Who Decides How You Will Act?


One day Sydney J. Harris of the Chicago Daily News walked with his friend to a newsstand to purchase a newspaper. The friend thanked the vendor politely, but the vendor remained coldly sullen.

As they walked away, Harris remarked, “A sullen fellow, isn’t he?

The friend said, “He is that way every day.” Harris asked, “Well, why then do you continue to be so very polite to him?”

The answer, “Why should I let him decide how I am going to act?”

Who decides your actions? Is it your circumstance or your faith? Why not stop a second and ask God for the answer?

Mid-week Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus! Open our hearts to the truth of Your Holy love this day. It was always Your calming witness that disarmed so many situations in the Bible. Can you give us the same strength this day? We ask this prayer in Your holy name. Amen.


This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Join me next week for finding a way to receive a gift.

What Are You Thankful For?

Being thankful for small things if life is not something we do very often. It is when we get the new job, or the raise comes through, or our children are selected the best of the group that we come before God and loudly sound our praise. In the past few weeks, we have watched the tragedy of Haiti unfold before our eyes, and even small children receiving a bottle of water, would smile and say “Thank You.”

We all need to look for the small things to give us direction and even identify. A grade class writing assignment was “Things I am most thankful for.” One fourth-grade boy wrote: “My glasses. They keep the boys from punching me and the girls from kissing me.” Oh, God, what a thankful heart.

Mid-week Prayer

Come Lord Jesus, let our hearts overflow for the small things in this world today. What may seem so small can be the beginning of some of the greatest gifts God could offer. They are sometimes the richest blessings and they come continually from the showering of Your grace. In the blessed name of Christ we pray. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Join me next week for another Mid-week Epistle and look at who decides how you act?

What I learned from a cartoon!

When I was a child, my favorite time in the movie theatre was spent watching the cartoon at the beginning of the show. One I remember was of a little Indian boy sheepishly standing with an empty bow saying: “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth I knew not where.” And then the Indian chief would turn around and the arrow was stuck in his back-side and he would reply, “I do!”
It was funny to a child, but I did not realize that I was beginning to learn the opening lines of a poem that would later be one of my favorites.

The Arrow and the Song

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of a song.

Long, long afterward in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroken;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My love for poetry and music were both affirmed from an early age. Every time I think of the way I learned, I realize that this was God’s gentle hand teaching me that there was a world out there to explore and find true meaning. Just like the way the people following Jesus wanted to be touched by His eyes of love and His Spirit of healing.
What does the world teach our children today?

Mid-week Prayer

Holy God, teach us from the words of the Bible the way to live truly in Your Holy Grace. Let the words of Exodus teach us the Commandments of Life; Let the Beatitudes of Jesus show us the way to care; and let the Promise of the Resurrection lift fallen Spirits. Then we will know the lessons to teach others. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Look in your heart and see the song of a friend. Look here again next week and find another touch of the Mid-week Epistle.

THE SIN OF WRONG PERSPECTIVE

We are beginning a new year. The New Year's Day celebrations around the world have all ended, the street sweepers have entered the party areas and have gathered up all the trash that was left. We are already in the stream of daily living and to many people it is just another year.
But what if this is the greatest year of your life. For some of us, in just 55 days we will be traveling to the Holy Land to walk and study where Jesus came to earth for the salvation of mankind. Nothing was the same after seeing Jesus come into the lives of the people who were healed and changed forever.
Today, there are many people who are like Old Herb. He was known as the thriftiest farmer in the area. One day he stood on the bridge idly gazing down at the water. A canoeist coming down the river suddenly overturned. He came up gasping. Herb just looked on. Down he went again.
When he came up, Herb shouted to him, "If you don't come up the next time, can I have your canoe?"
What do you want to see in the New Year? What words do you need to say to another that will change their life? I love what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: "Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. 5:19-20).
Be aware of your perspective. It can and will serve as the foundation for governing all you do.

Mid-week Prayer

Loving Father, in this new day that You have given to us, let Your wisdom grow in our hearts and spirits. Do not let us walk in the darkness of our blindness to each other. Let Your grace call us boldly to the coming of Your days. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. We begin today a new journey together. See you next week in the Mid-week Epistle

Too Quick to Complain?

This is the time of year when many feel they have come to a crossroad. We look back and say “Thank heaven this year is over,’ and we look forward saying, “I hope next year will be better.”

I often wonder if this is because so many people seem to complain about all the difficulties in their life. In fact, many seem sure that every day when they get out of bed that this is going to be another horrible day?

That attitude reminds me of a story once that I heard about three bears. “Once upon a time three bears walked through a forest one day before lunch. When they arrived home, Daddy Bear grabbed his bowl and growled: 'Someone has eaten my soup!' Baby Bear ran and picked up his bowl and cried: 'Yes, mine too!' Mama Bear shouted back: 'You two stop complaining! I've not even poured the soup.'"

Why not do something different with this year. Let God have enough time to “pour out your soup” before you start complaining? How can He ever bless us if we are sure it is not going to be what we want?

Midweek Prayer

Loving Father, we know that the most difficult thing in our lives is patience. We want to have quick answers and speedy solutions to all our problems, but we do not realize that Your work is not done on our schedule. Give us the wisdom to wait for Your time, and this could be the greatest year of our life. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. I pray that 2010 will be year that God breaks forth in your life in a new and exciting way. I hope this epistle will help with the journey. See you next week for another Mid-week Epistle.