Naked Truth

Author Unknown

One day, a schoolteacher wrote the following equation on the board:

9×1=7

9×2=18

9×3=27

9×4=36

9×5=45

9×6=54

9×7=63

9×8=72

9×9=81

9×10=90

When he was done, he looked back at the students as they were all giggling because of the first equation which was wrong.

Then he said to them: “I wrote the first equation wrongly on purpose, because I wanted you to learn something important. This was for you to know how the world out there will treat you!

“You can see that I wrote the right thing nine times, but none of you congratulated me for those. But you all laughed and criticized me because of one wrong thing I did.

“The lesson here is: the world will never appreciate the good you do a million times, but will criticize the one wrong thing you do. So don’t get discouraged! Always rise above the laughter and criticism.

“Don’t look up to man; look up to God.”

Meditation: Do all things without complaining and disputing. – Philippians 2:14

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Sculptor’s Attitude

Author Unknown

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.

I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or…

I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or…

I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or…

I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or…

I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or…

I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or…

I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or…

I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or…

eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or…

I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.

And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me.

I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

Meditation: Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God… So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:1-2, 12

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Recall Notification

Author Unknown

God, the Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype unit code, named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has been identified as “Subsequential Internal Non-morality,” more commonly known as S.I.N. Some of the symptoms include:

1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect.

The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Best Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by ‘Knee mail’!

Meditation: Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him. – 2 Samuel 14:14

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Wonders of Praise

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
– 2 Chronicles 20:21-22

For many people, the idea of singing when confronted by challenges or other forms of resistance would seem utterly ridiculous, if not outright insane. But that was exactly what the Israelites of old did when enemies came raging their way. Guess what? It worked. They practically sang their way to victory, without lifting a sword or shield. If it worked then, that means it will work for us too. After all, all incidents in the Bible are written as examples for us.

From all indications, the battleground is certainly not a place for singing and praising God. It is a place for warfare, of violent exchange and cries of war. But when the Israelites changed the operation mode of their environment through energetic praise, God had little choice but to make it a place of jubilation for them.

How are you handling your own battle? As you begin to praise God concerning those challenges you are facing, watch Him turn impossible situations around to celebration for you. In the place the devil planned to humiliate you, God will make you a celebrity.

When we praise God, He swings into action on our behalf. The devil will do everything in its power to keep you from praising God, because it knows the power of praise. The more you praise, the more you are raised.

Perhaps, you think you have nothing to praise God about? Take a cue from the Israelites. Take some time right now, forget about that challenge and begin to praise God for who He is and see Him at work on your behalf.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Letter in the Night

One day a woman named Louise fell asleep and had a very fitful dream. She dreamed that someone in Hell wrote a letter to her, and it was to be delivered to her by a messenger. The messenger passed between the lakes of burning fire and brimstone before he could make it to the door that would lead him to the outside world.

Louise dreamed that the messenger walked to her house, came inside, and gently but firmly woke her. He gave her the message, saying only that a friend had written it to her from Hell.

Louise, in her dream with trembling hands, took the letter and read:

My Friend,

I stand in Judgment now and feel that you’re to blame somehow. Never did you point the way. You knew the Lord in truth and glory, But never did you tell the story. My knowledge then was very dim; You could have led me safely to Him. Though we lived together on the earth, You never told me of the second birth, And now I stand this day condemned because you failed to mention Him.

You taught me many things, that’s true. I called you “friend” and trusted you, But I learn now that it’s too late, You could have kept me from this fate. We walked by day and talked by night, And yet you showed me not the Light. You let me live, and love, and die, You knew I’d never live on high. Yes, I called you “friend” in life, And trusted you through joy and strife. And yet on coming to the end, I cannot, now, call you “My Friend.”

Marsha

After reading the letter, Louise awoke. The dream was so real in her mind and sweat dropped in pools from her body. She swore she could still smell the acrid smell of brimstone and smoke from her room.

As she contemplated the meaning of her dream, she realized that as a Christian, she had failed in her duty to “go out to all the world and preach the gospel.” As she thought of that, she promised herself that the next day, she would call Marsha and invite her to church with her.

The next morning she called Marsha, and this was the conversation:

“Hello Bill, is Marsha there?”

“Louise, you don’t know?”

“No, Bill, know what?”

“Marsha was killed last night in a car accident. I thought you knew.”

Fellow Christian, is this your testimony? Are you witnessing to your relatives and friends who you are with everyday? Or will there be relatives friends of yours in Hell, asking you why you did not tell them about Jesus?

As your friend, if you don’t know Jesus, here’s how to be connected to Him: If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 – 10)

If you have not done so, simply pray this prayer:

“Dear God, I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross for my sins. Jesus, forgive me of all my sins, come into my heart and become my Lord and Savior. And help, from this day onward, to live a life that is pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

You shouldn’t keep Jesus to yourself, you’ve got to tell somebody about Him and the love of God!

– Author Unknown 

Meditation: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:38

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Gestation of Faith (2)

Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true. We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. – Hebrews 6:11-12

When talking about faith, Abraham is one person that readily comes to mind. In spite of contrary circumstances, he believed God. He agreed with God that he was Abraham – father of many nations – when he did not even have a child. Now, that’s faith. And he continued in faith for decades, even when it seemed that nothing was happening. That’s patience.

In the process of waiting, Abraham kept meditating on the faith pictures that God had given him. He did not change his mind and revert to his old name. Rather, he continued to call himself and his wife by the names the Lord had called them, even when the physical circumstances were obviously contrary.

Abraham is popularly known as Father of Faith. But really, he is Father of faith and patience. The fact is, he became Father of Faith because he was Father of Patience. His faith would have been unproductive if he had not added patience.

God has your life all planned out. He has prepared all that you will ever need long before you were born. He has made provision for every need in advance. However, like Abraham and the other patriarchs, you need to exercise patient faith to lay hold of this provision. That is how you can join the elite league of “those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Gestation of Faith (1)

My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4

Over the years, and especially in recent times, the Church has placed a lot of emphasis on faith – and rightly so – because the Christian walk is essentially a walk of faith (See Romans 1:17, Romans 10:9, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 11:6). We are saved through faith, we live by faith and we maintain our relationship with God by faith. Nonetheless, the Bible is clear about the need to supplement our diet of faith with other important ingredients which I like to call “core vitamins.” Patience is one of these core vitamins (See II Peter 1:4-8).

In today’s fast-paced world of jet travels, instant photography, fast food restaurants, high-speed internet and what have you; it is not unlikely that patience has become alien to quite a number of us. Well, what exactly is patience? Patience is endurance. It is holding on to the Word of God without wavering, regardless of circumstances.

Patience is that quiet confidence that awaits the manifestation of what God has promised. It is holding on to the confession of our faith without faltering, knowing that He who called us is faithful (I Thessalonians 5:24).

You will succeed in Jesus Name!