Hello Everyone, Below is the latest newspaper article from Pastor Jim Frankeas for this Friday July 19th edition of the SJ Times. I hope you enjoy it! Newspaper Article: July 19th, 2013 Psalm 23 is probably the best known passage of the Old Testament in the bible. It is a testimony by David to the Lord’s faithfulness throughout his life. Verse three says: He renews my strength, He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to His name.” Sometimes even thought the Lord leads, it’s not easy to go in the right direction when it will cost you. God desires that we take our everyday, ordinary life, our sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around and place it before Him as an offering. Embracing what the Lord does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. The Bible says: “we should present ourselves a living sacrifice to Him.” A living-sacrifice sounds like an oxymoron, kind of like jumbo shrimp! How do we present ourselves as a living sacrifice? After all, we can’t put ourselves in an envelope and put it in the offering plate. Remember a living sacrifice is a lot different than a dead one. What is your offering? It’s not easy to do the right thing, when the wrong thing is more expedient, convenient and practical. You’ll hear voices saying, “Just come on and do it, no one will see it.” Every single day we make choices that show if we honor God or not in our life. We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing. Do we stick to what God tells us in His Word or do we cave in for the sake of comfort, greed or approval? We choose either to take a carefully thought out risk or to crawl into a shrinking shell of safety, security and inactivity. We choose either to believe in God and trust Him, even when we do not understand His ways, or to second guess Him and cower in the corners of doubt and fear. It is not easy to do the right thing, especially when no one will know but you. When we make the right choices it is then that our faith and character becomes strong. I love this true story. During the final play off of the U.S. open, Bobby Jones’ ball ended up in the rough just off the fairway. As he set up to play his second shot, he accidentally moved his ball. He immediately turned to the marshals and announced a foul. The marshals hadn’t seen the ball move. So they left it up to Jones whether to take a penalty stroke. He did. Later when someone commended him for his integrity, Jones replied, “Do you commend a bank robber for not robbing a bank? No, you don’t. This is how the game of golf should be played at all times. Jones lost the match that day by that one stroke, but he did the right thing before God. Remember this, “your eulogy is being preached every day. Will the person officiating your funeral be able to say, “He or she lived a life similar to Jesus Christ? Was your life God honoring in all that you said and did?” It is time for all of us to place Christ on the throne of our life and our sins in the cross! God wants us to come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. To trust Him with our lives as we willing surrender ourselves to Him In Him alone will you find peace and rest and satisfaction in life and in eternity to come. Jim Frankeas (Pastor of Hope Community Church in Pilesgrove) Mailing Address: PO Box 543 Swedesboro, NJ 08085
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:48:22 +0000