The Main Thing

Keeping the Main Thing THE MAIN THING

What is our number one challenge as Christians? Keeping the main thing, the main thing. The “main thing” is Jesus Christ and honoring Him in all we do. The Bible says in Colossians 1:18, that He alone (Christ) in all things and in every respect is to occupy the chief place (stand first) and be pre-eminent in our lives. There must be nothing in our lives that offends Christ or is contrary to the Bible or its principles.

The Bible is not “on trial.” It is not subject to personal interpretation. The Bible is the revelation of God to man, the infallible Word of God: the authoritative rule of faith and conduct—the point of reference for all our situations and the only reliable guide for Christian living. The Bible contains all we need to know to live a holy life, pleasing and acceptable to God.

Analyze your speech and you will find out where your heart is. The Bible says in Matthew 12:34 that out of the fullness, the abundance, the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. What do you talk about? What is uppermost in your mind? Jesus said in Matthew 12:30 that He who is not with Me, not firmly on My side, is against Me, and he who does not, on purpose. gather with Me and for Me, scatters abroad.

There is no middle ground. Either you are for Christ or you are, on purpose or by default, against Him. Be wholeheartedly for Christ. Allow Him to have first place in your life, in your family, at your work, while you play, and while you rest. Make the Bible the center-point of your life and Jesus Christ the center-piece!

Crisis of Confidence

I am leading our Life Group in a study through Acts (we have finished the letters and the gospels). A couple in our group just purchased Chuck Missler's DVD study on Acts and lent it to me. As I read Chuck's credentials and accomplishments (ham radio operator by age 9; pilot by teenager; master's degree in electrical engineering UCLA; graduated the US Naval Academy--with honors; Branch Chief of the Dept of Guided Missiles; Systems Engineer for a large aerospace firm; Senior Analyst for Depts of Intelligence and Defense, etc.)  I wonder: who am I?

With individuals who have intellect and training and discipline like that expounding the Word... what do I think I can add or understand??? Who do I think I am?

On the other hand, the Bible tells me:

There is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries. Daniel 2:27
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom. Daniel 2:21-23

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: Rulers and elders of the people! Acts 4:8
When they saw the courage, boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, unlearned, untrained, ordinary men, they were astonished and amazed and they realized and took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 

However, I'm not Daniel or Peter either, am I?

LORD, I am Yours

Whatever the cost may be, may Your will be done in my life. I realize I am not here on earth to do my own thing, or to seek my own fulfillment or my own glory.

I am not here to indulge my desires, to increase my possessions, to impress people, to be popular, to prove I am somebody important, or to promote myself.

I am not here even to be relevant or successful by human standards. I am here to please You.

I offer myself to You, for You are worthy. All that I am or hope to be, I owe to You. I am Yours by creation, and every day I receive from You life and breath and all things.

I am Yours because You bought me, and the price You paid was the precious blood of Christ.  

You alone, the Triune God, are worthy to be my Lord and Master.  I yield to You: Gracious and glorious Heavenly Father; Lord Jesus who loved me and gave Himself for me; Holy Spirit and Your gracious influence and empowering.

All that I am and all that I have I give to You.

adapted from Ruth Meyers "31 days of praise"

A Prayer For You

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.

To guide you and protect you as you go along your way.

His love is always with you, and His promises are true,

When we give our cares to Him, we know He will see us through.

So when the road you travel, seems too difficult at best,

Just remember I'm praying, and our God will do the rest.

Final Approach

On July 21, 1944 the 304th Bomb Wing of the 15th Air Force took the final approach to shortening the war. Their target was the 4th largest synfuel plant in the Third Reich — the Sudentenland Treibstoff Werke — located between Brux (Litvinov/Most) and Teplitz (Teplice) in the Sudentenland, now the Czech Republic.

During this raid several B-24 Liberators were shot down. One landed near Teplice and the crew all evacuated safely and were captured and sent to German POW. camps. A second, named "Final Approach" crashed near the farming hamlet of Mukov. Seven crewman parachuted to safety but were quickly captured and sent to German POW camps.

Three airman did not parachute out of "Final Approach" and were killed. Lt. Leon Polinski was killed when he was ejected from the aircraft's cockpit. Sgt's Robert D. Finley and Flight Engineer Teunis Gaalswyk were killed in the wreck.

The destruction of the synfuels plants was one of the key elements of the Allied strategic bombing campaign. Without the synfuels the Germans had to ground their advanced ME-262 fighters, without the synfuels only limit fuel was available to German panzers for the Ardennes offensive known as the battle of the Bulge. The panzers stopped within sight of their target, the Meuse River bridges because they had no more fuel. The destruction of the synfuels plants probably was the most efficient and effective thing the Allies could do to shorted the war.
It was an effort that was individual and then cumulative. Lt. Polinski, Sgt's Finley and Gaalswyk made the ultimate sacrifice and today, over a difference of 66 years we can say they made a difference.

On July 17, 2010 representatives of the United States Embassy, Prague, laid a wreath on a plaque in Mukov. The plaque commemorated the sacrifices of Leon, Robert and Teunis. The townspeople had erected the plaque in 1993. The representative stated that it was an honor to see that the sacrifices these men made was still celebrated in a small corner of a place so far away from their homes.

Who were these men? Teunis Gaalswyk is buried in Ft. McPherson, Nebraska, close to the banks of the Platte River. Did he have family? Did they know the details of his contribution and sacrifice and that these details are still remembered to this day by the freedom loving citizens of the Czech Republic?

Yes, we remember. Teunis was my Dad's first cousin. He was greatly missed and his sacrifice never forgotten. Today, we thank all those who serve and have served. You are not forgotten.

For My Friends

SANDS OF MY HEART
Rod Walford

The autumn turns to winter and the leaves blow through the door
The seagull turns her icy glance along an empty shore.
The beach is all deserted now, the ocean cold and bleak
Its blues and hues have turned to grey, all muted, quiet and weak.

Now more than thirty years have passed since last I saw your face
I wonder if you’re near, or if, in some far distant place
You ever sit and reminisce, in quiet thoughtful pose;
And ponder all your memories as you trace the path you chose.

Do you gaze downward from the bridge, where time’s fast waters flow,
Along the pathways of your life... how fast your children grow!
And do you spare a passing thought for absent friends you knew
In far-off days... in summer haze... when cares were far and few?

When spring turns into summertime, blue skies return once more
And laughing children build their castles on the sandy shore.
Tho’ sunkissed lovers surf the waves, with lovelight in their eyes;
The test of time will surely find regret in long-lost ties.

For friendship’s hand is precious, and its hold will life enhance
I wish I’d held yours tighter, when you first gave me the chance;
And yet somehow, I look back now, and though we’re far apart
You’re still there... right beside me... on the warm sands of my heart.

Jehovah — YHWH — Tetragrammation

Jehovah is an English reading of (Hebrew) יְהֹוָה, the most frequent form of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, which is the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. It is Tyndale’s (1530) erroneous, direct phonetic transliteration.
By long tradition, in modern Jewish culture the Tetragrammaton is not pronounced—the full name of YHWH being too sacred for utterance. Instead the above vocalization indicates to the reverent Jewish reader that the term Adonai (Lord) is to be used. In places where the preceding or following word already is Adonai, the reading Elohim is used instead, indicated by a different vocalization of the Tetragrammaton. It is generally agreed, in line with Jewish teaching, that יְהֹוָה is a "hybrid form," created when the Jews added the vowels of Adonai to the consonants of YHWH. [this works in the Hebrew, with slight modifications, not in English]
Early English translators, unacquainted with Jewish tradition, read this word as they would any other word, and transcribed it (in very few places, namely those where the Name itself was referred to) as Jehovah. This form was widely used in the translations of the Protestant Reformation, and although it was later regarded by both Jews and Christians as a mispronunciation, it has nevertheless found a place in Christian usage.
In the New International Version: the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as “LORD” in capital letters to distinguish it from YHWH, another Hebrew word rendered “Lord,” for which small letters are used. Wherever the two names stand together in the Old Testament as a compound name of God, they are rendered “Sovereign Lord.” When YHWH and YHWH Sabaoth occur together, they are rendered “the LORD, the LORD Almighty or Lord GOD.”
God has MANY names. Check out this website: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/El/el.html

When Moses asked who spoke out of the burning bush, (Exodus 3:14) “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM: This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you.” And all the Jews KNEW WHO Moses was talking about. When Jesus was asked who He was, He said that he, also, was the great “I AM” as we read in Mark 14:61-64 “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I AM,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy.”
Jesus was claiming to be the same “I AM” who spoke to Moses in the burning bush—that is why they crucified Him. We know He was claiming to be Yahweh or Jehovah God of the Old Testament because the high priest tore his clothes and stated that Jesus had blasphemed—which is to say that you are God.