How You’re Forgiven

Author Unknown

 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

– Isaiah 1:18

One rainy afternoon, I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.

Suddenly my daughter spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. “Dad, I’m thinking of something.”

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“The rain!” she began, “is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away.”

After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. “That’s really good.”

Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked…

“Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?”

She didn’t hesitate one moment with her answer: “We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us.”

I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on.

The truth is God is more interested in pardoning our sins than in keeping the record of our wrongdoings. He is not judgemental of our actions, neither does He set out to dog our steps until we commit a sin so that He can pounce on us. That is not God.

Even when we reject His counsel and do things our own way, in addition to the agony of our rejection, He is also more pained by the consequences of our sins than we can ever be. That is why He is ever eager to forgive anyone who comes to Him with a sincere and repentant heart.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Who will Read You Today?

Several years ago, a preacher from a distant town accepted a call from a church in Leeds. Some weeks after his arrival, he had an appointment that made him board a bus to another part of the town. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had mistakenly given him his balance in excess of 50 pence.

As he considered what to do, he thought within him, ‘You’d better give this money back. It would be wrong to keep it’. Then another thought came, “Oh, forget it, it’s only 50p; who would worry about this little amount, afterall the bus company makes so much money on fares; they will never miss it. Accept it as ‘a gift from God’ and keep quiet.

When he was getting down from the bus, he paused momentarily at the door, and then handed the 50p to the driver and said, ‘Take; the balance you gave me was in excess’. The driver, with a smile, replied, ‘Aren’t you the new preacher in town?’  ‘Yes I am’, he replied. ‘Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about where to go to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you a balance in excess. I’ll worship with you at the church this Sunday.

When the preacher stepped off the bus, he grabbed a nearby electric pole, looked up and said, ‘Oh God, I almost sold your Son for 50 pence!’. Our lifestyles are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is just a subtle example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to test!

Always be on guard — and remember — You carry the name of Christ on your forehead and shoulders, once you say you are a Christian. ‘Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny’.

Let our lives model Jesus Christ as we journey through life.

Meditation: Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. – 1 Tim 4:12b (NLT)

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!!!Always be on guard — and remember — You carry the name of Christ on your forehead and shoulders, once you say you are a Christian. ‘Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny’.

Let our lives model Jesus Christ as we journey through life.

Meditation: Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. – 1 Tim 4:12b (NLT)

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!!!

Have a Blessed, Squeaky Clean Day!

Author Unknown

There are five sponges laying on your kitchen counter top. Each member of your family has been cleaning up different areas of your home, but all the sponges look the same. You are curious as to what was cleaned in your home, but you can’t tell by looking…they all look the same….so what do you do?

You squeeze each sponge to see what comes out. As you squeeze the first sponge, you see that cola comes out, and so you decide that someone cleaned the kitchen with that one. Upon squeezing the second sponge, you find tub and tile cleaner – that one was used to clean the bathroom.

Next, in the third sponge, you find motor oil — hubby was cleaning the garage!

In the fourth sponge, baby powder puffs out when it is squeezed – yep the baby’s nursery was done with that one!

And finally, in the last one, is floor wax — that was the one you used on the hall floor!

As you lay the last one down, you look again at their similarity – and they all look the same until they’re squeezed.

Christians are the same way. As life squeezes us, different things come out – anger from one, a need for revenge from another, tears from one, remorse from yet another – also greed, untruth, lust – and finally, from one saint, pours forth the love of Christ.

Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in – stay in the Word daily, and be in continuous prayer, so that when life puts the squeeze on you (and it WILL), Jesus, and Jesus ALONE will shine forth from you!

Have a blessed, squeaky clean day!

Meditation: As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man. – Proverbs 27:19

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

How To Sustain Success

Success means different things to different people; the same way the mode of approaching it is different from one individual to another, not minding the myriads of literature in the public domain on how to achieve it.

There are two angles to success; the first is exploring how to accomplish it and, the second, how to sustain it. Achieving success in life might seem a very arduous feat that places a lot of demand on one. That is rightly so, as not everyone can lay claim to being successful. However, sustaining success at whatever level is more demanding than the process of achieving it.

The passage above gives us an insight on how to sustain success so it doesn’t slip out of grasp or dim out with greater speed than it came. It takes discipline to retain success, that is what the writer of the proverb describes as “ruthless” in the passage above. A measure of ruthlessness is needed to sustain or scale up any kind of success. You have to be ruthless on yourself in terms of how you use time, manage resources, what you tell yourself, as well as how you interact with yourself and others.

Discipline must be your watchword if you want to sustain success; you cannot afford to do what everyone else is doing if such will not further your cause. You cannot live the way your friends live, think the way they think, say what they say and indulge in what they indulge. Successful people are usually hard on themselves and that transfers to the way they relate with others. They are not afraid to break out of the mould and be different. They are strict and disciplined because that is what it takes to sustain success.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

How Do You Respond to Discouragement?

This is a story that teaches us some lessons about how to deal with discouragement at moments in our lives.

A man got dressed in the evening and set out on his way to God’s house. On his way to Church, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. He got up, brushed himself up and headed home.

At home, he changed his clothes and was again on his way to Church. Again, he fell at the same spot! He, again, got up, brushed off the dirt and headed home. At home, he once again changed his clothes and walked out heading to God’s house.

On his way, he met a man holding a lamp. He asked to know his identity and the man replied, “I saw you fall twice on your way, so I brought a lamp so I can light your way.”

The first man thanked him profusely and the two went on their way to the Church. Once at the Church, the first man asked the man with the lamp to come in, but he refused. He asked him a couple more times and, again, the answer was negative. The first man then asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray.

The man replied, “I am Satan.” The man was shocked at this reply.

Satan went on to explain,”I saw you on your way to the Church and it was I who made you fall. When you went home, cleaned yourself and went back on your way to the Church, God forgave all of your sins.

I made you fall a second time, and even that did not discourage you; rather, you went back on your way to Church. Because of that, God forgave all the sins of the people of your household.

I was afraid if I made you fall one more time, then God will forgive the sins of your nation, so I have to make sure you get to the Church safely.”

Do not put off the good you intended to do as you never know how much reward you might receive from the hardships you encounter while trying to achieve that good. Your righteousness can save your family and a whole nation.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. – Hebrews 12:3

The Island of Feelings

Author Unknown

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived; Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.

Love decided to persevere until the last possible moment to ensure that everyone else was safe. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?”

Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!”

“I can’t help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by, so Love asked for help, “Sadness, let me go with you.”

“Oh…. Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself.”

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly there was a voice, “Come Love, I will take you.” It was an elder.

Love was overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder, asked Knowledge, another elder. “Who was that man helped me?”

“It was Time,” Knowledge answered.

“Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?”

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”

Meditation: But time and chance happen to them all. – Ecclesiastes 9:11

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

Why God Loves You

Author Unknown

As I gazed up at the mountains, I was awed by their majesty;

I bowed my head and asked myself, “Why should He care for me?

I am not great like the mountains that tower so high above,

What is there about me that God can find to love?”

“Father, I am not strong like the wind that makes your tall trees sway,

I cannot sing sweetly like your birds; will you love me anyway?

But most of all, I am simply me, and often have cause to fear,

In spite of all my weaknesses, do you promise to be near?”

With eyes closed tight against my tears, I wished He could hear me pray.

Then I felt His Spirit tell me, “Child, look up, I have something to say.

“You are simply you, the spirit I love, a part of my great plan.

I put you here to learn of life and to return to me again.”

“You are more beautiful to me than the loveliest mountain I made,

And your strength exceeds that of the winds, so do not be afraid.

I love you not for what you are, but for what I know you will be.

I am always beside you watching you grow, you are very special to me.”

A smile touched my lips – I knew it was true, my Father had always been there

Giving me comfort and blessings and love and my own special talents to share.

So I do my best to make Him proud. I am not afraid, for you see,

He loves me not for what I am, but for what He knows I will be.

Meditation: The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” – Jeremiah 31:3

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!