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SPAMMAN INDEX
EAT MORE SPAM!
Bob eats SPAM at least 3-4 times per week. It's great!
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Weekly PowerBreak Messages PowerBreak is a weekly feature, designed to given you some power from God's Word as you begin your week. This internet newsletter has been sent out continuously for over three years as the list of recipients continues to grow. If you would like to receive PowerBreak messages via email each week, please send your request to SPAMMAN. The name PowerBreak was taken from Bob's endurance races where each water stop was a quick refueling, or a break for power on the go. Bob designed the PowerBreak to be that for all who receive the messages each week. A quick thought and power from the Word of God for people on the go. AUGUST, 2000 - PowerBreaks Scroll Down PowerBreak Message for August 28, 2000 "EXPECTING ANYTHING?" I conducted an unscientific survey by asking a number of people to rate their daily expectations on a scale of 1 to 10 of what their first impressions were regarding the day before them. The responses were most revealing. Most people have very little expectations regarding the day because as they said, "I don't want to be disappointed." When I asked the follow-up question; "how did their day stack up to their expectation on a scale of 1 to 10, most people said it ended up being just about as expected. Isn't it sad that most people go through life expecting very little and getting it? Wouldn't it be great to live life with a growing expectation? It sure would because THE LAW OF EXPECTATION says that you almost always get what you expect, see what you expect, and hear what you expect. So if we could just grow in our expectations we could accomplish more and enjoy more out of life. How does that sound? The Bible calls this life of expectation the life of FAITH. The Bible accounts the time that Jesus was walking down the road when He was approached by a couple of guys who were blind. They cried out to Jesus for mercy. No doubt they had heard the reports of Him healing others so they gave it their best shot and cried out for help. When Jesus asked them what they wanted, they replied that they wanted Him to heal their blindness. Notice His response: Matthew 9:29 (NIV) Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you";
The men went away healed because they asked with expectation or faith. It makes you wonder how many things we miss out on in life because we just don't expect much. The men who were once blind but now could see had faith in the Son of God. Expecting great things can pay great dividends. But how do you get out of the expectation doldrums? We've all been there as those responding in my survey said they expected little because they learned it was the only way not to end the day disappointed. The problem with that way of thinking is that it snowballs. Negative expectations end in negative results, which lower expectations and lower results, etc. STOP THE TRAIN I WANT OFF! Luke 17:5-10 (NIV) The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6 He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. 7 "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" The apostles recognized the need for greater faith. We can see the need so let's put ourselves into the lesson.
Faith can be pictured as a muscle that can atrophy with little or no use or can be built up by testing it under pressure. As an athlete applies the pressure of training, adding weight, repetitions, speed, etc. - God allows things into our lives to help our faith in Him to grow. James 1:2-3 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. The question must be asked: "when our faith is tested, do we grow stronger in expectation or do we drop the weight and drop out of the workout by complaining or quitting?" As an athlete can only prepare for the race by sticking to the training and completing the sets of training, so we must hang in there looking to God for help, finding His presence in the midst of our difficult moments, knowing His has allowed this to open the way to greater faith and expectation. Something to think about to help you rise up in your expectations this week. LOOKING FOR YOUR BEST WEEK EVER. GODSPEED! Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" PowerBreak Message for August 21, 2000 "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" Do you ever feel like Rodney Dangerfield? ( "I just can’t get any respect around here!") Hey, we have all been there, done that - right? Wouldn’t it be great to get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T? Here’s what the Bible says… "A good name (respect) is more desirable than riches" or you could say that self worth is more important than net worth. MMM? A Common Problem Most people think of reputation as "image" so they worry about how they look or about what they say - to make the right impression. But R-E-S-P-E-C-T comes with building a long - term reputation so the focus is on character rather than on image. Don’t get me wrong - image is important - especially when it comes to making first impressions - but lasting impressions make for R-E-S-P-E-C-T. RESPECT must be EARNED! Note what the book of Proverbs has to say on the subject - you’ll find six character qualities listed in Proverbs that are found in people who get R-E-S-P-E-C-T. RESPECT is earned through INTEGRITY. Proverbs 17:7 (NIV) Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool-- how much worse lying lips to a ruler! Proverbs 10:9 (NIV) The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. RESPECT is earned through HUMILITY Proverbs 29:23 (NIV) A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor. Proverbs 13:18 (NIV) He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. RESPECT is earned through DEPENDABILITY. Proverbs 25:15 (NIV) Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Psalms 15:4-5 (NIV) who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, 5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. RESPECT is earned through PRIORITIES. Proverbs 11:27 (NIV) He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it. Proverbs 14:22 (NIV) Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. RESPECT is earned through GENEROSITY. Psalms 112:9 (NIV) He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. RESPECT is earned through putting God first in your life. Proverbs 3:4-6 (NIV) Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Check it out. The Word of God is quite relevant and useful in everything we do. Next time you feel you are not getting the RESPECT you deserve - think about these things and ask God to help you earn the respect of others. There are no short cuts in the long run neither are there any shortcuts to R-E-S-P-E-C-T but the results are terrific. Go for it! Something to think about to help you have a GREAT WEEK. Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" PowerBreak Message for August 14, 2000 "HOW DO YOU RUN A MARATHON?" This past weekend my Ironman Triathlon training regimen called for a 20 mile run. Thankfully, I was going to run the distance with a group of people who are in marathon training. Even though I had run the distance a number of times, there is still a sense of overcoming I have to do to just get out and do it. It always seems so far before you actually run it. However, once you begin you soon get the feeling 20 miles is not all that far. It's just like running a marathon. How do you run a marathon? One step at a time! Pretty soon those steps click off one mile after another till you've run 26.2 miles. That same strategy works for world record holders and those who have never run the distance before. It works for every training run and it works for every task or project. One step at a time. Too often we look at the big picture and get overwhelmed. When you think of 26.2 miles - whew it's long. When we look at any project or accomplishment in life we tend to see it much larger than it really is. But if we'll just break it down into smaller bites or steps, if you please, we can see it as do-able and the next thing you know we'll take it on and make it happen. The principle is not new. In fact, it is exactly how God treated His people in the Bible and exactly why they missed his best when they did not see things as God did. God had promised the children of Israel a land flowing with milk and honey and that promise was their motivation as they passed through the wilderness along the way. When they came to the place where God was going to take them into the promised land, He ordered Moses to send 12 spies into the land. It is interesting to see in the account in the book of Numbers in the Bible how 10 out of the 12 spies saw the big picture and couldn't see how they could ever take the land. Joshua and Caleb, however, saw it as something do-able and forty years later Joshua and Caleb led the charge into the promised land, taking it a little at a time. Numbers 13:27-33 (NIV) They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." Whenever you get overwhelmed - break it down into little pieces. I was thankful that the group with which I was running this past weekend saw the 20 mile run in 2 mile pieces. Knowing that the only way you can overcome 20 miles in the heat and humidity of Central Florida is to stop for a quick water break every two miles we soon looked at the 20 mile run in two mile increments. Two miles seems like nothing. Soon the two mile increments add up from two, four, six, eight, etc. Until there's only two miles to go and you know that's do-able, look at how many you've done already. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. One of the reasons we get overwhelmed by the marathon distance or anything else that seems bigger than life is F-E-A-R. (False Evidence, Appearing, Real) God has given all we need to overcome it --- including the mental capacity to break down the big things into bite size pieces. And bite size pieces can be handled ONE AT A TIME. Something to think about to help you have a GREAT WEEK. Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" PowerBreak Message for August 7, 2000 "A SUPER POSITIVE ATTITUDE" There's a story of a young man who looked very depressed as his father took him to school. The father asked his son, "What's the matter?" The boy replied, "I've got a test today and I'll probably flunk it." The father who tried to be upbeat said, "Come on son, be positive." So the boy replied, "OK, dad, I know I'll flunk it." Not exactly a positive attitude… Studies have shown that a positive attitude will do wonders for making your life better in many ways. Specifically:
WOW! It really pays to do whatever is necessary to be positive. Let me help you discover one way to find something positive to dwell on as you begin the week. First, think of the most negative situation you can. I mean a real negative, impossible situation. A situation that the more you think about it, the worse it seems to get in your mind. Come on… Really dwell on it for a moment. Now, take note of how you felt as you think about the negative and impossible situation. That's what negative thinking or as Zig Ziglar says, "STINKIN THINKIN" will do for you. Let's drive it away. Of course you can't just put it out of your mind, although we try to hide our negative thoughts by just pretending they are not there. Unfortunately, they creep back in, unannounced and grab hold of our thought patterns, while taking hold of us from the inside, doing damage to our bodies and emotions. So what do you do? Better take some advice from the Bible. Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. God says, DON'T WORRY - PRAY. So the first thing to do to overcome negative thoughts and enjoy a positive outlook is to PRAY. Secondly, God says, "Let me fill your mind and your heart with peace." Which is to say, don't just talk to me - LISTEN TO ME, says God. The third important principle to obtaining a positive outlook is to think on the right stuff. You've heard: "Garbage in - Garbage out!" - It really applies to your thoughts. If you fill your mind with negative stuff more than positive - guess what kind of thought patterns you'll soon develop. (DUH!! - It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out!) By the way, if you need something to fill your mind with positive thoughts - READ THE BIBLE. There are thousands of real life accounts and promises of God doing the impossible. Finally, God stresses the importance of action. Too many times we know what we should do to be more positive but we fail to do it and complain about the situation later. If you'll take positive actions, you'll begin to feel better. Motion produces emotion and if you'll get your motions in motion you'll feel a whole lot better about your situation. The Bible is a practical book and when you consider the benefits a positive outlook will have on your life, why would you turn to any other source when the Bible has practical guidelines, help, and motivation to live in a super positive way? Check it out. Have a great week! Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" |
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CONTACTING BOB Bob Brubaker 469 C Alafaya Woods Blvd. Oviedo, FL 32765 Email:Bob Brubaker |
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