In a Position to Save a Life

In a Position to Save a Life

Somehow the driver lost control on a small California bridge. In an instant, the car with a family of four in it catapulted through the railing and into the water. Immediately, that car began to disappear beneath the water. Well, there were just frantic moments that followed, and the two parents emerged from the car, swimming to the top. Mom had actually been able to free one of her children and help her get out, as well. But their little boy was trapped in the car at the bottom. Meanwhile, a few passersby had gathered on the bridge above, and one man, who heard the mother's screams for help for her son, dove from the bridge and into the water. A nurse was actually one of those who happened to be on the bridge that day. Realizing that the boy was going to need immediate CPR if he was rescued, she shook off her fear and she also plunged into the water. After a short time, the man surfaced - carrying that boy with him. The nurse immediately began working on him, right there in the water. His life was saved that day by two people who certainly had not planned to rescue anyone that day.

It was really moving to see the mother of that rescued little boy tearfully trying to put her gratitude into words. Someone had cared enough to take the risks to save a life just because he happened to be in the right place at the right time to make the difference.

If you belong to Jesus Christ, I hope you see yourself in that picture. Like that man on the bridge, you're in a position to do something about a person who's dying - spiritually dying, that is. The Bible describes people without Christ as "those being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:11). And it adds a command, "Rescue those who are being led away to death." Who should rescue them? Whoever is in a position to reach them. The Bible uses another example to describe those we know who don't know our Savior. It says they are "in the fire." And, again, it gives a command. "Snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 23). Don't just let them die without a chance. Do something to rescue them.

As you think about the people at work today, at school, in your neighborhood, in your family or the place you shop or recreate - among those people must be those who have probably never been to the cross of Jesus to have their sins forgiven. The only One who can forgive their sins is the One who died to pay for them. And if they die with their sins unforgiven, they have no chance of getting into God's heaven. You know that. You know Christ. You know them - which means you're responsible.

Living a Christ-honoring life before them is important, but it's not enough. You have to tell them about Jesus' death for their sins. They won't guess that because you're a nice person. The reason you haven't told them so far, is probably your fear. Jesus said in Mark 10:45, our word for today from the Word of God, "Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Our fears are all about "me" - what might happen to me if I tell them about Jesus; how I might mess it up. But Jesus abandoned Himself to save us. Rescuers always do that. They have a greater fear than what might happen to them. It's what might happen to the dying person if they don't try to rescue them.

Years ago, God spoke to Moses about His enslaved people and He said, "I have come down to rescue them... I am sending you" (Exodus 3:8, 10). He's saying that to you about the lost people within your reach. It's no accident you are where you are, who you are, doing what you do. God has put you in a position to help save some lives and help some people be in heaven with you. It's the most important thing you have to do; the most important difference you can possibly make with the rest of your life.

Ron Hutchcraft

God's love in one sentence

God's love in one sentence

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

A number of years ago, Karl Barth, the famous German theologian, was lecturing at a major northeaster seminary. At a Q&A session, a man asked Mr. Barth what the most profound thought was that ever entered his mind.

The man clearly expected to hear some philosophical comment from Mr. Barth. But the theologian looked at the man and simply said, "The most profound thought that has ever occurred to me is this: Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

You and I need to realize how remarkable the message of God's love truly is. It is simply profound and profoundly simple! And no other verse of Scripture summarizes his love for us as completely as John 3:16: "For God so loved the world...."

It is an undeniable fact. God loves you!

The expression of his love is evident from the first page to the last of Scripture. And if you will look, the expressions of Jesus' love for you are written throughout the pages of your life. It's there!

See his goodness, his patience, his kindness, his grace, his long-suffering, his faithfulness, his mercy, and so much more.

Never doubt his love for you. Jesus loves you!

"JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO."

Jack Graham

Knowing God with Us Today

Knowing God with Us Today

The blessing of God with us started at Christmas, but triumphed at the cross and empty tomb. After Resurrection Day Jesus said now I am with you always (Matthew 28:20). That means that the greatest blessing of Immanuel is how Jesus is now available anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.

To help us see what Jesus wants to do as God with us today, we have the New Testament record. If we just limit our examination to one event in each of the chapters in the gospel by John we can understand how Jesus was meeting people right where they were -- just as He wants to do right here in our lives today:

1. Watching Nathaniel sit and think under a tree, Jesus answered his questions (1:46-49).
The Lesson: You can bring all your questions about the future to Jesus.

2. Attending a wedding, Jesus rescued the servants when the wine ran out (2:9).
The Lesson: You can bring your emergencies big or small to Jesus.

3. Waiting up, Jesus explained salvation to Nicodemus when he slipped to Christ's side in the dark (3:2).
The Lesson: You can bring your spiritual struggles, even your doubts about salvation, to Jesus.

4. Sitting on the well, Jesus revealed His true identity to a seeking woman overflowing with sins (4:18-19).
The Lesson: You can bring your sins past, present, and future to Jesus.

5. Approaching the paralytic lying on the ground, Jesus healed him when he was hopeless and helpless (5:6).
The Lesson: You can bring your limitations, weaknesses, besetting sins and all to Jesus.

6. Coming across the waves to a storm-tossed boat, Jesus quieted the fearful disciples (6:17-19).
The Lesson: You can bring all your fears to Jesus.

7. Finding the blind man in his darkness, Jesus opened his eyes (9:6-7).
The Lesson: You can bring your confusing times to Jesus.

8. Defeating death and its hopelessness at the grave of Lazarus, Jesus offered new life (11:25-27).
The Lesson: You can bring your fears about death to Jesus.

9. Accepting the worship of Mary who loved Him so, Jesus received it as a sweet fragrance (12:3-8).
The Lesson: You can bring your love and pour it out upon Jesus.

10. Confronting His disciples with their dirty feet and hearts filled with pride, Jesus washed away their sin (13:5-15).
The Lesson: You can bring your besetting sins to Jesus for His cleansing.

11. Assuring His disciples when they had troubled hearts, Jesus promised that they had a future mansion with Him in heaven (14:1-6).
The Lesson: You can bring your future to Jesus.

12. Promising to convict when hearts were sinful, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to keep His children on track spiritually (16:7-9).
The Lesson: You can bring your secrets to Jesus.

13. Praying for sanctification by the truth of His Word, Jesus promised to open His children's understanding of the Scriptures (17:17).
The Lesson: You can bring your need for life changing Bible-study times to Jesus.

14. Caring for His mother even as He died, Jesus set an example of the importance of family (19:25-27).
The Lesson: You can bring your family and each individual need and entrust them to Jesus.

15. Finding Thomas in his doubt and bringing him to faith, Jesus lovingly reassured him (20:25-29).
The Lesson: You can bring your doubts no matter how dark, painful, and embarrassing to Jesus.

16. Standing on the shore when Peter needed restoration, Jesus lovingly inspired Peter to greater service for Christ (21:15-18).
The Lesson: You can bring your failures whether public or private to Jesus.

I encourage you to go back through the above list and pause on the bold action statement at the end of each point. Think about what Christ wants to do in your life personally.

It can help cement these truths in your mind if you say each of them out loud:

a. "I want to bring my questions to You, Jesus;"
b. "I want to bring my emergencies to You, Jesus;"
c. "I want to bring my struggles to You, Jesus"; and so forth.

Dr. John Barnett

Genuine Salvation

Genuine Salvation

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Many people today have essentially believed a watered-down gospel that deletes the message of repentance. They believe in an all-caring, nonjudgmental God who requires no repentance or a change in their lifestyle. They will say things like, "I believe in Jesus Christ, but my God is not judgmental. My God would never send a person to hell. But I am a Christian."

Yet they cannot have it both ways. They can't make it up as they go.

There are many people, even in the church, who hold to a watered-down belief. This diluted gospel may be the most dangerous plague the church is facing today, because it gives a sense of false assurance to the person who believes it.

The Bible speaks of false prophets who give false assurance. In Jeremiah 6:14, God says, "They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace!' when there is no peace."

It would be like going to the doctor when you are having a heart attack, and having the doctor tell you, "Oh, you are fine. You are being so dramatic! You will be OK."

There are ministers today who say, "God loves you and everything is fine. You can do whatever you want and live however you want to live. Let's just love one another and have a great time."

But that is a false gospel. Yes, God loves us. Yes, God receives any person who comes to Him. But He asks us to repent. He asks us to turn from our sins. If we are not willing to do so, then we are not experiencing biblical faith. And thus, we are not going to receive what the Bible describes as genuine salvation.

Greg Laurie

What is So Bad about Fornication?

What is So Bad about Fornication?

"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body: but he who commits fornication sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18

Fornication consists of sexual relations outside of marriage. The Bible says it is a sin. Jesus gave it as the one and only reason for divorce, Paul said, "flee fornication", and Joseph ran out of the house when Potipher's wife grabbed him and tried to sleep with him.

But our society no longer holds to Biblical teaching. Just the other night I learned that a famous college listed as one of the rules for its dormitories: Students may not engage in sexual activity in the room if there is a third party present. Would you want your child to attend this school?

Why does God condemn fornication throughout the Bible? What possible harm can come from two consenting adults who are not married engaging in sexual relations? (I am not going to address the issue of adultery now.)

Let me start by saying, if God tells me not to do something, that is enough of a reason not to do it whether I understand or not. People would do well to say "what God?" before they say, "why God?"

Having said that let us set about answering the question, "what's so bad about fornication?" Why does God consider it evil?

For one thing it is unhealthy. It is quite clear having sexual relations with multiple partners exposes a person to the danger of disease. People who "play the field" put themselves in great peril. When they sleep with someone they are, in effect, sleeping with everyone that person has slept with. Most people who engage in sexual intimacy with casual acquaintances do not do a careful investigation of the sexual history of their partners.

Having sexual relations is not just a physical act, but an emotional one. There is definitely something wrong if that is not the case. Once it is done it can not be undone. Once it is done a part of you belongs to someone else. When you marry, your spouse will have to share the knowledge of you with every person you have known. That is not good because we are to be one flesh when we marry. Memories can have a diluting effect even though they may be slight. Also, a broken heart usually results when an uncommitted relationship is consummated sexually but not emotionally. If you can not tell your sexual partner, "I am yours," it is best not to be intimate.

Fornication can and does lead to pregnancy quite often. It is the leading reason so many babies are aborted. People use abortion as a means of birth control. All those babies, poor little innocent human beings slaughtered, why, because of a lack of commitment and a heart not for God. No child should grow up in a home where neither parent loves the other enough to say "Everything I have is yours." That is what marriage is; one flesh. Have you met daughters who detest and loathe their fathers because they are not there? It makes it very difficult for many of them to deal with relationships ever after. That's a result of fornication. Poor girls, poor boys without a responsible father to show them that being a father is a great responsibility and is the price a man should gladly pay for loving a woman.

Finally, fornication invariably leads to spiritual illness. You can not be at one with God if you are in disobedience to Him. When a person lives in sin it destroys his prayer life. Without an intimate bond with God a person's spiritual ship will sink for sure. We need Him every hour. That's what so bad about fornication. It comes between us and God. And let us always remember God's laws are given for our protection and benefit.

Will our society pay for its wanton disregard of Scripture? It is already paying a very heavy price through broken single parent families, poverty, children raising themselves with far less chance of success, higher crime rates, and so on. Everyone is suffering.

God is right. He is always right. Fornication is unholy and wrong. It may seem appealing at the time but very soon it loses that appeal and turns to bitter and bitter waters. And it inflicts so much harm on the children. We are better off being obedient to God -- always and in all things!

David Brandon

Seven Habits of Truly Effective Living

Seven Habits of Truly Effective Living

"They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green." Psalm 92:14

The phrase, "begin with the end in mind" probably strikes a familiar chord with readers of the popular life management book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Even if you aren't familiar with the phrase (or the book for that matter), you most likely get the general idea. In sum, it is best to ask the question "How do I want this to turn out?" before you begin a task or project. I agree. This question helps sharpen focus and lead to more effective action. What is missing from the book, however, is the God-sized perspective that we see in Psalm 92. Frustration is actually the result for the individual who may lead a life of effective action, but whose only source of vision and motivation is the self.

Apart from God, the ends we picture for ourselves come only from minds and hearts that are hopelessly tainted with sin -- fallen from perfection, peace and fulfillment. Only by seeking the mind of God can we pursue that which is truly desirable -- the end which God envisions.

We often envision our ideal life as one surrounded by beauty, valuable possessions and our favorite people. We want plenty of leisure time and the health to enjoy these things. But without God, such a life is depicted in Scripture as empty and deceptive. If we are to be highly effective at living, we must begin with God's end in mind.

In Psalm 92, the ideal end God depicts for one's life on this earth is that of the righteous person who is "full of sap and very green." In other words, he is filled with spiritual vitality, even at the end of life when the temptation to grumble and express radical selfishness is often the strongest. Instead of complaining, his lips are filled with praise -- declaring that there is no unrighteousness in God, his Rock (v. 15).

The roots for such vigor of soul are woven throughout the preceding verses where we see seven habits of truly effective living unfolded for us. They are:

#1
Seeing thankfulness and praise to God as desirable, not as duty (v. 1).

#2
Focusing on God's loving kindness in the morning and His faithfulness at night (v. 2). For the righteous man, each day begins and ends with God, implying that God is central in his thoughts throughout the entire day. Literally, loving kindness refers to God's covenant loyal love, which features His promise of salvation. The righteous person is not self-righteous, or externally moralistic. Rather, he looks to God's promises and unchanging character as the basis for his right standing before his Creator-Judge. The Lord Jesus Christ is, of course, the fulfillment of these promises. So, the one having faith in Christ is counted righteous and delivered from a petty life of vain pursuits.

#3
Enjoying resounding music and singing for joy at God's great works (vv. 1, 3-4).

#4
Pondering the deep thoughts of God (v. 5) -- not being characterized by a shallow, pragmatic view of God that sees Him merely as a means to get other things.

#5
Praising the transcendence of God -- declaring that God is the "Most High" who is above all His creatures. The righteous one realizes that man is in no way equal to God. Thus, he can never legitimately view God with suspicion or call Him into judgment (v. 8).

#6
Resting securely in the fact that, in the end, God will have the final say on all matters. He will deal justice to the enemies of righteousness (vv. 9-11).

#7
Depending continuously upon God for strength -- for "fresh oil" (v. 10), knowing that yesterday's supply never carries over to today.

Perhaps you know an older believer who embodies these seven habits. "Meme," my 89 year old grandmother, is one such saint. At the time of this writing, she lay in a hospital bed with very serious health complications. During a recent phone call, I listened as she expressed delight over truths that the Lord had shown her in her well-worn Bible and what hymns she had joyfully sung that morning. Her prayer at the close of our conversation was full of gratitude and praise to the Lord, evidencing a deep, personal knowledge of and trust in God. While I listened, I thought to myself: This is what Psalm 92 is all about. Here is a person who, by God's grace, has learned to practice the habits of truly effective living.

Alex Crain

Transforming Your Workplace

Transforming Your Workplace

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." (Matthew 6:9-10).

What would your workplace look like if this prayer were answered today where you work?

"Transformation" is a powerful word. Just hearing it, you almost automatically think of radical conversions and incredible change. But is it possible to transform your workplace into something Christ-like? Jesus thinks so.

One example involves a story told in Ed Silvoso's book, Anointed for Business, about a Filipino business man who owned a hotel chain. God saved this man and began an amazing transformation in his life and his large scale hotel.

The man owned a 1600-room hotel that covered three buildings. Because of its rates and location, the hotel had become a haven for prostitution, with the rooms being used as much as five times a day. There were over 2000 employees, and the primary clientele were more than 3000 prostitutes.

One of Silvoso's associates shared with the owner a formula for winning the lost, so he hired 40 pastors and told them to follow these instructions: a. Speak peace to the wolves. Bless those who curse you. b. Eat and drink with the sinners. Become their friends. c. Pray for them and their needs. The pastors were not to share the gospel until they'd met these three requirements for two years. What an investment. But ultimately, it paid off.

The pastors followed these three rules and saw every single one of the 2,000 employees become saved. The hotel was upgraded to an executive level, raising the rates and forcing the prostitutes out because they could no longer afford it. They even added a prayer chapel with 24/7 prayer available to anyone by dialing '7' on the telephone. Two years later, 10,000 guests had received the Lord on the property.*

That's transformation! And that's the kind of transformation we can see in our workplaces. We just have to find the vision and the willingness to ask God, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?"

*Adapted from story in Anointed for Business, Ed Silvoso, Regal Books, Ventura, CA 2006.

Dynamite Praying

Dynamite Praying

Since Jim was a boy, it's always been a custom in his family to usher in the new year with fireworks. It's legal where they live. Recently, he told me about the New Year's Eve celebration he remembers more than any other. The church was having a traditional watch night service where everyone prayed in the new year. In fact, the pastor was praying right at the stroke of midnight. At the same time, not far from the church, Jim's dad was taking time out to bring in the new year a little differently. Not with fireworks - with dynamite! He had some dynamite left from a construction project and he thought it would be a great idea to set it off at the stroke of midnight - which he did! Suddenly, everybody in the church was startled by this thunderous explosion outside. The pastor never missed a beat in his prayer.

A prayer meeting and an explosion; maybe those things should always go together. Consider the model prayer meeting in Acts 4, beginning with verse 24, our word for today from the Word of God. The powerful council that had arranged for Jesus' crucifixion has now ordered Jesus' disciples to shut up about Jesus or else. Peter and John reported this to the believers a very volatile situation. Here was their response.

"When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God: 'Sovereign Lord,' they said, 'You made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through Your servant David: 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?' Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs...'"

Now, here's the result of their prayer: "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the Word of God boldly." Here you go: powerful prayer - explosive results. Let's pray like that if you want to get results like that. We can learn some of the secrets of dynamite prayer from how these early believers prayed under life-threatening pressure. First, you focus on the greatness of God rather than the greatness of the problem. This prayer is actually more about who God is than anything else. Great prayers always are.

Secondly, pray God's words back to Him. The early believers actually prayed God's promises and God's words right back to Him. We should pray on His promises, too. Thirdly, pray specifically for your response to the situation. They prayed for boldness. The situation isn't what will decide this. It will be how you choose to respond to the situation. Finally, pray for things only God could do - boldness when you feel like running - miracles to show people God's glory.

Frankly, our prayers are often so small, so predictable, so unworthy of the great God with whom we're talking. When you pray to a very big God for very big things, beginning with big things to happen in you, prepare for something explosive to happen. That will be the sound of your God blowing the lid off things!

Ron Hutchcraft

Do people mistake you for Jesus?

Do people mistake you for Jesus?

A group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.

In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.

ALL BUT ONE!!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.

He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.

If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.

You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Please share this. Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know.

GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

[Shared by Jeena]

Strange Words for a New Mom

Strange Words for a New Mom

Visiting people who are in the hospital; it's not necessarily everybody's favorite thing to do. A lot of times it's hard to know what to say to the person; especially if their condition is serious. But there are some visits where it's easy to think of things to say - like when you're visiting a new mom or her new baby. All you have to say is, "Aww, she's beautiful!" or "He's so smart; so alert" or "That's the cutest baby I've ever seen!" See, you're supposed to say these things even if the baby still looks all red and bald and wrinkled. But that first Christmas... well, one of the first people to see Mary's baby didn't follow the usual script.

Following the Jewish custom, Mary and Joseph brought their baby boy to the temple to be circumcised, just eight days after that first Christmas. God had someone waiting for them there - an old man named Simeon who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn't die until he had seen the One he called "the Lord's Christ." He actually held the baby in his arms and praised God for sending Him.

But then came those strange words for a new mom. In Simeon's words is the shadow of great pain for Mary and great hope for you and me. In Luke 2:34-35, our word for today from the Word of God, "Simeon...said to Mary, His mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel...the thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.'" It's not exactly what a new mother wants to hear.

But eight days into His life on earth, Simeon is foreshadowing the end of Jesus' life. The Bible tells us that 33 years later "near the cross stood His mother" (John 19:25). And surely, as Mary saw her boy nailed to a cross and pierced by a soldier's spear, that sword Simeon spoke of must have pierced her soul.

So as we sing our "sleep in heavenly peace" and "joy to the world" carols, let's not miss the shadow looming over the manger. It's the shadow of a cross. But that cross was not some tragic twist of fate. It was the plan of a God who loves us very much. It was His plan to give you and me a chance of going to heaven instead of hell; to enjoy the relationship with God we were made for but we've missed because we're running our own lives.

And if there had been any other way to erase your sin from God's book and to pay for your sin, believe me, God would have done it. All your goodness, all your religion, all your Christianity; it can't pay sin's death penalty. Someone had to die to pay it, and Someone did - the Son of God.

The writer of the classic carol, "What Child is This" expressed it powerfully, "Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you; hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the Babe, the son of Mary."

So you've had your Christmases, you've celebrated Jesus' coming. Have you ever had your Good Friday where you stand at the foot of that cross and say the two words that are the difference between heaven and hell, "For me, Jesus, what You did here was for me. And I'm giving me to You." That is the only way you can receive the gift of eternal life that He died to give you.

If you've never done that, if maybe you've known about Jesus all your life but you've missed this step, let this be your Jesus-day. You'll have a lot more to celebrate than just Jesus' coming to earth. This season you'll celebrate His coming into your life. If that's what you want, tell Him right now, "Jesus, I want to belong to You. I am taking for myself what You died for on the cross." Oh, what a new beginning that will be.

A lot of people have found help at our website, encouragement, and important information about how to begin their relationship with Jesus Christ. So, I want to give you that web address in hopes that you'll check it out at your first chance today. It's real important stuff - www.YoursForLife.net

It wasn't just Mary's heart that was pierced on that awful day on Skull Hill. We can only imagine the anguish in God the Father's heart, watching His Son be broken for you. So God will never forget what you do with His Son.

Ron Hutchcraft

What We Want vs. What We Need

What We Want vs. What We Need

So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him." 1 Samuel 1:20

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas today? Or did you get what you needed?

What we want and what we need do not often go hand in hand. I should know. There are things that I have wanted in my life for a long time now, that apparently the Lord has not seen to be necessities. At least not yet.

I know he knows what is best for me, but it is still hard to wait. And it is difficult not to look longingly at what others have received and wonder why I, too, cannot be the recipient of such things in my life.

This kind of struggle is not new to any of us. And Hannah, who we read about in the first chapter of 1 Samuel, is a great example of how to live when what you want is not yet something God says you need.

For years Hannah had wanted to become a mother. To bear a child. To give her husband, Elkanah, a son-just like his other wife, Peninnah.

Being barren was considered a disgrace for a woman in those times, so Hannah most likely felt ashamed and alone and perhaps like a societal outcast. Instead of turning away, though, Hannah took her sorrow and her request for what she wanted to the Lord.

We don't know for sure how long she waited (perhaps years) -- and we don't know the exact purposes of God's timing in her life -- but we can still learn a great deal from Hannah's example...

a. She was persistent and continually sought the Lord. She did not give up and stop asking the Lord for what she wanted. Like clockwork, Hannah kept bringing her request to God, year after year at the temple in Shiloh (v. 7). No doubt her want continued to drive her to the Father and most likely deepened her relationship with him.

b. She was blessed with a lifeline. I am quick to forget that the beauty in the midst of Hannah's pain is that Elkanah loved her very dearly (if not more than Peninnah). I am sure this buoyed Hannah to make it through the years when she may have wondered if God would ever answer her prayer for a child. God was gracious in giving her a loving husband (v. 5, 8).

c. She did not give in to ridicule or naysayers. Even when Peninnah (who was fruitful and had children) provoked her and taunted her because she was barren, Hannah did not add insult to injury (v. 7). She did not become nasty and retaliate when ridiculed for her condition or her faith.

d. She shared her "want" and was encouraged by others. When the high priest Eli observed Hannah praying in the temple and inquired as to her condition (he thought she was intoxicated because she was praying silently, but her lips were moving-v. 14), she shared with him what she was asking of the Lord. When Eli saw what was really going on, he encouraged her and asked God to answer her request (vv. 12-17).

e. She gave back to God what he had given to her. When God blessed Hannah with a child, she did not cling tightly to him. She kept her promise, let her son go and dedicated him to the Lord (v. 11, vv.21-28). How unbelievable is that? To accept and then release back to God something he has given to you that you have prayed and prayed and prayed for? That is model faith!

Like Hannah, are you waiting on the Lord to give you something you want in your life today? A new job? Reconciliation in your marriage? Blessing in your finances? A cure from illness? To find your soul mate? Victory over an addiction? A baby?

Each of us has something we want in our lives. But is up to God to decide if this is something we really need. May we continue to come to him with joy and thankfulness, as we acknowledge that he knows what is best for us in our lives.

Laura MacCorkle

Decorated From the Inside

Decorated From the Inside

Last Christmas, a friend gave us one of the most unique ornaments I've ever seen. As soon as you see it, you think how

beautifully and exquisitely this glass decoration is painted. But what's amazing is that none of that artwork is on the

outside of the ornament. It's been painted entirely on the inside! For centuries, the Chinese have perfected this "inside

painting." Through a small opening in the ornament, the artist repeatedly inserts a miniature brush to paint the artwork. Of

course, the process is painstaking and time consuming. It takes two days to just paint one ornament, but the result is a

beautiful, one-of-a-kind miniature masterpiece.

It takes quite an artist to make something beautiful from the inside out, and God is the master of that! Every one of us

needs His beautifying touch, because every one of us carries our share of ugly inside us. And it keeps spilling out in our

words, our attitude, how we treat other people, and it causes trouble. It causes hurt.

It's like there's this Grand Canyon between the person I want to be and need to be and the person I really am. The battles

are different for each of us, but we all battle our dark side; things that the people close to me hate, things I hate, things

God hates. The ugliness of self-centeredness, of our destructive anger and the scars we leave with it, the deceit, the

passions, and the addictions that we can't seem to master; all those things I say and do that hurt people I love and often

people who don't deserve it. We want to change. We can't.

And we're frustrated by so many attempts we've made to be the right kind of person, to finally find some inner peace, to

find a purpose that just gives every day some meaning. We look to religion to help us be what we need to be, but there's a

problem. Religion basically tries to redecorate us from the outside and it keeps coming off! Jesus said of some very

religious people in His day, "On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy

and wickedness" (Matthew 23:28). There's some of that in all of us.

But for those of us who are tired of being one thing on the outside and something very different on the inside, for those of

us who want to beat our darkness and become the person we need to be and we want to be, well for us the Bible has

liberating good news. It's found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, and it's our word for today from the Word of God. "If anyone is in

Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" The Bible tells us that Jesus does what no religion

could ever do. Like those Chinese artists, He beautifies us on the inside so we're genuinely changed and we're

permanently changed.

All of the ugly stuff and the dark stuff in our heart is summed up in one Bible word - sin; rebellion against God and His

laws. I've tried to be the god of my own life, and it's not working.

That's why Jesus came. Our only hope of sin's power being beaten was for God Himself to conquer it, which He did when

Jesus paid the debt for our sins on the cross. Then when He conquered death on Easter Morning, He proved there's

nothing He can't conquer.

This makeover miracle in your soul begins from the moment that you are, as that verse said, "in Christ." Not just around

Christ, but really belonging to Him. He did all the dying for all your sin. What's left is for you to put your total trust in Him

as your Savior - your deliverer from your sin.

If you're ready to begin a relationship with Him, right here in this Christmas season, He came into the world this time of

year. Let Him come into your heart. Just tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." And if you want to be sure you belong to Him, to

have this new beginning, would you go to our website. There's a lot of information there that has helped a lot of people at

that point in time. It's YoursForLife.net.

Just ask anyone whose let Christ in. When you get Jesus, you start becoming a person you never dreamed you could be.

He will make you new on the inside as soon as you open the door.

Ron Hutchcraft

The Same Old Story

The Same Old Story

In the twenty-three years that my wife and I have been doing youth ministry, we have dealt with a lot of teens who have gotten themselves into some dire straits. In fact, I thought there was nothing that could possibly surprise us anymore.

I was wrong.

There is one teenage girl that we know that I had to tell you about. However, before I do, I want you to understand that in our youth ministry, we always strive for confidentiality, to protect both the teen and the teen's family. So it is with great trepidation that I share this with you for I know that some of you will figure out who this girl is. But I am hoping that by the end of these few pages, you will understand why I had to share what I am about to tell you.

But before you rush to judgment, I want you to hang with me here. In fact, more than anything else, I want you to put yourself in this teen's shoes. Try and feel what she must be feeling.

This young girl is 14 years old and she comes to the stark realization that she is pregnant. Not only does she realize that her life is going to drastically change, but to make matters worse, she is afraid to tell her boyfriend. Normally she can go to her boyfriend with any problem. He is a pretty stable, understanding and dependable guy. But this time it's different. You see, the baby is not his.

She lays awake that first night thinking about all the people she has to face that next day.

Her parents.

She has always been worthy of the trust her parents have put in her. In fact other families have remarked to her parents how they wish their daughters were more like her. But now she has to stand before them and explain how she got pregnant. And if that is not bad enough, she is going to have to explain to them that the father of the baby is not the young man that her parents think she should marry.

Her boyfriend.

She loves her boyfriend more than anyone! Well, almost more than anyone. How is she going to face him? Where is she going to get the courage? It would almost be easier if she could tell him that it was just a big mistake and that she is oh, so sorry for it. But she can't lie to him. She will have to look into his trusting eyes and tell him that she willfully chose the path that led to this little life growing inside of her. She knows deep down inside, that if she had to do it all over again, she would make the same decision, and end up in the same precarious situation. "Please God! Please let him understand and not abandon me. I need him so much right now!"

Her friends.

Right or wrong, they have always put her on a pedestal. Always looked to her for answers. Always modeled their life after hers. But she knows instinctively that they will not understand. In fact she knows that she may never be able to explain to them what made her do what she did.

So she lays there in bed, afraid, overwhelmed, and reaching out to God for strength to face what is ahead of her.

The next day she finally gets up the courage to tell her boyfriend. He reacts just as she feared he would react. He is going to leave her.

She becomes distraught and questions God: "Why God? Why? I know that I am in this situation because of a decision I made, but please don't take my boyfriend away from me! I desperately need him now!"

This unnamed teen goes to bed that night more afraid than ever, feeling every bit the young child that she is.

Her name? Normally I wouldn't give that to you. But in this case she asked that her name be known so that others will understand what she has gone through and be encouraged.

Her name is Mary and she lived 2000 years ago.

Have you ever thought of the Christmas story in this way before?

Think about it! You are a 14-year old girl and an angel appears to you and says, "I'm going to place a baby inside of your womb." Most 14-year old girls I know would say, "I'm sorry, but that doesn't fit in with my plans for my life. I have my whole life ahead of me and I can't be held back by a baby! How am I going to go to prom now!?"

How does Mary tell Joseph? Have you ever thought of that? She has to go to her future husband and say, "I'm pregnant and the baby is not yours."

The conversation may have gone something like this:

Mary: "Joe, before you get angry at me I want you to know that I didn't cheat on you."

Joseph: "Come on Mary! You know full well that we have not known each other in the biblical sense, so the baby can't possibly be mine!"

Mary: "Joseph, you have to believe me. I did not have sex with anyone!"

Joseph: "Please Mary, don't do this to me. You know that I love you and care for you. But I can't listen to this."

Mary: "OK, Joseph, I won't lie to you." (She pauses, searching his eyes for the understanding that she knows is not humanly possible.) "The baby is from God."

Joseph: "Mary! Please! This is not like you! In fact, I am beginning to think I don't even know you any more!"

Mary: "You have to believe me Joseph!"

Joseph: (The wheels already turning in his head as to what he needs to do) "Mary, you know that I love you. But I won't stand for this. I have every right to put you away from me publicly, but I don't have the heart to do that to you. I won't marry you now, but I will allow you to find some dignity and not make a big deal out of this. But go you will."

Mary: "Please Joseph! You've got to believe me! Why would I make something like this up!"

Joseph: "Enough! I don't want to hear another word."

And he walks away, leaving Mary distraught and worrying.

You know the story. An angel appears to Joseph and verifies that what Mary says is truth.

Hopefully by now you are not thinking of the story of Jesus' birth as the same old boring story that we read every Christmas season!

Stop your busyness and ponder with me these next few weeks.

Think of God as a fetus, leaving Heaven and all of its splendor and becoming one of the most fragile things on Earth: a human baby. An animal baby is more able to defend and adapt when they are born than a human is.

As a writer, I would never have written the story this way. If I'm going to write the story of God coming to Earth, He's going to be on a white stallion when He rides out of Heaven. Every hoof-beat will leave lightning-like sparks on the streets of gold and peals of thunder in the air. The stars will line up as letters in every language that will blink: "The King of Kings is Coming!" He's going to burst through the ozone layer in a fiery explosion that will rock the foundation of the earth and send humans and animals to a prone position on the ground. Then He's going to circle the entire earth from east to west and the clouds will trail behind Him like a pure white flowing robe. There'll be the deafening sound of heavenly trumpets and the majestic pureness of millions of angels' voices hitting your ears as if they were right next to you.

That's how I'd write it.

God says, "Nope. He's going to live inside of an unwed teenage girl and He's going to be born in a stable." Which is a really nice word for a cave where smelly animals live. There was manure and urine on the floor, and the stench was almost unbearable. Priceless paintings and works of art did not hang on the walls in this nursery. No, if you were to look on these walls you would see cobwebs.

Psalm 33:6 reads, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." The One who breathed galaxies into existence, now depended on an umbilical cord for His oxygen. Amazing!

In your wildest dreams, can you equate the deity of the King of Kings making his entrance into this world through the human process we call birth.

Instead of noticing a crown of purest gold on his head, you notice the cone-shape of his head as he was forced through the birth canal. Instead of wearing the finest robes money can buy, he is wrapped in rags.

Instead of a finely crafted bed made by the most gifted craftsman in the land, he is laid in a feeding trough. Don't give me this "manger" stuff. Manger sounds too romantic. God was put in a feeding trough where cows put their tongues to lick up food. That's where the King of the universe slept.

He who sustains the entire universe is now being sustained through the milk of a teenage girl.

If Mary could have written a book, it would be on the New York Times' Best-Selling List. The title of the book would have been, "I Changed God's Diapers." Have you ever thought of that? Someone had to change the God of the universe's diapers. This gets a little gross, and I'm used to talking to youth, so forgive me, but, human waste was next to Jesus' skin. Is it hard to imagine Jesus in such a mundane and human way? In fact it is almost irreverent. But the God of the universe loved us so much that he was willing to humble Himself and give us the most precious Christmas present ever given: His Son Jesus.

May we never let ourselves say, "The same old Christmas story," ever again. And may we never get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to not stop and ponder about what an amazing God we have.

May this Christmas, and every Christmas from here on out, never lose it's magic or it's meaning.

Michael T. Powers

God Is Not About YOUR Success

God Is Not About YOUR Success

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:24-26).

God is all about your death so that HIS success can be realized through you! This is why the Church is having such little impact - there are too many believers who have not yet died to their old nature so that Christ can live fully through them. When believers come to the end of themselves they will lose their lives to Him and live through the power of the Holy Spirit and begin to see the reality of a living gospel that impacts lives, workplaces, cities and nations.

"Much of modern Christian enterprise is 'Ishmael.' Born not of God, but of an inordinate desire to do God's will in our own way - the one thing our Lord never did," said Oswald Chambers. The psalmist describes what it means to live in our own strength:

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves" (Ps. 127:1-2).

How does one die so that Christ can be our all and all? It usually takes a crisis of significant proportions for most people to relinquish the control of their lives. It means we come to the end of ourselves and our striving to control the events in our lives and we finally come to the place where we can say, "Lord, I surrender. Please take full control of my life."

Have you come to this place with God in your life? Let go and let God make you a success His way.

Os Hillman

Will You Miss it Also?

Will You Miss it Also?

There are 1189 chapters in the Bible, 250 in the New Testament and 89 in the Four Gospels. Of all those chapters in God's Word there are four that detail the Birth of Jesus. There are four chapters of The New Testament that describe this night. They are Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. From these chapters comes an intriguing and very powerful cast of characters. If all seventeen were listed they would be:

Six Saints
Several shepherds
Three sinners
A Prophet
A Host of Angels
A bunch of stuffed Robed Religious big shots
Some mysterious Magi from the East
Gabriel the Archangel
And the Savior of the World.

From this cast, let's draw out a few of them. Through their response to the Birth of Christ we can learn and follow. Don't miss out on the blessings and wonders of the 1st Christmas. You won't if you learn from these.

So which ones were looking for Jesus? Let's just zero in on a few of these folks and try to heed what God is trying to tell us. Okay? Who were they? Well, Matthew lists a cast of 6 (turn to Mt. 1-2).

1. Mary -- pondering, worshiping, trusting and obeying

2. Joseph -- fearful, faithful, obedient, seeking and sacrificing

3. Magi -- willing to follow anywhere to find their king

4. Herod -- more concerned about his crown, his women, his wine, his building projects, his businesses, his security -- than his soul

5. Chief priests and religious leaders -- they used the Scriptures, but didn't obey them. They knew about the prophets, but they did not believe prophecy

6. Jesus

On the first Christmas when God invaded the time space prison of earth, there were many different people who were around. Those who were looking for Him, found Him and that day the greatest in their lives, the other who were not looking for Him, and missed the greatest opportunity in their lives.

How about it? Are you looking for Jesus this Christmas? Or is this Christmas flying by so fast you will miss what God is offering you? Everyone who was looking for Jesus to come enjoyed His arrival. As we examine their lives we can often see ourselves. Who are you like?

John Barnett

Secret Service

Secret Service

Years ago during cold and flu season, three in our household of four were ill. I rarely get colds, but back then I had felt heaviness in my chest for about 48 hours. One child had a bearish cough, and the other was lethargic, signaling yet another ear infection.

Sluggish, it was all I could do to get everyone ready, in the car, and drive to the doctor. While paying our doctor bill, I saw Rox, who worshiped at church with us. I must have had WEARY stamped on my forehead. I told him the doctor's diagnosis: daughter had a ruptured ear drum, son had severe bronchitis, and I had pneumonia. His brows arched in concern.

By the time I bought prescribed meds and drove home, I literally collapsed with exhaustion. Right before my husband arrived from out of town, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and there stood Charlotte Owens, a woman from our church. Rox had told his wife Pamela about our wilting family.

Pamela and a few other women cooked a quick supper for us. To this day, my eyes grow moist when I think of that chain-reaction of care and kind service. For the next few days Dave and family pitched in to help.

On either end of giving awaits a blessing, whether the giver or the receiver.

The spiritual discipline of service is lived out in biblical examples: a cup of cold water; Jesus acknowledging tax collector Zacchaeus; Martha offering hospitality; and King Jesus, kneeling to wash his disciples' feet.

Service is deeply rooted in the discipline of submission, of placing others' needs before our own. If you are a parent you have served. If you have a spouse, you have served. If you are a policeman, a sanitation worker, firefighter, judge, or other public servant, you have served.

It is not difficult to find someone to render a service to, but the challenge is to serve with genuine selflessness, tender care, and joy for the opportunity. Temptations may arise to brag about a service provided, to want recognition, or a pat on the back. Also, the "poor me" attitude can be prevalent when serving. We go ahead and do the act of service, but it's served with a decanter of whine.

The greatest services are those offered with joy, those that never receive recognition. They are "hidden". The servers do not expect applause or desire it. That servant-person can make 100 sandwiches in the middle of the night for firefighters and not seek any thanks or mention their kindness to family or friends. "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness in front of men to be seen by them. But your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:1-4).

Richard Foster in his book, "Celebration of Discipline," lists these areas of service: do daily small things for folk; guard people's reputations; allow others to serve you; extend common courtesies; be hospitable; listen well; and share the word of Life.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1153) said if we are to live the life of one who will lead others "what you need is not a scepter but a hoe". One can offer good leadership and authority and still be a servant. Jesus is the prevalent example of such a person. Our prideful nature may want the big job that comes with fanfare and glory. But it's the daily sacrifices, the little things that add up to humility seeping into our lives in a small stream. Humility is one of the rewards of genuine service to others.

This week, join the "secret service". Do for others and don't mention it to a soul-ever. You might choose to sit quietly and listen to your spouse's critique when your usual response is to offer a verbal defense. Or you could choose to halt gossip and save a reputation from a beating. Or make it your goal to extend common courtesies the entire week, on the phone, in the auto, and in your home.

Our loving Father is watching for the mothers who hold fevered children, for the dads who build character by their example, and for that secret service for a neighbor. He's lining up the rewards, for here and hereafter.

Shared by Dean Masters

Make a Difference

Make a Difference

Hi All,

The below is a forward which you may have received before or you may not have, the story mentioned could be true or it could another fabricated one filled with sentiments, but you cannot write off the contents of the below which is true with regard to the less fortunate who are NO WAY responsible for their state and reminds us of the opportunity given to bring a smile and make a difference on the less fortunate but dear ones.

Do not miss to notice the joy these boys brought to the Father of the dear child and the verse at the end.

Regards,
Alfred John

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"

Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much! The boy looked around for guidance and a few boys nodded approval, why not?

So he took matters into his own hands and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"

Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay!"

Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching were on their feet were screaming, Shay, run home!"

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world."

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

We all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the natural order of things.

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up that opportunity, leaving it and making the world a little colder in the process?

A wise man once said "every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them".

And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' (Matthew 25:40)

[Shared by Dinesh Pandian]

Comments

Drop your comments / feedback / suggestions here... Or write to theisrael2007@gmail.com

You may find the commented messages / posts on either of these websites:

http://groups.google.com/group/theisrael/topics
http://the-israel.blogspot.com

Thanks.

Private Ceremony

Private Ceremony

1 Samuel 9:27
"Now as they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us". And he went on, "But you stand here awhile that I may announce to you the word of God."

I stopped at this scripture and meditated on God's way of dealing with things. Read carefully and ask God to speak to your heart too. Prophet Samuel asks Saul to leave his servant and come aside alone and when Saul separates himself from the servant and walks to Samuel, when there was no witness, Samuel takes the oil from the flask and anoints him as the king of Israel and kisses him. If you truly desire for a divine intervention with God then you need to “separate” yourself and sever ties and bondage with people and move closer to God for heavenly revelation. Are you listening to me?

Samuel anoints him as king in a private ceremony. So now Saul has been made king, but he has some growing to do yet before the time comes for God's choice to be revealed to the people. Here is one of the most critical moments in the history of Israel, and it all happens in secret. I can imagine Saul with oil running down his face but unable to tell everyone that he was anointed as king of Israel.

God does something secretly for you before He brings it to everybody's notice. May be a promise made to you, a vision, a dream, a prophesy, hold on to it, it would come to pass. Saul discovered in this series of events that nothing happens by accident. There's no such thing as a coincidence where God is involved. Did you get that friend! The search for those donkeys was merely the setting for something much more marvelous happening to Saul. He's God's chosen King. No-one knows about it yet. Isn't it amazing?

Once I read a book of the great man of God Bro. Kenneth Hagin who gives his testimony of being healed from tuberculosis. He tells us something amazing in that book, one day while he was lying in the bed absolutely devastated and weak in the bed with advanced tuberculosis, suddenly his room was magnificently illuminated with bright light and he found Jesus standing in the room in front of him. Jesus stretches out his hand that day and pulls him out of his sick bed, he never again went back to that bed but was healed completely. But Bro. Hagin did not share this beautiful and divine experience and his encounter with God even with his own mother, he kept this memory only to himself for many years. While he was writing his book on "divine healing", God placed it in his heart to mention about the healing that he received in his room in the book. It was only after many years that even people close to him came to know about his encounter with Jesus. Dear friend, sometimes God speaks into our heart or gives us a dream or gives us a promise which we deeply know "it is for us". We need to hold these close to our heart and pray for it and never reveal it unless and until God impresses us to do it.

I remember as a teenager sitting in an evening service in the church and that day was a special day of 'song service' when people came as a family on the stage and sang a song and worshiped the Lord. While the eldest son played the guitar, one particular family sang a song and the lyrics were from the book of Joshua which says, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord". I was sitting alone in the church and it was a painful moment in my life as I was going through poverty and uncertainty in my life. But this song made a deep impression in my heart and I was never able to erase the memory of that family singing that song. I wondered would I be able to say that also one day! At that moment I felt the Holy Spirit speak deep down in my heart that "we would serve the Lord also whole heartedly one day." I had never dared to share this experience with anyone. But after nearly two decades, the Lord did keep His promise and made our family serve the Lord and made me His servant. Glory to Jesus! God does something in secret before He brings it to the open.

Sis. Bala Samson
www.worshipjesusministry.com

[Shared by Shalini Paul]

The Best Gifts

The Best Gifts

Truth is, the best gifts of all are not meant to be kept or even possessed; they are intended to be given a way ... to be passed on from person to person.

Lewis Hyde, author of "The Gift," tells of a Massachusetts' pilgrim who is invited into a Native American lodge and welcomed with a ritual smoking of the peace pipe. After the ritual is completed, the Native Americans give the symbolic pipe to the pilgrim. The pipe is a peace offering and is traditionally circulated among the local tribes, staying in each lodge for a time, but always given away sooner or later. However, our pilgrim didn't know about the tradition. In his world, he now owned a valuable treasure ... his own personal peace pipe.

Months later, in a surprise visit, the leaders of a neighboring tribe shocked the pilgrim with the expectation that the pipe would given to them.

The pilgrim called them "Indian givers"! (Yes, that's where the phrase comes from, according to Hyde.) In his mind, these poor natives just didn't grasp the growing application and appreciating of "private property." In their minds, this poor pilgrim didn't grasp the true meaning of the gift.

Like the pilgrim, we tend to hold on to our gifts too long. I think sometimes we even try to possess them. We try to keep them safe and hold them tight, for fear we might lose them. This focus on self misses the point altogether. As the apostle Paul reminds us, "... the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35 TNIV).

What gifts has God given you that need to be shared?

One thing is for sure: the gifts we receive from God are all meant to be given. They are not ours to keep, they must be shared: they must be kept in circulation to bless others.

Do you have possessions that really need to be on the move, that need to be given to others? What gifts has God given you that need to be shared -- things like grace, forgiveness, second-chances, love, stuff, time, attention, tenderness, patience, and talent?

Isn't it time for some of your closely guarded private possessions to find a new home? You've been given a lot, so doesn't that mean you have a lot to give? Get creative and turn loose of what you "own" and find the greater grace in giving.

Ron Rose