GETTIN OLD

Recently I had a birthday and I came to the sudden
realization that I'm getting old. The follow is so
very true.

I suppose you've all heard at least a few of the "how do
you know you are getting older?" quips. But this morning,
I am happy to report that someone has finally compiled
the ultimate, TOP 10 list of reasons. So here goes.

You know you are getting older when:

Number 10: Everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt, doesn't work.

Number 9: The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals.

Number 8: Your little black book contains only names ending in M.D.

Number 7: You get winded playing chess.

Number 6: You begin turning out lights for economic rather than romantic reasons.

Number 5: Your back goes out more than you do.

Number 4: A fortune teller offers to read your face.

Number 3: The little gray-haired lady you help across the street is your wife.

Number 2: You sink your teeth in a steak, and they stay there.  

And finally, the number 1 reason you know you are getting older:
You decide to procrastinate, but never get around to it!
  
Too slow! Always "a day late and a dollar short." Does that
describe anyone you know -- late for work, late for Church, late
for appointments? For example, there was a certain funeral
director who had just laid to rest the husband of an old friend.
After the graveside service, the widow was the only mourner to
get into the big funeral limousine. She had no children, and no
other relatives. During the drive home, the funeral director
spoke in earnest tones to the widow. "Mary," he said, "I want
to tell you something, but please don't be offended. I've been
secretly in love with you all these years. That's why I never
married. Because of John, I never said anything about it. But
now he's gone. All my life I've been a procrastinator. All my
life I've been too slow about everything. But this time I'm not
going to wait. So, Mary, if you should ever think of marrying
again, just remember I asked you first." To which Mary replied,
"Tom, I appreciate that very much, but John's doctor has
already asked me."  

SOMETHING HAPPENED TO ME!

WHO WAS JESUS?

For some reason I have been recently in discussions
with several people about, "Who was (and is) Jesus:?

How do you explain faith?  How do you explain
belief?  How do you explain how Jesus has transformed
your life and transformed the world?

Who was Jesus? Why did he come? Some people
think it was to save them only from their sins, so
their spiritual focus is only personal salvation.
Others appreciate Jesus' teachings but see little
connection between the wise teacher of old and
how they live life here and now.

I believe both groups have lost the true vision of who
Jesus is—a vision that changes everything about us
and our world. What we believe about Jesus has the
power to transform how we treat our neighbors—
including the poor, the marginalized, and our enemies
—and promote the common good.

That's who Jesus is to me. Yes I truly believe and
have faith, that He died for my sins, so I don't have to
carry the burden of those wrong things that I do in
my life. But He really transformed me and how I treat
others, the poor, the marginalized, people who so
many don't give a damn about, people who don't like
me, people who hate me and my country that I
live in, my enemies. Jesus has changed me and
how I think of all these people and how I treat them.

All my life I have been different, some thought odd,
some put labels on me like liberal, agitator, hippie,
coward, and many other labels. And I know why!
It's because Jesus changed me, He transformed me.
That doesn't make right all the time, but it does
make me changed, and it does make me different.

I really love Jesus, and what's even more amazing is
that He loves me.  I guess that makes me who and
what I am. It certainly makes me different because
I have been transformed by the Savior of the world! I
believe that with all my being.

PEACE

Peace, peace, to those far and near,”
      says the LORD. “And I will heal them.”
Isaiah 57:19

 It’s easier to make peace with those far from us first,
and then turn to those closer to us.

Some of us carry around decades of resentment
toward the people closest to us, but can we overlook
a slight by a stranger? God is telling us to start by
making peace with those far from us – with the person
who cut you off on your morning drive, the rude cashier,
the irritable coworker. We can start by making peace
with those who are distant from us and next considering
those closest to us. With God’s help and healing, we
then will see peace in the world.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

(excerps from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein)

FULL OF VIRTUE

There was man who liked to appear to be
full of virtue. As the story goes, he once
said to Mark Twain, "Before I die, I'm going
to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  I
shall climb to the top of Mount Sinai and
read the Ten Commandments aloud!"  To
which Twain reportedly replied, "I have a
better idea!  Why don't you stay right at
home and keep them?"

(DO YOU?)

(The Staff and editors of Sunday Sermons Online)

ELECTION DAY

Election Day is quickly approaching. From the border
crisis to administrative action, immigration reform has
captured the nation’s attention this campaign season.
Unfortunately the human faces and substantive
questions of this issue are often lost among the
political barbs and relentless attacks. What is usually
missing from the debate over immigration policy is
any firsthand and honest understanding of those
suffering from the failures of our current system.

There are a few basic things Christians can do this
campaign season to enhance the debate. We should
refuse to accept talking points and push leaders to
answer our questions in depth. Few topics are simple
enough to be addressed by a 30-second sound bite.
It is also important that we raise the issues that matter
to us. Every candidate for federal office should
articulate where they stand on immigration reform
because this is one of the defining issues of our time.
Finally, our leaders need to be reminded that the faith
community is invested in this issue because of our
convictions about “welcoming the stranger.”

In a system that rarely puts people before politics, we
must do all we can to put the families caught up in our
broken system front and center this election season.

In faith,
The Sojourners Immigration Team

HIS MOTIVATION

Scripture:

(Jesus said) "Even as the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give His life
as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28

The Savior says He had been born into this world
to be a Servant. From His first breath in
Bethlehem's stable to that moment when
He gave up the ghost on Calvary's cross, Jesus
was motivated by a divine love for others.

In other words, Jesus considered your eternal
welfare to be of greater importance than His
temporal needs and desires. Winning your
forgiveness and salvation was what motivated His
daily life and took Him to the cross where He gave
His life as a ransom for many.

And now, in response to the Savior's love, believers
are given the opportunity to throw others a lifeline,
rather than cutting it.

(excerpt from Lutheran Hour Ministries)

THE COMPOSER

The world-renowned composer, Rudolph Friml, once
turned on the radio and was outraged to hear one of
his great compositions being used as background
music for a beer commercial. Immediately, he called
his manager and expressed his indignation over his
song being "vulgarized" in such a manner. "I demand
that you do something about this outrage at once,
" he bellowed. "But, maestro," the manager replied,
"I've been saving this as a surprise. I made a deal
with the beer company and you'll get at least fifty
thousand dollars for the rights." After a moment's
silence, the maestro offered, "Well, it does have a
nice ring to it!"

(DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR)

(The Staff and editors of Sunday Sermons Online)

FINISH WITH FAITH

Psalm 42

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
      Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
      for I will yet praise him,
      my Savior and my God. — Psalm 42:11

PLEASE REMEMBER

No matter what you may be facing today, be it a difficult
conversation with a family member, a serious medical
issue, or a gloomy financial outlook, we can pray like the
king of Judah did. Let’s say, “God, we have no power to
do it on our own. We do not know what to do, but our
eyes are on you.” Even when our faith falters, let us
return to this prayer and finish with faith.

"GOD, WE HAVE NO POWER TO DO IT ON OUR
OWN.  WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT OUR
EYES ARE ON YOU!"

THE BOOK OF LIFE

Scripture:

Inscribed in the Book of Life

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses
against you that I have set before you life and death,
blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you
and your children may live. — Deuteronomy 30:19


According to Jewish tradition, every night as we sleep,
our souls ascend to Heaven. There, we record what we
did that day and we sign our signature. We quite literally
inscribe ourselves in the Book of Life, or God forbid, for
the other.

Let’s live our lives in a way that we can be sure to be
inscribed for life. Let us write that we live each day with
faith and devotion. Let us write that we do our best to
make our lives count. Let us write that we choose God,
choose good – and that we most certainly choose life!

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein