Quote from Forum Archives on December 19, 2002, 10:04 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Kevin Corbin has an interesting and useful illustration about
plastic owls that he shares with his Gleanings From the Word
readers today. It's about how stuff that's a replacement for
what's right and real won't protect you from what's wrong and
harmful. It's an important message about the importance of
establishing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and how
church activities, "being good", and a range of other things,
even if they are useful, still cannot ever replace a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.

That's an important message for all of us to grasp, and here's
why:

1. First of all, each of us, individually, needs to make sure
that we establish and cultivate a personal, regular relationship
with the Lord of all, Jesus Christ.

2. Secondly, once we establish our own relationship with Christ,
Jesus calls and instructs us to share His Name and His Word with
others, that they, too, may come to understand, appreciate, and
embrace the love of God and the provision of forgiveness through
Jesus Christ.

So this message is for everyone. I urge each of you not to
remain idle, either in your own personal dealings with Jesus
Christ, nor in the manner in which you deal with others. This is
a matter of life and death, not only for each of us, but also for
those we love (and even for those we may despise). You see,
heaven is a wonderful place, and there is room enough there for
everyone. But not everyone will be there, because some won't
hear the Word, and some just won't listen or accept the Word, and
some just won't embrace the Word. I pray that there isn't even
one of you who falls into any of those categories, but I also
pray that each of us will encourage and urge others to know
Christ personally.

So tuck this message away, or come up with your own
illustrations, but please do something about this. Having Christ
as the center of our lives affects every aspect of our
relationships, and this relationship has eternal consequences -
either of endless joy, or of eternal torment. Let's make sure
that it is the first of these - endless joy, so that we may spend
all eternity with Christ.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD

Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life

Issue 685 December 18, 2002 - Plastic Owls

Not far from our home, a ham radio operator has a tall antennae
tower. Sitting atop the tower is a life sized plastic owl to keep
other birds away. For a long time, the hockey rink near the lake
kept a similar plastic owl on the roof of the building to keep
the pigeons away.

Neither owl seems to work very well. Many times I have seen whole
flocks of birds sitting on the radio antennae. The pigeons at the
rink ignored the owl to the point that I even saw one sitting on
its head. The County finally gave up and took the owl down (at
least I assume that's what happened, one day the owl was simply
gone and I know it didn't fly away)

Other people have tried the plastic owls to keep birds out of
their gardens and report a similar lack of effectiveness.

I suspect the owls work for a while, but the other birds quickly
become wise to the fact that these owls never move and never
prove to be a threat. If the owls were real, I think that the
birds would be much more wary. The problem being that no one
knows how to get real owls to sit in one spot all the time and do
guard duty.

1. Plastic owls don't seem to provide lasting protection because
they are not real.

2. In the same way, many people who call themselves Christians
depend on their own plastic owls for protection

3. Going to church, doesn't make you a Christian and won't save
you from your sin

4. Being a nice person doesn't qualify as being Christian and
won't give you eternal life

5. Hard work and good deeds (no matter how good the cause) won't
compensate for your sin

6. Religion won't protect you.

7. Guardian angels can't give you eternal security

8. Going to confession doesn't get you a one way ticket to
heaven

9. Being baptised doesn't save by itself

10. Celebrating communion isn't a magic potion for salvation

11. Being a church member or having "grown up" in the church
won't do it

12. Carrying a big Bible and saying Hallelujah and Praise God
can't save you.

All of these things have their own importance and place. None of
the things I've mentioned are bad things and many of them are
excellent practices.

The reality is that the only true way to forgiveness for our sin
is through a personal relationship with Christ

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NIV

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see
the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3 NIV

Those of us who have taken the steps to establish that
relationship aren't necessarily better people than those who
haven't. I know some very good, moral people who don't know
Jesus and I know some real ornery old pickle faced and bitter
Christians. The difference is simply that we have recognized and
accepted the truth. We have a blood bought ticket to
forgiveness, reconciliation with God and eternity with Father.

Those of us who have made the choice have a responsibility to
tell those who haven't about Him. No, that statement isn't fully
true, we do have a responsibility, but we also have the privilege
of telling others about Him.

Until next time, rejoice if you've already accepted Him, and then
introduce Him to your friends. If you haven't made the decision
or you've been depending on a plastic owl for protection, today
is the day to get right with God.

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah

Kevin

If you haven't made the decision to accept Christ as Lord, or
don't know what I mean when I say this, email me and I'll share
some Bible verses that explain why a personal relationship with
Jesus is so important and a prayer that will make it possible.

You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely
opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a
prayer along the lines of:

Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am
not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I
believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a
cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose
again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my
life to you Lord. Amen

If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can
rejoice with you.

Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of
prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly
confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are
shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head
of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in
your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential
within the Gleanings team.

To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and
praise reports email us

If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it,
in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings
in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the
permissions page .

You can write to us at

Gleanings From The Word Ministries International
114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8

(c) 2002 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin
Gleanings From The Word Ministisries International - All Rights
Reserved

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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