An Important But Little Known Fact About Men…

A little known fact… 

                                                     

 The first testicular guard  ”Cup” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in  1974.

That means it took 100 years for men to  realize that their brain is also important.

The Spice of Life

Fresh Manna 2010 By Pastor Tim Burt

Renee and I were out to lunch one day and I had a bowl of soup with my meal. I had never eaten this restaurant’s soup before, but as I took my first taste I wasn’t pleasantly surprised. It was really bland tasting. So I did what I think most people do: I added some salt but that didn’t help. Then I added a little pepper. Still no improvement. So, I started grabbing whatever I could to spice it up. The end result, nothing made it better. Oh well, I tried.

Sometimes the world around us can feel that way—like a bowl of soup that isn’t very good, but we try to spice it up. Most people dedicate their lives to spicing up their world. If they have more money, they can afford more spice. And in their eyes, to a degree it works. When we look around the world where there are few resources, we see people there don’t have the spice to add to their life that we have. The world then has huge fund-raisers to generate spice for those less fortunate.

I had a friend return from a missions trip to a very impoverished third-world country. He said to me, “You know Pastor, the people there are so happy. Their lives are so simple. They have little, but they spend so much more time enjoying each other. Their lives seem to be all about family and community. They aren’t distracted by all the things and busy-ness of life we seem to be. And Pastor, the amount of time they dedicate to the worship of God, of learning His Word, and prayer is amazing. It is the heartbeat of their community.”

Life has different kinds of spices. Man made spices work artificially to attempt to bring some short-term joy or happiness. These wear out, rust out or become old. The other kind of spice is God-given—learning to focus on things above and then putting them to work here on earth. As Col. 3:2 says, “Set your mind and affection on Heavenly things—things above not on earthly things.”

The spice of this life that will always be a secret to those that don’t know Jesus Christ is being able to be spice to others. You are the one that can bring someone into the saving knowledge of Jesus. You are the one that can be led by the Holy Spirit to bring hope and prayer to hurting, lost or discouraged people that helps them to experience the Lord’s touch. 1 Thess. 5:11 says, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” This is the Apostle Paul’s way of saying to you and I, “Spice up each other’s lives—then yours and theirs will really taste better.”

One day, Jesus will renovate this earth and live here to rule and reign. Life will truly be glorious in that day and need no additional spice. Until that time, our God-given destiny is to be the spice in life this world so desperately needs. “Pass the Jesus, please!”

Romans 8:22-25 (NLT) “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.”

In His love,
Pastor Tim

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2010 Tim Burt, All rights reserved.
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/

You Were Meant to be Sticky

Fresh Manna 2010© by Pastor Tim Burt

Have you ever known a child that doesn’t love cotton candy? I haven’t. One thing that sticks out in my mind when I think of cotton candy is sticky hands. I remember that every time the kids and I ate it, we’d have to lick our hands over and over to get rid of that stickiness, and even then they were still sticky. It seemed that from the time we were done eating it till we washed our hands, our hands stuck to everything we touched.

There is something else that is just as sticky in our lives. It’s our influence. When people think influence they usually think of people in high places. The truth is that God created each and every one of us to have influence at whatever level we are. Having influence for God is what our lives are all about.

Influence can be misused, and when it is it has disastrous results. Prov 29:12 says, “If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.” The world has learned that a corrupted ruler will pass on that corruption. Likewise the most common reason well-behaved children take a turn down a wrong path is because of the negative influence of other friends. Add to that the negative influences of vile music, defiling video media, and drugs and alcohol and children can really turn in a wrong direction. 1 Cor 15:33 says “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

From the time a person gives His life to Jesus Christ the operation of influence takes on higher significance. God wants the realization of our God-given privilege of influence to bring real purpose and true significance to our lives.

People get concerned about titles, positions, power, and greatness. God would rather have us focus and be sensitive to the opportunities we have been given to influence others. He wants people to see Jesus in us. For this reason, He doesn’t want us ‘on’ and ‘off’ like a light switch. When you walk into a grocery store or sit down in a restaurant, He wants people to sense God’s love from you. That happens not because you stopped to preach at them. It happens because you stopped to look them in the eyes and respond with a smile and kindness. It happens because you asked them how their day was going, even though they are there to serve you. It happens because you took a moment to bring light into their life through your kind words or actions. This is the influence that God uses to draw people into His love.

Quit thinking of a ruler as someone that looks like a king and instead think of it as you—the ruler of your life. Never believe the lie that your life doesn’t matter and that you can’t impact someone’s life. Every person’s influence touches and sticks to others—good or bad. God created you and I to be a sticky godly influence for Him. Count it a great joy and walk in it!

2 Cor 5:18-20 “…God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

In His love,
Pastor Tim

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2010 Tim Burt, All rights reserved.
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/