God Wants Your List

“Love does not keep a record of wrongs.”

I Corinthians 13:5

Do you remember the story about the man who was bitten by the dog? When he learned the dog had rabies, he began making a list. The doctor told him there was no need to make a will, that the rabies could be cured. “Oh, I’m not making a will,” he replied. “I’m making a list of all the people I want to bite.”

Couldn’t we all make such a list? You’ve already learned, haven’t you, that friends aren’t always friendly? Neighbors aren’t always neighborly? Some workers never work, and some bosses are always bossy?

You’ve learned already, haven’t you, that a promise made is not always a promise kept? Even though they said “yes” on the altar, they may say “no” in the marriage.

You’ve already learned, haven’t you, that we tend to fight back? To keep lists and snarl lips and growl at people we don’t like?

God wants your list. He wants you to leave the list at the cross.

A Brief History Of Coffee

Myth has it that coffee was first discovered in or around the 9th century in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) by a young goatherd. He noticed that his goats liked to graze upon berries which seemed to have interesting side effects!

The goats jumped around seemingly full of energy and realising that the berries must have some magical property the young goatherd took some back to the village elders.

They boiled them with water and soon realised the stimulating potential of the brew. From this point on coffee plants were cultivated by man purely for their precious crop.

The Ethiopians traded with the Arabs and coffee spread eastwards. The Arabs jealously guarded the coffee plant and although they traded widely across the Islamic world all beans for export were boiled to prevent any chance of transplantation. However the Dutch managed to transplant some to Java (Indonesia) in late 1600's, and this was the catalyst for the worldwide growth of coffee cultivation. In the late 17th Century coffee came to the masses of Europe and the first coffee houses opened in Italy, Austria and England. Lloyds of London and the London Stock Exchange are just two of the key institutions whose roots can be traced back to a 17th Century coffee house.

By the 18th Century the French had introduced coffee cultivation to Martinique, and by the end of the century there were between 18 and 19 million coffee bushes firmly establishing Central America and South America as important coffee producers.

Today coffee is grown on five continents, is consumed worldwide, and is one of the most important commodities traded on the world markets.

A photo with Miss Harp...who's taller than me !

Check out the number of strings on it! I wonder how long does it take to tune it....
(According to the lady, she can do it in 10mins...woahhhh)

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines;
though the labor of the olive may fail,
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
and there be no herd in the stalls—

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

“You who fear the LORD, praise Him!”

Psalm 22:23

Worship humbles the smug and lifts the deflated.

Worship adjusts us, lowering the chin of the haughty, straightening the back of the burdened.

Worship properly positions the worshiper. And oh how we need it! We walk through life so bent out of shape. Five-talent folks swaggering: “I bet God’s glad to have me.” Two-talent folks struggling: “I bet God’s sick of putting up with me.” So sold on ourselves that we think someone died and just left us.

Treat both conditions with worship.

A Max Lucado devotional

“He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life,
righteousness, and honor.”

Proverbs 21:21

In our world, contentment is a strange street vendor, roaming, looking for a home, but seldom finding an open door. He moves slowly from house to house, knocking on doors, offering his wares: an hour of peace, a smile of acceptance, a sigh of relief. But his goods are seldom taken. We are too busy to be content.

“Not now, thank you. I’ve too much to do,” we say. “Too many marks to be made, too many achievements to be achieved…”

So the vendor moves on. When I asked him why so few welcomed him into their homes, his answer left me convicted. “I charge a high price, you know. My fee is steep. I ask people to trade in their schedules, frustrations, and anxieties. I demand that they put a torch to their fourteen-hour days and sleepless nights. You’d think I’d have more buyers.”

He scratched his beard, then added pensively, “But people seem strangely proud of their ulcers and headaches.”

from 'No Wonder They Call Him the Savior'
by Max Lucado