A CLOUD OR A DOVE

(Here is a the final thought from Rabbi
Eckstein from a meditation entitled
"A Cloud or a Dove".  I think it is a great
thought.)

Scripture:

Who are these that fly along like clouds, like
doves to their nests?" —Isaiah 60:8

You don’t need to be Jewish to have a promised
land. Everyone has an ideal place that they can
get to in their lifetime — and it is more likely a
spiritual space than a physical one. And they
will get there in one of two ways. Some people
will be pushed there by the storms in life, or
some can choose to go peacefully on their own.

I know which I prefer. How about you?

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

PURE LOGIC

Christian Logic

A college student was in a philosophy class
which had a discussion about God's existence.
The professor presented the following logic:

"Has anyone in this class heard God?"
Nobody spoke.
"Has anyone in this class touched God?"
Again, nobody spoke.
"Has anyone in this class seen God?"
When nobody spoke for the third time, he
simply stated, "Then there is no God."

One student thought for a second, and then
asked for permission to reply. Curious to hear
this bold student's response, the professor
granted it, and the student stood up and
asked the following questions of his classmates:

"Has anyone in this class heard our professor's
brain?"  Silence.
"Has anyone in this class touched our professor's
brain?" Absolute silence.
"Has anyone in this class seen our professor's
brain?" When nobody in the class dared to speak,
the student concluded, "Then, according to our
professor's logic, it must be true that our professor
has no brain!"

...The student received an "A" in the class.

GodVine

LET HIM IN!

Scripture:

"I slept but my heart was awake.
    Listen! My beloved is knocking:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,
    my dove, my flawless one.
My head is drenched with dew,
    my hair with the dampness of the
night.’" —Song of Solomon 5:2

Reflection:

How do you respond when God comes
knocking on your door? Do you get up
and let Him in? Do you make the changes
that you are inspired to make? Sadly, the
woman in the Song of Solomon hesitates.
She has just gotten into bed and she
doesn’t want to dirty her feet. Eventually,
she decides that getting her feet dusty is
a small price to pay for the gift of seeing
the love of her life, but by the time she gets
to the door, he is already gone.“I opened
for my beloved, but my beloved had left;
he was gone. My heart sank at his
departure” (Song of Solomon 5:6). A
moment’s hesitation can lead to a lifetime
of regret.

Don’t be that woman. When God pays you
a visit — when you get a flash of inspiration
or you are suddenly clear about your path in
life — don’t think it over too much. When
God is at your doorstep, let Him in! Let Him
into your life and let Him change your life.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

WEEK DAY

The Christian Days of the Week

Monday - Wash Day
Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and
vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility
through the week ahead.

Tuesday - Ironing Day
Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles of
prejudice I have collected though the years so
that I may see the beauty in others.

Wednesday - Mending Day
O God, help me mend my ways so I will not set
a bad example for others.

Thursday - Cleaning Day
Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many
faults I have been hiding in the secret corners
of my heart.

Friday - Shopping Day
O God, give me the grace to shop wisely so
I may purchase eternal happiness for myself
and all others in need of love

Saturday - Cooking Day
Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of
brotherly love and serve it with clean, sweet
bread of human kindness.

Sunday - The Lord's Day
O God, I have prepared my house for you.
Please come into my heart as my honored
guest so I may spend the day and the rest of
my life in your presence.

(GodVine)

KEEP YOUR FORK!

There was a woman who had been diagnosed
with a terminal illness and was given 3 months
to live. As she began getting her things 'in order',
she called her pastor and asked for him to come
to her house to discuss certain aspects of her
final wishes. She told him which songs she
wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she
wanted read, and what dress she wanted to be
buried in. She also requested to be buried with
her favorite Bible in her left hand. Everything was
in order and as the pastor was preparing to leave,
the woman suddenly remembered one final
request that was very important to her. "Please
Pastor, just one more thing," she said excitedly.
"Sure, what is it?" came the pastor's reply. "This
is very important to me," the woman continued ...
"I want to be buried holding a fork in my right
hand." The pastor gazed at the woman, at a loss
for words.

"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman
asked. The pastor replied "Well to be quite honest,
I am puzzled by the request".

The woman explained. "You see, Pastor, in all
my years of attending church socials and potluck
dinners, I remember that when the dishes were
being cleared after the main course, someone
would inevitably lean over to me and say, 'Keep
your fork' ... it was my favorite part of the meal
because I knew that something better was coming,
like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie.
Something wonderful to end the meal!"

The pastor listened intently and a smile came
upon his face. The woman continued, "So, I just
want people to see me there with a fork in my
hand and I want them to wonder ... 'What's with
the fork'... then I want you to tell them: "Keep
your Fork ... the best is yet to come".

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as
he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew that this
would be one of the last times that he would see
her before her death. But he also knew that the
woman had a better grasp of Heaven than he did.

She knew and trusted that the best was yet to
come. At the funeral, every one that walked by
the woman's casket saw her wearing a beautiful
dress with her favorite Bible held in her left hand
and a fork held in her right hand.

Over and over the pastor heard people ask the
question, "Why is she holding a fork?" and his
smile began to get larger and brighter each time.
During his message, the pastor told the people
about the conversation that he had with the
woman shortly before she died. He explained the
fork and what it symbolized to her. The Pastor
told everyone how he could not stop thinking
about the fork and how he hoped that they would
not be able to stop thinking about it either.

(GodVine)

THE BIGGEST FOOL

Scripture:

"This is what the Kingdom of God is like
" Mark 4:26

The story is told of an ancient king who
presented his court jester with a beautiful wand...

"I give you this trophy," said the king, "to
symbolize your status as the greatest fool in my
kingdom. You are to keep it until you can give it
to a greater fool than yourself."

The court jester good-naturedly accepted the
award. Some time later, the king was dying and
asked to see the jester. "I want to say good-bye,
" he said. "I am going on a long journey that will
last forever." The jester then asked, "What have
you done to prepare for this great trip?" "Nothing
whatever," the king replied. "Since I don't know
exactly where I am going on this long journey,
there is nothing to be done." To which the jester
replied, "Then take this wand. You are the biggest
fool of all!"

( Sunday Sermons Online )

NO MATTER HOW HARD IT GETS

Scripture:

Psalm 119:89
"forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven."

As I look around the world with the Bible in my hand
I come to the realization that I do not worship
an absentee God. He is standing in the shadows
of history, still working to bring His plans to
completion.

No matter how disturbing the pictures of violence,
Chaos, bloodshed, and war that fill
my television screen every day and that I read
in our newspapers. I know that these disturbances
are the consequences of humanities evil and sin,
which are really caused by our rebellion against
God. Every headline in the newspaper, every
news report on TV confirms this verse:
"the heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it?"
Jeremiah 17:9.

But there is one very important thing I need
to remember, and that is God is going to have the
last word. It is so very obvious to me that the
Scriptures are being fulfilled because every day
the world moves closer to the time when Jesus Christ
will return. Satan and his evil will finally be
defeated, the war will be won, and God's perfect
plan will be fulfilled.

No matter how bad the future gets, I as a
Christian, knows the end of the story –
and I know that ending is glorious!!
Christ will return in victory! DON'T LOSE HEART!
You know what, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!

Prayer:

Almighty God, give me the strength to always
keep in my heart my mind, and my spirit, to remember
no matter how hard it gets in my life, no matter how
disturbed the world may appear, I know that You
are with me completing your plan. Thank you
that I know the end of the story, and that story
will end soon, with your glorious victory!
I pray that I am prepared, and I am not worried.
For You Are With Me!
As always in your holy and blessed name
in the name of Jesus Christ  AMEN.

SAVED BY A STAMP

Prayer is the key

Scripture:

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate
their need for constant prayer and to show them they
must never give up…
Luke 18:1 NLT

Saved by a Stamp

God's answers to prayers can affect generations to come.
In fact, if not for his gracious answers to a prayer offered
many years ago, my children, grandchildren, and great-
grandchildren would not know his blessing today.

The story is simple. My cousin Mirea and I wanted to
visit friends in America. Sensing that we would not
abandon our grand idea, my father sent us on our way
with heartfelt prayers for our safety.

Our trip across Europe took several days. Finally we
arrived on the western shores of England. But as we
prepared to set sail for America, we were told there
was a problem with our papers. Officials at the
immigration office said Mirea was missing a stamp
on a paper that would allow her to leave the country.
We would have to stay in England for another week
until Mirea's papers could be corrected, they said.

Mirea and I went to the steamship office to ask if
we could exchange our tickets for a ship leaving
later in the month. The man at the window was
glad to make the exchange. He was sure he could
resell our berths. People were eager to sail on the
maiden voyage of the Titanic.
As we wandered back to the hotel, Mirea and I
were disappointed that we had to stay in England.
But, when the news reached us a few days later
of the sinking of the Titanic, we both began to cry,
in sadness for our lost shipmates, but also in relief,
realizing how close we had come to death ourselves.
God, in his mercy, had answered by father's father's
prayer for our safety with something as small as a
missing stamp. How good is God!
Elsa Sturit Kint

Adapted from The Prayer Bible Jean E. Syswerda,
general editor, Tyndale House Publishers (2003),
p 1495.

(God's Daily Promises)

I'LL BE THERE

You say you will never forget where you were
when you heard the news, Sept. 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say
"Good-bye." I held his fingers steady as he
dialed. I gave him the peace to say, "Honey,
I am not going to make it, but it is OK ...
I am ready to go." I was with his wife when
he called as she fed breakfast to their children.
I held her up as she tried to understand his
words and as she realized he wasn't coming
home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to me for help. "I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for
50 years!" I said. "Of course I will show you
the way home-only believe on Me now."

I was at the base of the building with the
Priest ministering to the injured and
devastated souls. I took him home to tend to
his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and
answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every
seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew
as they were overtaken. I was in the very
hearts of the believers there. Comforting and
assuring them that their Faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was
standing next to you when you heard the
terrible news. Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face.
I knew every name - though they did NOT all
know Me. Some met me for the first time on
the 100th floor. Some sought me out in their
last breath. Some couldn't hear me calling to
them through the smoke and flames, "Come
to Me ... this way ... take my hand." Sadly,
some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day -
However, if you were there in that explosive
moment in time, would you have reached for
Me? September 11, 2001 was not the end of
the journey for you. But someday your journey
will end. And I will be there for you as well.
Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at
any moment, you know you are "ready to go.
" I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

Love, God

(GodVine)

WISDOM

Scripture:

Job 28: 12-28

But where can wisdom be found?
    Where does understanding dwell?
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.

20 Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22 Destruction[b] and Death say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
    and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
    and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil is understanding.”

THAT IS TRUE WISDOM!

FAULTY THINKING

by Anne Cetas

Scripture:

Read: Romans 5:12-21

God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8

Reflection:

Four people—a pilot, a professor, a pastor,
and a hiker—were flying in a small plane
when the engines died. The pilot said,
“There are only three parachutes. Since
this is my plane, I’m taking one of them.
” He put it on and jumped out. The professor
said, “I’m brilliant and the world needs me,
so I’m taking a parachute,” and he jumped
out.

Then the pastor told the hiker, “I don’t want
to be selfish, so you take the last parachute.
” The hiker replied, “There are still two left,
so we can each have one. The professor
jumped out with my backpack instead of the
parachute!” Though the professor thought he
would land safely, his assurance was based
on faulty thinking.

Some people have an assurance of salvation
based on faulty thinking. They believe that
church attendance, baptism, or just being
good will gain them approval from God. But
our thinking is faulty if it isn’t based on what
God says in His Word. God says that “all
 have sinned” and that we are His enemies.
But through the death and resurrection of His
Son, we can be made right with God
(Rom. 3:23; 5:8-10). By faith in what Christ
has done, we can have peace with God (5:1)
and the assurance of eternal life in heaven.

Do you believe it? Your eternity is at stake.
Don’t trust faulty thinking but put your faith in
Christ.I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus—
Trusting only Thee;
Trusting Thee for full salvation,
Great and free. —Havergal

Remember:
If we could earn our salvation, Christ would not
have died to provide it

(from Our Daily Bread)

THE VISION

The Monk's Vision

This is a nice little story that reminds us of the
best way to truly serve God here on Earth.


An old monk prayed many years for a vision
from God to strengthen his faith, but it never
came. He had almost given up hope when, one
day, a vision appeared. The old monk was
overjoyed. But then, right in the middle of the
vision, the monastery bell rang. The ringing of
the bell meant it was time to feed the poor who
gathered daily at the monastery gate. And it
was the old monk's turn to feed them. If he
failed to show up with food, the poor people
would leave quietly, thinking the monastery
had nothing to give them that day.

The old monk was torn between his earthly
duty and his heavenly vision. However, before
the bell stopped tolling, the monk had made
his decision. With a heavy heart, he turned his
back on the vision and went off to feed the poor.
Nearly an hour later, the old monk returned to
his room. When he opened the door, he could
hardly believe his eyes. There in the room was
the vision, waiting for him. As the monk dropped
to is knees in thanksgiving, the vision said to him,
"My son, had you not gone off to feed the poor,
I would not have stayed."

The best way to serve God is to reach out in
service to our brothers and sisters, especially
those less gifted than ourselves.

(from GodVine)