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Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter

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Heart of the Matter--Wood Christmas carving with a red T to represent a crossMost of the time, we want people to get to the heart of the matter. Quit beating around the bush. Stop wasting our time. Cut to the chase.

The heart of the matter refers to what is most important.

It is the:

  • Main point
  • Central issue
  • Primary problem

We require our physical hearts to live and function. Likewise, we focus on the heart of the matter to be most effective.

To deal with a situation, we must address it.

Dillydallying does no good. If a problem exists, work on it. If people do a good job, tell them. Concentrate on what matters most.

The cross is the heart of the matter in Christmas.

We love to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Yet, our music, gifts, and decorations mean nothing if we forget why Jesus came. We must look beyond the manger to the cross.

The Savior of the world came into our world to save us from our sins.

The Christmas message finds fulfillment at Easter. Jesus:

  • Lived a sinless life
  • Gave his life for our sins
  • Rose from the grave in victory over sin and death

Will you give your life to the one who loves you that much?

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11 ESV).

Thanks to Beckham Wilson for the suggestion.

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Filled to the Brim

Filled to the Brim

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Filled to the Brim-Coffee pot filling a Christmas coffee mug to the topThis time of year, our lives become filled to the brim. That can be both good and bad.

Filled to the brim means completely full.

We have no room left for anything else. Our cups run over.

Christmas often results in:

  • Activities that crowd every minute
  • More food than we can possibly eat
  • Music, lights, and decorations that leave us in awe

All that overflow results in emotional highs and lows.

  • We love time with friends and family. Yet, we need quiet moments too.
  • The food tastes wonderful. But overeating leaves us sluggish and makes our tummies hurt.
  • Sights and sounds lift our spirits. However, they eventually leave us exhausted.

Filled to the brim also means totally satisfied.

We frequently search for satisfaction in things and activities. Yet, they always fall short.

True satisfaction comes only through a relationship with Jesus.  

Jesus:

  • Came to earth as a baby
  • Lived a perfect life
  • Gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins
  • Rose from the grave in victory over sin and death
  • Offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who accept Him as Savior and Lord

That, my friend, is a filled-to-the-brim life.

And that is what Christmas is all about.

“Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim” (John 2:7 NIV).

Thanks to Tracy Crump for the suggestion.

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Look Like a Million Bucks

Look Like a Million Bucks

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Look Like a Million Bucks--two older womenMom and Aunt Ersie always wanted to look like a million bucks. On their worst days, they still liked to look good. At Aunt Ersie’s eightieth birthday celebration, they certainly achieved their goal.

If we look like a million bucks, we look great.

A million bucks means a million dollars. That’s looking good! An attractive appearance, like we just stepped out of a band box, usually makes us feel better. Try it.

If we feel like a million bucks, we feel great.

Other steps for a happy and healthy life include:

  • Exercise
  • A balanced diet
  • Plenty of water
  • A regular sleep schedule

Positive thoughts help us look and feel better.

Likewise, negative thoughts lead to negative appearances and emotions. For the best life, avoid stinking thinking.

We never want to look like a million bucks but treat others poorly.

Remember, pretty is as pretty does.

God gives us worth and beauty.

We are all different, but God loves every one of us. That’s worth more than a million bucks!

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV).

Thanks to Margaret Jane Cleasby for the suggestion.

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On Pins and Needles

On Pins and Needles

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On Pins and Needles--pin cushion with pens, needles, and threadHave you ever been on pins and needles?

Physically, our hands or feet may become numb. When we move them, a feeling like pins and needles runs through them. That tingle results from the blood returning.

On pins and needles emotionally means nervous or anxious.

We get tense.

That often occurs when we wait for results such as:

  • School exams
  • Medical tests
  • Job applications

We wonder what will happen.

Few of us like uncertainty, so we tie ourselves in knots while we wait for the next shoe to drop. An unknown often makes us more nervous than a known problem.

Anniversaries of difficult times also make us anxious.

  • The death of a loved one
  • A family tragedy
  • Accidents

This expression occasionally appears as sitting on pins and needles.

The meaning remains the same.

God offers the best cure for uncertainty.

Rather than pins and needles, God provides peace and rest.

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3 NIV).

Thanks to Laura Lee Leathers for the suggestion.

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Do or Die

Do or Die

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Do or Die-little girl using chairs and stools to reach cabinet topHave you watched people fight to succeed when failure seemed certain? Their final effort is do or die. This little one was determined to get to her uncle’s chewing gum. She succeeded with her extra effort.

Do or die means we give our best to succeed and avoid failure.

We keep on keeping on despite:

  • Difficulties
  • Danger
  • Death

We refuse to give up.

Do or die also means our last chance.

  • Ballgames hinge on the last play.
  • Companies depend on end-of-year sales to stay in business.
  • Relationships rely on a final effort to stay together.

Results rest on our willingness to do our best.

We cannot depend on:

  • Past success
  • Reputation
  • Other people

Like the little girl above, let’s refuse to give up.

We all face hard times. That’s life. Turn to Jesus who helps us through every challenge and every storm.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26 NIV).

Thanks to Chris J. Beam for the suggestion and to Debbie Tapscott for the photo.

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Chasing Squirrels

Chasing Squirrels

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Squirrel in fall leaves around a tree rootWe love watching squirrels in our neck of the woods. However, chasing those squirrels never works. Smaller and faster, they disappear before we can get out the door.

Yet we often succeed at chasing squirrels in other ways.

Chasing squirrels means we lose focus.

We get distracted and as a result, waste time. Rather than concentrate on our work, we notice everything else around us. For example,

  • “Oh, look! I saw a squirrel.”
  • Or butterfly
  • Or cute baby
  • Or airplane
  • Or anything except what we should see.

Chasing squirrels differs from chasing rabbits.

Chasing squirrels means we get distracted. Chasing rabbits means we get off subject. Both can be fun. Both can also cause problems if we fail to refocus or get back on subject.

After our squirrel moments, we want to hightail our minds back where they should be.

Always look in the right direction.

That includes to:

  • The work before us
  • The needs around us
  • God’s plan for us

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV).

Thanks to Melissa Henderson for the suggestion.

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Scapegoat

Scapegoat

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Scapegoat--goat lying in field, face to cameraHave you ever been a scapegoat? Something bad happened. It was not your fault, but you received the blame. Or have you ever scapegoated someone else?

A scapegoat receives all the blame or punishment for the wrongs of others.

The person may be innocent or only partially at fault. However, they receive total blame.

  • Family members accuse a relative for all their problems.
  • Company leaders condemn an employee for the company’s losses.
  • Team members blame one player for their team’s defeat.

We don’t like to be accused when innocent.

Neither do other people.

We find the background for a scapegoat in the Bible.

God gave Moses directions for the Day of Atonement. Aaron, Israel’s first high priest, took two male goats for a sin offering. One goat was sacrificed. The other (the scapegoat) had the sins of the people symbolically placed on it. It was then driven into the wilderness.

Rather than condemn others unfairly, let’s:

  • Take responsibility for our own actions.
  • Encourage one another to make wise choices.
  • Forgive the mistakes of others and ask forgiveness for ours.

Let’s not hang one another out to dry. Instead, let’s treat others like we want to be treated.

“He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.  (Leviticus 16:21 NIV).

Thanks to Karen Atwood for the suggestion and to Lori Carmicle for the photo.

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Give Up the Ghost

Give Up the Ghost

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Give Up the Ghost--Sunset rays over a field and under dark cloudsFor years, I knew only one meaning for give up the ghost. However, according to The Free Dictionary, the expression has at least three. All three mean an end.

To give up the ghost means to die.

This was the definition I knew. Other death idioms include:

The Free Dictionary further explains, “The ghost here is the soul … separated from the body upon death.”

To give up the ghost also means something stops working.

No physical possession lasts forever. All eventually wear out. Therefore, we must keep buying:

  • Appliances
  • Cars
  • Phones

To give up the ghost also means to quit trying.

We cancel plans we think will fail. This may include:

  • Work
  • Trips
  • Special events

Although our bodies die, our souls can soar!

We choose our destination for this life and life after we give up the ghost. If we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, we have the promise of an everlasting home in heaven.

“Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” (Job 14:10 KJV).

Thanks to Bobbie Smith Bryant for the suggestion.

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Practice What You Preach

Practice What You Preach

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Practice What You Preach-young ministerial student on stageWhen I was in college, we lived next door to a ministerial student. Every week, we heard him practice what he planned to preach. Our walls were paper thin.

If you practice what you preach, you do what you tell other people to do.

This proverb warns against hypocrisy. It wasn’t enough for the preaching student to practice saying his words. He also needed to practice doing them.

Example has a greater impact than advice.

  • Children pay more attention to parents’ behavior than words.
  • Students listen better if teachers’ actions match their assignments.
  • Employees watch their employers for acceptable business practices.

You are the real McCoy if you practice what you preach.

No pretending. No falsehood. You live what you say.

The world is filled with pretense and falsehood, but you have a better choice.

Jesus set the example. When we follow Jesus, we live and tell His truth to a world that needs to see and hear it.

“Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (Matthew 23:3 NIV).

Thanks to Meghan Bowker, Editor, Missions Mosaic, for the idea and to Hayden Dabney, children’s minister at Campbellsville Baptist Church, for the photo.

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A Pig in a Poke

A Pig in a Poke

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A Pig in a Poke-piggy bank in a burlap bagA friend recently bought a pig in a poke. (A poke is a bag or sack.) She did not receive what she thought she purchased.

A pig in a poke means we buy something without first inspecting it.

Scammers profit when we fail to take precautions. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

A pig in a poke originated years ago.

Sellers of piglets displayed real pigs. However, they put other small animals, such as cats, in customers’ pokes. Anyone who revealed their trick let the cat out of the bag.

Let the buyer beware.

This precaution translates from the Latin phrase “caveat emptor.” We want to make wise decisions.

  • Examine the product.
  • Read reviews or talk with previous customers.
  • Buy from trusted sellers.

Online purchases increase the risk of buying a pig in a poke.

We cannot inspect the product in person. That makes reading reviews and buying from trusted sellers even more important.

From cars to cats, houses to hats, and power tools to pigs, be careful. We want to be sure we receive:

“Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another” (Leviticus 19:11 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin and Carole Fite for the suggestion and to Debbie Tapscott for the photo.

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