A Story About A Pilot and A Rat

 

A Story About A Pilot and A Rat

“If you lie down with dogs, you will rise with fleas.” That saying holds much truth, and so does this story. The modern jet on the runway was a beauty. It was equipped with the latest technology and weaponry. The jet could fly at supersonic speeds, and quickly race to great heights. If an enemy plane were in the vicinity, the jet’s pilot could destroy that plane miles away, before the plane’s pilot could even see him.

An Air Force pilot climbed into the jet and off he flew, leaving the earth far behind as he soared above the clouds. Although no one was looking, the pilot straightened himself in his seat. He was naturally proud of his jet, and of himself for qualifying to fly such a sophisticated mode of transportation.

After he reached cruising altitude, the pilot heard a strange noise. He took off his helmet, and recognized the noise–it sounded like someone gnawing on rubber or plastic. Peering down below the instrument panel, to his horror the pilot saw a rat, out of his reach and gnawing on the main electrical wire between the jet’s controls and its engine. If the rat were to cut through that line, the jet would careen out of control, and crash immediately.

The pilot’s first instinct was to descend–an emergency landing. But he had flown so far that there was not enough time to land. So he decided to ascend–maybe the rat couldn’t survive at a higher altitude. The pilot put on his oxygen mask, boosted power to the jet’s engine, and quickly climbed as high as he could go. Soon the gnawing sound ended. When the pilot landed safely, he found the rat dead.

How Does This Apply to Our Lives?

The pilot was highly trained, at the top of his profession. His equipment was the best that technology could provide. But his safety was threatened by the appetite of one of the most primitive of animals–a rat.

Like the jet pilot, we live in a world of high technology. Robots make our clothes, microwave ovens cook our food, cordless telephones carry our voices, and computers analyze our cars. And yet our lives are also affected by many things people face centuries ago. Hate, jealousy, and dishonesty continue to exist. We are still plagued by temptations to strike out in anger, cut corners to get ahead, and toy with the truth.

And something else has not changed: most people say they want to be delivered from temptations, but really would like to keep in touch with them. You see, we know certain things are wrong, yet we still flirt with them. As our power of resistance weakens, we think that one small compromise of our principles won’t matter. But it does. Lying down with dogs has unhealthy results, and so does compromising with wrong.

Take care to avoid being lured into moral and ethical trouble. Build a wall of protection around your life by shunning anything that promotes or gives credibility to unwholesome attitudes. Read Scripture, meditate upon its truths, and do your best to live by them.

Those steps will lead you to new spiritual altitudes. Just as the hungry rat could not survive at high altitudes, sinful appetites cannot survive at such spiritual heights.

— By Rich McLawhorn

Meditation: The righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger. – Job 17:9

You will succeed in Jesus' Name!

Stay Grateful

 

Stay Grateful

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing:

“Last year, I had surgery and my gallbladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time.

“The same year I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job in the publishing company in which I had spent 30 years of my life.

“The same year I experienced the sorrow of the death of my father.

“And in the same year, my son failed in his medical exams because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at the hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of the car was another loss.

In the end, he wrote: “Alas! It was such a bad year!”

When the writer’s wife entered the room, she found her husband looking sad and lost in his thoughts. From behind his back, she read what was written on the paper, left the room silently, and came back with another paper which she placed on the side of her husband’s writing.

The husband found the following written on the paper:

“Last year, I finally got rid of my gall bladder from which I had spent years in pain.

ALSO READ  Be Happy

“I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilise my time to write something better with more focus and peace.

“The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition met his Creator.

“The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability.

In the end, she wrote: “Last year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well!”

See. The same incidents but different viewpoints.

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy. There is always, always, always something to be thankful for!

Your current position is somebody’s future expectation. Your life now is somebody’s prayer request. Don’t let the devil point at you that somebody is doing better than you. It is a strategy for ingratitude.

Anything you celebrate multiplies, anything you despise diminishes. Appreciation is the vehicle for acceleration. Gratitude is the lift to great altitude. To see what God will do, you must acknowledge what God has done.

Stay grateful.

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

The Stepping Stones

 

The Stepping Stones

The Lord came to me like a dream one day and asked, “why do you sorrow?”

I answered, “Lord my life is so full of pain, I can’t face one more tomorrow.”

The Lord sat down beside me, and gently took my hand.

He said, “Let Me explain to you, and then you’ll understand.

Each sorrow is a stepping stone you must surmount each day,

And every stepping stone you climb is a sorrow that’s passed away.

The road of life is a mountainside, with crevices in which to be caught,

But as you struggle on your way, I, the Rock, will lend support.

Every stepping stone you climb, makes spirit and heart grow strong.

Exercising character and faith, this road seems painful and long.

The way is paved with stepping stones, to uplift your heart and soul,

Though difficult, they aid your way, to a City paved with gold.

I know that you are tired, for I too have walked this way,

My sorrows did they multiply, but I cleared many stones away.

I left My Rock to lift you up, I left behind My story.

To give you strength to make your climb, to that special place in glory.

And never fear, the Rock is here, you’ll never climb this mountain alone

Surmount life’s sorrows, continue on, for they are but stepping stones.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

You will succeed in Jesus' Name!

10 Things God Wants You to Know in a Recession

 

10 Things God Wants You to Know in a Recession

1. When there is a casting down, you will be proclaiming a lifting up. – Job 22:29

2. Your God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

3. He knows the thoughts he has towards you, they are thoughts of good and not evil, to give you an expected end. – Jeremiah 29:11

4. You will never see the righteous forsaken, nor will you see their seed beg for bread. – Psalms 37:25

5. Even though the young lions lack and suffer hunger, because you and your household trust in the Lord, you will not lack any good thing. – Psalms 34:10

6. Because you trust in the Lord with all your heart, and you do not believe in what man says, the Lord your God shall direct your path. – Proverbs 3:5

7. In these hard times, His grace will be sufficient for you, and His strength and Glory shall be made manifest in your weakness. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

8. Because it is not of him that willeth nor runneth, but of God that showeth mercy, you will receive abundance of mercy and compassion from every angle of the earth in this period of grace. – Romans 9:16

9. Surely, as the race is not for the swift, not the battle to the strong, as bread is not to the wise, nor riches to the men of understanding, even as favour is not exclusive to men of skill; your time and chance to excel even in these times is here. – Ecclesiastes 9:11

10. Finally, remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee the power, the ability and strength, to make wealth, because he wants to establish his covenant which He made long ago. – Deuteronomy 8:18

– Author Unknown

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

Who Do You Trust?

 

Who Do You Trust?

A man just got married and was returning home with his wife. They were crossing a lake in a boat when, suddenly, a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless.

The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and at any moment they were going to be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet as if nothing was happening.

The woman was trembling and she said, “Are you not afraid? This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise, death is certain. Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something?”

The man laughed and took his sword out of its sheath. The woman was even more puzzled; what he was doing? Then he brought the naked sword close to her neck, it was so close that it was almost touching her neck.

Then he asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”

She started to laugh and said, ”Why should I be afraid? If the sword is in your hands, why I should be afraid? I know you love me.”

He then put the sword back and said, “That is also my answer. I know God loves me, and the storm is in His hands.

“So whatsoever is going to happen is going to be good. If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good. Everything is in His hands and He cannot do anything wrong.”

— Author Unknown

Meditation: As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. – 2 Samuel 22:31

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

You Ask Why I Follow This Jesus?

 

You ask why I follow this Jesus?

Why I love Him the way I do?

When the world’s turned away from His teachings

And the people who serve Him are few.

 

It’s not the rewards I’m after

Or gifts that I hope to receive

It’s the Presence that calls for commitment

It’s the Spirit I trust and believe.

 

The Lord doesn’t shelter His faithful

Or spare them all suffering and pain,

Like everyone else I have burdens,

And walk through my share of rain.

 

Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,

And that joy only Christians have known,

I never know what comes tomorrow,

But I do know I’m never alone.

 

It’s the love always there when you need it;

It’s the words that redeem and inspire,

It’s the longing to ever be with Him

That burns in my heart like a fire.

 

So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?

Well, friend, that’s so easy to see,

But the one thing that fills me with wonder is

Why Jesus loves someone like me.

–– Author Unknown

Meditation: We love Him because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

You will succeed in Jesus' Name!

Trust Your Needs

 

Years ago, I had crazy spiritual beliefs. I believed that if I wanted to be a holy person, I should NOT trust my needs. Because I figured my desires are most likely from the flesh, not from the spirit.

The message I received was this: “Fear yourself. Fear your desires. Fear your selfishness. Don’t trust yourself. Instead, trust God. Trust your group. Trust your leader. Trust the system…” Oh, what a terrible thing to believe! This is the reason there is so much spiritual abuse happening in religious groups.

Priests, preachers, and pastors love to emphasize this message: “Don’t trust yourself!” Directly or indirectly, they will ask their members to simply rely on the leaders’ wisdom and decisions. Unintentionally, they produce people who are infants in their emotional and spiritual growth. Instead of freedom, religion shackles us to immaturity. God calls us to be childlike, not childish.

God Trusts You—When Will You Learn To Trust Yourself?

Instead, we need to hear a new message. What message? That you’re made in the image and likeness of God! That you’re not just good. You’re very good! So trust yourself because God trusts you. He trusts you by calling you His child. He trusts you by planting His Kingdom in you. He trusts you by dwelling within you. He trusts you by commissioning you to be His presence in the world. He trusts you to love the way He does…

Wow! Believe me, when I pray, when I read the Bible, when I listen to God’s voice in the depths of my heart, I say “Wow!” many, many times.

And one way of trusting yourself is to trust your needs. Not your sinful needs. That’s what you need to deny. But your legitimate, valid, and God-planted needs. Meet those needs. Even your need for joy.

Some people view all pleasure as bad. Their unwritten motto: “If it feels good, it must be bad.” That’s not true. I believe life was given by God to be enjoyed to the full. To be savoured with delight. So taste. Breathe. Relish. Dance. Sing. Live!

Ever wondered why some religious people are so stuck-up, they don’t allow anyone to enjoy life? When we enjoy life, we allow others to enjoy as well.

Love yourself!

— Bo Sanchez

Meditation: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. – 1 Timothy 6:17

You will succeed in Jesus' Name!