing this severe recession is the United States of America. Yet we just do not get it.

A foreign commentator said - the economic woes of the US are the result of borrowing and living way beyond it’s means. Yet they think they can get out of their problems by borrowing more.

From the very beginning we have not recognized the source of our problems; disobeying our Creator. We think we can fix things without the aid of our Maker. Take the time to ask YHVH how He wants us to solve our troubles. Consider some aspects of our economy from His Word.

Are we here today?

Haggai 2:17 ‘I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the LORD. (we just do not get it)

Let us confess:

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.

What are some of YHVH’s instructions?

Exodus 20:9-10 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work…

Exodus 22:25 "If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Deuteronomy 15:10 "You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. (see also Deuteronomy 24:19-21)

Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.

If you keep His instruction:

Deuteronomy 28:12 "The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

De 30:9-10 "Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand … if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

And if we do not obey His voice:

Deuteronomy 28:44 "He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.

Proverbs 22:7 … And the borrower becomes the lender‘s slave.

Jeremiah 48:10 "Cursed be the one who does the LORD’S work negligently…

Our duty is to work so we can help:

Job 1:10 "… You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Psalm 112:5 It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment.

Psalm 62:12 And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, For You recompense a man according to his work.

Yeshua (Jesus) says:

Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Matthew 5:42 "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Apostle Paul’s instruction:

Col 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,

1Th 4:11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,

2Th 3:10-12 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

We have YHVH’s instruction of what we must do to succeed; be obedient to His Word. We are to work diligently and share with those in need. Material wealth is not our goal - remember Yeshua’s words:

John 6:27-29 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Owe no one anything but love. Be blessed in your study of His Word so you may get it.

Additional instruction from YHVH: Malachi 3:7-12

Proverbs 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.

Proverbs 24:27 Prepare your work outside And make it ready for yourself in the field; Afterwards, then, build your house.

The above Proverb tells us to get our life in order, secure a livelihood before building your house. Our economic crises today is partly the result of ignoring the order advocated in this Proverb.

“Reviewing roles and goals weekly and building a weekly plan according to priorities provides the perspective for keeping first things first on a daily basis.” Stephen R. Covey

Having goals is important to keep us on track. Having the right goal is the primary. Reviewing our lesser goals weekly will enable us to adjust them, keeping us aligned with our goal found in the Word of YHVH.

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

1. At the time of Yeshua’s birth, who issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world?
2. To whom were the Acts and the Gospel of Luke addressed?
3. Jacob’s well was near which city in Samaria?
4. Apart from law, what becomes of sin?
5. From which of Noah’s sons did the Jewish people descend?
6. Who was Sarai’s maidservant?
7. Who said, “What I have written, I have written”?

In our pursuit of humility:

“We need to learn another lesson - that Jesus calls us to be servants of one another, and that as we accept it heartily, the service will be a most blessed one, a new and fuller deliverance from sin and self.” Andrew Murray

Pride is the opposite of humility. When we think we can handle it without direction of our Maker we will surely fail. Humility is the place of entire dependence on YHVH. Every decision and action is to be motivated by His Spirit.

John 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Subject: Sand & Rain Storms from GOD

God's blessings never stop. Sometimes we just forget to see them and remember from whom they came............

I'm sure all of you heard about the sandstorm in Iraq … [at the beginning of the conflict] (the worst in 100 years some say) and the drenching rain that followed the next day. Our troops were bogged down and couldn't move effectively.

The media was already wondering if the troops were in a "quagmire" and dire predictions of gloom and doom came from the left wing media.

What they didn't report was that the next day, after the weather had cleared, the Marine group that was mired the worst looked out at the plain they were just about to cross. What did they see?

Hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines had been uncovered by the wind and then washed off by the rain. If they had proceeded as planned, many lives would have undoubtedly been lost. As it was, they simply drove around them and let the demolition teams destroy them.

Thank you, God, for protecting our young men and women!

Someone once asked George Washington if he thought God was on his side.

His reply is reported to be, "It is not that God should be on our side, but that we be on His."

IN GOD WE TRUST!

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard.

The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline."

He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment.

Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane.

She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?"

The little old lady said,

"Did we land, or were we shot down?"

Paul Harvey Writes:

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.
When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy/girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it.. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you … when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

TWO BABES IN A MANGER

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of
Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the
public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire
and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who
had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program
were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:

It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for
the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary
and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple
went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as
they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every
word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of
cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square,
cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was
available in the city.

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid
strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a
worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia,
were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we
had brought from the United States.

The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see
if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little
Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but
two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the
lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of
him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat
the story very seriously.

For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he
related the happenings accurately...until he came to the part where Mary put
the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his
own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the
manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him
I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then
Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I
didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay
with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for
a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.

So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"

And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody
ever gave me."

"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I
could stay with him...for always."

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that
splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head
dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.

The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him,
someone who would stay with him...FOR ALWAYS.

I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in
your life that counts.

-- Author Unknown

"MOST IMPORTANT LIST"

The most destructive habit .......... Worry

The greatest joy ...........................Giving

The greatest loss .........................Self respect

The most satisfying work ................. Helping others

The ugliest personality trait ............... Selfishness

Our greatest natural resource ........... Our youth

The greatest "shot in the arm" ............. Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome ......... Fear

The most effective sleeping pill ........... Peace of mind

The most crippling failure ..................... Excuses

The most powerful force in life ............ Love

The most dangerous pariah ................. A gossiper

The worlds most incredible computer....... The brain

The worst thing to be without ................. Hope

The deadliest weapon ............................. The tongue

The two most power-filled words ........... "I Can"

The greatest asset ................................... Faith

The most worthless emotion .................. Self-pity

The most beautiful attire ......................... SMILE!

The most prized possession ................... Self esteem

The most powerful channel of communication ... Prayer

The most contagious spirit ..................... Enthusiasm

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world."

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

1. Caesar Augustus Luke 2:1

2. Theophilus Acts 1:1; Luke 1:1-4

3. Sychar John 4:4-6

4. Sin is not fully perceived Romans 7:8

5. Shem Genesis 11:10-26

6. Hagar Genesis 16:1

7. Pilate John 19:22