Thursday, July 6, 2017

Roses and Thorns

– Author Unknown
To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. – Isaiah 61:3
A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the thorns. And he thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?” Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them.
One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is the characteristic of love, to look at a person, and knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns.
Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we should feel for each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden.
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Purpose: Sent to Restore Israel

And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him. – Isaiah 49:5
Another purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ was to restore Israel back to God
The people of Israel have always occupied a special place in the heart of God. Even after numerous sins and retributions, as recorded in the Bible, they remain very dear to God. Having called them out of other nations through Abraham, their ancestor, whom He promised a son to who would in turn be progenitor to these special people, He has kept faith with them through the ages – establishing and renewing His covenants with them, sustaining and protecting them, answering them whenever they called as well as starting the Agenda of Salvation with them; “for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).
Despite the many overtures of God, the Israelites were notorious for running afoul of His precepts. The Bible is replete with instances of their up-and-down relationship with God, with various degrees of chastisement that usually followed their violation – the height of which was banishments from the land promised to them and their having to serve as slaves in foreign lands.
Yet, God still orchestrated their return back to the Promised Land and was with them in the process of rebuilding that ensued after that. Nonetheless, their relationship with God was characteristically feisty such that He had to embrace non-Jews, otherwise called the Gentiles, in a covenanted relationship, with all the perks that was originally meant for the Jews thrown into the equation (please read Romans 11).
However, God has not given up on His chosen people and restoring them to Himself was one of the reasons He sent His beloved Son to the earth (Romans 10). Indeed, God does not give up on anyone; but desires that all may come to Him for own good.
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

All He Had to Offer

“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” – Mark 10:15

Here is a story, about a nine-year-old boy who lived in a rural town in Tennessee. His house was in a poor area of the community. A church there had a bus ministry that came knocking on his door one Saturday afternoon. The child came to answer the door and greeted the bus pastor.
The bus pastor asked if his parents were home and the small boy told him that his parents take off every weekend and leave him at home to take care of his little brother. The bus pastor couldn’t believe what the child said and asked him to repeat it. The youngster gave the same answer and the bus pastor asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the living room and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs exposed. The bus pastor asked the child, “Where do you go to church?”
The young boy surprised the visitor by replying, “I’ve never been to church in my whole life.” The bus pastor thought to himself about the fact that his church was less than three miles from the child’s house.
“Are you sure you have never been to church?” he asked again.
“I’m sure I haven’t,” came his answer.
Then the bus pastor said, “Well, son, more important than going to church, have you ever heard the greatest love story ever told?” and then he proceeded to share the Gospel with this little nine-year-old boy.
The young lad’s heart began to be tenderized and at the end of the bus pastor’s story, the bus pastor asked if the boy wanted to receive this free gift from God. The youngster exclaimed, “OF COURSE!”
The child and the bus pastor got on their knees and the lad invited Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift of salvation. They both stood up and the bus pastor asked if he could pick the child up for church the next morning.
“Sure,” the nine year old replied.
The bus pastor got to the house early the next morning and found the lights off. He let himself in and snaked his way through the house and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up the little boy and his brother and  helped get them dressed. They got on the bus and ate a doughnut for breakfast on their way to church.
Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church before.
The church was a real big one. The little child just sat there, clueless of what was going on. A few minutes into the service, these tall unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up some wooden plates. One of the men prayed and the child, with utter fascination, watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still didn’t know what was going on. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, it hit the child what was taking place.
These people must be giving money to Jesus. He then reflected on the free gift of life he had received just twenty-four hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets, front and back, and couldn’t find a thing to give Jesus.
By this time the offering plate was being passed down his aisle and, with a broken heart, he just grabbed the plate and held on to it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the aisle. He turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind him. And then his eyes remained glued on the plate as it was passed back and forth, back and forth all the way to the rear of the sanctuary.
Then he had an idea. This little nine-year-old boy, in front of God and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked about eight rows back, grabbed the usher by the coat and asked to hold the plate one more time. Then he did the most astounding thing I have ever heard of. He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church floor and stepped into the center of it.
As he stood there, he lifted his little head up and said, “Jesus, I don’t have anything to give you today, but just me. I give you me!”
The Lord Jesus admonished that we need the faith and attitude of a child to enter the kingdom of God. God is not interested in our resources as much as He is interested in our hearts in endless communion with Him.
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Monday, July 3, 2017

If A Child Lives With Criticism

As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man. – Proverbs 27:19
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy
If children live with jealousy, they learn what envy is
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty
If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient
If children live with encouragement, they learn to be confident
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves
If children live with acceptance, they learn to find love in the world
If children live with recognition, they learn to have a goal
If children live with sharing, they learn to be generous
If children live with honesty and fairness, they learn what truth and justice are
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those around them
If children live with friendliness, they learn that the world is a nice place in which to live
If children live with serenity, they learn to have peace of mind.
What are your children living with?
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Friday, June 30, 2017

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.
– 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.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Just Five More Minutes

– Author Unknown
While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.
“He’s a fine looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter.
“What do you say we go, Melissa?”
Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.”
The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content.
Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”
Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”
The man smiled and said, “O.K.”
“My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.
The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”
Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities? Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today.
Meditation: One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. – Psalm 27:4
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Friday, June 23, 2017

Interviewing God

Author Unknown
Come in,” God said to me, “So, you would like to interview Me?”
“If you have the time,” I said.
He smiled through His beard and said: “My time is called Eternity and is enough to do everything. What questions do you have in mind to ask me?”
“None that are new to you. What’s the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?”
He answered: “That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived…”
His hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said, “May I ask you another question?”
He replied with a smile.
“As a Father, what would you ask your children to do for the New Year?”
“To learn they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.
To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it.
To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will be others better or worse than they are.
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.1
To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings.
To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.
To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them.
To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve.
To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure.
To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they forgive themselves.
To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say.
To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness.
To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn to be satisfied with what they already achieved. To learn that happiness is a decision. They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.
To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life.
To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.
To learn that by trying to hold on to love ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever.
To learn that even though the word “love” has many different meanings, it loses value when it is overstated.
To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love them; I simply do.
To learn that the shortest distance they could be from Me is the distance of a prayer.”
Meditation: For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. – 1 Corinthians 1:21

You will succeed in Jesus Name!