“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:9&10. The Bible calls us to love in such a way that we honor others above ourselves. Do you do this? What would a culture look like if all the Christians really did this? It’s interesting to imagine, isn’t it?
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Our Most Important Need Hasn't Changed
If we read very old writings, we discover that the basic nature of human beings hasn’t really changed. In fact, it’s amusing how little things have changed. So, even though we live in a sophisticated, hi-tech world, it shouldn’t surprise us that our most fundamental need hasn’t changed either. We need to know the God who made us. Everything else in life is secondary to that.
Happy 22nd Birthday, Rachel!
Twenty-two years ago, God blessed our home with a precious baby girl and in a million ways our lives have never been the same! I thank God for this blessing. Happy Birthday, Rachel!!!
.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Love Is A Life-Giving Force
According to St. Augustine St. Augustine
Monday, June 27, 2011
As Those Who Have Received Forgiveness, We Should Be Willing To Forgive
No one has sinned against you and I more than we’ve sinned against God and yet He has lovingly forgiven us. As people who have freely received generous grace and extraordinary amounts of forgiveness, Jesus expects us to generously, gladly, willingly, lovingly, graciously forgive others.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
How Long Does An Oil Change Take?
I pulled into the lane on the right and the attendant, using only hand motions, indicated, “A little to the left. Okay, back to the right. No, no, not that far. Back to the left just a little. Okay, keep coming straight. Perfect. Stop right there.”
I put the van in park and the attendant came to the window, “Oil change?”
“Yep,” I said.
He said, “The waiting room is right over there. We should have you in and out in just few minutes.”
“Great.”
My daughter, Rachel, and I got out of the van and walked to the waiting room.
The “waiting room” was aptly named because that’s what we did. We waited.
Five minutes passed. We waited. Then ten minutes. We waited. Then fifteen minutes. We waited. I could see from my position in the waiting room that the car in the work bay ahead of mine was still up on the lift and being serviced. And I could also see outside and knew that my van had not been moved. It was still not being serviced.
We waited.
How long should an oil change take?
The word “express” is actually part of the name of this business!
How much longer will this be?
When will they even get my van into one of the work bays to begin servicing it?
What are they doing with this other car? Rebuilding the entire engine from scratch?
These and other thoughts ran through my mind. And… we waited.
Several times, as we were waiting, the attendant who appeared to be running the place walked briskly into the waiting area—which was also the office—to grab supplies. When he came in he looked at me and smiled, shaking his head, as if to say, “Whew, we’ve got a tricky one, here.”
As he walked passed me, I raised my finger and began to ask, “How much longer do…?”
But before I could finish my question he was out the door and continuing his work on the other car.
Maybe I should just leave and come back later.
If I leave now, will I depart when they’re just moments away from finishing the other car and if I would have simply had a little more patience I could have this task completed?
Fortunately, I had a book with me and I was able to continue reading, but I noticed that I was feeling drowsy and the next thing you know, I actually dozed off. That’s how long this oil change took! While we were waiting, I actually fell asleep! That’s too long for a simple oil change, right?
Well, after another session of dozing I awoke, and as I drifted back into wakeful consciousness I could tell that I had actually been sleeping. In other words, this wasn’t a case of nodding off for a moment. Oh no, I was engaged in full fledged sleeping! I may have even been snoring. Who knows?
But something felt strange. Very strange. I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know what it was. So many things seemed unusual. Trying to clear my head and think, I put my hand up to my chin and that’s when I noticed that I had a beard!
A beard?
What’s going on? How do I have a beard?!? I shaved when I got up this morning. I couldn’t have grown a beard!
As I looked around the oil change shop, it immediately became clear to me that it was no longer an oil change shop. It was a cell phone store.
Seeing me stirring, a young woman in an employee uniform and name tag gently approached and said, “My, my, we’re finally waking up, huh?”
“Who are you? What’s going on? Where am I?”
“I can answer those questions for you,” she said, “But first, you probably need to know that you’ve been asleep for a very long time.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Just then Rachel walked up. I could tell it was Rachel. I recognized her, but she appeared to be in her 40’s.
“Aaaagggghhhh!!!” I screamed.
And the scream in my dream actually served to wake me up to real life, once again. There I was back in the oil change shop. I looked to my left and there was Rachel. At her normal, current age, looking at me as she listened to her Celtic Women CD.
“Boy, that was weird,” I thought. My heart was pounding. But I was greatly relieved and even a little bit amused to realize that I had awakened from an odd dream.
My mind was busy processing reality as the attendant came walking in the room with a big smile saying, “Mr. Marler, your van is ready.”
I looked at my watch. Forty-five minutes for an oil change? Are you kidding me? This is outrageous! I began to mentally formulate my scathing complaint, which I was planning to deliver at a serious level of volume and intensity. But as I stood and approached the counter, I passed by a mirror and noticed that I did not have a beard. And in that moment I felt a wave of relief.
With a smile on my face, I paid for the oil change and just let the matter go.
But next time, I’m going someplace else for routine car maintenance!
God Works In Us Through His Love
Real love is a work of God in us. As we allow God’s love to flow through us to others, it is part of how God changes us into the likeness of Christ. “Jesus loved the lowly, the unlovely, the outcasts, and the marginalized in society. As we love others in the way Jesus loved, God dwells in us and we are transformed.” ~Bruce Demarest.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
E-Flash From Dan, June 25, 2011
Dear E-Flash Friends;
Before I left for my break, people said, “Dan, be sure to keep us updated on your adventures!”
Alright, I will.
Click on the link below to see our recent manatee encounter…
Also, remember that tomorrow, Sun. June 26th, Chris will continue with our series, “Lessons From The Stories Jesus Told” with a message titled: “What Happens When The Seed Is Scattered?”
You say, “Dan, will it be terrific, as usual?”
Yes, it will! Hope you’re planning to be there. It’s always a wonderful blessing to worship and honor God. And that’s what will be happening.
God is good! (You knew that already, right?)
Blessings,
Dan
Does God Restrain Evil?
People ask, “Why doesn’t God restrain evil?” The answer is: He does. This might be difficult for some people to believe, but the truth is that the evil in this world really could be worse than it is. I don’t write this to depress anyone. I write this to encourage. It’s good to know that God does put limitations on the bad that can happen.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Be Encouraged God Will Complete His Work
Living for Christ, is not always easy. It’s okay to admit that reality. But be encouraged! If you are walking with Christ as a follower of His—if you are experiencing salvation in Jesus Christ—then God’s Holy Spirit is at work in you. God has begun a work in you and the Bible promises that He will complete His work!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Care And Concern For The Spiritual Vitality of Others
Those who have a particularly close relationship with God understand that this blessing is not meant exclusively for their own personal benefit. It is something that should be lived and shared and expressed in such a way that it benefits the church. Genuine care and concern for the spiritual vitality of others is one of the unavoidable results of a close relationship with God.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Help From Someone Bigger Than Us
Some people consider it to be a strike against the authenticity of Christian faith that people often turn to faith in Christ only after things have bottomed out. But that doesn’t surprise me. It’s after we truly recognize the problem that is created when we are in control that we are in the perfect place to understand our need for help from someone more than ourselves.
Monday, June 20, 2011
It's Important to Care
The opposite of love is not hate, the opposite of love is complete and total indifference. When we “could care less” about people, that’s when they are most assured that we do not love them. So, it’s good and right and important for us to “care”.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
A Good Dad Is A Priceless Blessing
One of the greatest gifts a person can have in their life is a good dad. It is a priceless blessing. So, to all the good dads out there, today, THANKS! Thanks for being responsible and for loving your family. You are an amazing blessing to them and you are a fantastic example to all of us. Happy Father’s Day!
Here's What Loving Dads Do
Loving dads teach, encourage, coach, correct, instruct and model a life of following God and living for Him. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
Saturday, June 18, 2011
E-Flash From Dan -- Father's Day 2011
Dear E-Flash Friends;
Here’s a Father’s Day story…
We were up on the rooftop at a large shopping plaza. I was working with my dad.
Well, actually, that’s probably not an accurate way of putting it. My dad, who was an expert in refrigeration—and, frankly, anything mechanical—was working on a large rooftop cooling system. I, the 18 year old son, was handing him tools—usually the incorrect one—when he asked for them.
“Hand me that ¾ inch gangly wrench.”
[Handing him the wrench] “Here you go, dad.”
[With a look of sad disappointment on his face] “That’s a power drill.”
“Oh.”
At one point, my dad said, “Do you see the main power switch that I showed you before?”
“Yes.”
“Take the lever and put it all the way down in the off position.”
“Okay.”
I put the lever down. I can’t recall anymore, after all these years, how much electrical power we were dealing with, but it was a lot. Probably like 34 million volts, or something. I’ll have to look it up later. Okay, on second thought, maybe it wasn’t 34 million volts, but it was a lot. It was enough electrical power to fry both of us into small charcoal pieces. (And being fried into charcoal pieces completely ruins the rest of the day.)
The unit we were working on was very large and my dad was on the other side of it. So, he could not see me and he could not see the lever for the power box.
“Did you turn the switch off?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“It’s all the way down?”
“Yes, it’s off.”
“You’re sure it’s down, right?”
“Yep.”
A slight pause.
“The lever is down, the power is off, right?”
“Uh huh.”
There was another momentary pause. And then I heard my dad walking around to my side of the unit. He took the lever and ensured that it was pushed all the way down. As he walked back around to the side that he was working on, I said, “Didn’t you trust me?”
And he said, “Yep” as he went back to working on the unit.
You might think, “Well, that’s not a very nice story, Dan. It sounds like your dad didn’t trust you.”
Au contraire, my friend…
I, actually, smile and nod my head, knowingly, and chuckle whenever I recall that story. In fact, I think back on that story with great fondness because it reminds me of what kind of man my dad was.
He worked around high voltage electricity and other types of dangerous conditions for 5 decades and he survived because he was cautious and smart and well prepared and he knew when to double and triple and maybe even quadruple check whether or not 34 million volts of power was coursing through some wires he was about to touch. In his line of work, some actions did not allow for a second chance if a mistake was made.
Think about working under conditions where one careless error could mean that you would die. And then think about doing that every work day for 50+ years. It’s another reason why I respect my dad.
I, also, chuckle whenever I think of that story because I’ve lived a good bit more life since then. When I think back, now, to who I was at 18 years of age, I shake my head and think, “Are you kidding?!? I would have double and triple checked that lever, too!!!” In fact, I might have had me go wait in the van. It would be safer for everyone.
By the way, I’m still wondering what a ¾ inch gangly wrench looks like.
I’ll be talking about “The Hallmarks of a Good Dad” tomorrow (June 19th) as we celebrate Father’s Day! Hope you can be with us. We have a terrific service planned and we will be honoring and celebrating our dads. Why not bring your dad to church just before you take him out for a nice lunch and tell him how much you love and appreciate him?
Sounds like a good idea, huh? (In my imagination I see you all nodding “yes”.)
See you tomorrow!
Blessings,
Dan
Relax, You Don't Have To Earn God's Love
No matter how well we know that God loves us unconditionally, it is still hard for us to avoid the impulse to try to “earn” His love. Something deep within us believes that we must “perform” properly in order to be loved. So the message for today is simple: Relax, you don’t have to earn it, you don’t have to perform properly, God already loves you.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Handiwork of God
“Two things fill me with constantly increasing admiration and awe, the longer and more earnestly I reflect on them: the starry heavens without and the Moral Law within.” – Immanuel Kant. The handiwork of God is there to be seen for those who are willing to see it.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Love Is An Action
“What does it mean to love someone? To most people love is a feeling, an emotion. But the Greek word agapao (or agape) refers not to a feeling but to an action. To love (agapao) is to will the good of another….Will their good and demonstrate in action.”~James Bryan Smith. When we love each other God’s way, it can be seen in our actions toward each other.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Experiencing God's Peace
The peace that we experience from God is an inner sense of calm and an assurance of His presence that communicates to us that “with Him” everything will be alright. “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” Phil.4:6&7
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Knowledge Is Important... But Love Is More Important
“…[W]hile knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.” 1 Cor.8:1-2. If there were a contest, judged by God, between what is more important, knowledge or love, love would win. Knowledge is a very good thing. But love is more important.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Jesus Knows About Life...Firsthand
Jesus helps us and gives us strength from the strategic position of one who has experienced human life, firsthand. He knows about life, real life, with all its struggles, temptations, and difficulties. He helps us as one who has been there. “Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” Heb. 2:18
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Loving Like Jesus Loves
Jesus: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” [John 15:12] When we love each other the way Jesus loves us, we are generous, patient, humble, self-sacrificial, forgiving, honest, gracious and genuinely concerned about the ultimate good of those we love. For more specific details read: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Wisdom Involves Learning to Cope With Difficulties
An important aspect of wisdom is learning to cope with difficulties, set-backs, and outright failures in healthy and effective ways. Foolish people seem to be shocked every time something goes wrong. Wise people, on the other hand, know troubles will come and they are not completely flustered when they do. One important aspect of coping with troubles effectively is knowing God as our firm foundation.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Motivation To Keep Growing and Learning
Scientists are discovering that if our brains are challenged they can continue to learn and stay sharp, even into old age. “Everything that you can see happen in a young brain can happen in an older brain.” –Brain Scientist, Michael Merzenich. More evidence that it’s not too late for us to continue to grow and learn and stay purposefully, vitally involved in living for Christ.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The Credibility Factor
“Until the Kingdom of God
Monday, June 6, 2011
God's Love Is Something Much Greater Than We Can Fathom
It is not necessary for us to understand God in order for us to love Him. In fact, we can’t completely understand God, and that’s good. He’s MORE than we can understand and His love for us is greater than we can fathom. Hey, that’s pretty good…right?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
When Jesus Is The Cornerstone
When Jesus is “the cornerstone” of our lives, we do not look to our selves to determine what’s right or wrong; we don’t look to our selves to determine what we should do or the direction our lives will take. When Jesus is the cornerstone, we look to Him. Our truth comes from knowing Him, trusting Him, and being aligned with Him.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Loving Well Involves Receiving Love, Too
Some of us read what the Bible says about love and we think, “I need to love people more.” This is correct. But if we are understanding God’s word correctly it is important for us to come to this conclusion, also: “I need to be more willing to receive love.” Sometimes the trust that is necessary for us to receive love is difficult, but receiving love more willingly is part of loving better.
Friday, June 3, 2011
There Is Always Hope With God
Feelings of helplessness contribute significantly to depression. The good news for those who follow Christ is that we are not without help. In fact, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the “helper”. Be encouraged! With God there is help and with God there is always HOPE!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
God Loved Us First
Loving God is an act of faith on our part. Interestingly, that faith was lovingly initiated in us by God. So, the reason that we even have the ability to love is because of the generous love of God. “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Rachel The Cicada Whisperer
Wild horses have been tamed. Lions and tigers have been tamed. Killer whales have even been tamed. But the really critical question is this one: Can a cicada be tamed? Yep, that’s the question that has baffled top scientists for decades. (On second thought the group I’m thinking of may be the medium to low level scientists.)
Fortunately, that perplexing question has finally been answered. (So, all the scientists can go back to working on things like, oh, let’s see… things like cures for debilitating diseases.)
My daughter, Rachel—who is now known as The Cicada Whisperer—tamed a cicada this week. The cicada—she was named “Sammy Cicada” by Nadia and Nita—would sit in the palm of Rachel’s hand without flying away. She would walk up her arm. She would sit on Rachel’s shoulder like a parrot. It was remarkable!
We were really impressed when we woke up the next morning and Sammy had whipped up a scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. That’s a pretty complex trick for a cicada. (You know, that frying pan is heavy when you’re a bug that weighs about 1/20 of an ounce.)
Sadly, cicada’s have a very short lifespan. Very short.
So, just about the time that Sammy had mastered a really neat repertoire of tricks… Well… I hate to even tell you… Um… You see…It’s like this…
Well, I’ll just put it this way. The Cicada Whisperer is thinking about switching to the taming of goldfish. Hey, goldfish practically live forever, compared to a cicada.
Can We Handle The Truth?
“Jesus never hesitated to say the most shattering things in order to stab men broad awake, so that even against their will the light of the truth would banish the unseeing slumber from their eyes.” – William Barclay. Sometimes we need to be confronted with the truth in a very stark way. Jesus was ALWAYS loving, but he understood and demonstrated this reality about proclaiming the truth.
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