Apr6

Along with my daily Bible reading I have been reading through a tiny book called “God’s Little Instruction Book on Character”.  I bought the book years ago and read it during our family devotional times with our son. The book is laid out very simply with a Bible verse and a quote on character on each page. Here are my ‘top picks’ of quotes on character:

“Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you are made of.”

“Character isn’t inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action.”

“If all the gold in the world were melted down into a solid cube it would be about the size of an eight-room house. If a man got possession of all that gold – billions of dollars worth, he could not buy a friend, character, peace of mind, clear conscience, or a sense of eternity.”

“The best index to a person’s character is (a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can’t fight back.”

“Character: When you have the same ailments as the other person but refrain from mentioning it.”

“Character is not made in crisis – it is only exhibited.”

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”

“It is the character of very few people to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.”

“Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.”

There you have it; my top picks. Take one or two of these quotes that stood out to you, write them down and put them somewhere where you can read them every day for the next week. And parents why not take this list and read it to your family around the dinner table? You may be encouraged with the discussion that follows.

Tim

Feb27

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

Feb8

As a very proud “cheese head”, I want to thank all the Bear fans, Colt fans, and everyone else who graciously became a Packer fan for 4 hours on Sunday! We appreciate it.

Tim

Feb6

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

Jan30

Today I preached on the topic of lust  from Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:27-30.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery’. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

If you want to hear the message, go to riveroaks.org media center and click on January 30th message, “Lust of the Eyes”.

In the message I mentioned some helps for men that I would put on my blog and here they are. I trust some of these ideas will be helpful to you in keeping a pure heart.

1.      A very helpful on-line accountability tool for men can be downloaded at x3watchfree.com. X3watch is a free accountability software program helping with online integrity. Whenever you browse the Internet and access a site, which may contain questionable material, the program will record the site name, time, and date the site was visited. A person of your choice (an accountability partner) will receive an email containing all possible questionable sites you may have visited within the month. For additional helps go to XXXchurch.com

2.      If you are in an accountability group or a small group Bible Study you might want to give copies of these questions from Chuck Swindoll to each man and ask one or two each week along with whatever else you do:

Have you been with a woman this week in such a way that was inappropriate or could have looked to others that you were using poor judgment?

Have you been completely above reproach in all your financial dealings this week?

Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material this week?

Have you spent daily time in prayer and in the Scriptures this week?

Have you taken time to be with your wife this week/children this week?

Have you just lied to me?

3.      Two books that Scott Tilley, our Adult Ministries Pastor recommends for men dealing with sexual sins:

The Game Plan

Wired For Intimacy: How pornography Hijacks the Male Brain

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality!” May we be men with a firm resolve to live our Christian faith out in our thought life!

Tim

Jan26

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

Jan13

I just read something in my quiet time that I want to pass along to you. Ecclesiastes 10:8-9 says, “When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake. When you work in a quarry, the stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger in each stroke of your ax.” (The New Living Translation)

I read those verses and immediately wrote in the margin of my Bible, “There is RISK of failure in EVERYTHING worth doing.”

I’m passing this along because some of you might need the same encouragement I do; don’t shrink back from taking God-honoring risks. Call it faith, call it courage, call it adventure but if it is a challenge that has potential benefit and will bring God pleasure, go for it! You might fail, but nothing worthwhile ever gets done without risk!

Tim

Jan12

This morning as I was eating my cheerios at the kitchen counter and glancing at the Elkhart Truth I noticed a quote Gloria had taped to the corner of the kitchen window. I don’t know where she got it or anything about the person who said it, but I do know it made a real impression on me. Here it is; perhaps it will make an impression on you.

“Enjoy the blessings of the day if God sends them and the evils bear patiently and sweetly. For this day only is ours. We are dead to yesterday and not born to tomorrow.” – Jeremy Taylor

Thanks, Gloria for giving me a great perspective on today and life! May we all rest in God’s loving providence today!

Tim

Download this series graphic to use as the background on your computer or cellphone to memorize the Beatitudes throughout the series.

	Computer	Smartphone
	1280×720 1440×900 1600×900	320×480

* Right click on a screen size above and select ’save as‘

Jan2

Today I began a series through the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 entitled, Authentic Christianity. In this first message I went through the first part of the Sermon on the Mount commonly called The Beatitudes. I believe these are the attitudes that are necessary to fulfill the behavioral standards of the Sermon on the Mount. This graphic is a bookmark that was available at the end of the service. I want to challenge you to read over these paraphrases of the Beatitudes several times this week and do your best to put them into practice.

Tim