Wednesday, January 28, 2004

10:33 AM Anyone out there feeling a little bit “imperfect” today? Thank you, I see that hand being raised. Mine too. Here are some encouraging words for “imperfect” people from Charles Spurgeon:

Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps “imperfection”; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters “imperfection.” You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you—you are “perfect in Christ Jesus.”In God’s sight, you are “complete in Him;” even now you are “accepted in the Beloved.”

This is from his devotional classic Morning and Evening. The portion above comes from the entry for the morning of January 28. To read the rest of it, click here. 10:24 AM Added Note: When I saw David Tyler(also serving with the Marines) at Christmas, he said he would probably be shipped to Iraq or Kuwait sometime in February. 10:14 AM Don’t forget to pray for our men and women serving in the Armed Forces—in the Middle East and around the world. Robert Schuler sends word that his son Robert (serving in the Marines) leaves for Iraq sometime next week.

This is the largest military swapout of troops since WWII. 130,000 coming home, 100,000 replacing them. Hundreds of the replacements are right out of bootcamp. Thank you for your daily prayers for all of them. I received this from a co-worker. It takes about 3 minutes to run. I was very blessed by it. It is called An Internet Tribute to the Military.

7:55 AM Maxie Dunham revives the concept of the call to the ministry. Bravo! That’s concept—so prevalent in earlier generations—has been almost completely lost. But just yesterday a woman in her 50s came to my office and told me she feels called to missions. She’s a fairly new believer, knows she needs more Bible education, but also knows that God has called her to missions, somewhere, somehow. Maxie Dunham says that God issues three calls—the call to salvation, the call to follow Jesus as a lifestyle, and the call to serve the Lord in a particular way. His article offers helpful suggestions on how the church can help those who feel called and don’t know what to do next. 7:54 AM 3 Degrees! Where’s that Florida weather when we need it? Answer: In Florida—Not Chicago!