When the Light Turns Green and Cars Don't Move

A number of years ago my friend Max Wilkins had stopped at a traffic light and was waiting for it to change. An elderly woman with a walker started hobbling across the street in front of his car just before the light turned green. The driver behind Max couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t go with the green light, so he started honking his horn.

As Max continued to wait for her, the man behind him stuck his head out the window and started yelling. Max got out of his car and walked back to the angry driver. He stuck out his keys and said, “If you want to run over her, then go ahead!”

By this time the hothead could clearly see the elderly lady inching her way across the street. He finally realized what kept Max from moving forward. Max could see something that the other driver couldn’t.

When we’ve prayed and are waiting for the answer to come, we can’t understand why God isn’t moving forward. From our perspective we see a green light. So we start honking our horn at God, never realizing He can see things that we can’t.

The Lord will often delay the answers to our prayers for reasons we don’t fully understand at the moment. It’s during these times that we must place our trust in the all-wise God who cares for us and knows what He’s doing—even when it might not make sense to us.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

The Bumpy Bus Ride

A pastor was riding on a bus down a bumpy road. A young man on his way to college was seated next to him. The minister asked, “Are you ready for the temptations you will face in college?”

"I’m not worried about that,” the young man replied. “I have strong will-power."

The pastor took a pencil from his pocket and said, "I can make this pencil stand up on my Bible even though the bus ride is bumpy." 

The student said, "I don't think you can do it."

"Look, I’m doing it," the minister said.

“Yeah, but you didn't tell me you would hold the pencil up with your hand."

"I didn't have to tell you. Have you ever seen a pencil stand up on its own without someone holding it?"

He let go of the pencil, which immediately fell over. He said, “Son, let this be a lesson to you. The only reason you can stand is because God is holding you up with His hand." 

First Corinthians 10:12 says, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” We only stand by God’s grace (Romans 5:2). If God were to remove His hand of grace we will fall too.

Humble yourself before the Lord and depend on His grace to hold you up. He is able to bring you through any difficulty. “For my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net

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Read my Author Interview with Hendrickson Publishers about Slaying Your Giants.

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

The House That Doesn't Exist Anymore

This is the house in New Orleans that I grew up in. The picture was taken after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the neighborhood and it was later bulldozed. The house doesn’t exist anymore, but in my mind I can still see every room. Even though the house is gone, it still lives in my memory if I choose to think about it.

Many people are haunted by things they’ve done in their past. Perhaps you've done some things that you are ashamed of. We all have. It’s those haunting memories that become the baggage from the past we are carrying today. But we don’t have to stay chained to our past.

When you accepted Christ into your life, the old house of your past was destroyed and doesn’t exist anymore. He has replaced your old life with a new life and has good plans for your future. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”(2 Cor. 5:17).

Now that your past has been dealt with, you don’t need to “go there” in your mind anymore. Rather than thinking about bad memories of the past, “set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2). Jesus has given you a new start and a reason to live. You might not have started well but you can finish your life well. Make a decision to forget the past and press forward to what God has called you to do. (Phil. 3:13-14). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net  

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

5 Things to Do Before You Kick the Bucket

You’ve probably seen the “Before You Die” books like 1000 Places to See Before You Die, or 50 Places to Play Golf Before You Die.  The movie The Bucket List follows the same theme of making a list of fun things to do before you kick the bucket. Last week an extreme sports athlete was killed in Yosemite National Park while attempting a parachute jump from a 3,000-foot cliff. Someone commented, “At least he died doing what he loved.” (What is that supposed to mean? Have fun even if it kills you?)

I’ve created a bucket list that isn’t about having fun before you die, but the best way to leave this world and enter the next life.

#1 Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is the most important decision you will ever make because it determines your eternal destiny.

#2 Tell your family you love them. I know a woman who said her mother had never told her, “I love you.” When her elderly mother was on her deathbed, she finally said, “I love you.” The daughter broke down sobbing because she finally heard the words she longed to hear her entire life.

#3 Apologize to those you have hurt. You might be surprised how a sincere apology can heal a relationship.

#4 Forgive the person who hurt you.  You’ll stay chained to that person until you forgive. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the chain and sets you free.

#5 Enjoy every day of your life. Jesus came to give you abundant life. Enjoy the day, the hour, the moment. Once it’s gone you can’t get it back. 

Don't put off doing these things because you don't know how much time you have left before you kick the bucket.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net  

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

The Story Your Face Tells

In the 1800s a couple of prospectors discovered gold and wanted to keep their discovery a secret so others wouldn't find out.  When they went back into town to buy supplies, neither of them said a word to anyone. But as they started back to the mountains, everyone in town was following them with picks and shovels.  Although they hadn’t told anyone about finding gold, their discovery was written all over their faces.

Your face is connected to your heart. Your facial expressions are the newspaper headlines telling the story of what's taking place inside your heart. If you are angry it will show up on your face. If you are depressed, it’s obvious to everyone. But Proverbs 15:13 says, "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face." Joy cannot be suppressed. It will always make a person smile.

We can decide the headlines people will read on our faces. What we think about determines our emotions—and this determines our facial expressions. We can change our moods by changing what we think about. Joy comes from not only thinking positively, but also seeing God’s hand at work in our lives and trusting Him with the outcome of every circumstance. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right …whatever is praiseworthy—think about these things” (Phil. 4:8).

What is the story your face is telling today? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net 

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

Enjoying Every Stage of Life

Have you ever wanted to be a different age? Younger people cannot wait to grow up. Elderly people wish they were young again. Some people aren’t happy no matter what age they are. It helps to understand that it is God’s will for you to be the age you are right now.

It is no accident that you are alive on earth at this time. God didn’t want you to live in the 1600s but created you to live at this time. Acts 17:25-26 says,  “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us."  

This verse tells us God determined your lifetime to be now. Every stage of life has its benefits. Whether you are 25 or 65 years old, be happy with your age. If you are a parent, enjoy every stage of life of your child. If you are tired of changing diapers, don’t wish for your child to grow up. Enjoy that stage of life because it will pass too quickly. If you are getting older, don’t keep wishing you were younger. You cannot go back in time, so enjoy your stage of life right now. It’s God’s will for you to be at this age—and it’s also God’s will for you to be thankful for it (see 1 Thessalonians 5:18). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

Two Important Books:

Slaying Your Giants  Learn how to defeat the invisible giants attacking your mind.

The Sure Cure for Worry proves God is in control and can be trusted to handle the problems you are worried about.

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

The Quest to be Famous

A little girl was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She replied, “Famous!” Why are so many people obsessed with fame? Our society equates fame with significance. The more famous you are, the more significant you are in others’ eyes. And if you are not famous, then try to be friends with someone who is famous so you can tell others, “I’m friends with (fill in name).”

What is fame? It’s how many people know you. It is name recognition. If many people know your name, you’re famous. We live in a time like never before where anyone can become “famous” if their YouTube video goes viral or if they have thousands of Facebook friends or Twitter followers. There’s nothing wrong with those things, but it is wrong if you are deriving your self-esteem from them. The fact is, the most admired actor is worth the same as a homeless man sleeping in a cardboard box. “The rich and the poor have a common bond; the Lord is the maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2).

One celebrity said when no one knew him, he desperately wanted to become famous so the paparazzi would take his picture for magazines. But after he gained fame, he lost something he couldn’t get back—his privacy. He couldn’t go anywhere without someone asking for his autograph or snapping his picture. He found himself hiding from the paparazzi so they wouldn’t take his picture. The magazine articles about him contained slanderous gossip because that’s what sells. After he achieved his goal of being famous, he discovered his fame wasn’t a blessing but was actually a curse.

God isn’t interested in us being famous in the world’s eyes, but in us being faithful in His eyes. To do this, we must change the audiences we want to please. Instead of living to please others, live to please the Lord who is always watching. “Therefore we have our ambition…to be pleasing to Him. He died for all that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:9,15). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

Two Important Books You Need to Read:

Slaying Your Giants shows how to conquer the 20 invisible giants (attitudes) trying to destroy you.

Amazon.com customer review: “Slaying your Giants is by far the best book I have ever read for a Bible Study class. No matter what issues you are facing—fear, temptation, worry, anger… the true stories are uplifting, humorous and very rewarding.”

The Sure Cure for Worry proves God is in control and can be trusted to handle the problems you are worried about.

Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net