We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3 (NIV)

Someone once said, "Always begin with the negative so bad news will seem MORE positive. Here is the negative for this Monday morning. Most pastors suffer from Blue Monday. It’s not quite the same as those who work 9-5 in the corporate world. Pastors reflect upon the worship of Sunday, who was present and who was not, and why those present were present and why the missing were missing. He racks his brain and his heart over his personal failures in preaching and leading worship. Empty pews serve as personal condemnation.

There is a humorous story about a girl in college who writes a two-page letter home. She says she has left college, living with a divorced guy and is pregnant. The second page says, "All that was a lie – the truth is I got an F in English and tuition is going up next semester." First there was the bad, really bad, news then the not-so-bad news.

Many churches were bursting with people yesterday. Many churches were woefully silent yesterday. The pastors sit at their desks on Monday morning and remind themselves, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard – Jesus!"

Three pastors got together for coffee one morning. Much to their surprise they discovered that all their churches had problems with bats infesting their belfries. The bats were making a terrible mess. "I got so mad," said one pastor, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats."

"I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church."

"I haven't had any more problems," said the third.

"What did you do?" asked the others, amazed.

"I simply baptized and confirmed them," he replied. "I haven't seen them since."

If that story doesn't make you laugh, it will make you cry. It is such a common occurrence. Hear again the words - "We proclaim Jesus so that you might have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father."

God’s Wisdom: You were also taught to become a new person created to be like God, truly righteous and holy. Eph. 4:24 (God’s Word Translation 1995)

Worldly Wisdom: My advice is to go into something and stay with it until you like it. You can't like it until you obtain expertise in that work. And once you are an expert, it's a pleasure. Milton Garland