Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3 Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ bringing you a positive message minute. In just a little over 5 weeks, 3% of the United States will get the opportunity to see a truly rare event in our lifetime, a total solar eclipse.  From what I understand from friends in Tennessee, Kentucky, and southern Illinois, this is going to be a crazy time.  Schools are closing.  Governments are shutting down for the day.  Police are ramping up to handle the amount of traffic influx  they expect for this momentous occasion.  Hotels are already booked solid, campgrounds are maxed out, and  pieces of farmland are going for $125 a night just for someone to pitch a tent. Map Credit: http://www.eclipse2017.orgPeople are really excited to experience this short moment in time where we can feel the temperatures drop during those few minutes where most of the sun's light is blocked, all but the edges.  Aren't you glad it doesn't last forever?  If the darkness blotted out the light forever, the results on earth would me the end of life as we know it.  In John 1:5, we are told,"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  I take comfort in knowing that the darkness in this world, you know, the tough times, the evil moments, the trials of life, are only temporary.  I'm so glad that all the those times are really like a solar eclipse, they really only last a relatively short period of time because the light continues to shine, and the darkness will not overcome it. If you're struggling with dark times in life, try hard to look for God's light shining around the edges and remember that it is only temporary, for the darkness cannot overcome the light.   You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Topher Wiles

Solar Eclipse - Glad it's temporary!

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3 "My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?" - John 14:2Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive Message Minute.  Dorothy returned from her whirlwind journey to appreciate the simple pleasures of home.  Yes, her life may have been black and white.  Yes, her life may have lacked a little adventure.  Yes, all she had were simple family that loved her and a dog that followed her around.  Yet, she couldn't return to that humble abode in Kansas until she finally understood and said, "There's no place like home.  There's no place like home."  Ashley and I have spent the last couple weeks traveling, camping, and guest speaking in various locations.  While all the family time was nice, and the camping weather was wonderful, we finally had to admit the words that echo that feeling when you walk in the front door after  along time away, "Ahhh, there's no place like home." I believe we'll receive that same relieved and relaxed feeling when we finally travel from this life to the next.  When Jesus finally meets us with that key at the front door of our mansion in heaven, I think we'll simply say, "There's no place like home."  Today, why not spend a little time thanking God for the blessings of home.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

There's No Place Like Home

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher, from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive Message Minute.photocred: psychologytoday.comKids know things about Love that we forget as adults.  We tend to think of Love as an emotion, but kids know that it is an action, a decision.  One kid said, "Love is when mommy makes coffee for daddy and takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is ok."  Another said, "When my Grandma got arthritis and couldn't bend over, my grandpa started painting her toenails for her, even when his hands got arthritis too.  That's love."Kids know that love is an action and a decision.  That is exactly what the Bible says about it too.  That famous 1 Corinthians 13 passage says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (excerpt from 1 Cor 13:4-8)You didn't hear much talk of love as an emotion or a feeling in that reading did you?  Maybe kids know that love isn’t something you just feel, it’s something you do.  Decide to Love someone today by loving action, with loving behavior, by lovingly DOing something that they deserve as God’s beautiful creation.  DON'T JUST FEEL LOVE, DO LOVE.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Do Love

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher, from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive Message Minute. Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:39)  Deuteronomy expounds on the second half of the ten commandments in chapter 24 and informs us that love goes out toward more than just neighbors at our physical address.  Loving your neighbor as yourself in just this one chapter includes: honoring your wife, being merciful to the family, showing grace to a debtor, giving justice to your countryman, treating fairly the poor, being accountable for only your own mistakes, blessing the visitor to your land, taking care of the orphans, and providing for the widows.  And that's just one chapter of the Bible folks. photocred: ashtachemicals.comI recently saw how another acted neighborly in caring for patrons in the local Viking Mart Marathon Gas Station in Montgomery.   As I dismounted my bicycle after a 45 minute ride a middle aged woman hustled out the door yelling to all the patrons soon to pump gas, "Wait!  Wait!  Don't pump!  The price is going down in just a few minutes!  Wait!"  So passionate in her desire to help the present patrons, this gas station attendant looked like she warning people of an impending apocalypsein her efforts to save them a dollar.  She truly cared for people and put forth effort to love as a neighbor.  Today, decide to put forth effort to love someone that has become your neighbor in life.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Gas Station Love

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3photo credit: Dexter's LaboratoryGood morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bring you a positive Message Minute written especially for families.  I believe the family is your own personal laboratory, where moms and dads get to experiment on their children to see what hinders and what helps in bringing about the best and most well balanced adults by the time they finally fly from the nest. Last week, we noticed a little bit of ingratitude creeping into our kids, you know, that kind that just grates on your nerves because of the thanklessness, complaining, and whining that it brings.   This week, we're experimenting with what we read in our history books about the pioneer days of America.  Our children only have one toy for the entire week, they only have two changes of clothes, we don't turn on the lights and night, and our food is much simpler, more repetitive, and a bit more bland.  You know what we learned in this experiment?  We learned that even dad can be more grateful for the daily blessings of life when he gets tired of eating beans every day.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."This experiment has been good for the kids and myself as well.  I encourage you to experiment with your families and be grateful for the blessings you've been given.  You'll be glad you did. ***Extra:  We've also seen the kids show more imaginative and cooperative play, more help around the house, and the willpower to eat some of the food they don't like, because they know there is no snack and no dessert to follow.  We've treated it as education, not as punishment, and the results have been great!  Oh, and my wife has been enjoying other projects rather than spending so much time in the kitchen and cleaning up toys.  We may need to make this an annual experimental event!***Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Family Laboratory

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3(P.S. Thanks for your patience as I took a little break from Message Minutes.  With multiple funerals in church and in family, combined with travel and preaching gospel meetings, I was burning the candle at both ends and needed to sleep past 5:30am for a while till our schedule calmed down.  We had to make room for our first priorities.  Thanks for understanding.)Good morning, this is Topher, from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you another positive Message Minute. photo credit: Huffington PostLet's smile for a moment and ask, "What is going to bring about the end of the world, Armageddon, the apocalypse?"  Some might say the Mayan calendar running out.  Others thought it would be Y2k.  Some hedged their bets on 4 blood moons.  As for me, I think the act that will bring about ultimate chaos will be...wait for it… disobedient children.  No, really!  "There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents...." (2 Timothy3:1-2)The end times will be characterized by disobedient children.  And if you've ever sheltered a rebellious child, you know that it either seems like the end of the world to you, or you want to END their world!Joking aside, I think there is more to the 5th command of the 10 commandments.  Paul said this about it in Ephesians 6:2-3."Honor your father and mother - which is the first commandment with a promise - that it may go well with you that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”Obedient children seem to be part of the recipe for a stable society, avoiding the apocalypse, and for enjoying long lives.  Today, focus on honoring your parents, so that it may go well with you.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Signs of the End Times?

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive message minute.  credit: www.ign.comIt's amazing the amount of super hero movies, books, shows, and action figures that are being produced today.  Just walk through the toy isle of Walmart to see any amazing amount these heroes.  They are created to represent so many power of greatness:  running fast, invisibility, super strength, telekinesis, and we're just scratching the surface. Some say we have so many amazing super heroes today because people feel a great amount of fear and desire to be saved. There are attributes in the Bible that are developed, disciplined, and inspired inside of human beings by God's Spirit that bring about a lot of relief in our life from the fears that surround us.  Oh, and when we share them with others, we become heroes to them.  Paul calls them "fruit of the Spirit" and lists them as, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  (Galatians 5:22-23)Then there is a true hero that history records coming in this world to save us, the one and only Jesus the Christ.  Who else would sacrifice so much?  Today, be a hero by modeling Jesus and the fruit of the Spirit, the real super powers, that God grants.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

So Many Super Heroes

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive message minute.  credit: pinterest user - Bill AgeeI was surprised to see Peyton Manning trending in my twitter feed this morning.  Being from Tennessee, relocating to Indiana, I was able to enjoy Peyton as a QB for the Tennessee Vols and Indianapolis Colts, and I genuinely enjoy Peyton's personality.  In a news article by the Indy Star yesterday (catch it here), Manning shared this wisdom with some Hoosier student-athletes. "If you ever think the little things don’t matter, and you can brush those aside, I promise you in whatever you’re doing, your game’s going to slip.”Just like a good QB needs to continue working on the regular disciplines of the snap, huddle communication, and footwork, we too should focus on the fundamental daily disciplines in life.  The Bible says, Rejoice always (1 Thess 5:16), Pray continually (1Thess 5:17), be thankful in everything (1 Thess 5:18), read the Bible daily (Acts 17:11), and honor everyone (1 Peter 2:17).  These are some of the daily discipline fundamentals that often get lost in hectic schedules, and if they do, your game of life is going to slip.  So today, pick one of these basic life fundamentals to focus on, study, and practice.  Decide to smile everywhere you go.  Decide to pray morning, noon, and night.  Decide to really meditate on the good Word of God.  Decide to treat others better than you want to be treated.  Trust me, focus on the fundamentals.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Peyton & Fundies

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive message minute!You know, America really is the land of opportunity because every single person has the opportunity to become a tax-payer!  In case you haven't heard, TODAY IS TAX DAY, the one day of the year that makes more liars out of people than golf!  credit: az quotesWith all the joking aside, can I just share with you some thoughts that help me through taxes?  As I did the dirty deed of dropping a check in the mail, I tried to remember the following.I am blessed with a free education.I enjoy safe drinking water.I have parks to play in.I have paved roads to drive on.I have few cares because a relatively safe place to live compared to much of the rest of the world.I know that tax day can hurt, especially if you drop a check in the mail like me.  Trust me though, it'll soften the blow if you try to remember the wisdom in 1 Thessalonians, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:18)So today, if it is a day you dread, try to give thanks for the benefits you have received because of it.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Tough Wisdom on Tax Day

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ bringing you a positive message minute.  credit: elizabethhagan.comI know what you’re thinking.  Good morning, yeah right!  I know you don't want to go to work today.  I know you don't want your normal routine back.  I know you don't want to do your chores.  I know you are loathing school at this moment.  Let's face it, this past weekend was good.  You had great weather to spend outside.  You enjoyed a lot of good time with family all around you.  Odds are, you spent some extra blessed time honoring the Risen Savior this weekend.  Now you feel like it all has to end because BAM, just like that, life has come back!What you're experiencing is "Easter Hangover."  It comes from not having much of family, friends, faith, and fair skies in your regular schedule, then getting tons of it all in one weekend.  It can be rather intoxicating.There's good news though.  Daily life doesn't have to be deficient of these wonderful things.  You just have to devote a little extra time in your daily schedule to enjoy these blessings of life.  So start this morning by reading or listening to a bit of the Good Word.  Write a quick short letter or text message telling your family how glad you were to see them.  Be determined to encourage whatever friend you see next today.  Go outside on your lunch break for five minutes.  Make sure to thank God during the day and before going bed.  Get yourself in a good daily routine filled with God's blessings so you don't suffer from a Monday morning Easter Hangover.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Beat that Easter Hangover

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Scroll down to view an infographic of a Holy Week Timeline.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher, from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive message minute. Yes, I confess, I've been pulled over a time or two: twice when I was 16, once at 18, 21, 26, and 34.   Each and every time, those wonderful men in uniform wanted some information about me immediately, so they asked for my ID.  In America, we have an amazing database system implemented that gives a lot of information about you based on the Identification Card that you give to the police officer, an ID card that you aren't supposed to leave home without.  On Thursday of the Holy Week, just after Jesus has identified his betrayer, he gives his disciples an ID Card, a way that everyone would know who they serve, who they pledge allegiance to, whose follower they were.  In John 13, Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  (John 13:34-35)Friends, an ID card is a useful thing to always have with you, but there is identification that is better than your driver's license that you shouldn't leave home without, Love.  Today, choose to show an extra measure of the love of Christ to one another and others will know that you are His disciples.  You'll be glad you did.  credit: www.churchpop.comClick the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute

Your Identification Please...

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Scroll down to view an infographic of a Holy Week Timeline.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive message minute.  About 1984 years ago, give or take a few, Jesus was in Jerusalem during what we now call the "Holy Week" of Passover.  On Tuesday of that week, the man who was the Christ, the Messiah, was teaching on weddings, marriage, and the Kingdom of God.  These teachings stunned and astonished some of the religious elites called the Sadducees. (Matthew 22:33)Upon seeing that their political and theological opponents were stumped, the Pharisees got together and put one expert of the law to test Jesus with a question.  He asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"   (Matt 22:36)  Jesus gave my favorite reply to all the many questions he was asked here in Matthew 22.  Here's the Topher summary of what Jesus said in just seven short words.  The Son of God basically said, "Loving God and Loving People fulfills everything."(summary of Matthew 22:37-40, see also Deuteronomy 6:4-6 for the quote in the Old Testament)This Tuesday, we could do no better than to focus the truth that Jesus shared on a Tuesday so long ago.  Friends, simply endeavor to Love God and Love People today.  You'll be glad you did. credit: from www.churchpop.comClick the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute

Teaching Tuesday on the Holy Week

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ bringing you a positive Message Minute. You just gotta laugh at some of the silliness that comes out of our mouths sometimes, especially those of us who claim to be people who live by the Good Book. For instance, We talk about our loved ones, getting their wings and becoming angels when they die.  Truth is, angels and wings are rarely connected and we certainly don't become angels anymore than we become camels!  Don’t even get me started on the golden ringed halo above the head!We tell people two of every animal went in the ark, when it was really 7 pairs of all the clean ones. (Genesis 7:2) Cleanliness is close to Godliness?  - Didn't arrive in our world until a sermon in 1778! (source here)How about decorating our churches with pews, pulpits, and crosses?  Oh wait, in the New Covenant, the church isn't even a building.  Then there’s Karma, the idea that if life is bad, you've done bad, if life is good, you've done good. Folks that's about as anti-Christ as you get.  It was Jesus who said in the Sermon on the Mount, "the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike."  (Matthew 5:45)  It was His follower Paul who said, "the wages of sin is death,"  (Romans 6:23) and "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  (Romans 3:23) Truth is folks, we deserve death and we can't do enough good deeds to deserve good in life.  The scales of Karma just don't fit with sin and God's Justice. And that's the good news of the Gospel.  Christ came to save us and offered grace and adoption to all the lost and wayward children of the world.  We may deserve death, but Christ came with the Grace of Life as a free gift.  So, for the believer, karma is dead, and Christ reigns supreme.   I don't believe in karma, but I believe in the grace of Christ. Today, be grateful for that unmerited favor of grace and kick Karma to the curb by sharing grace with others.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Kick Karma (& other ideas) to the Curb!

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ bringing you a positive message minute. credit: photos combined fromABCnews.comIt's a little tougher to be positive when your news feed over the last 24 hours was flooded with graphic evidence of the destruction of the innocent and the harsh realities of retaliation.   I have my opinions, but I am no expert in the areas of international justice or peace, so my opinions will at this time remain my opinions.  Yet I am qualified by God's calling to share with you that Justice and Peace have struggled on opposite sides of picket lines many times in the history of our broken world.  Will the world ever find balance between Justice and Peace?credit: from www.reasonabletheology.orgThere is one Bible verse that brings my heart joy in such times as this as it points forward to a time that I know with certainty is coming.  I long for this day when Isaiah 32 speaks of a King who will rule in righteousness.  In verse 17, it says this, "And the work of justice shall be peace, and the service of justice quietness, and security for ever." (Isaiah32:17) - What a comforting and positive thought that scripture brings!  Today, let's combat the negativity in our lives by striving to make justice and peace focal points in our own lives and by looking forward with hope to the day God brings justice and peace together forever.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Can Justice & Peace Exist Together?

Click "Play" to hear a Message Minute.Download the Podcast here: Google Music, iTunes, Stitcher, PlayerFM, mp3Good morning, this is Topher from Washington Church of Christ, bringing you a positive message minute. Is the temperature comfortable where you are? It probably has something to do with a small apparatus in your home, car, or work called a thermostat.  Now, a thermostat is different than a thermometer.  A thermometer tells what temperature exists in an area,  but a thermostat actually does something about that temperature in the area.  A thermostat sends a signal and works in conjunction with other units to bring about that blessed and comfortable 70 degrees that you are struggling to find right now with Indiana weather!photo credit: www.lowes.comIn life, as you seek to find equilibrium, balance, and peace, are you the thermostat or the thermometer?  In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul is writing wisdom to the people in relationships.  Somewhere along the line, someone has acted as a thermometer in reading the relationship temperatures and informed Paul that relationships are strained in this group of people.  Paul's words are simple, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Eph 4:3) In other words, quit being a thermometer and be a thermostat by doing something about the relationships around you. Today, if you are complaining about the strife, dissension, and division in the people around you at your workplace, school, or home, try being a thermostat instead of a thermometer by making EVERY effort to keep unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  You'll be glad you did. Click the logo below and subscribe to automatically receive these Podcasts every weekday morning on Google Play Music or iTunes.   Message Minutes are sponsored by  Washington Church of Christ and recorded for the public 107.9 The Memories WAMW morning radio program.  They air at approximately 7:35am on Weekday Mornings.To find more of the Message Minutes that have been uploaded to this blog CLICK HERE.  To subscribe to a Message Minute podcast feed on iTunes or other podcast player, copy the following URL into your subscription list.http://feeds.feedburner.com/topherwiles/MessageMinute 

Relationship Thermostat or Thermometer?

"Create more than you correct." This blog is intended to be a place of creating positive content that will inform, inspire, and involve you in what God is doing in this wonderful life!

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Topher Wiles

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