Tuesday, May 15, 2018

How to Remain Current and Take Sure Steps

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
– Proverbs 4:5
We are all products of our environments. And environment is not limited to physical location alone; much more than that, it includes our mental (the places we get the information we feed our mind), spiritual (the place(s) we go to for spiritual nourishment), career (factors affecting our discipline), business (industry and location of our commercial activities), as well as emotional (relationships) factors. All of these constitute our environment.
Being current about happenings and developments in your environments can be very beneficial. Apart from the fact that it portrays you as a smart person who is on top of his game, the information you garner will equally help you to make informed decisions or actions about aspects of your life that the information you have is relevant to, which will, hopefully, yield you good results.
To operate in the more popular environments, we rely on the mass media and informal sources for the information we need to plan our day, week, month, year and future. We source for information on the weather, stock market, investment opportunities, job openings, etc. and we launch into action based on our gleaning. When meteorologists say the weather is going to be foul, we plan to stay indoor; when stock analysts’ predictions are negative, we hold on to our money; when we learn that government is focusing on a particular sector of the economy, bankers and business people invest there; and so on. These tell us the importance of information in keeping us current and helping us to take appropriate steps.
But, our quest for information should not be restricted to functioning in our physical and economic environment alone. Equal attention should be devoted to our mental, emotional and spiritual environments. As our reference Scripture charges, you must consciously seek wisdom and understanding. It is to the extent that we are informed in these other areas of life that we will perform as individuals as well as attain balance.
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Monday, May 14, 2018

The Old Paths

‘The Old Paths’ was written by a retired minister who lives In Tennessee
I liked the old paths, when
Moms were at home.
Dads were at work.
Brothers went into the army.
And sisters got married BEFORE having children!
Crime did not pay;
Hard work did;
And people knew the difference.
Moms could cook;
Dads would work;
Children would behave.
Husbands were loving;
Wives were supportive;
And children were polite.
Women wore the jewelry;
And Men wore the pants.
Women looked like ladies;
Men looked like gentlemen;
And children looked decent.
People loved the truth,
And hated a lie;
They came to church to get “IN”,
Not to get “OUT”!
Hymns sounded Godly;
Sermons sounded helpful;
Rejoicing sounded normal;
And crying sounded sincere.
Cursing was wicked;
Drugs were for illnesses and nothing more;
And divorce was unthinkable.
The flag was honoured;
Our country was beautiful;
And God was welcome!
We read the Bible in public;
Prayed in school;
And preached from house to house
To be called a Hero of our nation was worth dying for;
To be called a Christian was worth living for;
To be called a Traitor was a shame!
Preachers preached because they had a message;
And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY!
Preachers preached from the Bible;
Singers sang from the heart;
And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!
A new birth meant a new life;
Salvation meant a changed life;
Following Christ led to eternal life.
Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God;
Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord;
Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus;
And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!
Laws were based on the Bible;
Homes read the Bible;
And churches taught the Bible.
God was worshiped;
Christ was exalted;
And the Holy Spirit was respected..
Church was where you found Christians
On the Lord’s day, rather than in the garden,
On the creek bank, on the golf course,
Or being entertained somewhere else.
I still like the old paths the best!
Meditation: Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. – Revelation 2:4
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Friday, May 11, 2018

When I Say, “I Am A Christian”

[We had earlier featured a version of this poem which we later learnt is adulterated. After a couple of correspondences with the real author, please read the original version of the poem below and be blessed by it:]

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved!”
I’m whispering, “I get lost sometimes
That’s why I chose this way”

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble
Needing God to be my guide

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong
I’m professing that I’m weak
And pray for strength to carry on

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed
And cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
Asking humbly to be taught

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are all too visible
But God believes I’m worth it

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache,
Which is why I seek His name

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority
I only know I’m loved

Used by Permission
Copyright ©1988 Carol Wimmer
All Rights Reserved
www.whenisayiamachristian.com

Meditation: I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, – Ephesians 4:1

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Thursday, May 10, 2018

A Lesson on Forgiveness

Aunt Martha
My niece, Darcy, is an incredibly sweet child, always eager to please. She is three years old and she absolutely adores her slightly older cousin.
Recently the two were playing together and had gone into a bedroom together. Suddenly, Darcy came down the hall in a state of indignation, saying, “Jo-Jo slapped my face.” She had a slightly reddened place on her very pale cheek.
Jo-Jo followed her saying, “I didn’t do anything. Darcy banged me with her head and I know she did it on purpose.”
Now I love both little girls, but I knew Darcy did not do it on purpose. Bouncing around in her excitement, she had banged her head into Jo-Jo’s nose. The sudden pain made Jo-Jo fly off the handle and I knew she had slapped her without thinking.
We had a little talk about it and she finally allowed that she had put up her hand and it had hit Darcy’s cheek. I asked her to apologize to Darcy because her hand had hit her cheek. She refused, saying, “No. I didn’t do anything.”
Whereupon Darcy said, “Jo-Jo, I’m sorry my cheek hit your hand.” Now that is forgiveness. I’ve never seen anybody forgive any better.
Meditation: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. – Matthew 6:14-15
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

I Will Move the Rock

by Cindy Lu
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.”
Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure, these thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. “Why kill myself over this?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough.”
And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done.
“I, my friend, will now move the rock.”
At times when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but it is still God who moves the mountains.
Meditation: So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. – 1 Samuel 15:22
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Information, Please

Author Unknown
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person — her name was “Information, Please” and there was nothing she did not know.
“Information, Please” could supply anybody’s number and the correct time. My first personal experience with this genie-in the-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I hacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn’t seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.
The telephone!
Quickly, I ran for the foot stool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. “Information, Please,” I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
“Information.”
“I hurt my finger,” I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
“Isn’t your mother home?” came the question.
“Nobody’s home but me.” I blubbered.
“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.
“No,” I replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.”
“Can you open your icebox?” she asked. I said I could. “Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger,” said the voice.
After that, I called “Information, Please” for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk, that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called and told her the sad story.
She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child, but I was inconsolable. I asked her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?”
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, “Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. “Information, Please.” “Information,” said the now familiar voice. “How do you spell fix?” I asked. All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. “Information, Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home, and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.
As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, “Information, Please.”
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, “Information.”
I hadn’t planned this but I heard myself saying, “Could you please tell me how to spell fix?”
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, “I guess your finger must have healed by now.” I laughed. “So it’s really still you,” I said. “I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time.”
“I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls.” I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
“Please do,” she said. “Just ask for Sally.”
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, “Information.” I asked for Sally. “Are you a friend?” She asked.
“Yes, a very old friend,” I answered.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sally has been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.”
Before I could hang up she said, “Wait a minute. Is this Paul?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called.
Let me read it to you.” The note said, “Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.”
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.
Meditation: For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. – Romans 14:7
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Monday, May 7, 2018

The Magic Pebbles

By John Wayne Schlatter
From A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
One night a group of nomads were preparing to retire for the evening when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light. They knew they were in the presence of a celestial being. With great anticipation, they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must be especially for them.
Finally, the voice spoke, “Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddle bags. Travel a day’s journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will find you sad.”
After having departed, the nomads shared their disappointment and anger with each other. They had expected the revelation of a great universal truth that would enable them to create wealth, health and purpose for the world. But instead they were given a menial task that made no sense to them at all. However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and deposit them in their saddle bags while voicing their displeasure.
They travelled a day’s journey and that night while making camp, they reached into their saddle bags and discovered every pebble they had gathered had become a diamond. They were glad they had diamonds. They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles.
Meditation: So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. – 1 Samuel 15:22
You will succeed in Jesus Name!