Dan Cooley's Blog, page 27

What One Thing Makes A Nation Great?

[image error]What makes a nation great? Power? Riches? Good Leadership? Democracy?

Nope.

Those may some results of being great - but they don't make it great.

Pr 14:34 (NLT) Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

Remember that in November.

 

 

 

 

1 Day 2 Proverbs

[image error]What I wish I had learned sooner: Pr 13:3 (NLT) Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

Kind of funny but seems to be true: Pr 13:7 (NLT) Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor.

 

 

Healing

[image error]Odd verse for the day: Pr 12:10 (NLT) The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel. I remember mean kids in grade school nailing a horned toad to a light pole at recess. Wouldn't want them as an in-law today.

And the "Oh so true:" Pr 12:18 (NLT) Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. Think I'll pray for the gift of healing.

 

Fun and Encouraging Proverbs

[image error]The fun verse for today: Pr 11:22 (NLT) A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

And the encouraging: Pr 11:24 (NLT) Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

 

Receive Happiness

[image error]Path for the day: Pr 10:27 (MSG) The Fear-of-God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life. 28 The aspirations of good people end in celebration; the ambitions of bad people crash.

And the Cooley Paraphrase: Taking the Eternal God seriously makes your life full & long. A selfish life is shallow and empty. The righteous will receive all the happiness they are waiting for. The selfish will lose all the happiness they were dependent on.

Skill comes from Fear, Insight from Knowing

[image error]Today's verse: Pr 9:10 (MSG) Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-God, insight into life from knowing a Holy God.

 

Proverbs 8

[image error]"So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways [the ways of God’s wisdom] are most blessed.” Pr 8:32 (MSG)

At church we are doing a chapter of Proverbs a day in order to get Smarter by the End of Summer. We post a verse a day - this was mine for today. It doesn’t promises brains but happiness. The word blessed means happy! So, it seems that the more we live life the way God intended, the happier we will be.

I wanna be happy.

How Good is Good Enough?

[image error]How Good is Good Enough? By Andy Stanley

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

In this book Andy seeks to clarify what the Bible teaches about how to get to heaven. In doing so he contrasts the majority (if your good works outweigh your bad stuff you will go to heaven) view with the Biblical (you need forgiveness because you can never erase your bad stuff) view. In short, great stuff.

The Good:

Andy is funny, convicting, logical, and never condescending. This is a book that will clarify the gospel for the Bible follower and agnostic alike. The length (it takes just an hour or two to read through the 94 short pages) was perfect. The reference to Mother Teresa possibly skewing the cosmic curve so that it’s now harder to get into heaven was one of my favorite illustrations (p. 46). I always hated people who did that in Algebra class…

The Bad:

This is rare for me, but I found nothing not to like. I’ll be loaning this one out to both struggling Christians and my agnostic friends. It should be a good conversation starter without making someone defensive.

The Ugly:

Hmmm. The house of cards on the cover didn’t really resonate with me. Otherwise, this book is a must-read!

I received this book free from Multnomah Books for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. DanielCooley.com

The 5 BEST ways to Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend!

[image error]Here they are – with the BEST saved for last!

5 – FOOD! Have a family picnic or throw a BBQ party. Have some healthy burgers for unhealthy people like me.

4 – Go somewhere meaningful with the family. Try a Memorial Day parade, or visit a grave-site early and offer flowers to those U.S. Troops who have died in the nation's service. When family comes later and visits they will be pleased.

3 - Observe the National Moment of Remembrance. The Moment occurs on Memorial Day, 3 PM, local time, for 1 minute. Don’t forget to pray for those currently serving in our military

2 - Donate to families of soldiers who are wounded or have lost their lives.

Now, help the Hitler’s, Stalin’s, Hussein’s, and Bin Laden’s of history to roll over in their graves. Help Hu Jintao of China and Kim Jong-il of North Korea and those who banned church meetings in NYC to see freedom at its peak.

1 - Go to church… in a public school. Let those who oppress freedom and religion see what happens when the good guys win. And then, thank God for those who died to give us this freedom, while in church meeting, while meeting with other believers in a public school.

Walking Like Steve

[image error]Almost a year to the day after his death, Leadership decided to publish my article about Steve. You can read it online here. The teaser says...

When my friend was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he taught me about dying, and living, well.

Dan Cooley