Phones in Church

Sorry, but I couldn't resist sharing this one….

A man in NYC decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there. Going to a very large   
church, he began taking photographs and making notes. 

He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign which read: "Calls: $10,000 a minute."  Seeking out the preacher, he asked about the phone and the sign.
  
The preacher answered that this golden phone was, in fact, a direct line to heaven and if he paid the price, he could talk directly to GOD.

The man thanked the preacher and went on his way.  As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more phones, each with the same sign, and always the same answer from each preacher.

Finally, he arrived in Georgia, and upon entering a church in Valdosta, behold--he saw the usual golden telephone.  But this time, the sign read: "Calls: 35 cents." 
  
Fascinated, he asked to talk to the preacher.  "Preacher, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found the golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to GOD, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call. Why?"
 
The preacher, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in the South now. This is God's Country.  It's a local call."

Take a Look Around

From the Preacher's Desk:

The arrival of a new year means different things to different people. With each passing day, there are things about the past we would rather have avoided, as well as things we wish could have been prolonged. Accordingly, some will cling to the past with longing, and others will eagerly immerse themselves in what is to come.

However 2008 treated you (or how you treated 2008), the time has come to take a look at 2009. A new year with new opportunities and new challenges awaits us. If it is anything like 2008, it will be a busy year. At some point we need to ask: are we ready for this year? One of the best ways to know is simply to stop and look around us.

Look behind and what do you see? It has been well stated that those who fail to take note of history and doomed to repeat it (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11). Whatever the past, it has brought you to where you are and made you who you are today. Most importantly, there are lessons to be learned to help make us who we need to be tomorrow. Have we set goals in the past andreached them? Let us make note of what made the difference. Where have we failed? Let us learn and move ahead.

Look forward and what do you see? Basically, there are three outlooks of the future. There are those who look at the future with dread, fearing those things that are to come. Others look at the future hoping to maintain the status quo. Others still are anticipating that good things can and will be accomplished. Whatever your outlook of the future, there is one thing assured: you cannot avoid it! For the child of God, the future should be filled with preparation for that which is to be the Christian's ultimate reward.

Look to the side and what do you see? Occasionally we sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers!" As we enter into spiritual battle, who will be beside us? Do we strive to keep Christ as our side? Too many want to keep Jesus in a backpack or a glove box, close at hand if needed, but not letting Him be seen or heard otherwise. Are our closest companions striving to enter heaven as diligently as we are? Can we truly depend on those who surround us? Do we truly believe that the words of Paul apply to us, or are they only reserved for our young people? "Be not deceived: evil companionships corrupt good morals" (1 Corinthians 13:33).

Look down and what do you see? Peter speaks of Jesus himself as being a stone of stumbling to those who are disobedient (1 Peter 2:8). Are you confident of the path down which you are travelling? How frightening is the description Jesus gives of the hypocrites who were as the blind being led by the blind (Matthew 15:14). Can you trust the one who is leading you? The way before us needs to be well planned (John 14:6) and well lit (Psalm 119:105). How sure is your footing?

Look under and what do you see? You will surely recall the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:15: "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Is there something we are attempting to hide? On the one hand, perhaps our "little Christian light" is not being displayed as prominently as it should. On the other hand, is there sin in our lives we are trying to conceal? Regardless, is God receiving the glory that is due Him?

Finally, look up and what do you see? As we head into this New Year, above all, let it be a year of prayer. You may have noticed signs in construction zones warning the workers of overhead power lines. Have you thought of the irony of the need to warn the professionals of such a seemingly obvious danger? And yet, are we not the "professionals" in God's service? Are Christians not the ones who should know better and not to forget that which should be obvious? Despite that knowledge, far too many Christians will forget to "look up." When a construction worker fails to look up, the results can be catastrophic. How else would you describe the end of a Christian who forgets to do the same? Let 1 Thessalonians 5:17 be a motto to us.

There is no reason at all that 2009 should not be counted as a great year. Without doubt, it will be much greater if we as God's servants will take a good look around us.

"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14).