Today is National Be Nice to New Jersey Day.

Out of all 50 states in America, there’s one state that comedians seem to enjoy putting down more than any other—New Jersey. So many jokes have been made about the state that a day has been proclaimed “Be Nice to New Jersey Day.” Whether it’s the funny “Joisey” accent, the famous mosquitoes, the New Jersey Turnpike (“which exit do you live off of?”) or the number of toxic garbage dumps in the state, New Jersey gets a bad rap.

But did you know that two of the nation’s oldest universities, Princeton and Rutgers, are located in New Jersey? President Grover Cleveland came from the state, as well as singers Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen. The state ranks in the Top 10 in the nation in the number of manufacturing sites and in payroll. And its nickname is the Garden State.

So why do people like to pick on New Jersey so much? Maybe because it makes them feel better about the place they live knowing that there’s a worse place to be. Or they like to think that they’re somehow better people because they don’t live in New Jersey.

Paul warned us about having an attitude like that. In Philippians 2:3, 4, Paul said followers of Christ need to think of others more highly than themselves. That means instead of thinking how great we are at soccer, we should applaud our teammates’ efforts. Instead of thinking how smart we are, we should take note of the kid who excels at working with his hands or creating graphics on the computer. Our model should be Jesus who, even though he was God himself, came to earth as a helpless baby and lived his entire life serving others.

So the next time you meet someone from New Jersey, resist the urge to laugh. Instead say, “Hey, what a great state. Tell me about it!”

Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing (Philippians 2:3, 4).

To Do

Show someone, either through words or your actions, that you think highly of them.

Also on this day

1783—The Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris.

1895—The first professional football game was played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club 12–0.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.

In 1985, it was announced that the Titanic had been found 560 miles off the Newfoundland coast. It had been missing for 73 years.

Even though it had been missing for more than 73 years, the search for the Titanic had never stopped. The ill-fated luxury liner, billed as the safest ship ever built, left England on April 10, 1912. Her passengers were a mixture of the world’s wealthiest along with immigrants seeking their fortune in America. Four days into her journey, she struck an iceberg, and less than three hours later, sank into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

What fascinated people about the tragedy then was that the ship represented the best in technology at the time. It took the very best of technology 73 years later to discover the Titanic’s final resting place. Teams of scientists from France and the United States joined efforts using state-of-the art sonar and video camera equipment to locate the ship. The efforts had begun in early 1985, but the first visual contact of the sunken ship did not occur until September 1.

Imagine the countless hours and thousands of dollars that went into finding that one lost ship. Even after it was discovered, researchers kept its exact location a secret for fear that treasure-seekers would try to find the ship and steal items from it.

What treasure do you seek? How long would you search for it? Jesus said that the most valuable treasure is the kingdom of Heaven. A person should be willing to give up everything to have it. In Matthew 13:45, 46, Jesus describes a pearl merchant who discovered the most valuable pearl imaginable. When he found it, the merchant sold everything he had to own that pearl.

That’s how we should be when it comes to God’s kingdom. Don’t let anything distract or prevent you from seeking God’s kingdom.

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” (Matthew 13:45, 46).

To Do

What does it mean to seek God’s kingdom? Write down three ways you can do that today.

Also on this day

1666—The Great Fire of London was started. Ten thousand buildings were destroyed, but only six people were killed.

1789—The U.S. Treasury Department was established.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.

John Foxe

Voice of the Martyrs

The Classic Book on Christian Persecution Foxe’s Book of Martyrs has long been the standard for stories of Christian persecution from the beginnings of the church. In 2007, Livingstone helped to update this classic work with stories of recent persecutions. Check out the "Persecution Blog" on the Voice of the Martyrs website and click the link to see the book. —Linda Taylor

Sales Slip But Profits Up at Books-A-Million

Publishers Weekly

What’s Selling at Books-A-Million? What’s selling? According to Books-A-Million, it’s teen books and conservative non-fiction titles. —Linda Taylor

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Random House

See the Movie, Get the Cookbook With a perfect "mix" of cooking, writing, publishing, and two wonderful marital love stories, I highly recommend the movie "Julie & Julia." And the classic cookbook, first published by Knopf in 1961, is still available from Random House. Check it out! —Linda Taylor

First Lady of Ghana Visits Tyndale House

Christian Retailing

Spreading the Good News Sometimes we wonder if what we do in Christian publishing makes a difference. I was thrilled to be in the audience at Tyndale House when Her Excellency Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills shared with us her personal quest to distribute Bibles to people (even schoolchildren!) in Ghana. —Linda Taylor

The Purpose of a Book Cover

Seth Godin

Seth Godin on Book Covers We may not WANT to judge a book by its cover, but we probably can’t help it. What is a book cover supposed to accomplish anyway? Seth Godin (author of Purple Cow and numerous other best-selling books) weighs in. —Linda Taylor

Bowker Reports U.S. Book Production Declines 3% in 2008, but “On Demand” Publishing More than Doubles

Bowker

The Rise of On-Demand Publishing As traditional publishing faces pivotal year of retrenching, the emergence of new technologies leads to soaring growth in short-run book publishing. Bowker has the statistics. —Linda Taylor

How Sony E-Reader Lost to Kindle and How It’s Battling Its Way Back

Advertising Age

The Battle of the E-Readers Sony came first, but Kindle blew it away. How the Sony e-Reader is trying to make a comeback. (registration required) —Linda Taylor

Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September.

Labor Day was created by the labor movement to honor the achievements of American workers. It is a yearly tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our nation.

The very first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. Two years later, the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, and labor officials in New York City urged labor organizations in other cities to follow New York’s example and celebrate a “workingman’s holiday” on that date.

Finally, in 1894 (an election year), President Grover Cleveland signed into law a bill that would officially make Labor Day a national holiday. He had hoped that in doing so he would gain the support of workers for his reelection. It didn’t work, and he lost.

While the holiday has its roots in the political movement of workers, today the holiday is more a tribute to summer’s last long weekend. Still, honoring work and those who do it is a good thing to do, and it has a biblical basis. In the Bible we learn that God wants his people to pay workers fairly and promptly (Deuteronomy 24:14, 15 and Malachi 3:5). Hard work is encouraged (Ecclesiastes 5:12) and laziness is criticized (Proverbs 10:4; 10:26; 12:24). And Paul urged believers to follow his example and work hard so that they would not be a burden to anyone (1 Thessalonians 2:9).

In addition, God also honors all those who work for him. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that our work is important. Whatever work we do for God—whether it’s helping out with Sunday school or volunteering to collect food for the needy—will have eternal results.

So what are you waiting for? Get to work!

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT).

To Do

Write a note to one or more of the “workers” in your life—a teacher, pastor, police officer, doctor—and thank them for the work they do to help make your life better.

Also on this day

Today is Emma M. Nutt Day in honor of the first telephone operator.

1972—America’s Bobby Fischer beat Russia’s Boris Spassky to become world chess champion. The chess match took place in Reykjavik, Iceland.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005).