Monday, June 17, 2019

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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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Poison in the Coffee Pot


In 2003, sixteen members of a Lutheran Church in Maine became violently ill after a church service. One member died. Doctors initially thought it was food poisoning, but tests revealed all the victims had large doses of arsenic in their blood. Investigators determined someone had put arsenic in the church’s coffee urn. Soon afterward, a church member committed suicide and left behind a note suggesting he was behind the poisoning. Police believe another person in the church may have been an accomplice.

There’s another kind of poison that’s killing off church members, often drunk with coffee cup in hand. It’s the arsenic of gossip. All the enemy needs is for a cooperating individual to add poison to the pot by starting a rumor. An undiscerning person quickly pours a cup of gossip and passes it along to others. Part of the information is left out, while wrong details are often added. As it spreads, it becomes even more inaccurate. 

God not only tells us to not gossip, but to not even associate with a gossiper. “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip” (Prov. 20:19). Gossip not only ruins a person’s reputation, but it also infuriates God. Three of the things He hates are involved in gossip. “There are six things which the Lord hates . . . a lying tongue . . . a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Prov. 6:16-19).

Don’t drink coffee with a gossiper, or you’ll be sipping arsenic before you know it. And you might be the next victim.  www.makinglifecount.net
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Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com