Why You Should Pray for Authorities (1)

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. – 1 Timothy 2:1-3

It is easy to criticise and make disparaging remarks about rulers and leaders of thoughts in various echelons of our society, be it political, organisational, or religious. By virtue of their office, the persons in leadership are often under public lens and it does not take much effort to identify, nay criticise, their failings. After all, they are supposed to be public servants; therefore, they ought not to complain about the attention they attract and the criticisms that follow most of their moves.

Meanwhile, just as God has a counsel for every aspect of life, so does He has a precept concerning the way we relate with those who are in positions of authority. There was never a time in the Bible where God commanded that His children should take to the streets and tear down leaders through verbal onslaughts. If anything, God expressly commands in a number of places that prayers and supplications must be made for those in authority.

Why would He say that? The passage above says this is necessary so that “we may lead a a quiet and peaceable life.” And, as if sensing that some diehard critics may object to this instruction, the passage further affirms that this practice “is good and acceptable in the sight of God.” Therefore, there should be no disputing that praying and interceding for leadership is a divine injunction. God commands it and He expects us to comply.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

How to Love

Author Unknown

You’d like Jaydee a lot. Most people do. He’s the kind of guy who listens when you talk, who smiles often, and who says things that make the people around him smile. He’s intelligent, but in a way that makes others feel comfortable. It’s the way he expresses himself in simple terms that you can understand – almost like he’s articulating the thoughts you already have in your head, but haven’t yet found the right words say aloud.

It doesn’t matter who you are either. Jaydee always has a way of relating to you. Because, in a way, he’s been there with you all along. He can think like you, so he understands you. So many of us have limitations in our perceptions. We understand the soldiers but not the politics governing the war. We understand the people who go to the movies but not the ones who attend NASCAR races. But somehow Jaydee gets all of us. It’s his gift.

If he hasn’t actually been to the NASCAR race you’re talking about, he’ll be honest about it – but he’ll make you feel as if he was right there with you. And once you return home after spending a night with Jaydee, you’ll catch yourself smiling and thinking that there needs to be more people like him in the world. Because if there were, there would be far less to worry about.

Jaydee passed away today. I don’t really want to discuss the details, because honestly they aren’t relevant. It could have been a car accident. It could have been old age. We are often far too concerned with how people died, rather than how they lived. And I want you to know how he lived. He told stories – lots of stories that contained subtle insights and wisdom about our lives and the world around us. And today, I want to share with you the last story he told me before he died:

His Last Story

One Sunday morning when I was a little boy my father surprised me and took me to the fishing docks. But instead of fishing, like all the other little boys and girls were doing with their fathers, we sat down on the end of one of the docks and watched all the other children fish. For hours, we sat there and watched until we left without ever casting a single fishing line into the water.

I was simultaneously sad and angry. On the drive home I told my father that I’d never forgive him for being so cruel to me. He looked at me, smiled and said, “I love you, Jaydee.” When I didn’t respond, he asked, “Did you notice how happy all the other little boys and girls were? Did you see their smiles? Could you feel the happiness in their hearts?” After a moment of silence I quickly snapped, “I don’t really care! I just want to go fishing like everyone else!” My father sighed and kept driving.

We went back to the fishing docks dozens of Sunday mornings throughout my childhood. And each time we saw hundreds of other little boys and girls jumping and laughing and celebrating as they reeled in fish. But we still never cast a single fishing line into the water. We just sat in there on the end of that same dock and watched. And my father never explained why. But he didn’t need to. Because years later, as I entered adulthood, I suddenly realized that those mornings we spent sitting on that dock was where I learned how to love.

Meditation: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. – Philippians 2:4

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The True Test

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. – 2 Corinthians 13:5

When asked to define knowledge, someone said, “Knowledge is not what you can remember but what you cannot forget.” Another person responded, “Knowledge is what you can remember after you have forgotten what you have been taught.” These may sound paradoxical, but they ring true. That a student answers questions in a class does not mean he has a good knowledge of the subject. The teacher uses a test or an examination to judge him.

In the same vein, the true test of faith is not when everything around you is all roses and no thorns, but rather when challenges of life are starring you in the eyes and literally telling you ‘God’s word may not be true.’ Moreover, that God gave a word does not mean it will come to fulfilment unchallenged. He said He had made Abraham the father of many nations but Abraham still had to believe so he might become the father of many nations, which God had already made him (Romans 4:17-18).

Being Christians is not proved by how much of scriptures we can quote – which, of course, is not bad in itself – but how much we love other believers (John 13:35); how we accept those of different doctrines from ours and love our unbelieving neighbours.

Your readiness to give is not truly tested when you have $1,000 and you can offer $50 to someone in need. Of course, you have done well; but when all you have is $5 and you are willing to split that into two in order to give someone in need is when the depth of your love can be measured.

Adversities remain the true test of our inner strength. That is why ‘if you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is small’ (Proverbs 24:10)! So, let’s not go about with the theories of faith, character, knowledge, patience, etc. We earn God’s approval and the respect of others when we put them into practice. To do the right thing will always be tasking, but the reward is more than sure.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Some Rules to Make Living Worthwhile

– Author Unknown

Rule #1. Life is not fair — get used to it!

Rule #2. Eat an elephant, but one bite at a time.

Rule #3. To better your lot, you have to be a lot better.

Rule #4. If you have a friend, learn to talk to each other instead of about each other.

Rule #5. True love isn’t Romeo and Juliet who died together, it’s Grandmom and Granddad who grew together.

Rule #6. Life is not a movie. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to work.

Rule #7. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

Rule #8. Never give up on something you really want. It’s difficult to wait, but more difficult to regret.

Rule #9. If you can’t get someone off your mind, they are probably supposed to be there.

Rule #10. Be yourself. No matter how hard you try; you will fail trying to please everyone.

Rule #11. Never be a prisoner of your past. Be the architect of your future.

Rule #12. Don’t wait for a perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect.

Rule #13. Recognize there is a huge difference between failing at something you do and being a failure as a person.

Rule #14. Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.

Rule #15. If finding a perfect person is what will make you happy, then you will never be happy.

Rule #16. Never make a permanent decision on temporary feelings.

Rule #17. You can make the world better by making your life better. Remember, “We are the world”.

Rule #18. In life, there are some people you’ll have to lose in order to find yourself.

Rule #19. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.

Rule #20. Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.

Rule #21. To get ahead, take steps.

Rule #22. Listen to people but never lose your voice.

Rule #23. Accept what you cannot change. Change what you can.

Meditation: For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life. – Proverbs 6:23

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Nudge The Balance

– Author Unknown

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. – Isaiah 55:8

A 91-year-old woman died after living a very long dignified life. When she met God, she asked Him something that had really bothered her for a very long time. “If Man was created in God’s image, and if all men are created equal, why do people treat each other so badly?”

God replied that each person who enters our life has a unique lesson to teach us. It is only through these lessons that we learn about life, people and our relationships with God. This confused the woman, so God began to explain:

“When someone lies to you, it teaches you that things are not always what they seem. The truth is often far beneath the surface. Look beyond the masks people wear if you want to know what is in their hearts. Remove your own masks to let people know who you really are.

When someone steals from you, it teaches you that nothing is forever. Always appreciate what you have. You never know when you might lose it. Never take your friends or family for granted, because today and sometimes only this very moment is the only guarantee you may have.

When someone inflicts injury upon you, it teaches you that the human state is a very fragile one. Protect and take care of your body as best as you can, it’s the one thing that you are sure to have forever.

When someone mocks you, it teaches you that no two people are alike. When you encounter people who are different from you, do not judge them by how they look or act, instead base it on the contents of what is in their hearts.

When someone breaks your heart, it teaches you that loving someone does not
always mean that the person will love you back. But don’t turn your back on love, because when you find the right person, the joy that one person brings you will make up for all of your past hurts times a thousand fold.

When someone holds a grudge against you, it teaches you that everyone makes mistakes. When you are wronged, the most virtuous thing you can do is forgive the offender without pretense. Forgiving those who have hurt us is often the most difficult and painful of life’s experiences, but it is also the most courageous thing a person can do.

When a loved one is unfaithful to you, it teaches you that resisting temptation is Man’s greatest challenge. Be vigilant in your resistance against all temptations. By doing so, you will be rewarded with an enduring sense of satisfaction far greater than the temporary pleasure by which you were tempted.

When someone cheats you, it teaches you that greed is the root of all evil. Aspire to make your dreams come true, no matter how lofty they may be. Do not feel guilty about your success, but never let an obsession with achieving your goals lead you to engage in malevolent activities.

When someone ridicules you, it teaches you that nobody is perfect. Accept people for their merits and be tolerant of their flaws. Do not ever reject someone for imperfections over which they have no control.”

Upon hearing the Lord’s wisdom, the old woman became concerned that there are no lessons to be learned from man’s good deeds. God replied that Man’s capacity to love is the greatest gift He has. At the root of kindness and love, and each act of love also teaches us a lesson. The woman’s curiosity deepened. God, once again began to explain:

“When someone loves us, it teaches us love, kindness, charity, honesty, humility, forgiveness, acceptance, and all of these can counteract all the evil in the world. For every good deed, there is one evil deed. Man alone has the power to control the balance between good and evil, but because the lessons of love are not taught often enough, the power is too often abused.

When you enter someone’s life, whether by plan, chance or coincidence, consider what your lesson will be. Will you teach love or a harsh lesson of reality? When you die, will your life have resulted in more loving or more hurting? More comfort or more pain? More joy or more sadness? Each one of us has the power over the balance of the love in the world. Use it wisely!”

Don’t miss an opportunity to nudge the world’s scale in the right direction!

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Blessings of Thorns

– Nancy Leigh DeMoss

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against am November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole that from her.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren’t enough, her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come for the holiday. Then Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. She has no idea what I’m feeling, thought Sandra with a shudder.

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” The shop clerk’s approach startled her.

“I….I need an arrangement,” stammered Sandra.

“For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving “Special?” asked the shop clerk. “I’m convinced that flowers tell stories,” she continued. “Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this thanksgiving?”

“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.”

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”

Just then the shop door’s small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, “Hi, Barbara…let me get your order.” She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

“Want this in a box?” asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer’s response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

“Yes, please,” Barbara, replied with an appreciative smile. “You’d think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn’t be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,” she said as she gently tapped her chest. And she left with her order.

“Uh,” stammered Sandra, “that lady just left with, uh….she just left with no flowers!

“Right, said the clerk, “I cut off the flowers. That’s the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t tell me someone is willing to pay for that!” exclaimed Sandra.

“Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today,” explained the clerk. “She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery.”

“That same year I had lost my husband,” continued the clerk, “and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel.”

“So what did you do?” asked Sandra.

“I learned to be thankful for thorns,” answered the clerk quietly. “I’ve always thanked God for the good things in my life and never questioned the good things that happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask questions! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed the ‘flowers’ of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. “I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.”

Just then someone else walked in the shop. “Hey, Phil!” shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

“My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving Special….12 thorny, long-stemmed stems!” laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

“Those are for your wife?” asked Sandra incredulously. “Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?”

“No…I’m glad you asked,” Phil replied. “Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord’s grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from “thorny” times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific “problem” and give thanks for what that problem taught us.”

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special!”

“I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life.” Sandra said. “It’s all too…fresh.”

“Well,” the clerk replied carefully, “my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don’t resent the thorns.”

Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. “I’ll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,” she managed to choke out.

“I hoped you would,” said the clerk gently. “I’ll have them ready in a minute.”

“Thank you. What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first.”

It read: “My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.”

Praise Him for your roses; thank him for your thorns!

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

APPRECIATION

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. – Hebrews 13:15

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview and had to see the director for the final interview.

The director discovered from the CV that the young man’s academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until postgraduate research, there was no year when he did not score A.

The director asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships in school?” the youth answered, “None.”

The director asked, “Was it your father who paid for your school fees?”

The youth answered, “My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid my school fees.”

The director asked, “Where did your mother work?”

The youth answered, “My mother worked as clothes cleaner.”

The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, “Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?”

The youth answered, “Never. My mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.”

The director said, “I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother’s hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother’s hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed clothes everyday to enable him pay his school fees. The bruises in the mother’s hands were the price the mother had to pay for his academic excellence, graduation and his future. After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother. That night, mother and son talked for a very long time. Next morning, the youth went to the director’s office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth’s eyes, asked: “Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?”

The youth answered, “I cleaned my mother’s hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes.”

The Director asked, “Please tell me your feelings.”

The youth said, Number one, I now know what appreciation is. Without my mother, I will not be where I am today. Number two, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number three, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, “This is what I am looking for in anyone who would be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.”

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company’s performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted would develop “entitlement mentality” and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent’s efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort of others and the ability to work with others to get things done.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!