Because of Jesus I am of power.  With the promise of eternity in mind what can I possibly lose? 

It is given to me to be forgiving and I gladly take the mantle.  It is given to me to stand in the face of wickedness to protect the weak.  Let them rail at me for I am of strength.

Come you bloodthirsty hounds of hell.  Set your beady eyes on this one.  Satisfy you are violent nature on this one.  And leave these poor wretches alone.

I am of strength for the sake of my God! 

We often think far to lowly of ourselves.  And considering the glory of God, I would make no attempt to take that away.  But have you given consideration to what we are?

What God is doing from this place is to glorify His Son.  In all of eternity it has never happened before and will never happen again!  For all eternity we will be known as the people of Christ Jesus. 

The word epic comes to mind.  But what word for thought can do justice to what God has done in this place of testing?  Forever we will be living testimonies to the Father’s love for his righteous Son.

What is to be said among men?  Who is best?  His Son is first.

Why did you clamor among one another for the sake of position?  Where is first place among you?  Should you reach it pride will blind you.  How would you know you have arrived?

Humility before the Lord is what is good among men.  But pride will never find its place before the throne of the Lord.  The world seeks to be first, but there is One who was before. 

They say he ran a carnival, he used to come to town
‘Til one September afternoon he shut it down
They tell me something happened, some say he lost his mind
Now most September afternoons this is what you’ll find
An old man on the corner where he used to sell his show
Now he shouts what sounds like foolishness
As the people come and go

CHORUS:
New lives for old
Warm hearts for cold
Have I got a deal for you today
C’mon, step right this way
And get your new lives for old

He puts it in the paper, he goes from door to door
The people say he’s such a fool to come back for more
Old friends are mostly puzzled, they don’t know what to say
Cause ever since that afternoon he’s just been that way
It’s like the old man died and someone came to take his place
Now he just stands out there bellowin’
A smile upon his wrinkled face

Repeat CHORUS

Remembering the story as I once passed through that town
I thought I ought to stop and see if he’s still around
There was someone on that corner where I heard he’d always stand
And he chuckled when I asked where I could find the man
He said “Thank God that crazy fool finally died last spring”
And I said “I’ll take up where he left off then
‘Cause I’m pushing the same thing”

By Wayne Watson

The brilliant red sunset behind me tells me something of great importance.  The Spirit speaks loudly.  Who is listening?

“At the end of the day there is fire”!

Be useful today:  encourage a sinner to wake up. 

The vital today:  encourage a Christian to hold on.

The indispensable today:  make sure your leaders in Christ know they are loved.