Thankful All the Time

Thanksgiving is a day we set aside to give thanks and eat turkey. A kindergarten class at a school in Kentucky was asked how to cook a turkey. This is their instructions:

Go to the grocery store. Buy a turkey for $7. If the store doesn’t have any, go to the farm.

Catch & kill a turkey with an arrow. If you miss, shoot it with a gun. Take it home.

Cut out the bones. Take out the brains. Cut off the head, feet, eyes, nose, neck, face, feathers, and skin. Wash it in the bathtub. Put it in a pot. Let it dry off.

Put squishy brown stuff all over it. Cook it in the oven. Get it real hot--10 degrees. Cook it for 35 minutes. Take it out of the oven. Let it cool down. Slice it in long pieces. Eat it! It will be real good!

Hopefully you won’t follow those instructions, but that you will follow God’s instructions for being thankful. “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18). The Lord wants us to always be thankful, even when we are going through unpleasant situations. Some people complain all the time. God wants us to be thankful all the time. He is more interested in His children keeping a positive attitude through difficulties than always keeping us comfortable.

How is it possible to always be thankful? Every situation contains both good and bad, and you can choose what you want to focus on. Complaining comes from focusing on the negative in your situation. Thankfulness comes from choosing to see the positive in your situation and voicing your appreciation to God for it. But thankfulness isn’t genuine unless it comes from our hearts. David wrote, “I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart” (Psalm 9:1).

When God tells us to give thanks in everything, it must mean it’s really important to Him. He wants to hear it from us—all the time. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving Day to start. Begin today. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Does Time Heal All Wounds?

In the 1963 Canadian Football League championship game, QB Joe Kapp got into a fight with Angelo Mosca, who was a defensive lineman on the opposing team. The referee stepped in and broke up the fight. After the game was over, they continued to dislike each other.

Forty-eight years later in 2011, the two former pro football players were invited to appear at a luncheon for the Canadian Football League. Joe Kapp was 73 years old and Angelo Mosca was 74 years old. When the two players were introduced, the luncheon's host give Kapp an olive branch to give to Mosca as a peace offering. Everyone thought it would be a light-hearted moment about their feud and would bring a laugh from the audience.

Instead of handing it to him, Kapp pushed it into Mosca’s face and then punched him. Mosca retaliated by hitting him with his cane. Like the referee did 48 years before, the host stepped in and broke up the fight. Both men were still angry over an incident that happened in 1963. If time could heal wounds, 48 years should be enough time.

God put a time limit on how long to be angry. It’s not 48 years, but less than 24 hours. “Be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day” (Eph. 4:26 NCV). If you don’t throw water on the fire before the sun goes down, your anger will keep flaring up—even 48 years later.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Forgiveness does. Whatever was done to you, it’s time to let it go. Forgive and release the wrongdoing into God’s hands. It’s the only way to have peace of mind. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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BIBLE STUDY “Who are the Two Witnesses in Revelation?” CLICK HERE

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Knocking Until the Door Opens

Late one afternoon when the office was ready to close, the business manager finally allowed a life insurance salesman to see him. The manager told the salesman, “You should feel highly honored. Do you know that I have refused to see seven insurance men today?” 

“I know,” replied the salesman. “I’m them!”

Jesus told a parable about a man who went to a friend’s house at midnight and knocked on his door, asking for bread (Luke 11:5-8). His neighbor told him to go away. But the man kept knocking on the door, knowing his friend wouldn’t get any sleep until he opened the door and gave him bread. Jesus concluded, “Because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he wants.”

The man did not give him the bread because of their friendship. The only reason for granting his request because the man kept pounding on the door. Jesus used this as an illustration of the kind of persistent faith that He’s looking for. Persistence is the most overlooked way to receive God’s blessings. (If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray? p.81)

What if he had quit knocking after the first refusal? He might have thought, “It must not be God’s will or he would have opened the door on the first knock.” But it was God’s will because he finally received the bread.

What if the four men who carried the paralyzed man to Jesus would have turned around because of the crowd around the house? (Mark 2:2-12). They could have given up and said, “It must not be God’s will.” But they persisted and lowered him through the roof. And it was God’s will because Jesus healed the man.

What if the Canaanite woman had turned around after Jesus ignored her? (Matt. 15:22-28). She could have said, “It must not be God’s will.” But it was God’s will because she persisted and Jesus healed her daughter.

Sometimes you won’t get what you're praying for because it’s not His will. But what if you don’t get it because you quit knocking too soon? God won’t get mad at you for pounding on His door. He might even open it and give you the bread you need.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Touching a Sore Spot

One Sunday morning I greeted a man as he entered the church. When I shook his hand, I placed my other hand on his shoulder. He immediately recoiled in pain, moaning "Owww!"

I didn't mean to hurt him when I greeted him. I was trying to make him feel welcome. I had gently touched him on his shoulder, the same thing I had done to several other folks that morning. However, no one else had pulled away from me. This man reacted differently from the rest because He had injured his shoulder a few days before. I had touched his sore spot.

Suddenly I understood how physical injuries can teach us about spiritual wounds, and why people with wounded spirits are offended by innocent comments and react abnormally. They’re protecting sore spots on their souls. The slightest touch on their hurting area affects how they react to others.

Even King David had a sore spot. He said, “For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me” (Ps. 109:22). Because a sore spot is invisible, no one knows where it’s located until someone touches it. An abnormal reaction to an innocent remark, which wouldn't bother a healthy person, usually indicates a hidden hurt has been detected.

Even if you were wounded years ago, an unhealed sore spot can cause pain today. If someone says something that triggers a hurtful memory, you’ll either react defensively or withdraw in pain. Someone has said, “A person with a toothache cannot fall in love.” That’s true. It’s hard to love others if you are hurting inside.

Healing begins by forgiving the person who hurt you. Ask God to heal you of your hurts from the past. You’ll feel a lot better tomorrow if you will do it today. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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The Wrong Solution to the Problem

Suppose one morning your car doesn’t start, so you replace the battery. Your car still doesn’t start, so you put in another battery. Your car still doesn’t start. You replace the battery again. You keep doing this and before long you have a garage full of batteries, never realizing that the car is out of gas. You’ve chosen the wrong solution to your problem.

Many people look for the wrong solutions to their problems. Choosing the wrong solution not only doesn’t solve the problem, but usually makes your situation worse! For example:

Situation #1 Boy and girl fall in love, both thinking they’ve found “the one.” Wrong Solution: Decide to live together in same bedroom (Heb. 13:4). If it works out they will get married. Right Solution: Choose to live separately and stay sexually pure until marriage (1 Thess. 4:3). If they are meant for each other God will bless their marriage.

Situation #2 You have high credit card debt, a new car payment, and can barely make your payments. Wrong Solution: Keep buying more with your credit card and get Pay-Day loans to cover the difference (Prov. 22:7). Right Solution: Cut back on spending. Downsize to a less expense car. Sell unnecessary items to pay off your credit card. (Rom. 13:8)

Situation #3 Your 13-year old daughter wants to go to a party where you know there will be drinking. Wrong Solution: Give her permission to go but make her promise to not drink (1 Cor. 15:33, Prov. 13:20). Right Solution: Don’t let her go but instead let her invite a couple of friends to your house under your supervision (James 1:5).

What problem are you’re dealing with? Wrong solutions bring immediate relief but ultimate unhappiness. Right solutions are usually more difficult at first but bring peace and happiness. Many problems are caused because we haven’t obeyed what God has told us. Jesus said, “And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) Are you doing it God’s way? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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What Could Be Better Financial Security Than That?

A few years after we got married, Cindy told me what she was thinking on our wedding day as she walked down the aisle, I hope he will take care of me! In 1977, I had a part-time janitor’s job making $3 an hour while I attended seminary. What could be better financial security than that?

I had preached four sermons in my life by the time I had graduated from seminary. You’d think that hundreds of churches would come knocking at my door begging me to be their pastor. But not even a single church called. What could be better financial security than that?

After graduating, we loaded up a U-Haul truck and moved to Garden City, Kansas to plant a church. We had only been there one time, had no job, only a few dollars saved, and no place to stay. What could be better financial security than that? 

But we did trust God to provide for us. We never missed a meal, paid our bills on time, and constructed a church building debt-free. It was like when Jesus sent out His disciples to preach and said, “Take nothing for your trip, neither a walking stick, bag, bread, money, or extra clothes” (Luke 9:3). 

Later He asked them to recall when He sent them out empty-handed: “‘When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?’ They said, ‘No, nothing’” (Luke 22:35). God provided everything they needed.

He promised to provide for those who trust Him. What could be better financial security than that? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net 

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Have You Been Conditioned to Respond?

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? Ivan Pavlov proved that two stimuli repeatedly linked together can produce a conditioned response. He observed that dogs would salivate when they were about to be fed. Pavlov rang a bell each time prior to feeding the dogs so they would associate the bell-ringing with dinner time. This conditioned them to salivate in the anticipation of being fed because bell ringing and eating were linked together.

This explains why you crave popcorn when you go to the movies. You’ve eaten popcorn so many times as you’ve watched movies that popcorn munching and movie watching are connected together. Now you cannot watch a movie without eating popcorn—and you’ll even pay outrageous prices to get it!

Let’s suppose a dog named Fido was frequently beaten by his master. The recurrent blows conditioned him to associate the stick with pain. One day a boy picked up a stick to play fetch with him. When the dog sees him with stick in hand, a bell rings in his mind and he runs away with his tail between his legs.

Now, replace Fido’s name with your name, and replace the stick with hurtful words. After someone has repeatedly mistreated you, you’ve been conditioned to either fight back or run away. Husbands and wives who continually argue and fight have been conditioned to react to each other. They’ll say, “You always (fill in the blanks)” or “You never…”

But God wants you to follow different instructions: “Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead” (1 Pet. 3:9). Don’t let abusive people condition you to react in the wrong way. Instead of returning the insult, turn it around and condition them to soften their hearts with your blessings. It’s God’s way. www.makinglifecount.net

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Jesus Never Took an Opinion Poll

Jesus never took an opinion poll to see how popular He was in Israel. He never said, “Peter, I’m really worried about what people think of me. Why don’t you take a poll to see how popular I am?” A couple of weeks later Peter returns with the results. “I hate to say this but your approval ratings aren’t good.”

57% say you argue too much with the Pharisees and you need to learn to get along with them;

68% believe you were too hard on the rich young ruler when you told him to sell everything he owned and to give it to the poor;

63% said your sermons about the camel going through the eye of the needle and casting a mountain into the sea were just too hard to believe;

86% say you need to stop talking about hell because it’s scaring everyone;

91% were really disturbed when you told everyone to eat your flesh and drink your blood or they wouldn’t have eternal life. You lost a lot of support over that statement.

Jesus only sought approval from His Father. He said, “I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:30). As His followers, we live to please God and it doesn’t really matter what other people think. Your approval rating from God will be the only poll that matters 10,000 years from now. www.makinglifecount.net

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Seeking to Impress Others?

A businessman’s office wall was covered with award plaques and framed documents. On it was a diploma from Harvard Business School, a “National Salesman of the Year” award, and a letter from the President of the United States. A visitor was impressed by his honors and asked, “How did you manage to accomplish so much in such a short time?” “It really wasn’t that hard,” the man replied. “I have a sign-printing business.”

Hypocrisy is trying to impress others by pretending to be something that we’re not. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they performed their religious duties “to be seen” by men (Matt. 6:1). “To be seen” in Greek is theathemai which is where we get our word “theatre.” The actors on the Greek stage performed in the theatre and craved for the applause of their audience.

The Pharisees were religious actors, playing the role of a righteous person in the “theatre” of street corners, synagogues, and the temple. They longed for applause of people rather than the applause of God.

In the age of social media, seeking to be popular and please people is a danger for us as well. The apostle Paul said, “For am I seeking the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).

Don’t sacrifice what you know to be true for fear of what others think. Only one opinion matters. God’s. www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

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Are You Burying Your Talent?

Jesus told a parable about a master who gave money to three slaves to invest and multiply. He gave one slave five talents, another two, and another one talent—each according to his ability. The one-talent slave shirked his responsibility and buried his talent. His master was furious because he didn’t use it to the best of his ability (Matt. 25:14-30).

God expects you to use what He gave you—whether it’s 5 talents or if it’s only one. Just because he only had one talent didn’t give him a right to bury it. One-talent people can make a huge difference if they will make the most of what they have.

Trey Woods was born with only one arm but he earned a scholarship to play football at Sam Houston State University as a defensive back. Dawuan Miller was another one-armed man who became a defensive back for Boise State University. You would think they would be glad to just sit on the bench, but not so. Woods used his one arm to break the school’s career record with twelve blocked kicks. Dawuan used his one arm to intercept two passes in playoff games.

On September 16, 1995, Sam Houston State played Boise State in football. For the first time in the history of the sport, two colleges played a game with one-armed defensive backs starting for each team. Few will remember the score of the game, but no one will forget how two one-armed players overshadowed the rest of the talent on the field.

It’s amazing what people can do with one arm—or one talent. Whether you have five talents or only one, God wants you to faithfully use your ability for His purposes. Are you using it or burying it?

www.makinglifecount.net

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BIBLE STUDY: The New Jerusalem and New Earth

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How Do We Know The Titanic Really Sank?

The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, but how do we know for sure? No one alive today was there when it sank. So does that mean it never happened? Do you have to swim to the bottom of the Atlantic to see it with your own eyes before you will believe?

Approximately 1,500 passengers drowned but 700 people survived the tragedy. Those survivors were eyewitnesses to the accident, and newspapers recorded their comments about what they saw. No one living today questions whether or not the Titanic sank because we have a record of the eyewitness reports.

How do we know Jesus rose from the dead? Just like we know about the Titanic—through the eyewitness reports. Paul writes, "He was raised the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time...then He also appeared to James and all the apostles...and He appeared to me (Paul) also." (1 Cor. 15:6-8).

But here's the real proof. The disciples were so convinced of His resurrection they were willing to die for Him. And most of them did. When they were threatened with death and offered their release if they would deny Christ, they would not renounce Him. 

Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified upside down. Thomas was killed with a spear. James was executed with a sword. Phillip was crucified. They were so convinced Jesus was resurrected that nothing could change their minds—even torture and death.

Fact: Jesus did rose from the dead. He's worth following for the rest of your life. Can you believe it? www.makinglifecount.net

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BIBLE STUDY: Did Jesus die on Friday or Wednesday?

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Will Anyone Have a Dirty Robe in Heaven?

After David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he wrote, “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7). Why did he say “whiter than snow”? Even a fresh snowflake isn’t entirely white. On every snowflake you will find a tiny speck of dust that it picks up while falling. Even though it’s white, it’s not completely clean.  

Jesus shed His blood on the cross for a reason—it “cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Not some sin. All sin. His blood is the only hope we have to be cleansed. Suppose you get a spot on your clothes. The cleaners use a chemical on it that’s stronger than the spot. Your sins make dirty spots on your soul. The only thing more powerful than your sins is Jesus’ blood.

The Bible tells us people in heaven are clothed in white robes (Rev. 7:13). Do you think anyone in heaven will be wearing a white robe except for one or two dirty spots? No one in heaven will say, “There were a couple of sins the blood of Jesus couldn’t get out.”

David is in heaven wearing a robe whiter than snow. “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). Normally blood on a robe makes it red. But the blood of Jesus makes the robes white. Every saved person’s robe went through a washing machine at the cross. When Jesus washes you with His blood, no sin can stay of the robe. Have you been washed? www.makinglifecount.net

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