Update:
Seven pastors from my denomination gathered together for a luncheon
meeting at my church on Friday. Some of
the guys I had not seen for quite some time.
I enjoyed our time together and appreciated them all making the drive.
I stayed at the church working the rest of the afternoon until after
our teens left for the Youth Group Retreat at Arrowhead Bible Camp. It got pretty noisy and there was lots of
energy while they were at the church until they departed. I was glad to hear that they made it safely
to camp with the roads being slick with new snow. I know that they will come home on Sunday
afternoon tired from the winter fun and challenged by the time spent in worship
and the study of God’s word.
I made it home in time to see my sons, David and Jon, while they were
carrying wood to the basement for our wood stove. I appreciate my boys taking the time to keep
the wood rack filled for me. I know that
they thought they had escaped that chore when they left home; we’ll see how it
goes for next year. By then I might be
able to fill the wood rack for myself.
My son, Joshua, had recorded some video of me doing my exercises. I worked on editing it on Friday night for a
while. I’ve got more work to do on it
before it is ready to share; I’m cutting
it down to under five minutes so that people can get a taste of what I’ve been
doing.
Saturday is going to be filled with preparation for Sunday
morning. I’ve got my Sunday School class
to prepare for as well as the message.
With Randy gone on the Youth Retreat, I’ll be giving the Children’s
Message as well; that will take some thought to come up with something
appropriate. I’ll get my exercises in
and if I have time I’ll work on editing the exercise video too.
I am looking forward to the more moderate temperatures next week. Hopefully some of the ice will melt off of my
driveway and ramp so I can get out on my own again. I feel a little housebound; but I don’t want
to risk slipping and hurting myself. I
am so close to walking again; I would have a hard time emotionally if I did
something to myself and I had to wait another few months to heal before I would
be ready again. So I’m playing it safe
at home.
Thought for the Day:
How
well do you treat others? Are you polite
to those who are nice and rude to those who are not?
I
work with police officers as a chaplain and while I ride along with them there
are times when I am amazed at the professional courtesy that they demonstrate
to those who are angry and verbally abusive to them. They are firm but polite even when the person
they are communicating with is not. They
often see humanity at its worst and yet they are charged with treating everyone
they come in contact with professional courtesy. They epitomize the phrase we’ve all heard, “Treat
others as you would like to be treated.”
I
know that there are some people who are easy to be nice to; you want to go the
extra mile to help them out; while there are others that we would love to treat
them as they deserve—and give them an “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.”
We
come in contact with all sorts of people all day long and each of them should receive
our kindness and be treated politely even if they don’t really deserve it.
Matthew 25:40 “And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to
you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
The bible tells us that with
whatever fashion we treat others, God sees as how we are treating Him. If you do an act of kindness; it is the same
as doing that for Jesus Himself. That is motivational, isn’t it? I have no problem treating Jesus with
kindness and respect.
I also notice that it doesn’t
say only treat nice people nicely.
People’s attitudes or actions towards us should not cause us to change
how we treat them. That can be tough to
do at times; but it is the proper thing to do.
When I think on these words,
I also am reminded to treat everybody with respect. Certain people seem invisible to us; the
homeless person we encounter on the street, the individual busing tables at the
restaurant, the person who cleans the floors at the motel or in the hospital,
etc. Do you greet this people with “Hello”
and demonstrate common courtesy to them?
We should. They are important as
people and worthy of our respect.
Matthew 7:12 “So in
everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up
the Law and the Prophets.”
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