Say to yourself, "I am loved by God more than I can either conceive or understand." Let this fill all your soul and all your prayers and never leave you. You will soon see that this is the way to find God.
(Henri De Tourville)
Monday, 25 January 2010
Courage
I used to think courageous people were those of the type that would jump into icy water and save someone from drowning and of course those people are courageous. However, that doesn't mean courage isn't accessible to "non water" people. For those who face challenges of the simple stuff of life (all of us), then courage helps us deal with whatever life throws at us, it aids in keeping an even keel through things and equips us with fortitude to work through failure. Realising that sickness, discouragement and loss comes in all shapes and sizes I am coming to understand that our lives get smaller or larger in direct proportion to our courage.
Courage is not the absence of fear; it is doing what is right in spite of fear. Don't think that if you have fear, courage has somehow evaded you. Look fear in the face and focus on what is right, and then DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO - AFRAID IF NECESSARY. That is what courage is. John Wayne said, "Courage is being scared to death—and saddling up anyway."
General George Patton said, "If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows not fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on."
People of faith have an advantage because 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, "God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." How comforting and liberating is that?
My prayer for every one of us is that we live our lives with courage.
Ken Williamson
(AoG National Leadership Team)
Harvesters of Signs
(God) took (Abraham) outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (Genesis 15:5)
God had promised Abraham and Sarah that they would be founders of a great nation and a blessing to the earth. They had kept their part of the bargain and gone where God told them to go. They had trusted and believed. But the years had piled up like sand in the desert and no child had been born to them. True, God had brought them into a new land as promised, but what good was that if there was no one to leave it to?
God had promised Abraham and Sarah that they would be founders of a great nation and a blessing to the earth. They had kept their part of the bargain and gone where God told them to go. They had trusted and believed. But the years had piled up like sand in the desert and no child had been born to them. True, God had brought them into a new land as promised, but what good was that if there was no one to leave it to?
The story of Sarah and Abraham is a story of barrenness - not only of their inability to have children, but also of a world in which our prayers go unanswered, our deepest hopes remain unborn. As for Abraham, so also for us the time comes when we want action. Abraham, speaking for us all, says to God, in essence, "The land is fine, Lord, but what about the child you promised?"
We who worship the God of Abraham and Sarah and believe that the promised blessing is also for us feel the urgency in his question. We have asked it from the depths of our hearts too. Why am I unable to find a meaningful job? Where is the good health for which I've prayed? Will there ever be someone to love me? How long must we live in fear of terrorism?
As Abraham's question cut through the night air, God gave him a sign. He took him outdoors, beneath a sky powdered with stars, and said again that he and Sarah would have descendants to outnumber the lights of heaven. It was not an explanation but simply a reiteration of the promise. It meant Don't give up! Keep the faith! I'm still around!
Faith is a gift, something we receive rather than achieve. Some receive it in great measure, others less so. But all of us, like Abraham, are called to be observers of signs. When he grew tired of waiting, he saw in the stars something that helped him persevere. Our signs may be more subtle - a kind word, a gentle hand, a beautiful thing that reminds us of the Creator's love. Harvest those signs. Share them. Each one, great or small, helps us in the long and difficult wait for the fulfillment of God's promises.
(Dr. Michael A. Halleen)
God Can
When you feel unlovable, unworthy and unclean, when you think that no one can heal you:
Remember, Friend, God Can.
When you think that you are unforgivable for your guilt and your shame:
Remember, Friend, God Can.
When you think that all is hidden and no one can see within:
Remember, Friend, God Can.
And when you have reached the bottom and you think that no one can hear:
Remember, my dear Friend,God Can.
And when you think that no one can love the real person deep inside of you:
Remember, my dear Friend, God Does.
(author unknown)
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
James 3:17
The King James Version
(Shared by Sarah from China)
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The Power of a Waste Pencil
She was a janitor at a school in India. Her husband died soon after her marriage, she didn't have any family in the area. She struggled with the responsibility of raising her kids. For the last twenty years, she's continued to sweep classrooms at local schools.
One day, though, she had a radical idea: I want to give. It was followed-up by a reasonable yet confusing thought: But what can I possibly give?
When she narrated her desire to a friend, he told her a story. "Gandhi used to write many letters. One day, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, a famous Indian author, saw him writing with a tiny pencil and immediately offered Gandhi a bigger pencil from his pocket. Gandhi politely said that he didn't need it. The next day, he saw Gandhi scrambling to find his pencil and Kakasaheb again offered him a pencil saying, 'Your pencil was so small anyway.' Gandhi gently replied, 'But a child had given me that pencil.' And he carried on the search for that small pencil.
Sharing this story, he tells this sweeper woman: "You sweep schools everyday. And so, you must see all kinds of small pencils that kids throw away. Why don't you collect those and I'll give them to little kids who can't afford pencils and teach them how to write and draw." She liked that idea. In addition to pencils, she even collected erasers, sharpeners, and a few miscellaneous oddities. And every so often, when her bag gets full, she hands it off to her friend to give away to the needy. That was her ritual.
When she found out that I was in town (I'm good friends with her kids), she insisted that I come over for a meal. Due to my hectic set of commitments, I wasn't able to go over for a meal but told her that I'd definitely join her for some snacks. So I went for breakfast one day, with my friend who originally shared Gandhi's story with her. She had cooked up a simple feast of love, which we thoroughly enjoyed! We gave her a shawl, explaining that someone had gifted it to us the night before and we couldn't really use it. And as we were leaving, she handed us a pink, almost ripped, and heavy plastic bag.
Confused, I opened up that plastic bag, and saw those small pencil, erasers and sharpeners. Wow.
It's hard to stay balanced, in the presence of something so valuable. In the next hour, I had to address a couple hundred people, and shared the story of a sweeper woman. As I opened up that pink plastic bag and held a fistful of these small pencils and erasers, it was hard for even the emcee to hold back the tears! I left the bag out for people to keep a material token of this sweeper woman's lesson -- it matters not what you give, but the amount of love you put into that giving. Everything, including the ripped plastic bag, was gone before I could take a second look.
The humble offering had a certain power that simply can't be bought. I felt it, everyone felt it.
One day, though, she had a radical idea: I want to give. It was followed-up by a reasonable yet confusing thought: But what can I possibly give?
When she narrated her desire to a friend, he told her a story. "Gandhi used to write many letters. One day, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, a famous Indian author, saw him writing with a tiny pencil and immediately offered Gandhi a bigger pencil from his pocket. Gandhi politely said that he didn't need it. The next day, he saw Gandhi scrambling to find his pencil and Kakasaheb again offered him a pencil saying, 'Your pencil was so small anyway.' Gandhi gently replied, 'But a child had given me that pencil.' And he carried on the search for that small pencil.
Sharing this story, he tells this sweeper woman: "You sweep schools everyday. And so, you must see all kinds of small pencils that kids throw away. Why don't you collect those and I'll give them to little kids who can't afford pencils and teach them how to write and draw." She liked that idea. In addition to pencils, she even collected erasers, sharpeners, and a few miscellaneous oddities. And every so often, when her bag gets full, she hands it off to her friend to give away to the needy. That was her ritual.
When she found out that I was in town (I'm good friends with her kids), she insisted that I come over for a meal. Due to my hectic set of commitments, I wasn't able to go over for a meal but told her that I'd definitely join her for some snacks. So I went for breakfast one day, with my friend who originally shared Gandhi's story with her. She had cooked up a simple feast of love, which we thoroughly enjoyed! We gave her a shawl, explaining that someone had gifted it to us the night before and we couldn't really use it. And as we were leaving, she handed us a pink, almost ripped, and heavy plastic bag.
Confused, I opened up that plastic bag, and saw those small pencil, erasers and sharpeners. Wow.
It's hard to stay balanced, in the presence of something so valuable. In the next hour, I had to address a couple hundred people, and shared the story of a sweeper woman. As I opened up that pink plastic bag and held a fistful of these small pencils and erasers, it was hard for even the emcee to hold back the tears! I left the bag out for people to keep a material token of this sweeper woman's lesson -- it matters not what you give, but the amount of love you put into that giving. Everything, including the ripped plastic bag, was gone before I could take a second look.
The humble offering had a certain power that simply can't be bought. I felt it, everyone felt it.
(Cup O'Cheer compiled by: Kimberly B. Quiggle)
Thursday, 14 January 2010
A Thought for Today
We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about.
R. C. Sproul
R. C. Sproul
Vision, Value & Victory
Ephesians 1:18-20
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honour at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.
The wisdom of the apostle Paul found in this fantastic letter is so needed in the church of our day. With outstanding apostolic insight, he prayed for the church at Ephesus and three key things emerged:
- The Believer's Vision – His prayer is that the believers will live with hearts flooded with an understanding of the future to which God has called them. Too many Christians are caught in the past, or consumed with the present, and make little space in their thinking for the amazing promise that God has placed in our futures. Having your today, shaped by your confidence in tomorrow, has an outstanding effect on issues of purpose and priority.
- The Believer's Value – The values of each Christian is not secured by what they own, what they drive, or where they live. Paul said, I want each believer to fully understand that what really makes them rich is the inheritance that God has given to His people. The Christian believer, who has even the most humble of earthly possessions, has access to all the riches of Christ.
- The Believer's Victory – As far as God is concerned, all power struggles ended at the cross of Christ. His might was never more powerfully displayed than in his victory over the dominion of eternal darkness. Because of the Cross of Christ, we win! Paul said this very same power is currently available to all who believe in Christ.
My prayer today is that you will have a fresh revelation of the following...
- What God has in store for you
- All that God has deposited in you
- And all the power that is available to you
Don't leave home without this.
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honour at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.
The wisdom of the apostle Paul found in this fantastic letter is so needed in the church of our day. With outstanding apostolic insight, he prayed for the church at Ephesus and three key things emerged:
- The Believer's Vision – His prayer is that the believers will live with hearts flooded with an understanding of the future to which God has called them. Too many Christians are caught in the past, or consumed with the present, and make little space in their thinking for the amazing promise that God has placed in our futures. Having your today, shaped by your confidence in tomorrow, has an outstanding effect on issues of purpose and priority.
- The Believer's Value – The values of each Christian is not secured by what they own, what they drive, or where they live. Paul said, I want each believer to fully understand that what really makes them rich is the inheritance that God has given to His people. The Christian believer, who has even the most humble of earthly possessions, has access to all the riches of Christ.
- The Believer's Victory – As far as God is concerned, all power struggles ended at the cross of Christ. His might was never more powerfully displayed than in his victory over the dominion of eternal darkness. Because of the Cross of Christ, we win! Paul said this very same power is currently available to all who believe in Christ.
My prayer today is that you will have a fresh revelation of the following...
- What God has in store for you
- All that God has deposited in you
- And all the power that is available to you
Don't leave home without this.
Doug Williams
(AoG National Leadership Team)
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