Richard Craig, Author at GraceAndWorks - Page 11 of 59

Are you a “Mustard Seed”, “Leaven”, or a “Tare”? We’ve been studying, in Bible class, the parables that Jesus talked about in Matthew 13. As we were studying, and as I further studied, I got to thinking how these can also pertain to us as individuals. So, I want to put a little different spin on the parables as they pertain to our life.

THE “Mustard Seed” is a very small seed, when planted and nurtured properly, will turn into a large tree. As individuals, we are like the “Mustard Seed”. We start off as babies and if nurtured properly with the right food, knowledge, and upbringing we will grow into the strong individual that God wants us to be. We will stand upright and strong and produce good fruit and works. Standing steadfast in our daily lives and our Christian lives is a task that takes good character, strong will, and the right knowledge. Are you doing the things that will take you from the “Mustard Seed” to a full grown  tree?

A little “Leaven” leavens the whole loaf!! I was looking at this and myself wondering if I were the “Leaven” in life, would everyone around me grow? Would they flourish? Would people be better because of my influence? Then I figured, if that were to happen, I would have to be strong in my beliefs, convictions, knowledge, and the ability to stand steadfast. This would hold true in both my everyday life and my Christian life. Strive to do good works so those around you will have a positive influence.

Then there are the “Tares”. “Tares” are nothing more than weeds and we all know what weeds will do in the yard and/or garden. They can disrupt the growth and production of healthy plants. “Tares” are completely different from the “Mustard Seed” and “Leaven” in that they “Tare” down, instead of building up. So, what kind of things would be declared a “Tare”? GOSSIP–talking about others and creating disruption. DISOBEDIENCE–to your boss, family, and God. No CONSIDERATION of others–it’s all about me and I don’t care about you!! Uncontrollable ANGER–no patience and won’t listen. FILTHY language–do not take the Lord’s name in vain (OMG, For Christ’s sake, G-damn, etc). And the biggy–LYING!! Why can’t we just tell the truth? Why do we have to distort the truth? In God’s word, why to we tend to pull things out of context to prove our point? God already said what was what. Why would we think we are smarter than God?

A little different look at the parables and some questions for you to ponder on.

SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good week all.

What if life was like it was 30, 40, or 50 years ago? Where family values were still present. Gather around the “Supper” table and eat a meal as a family. Actually have a conversation with each other and the kids. Where we got up on Sunday morning, dressed in our best clothes and headed to Church, then home for Sunday dinner, napped or watched a football game on TV, and back to Church for the evening services. Whatever happened to that?

What if we didn’t have cell phones for texting and actually got to talk to someone to converse? I remember the times. We had rotary dial phones, phone booths with pay phones, and we got along fine. We didn’t have to stare into a phone all day long and wait for someone to make a comment, call us, text us, or message us. And yet we survived the times.

What if there was no computers or internet? We wouldn’t have to search for hours to find garbage to spew out on the different medias. It wouldn’t be near as easy to spread gossip, tell lies, show our hate to others, and spread our opinions like butter on bread.

What if we would spent as much time reading the Bible as we spent searching for garbage, looking at a phone, spreading hate and discontent, or watching TV? What would the world be like? I would think much better!! Does not God tell us in 2nd Timothy 2:15 and following, to study to show ourselves approved? That verse used to mean something. It still does, but to fewer people.

What if we had stop lights or stop signs, for our life, pop up to let us know it is time to look around before we proceed? Or yield signs to let us know to let something just go on by and then continue on? Caution signs to let us know we may be coming into danger and be careful?

What if…….

SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good week all.

Red and yellow black and white, they are precious in His sight, . . . . . Family, I have been thinking the past several weeks, months or perhaps longer. I have a question: When will we as Christians wake up and smell the roses! It seems as if we have lost our minds and our purpose, our sense of direction, our focus! We have allowed the media to get our compass all out of whack! Everyday insults are hurled at each other, our posts are angry, It is I am right and you are wrong! My hurt feelings are more important than your hurt feelings! If you don’t agree with me, you are a racist, a sexist, and the list goes on and on and on and on. . . . . after all, I have to prove my point!(sad to say, I myself have fallen into this trap),
Where is this going to end? How are we going to learn to love each other if we are insulting each other? How are we going to love each other when we bring up history to prove how hurt one is and wrong the other person is! Please tell me how that is love? Why are we posting posts that say if you don’t agree with me , you are a racist? Is that love?
We as Christians are allowing the media, (and I don’t care if it is fox news, cnn, msnbc, etc,) to have too much influence on our lives. They all distort the truth, they bury it, they distort information and report what they want so as to enrage people so they can make money! The media craves power! The media does not care what is right or wrong. The media does not care if what they are reporting tears America apart as long as they make money. And we Christians are playing right into their hands. IT IS A TRAP!
Jesus must be shaking his head up in heaven, saying “Children, children, have you forgotten so soon what I did for you? Have you forgotten so soon who I Am? Have you forgotten that old Rugged Cross?” Jesus said “Love one another as I have loved you. By this others will know Me by how you love, John 13. Would Jesus be smiling when you post on Facebook?
Sadly, I think not. Please tell me how one can carry on an intelligent conversation on Facebook dealing with sensitive issues? I mean it, Intelligent issues being kind and sensitive to all who will be reading our posts. That is correct, ONE CANNOT! One can only soothe themselves when by posting, then feeling “Guess I told them, I am right!” And Jesus shakes His head in sorrow, blood dripping off His brow.
Family, there is only one, ONE thing that can bring this broken, sick, falling apart world together. Have you forgotten what that is? Our posting suggests we have. Why are we posting divisive, angry, hurtful posts that are doing nothing but causing hurt feelings? Because we love?
If we truly want to bring peace, we must be peace. As I recall, Jesus said Blessed are the Peacemakers, And there is only one thing that brings true peace, the GOSPEL OF CHRIST.
We have been so busy pointing out our differences, we have forgotten what brings us together. Satan is using the media to divide and conquer. When we are fighting against each other, we don’t have time to focus on saving souls, we will never heal the wounds of hate and malice. Forget bandaids and stitches, they won’t stay on long enough to heal because another post will just open up more wounds, and the war of words and pictures will go on like old reruns. And Satan is laughing all the way to hell! And the blood of Jesus still drips off His brow, Looking to His Father saying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing……… Have they forgotten so soon?”
Let’s put a stop to this! Now.
When we post, stop and think, will this be seen in love? Will this be hurtful or kind. Will this be beneficial or am I posting this out of pride, see I am right. Let us be civil and loving on Facebook and stop looking like the rest of this uncivilized world.
Christians, let’s stop fighting these petty battles and remember our battle is not against people and each other, but against satan. He is our real enemy. Red, yellow, black, or white, Please explain to me how our souls are different ?
If we can look past the grievances of the past, and again turn our face to Jesus, perhaps we can learn to love again. And if we learn to love again, forgiveness and humility will follow love’s lead. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future one soul at a time. If we refuse to face the real battle that Jesus would have us fight, How in the world will the world tell us apart from the world? If we are no different than the world, if we are to continue to act like the world, what is the point? And all the while we continue to sing, This World is not my home. . . .. REALLY? LET’S BE CHRISTIANS, LET’S ACT AND WRITE LIKE CHRISTIANS, ON FACEBOOK AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
Steven Prine

The President of the United States, last week in a speech, called a handful of NFL players S.O.B’s. Where is the outcry from you the people and the media. This is appalling!! The way to make a sore worse is to pick the scab and make it bleed. That is exactly what our President did. Last week there were a handful of players doing a peaceful protest. This past weekend there were 100’s of NFL players peaceably protesting. The reason is because of what the President said about them. They were NOT protesting the flag. They were NOT protesting the Constitution. They were NOT protesting America. They were protesting the President. If you go back a year ago when Colin Kaepernik took the first knee during the National Anthem and read about why he did it, you’ll find he was protesting for equality. He was NOT protesting the flag, the Anthem, or America. He loves America and in fact put $1,000,000 of his own money into a fund to get his words out. He did the protest during the Anthem because he knew the media would get a hold of it and blow it clear out of proportion. Thus the public would hear his plea for his words to be heard. Now, because of the media duping the general public, the protesting has taken on the wrong meaning. Before you make judgement against these guys, go back to the beginning and search for the REAL truth. I, like you, don’t like to see them not standing for the Anthem. However, when I’m getting ready to watch a game, I don’t stand in my living room for the Anthem. Does that make me hypocritical?

We all seem to want to tell everyone else what to do. Maybe until we walk a mile in their shoes, we should be a little more tolerant. I’ve seen posts today about the rules of the NFL concerning the Anthem. Who are we to tell some business or their employees how to act and react? Seems to me it is up to the those in charge to enact the rules. My wife has a handbook at her workplace that spells out the rules of the office. Do you want a copy of it so you can tell her how to act and react at her place of work?

We all want the Standing for the Anthem and for all to be good. Where is the outcry from you, the public, and the media for those singing the song? It has notes and tempo written out for people to follow. Shouldn’t those leading it be held accountable to sing it as written? Why do they change the notes? Why do they change the tempo? I don’t like it when they do that, but whoever hired them must have said it was OK to change it.

We read about how much money the NFL players make. News Flash!! There are only a handful making the “Big Bucks”, the rest are not in that category. A couple weeks ago, when the hurricanes hit, athletes put millions of dollars of their money into relief funds. One, led by J.J. Watts of the Houston Texan’s team and many other athletes, put together over $37,000,000 for relief efforts in Houston. These guys do a lot for communities that never hits the news because the media won’t report it (For what ever reason). Charles Barkley, put together with multiple other athletes, funneled millions of dollars into New Orleans when they got hit by a hurricane. The Dallas Cowboy’s players went to Ok. City when the bombing took place. And on and on I could go. Let’s please not call these guys S.O.B’s. Let’s please not judge them for peaceable protesting. Do I want them to stand for the Anthem? YES!!

As I was driving down the road today, it occurred to me that there are a lot of signs and where would we be without them? Think about what we would do with no street signs or road signs. GPS wouldn’t matter. Road maps wouldn’t matter. How would we find where we are going with no directions? I grew up in a small town of about 300 people and you didn’t need street signs to find where you wanted to go, even though we did have street signs. If someone were visiting you just told them how many streets to go and to turn  left or right. Today I live in a city of about 2,000,000 people with thousands of houses and streets. We have to have signs and directions to find where we want to go. If not we would just wonder around lost. Follow the GPS or what ever directions you have, and you’ll arrive at your destination.

What about where you work? Can you take and follow directions? If not, how do you get your work done? Even better, how do you keep your job? How about what your parents taught you? Did they not give you directions to follow so life would be easier and not so complicated? Things get crazy and all of a sudden you think to yourself, what did Mom and Dad do or say about this type of situation? Then you apply the directions given to you and all seems to be straightened out.

Now what about you Christian life? Are you just doing what you want? Struggling to find your way? Can’t find or follow directions? Wondering around lost as if you were in a big city with no street signs? The good news is that there are directions. The bad news is a lot of people are lost because they won’t follow them. God has given directions for any thing that can come up in life. All you have to do is open up your Bible and read/listen to the living, written word of God. No more wondering around lost. No more do you have to be without directions. No more will your life be in shambles. PRAISE GOD!! He has given us the street signs to give us directions for life.

SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good week all.

Have you ever been in a room full of smoke? Or in a deep fog? Or in the bathroom after a shower and the room is filled with steam? That’s what seeing through cataracts seems like. I’m writing this blog because I had questions and was asked questions as I went through the process of diagnosis and surgery for cataracts. I’m one who thinks that if I have questions, then there are many others that have the same questions. so here is my experience.

Four months ago I went to the eye Doctor for an exam and they told me I had cataracts, needed to get them removed, and was referred to a specialist. A month later I got in to the specialist and they confirmed that I, indeed, had cataracts. A month later I had the measurement for my new lenses for my eyes. FINALLY a month later, the first eye was fixed and two weeks after that one the other was fixed. I now wait two weeks for the final exam and get my prescription for corrective glasses so I can read and see distance at it’s best. It’s been a process that I had questions and concerns about and wasn’t explained fully about the process. Oh, then there are the eye drops for preparation for the surgeries. Two drops in the eye four times a day and then after surgery three drops in each eye for two more weeks. I’m now still putting drops in my eyes, but the surgery is done and I have 20/40 far vision in both eyes. YAY!! However, I have to wait for my corrective glasses to be able to read. What had happened was I was looking through the clouds, or fog, or steam and was getting worse. The cataracts were clouding my vision. The surgeries were basically pain free and the actual surgery only took about 15 minutes for each eye, but the preparation was all important to have the success that I now enjoy.

As I was thinking about all this, I realized that life has the same effect. Sin gets in our lives and starts clouding our thinking. It’s gets like the cataracts, if you don’t remove it, eventually you will not be able to see and you will be living in darkness. We all have sin in our lives and we have to examine ourselves to find the solution. It can become a process to get it removed. Just like the preparation for eye surgery, we have to prepare ourselves to properly remove the sin. Then when we decide to remove it, it only takes a few minutes to say enough is enough and it is gone. You’ll stop living in fog, clouds, or steam and life will clear up for you. Just like the surgeon for my eyes, God is there to help you with the removal. You can’t do it by yourself. Walk in the light as Jesus would want you to do. Don’t let the darkness overcome you.

SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good week all.

Kids say the darndest things, but “It’s not my fault” has to be one of the oldest and best. Something around the house gets broken–It’s not my fault. Playing outside or on the playground at school and they get hurt–It’s not my fault. Grownups do the same thing. Something goes astray at work–It’s not my fault. Things go wrong at home–It’s not my fault. Spouse gets mad at you for something you did–It’s not my fault. Have you ever had an auto accident? It wasn’t my fault is the first thing that comes out of your mouth. Strangely enough we are always finding someone or something to blame our problems on. Why can’t we just own up to the fact that–It is/was my fault? Maybe because we aren’t capable of taking responsibility or don’t want to. Maybe it’s just human nature to blame someone else. It seems easier to do that than own up to the problem. YES, we all do it!!

In Genesis Chapter 3 we read the story about Adam and Eve eating of fruit from a tree that God had told them not to eat. As we know, the serpent tempted Eve until she gave in and ate of the forbidden fruit. She then gave some to Adam and he also ate of the fruit. When God came back to the garden to find them, they had hidden. Finally when they came out to face God, knowing they had really messed up, here came the “It’s not my fault” language. Eve blamed the serpent, Adam blamed Eve and so on. The fact of the matter is this: God has set out throughout the Bible that man is to look after the women in scriptural matters and protect her. Adam was there and it was his responsibility to say no and not let temptation overcome either one of them. He didn’t do that!! Christian life today is no different. God has set the plan, man needs to be responsible, and be able to guide his wife and family so that they don’t get overtaken by temptation. Satan is crafty, as you see in this story. We should be on guard at all times so we don’t listen to him. Sooooo let’s quit with the “It’s not my fault” thinking and own up to being wrong.

SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good week all.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. By faith we understand that the world was created by the Word of God so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. Hebrews 11:1-3

We are to have no doubt about our faith, believing in Jesus, and not being ashamed of the Gospel. Faith rests on God’s power. We walk by faith not by sight, live by faith knowing Jesus gave Himself for us, and we are justified by faith.

We need to be sincere, have a firm belief, and through that faith Christ will dwell in our hearts. This kind of faith will build a shield from  the evil one. We need to work in God’s kingdom to show our faith isn’t dead. For faith to become stronger and our shield to become stronger, we need to continue to work and study so we become more mature in our Christianity.

There is but one faith. It works through love, encourages us, and prompts us to act. Above all FAITH OVERCOMES THE WORLD!!

To begin acquiring faith, you must open your eyes from darkness to light, turning away from sin and look toward Christianity. This first step will build your belief in Jesus so you can seek and find His Kingdom.

Faith grows and is strengthened by hearing lessons, listening in Bible classes, and attending Worship Services. In order for Christians to grow in their faith, there are times when we will need help from others, showing the need to study with one another.

We are told that faith without works in dead. We need to be active in our Christianity so we can better understand our faith and become more mature.

Lastly, if we have a sincere heart and continue working in His Kingdom, preaching to and teaching others, Jesus will help us to become perfect in our faith.

SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good week all.