
by Russell Sherrard
by Russell Sherrard
by Russell Sherrard
Inspirational Image of the Day
by James Collins
“The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:2
“Collins,” the old sergeant snorted. “Putting you in that fancy dress uniform is like putting perfume on a pig.” The old sergeant was Sgt. 1st Class Luster, my platoon sergeant. Behind his back, we called him, Luster the heart-buster, because he ran us ten miles a day. He had served multiple tours in Vietnam. He was a hard man, but he knew his stuff. That was why I asked him to inspect my dress uniform. I had to look my best.
The year was 1992. I was a young enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army. Somehow, I had been chosen to have dinner with the President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. To this day, I still don’t know how I was chosen. Maybe it was White House charity. Maybe some politician said, “I’ve got an idea that will make us look good with the common folk. Let’s find the dumbest redneck in the armed forces and send him to an official state dinner.” It must have been something like that because I knew I didn’t belong there from the moment I entered.
The place was full of big-shots – corporate presidents, heads of state, politicians who hadn’t been caught yet, and Hollywood celebrities. Sylvester Stallone walked past me with a famous swim-suit model clinging to his arm. Tom Brokaw stood behind me in the entrance line.
We were ushered past a reception area. President Bush grabbed my hand and gave me a firm handshake. A photographer snapped our picture – a photograph which still hangs in my office today.
A man in a tuxedo escorted me to my table. I was seated across from President Bush next to a man from Boston. I think he owned Massachusetts or something. He had more money than the Kennedys.
“What’s your racket, young man?” he asked striking up a conversation with me.
“I’m an artist.” I could tell my answer surprised him.
“What kind of artist?”
“I’m a painter. I paint men and women.”
“Is your work well known?”
“Yes, it is in some of the most respected places,” I said, which wasn’t a lie. I painted “MEN” and “WOMEN” on the bathroom doors at Fort Knox.
When it was time to eat, I panicked. There were four forks. I didn’t know which one to use. So, I watched George H.W. and the rich guy next to me. I just used whatever fork they used. The meal was elegant – seven courses. If I had to pay for it, I am sure it would have cost my mortgage.
All evening long, even in my Luster the heart-buster inspected uniform, I felt out of place. If you put perfume on a pig, the pig still stinks. I was just a penniless boy from the country. I was worried one of those elegant sophisticates would discover an imposter was among their midst. I didn’t belong. We had nothing in common.
Yet, when President Bush died in November of 2018, I realized we did in fact have something in common – the Lord is our Maker. Both millionaire Bush and minimum-wager Collins have the same Creator. The Lord is the maker of us all.
The point is: God has given life to both the rich and the poor. No matter where you fall on the income scale, you owe your existence to God Almighty.
Since He has given life to you, wouldn’t it be wise to live for Him?
It makes more sense than putting perfume on a pig.
James Collins is pastor, columnist, and author. You can write to him by email at james@thepointis.net.
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Premarital Quips is a collection of thoughts on what a couple should be thinking about before their wedding day. The preparation before the wedding are perhaps the most important part of married life.
Written from a Christian perspective, this book is a prelude to a series of books of marriage quips gleaned over the years.
by Russell Sherrard
The System
List 1 (89 days) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
List 2 (187 days) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
List 3 (78 days) Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillippians, Colossians, Hebrews
List 4 (65 days) 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, Jude, Revelation
List 5 (62 days) Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
List 6 (150 days) Psalms
List 7 (31 days) Proverbs
List 8 (249 days) Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
List 9 (250 days) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
List 10 (28 days) Acts
• Read one chapter from each list each day; in one sitting or two. At the end of a book; go to the next book. At the end of the list; start it again. Do it in the order given above.
• Read quickly (without “speed-reading”) in order to get the overall sense. Read as fast as you comfortably can with moderate retention. You’re not studying deeply or memorizing; shoot for 5- 6 minutes per chapter. At the end of a chapter, move immediately to the next list.
• GET THROUGH THE TEXT – no dawdling, back reading, looking up cross-references!
• There are different ‘kinds’ of reading: super-quick skimming, careful moderate-paced, studying the text, deep meditation. You should be between the first and second kind.
• Most people decrease their time spent and increase their retention after just two-three weeks! I now read and retain the entire text of Matthew in 35 minutes, Romans in 20, Genesis in one hour!
• Don’t look up anything you ‘don’t get’ – real understanding will come through contextualizing by reading a LOT of scripture over time. Get through the text!
• If you miss a day or two – ok, get over it, then keep going. Don’t cover yourself in sackcloth and ashes and quit! Move the bookmarks along, to find your place(s) quickly next day. Heb 4:12&5:11-14; Eph 5:26&6:17; Col 3:16; 2 Tim 3:16; Ps 119; Ezra 8; Prov 3: 1-2, 10:14; Dan 1
• If you are wondering why you should read Acts (or Proverbs) all the way through every single month, then — you’ve just shown that you NEED to read them that often!
• The goal of this system is simple, and twofold: To know scripture, and to love and obey God more!
Inspirational Image of the Day
by Jim Hughes
Habakkuk 1:13 You are perfectly just in this. But will you, who cannot allow sin in any form, stand idly by while they swallow us up? Should you be silent while the wicked destroy people who are more righteous than they?
The Babylonians were sent to punish the Israelites for their sins. God had had enough. His people had worn out His patience. They went through the motions of allegiance to God but their hearts were far from Him. They claimed to be His, but did not live like it. They expected the Lord’s favor upon them, but did not humble themselves before Him or obey Him.
God cannot allow sin in any form. We must understand this profound and all important truth. There is no sin in the presence of God. Ever. Sin must be dealt with before one approaches God or he will be denied access to God. God is holy and hates all sin. In order to approach God, we must be made righteous in Christ. As much as we may not like it, we must confess our sins before Christ and seek His forgiveness. There is no other way to draw near to God.
We don’t stress this truth much anymore, but I believe it is a critical truth. We must preach and teach it until we believe it. God is sin intolerant. He will not overlook sin in any form. He will not let sin anywhere near Him. No one will make it to heaven with a sin problem hanging over their soul. Repentance is for Christians too! In fact, I believe that it is even more important for the believer than the non-believer because we are held accountable for what we know. The sinner’s prayer for forgiveness is just the beginning of a lifetime of forgiveness. We all sin and come short of the glory of God.
I believe it is dangerous for us to assume that once we are saved we are no longer in need of repentance. How can sin go away without it? Does the righteousness of Christ guarantee our acceptance by God regardless of our sins? All I know is that the Word calls us into a confession of our sins. God commands holiness in the heart of His children and dealing with sin is the only way it is going to happen.
About the Author:
Spending his formative years in Ft. Wayne, IN, Jim followed the love of his life to southeast Iowa where they married and have spent the majority of their lives. Jim has pastored several churches throughout his life and has worked many years in local factories to help support his family. The father of two married adult children and one son still at home, Jim is a first-time author.
C Through Marriage came into being through many years of pastoral and life experiences. The book first took on a life of its own over 20 years ago when I sought to address the much publicized moral failures of prominent leaders in the church. In the chaper on Chasity, I include the guideliness that I developed then to protect one’s self from such failures.
I am a firm believer in order to make sense out of life you have to use much common sense. We need to get back to the basics of what has worked for many, many generations. If is isn’t broke, why try to fix it? I strive to return to the basics of what really works in all my writings.
by Russell Sherrard
by Russell Sherrard
by Russell Sherrard
Inspirational Image of the Day
by James Collins
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:14-15
Uncle Elmer lay in a bed in a darkened hospital room. He was attached to a maze of tubes, wires, and machines. Near the end of his life, he struggled for consciousness one last time. Next to him was my Aunt Maimy, his wife of 55 years. Elmer reached for the hand of the person he had known for more than five decades of marriage.
“Maimy, is that you?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m here.”
“Maimy, you have been with me for 55 years of marriage.”
“Yes, I have been with you.”
“I remember in our first year of marriage when a fire destroyed everything we owned, you were there with me.”
“Yes, I was with you.”
“I remember when I lost my job and was unemployed for over a year, and you were beside me.”
“Yes, I was with you.”
“And several years ago, after my first stroke, you were with me then.”
“Yes, I was with you then.”
“Now, in these final months, as I lay dying in this hospital bed, you’re with me again.”
“Yes, dear, I am with you.”
Uncle Elmer paused for a moment and said, “Maimy, you’re nothing but bad luck.”
Do you know someone like that? Do you know someone who finds something to complain about no matter how good things are going?
There is a woman in our church, Lois Steam, who complains about everything. “I don’t know how anybody can praise Jesus in this icebox,” she said two weeks ago. “What is this, a church or a walk-in freezer?” The following Sunday she quipped, “It’s so hot in here that you could poach eggs in the baptistry.”
Lois would complain if her ice-cream was cold.
“You shouldn’t talk so loud when you preach. I’m not deaf,” Lois said a while back. When I toned it down she yelled, “Speak up! You, soft-spoken nitwit!”
I was tempted to rebaptize her and hold her under for a while.
“We need more young people around here,” Lois said when I first came to the church. “Why are all these kids running in the halls? Why do we have all these kids in in here?” she said last week.
Lois makes me want to fire the church and form a congregation search committee.
The point is: Complainers can drain the joy not only out of their own lives, but also out of the lives of everybody around them. Clearly, complaining is no laughing matter to God. God hates complaining. The Bible says to do everything without murmurings and disputings. In other words, stop complaining!
The next time you feel like complaining, resist the urge and look for a way to pay a compliment. Who knows, if you do that enough, you may be cured of your complaining?
James Collins is pastor, columnist, and author. You can write to him by email at james@thepointis.net.