Dear Matt and Friends at South Whidbey Assembly of God,
Thank you for honoring the Good Cheer staff and volunteers with your spectacular evening of fine food and appreciation. From the moment we walked in, we knew it would be a special evening. The warmth brought out by the festive table decorations was so welcoming. The whole evening was so well planned and the joy of service was evident in all of the folks who volunteered that evening.
The evening held so many special moments from the presentation of the plaque from Norma Smith and Helen Price Johnson to the wonderful food. The coffee bar was a big hit on such a wintery night. We appreciated being able to participate with our program while you took care of all the details for the dinner.
Our staff and volunteers work hard every day to bring a better tomorrow to the South Whidbey community. We try to say thank you every time someone volunteers but we are not always successful. What is great about an evening like you put on for us is twofold. One, we get to say thank you in a very joyful way. Two, our volunteers get to see others who they had no idea were working towards the same goal. Many of our volunteers only know their small part of the whole. Saturday helped to bring our organization together in a way that is challenging on a regular basis.
In light of the tragedy that occurred Friday, Saturday became even more meaningful in that we were reminded to look for the helpers as Mr. Roger’s mother advised him to do. We found these helpers within our own ranks and within the beauty of your congregation. Evenings like Saturday remind us of how compassionate we are as a community.
May this Christmas season reveal more miracles that come from our kind-hearted community. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!
With Gratitude,
Kathy McCabe
Executive Director
Board of Directors
Jay Ryan
President
Board of Directors
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Live for Him who died for you!
It is always perplexing how selfishness and self-centeredness creeps into people’s lives. It is like the saber tooth tiger that Fred Flintstone put out the door every night only to have it jump back in the window or the cat at your house that every time the door opens it tries to get in the house and has to be hssss-ed away. No matter how many times selfishness is put to rest, it comes back to life. Self-centeredness seems to have more lives than the nine lives that a cat supposedly has.
Paul challenged the followers of Jesus in Corinth concerning who we live for. He wrote:
Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us. (2 Corinthians 5:15 CEV)
Jesus died so that we would not live self-centered, selfish lives any longer. Jesus died and rose from the dead so that we would live for Him.
Followers of Jesus are sometimes referred to as ‘believers’. That is what a follower of Jesus is but … a follower of Jesus is much more than that. Without faith it is impossible to please God, yet faith without action is dead. (Hebrews 11 and James 2) The action that true faith requires and produces is ‘live for Him’ action.
True faith is seen in the action that Jesus would have taken. True faith is not seen in the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ or ‘WWJD’ movement from a few years ago. The problem with the WWJD movement was it was a bracelet worn on the arm but not action lived towards Jesus, neighbors, enemies or strangers.
‘I believe!’ … is not enough. The Scriptures call for ‘I believe’ and ‘I no longer live for me but I live for Him.’
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NLT)
Live for Him – There is no one else to live for!
Paul challenged the followers of Jesus in Corinth concerning who we live for. He wrote:
Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us. (2 Corinthians 5:15 CEV)
Jesus died so that we would not live self-centered, selfish lives any longer. Jesus died and rose from the dead so that we would live for Him.
Followers of Jesus are sometimes referred to as ‘believers’. That is what a follower of Jesus is but … a follower of Jesus is much more than that. Without faith it is impossible to please God, yet faith without action is dead. (Hebrews 11 and James 2) The action that true faith requires and produces is ‘live for Him’ action.
True faith is seen in the action that Jesus would have taken. True faith is not seen in the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ or ‘WWJD’ movement from a few years ago. The problem with the WWJD movement was it was a bracelet worn on the arm but not action lived towards Jesus, neighbors, enemies or strangers.
‘I believe!’ … is not enough. The Scriptures call for ‘I believe’ and ‘I no longer live for me but I live for Him.’
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NLT)
Live for Him – There is no one else to live for!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Jesus - Don't you want to know more about Him?
As Christmas approaches, newspapers, magazines and blogs will spend considerable time discussing the facts of the Christmas Story. In November, US News and World Report published a book on The Real Jesus. Fox News says: Jesus was part of a blended family. CNN reports: Pope's book on Jesus debunks Christmas myths.
The people, places, exact dates and details will be dissected and discussed. Every Christmas and Easter Jesus gets time and attention in very public ways in the media and discussions. Some see this as an attack on Jesus and Christianity – maybe it is. I think there is another interesting side to all the talk about Jesus.
I find it interesting that after more than 2000 years Jesus is the only figure in history that gets regular press. Who else gets the press that Jesus gets? Who even comes in a close second?
In the Encyclopedia Britannica, Jesus gets over 21,000 words dedicated to him. There are over 17,000 books about Jesus in the Library of Congress. No subject has even half that number of books dedicated to it in the Library of Congress.
In 1978 Michael H. Hart wrote a book entitled: The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. The book sold 500,000 copies and has been translated into 15 languages. The book was very controversial because it listed Muhammad as the most influential person in history. Jesus was actually listed as number three by him. In the introduction of the book he defended his choice of Muhammad saying: “… my ranking of Muhammad higher than Jesus, is in large part because of my belief that Muhammad had a much greater influence on the foundation of the Moslem religion than Jesus had on the formulation of the Christian religion. This does not imply, of course, that I think that Muhammad was greater than Jesus.” (Emphasis mine.)
Notice the last line by Michael Hart: “This does not imply, of course, that I think that Muhammad was greater than Jesus.” Since, for most people, the obvious choice for the most influential person of all time would be Jesus, he has to take time to defend why he would list Muhammad as number one. He has to defend the reason for Jesus not being listed as number one. It is interesting that his book is translated into 15 languages and the Bible has been translated into over 2,200 languages.
Who is there in all of history that compares with Jesus who was called Immanuel God with us! Don’t you want to know more about Jesus?
The people, places, exact dates and details will be dissected and discussed. Every Christmas and Easter Jesus gets time and attention in very public ways in the media and discussions. Some see this as an attack on Jesus and Christianity – maybe it is. I think there is another interesting side to all the talk about Jesus.
I find it interesting that after more than 2000 years Jesus is the only figure in history that gets regular press. Who else gets the press that Jesus gets? Who even comes in a close second?
In the Encyclopedia Britannica, Jesus gets over 21,000 words dedicated to him. There are over 17,000 books about Jesus in the Library of Congress. No subject has even half that number of books dedicated to it in the Library of Congress.
In 1978 Michael H. Hart wrote a book entitled: The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. The book sold 500,000 copies and has been translated into 15 languages. The book was very controversial because it listed Muhammad as the most influential person in history. Jesus was actually listed as number three by him. In the introduction of the book he defended his choice of Muhammad saying: “… my ranking of Muhammad higher than Jesus, is in large part because of my belief that Muhammad had a much greater influence on the foundation of the Moslem religion than Jesus had on the formulation of the Christian religion. This does not imply, of course, that I think that Muhammad was greater than Jesus.” (Emphasis mine.)
Notice the last line by Michael Hart: “This does not imply, of course, that I think that Muhammad was greater than Jesus.” Since, for most people, the obvious choice for the most influential person of all time would be Jesus, he has to take time to defend why he would list Muhammad as number one. He has to defend the reason for Jesus not being listed as number one. It is interesting that his book is translated into 15 languages and the Bible has been translated into over 2,200 languages.
Who is there in all of history that compares with Jesus who was called Immanuel God with us! Don’t you want to know more about Jesus?
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