Pastor Ralph Diehl » signs

WARNING LABELS

pastordiehl — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:00:26 +0000

After a woman sued a McDonald’s Restaurant for being burned by hot coffee, companies started changing their manuals and warning labels. Check out these instructions:

On a frozen dinner: DEFROST BEFORE EATING.
On an iron: CAUTION! DO NOT IRON CLOTHES ON BODY.
On a peanut butter jar: MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS.
On a milk bottlecap: AFTER OPENING, KEEP UPRIGHT.

If some people need these obvious guidelines on household items, think about how much more we need God’s direction. Psalm 119 tells of the importance of His instruction manual – the Bible. Consider:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

FIRST ROBINS SIGHTED

pastordiehl — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:00:58 +0000

Yesterday, February 3, Anita went with me to a doctor’s appointment in Ft. Wayne. When we got out, it was about 12:30 PM, so we decided to get a bite to eat. As we pulled up to a stop sign at a side street, I could hardly believe my eyes. There, in the grass next to the road, were about ten red-breasted robins. On February 3!

What’s up with nature these days? Don’t those robins have an internal calendar telling them when to go north? Or have they been here all winter? Hadn’t they been notified by the ground hogs that there will be 6 more weeks of winter? Or perhaps those particular birds had eaten poison and were deranged or something.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees when he said, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times“ ( Matthew 16:2-3).

What are sign that let you know that the last days are upon us?

WEAK-MINDED

pastordiehl — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:51 +0000

This week we will begin some discussion about Forgiveness, a powerful tool in our lives.

Back in 1999 wrestler-turned Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura took a beating for his comments in a Playboy magazine about religion being “a crutch for weak-minded people.” Local churches decided to respond by turning the other cheek. They paid for giant billboards around the Twin Cities that read “Strength training for the ‘weak-minded’.”

The ad was signed by Christian Churches of the Greater Twin Cities (CCGTC) as the latest in a series of high-profile media projects by the alliance of churches and advertising professionals.

“We are not mean-spirited,” said J.L. Glass, executive director, “and we were not trying to attack the governor, but we wanted to respond and show him that we had a sense of humor.”

Do you think that was a good way to repond, or what would be a better way?

EVIDENCE

pastordiehl — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:00:49 +0000

Shortly after Scottish preacher G. Campbell Morgan’s wedding, his father visited the home the newlyweds had just furnished and decorated. After they had shown him the place with pride and satisfaction, he remarked, “Yes, it’s very nice, but no one walking through here would know whether you belong to God or the devil!”

Morgan was shocked by his father’s gruff but well-meaning comment. But he got the point. From that day forward, he made certain that in every room of his home there was some evidence of their faith in Christ.

What about your home? Is there any evidence that you are a believer? Referring to the promises He had just made to Israel, God said, “These words…shall be in your heart….You shall write them on the doorposts of your house” (Deuteronomy 6:6 & 9).

Look around you in the room you are in. What evidence is there of your faith?