When Jesus reached in his pocket and pulled out a new contract from God, the people who had the hardest time accepting it were those who were legal experts on the original contract.  

In 1968, Switzerland dominated the world of watch making – owning over eighty percent of the market share in profits.  

The Swiss were proud of their watches – and for good reason: they made watches of exceptional craftsmanship. 

Yet, in a little over a decade, Switzerland was devastated. Their profit share plummeted to less than twenty percent. By 1988, employment in the watch industry in Switzerland sank from 90,000 to 28,000.  

What happened?

In 1908, Henry Ford developed the Model T.  It was the only car the Ford Motor Company made and it sold like hotcakes. In just a few years, half of all the cars on the road were Model Ts.  

But it only came in one color. In 1909, Henry Ford said, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.”  

Ford’s ace production man, William Knudsen, foresaw that the company needed to improve to keep pace with the competition. So, when Ford took his family on a trip to Europe in 1912, Knudsen prepared a new sleek prototype with four doors and shiny red lacquer-work.  

When Ford was shown the prototype, he walked around the car three or four times with his hands in his pockets, and then he grabbed the driver’s side door and ripped it off! He proceeded to pop out the windshield and destroy the car.  The message was clear: don’t mess with my “baby.” 

Ford fired Knudsen, who went to General Motors. 

In Christ we, who are many, form one body, and each part belongs to all the others. 

Romans 12:5    

 Someone once said there are only three kinds of people in this world: those who are good at math and those who aren’t.  

I’m not good at math. 

Numbers are confusing, abstract things. I have a difficult time remembering people’s ages – including my own. My wife can recall phone numbers and zip codes from places where we lived over 20 years ago. I struggle, at times, to remember my current zip code. To me, numbers are not all that important.  

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. 

Proverbs 16:24   

 According to a poll reported by Tom Rath and Dr. Donald Clifton in How Full Is Your Bucket?, 65 percent of American employees don't receive any positive recognition for their work in any given year. The author's also refer to the U.S. Department of Labor which says the number-one reason people quit their jobs is because of lack of appreciation.  

The Bible says that pleasant words -- words of praise and encouragement -- boost us in body and soul. Why is it, then, that compliments so easily get stuck in our throats?  

"I don't want it to go to his head," we say -- as if our praise will lead others into a downward spiral of moral degeneration.  

How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you don’t listen? Or cryout to you, “Violence!” but you don’t come to the rescue?   

Habakkuk 1:2   

       When they blow up your buildings and strafe your house with machine guns,  you begin to get the feeling that some people really don’t like you.  

     Clarence Jordan became a Baptist minister with a Ph.D in New Testament Greek. In 1942, Clarence, and his wife, Florence, went to Sumter County, Georgia, because they wanted to live out the teachings of Jesus.   

     They started a farm, called Koinonia (the Greek word for “Community”). Their goal was to bring both blacks and whites together, to share their goods with each other, and to help those poorer than themselves.   

When you lose our temper and let someone “have it,” what are you hoping to accomplish?  Teach them a lesson and improve their behavior? Sounds noble, but no one’s buying it. Let’s not fool ourselves: anger seldom motivates other people to be better people. It increases hostility in those who feel our heat.   

In our honest moments, we know better. When we lose our temper, we want to hurt somebody. We don’t call it a “tongue lashing” for nothing.  

A hot temper stirs up anger in others. We’re starting a forest fire. But do you realize what your anger does to you in the process of hurting others?