The Master’s Card

There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else, there’s Master card.

I’m sure you’ve all received their applications in the mail. However, there is a different card.

It’s The Master’s Card.

That’s right, The MASTER’S CARD. Let me tell you about it. There are no finance charges, no payments due. Your bill has already been covered…it’s a prepaid deal… Because you couldn’t afford the price, Jesus stepped in and paid it for you.

It is accessible twenty-four hours a day from anywhere in the world.

The MASTER’S CARD has so many benefits it’s hard to list them all. Let me share some of them with you… You might want to apply for a personal card yourself. And best of ALL—IT’S FREE.

Just for starters, there is UNLIMITED GRACE. That’s right, there is no preset limit to the amount of grace you receive from The MASTER’S CARD.

Have you been looking for love in all the wrong places? Then, look no farther than The MASTER’S CARD. It offers the greatest rate on love that has ever been offered. The MASTER’S CARD gives you access to many “members only” benefits.

Want real joy despite the difficulties of life? Apply for The MASTER’S CARD.

Want a lasting peace? Apply for The MASTER’S CARD.

Looking for something you can always rely on in a jam? The MASTER’S CARD is perfect for you.

Another great thing about The MASTER’S CARD is that it never expires and will never be cancelled. Once you’re a member, you’re a member for life… eternal life, that is. Its membership has wonderful privileges.

So why not apply today if you don’t have yours? It’s only a prayer away.

— Author Unknown

Meditation: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Choice You Make (2)

The Choice You Make

Continued from yesterday…

Shortly afterwards her Ladyship went down followed by a retinue of servants, in case any harm might come to her. Seeing the beggar, she asked him kindly, “Well, my good man, what do you want?”

He bowed, and then said, “I have come to ask your hand in marriage today.”

Her Ladyship looked at him steadfastly for a moment, then stepping forward, said “Very well. Here it is.”

The beggar approached, bowed low, and taking her hand in his, kissed it, adding “And on what day will you marry me?” To which her Ladyship replied, “This day twelve months hence.” On hearing her reply, the beggar gathered up his crutches and hobbled away, greatly to the relief and delight of the servants standing around, who thought that she had got rid of the beggar very quickly and easily.

During the week of the festivities, many of the young nobles asked her hand in marriage, but all of them got the same reply, “I am betrothed already.” Many began asking who the ‘lucky fellow’ was, but no one could tell.

The servants, overhearing the conversations amongst the guests, began to wonder among themselves if it were really true that she had given away her hand in marriage to the beggar. At last, it came to her father’s ears that she had been asked by many, and all had been given the same refusal and that she had already given her hand in marriage to a beggar, with a promise that it should take place in a year’s time. Her father was heart-broken.

“Is it true, my daughter, that you have given your hand in marriage to a poor beggar man?”

“Yes, father, it is quite true, and it will be alright.”

The week of festivities ended rather abruptly, everyone being greatly disappointed at the news of her betrothal to the beggar. During the year, her father time after time called her to his side, saying “Oh, my daughter! Oh my daughter! Comfort me. Tell me it is all a mistake.” But her answer was always the same, “It is quite true, and it will be alright.”

At length, the year passed by. No preparation was made for the marriage, and on the day appointed, her father sent for her, and said: “You see, my daughter, there is no one coming.”

“Oh, but he will come!” she replied.

One o’clock chimed, yet no appearance of anyone coming. About two o’clock in the afternoon, however, a great noise was heard coming over the hill towards the castle. Everyone in the house rushed to the windows, and what they beheld was a wonderful procession of pipers, drummers and horsemen, in large numbers. Up to the front door of the castle came a guard of prancing horsemen, who lined both sides of the avenue. Wheeling around, they drew up, each horse facing the other and forming a guard of honour. Then, last of all, came a beautiful prancing steed, with a noble rider on its back. On reaching the steps leading to the doorway of the castle, this rider threw himself from the saddle, ran up the steps, and embraced his beloved.

Who was he? The King’s son!

That morning twelve months before he had disguised himself as a poor beggar, and came in that way lest he should be too late. Recognizing his eyes, she knew who he was, and kept his secret. So all were glad at the end.

Who is standing at your heart’s door and knocking? A beggar! One of Whom it was said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.” A Man whose faced was more marred than that of any man. A beggar knocking at your heart’s door, seeking admission. Open the door, for He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

— Author Unknown

Meditation: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” – Revelation 3:20 (NLT)

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Marriage Beatitudes

The Marriage Beatitudes

1. Blessed are the husband and wife who continue to be affectionate, considerate, and loving after the wedding bells have ceased ringing.

2. Blessed are the husband and wife who are as polite and courteous to one another as they are to their friends.

3. Blessed are they who have a sense of humour, this attribute will make their marriage much brighter.

4. Blessed are they who love their mates more than any other person in the world, and who joyfully fulfil their marriage vows with a lifetime of fidelity and mutual helpfulness to each other.

5. Blessed are they who remember to thank God for their food before they partake of it, and who set aside some time each day for reading the Bible and for prayer.

6. Blessed are they who attain parenthood, for children are a heritage of the Lord.

7. Blessed are those mates who never speak loudly to each other and who make their home a place “where seldom is heard a discouraging word.”

8. Blessed are the husband and wife who can work out their problems of adjustment without interference from relatives or friends.

9. Blessed is the couple that has worked out a complete understanding about financial matters and has a perfect partnership.

10. Blessed are the husband and wife who humbly dedicate their lives and their home to Christ, and who practice the teachings of Christ in their home by being unselfish, loyal and loving.

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin

Author Unknown

Meditation: And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Choice You Make

The Choice You Make

Once upon a time, there lived a great Duke. He had a large estate, was very rich, and had everything in this world to make a man happy, if that were possible, so far as worldly things were concerned. He was a widower, had an only child, a beautiful girl, who had a very sweet disposition, was very kind to the poor and was beloved by all around.

When she was 20 years of age her father said to her, “My daughter, next year you will become of age, and I intend to ask to the castle here, for a week’s festivities, all the young nobles of the land. I expect that many of them will be asking your hand in marriage, and I beg of you to see that you make a good choice, for your happiness afterwards will depend on the choice you make. I might also say that, in case anything should happen to me, I have made my will, and everything I possess in this world at my death will belong to you.”

The time soon came for the celebration of her 21st birthday, and while her Ladyship was in her room with her maid dressing, in preparation for the reception of the guests, a loud knocking was heard at the back door of the court. One of the men-servants, on going out to see who was making such a noise, found a beggar man on crutches. The man-servant ordered him to go away. “Don’t trouble her Ladyship today,” he said, “she is very busy, and a great many guests are coming shortly to the castle.”

But the beggar answered that he would not go away until he saw her Ladyship. Thereupon the door was slammed in the beggar’s face; but he took up one of his crutches and laid on to the door, making such a noise that it brought back the servant, who threatened to put the dogs on to him if he did not go away. To this, the beggar only replied that the dogs would not frighten him, and he would not go away until he had seen her Ladyship.

To try and frighten him the servant went to the kennels, and at once the dogs set up such a terrible howling that the noise reached her Ladyship’s ears, and she sent her maid to find out the meaning of it all. The maid returned with the information that it was a poor, lame beggar man who wanted to see her Ladyship, and he would not go away until he saw her. “Very well,” replied her Ladyship, “I will be down presently. Tell him to wait till I come.”

Shortly afterwards her Ladyship went down followed by a retinue of servants, in case any harm might come to her. Seeing the beggar, she asked him kindly, “Well, my good man, what do you want?”

He bowed, and then said, “I have come to ask your hand in marriage today.”

Her Ladyship looked at him steadfastly for a moment, then stepping forward, said “Very well. Here it is.”

To continue tomorrow…

Meditation: Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. – 2 Timothy 2:19

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Car’s Headlights

Most cars today have a wonderful feature. Whenever you forget to turn off the headlights, a shrill warning goes off the minute you open the door. Although you may not like its jarring sound, it has a very useful purpose, it saves you from—a dead battery.

Our conscience can work like that. When we get off on the wrong track as we’re traveling the road of life or tempted to, our conscience blows a whistle. It’s a sign that the Holy Spirit is either convicting us or warning us before we do. If we do wrong, the jarring feelings from our conscience are meant to lead us to repentance. When we confess and repent, God forgives and clears our conscience.

The apostle Paul knew what it was to have a bad conscience. In I Timothy 1:13, he wrote, “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy.”

He received the mercy of Christ’s forgive­ness, faith, and a good conscience. He charged young Timothy to fight the good fight and maintain his faith and good conscience. Paul said that some had rejected these, and spiritual shipwreck was the result (vv.18-19).

Be thankful if you have a good conscience when you’re on the wrong track. When it gives you a warning whistle, pay attention so your life doesn’t end up in a spiritual train wreck! Then fight to preserve your faith and keep your conscience clear. That jarring sound is there to help keep you on the right track and stay in fellowship with God.

Our conscience is a gift from God,
It is a guiding light:
And when aligned with His sure Word,
It tells us wrong from right.

— Author Unknown

Meditation: Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. – John 16:7-8

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Scars

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His mother, in the house, was looking out the window, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn’t let go.”

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.

But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. If you have Christ in your life, you have become a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way.

But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril – and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-o-war begins, and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful.

He did not – and will not – let you go. Time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it’s only given to us moment by moment.

— Author Unknown

Meditation: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. – Isaiah 43:2

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Pinewood Derby

The wisdom of a child

My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in Cub Scouts only a short time. During one of his meetings, he was handed a sheet of paper, a block of wood and four tires and told to return home and give all to “dad”.

That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not receptive to doing things with his son. But Gilbert tried. Dad read the paper and scoffed at the idea of making a pinewood derby car with his young, eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed.

Finally, mom stepped in to see if I could figure this all out. The project began. Having no carpentry skills, I decided it would be best if I simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the work. And he did. I read aloud the measurements, the rules of what we could do and what we couldn’t do.

Within days his block of wood was turning into a pinewood derby car. A little lopsided, but looking great (at least through the eyes of mom). Gilbert had not seen any of the other kids’ cars and was feeling pretty proud of his “Blue Lightning”, the pride that comes with knowing you did something on your own.

Then the big night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his hand and pride in his heart, we headed to the big race. Once there my little one’s pride turned to humility. Gilbert’s car was obviously the only car made entirely on his own. All the other cars were a father-son partnership, with cool paint jobs and sleek body styles made for speed.

A few of the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert’s lopsided, wobbly, unattractive vehicle. To add to the humility, Gilbert was the only boy without a man at his side. A couple of the boys who were from single parent homes at least had an uncle or grandfather by their side, Gilbert had “mom”.

As the race began it was done in elimination fashion. You kept racing as long as you were the winner. One by one the cars raced down the finely sanded ramp. Finally, it was between Gilbert and the sleekest, fastest looking car there. As the last race was about to begin, my wide-eyed, shy eight year old ask if they could stop the race for a minute, because he wanted to pray. The race stopped.

Gilbert went to his knees clutching his funny looking block of wood between his hands. With a wrinkled brow, he set to converse with his Father. He prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a half. Then he stood, smile on his face and announced, ‘Okay, I am ready.”

As the crowd cheered, a boy named Tommy stood with his father as their car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his Father within his heart and watched his block of wood wobble down the ramp with surprisingly great speed and rushed over the finish line a fraction of a second before Tommy’s car.

Gilbert leapt into the air with a loud “Thank You” as the crowd roared in approval. The Scout Master came up to Gilbert with the microphone in hand and asked the obvious question, “So you prayed to win, huh, Gilbert?”

To which my young son answered, “Oh, no sir. That wouldn’t be fair to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked Him to make it so I wouldn’t cry when I lost.”

Children seem to have wisdom far beyond us. Gilbert didn’t ask God to win the race, he didn’t ask God to fix the outcome. Gilbert asked God to give him strength in the outcome.

When Gilbert first saw the other cars he didn’t cry out to God, “No fair, they had a father’s help!”. No, he went to his Father for strength. Perhaps we spend too much of our prayer time asking God to rig the race, to make us number one, or too much time asking God to remove us from the struggle, when we should be seeking God’s strength to get through the struggle. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Gilbert’s simple prayer spoke volumes to those present that night. He never doubted that God would indeed answer his request. He didn’t pray to win, thus hurt someone else, he prayed that God supply the grace to lose with dignity. Gilbert, by his stopping the race to speak to his Father also showed the crowd that he wasn’t there without a “dad”, but His Father was most definitely there with him. Yes, Gilbert walked away a winner that night, with his Father at his side.

May we all learn to pray this way.

— Author Unknown

Meditation: Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” – 1 Peter 2:6

You will succeed in Jesus Name!