worry quotes

Worry not about the possible troubles of the future; for if they come, you are but anticipating and adding to their weight; and if they do not come, your worry is useless; and in either case it is weak and in vain, and a distrust of God's providence. Hugh Blair

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. Corrie Ten Boom

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia. Charles Schultz

You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do. Olin Miller

Quit worrying about your health. It'll go away. Robert Orben

There are two days in the week on which I never worry; One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow. Robert Burdette

As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can. Julius Caesar

Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything. Mary Hemingway

This art of resting the mind and the power of dismissing from it all care and worry is probably one of the secrets of energy in our great men. Captain J A Hadfield

Worry -- a God, invisible but omnipotent. It steals the bloom from the cheek and lightness from the pulse; it takes away the appetite, and turns the hair gray. Benjamin Disraeli

If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system. William James

Rule #1: Don't sweat the small stuff. Rule #2: It's all small stuff. Michael Mantell

We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays. Persius

Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. Arthur Somers Rache

The good Lord gave me a brain that works so fast that in one moment I can worry as much as it would take others a whole year to achieve. Source Unknown

Worry gives a small thing a big shadow. Swedish Proverb

There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever. Mahatma Gandhi

The freedom now desired by many is not freedom to do and dare but freedom from care and worry. James Truslow Adams

worry is more than just a waste of time

I was drinking coffee with a friend today when, in the middle of a conversation about the stresses of life these days, he said, “worry is a waste of time”. I agreed but added the idea that worry is much worse than simply wasting time. Wasting time at least appears to be somewhat neutral, usually harmless. Well, worry is in no way a neutral thing. Worry is very counter-productive. Worry moves us backwards. It is the opposite of productive behavior. Worry is a killer.

All kinds of studies have been done proving the destructive nature of worry. It takes a terrible toll on our physical bodies. Heart disease, digestive problems and headaches have all been connected to worry. Charles Horace Mayo said, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system. I have never known a man who died from over work, but many who died from doubt.” Emotional illnesses certainly can result from uncontained worry. Millions of people spend sleepless nights worrying about what was and what will never be. Does this in any way sound neutral?

Jesus shared some wisdom about dealing with worry. Matthew 6:24-34 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (TNIV)

Worrying about things like money reveals that we don’t really trust God to take care of us. Worrying about the past is really a statement about our doubts of the redemptive work of Christ. Worrying about what might happen tomorrow shows that we don’t believe that God will take care of us in the future. Worry uncovers our weakness, our lack of faith and our tendency to want to control our lives. Worry is the opposite of trust. Worry can become a god – a god before whom we bow in total submission.

Don’t fool yourself into believing that worry is harmless. It is not just a normal part of life. Worry is not unavoidable. And God doesn’t overlook our tendency to worry.

We can beat worry. And some days I would like to beat it with a baseball bat.

Tomorrow’s post will feature some great quotes about worry. Come on back.

Galatians 6:17

I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. (NIV)

This is a shocking verse. Paul is reminding us that he has suffered and been physically persecuted because he was a Christ follower. He had everyday reminders of the price that he had paid for being a Christian.

I wonder what the nature of his scars were?
How many scars, or what permanent damage had been done to him?
I wonder about the emotional scars that had to accompany the physical ones.
I wonder if, when he looked at a particular scar, if he recalled the specific time and place, and who put that scar on him?

The Contemporary English Version says, “On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus.”

Now I wonder if there is visible proof that I belong to Jesus. I have no scars except a few emotional ones. And after reading about what Paul suffered (II Corinthians 11:25-28), I have no right to claim any scars.

Mr. Freddie

Last week, I visited a nursing center where our church conducts ministry. After the service, they had a little party for the residents there and they were playing some nice, old school jazz and swing music. One of the residents, “Mr. Freddie”, got up and danced all around. He was a very good dancer, quite smooth. Someone pointed out to me that Mr. Freddie has to get around with a walker, except when he is dancing. This really peaked my curiosity. A little later, I went over and introduced myself. Mr. Freddie told me that he used to be a professional dancer. During WW II, he and a team of several other young people traveled around the country entertaining soldiers who had been injured and were in military hospitals. His eyes sparkled as he talked about it.

When Mr. Freddie was finished dancing and talking with me, he grabbed his walker and hobbled down the hall to his room.

I am amazed that a man who can’t walk without assistance can dance. I am intrigued by the power of the joy he receives from dancing. And I am wondering how to capture that joy.

more with less

Efficiency. It’s the name of the game when the economy stinks like it does. Everybody I know is trying to figure out how to make life happen with fewer resources. Either escalating costs or reduced income (or both) is hammering the average family. So we are focused in on trying to save some money.

But efficiency is more than just spending less money. That is not the entire point of efficiency. If it was, we would just buy less food and gas. What we are trying to do is get more for our money. $2.00 for chicken is not enough information. How many pounds of chicken? If it is one pound, not so great, if it is five pounds, now that’s efficiency. Energy efficiency is not just burning less fuel. It’s going more miles on less fuel. The idea isn’t just to spend less. It’s getting more while spending less.

Make the spiritual application. Can we expect to receive more if we invest less? Can we give God fewer hours than we used to and expect Him to provide more of what we need. Thankfully, with God, it isn’t necessarily a matter of how many hours or how many dollars. If our hearts are right, and God knows if they are or not, we can offer to God our best and He will take care of the rest.

I know a few folks who are struggling with giving God the tenth that belongs to Him. Times are tough and budgets are stretched. Surely God doesn’t mind if I give Him less than 10%! The problem isn’t the percentage, the problem is the quality of what we are offering God - less than our best. You can give God 20% but if it isn’t your best, you are missing the point. By the way, I know of a couple of people who are upset because they are making less and they have less to give – their 10% is less than what it was last year. Again, God wants your best, whatever that adds up to being. 10% is just the starting point. That’s minimal. God wants your whole heart.

Here is a really nice thought about efficiency. Little becomes much when you give it to God. He can bring more from less. Give God what He is due and He will surprise you with what He does with it.

God is omni-efficient.

what God demands

Micah 6:8 The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God." (CEV)

God wants us to be good at three things. In fact He demands it.
Justice: let’s fight for it.
Mercy: let’s exemplify it.
Humility: let’s embrace it.

Simple. Straightforward. Required.

wecanshareit.org

Maranatha Church is beginning a new message series on October 26 entitled wecanshareit.org. The goal of the series is to mobilize the people of Maranatha, and everyone who hears it, toward sharing the love of God in practical ways. I am really excited about the opportunities this series is going to provide.

As you might have guessed, we are developing an interactive web page (with the same name) specifically for this series. As part of this page, we are providing an interactive blog with daily entries highlighting the themes we are discussing. Also included will be videos of the weekend messages and basic info about the church.

Can you take a minute and check out the site? You may want to favorite place it so you can come back daily for the blogs. As the series progresses, we will be exploring some specific projects that we can all be involved in.

Join in, or do your own thing, but be sure you are involved in sharing some of the good things that God has given you.

international orphans

a congressman, sexual affairs and our church

Something really crazy happened last week. I was contacted personally by an assistant of a now famous Congressman in our area. His assistant asked if the Congressman could visit our church services and address the congregation. Thankfully, I told her that he was most certainly welcome to attend our services but that we would not recognize him or allow him to address our people.

Here is an excerpt from my response:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Congressman’s interest in attending one of our services on Sunday. While everyone is more than welcome to visit with us for the purposes of worshipping God, we are not interested in any type of public recognition of any politician. Our mission is “changing lives by connecting people with Jesus Christ”. A focus upon any individual seeking political office does not comply with our commitment to fulfill our God-given vision. If Congressman ­­_________attends a service at Maranatha Church, he will be treated with respect as would any guest, but we do not give public recognition to individual guests, especially those of public notoriety. We believe that this is consistent with the spirit of the scripture found in James 2:1-4.

Honestly, I had no idea of the firestorm that was about to break out around this guy. Four days after the request came, national headlines are talking about how this guy has possibly been involved in sexual affairs.

The request did not sit well with me. I felt as though he was trying to use God’s time to get votes. I disagree with his politics but even if we were on the same page, I could not allow worship time to be spent politicizing.

Man, am I ever glad that I know better than to allow a politician to use our worship time for personal gain. If I had allowed him to speak…wow, I don’t even want to think about it.

afraid of…

I have heard countless times the last several months that Americans are afraid. Actually, “sacred to death” is the more common expression. The fear is centering on the topic of finances. So I decided to think a little deeper about this idea. What exactly are we afraid of?

We are afraid of:
Not being able to pay our mortgages
Losing our jobs
Not being able to retire when we want to
Having to adjust our lifestyles

The people that I have talked to who are the most afraid have the most to lose. They have a lot in the bank. They have to spread their money around to keep it safe. If the economy totally crashes, they will lose a lot.

Now, I do not want to come across as a jerk but let’s put a couple of things in perspective.

Millions of people around the world don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Kids is Africa have no clean water to drink.
People in India are starving.
Many Asians live with next to nothing.
And we worry about not being able to make our boat payment.
We have had to cut back on trips to Starbucks.
Our continent is the most blessed, if economics are a blessing.

I realize that there is genuine poverty in America. We have poor among us. But this economic crises hasn’t changed their lives much. They had nothing before, they have nothing now.

I feel bad for people who can’t afford a vacation. People who are looking longingly at retirement have my sympathy. But I am not afraid for them. I am afraid for the starving kids of the world.

Any thoughts?

vertigo

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have noticed a distinct reduction in the number of posts recently. I have been suffering with a serious bout of vertigo. Vertigo is more than the recent overrated song by U2. It is basically dizziness. On Monday afternoon, I started feeling it coming on and I have battled it all week. Vertigo usually is accompanied by nausea and yes, I have had my share. The docs tell me that it is probably an inner ear problem.

I ask for your patience and prayer while we figure out what is going on. I have some in-depth tests in a couple of weeks to try to find some solutions. I’m not sure what will happen until then. I can’t drive, and reading/writing is a challenge on its own.

So hang in there, I‘ll be back. Until then, I’ll try to function the best I can in my spinning world.

ideas

I am collecting ideas for some upcoming ministry opportunities at Maranatha Church. In a few weeks, we are beginning a new message series about reaching out and sharing the love of God in practical ways. We will be promoting various projects to try to get everyone involved in a ministry activity. We hope to accomplish most of this outside of our church building.

We already have in mind various ideas: nursing homes, homeless shelters, short-term missions trip, beach and park clean up, something for the troops…

Please feel free to throw in a couple of ideas. We are compiling a list. It would be awesome if you could contribute to the list.

Thanks!

a matter of perspective

It is a very rainy day in South Florida. While tourists are mad and the Chamber of Commerce is nervous, I am a little glad. I am locked in today, prepping for a long day of ministry tomorrow.

The rain kind of sets the mood for me. It is not depressing or sad. It is more relaxing and reflective. True, all of the people from our church are trapped inside and are going stir crazy but maybe they will all come to a service tomorrow.

On a deeper note, there is great biblical symbolism with rain. First Testament prophets wrote about rain as indicating blessings from God, specifically the blessing of the Spirit. Joel does an awesome job with the concept: Joel 2:21-24 Fear not, my people; be glad now and rejoice, for he has done amazing things for you. 22 Let the flocks and herds forget their hunger; the pastures will turn green again. The trees will bear their fruit; the fig trees and grape vines will flourish once more. 23 Rejoice, O people of Jerusalem, rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rains he sends are tokens of forgiveness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as those of spring. 24 The threshing floors will pile high again with wheat, and the presses overflow with olive oil and wine.
Joel 2:28 "After I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all of you! (TLB)

One of my favorite Christian bands from the 90’s was Pray for Rain. I remember at the time they were so popular, a teenager in our youth group (now a worship leader) asked, “who would ever pray for rain?” I was too annoyed to answer her question at the time but I recall thinking, “maybe those who are dying of thirst?”

Without rain, the ground dries up, become hard and is as good as dead. So are we, without the Spirit.

God, let it rain. Rain on South Florida today and on your children world-wide during this spiritual season.

a good man

I am very proud of a friend of mine. He stood by his wife for several years as she battled serious illnesses. This guy served his wife in every way imaginable. For years, he was a successful businessman, serving as the VP of a large corporation. The last few years, he gave up his job and just helped his wife.

He is the model of strength and integrity. He is faithful. I admire him more than I can say.

A few people have pointed out that he could have made a few decisions in more effective ways. I agree but I can’t imagine anyone loving their wife more than this man did his. He did things the best way he knew how and always with his wife’s best interest at heart. He fought hard for her and now he doesn’t have to look back and wish that he had tried harder.

His job as a caregiver is done. But I believe his job as a example for other men may just be getting started.