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Posted on July 8, 2011 by Mike Benson

I JUST SPENT $43.87 at the dollar store…
How could I spend so much money at a place where things cost only one dollar? I went in to buy paper cups and craft sticks for a church project and Spanish moss if they had any pretty gift bags.
Turns out the store had all of these things — and much more. Like this cool nail file that has green sparkly flowers on one side. Paper towels, sunglasses, a magazine that’s only slightly out-of-date. Chewing gum. I even found a darling yellow hat for my granddaughter. And this purple pill organizer that lets me put all my supplements for the week in one place.
Wait. I’m beginning to see how I could spend $43.87 at the dollar store. I did it one dollar at a time.
Little things tend to add up. A cookie here, some ice cream there — a pair of jeans that won’t zip. A week too busy for devotional reading, a day so crowded that there’s no time for exercise, an evening when one TV show turns into hours spent staring at the tube — then I wonder why I’m feeling sluggish, physically and spiritually.
But it works in a positive way too. One little act of kindness, one smile at a hassled clerk, one card sent to brighten someone’s day — and the world doesn’t seem as hostile, as hopeless. So here’s to little things. Well managed, they can have big results. Mary Lou Carney
KneEmail: “For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?” Genesis 30.30
Bible reading for 07.06.11: Acts 14; Job 32, 33
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Compare

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Mike Benson

WHEN WE COMPARE ourselves with others, we actually inhibit ourselves from becoming who God wants us to be…
He gives gifts to us (Romans 11.29) and each of us has something to contribute.
I do not guage myself and my actions by other people’s gifts, but by the gifts God has given to me. Steve Prokopchak, Counseling Basics, 26
KneEmail: 3 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himselfmore highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy,let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12.3-8
Bible reading for 05.11.11: John 2; 2 Kings 10-12
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Choke

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Mike Benson

WHEN I WAS 16, I was an accomplished junior golfer…
I had played in many tournaments throughout my home state as well as in the United States Junior Amateur. My goal in life was to play professional golf.
At one point, I participated in a state-level tournament and was favored to win. However, although I played well early on, I choked in the last round and ended up well behind the leaders. I was devasted.
I came home and broke down in from of my mother. She consoled me, which is what mothers do. I realize now that I didn’t really need a mother’s tender consolation. I needed a hard-nosed coach to yank me out of my trough of self-pity and say, “Every competitor goes through failure! Learn a lesson from it and keep going!”
Because I didin’t have that kind of coaching, I didn’t know that getting nervous and tense during a competition was a common affliction in competitive sports. I didin’t know that I could overcome it. Instead, that one failure made me see myself as a failure–someone who couldn’t handle the heat of competition.
I played in other tournaments and often jumped out to an early lead, only to tighten up and fall back in the pack as the pressure mounted. My self-esteen was based on my performance–and I was performing terribly! I went on to land a scholarship and become a club professional for three years, but I never fulfilled my potential as a golfer.
Years later, I learned to loosen up, have fun and let go of the tension–and I won a local club championship. If I had learned that lesson earlier in life, who knows how far I might have gone as a golfer.
THOUGHT: Failure hurts. Whether you fail in marriage, business or golf, failure undermines your self-esteem as few other experiences can. But failure isn’t the final word on your life. It’s just one of the raw ingredients God uses to manufacture success. Os Hillman, “Confronting the Fear of Failure,” The Upside of Adversity, 194-195
KneEmail: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3.13-14
Bible reading for 04.25.11: Luke 18.24-43; 2 Samuel 21, 22
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Being

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Mike Benson

AS CONGREGATIONS, WE have tried about everything…
…meetings, lectures, Vacation Bible Schools, “Operation Doorbell,” city-wide campaigns, television and radio programs, bus ministries, building buildings, and hiring preachers with sex-appeal. Some have even followed cultic schemes of “discipling” and instituted unscriptural tactics of evangelism. Many have thought that growth comes naturally, or that, through the employment of slick media methods or “get if for you wholesale” tactics, the noble purpose of the Lord could be realized. Now the time has come, having tried every modern method known to man and having imitated the “numbers-mad” denominations, to read the Lord’s instructions! “When all else fails,” they said, “read the instructions!”
Here comes our Lord giving us the very specific and powerful means to penetrate the world: 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.13-16).
Jesus considered the way to penetrate the world was with light and salt. These two avenues, He says, are a demonstration of the most powerful and overwhelming arguments for Truth: a good life, a life full of good works. Good Christians, living a good life and doing good works before men, penetrate the world! Along with this, someone has said that there are five powerful things in the world. The fifth most powerful thing is an idea. The fourth most powerful thing is an idea that is true. The third most powerful thing is the truth of God’s Word. The second most powerful thing is the truth of God believed. But the most powerful thing in the world is the truth of the Living God believed and put into practice!
For too long, we have been salting ourselves. We have been lighting the church. The Lord says salt and light are no good unless they get out into society, into the world, where lost men and women live and die. Salt penetrates the food, preserves the food. Light penetrates the darkness. Leaven penetrates the bread to make it rise and good to eat.
This is our Lord’s way of telling us that every member of the body of Christ is to be involved in soul-winning, penetrating the world. We can all live good lives. We can all do good works before men so that they can glorify and know our Father in heaven. He calls us all, not only to be busy doing something, but to be busy being something. Mac Layton, “Jesus’ Supreme Goal: Great Outreach,” How to Build a Great Church, 113-114
KneEmail: Matthew 5.13-16
Bible reading for 02.15.11: Matthew 27.27-66; Leviticus 17-19
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Envy

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Mike Benson

V. P. BLACK MADE the following observation…
“When David went against the Philistines and defeated them he returned home. The women came out of the cities of Israel singing and dancing and saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, but David has slain his ten thousands.’ When Saul heard the first part of the song, his heart was lifted up with pride, for they were singing, ‘Saul has slain his thousands.’ But there was a second stanza. The first stanza was no doubt the sweetest music that Saul had ever heard. He got ready for the second stanza, and the second stanza went like this, ‘But David has slain his ten thousands.’ From that day forward Saul began to envy David.”
What a great team Saul and David could have been. However, envy got into the way.
THOUGHT: Let’s be sure that we don’t let the second stanza ruin our song. Wade L. Webster, “The Second Stanza,” Riches From My Reading — The Searcher, Sept. 19, 2010
KneEmail: “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” Proverbs 27:4
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Fragrance

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Mike Benson

BE A FRAGRANT aroma…
Perfume short-circuits the intellect and captures the heart. Influence nonbelievers like perfume influences you! We’re talking about something aesthetically pleasing. The “redemptive neighbor” is winsome. He has a distinctive, attractive fragrance which stands out from the aromas of this world. He’s the aroma of life to those who believe, and the aroma of death to those who reject Christ. The only essence that captures attention comes from the Father. We’re to be God-scented people! Joseph C. Aldrich, “Seeing is Believing,” Gentle Persuasion, 55-56
KneEmail: “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death, and to the other the aroma of life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16
Bible reading for 08.30.10: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16; Psalm 129-131
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Correction

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Mike Benson

THERE ARE TWO distinct ways of seeing a person’s faults: conviction and condemnation…
God convicts of sin, whereas Satan condemns. The divine purpose in addressing sin is to call us to repent so that we will become the people He created us to be. God’s motive in correcting us is pure love. But Satan’s motive in addressing our flaws is pure hate. The demonic intent is to produce despair, self-condemnation, and self-hatred because Satan’s goal is to decimate, destroy, and kill.
When we’re trying to persuade a person who is sinning to do what is right, our purpose must be like God’s. We must never correct in a way that reflects judgmental harshness, leading to despair and discouragement of condemnation. The motive of the heart must be: “I love you too much to see you do this. I want God’s best for you. Please repent before it’s too late.” Rebecca Manley Pippert, “Meekness: The Remedy for Anger,” A Heart for God, 185
KneEmail: “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” Galatians 6:1
Bible reading for 06.28.10: Acts 9:1-21; Job 11-13
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Game

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Mike Benson

images (1).jpg ONE DAY, MY husband and I took up racquetball…
Knowing I needed the exercise, I also ventured into the little box that was the court. It seemed a trifle small for the two of us, but it was fun. Having played tennis years ago, in the days of my youth, I managed quite well. However, being thoroughly out of shape, I found myself running furiously in every direction for about twenty minutes and then suddenly collapsing in a whimpering heap in a corner of the court.
My experience reminded me of many Christians. Starting off with great enthusiasm, they leap frantically around, chasing the ball and running themselves into the ground, ending up beaten in a short span of time. This is not the way to play the game. Watch an expert racquetball player, and you see he paces himself well, knowing just where to put his feet. He even finishes a vigorous game with steps left over. The idea is to plod with God, rather than to race through space. Jill Briscoe, “The Other Side of Redemption,” Here Am I, Lord…Send Somebody Else!, 79-80
KneEmail: “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Bible reading for 06.03.10: John 13:21-38; 2 Chronicles 19, 20
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One

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Mike Benson

WATCH THE POWER of one…
One good Samaritan rescued a wounded man on the Jericho Road. cf., Luke 10
One aged man (Noah) was instrumental in saving mankind from extinction. cf., Genesis 6; Hebrews 11:7
One man (Moses) who felt unqualified confronted a Pharaoh and led the Exodus. cf., Exodus 3
One woman (Esther) broke longstanding tradition, walked into the king’s throne room and saved an entire nation from genoside. cf., Esther 4
One boy (David) faced a nine-foot giant and saved the Israelites from slavery. cf., 1 Samuel 17
One boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish fed thousands. cf., John 6
One slave girl was instrumental in healing a world military leader. cf., 2 Kings 5
One vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England in 1645.
One vote gave America the English instead of German language in 1776.
One vote saved Andrew Jackson from impreachment in 1868.
One vote gave Adolf Hitler control of the Nazi party in 1941.
KneEmail: “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11
Bible reading for 04.14.10: Luke 12:32-59; 1 Samuel 25-26
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Translator

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Mike Benson

IN A SERIES of very difficult technical reviews conducted in a foreign country, the company representatives with whom I was meeting became extremely upset about the products from my company…
I had a translator for the meeting, hired from an outside firm. I had asked him to translate the words exactly, and with the same emotion as they were spoken.
Unhappy with my reply to a question, an engineer across from me began to speak with great emotion. My translater looked at me with sad eyes, told me he was sorry, and then began to deliver a translation filled with wrath and anger directed solely at me. When he finished, he apologized for the verbal beating. I thanked him for his kind work, for he only reflected the speaker, as I had asked. He was just the instrument.
THOUGHT: We reflect the image of our Lord. We are the translators of God’s Word to those who do not pick up a Bible. Others can see Christ in us and He will be glorified. There is no need to apologize when the translation of our life reflects the Word of God. Pete Nash
KneEmail: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
Bible reading for 02.01.10: Matthew 21:1-22; Exodus 27, 28
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Category Archives: Christian Living

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