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Sunday, 12 July 2009

  • The Little Things by Joni and Friends

    Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

                                               --Luke 16:10

     

    Our backyard is not big. This means the two bougainvillea bushes, the
    hibiscus, the hedge along the fence, and the silk oak tree in the corner, are
    God's special gifts.  But our one tree is in trouble. It's beginning to look dry and

     brown at the twigs. I noticed earlier in the summer that it didn't flower out and

    green up as much as it has in the past.
     
    They say that when a tree begins to decay at its root or at its heart, the
    mischief is first seen at the extreme ends of little branches. When you look
    closely, you notice the new growth is dry and brittle.
     
    I can't help but think of how much like trees we are. Someone once said, "He
    that despiseth little things shall fall little by little." We simply must aim
    to have a Christian walk that, like the sap of a tree, runs through every twig
    and leaf of our character.

    * * * * *

    If we fail in the little things, if we ignore our tempers, our tongues, the slip of little white

    lies; if we ignore the Spirit's whispers, telling us to do this or not to do that, if we

    despise the small things, we shall fail little by little.
     
    It doesn't take a theologian to remind us that decay at the heart of our Christianity will show

    up in tiny slips of the tongue, small neglect of good habits, or little fudgings with the truth.

    Have you been feeling yourself inching away little by little? Then keep a watch on the

    small things. It's in the small matters of everyday life that the bulk of your witness is lived

    out.
     
    Prick my conscience, Father, when I am tempted to keep incorrect  change, tell a little lie,

     or withhold a truth. I want healthy new twigs on my tree of life.

    Blessings,

    Joni and Friends

Monday, 29 June 2009

  • Things That Can Be Shaken

    In Touch by Dr. Charles Stanley:

    God has ways of shaking the world when He is up to something big. For instance, He literally caused the ground to quake when Jesus died on the cross and also when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. There was nothing coincidental about the seismic activity that accompanied those two events. They were none-too-subtle messages: Pay attention because important things are happening!

    Today, the ground may not be moving, but God is certainly doing some shaking. Political alliances, financial systems, and ethical standards are all being allowed to wobble. We are seeing the flimsiness and decay of structures upon which we've based national pride and hope. Even personal lives are not immune to shock waves. Families are in crisis, and many marriages are buckling. Sadly, people have built lives on the weak cornerstones of human wisdom, goodness, and ingenuity. But there is only one secure foundation: Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).

    God always has a purpose for permitting upheaval in His ordered creation. Among other things, He is shaking the church out of its apathy and self-focus, reminding believers not to trust in the temporary structures of this world. Rather, we are to rest upon the safe and firm foundation provided by God's love, salvation, and kingdom here on earth.

    As the Lord's ambassadors on earth--and the only ones standing on firm ground--we have a responsibility to offer real hope to those whose moorings have come loose. No job, government, or even religion can give a person long-term security. A relationship with the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ is the only lasting refuge

Monday, 22 June 2009

  • Do It

    Proverbs 31 Ministries

    "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." Matthew 17:27 (NIV)


    Sometimes God asks us to do something we don't understand. It might seem unnecessary. It might seem crazy. Or it might seem like something God shouldn't need us to do because He is capable of doing it without our involvement. So why does He require our action?


    When Jesus was asked to pay a tax, He told Peter to go catch a fish. Miraculously, the exact amount He needed was found in the mouth of the fish he caught. Peter had a moment where he had to either accept Jesus' methods or question them. In our limited human understanding it's easier to question, "Why didn't He just make that coin appear?" But Peter knew Jesus, and he knew he was better off to just do whatever Jesus had asked of him (Matthew 17:24-27).


    Sometimes we have moments like Peter had. We stand there blinking, wondering if we heard Him right. In those moments we have to make a decision to just DO IT:

    Deliberate

    Obedience

    Intentional

    Trust


    Certainly Jesus could have produced the amount needed in many different ways, but He required Peter to be involved. He required Peter to take action, just as He does with us at times.


    When God showed my husband and I that we needed to begin tithing when what we wanted was to get out of debt, it didn't make sense to us at all. We had to simply respond with deliberate obed ience and intentional trust.


    When God challenged me to stick with my marriage when it seemed over, I wondered if He realized what He was asking. He wanted me to deliberately obey Him and intentionally trust Him. He didn't want me to look for the easy button. He wasn't offering a supernatural rescue. He needed me to walk through the process, learning lessons along the way. Instead of handing me a solution, He allowed me to be involved in it.


    Is there something He is asking you to do that doesn't seem right, or normal, or natural from your human perspective? Are you ignoring His still small voice urging you to just trust and obey? Whether it's catching a fish or building an ark, you can rest assured that you are in good company. God has a plan—even when you can't see it. Sometimes you have to DO IT to reveal that plan.


    Dear Lord, I want to learn to respond with obedience to Your requests. Wh en I hear Your voice speaking to me, I want to willingly do it—whatever "it" is. Thank You for reminding me that sometimes You require me to be part of my own solution. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

    ~ Marybeth Whalen

Friday, 29 May 2009

  • Support Gay Marriage?

    You may not support gay marriage but your jeans will if you buy Levi
    Levi Strauss & Co., the jeans manufacturer that has long been a leader in corporate support for the homosexual activist movement, has come out with a new marketing scheme that may dupe consumers who buy their products into displaying support for same-sex "marriage." Company owned stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco will be displaying their summer line-up of jeans and shirts adorned with "White Knots for Equality," a symbol that denotes support for homosexual "marriage." The symbol, a white ribbon tied in a knot, was developed by a California media company to capitalize on the opposition to the passage of Proposition 8, the California voter-approved constitutional marriage amendment. The knotted white cloth mimics the various ribbon campaigns such as the pink ribbon for breast cancer campaign. The staff members of the stores that are displaying the clothing with white knots have been instructed to engage customers with explanations of the homosexual agenda symbol, hoping that customers will be educated through an “informed conversation.".. .................. read more


Wednesday, 27 May 2009

  • Prayer: The Peace of God

     

    We ask for Peace, 0 Lord!

    Thy children ask thy Peace;

    Not what the world calls rest,

    That toil and care should cease,

    That through bright sunny hours

    Calm Life should fleet away,

    And tranquil night should fade

    In smiling day:

    It is not for such Peace that we should pray.

     

    We ask thy Peace, 0 Lord!

    Through storm, and fear, and strife,

    To light and guide us on,

    Through a long struggling life:

    While no success or gain

    Shall cheer the desperate fight,

    Or nerve, what the world calls,

    Our wasted might:

    Yet pressing through the darkness to the light.

     

    It is thine own, 0 Lord,

    Who toil while others sleep;

    Who sow with loving care

    What other hands shall reap:

    They lean on thee entranced,

    In calm and perfect rest;

    Give us that Peace, 0 Lord,

    Divine and blest,

    Thou keepest for those hearts who love thee best.

                             Adelaide Anne Proctor

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