Friday, February 26, 2010

Don’t Run

Now there was a famine in the land... (2) The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while. I will be with you and bless you." Genesis 26:1-3 NIV

When famine hit the land, Isaac's first inclination was to leave. But the Lord clearly told him to stick it out. When "famine" occurs in our lives, our reactions are the same: "I've got to get out of here" or "I must not be in God's will." Yet if we run prematurely, we miss the opportunity to experience God's provision and blessing.

It's difficult to survive some days when we feel dry, thirsty and neglected and we see others around us who are healthy, spiritually well fed and flourishing. Yet it is those dry, desert experiences that often yield the greatest victories in our lives.

Immediately after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the desert to be tested. It was hot, dry and miserable. He was faced with the same choices we are: Stay in the heat until the Lord is finished working in us or take the easy way out. Elevate yourselves above your problems or humble yourselves before the Lord. Fulfill your fleshly desires to help you feel better or abstain and see how the Lord provides.

Jesus and Isaac withstood their desert challenges and emerged stronger, more aware of the provision of the Lord and more powerful in their walk.

If you re feeling the urge to "run" today from your problems, your church, your job or any circumstances stop and ask the Lord if this is His way of preparing you for greater things. Even in the most arid of deserts, He will speak to you and water you with His love.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Prints of Elbows On My Bed

I was but a youth and thoughtless...
As all youths are apt to be;
Though I had a Christian mother...
Who had taught me carefully.
There came a time when pleasure...
Of the world came to allure,
And I no more sought the guidance...
Of her love so good and pure.
Her tender admonitions fell...
But lightly on my ear,
And for the gentle warnings...
I felt an inward sneer.
But Mother would not yield her boy...
To Satan's sinful sway,
And though I spurned her counsel...
She knew a better way.
She made my room an altar...
A place of secret prayer,
And there she took her burden...
And left it in His care.
And morning, noon and evening...
By that humble bedside low,
She sought the aid of Him who...
Understands a mother's woe.
And I went my way unheeding...
Careless of the life I led,
Until one day I noticed...
Prints of elbows on my bed.
Then I saw that she had been there...
Praying for her wayward boy,
Who for love of worldly pleasure...
Would her peace of mind destroy.
Long the conflict raged within me...
Sin against my Mother's prayers,
Sin must yield - for Mother never...
While she daily met Him there.
And her constant love and patience...
Were like coals upon my head,
Together with the imprints...
Of her elbows on my bed.
And so at last the fight was won...
And I to Christ was led,
And Mother's prayers were answered...
By her elbows on my bed.
© Original Author
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A Tale Of Two Sons

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor once again slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit, and gave a very brief introduction of his childhood friend. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit to speak,
"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean." The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. He continued, "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life .... to which boy he would throw the other end of the line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not.
The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, ‘I love you, son!' he threw the line to his son's friend. By the time he pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beyond the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."
By this time, the two teenagers were sitting straighter in the pew, waiting for the next words to come out of the old man's mouth.
"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son. How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us."
With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely started one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."
"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, and he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm standing here today to tell you that THAT story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You See- I was that friend -

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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Open Those Eggs

Imagine that I dump 10,000 plastic eggs in your back yard. I assure you that inside one of those hollow eggs is a check for $1 Million dollars with your name on it. Would you get discouraged if you opened the first 100 eggs without finding the check? How about the first 1000 eggs? Of course not ! You'd just keep opening those eggs, just waiting for the moment when you'd find the check. St. Paul knew the meaning of the word "suffering." He had been beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, starved, and rejected. And yet Paul said that his sufferings were nothing compared to the glory that would come. In other words, Paul had opened a lot of empty eggs, but he never gave up or got discouraged. He believed that something great was in his future - God's glory revealed in him. Perhaps it feels to you as if your life has been nothing but empty eggs. You've already opened 99000 of them and you're not sure you've got the will to go on. Let me encourage you today. Don't give up. I don't want to trivialize the challenges you are facing, but I do want to help you put them into perspective. They are only temporary, and God has something much greater in store for you. Compared to the glory that will be revealed in us one day, our suffering doesn't merit discouragement. Hang on. Don't give up. Keep going. One day God will replace your discouragement with incomparable glory!

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Monday, February 22, 2010

PANCAKES

Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his
parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to
the counter, opened the cupboard, and pulled out the heavy flour
canister, spilling it on the floor.
He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most
of a cup of milk, and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor
which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with
flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom
and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn't know what to do next, whether
to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn't know how the stove
worked!). Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached
to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.
Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs,
getting his pajamas white and sticky. And just then he saw Dad standing at the door.
Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was
something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was
coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking
through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting
his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.
That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it
turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky, we insult a friend, we can't
stand our job, or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in
tears because we can't think of anything else to do.
That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some
of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can't
stop trying to "make pancakes," for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll
get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried ...

~ Author Unknown ~
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Friday, February 19, 2010

Friends

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.

The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

Take the time to live! Do not value the THINGS you have in your life, but value WHO you have in your life.

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Being Content

Philippians 4:12-13 says, "I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the
secret of being content in any and every situation, whether
well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I
can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

The Bible teaches us many life lessons. One of the most
useful of those life lessons is that of being content with
what you have.

We live in a material world. Hollywood tries to instill in
us the belief that it is what you have that counts.
According to the media you need the right clothes, the right
car, the right shoes, the right hair, the right "look" to be
a worthwhile person.

We often spend much of our time striving to obtain more and
more of the luxuries that this world offers. We want all the
gadgets and all the latest fashions. We want the best cars
and houses and our kids want all the latest toys. It is so
easy to get caught up in all these "wants" to the degree
that we spend all our spare time working toward obtaining
"things" instead of investing our time into making this
world a better place.

We need to remember that it is not our outward appearance
that really matters, but it is what we are inside that
counts. It doesn't matter what you have, but WHOSE you are.

Are you content with the things the Lord has given you or do
you often complain that you don't have the newest and latest
contraption? Do you spend your time serving God and others
or do you spend your time working overtime to have extra
money so that you can have more purchasing power?

To be honest, sometimes I struggle with being content with
what I have. A new rug in my entryway would be nice and so
would a new living room chair ...

If I am able to earn a little extra to purchase these
things, that's great. But I need to remember my priorities.
I need to remind myself that I've chosen to live a simple
lifestyle so that I could have the time and energy to invest
in relationships with people.

So when I look around my house - or in my closet - and start
dreaming of things I would like to have, I need to remind
myself that God is good and he amply supplies for all my
needs - even many of my "wants". I don't always need the
latest gadget and newest clothes. These things don't bring
true happiness. But being content with what you have does
bring peace.

******

Patricia Chadwick
Copyright 2005

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Today

Today I smiled, and all at once
Things didn't look so bad.
Today I shared with someone else,
A bit of hope I had.
Today I sang a little song,
And felt my heart grow light,
And walked a happy little mile,
With not a cloud in sight.
Today I worked with what I had
And longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds,
Were flowers at my door.
Today I loved a little more
And complained a little less,
And in the giving of myself,
I forgot my weariness.

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS

(A true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona)

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took hold of the rope, and started up the face of that rock.

Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there.

Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.

She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see
all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.

One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

W ell, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it on its back.

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him… I can do things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

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Friday, February 12, 2010

THE PREACHER

This is a true story:
I heard that one of our preachers was going to a city to preach a message. He was traveling at night on near deserted highway and praying to God to help him with the message for the next day. He was driving to the city that night to spend the night and would be speaking the next day. "" He was driving along the highway when the voice of God shook him as God spoke to him: "Stop this car and preach." He slowed down and said, "God there is no one anywhere near here. I've only met 2 cars in the hour I've been on this highway." God shouted at him, "Stop the car NOW, and get out and preach your message here, now." "" The preacher pulled over and stopped the car. He got his Bible and his flashlight and went to the front of his car. He laid his Bible on the hood of the car and began reading his text all the while wondering what God thought He was doing. He preached about the "Depth and height of the Love of God." He talked about how far God would reach just to save one soul. He gave the illustration of the one lost sheep, and how the Shepherd left the 99 to go to rescue the one lost sheep. "" A couple of minutes into his message and the anointing came. He preached as if he was preaching to a thousand people. He was preaching along, and a car came by slowly, slowed down ahead almost came to a stop, then went slowly on. A second car came by before he finished his message, slowed down, rolled the car window down as if to ask if he needed help, then drove on again. The minister finished his message, crawled back into his car and drove on. Lord, I do not know what you were trying to prove, but if it was practice I needed, I thank you."

Approximately three months later this minister was preaching in a small church in that same area. He had almost forgotten the ordeal. But God quickened him to again preach this same message this night. He preached with anointing and with power, and at the end asked if anyone wanted to come home to the sheepfold, as he gave the altar call. A young man sitting on the second row immediately got up from his seat and came forward. But instead of kneeling down he came on up on the platform and threw his arms around the minister, crying loudly. The minister prayed for him. After a few moments the young man said, "So you are the minister who stopped on the side of the road and preached that message about three months ago!" The minister nodded his head, and asked, "Were you in one of the cars that came by and almost stopped?" The young man shook his head and said, "No, I was in the culvert underneath your car. I was hooked on cocaine, my parents had washed their hands of me, and I was in trouble with the law for stealing to support my habit. I had tried to commit suicide that day, but I was still alive. I had no home, no clothes, no money and was hungry. I prayed as I found the culvert and made myself a bed for the night, "If there is a God, see if you can find me here!" "I got out of the culvert and sat on the grass out of your sight. I listened to you tell the story about the lost sheep and the love of a shepherd who would not sleep until He found him. Something got a hold of me that night. The next morning, I started walking to try to find a church to see if I could find this God who had answered my carelessly flung prayer that night. I had not walked far, when a man picked me up and took me to his church. His minister is up there sitting in that chair (pointed at the pastor of the church). He talked to me, took me to his home, fed me, cleaned me up and bought me some new clothes. Then he told me about Jesus. I repented, was baptized in His name that night. The next night I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Man, am I glad you practiced your sermon on the side of the highway that night! See all those people on that second row? I've brought all of them to this church and my family too."

What is the length and the depth of the love of God? It is never ending, for He will go out of His way to find a lost soul who has flung a helpless and careless prayer His way.

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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Are You Jesus?

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere.
Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly-missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?"
She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus?
That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people
cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life, and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall.
He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Author Unknown
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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Boy And The Train

There was once a bridge that spanned a large river, During most of the day the, bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the bands, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge.

But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing the train to cross it.

A switchman sat in a shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed.

One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights.

He stepped onto the control and waited until the train was within the prescribed distance of when he was to turn the bridge.

He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work.

If the bridge was not securely in position, it would cause the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river.

This was a passenger train with MANY people aboard.

He left the bridge turned across the river and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river, where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually.

He would have to hold the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism
locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

"Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to

look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time.

The man almost left his lever to snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever in time if the saved his son. Either many people on the train or his own son must die.

He took but a moment to make his decision. The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body
thrown mercilessly into the river by the on-rushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging to the locking lever long after the train had passed.

They did not see him walking home, more slowly than he had ever walked, to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now, if you comprehend the emotions that went through this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feeling of Our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life,

Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died?

How does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus-us Christ?

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