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It's a full time job trying to get people to change. Oh, what a perfect world it would be--if only other people would do what we want!
A plaque in our family room may hold the key to the secret of change. It's in Dutch, but translated it reads: Change the world--Begin with yourself. Not what most of us want to hear!
Jesus told a parable about the problem of not seeing our own faults. He a said, "How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye" (Luke 6:42).
Being able to see other people's faults easily without ever noticing my own is not an indication of hypocrisy. It can be a wake-up call that the problem in a struggling relationship may be me. Perhaps it's my attitude that needs to change. Or I'm the one who needs to apologize. Mabye I'm the person who needs a humble spirit.
It's a lesson some of us have to learn over and over.We can't change others, but with Gods help we can change our own behavior. And when our attitude changes, it may seem as others have changed as well.---Cindy Hess Kasper Note: nice lesson for all of us. MWR
For alost 100 years, a huge peice of flawed Carrar marble lay in the courtyard of a catherdral in Florence, Italy. Then, in 1501, a young sculptor was asked to do something with it. He measured the block and noted its imperfections. In his mind, he invisioned a young shepherd boy.
For 3 years, he chiseled and shaped the marble skillfully. Finally, when the 18 foot towering figure of David was unveiled, his student exclaimed to Michelangelo, "Master, it lacks only one thing--speech!"
Onesimus was liked that flawed marble. He was an unfaithful servant. When he fled from his master Philemon. But while on the run he came to know the Master Sculptor. As a changed man, he served God faithfully and was invaluable to Paul's ministry. When Paul sent him back to Philemon, he commended him as one "who once was a unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and me"(1:11). He asked Philemon to receive Onesimus back as a brother(v.16).
Paul knew what it meant to be given another chance after past wrongs (Acts 9:26-28). He knew personally, the transformation God can accomplish. Now he saw it in the life of Onesimus. The Lord can chisel His image on our flawed lives and make us beautiful and useful too.
--Albert Lee
Note: Christ takes each sin, each pain, each loss, And by the power of His cross Transforms our brokenness and shame, So that our lives exalt His name. --D. DeHaan
Roy Clark and his father sat in the family car in the funeral home parking lot for several minutes. As a teenager, he wasn't sure how to respond when his dad put his head in his hands and moaned, " I don't know what to say!"
A friend from their church had been in a car accident. She had survived, but her three daughters had all died when a truck hit their vehicle. What could they say their friend at a time like this?
I the Bible we are told that during Job's time of grieving, his three friends cam to mourn with him and to comfort him. For the first 7 days they sat and wept with him because he was in deep sorrow (Job 2:11-13). "No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great" (v.13). Their presence alone was a comfort to him.
But then the began to lecture. They told Job he must have sinned and that God was punishing him (4:7-9).
When Job was finally albe to respond, he told his friends what he needed from them. He asked for reasons to continue hoping (6:11), for kindness (v.14), and for the words that did not presume guil (vv.29-30).
Remember the story of Job and his friends may help us when we don't know what to say----
Anne Cetas--: To whom I express this we all feel loss at some point, but remember the promise that if we beleive those whom have perished, they are never gone as we believe and think of those whom have passed on. MWR
Have you ever watched people at a tourist spot? At places like the Coliseum in Rome, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, or the Grand Canyon in Arizona, visititors strain their necks to get a better view. Some call this "rubbernecking," which means "to observe with curiosity."
The Bible tells us that such fascination also goes on in the heavenly places. The apostle Peter pulls back the curtain of heaven to let us see angels gazing at God's plan of redemption--"things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:12). The Greek word translated "look into" means "to stoop and look at carefully with curiosity."
But whay are angels so fascinated by man's salvation? The most likely explanation is that the are amazed at the astonishing way God solved the problem of sin (Eph 3:8-12). The cross was the means by which God provided His Son as the righteous substitute to pay the penalty for sin while upholding His hole standard (Rom 3:19-31). God now provides redemption to any human being who will repent, believe, and recieve it.
Are you thankful for your salvation? The angels are! They rejoice every time a sinner repents and puts his faith in Christ (Luke 15:10)---Dennis Fisher
Thank God for this information, as a believer, my Faith is renewed is this passage, is yours? MWR 12/03
When Tamer Lee Owens celebrated her 104th birthday, she credited "laughter, the Lord, and the little things" for keeping her going. She still finds enjoyment each day in talking with people, taking a walk, and reading the Bible as she has done since childhood. "I don't know how long He'll let me stay here", she said. "I just thank the Lord for what He's given me already."
Most of us won't live 104 years, but we can learn from Tamer Lee how to enjoy each daythat we are . Laughter---"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken" (Prov. 15:13). True happiness begins deep inside and emerges on our faces.
The Lord----"The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility" (v.33). When God is central in our hearts, He can teach us His way through every experience of life.
The Little Things---"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred" (v.17). Maintaining loving relationships and enjoying the basic things of life are more important than wealth and success. Not all of us will live a long time, but we can all live well each day---with Laughter, the Lord, and the little things in life.---David McCasland--- and I say Amen MWR 11/30
Any mother can tell you that waiting tp give birth is an experience that builds patience. But pity the poor mother elephant. It takes about 22 months for an unborn elephant to mature to birth! The shark know as the spiny dogfish has a pregnancy duration of 22-24 months. And at elevations above 4,600 feet, the Alpine salamander undures a gestational Period of up to 38 months!
Abraham could have identified with these examples from nature. In his old age, the Lord made a promise to him: "I will make you a great nation" (Gen. 12:2). But as the years passed, Abraham questioned how the fulfillment of the promise was possible without even the basic building block of a son (15:2). So God assured him, "One who will come from your own body shall be your heir" (v.4).
Despite his advanced age, Abraham beleived God and was called righteous (v.6). Yet he waited 25 years from the time of the initial promise for Isaac to be born (17:1,17).
Waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled is part of trusting Him. No matter how long the delay, we must wait for Him.
Him. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who
promised is faithful" (Heb. 10:23).---Marvin Williams
This passage reminds me that I must remain patience in all my endures.----Mwr 11/29
Yielding your all to the Savior
And letting His loveflow thru you
Makes wvwn your silent witness
A witness of what God can do.---Bosch---can I get a Amen!!!!
11/28
On a beautiful, warm January morning, a colleague and I were having breakfast in a outdoor coffee shop at MacRitchie Reservoir Park in Singapore. With a beautiful lake and immaculate gardens surrounding us and a light breeze blowing across the water, the setting was quiet, calm and lovely.
At a nearby table, a young woman sat quietly reading her Bible. She was absorbed in the text, occasionally looking up to consider what she had read. She never said a word, but her heart and priorities were visible to everyone at that coffee shop. It was a gentle, positive, silent witness.
She was not ashamed of Christ or His book. She neither preached a sermon nor sang a song. She was willing to be identified with the Savior, yet she did not need to announce that allegiance.
In our attempts to share the message of Jesus, we must eventually use words, because ultimately words are needed to present the gospel. But we can also learn from example of this woman.
There are times when the quietness of our everday actions speak loudly, revealing our love for the Lord. In our desire to share Christ with a broken world, let's not ignore the power of our silent witness.---Bill Crowder---words like this stir, thoughts in me of a time whence I truly beleived, an yet tho I read this, I am stired by the testimony offered here. I hope this helps those whom read this benefit also-----Mwr--11/28
God's unseen presence comforts me,
I know He's always near;
And when life's storms besiege our soul,
He says, "My child I'm here."---D. DeHam:----can I get an Amen!!!
Where was God! Was God sadistically absent? That's what Robert McClory, proffessor emeritus of journalism at the NorthWestern University's Medill School of Journalism , asked after Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area of the US. We may want to to exonerate the Almighty for permitting disasters that rip apart vulnerable communities. But is God absent in such situations? No, McClory insists. Talking about the Katrina tragedy, he said that God was invisible present. "with the suffering and dying. He was in the individuals, communities, churches, and schools that organized aid for the victims and took evacuees into their cities and homes. He was with the hundred of thousands who showed compassion by prayer and financial assistance".
So it is in our own lives when a heartbreaking tragedy occurs, such as the death of someone we love. We have no complete satisfactory answer to life's painful problems. We do know, however, that the Lord is present with us, for He said He would never leave us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus' name "Immanuel" literally means "God with us" (Matt 1:23). Even through suffering baffles our minds, we can trust God to be near and to work out His purposes.--Vernon Grounds, This passage hits home to me, as I lost my 2 brothers, Mom and my Father, so I really found this comforting, I hope it helps those of you.--MWR 11/27
