Ron Jones went to church on Sunday morning. He heard the organist play an arrangement of “A Mighty Fortress is our God” and he thrilled to the majesty of it. He heard a young girl take a moment in the service to speak her simple moving message the difference her faith made in her life. He was glad to see the church was sharing in a special offering for the hungry children of Ethiopia. He especially appreciated the sermon that Sunday – it answered a question that had bothered him a long time. He felt a genuine warmth in the hearts of the people at worship and he thought as he walked out the door of the church, “How can a man come here and not feel the presence of God?”

BOTH men went to the SAME church on the SAME Sunday morning. Each found what he was looking for!

When he reached the usher, he removed his tattered old brown hat in respect. His hair was a long, dirty, tangled mess. He had no shoes on his feet, and wore only soiled, black socks.

The usher put his fingers to his nose and glared at the old man and said, “Ooh, I’m sorry sir, but I’m afraid we can’t let you in. You will distract the congregation and we don’t allow anyone to disrupt our service. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”

The old man looked down at himself and with a puzzled look on his face, he placed his old brown hat back upon his head and turned to leave. He was sad as he loved to hear the choir sing praises to the Lord. He loved to watch the little children get up in front of the church to sing their little songs. He carried in his pocket a small worn out Bible and loved to see if the minister preached a passage from the Bible that the old man had underlined. He was respectful enough and didn’t want to cause any commotion, so he hung down his head and walked back down the steps of the big brick church.

He sat down on the brick wall near the edge of the church yard and strained to listen through closed doors and windows to the singing going on in the church. Oh how he wished he could be inside with all the others. A few minutes had passed by when all of a sudden a younger man came up behind him and sat down near him. He asked the old man what he was doing.

He answered, “I was going to go to church today, but they thought I was filthy and my clothes are old and worn, and they were afraid I would disrupt their service. Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is George.”

The two gentlemen shook hands and George couldn’t help but notice that this man had long hair like his. He wore a piece of cloth draped over his body tied with a royal purple sash. He had sandals upon his feet, now covered with dust and dirt.

The stranger reached out to touch George’s shoulder and said, “Hello, George, don’t feel bad because they won’t let you in. My name is Jesus, and I’ve been trying to get into this same church for years, and they won’t let me in either.”

From the Fireproof’s official website: At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter…just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being “good enough” for her husband.

Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.

As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb’s father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: “The Love Dare.” Wondering if it’s even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father’s sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book’s daily challenges are tied into his parents’ newfound faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.

While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, “How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?”

When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And with God’s help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.

But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever…rescuing his wife’s heart.

My husband and I chose to watch the movie together. So one night we sat down with some popcorn to view this “much talked about” movie. We quickly discovered it was not the typical “popcorn” movie.

I found myself laughing a few times especially when Caleb takes his anger out on the garbage can with a baseball bat and his neighbor witnesses it.

I also found myself shedding a few tears and I think my husband did as well, especially when Caleb asked his father, “How is he supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects him?” and his father’s answer was like, “duh!” That was when the picture of Jesus being the bridegroom and we are the bride and how the relationship we have with him is like a marriage was made more real to me than it had ever been.

The whole movie not only made me want to improve my relationship with my husband but also my relationship with Jesus.

Along with the movie, most bookstores are selling the “Love Dare Devotional” Book. This is the same principal as the one that Caleb’s father gave him and “dared” him to use it to improve his relationship with his wife. My husband and I chose to do the 40 days of devotions together, more as a study as there was a lot of additional reading on love and relationships.

In the movie, one person did the dare while the other person was not aware of what or why he or she was doing it. Doing the dares together with my husband was actually more challenging as we committed in the beginning to not spend any money doing the dares. Plus since you knew the partner was also doing the same dare, it was interesting to see how different our dares could be.

Not to reveal the end of the movie or the end of the devotional but on on day 40, the dare is to renew your wedding vows. And Lou and I have committed to do so as well. Actully I’ve wanted to do this for 2 years when we hit the big “25” years but Lou didn’t get the hint. I guess it took this movie and devotion to realize I can’t expect him to read my mind.

I think renewing our vows will become a yearly tradition, not necessarily with the whole “pomp and circumstances” of doing with a church and guests but just the vows between us as husband and wife. It’s no different than taking a shower each day to wash off the dirt you might acquire going through the previous day. We can gain “dirt” in our marriage as well and renewing the vows will refresh our marriage every year.

In my opinion, THUMBS UP! This is a movie all married people should watch, not just those going through tough times, but even those that have happy marriages. This movie should also be a requirement for premarital couples as well. I may even start giving it as a wedding/shower gift.

If you have watched the movie and want to make a comment, visit our website at
www.readthewell.com or write to the editor. We may print your comment in the next issue.

Do you have a movie or book that you would like to review? Contact our office for more information.

Address: Ephesians 1:20
Phone: Romans 10:13
Website: The Bible. Keywords: Christ, Lord, Savior and Jesus

Hello.  My name is Jesus – The Christ.  Many call me Lord!  I’ve sent you my resume because I’m seeking the top management position in your heart.  Please consider my accomplishments as set forth in my resume.

Qualifications

Occupational Background

Skills Work Experiences

Educational Background

Major Accomplishments

There are many more major accomplishments, too many to mention here. You can read them on my website, which is the Bible. You don’t need an Internet connection or computer to access my website.

References

Believers and followers worldwide will testify to my divine healings, salvation, deliverance, miracles, restoration and supernatural guidance

In Summation

Now that you’ve read my resume, I’m confident that I’m the only candidate uniquely qualified to fill this vital position in your heart. In summation, I will properly direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6), and lead you into everlasting life (John 6:47). When can I start? Time is of the essence  (Hebrews 3:15).

Please forward my resume, you never know who may have an opening!

Thanks for your help and may God bless you!

I didn’t get a chance to ask him if they believe that Jesus really died on the cross.

Our whole belief and basis of Christianity is that we believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

What do you have to stand on if you don’t believe the Bible is the direct Word of God?

So I’m curious, do you believe the Bible is the actual Word of God or do you believe the Bible is a book of stories?

Solutions for the Excuses:

I have often wondered why people go to church. What is it that they expect to happen while they are there? Do they go for the social hour? Do they go to see what God will do for them? Do they go because they think it will affect their eternal salvation, like punching a time clock? Or do they just go because they enjoy the music or the preacher’s message?

One of the first things we should do after becoming a Christian is to get into a fellowship of believers who want to learn more about God and the Bible. Often this is emphasized for new believers but truthfully, this doesn’t change whether you are a new Christian or one that’s been around for many, many years.

Hebrews 10:25 NIV states “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…” This verse means we are to fellowship with other Christians, not be like the ones who have given up going to church for whatever excuse. God commands us to do this in order to encourage, build up and edify the Body of Christ. You might even call it a weekly “pep rally” such as the kind schools have just before a “big” sports game. And you could definitely say our big game is the game of life preparing us for that final “big” Day.

I’m not saying that you couldn’t worship or pray or even study the Bible at home alone. I’m also not saying that you can’t learn or receive from watching the televangelist on TV.

This Scripture is more intended to mean that we should come together as a group of believers, on a regular basis, for worship, prayer, teaching, and building relationships, being accountable to a Spiritual Leader, so we can remain strong in the Lord and in our faith. It goes further to say that we are expected to bring something with us to share with others so we can edify, encourage and lift them up for the same reasons.

The church doesn’t have to meet on Sunday mornings. Nor does it have to be in a building with pews, a sanctuary, or a steeple. The church can meet in a home. It can meet in a park. I’ve learned that it can even meet in Panera Bread or Wendy’s. It’s not about attending the place where your parents raised you or where you have attended your whole life. The church is not about the
building but about the people who attend, the assembling of ourselves together, for one common reason, to encourage one another. It’s not about what you get out of being there but what you can give.

Hebrews 10:24 The Message: “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out…spurring each other on.” Assembling together on a regular basis encourages us and makes us stronger Christians. Strong Christians are also typically faithful in their attendance.

Unfortunately, Christians who are unable to attend due to circumstances beyone their control, struggle to stay strong, and some of them even fall away. It’s like burning ember in a fire. If you pull away one of the embers it will eventually grow cold and burn out. But if it stays within the body of burning embers it will keep hot and stay lit.

Jesus “purchased the church with His own blood.” Acts 20:28 Since the church of God was important enough for Jesus to shed His blood for it, it should be important to do whatever it takes to be there.

Find a church you feel at home. If you’re not at one right now, keep looking until you find the right one. Don’t give up as some are in the habit of doing.

One of the things I’ve been saying alot lately is that if I didn’t have God in my life I don’t think I could have made it through each day. I wonder how people that don’t have that personal relationship with God can survive all the trials that life brings us. I have definitely had some “valley” experiences lately. Recently I shared with someone this statement I had heard: “without valleys there would not be any mountains.”

It has been said many times that these trials make us stronger, that there is always a reason we go through these things, that we can turn this test into a testimony. Well, when you are going through the fire, you don’t usually see anything but flames. Remember that God is the Master Chef and he will take the creation out of the oven before it gets burnt to a crisp.

Through this recent time of trials the realization of why we NEED Jesus in our lives brought a song to my heart and eventually ended up on paper. And actually Chalice has started singing it. “That’s Why We Need Jesus” has a catchy Southern Gospel sound. It may never hit “gold” status but it has a lot of “gold” in it because it sure speaks of many reasons we do need God in our lives. My only desire is that someone who is going through one of those situations might hear why they need Jesus in their life and let Him help them through the valley they are in, just as He has for me. Look for Chalice recording this song sometime this summer to be released at the Gospel Sing at Renzie Park on September 12th.

As to this issue, it’s filled with good stories as usual.

This issue has taken a theme about attending church and the reasons why we go.

If you are a faithful attender, it might give you additional insight as to why some people attend church or don’t attend. Maybe you can reach out and invite someone to church this Sunday.

Blessings,
Kris