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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. KEEP SCROLLING DOWN PowerBreak Messages for November, 2000 PowerBreak Message for November 27, 2000 Stability in Familiarity You're facing a crucial situation. It involves a major change and challenge as you step into unknown territory. What do you do? You feel like your life is shaken and you're in the midst of a storm. What do you do? I was reading John's account of Jesus facing the crucifixion in the Bible and I noticed something very special. Prior to being arrested, falsely accused, and crucified, Jesus resorts to the familiar. John 18:1-2 (NIV) When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. Notice the words: because Jesus often meets there with his disciples. Familiarity brings stability in the midst of challenge or change. When you make a routine, when you work on the familiar, you anchor yourself, calm yourself, and find added strength. People make fun of the rituals baseball players go through with each pitch but what they are doing is locking themselves in focus as they rehearse the familiar. If you are facing a challenge this week, a difficult moment, resort to the familiar. Of course, you can prepare yourself for mounting situations by establishing the familiar by your daily routines and habits. David in the Bible was a man who had a habit of spending time with God and each time he faced a difficult situation, or a pressing issue, he resorted to the familiar and found strength to go forward. Look at his words. Psalms 61:1-2 (NIV) Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalms 62:1-2 (NIV) My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. The lesson is clear: don't wait for the need to establish the routine. Lock into something unchangeable and unmovable that will give you something upon which to anchor yourself. James 1:17 (NIV) Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. GODSPEED! Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" PowerBreak Message for November 20, 2000Overcoming A Power Shortage Ever feel like you are running on empty? … like you just don't have what it takes to get started or keep going? … like the highlight of the day is making it home, ordering pizza, and vegging out on the couch? You know God has power, has offered his power to help you but right now you feel you are in a power shortage. We've all been there and done that. Fortunately, God does not abandon us when we get in such a powerless state, even though we may think He has. Rather a realization of the abundance of power and applying ourselves to plug into that power will help us overcome a power shortage. Check this out! Ephesians 1:18-20 (NIV) I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, The power working in us and through us is the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Wow! When we don't feel that power, the shortage does not come from God but our connection to the power. Let's look at how God's power flows.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV) To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Notice the words - MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS. We'll never plug into God's power as long as we refuse to admit we are weak. It's a pretty significant step but if you have been running on empty, wondering why you can't find the power and strength to make it - the first thing to do according to God's Word is admit your weakness to God and watch out, you have plugged into the power source. Matthew 9:29 (NIV) Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 2 Corinthians 4:13 (NIV) It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, James 3:4-5 (NIV) Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. If our faith is guided by our speech wouldn't it make sense to watch what we say? When our speech is filled with doubts and a focus on the bad, we are shorting out the flow of power. The children of Israel were about to cross the Jordon River but the river was at flood stage. God promised to part the waters so they could walk across but not until the feet of the priests entered the water. Likewise, God has promised to give you and me the power to get up, get going, and keep going but we really don't get the flow of power until we take the first step leaving our comfort zone and going forward in the race of life. God doesn't energize us to veg out - He has a job for each one of us and when we begin to move forward, admitting our weakness but trusting Him for power and strength, talking the positive talk of faith --- we'll overcome the power shortage. GODSPEED! Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" PowerBreak Message for November 13, 2000 The Power In A Celebration Of Life Officer Edward Diaz of the Orlando Police Department was honored at the Fourth Annual Celebration of Life Gala in Orlando this past weekend. Each year nominations are taken and selections are made to honor people who epitomize a celebration of life and Officer Eddie Diaz's story is most compelling. Almost a year ago he received multiple gunshot wounds during a routine traffic stop that left him in a less than positive position in life - the loss of his legs. Always known for a positive attitude and uplifting spirit, the wounded Orlando police officer never stopped believing even when he was told he would never walk again. Making his way to the podium, canes and all, Officer Eddie Diaz received his award and told the audience that each day for him is a celebration of life because he was so close to death. Although his story and the story of the other three recipients were quite moving, there was a message in all that life is too short to not celebrate every single day of your life. The question becomes: "Why don't we celebrate life each day?" The Bible has an account in the book of Lamentations in which the prophet Jeremiah is lamenting over one bad thing after another - then it hits him square in the face. "Hey we are not consumed (dead) so life is worth celebrating." That's not an exact quotation but this is: Lamentations 3:19-23 (NIV) I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Wow! Jeremiah goes from stickin thinkin to praising God - from focusing on "what's wrong" to praising God for all that's good. That is energizing! When Officer Diaz entered the room at the Gala you could feel the energy flow from his presence. When you find a person who is celebrating life you find energy and power just like when you find a person who is focused on what all that is bad and wrong you find an energy drain. Bud Hedinger, a local newsman and the event emcee put it best, "with all the bad news we hear everyday, the stories of these who celebrate life are the answer to what your soul hungers to hear." Interesting coming from one who has to report bad news day in and day out. No wonder people who focus on the news are always drained and depressed. Proverbs 15:13 (NIV) A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Would you like more energy? Focus on good things. Begin each day with an attitude of gratitude and decide right now to celebrate life. GODSPEED! Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN" PowerBreak Message for November 6, 2000 Breaking Through Your Barriers You're struggling through life. One situation after another gets you more and more frustrated with life. You know inside that you could do something much bigger and you just seem primed for a breakthrough. Everything you try seems to "hit the wall" and the spiral of frustration mounts. What do you do? Sometimes the simple solutions are actually missed because of our focus on the problem - and we need a breakthrough… First a word from the Bible - the story of a frustrated crippled man who needed a breakthrough. John 5:2-9 (NIV) Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 4 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" 7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." 8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. Mozart once said, "True genius resides in simplicity." Notice the simple steps to the man's breakthrough.
What a lesson! Want breakthrough - GET UP AND GET GOING. Take the first step. Make a commitment. Be ready to begin with small steps. That's OK. Jesus didn't tell the man - GET UP AND RUN A SUB 2 HOUR MARATHON. No, "Get up and walk." So too your breakthrough in life will begin with easy small steps, doing the small things that build momentum. My wife, Jan has been so excited about a breakthrough in her life. She made a commitment and has been taking the steps to run a marathon. Saturday she broke through the ten mile barrier in her training. You talk about excitement and momentum. She has said several times since then, I can't believe I ran ten miles. I am so proud of her and thankful for her accomplishment and I know it's just the beginning of more breakthroughs for her as she focuses on crossing the marathon finish line. A breakthrough is out there for you too. Just get your focus off your frustration and back on your goal, take the simple steps, and GET UP AND WALK. GODSPEED! 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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