This morning in my quiet time I read the first two chapters of Philippians. Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison. Incredibly, the theme of Philippians is ‘joy’! The phrase that jumped out at me was in 2:20, “I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ.” (NLT)

That will be my prayer for me today and I hope you will make it yours as well. No matter what your circumstances are, face this day with joy and a commitment to live your life in a way that honors Christ. If you and I do that, we will have lived a successful day no matter what actually happened!

Tim

This is the poem I ended my message with today.

Slow me down, Lord.

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.

Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.

Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.

Teach me the art of taking minute vacations – of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to smile at a child, to read a few lines from a good book.

Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values, that I may grow toward my greater destiny.

Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward to the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.

Please make the time this week to lie down in green pastures and walk beside the still waters so that your body and soul can be restored.

Tim

Here are the books and web site I mentioned today in my message, check them out!

Life Application Bible

Hard Sayings of the Bible

The Big Book of Bible Difficulties

Got Questions? website

Tim

Today I spoke on the topic of how the Bible was compiled and how can we be confident that the 66 books in the Bible are the exact ones God intended for us to have.

If you want to listen to my message go to the media page of the River Oaks web site.

If you want to read an excellent five-page article on the topic by Erwin Lutzer click here.

Please take time every day this week to read the only book in the history of the world that God inspired, the Bible!

Tim

Today we began a series in the book of Job. In the very first verse of the book, Job’s character is described as ‘blameless, upright, fearing God and shunning evil.”

My message was on the topic of character and I described it is our longstanding moral and ethical habits; our normal response to people or circumstances in our public and private life. Character is best revealed in moments of pressure, temptation and privacy.

This is the card that was available at the end of the service. My challenge was to take 30 minutes this week and reflect on these two questions of character.

Wholesome words that define one’s character are words like: honesty, truthful, dependable, generous, reliable, compassionate, courageous, patient, self-disciplined, loyal, pure, loving humble and godly. Unwholesome words would be: dishonesty, selfish, impatient, greedy, undisciplined, unreliable, angry, disloyal, proud, irresponsible, undependable, impure, and ungodly.

In response to the second question, perhaps you would consider Job’s list in Job 1:1 “blameless, upright, fear God and shun evil” or Paul’s in Colossians 3:12 and 14, “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Character does matter!

Tim

On this day before Easter I want to encourage you to prepare for tomorrow’s celebration by taking a few minutes to read and reflect on Matthew 27-28. May you stand amazed at God’s love for you and come prepared tomorrow to celebrate the life of our Savior and because of his life, our eternal life!

Tim

Today I spoke from Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

If you were not at one of the services, you might want to listen to what I had to say by going to the media center at our web site.

If you would like a taste of what Martin Luther King Jr. had to say regarding Jesus’ command to love your enemy, I have linked to a transcript of his message from November 17, 1957 when he preached a message entitled, “Loving Your Enemies”.

Jesus’ words are similar to the statement in Proverbs 25:21-22, “If you enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

May we practice authentic Christianity in the radical way of loving those we are inclined to hate!

Tim

In my message this morning from Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:31-32 regarding divorce and remarriage, I reviewed the five basic needs of a wife and the five basic needs of a husband from Willard Harley’s book, His Needs Her Needs. If you are married or think you will be some day and have not yet read the book, I want to encourage you to order a copy and read it.

If you prefer a ‘synopsis’ of the book I have linked to a 92-slide summary of the book. It is well done and it will be worth your time to scroll through it!

Let’s all do our part to live out authentic Christianity in our marriages!

Tim

A friend sent this picture to me a couple of days ago. I responded, “I am glad they chose not to show the follow up picture. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty!” Go, Pack, Go! It’s on to the Super Bowl!

Instinct is defined by Webster as, “A natural or inherent aptitude, impulse or capacity.”

Yesterday our ministry staff went on an all-day planning retreat and we began the day by spending an hour by ourselves to reading and reflecting on the book of Colossians. We followed with a time together sharing our insights and what impacted us. We were all struck by the powerful words of chapter 3 as Paul wrote on Christian character and conduct. I want to encourage you to take 5 minutes sometime soon and read that chapter. My prayer for me, the staff and all of River Oaks is that Colossians 3 becomes instinctive to us!

Tim