Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 20, 2009
DEMAND VS. CHOICE
A demand masked as a request is worse than a demand. Like giving kids a choice when there is no choice. "Would you like to go to Gramas?" implies of the option of choosing either way, and it is
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 20, 2009
Messianic Jew David Stern comments, "Sha’ul’s self-limitation is consistent with Jewish ethical standards, derekh-eretz, the "way of the world." God expects us to do what is right and what is ethical.
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 8, 2009
I have broken many pocket knives, using them for purposes not intended by the manufacturer. I have broken a couple trying to pry something. (Take out pocket knife and show as an object lesson).
God blesses us with material things. He helps us find a career and our place in this world. He gives
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 8, 2009
SEEING BUT NOT EATING
The Jewish Rabbi known as Rav held a similar viewpoint. Brad Young summarizes his view, "One will be judged not only for sins committed against Torah but also for pleasures in life that were neglected because of a false religious abstinence. The sense of joy in living comes
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 8, 2009
Joanie Yoder wrote, " When my husband and I first went out as missionaries, I recall being concerned about the growth of materialism in our society. It never crossed my mind that I myself could be materialistic. After all, hadn’t we gone overseas with almost nothing? Weren’t we choosing to live in
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 28, 2009
MULTI-TASKING GENES
According to Creation Magazine, "When geneticists found that there were only 20,000 to 30,000 genes in the human genome, [gee’ nome] on par with a 'simple worm,' they were surprised...But...new research shows that our genes can multi-task. By a process dubbed 'alternative
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 28, 2009
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ODD DISCIPLINES & BEHAVIORS
What idiosyncrasies might you need to sometimes sacrifice? What rules have you made up that you will not break for anything? In ministry, you often do what needs to be done--period!
Alexandre Dumas, the elder, ate an apple at 7 a.m. each morning under the Arc de
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 28, 2009
Dr. Myron Houghton wrote, "To affirm the inspiration and inerrancy of the original writings while casting doubt on the authority of the Bible that is available to us is just plain silly. Can you really imagine someone seriously saying, 'I have good news and I have bad news: the good news is that
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 23, 2009
The day after the wedding, we had to drop Luke off at Moody. Right in back of the visitor’s parking lot was a Pakistani cafeteria. A real dive, but dives often have the best food. I ordered my favorite, goat; Luke had fish and Marylu and Hannah- chicken.
As I was standing in line, the small
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 4, 2009
The Talmud later enumerated community obligations: "A man must reside in a town thirty days to become liable for contributing to the soup kitchen, three months for the charity box, six months for the clothing fund, nine months for the burial fund, and twelve months for
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 4, 2009
I learned something about myself from a Boy Scout ceremony. They had a candle that represented knowledge. The Scouts were admonished to not allow the breeze of laziness to blow it out.
I have long wondered what it was that makes me want to take short cuts and easy paths, so I now
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 4, 2009
"It is easier to isolate ourselves than live as pilgrims in society. It is easier to assimilate and be like everyone else than to live as pilgrims in society. But God calls us to take the more difficult path: to participate in society
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 27, 2009
THREE PHASES TO AN ENJOYABLE LIFE
When I was a boy, I would watch the space launches on TV. The rockets were in three phases. As it got so high, the lowest section of the rocket would drop off. Then the second section would drop off until only the capsule would remain. It took all three sections
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 20, 2009
POP-CORK GUN
Although we are the clay when compared to God’s power, we are not passive. We cannot successfully wage a war against God, but God leaves us with a choice.
Remember the story of Peter and the Wolf, how he tries to hunt a wolf with a pop-cork gun? The wolf corners him, but he is
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 6, 2009
Jeremy was a Christian. He had been saved at the age of 16, baptized, and was a faithful church member. When Jeremy chose a career, he did not pray about it or ask God for direction. He did what seemed obvious to him. When he dated, he was not careful to date only godly Christian women. When he
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 30, 2009
UNMARKED POLICE CAR
As my husband, the county highway commissioner, was driving to the hospital for treatment of his painful leg, he decided to use the valet parking service so he wouldn’t have to walk far. Staring at his official-looking vehicle, one of the valets asked my husband if he was
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 30, 2009
Yet it is so difficult to convince others to take that course, even when they see it. The problem is that only God can give the appetite for the Scriptures that brings such great spiritual nutrition. The natural man is like a dying cancer patient to whom food has become detestable. The
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 30, 2009
The most famous egg parasites are birds. Cuckoos and cowbirds, for example, sneak their eggs into the nests of other species. The victims often accept an interloper egg and raise the chick.
The people in Jeremiah’s day had become rich dishonestly, and had forsaken the Lord.
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 23, 2009
HABITUAL OFFENDERS
In the world of criminal prosecution, sometimes an individual has a track record of crime; if so, they may try to prosecute him/her as a "habitual offender." As a result, the individual will spend more time in jail because the courts have decided that crime is a way of life for
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