Author name: Tom Stuart

The best way to start a day

4 Comments / Growth & Development, Life Balance, Relationship with God /

“Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening.” Ecclesiastes 11:6 (NAS) The mother of all time management principles is summed up in this verse. It was penned nearly 3000 years ago by King Solomon, one of the wisest and most accomplished men who ever lived. History has confirmed the wisdom of these words and many similar sayings have worked their way into our everyday vocabulary since that time. “Make hay while the sun shines.” – John Heywood 1546. “The early bird gets the worm.” – John Ray 1670. “He who hesitates is lost.” – Joseph Addison 1713. And last but not least “Big rocks first!” popularized most recently by Steven Covey’s “first things first” principle.

What all these sayings have in common is this. Each new day dawns streaming with bright potential through windows of opportunity, but we must use it or we’ll lose it.

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Hope for New Years Resolutions

2 Comments / Growth & Development /

If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? In just days we mark the beginning of a New Year – 2011. It is an opportunity to script a new beginning and turn over a new leaf.

When I did a quick survey of a number of websites touting popular New Year’s resolutions I discovered they all fall into one of the following categories, listed here in no particular order . . .

One of the great theological treatises on the pitfalls and perils of new beginnings is the 1991 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray. It is the story of an arrogant, self-centered man named Phil who finds himself trapped in living the same day over and over and over again. Despite numerous resolutions, no matter how hard he tries he cannot turn over a new leaf on the calendar. Every morning Phil wakes up to the same song on the radio, meets the same people, faces the same problems and is confronted with the same decisions. Essentially he is sentenced to reliving the day until he finally has a change of heart that enables him to get it right.

The deep theological truth embedded in this movie is that an internal change is required for an external change to truly take effect.

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Do you know what Immanuel really means?

Relationship with God /

There is a Christmas sentimentality about the Immanuel – “God with us” promise that often belies or misrepresents its true meaning. The concept of God’s presence in our lives is both a complex and expansive topic. Doctrinal differences about God’s presence have spawned all the world’s religions and hundreds of different Christian denominations.

As we celebrate the birth of Immanuel it is imperative for us to understand what this promise of His presence really means. For clarity’s sake let us first consider two types of God’s presence that the Immanuel presence is NOT.

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It’s a Wonderful Life

3 Comments / Overcoming, Relationship with God /

Several years ago I started my sermon with a poll using our interactive audience responses system. I asked the question “All things considered, would you describe your life as ‘Wonderful?’” As I suspected I discovered that less than two thirds of the Bible believing Christians in attendance actually felt like they had a wonderful life. It was not a surprise to me because in preparing my message I found a similar poll of the general populace that indicated even less considered their life “wonderful.” That survey showed 94% of Americans admitting they needed something in particular to happen in their lives before they could be happy.
The mistake people make in determining they do not have a wonderful life is in thinking it depends upon outward circumstances. The fact of the matter is that everyone can have a wonderful life. That is because having a wonderful life is actually a matter of attitude and not accident, choice and not chance. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us the “time and chance” catches up with everyone. (Ecclesiastes 9:11) If having a happy and fulfilled life depended only on favorable conditions, a wonderful life would at best, remain an illusive dream for everyone.

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