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Guidance Needed

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Guidance Needed

When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. —John 16:13

 

St. Nicholas Church in Galway, Ireland, has both a long history and an active present. It’s the oldest church in Ireland, and it provides guidance in a very practical way. The church towers over the town, and its steeple is used by ships’ captains as a guide for navigating their way safely into Galway Bay. For centuries, this church has reliably pointed the way home for sailors.

We can all certainly identify with the need for guidance. In fact, Jesus addressed this very need during His Upper Room Discourse. He said that after His departure the Holy Spirit would play a crucial role in the lives of believers. As part of that role, Jesus promised, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

What a marvelous provision! In a world of confusion and fear, guidance is often needed. We can easily be misdirected by the culture around us or by the brokenness within us (1 John 2:15-17). God’s Spirit, however, is here to help, to direct, and to guide. How thankful we can be that the Spirit of truth has come to give us the guidance that we often so desperately need. Set your course by His life, and you will reach safe harbor.

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand. —Williams
The Spirit is a reliable guide in all of life’s seas.

all our lives

2 Corinthians 1:12-21
We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom (2 Corinthians 1:12).

Read Acts 23:1. What allowed Paul to speak with such confidence about his words and life?

How are your words and actions a representation of your faith in Jesus? What areas of your life do you need to open up to God’s influence? How will you do that?

In the early 1500s, Martin Luther said faith in Jesus justifies us. But he also stated that faith should permeate all areas of our lives, including business dealings. Two and a half centuries later, a young man named John Woolman took this to heart as he opened a tailor shop. Due to his commitment to Christian love, he chose not to purchase any cotton or dye supplies that had been produced by slaves. Then he would be able to say, with a clear conscience, that he had lived according to holiness and sincerity in all his dealings (2 Corinthians 1:12).

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul defended his integrity among the Corinthians who were trying to undermine his authority by charging him with being insincere, deceptive, and exploitive in his dealings with them. He was forced to protect his character by highlighting several things about his conduct: (1) He related to the Corinthians with holiness and singleness of heart; (2) His conduct among the Corinthians was sincere—his words and actions could stand the closest scrutiny; (3) His conduct was not according to worldly wisdom—it was not self-serving (2 Corinthians 1:12). He related to the Corinthians according to God’s grace, expressing that he was dependent on His power for effectiveness (2 Corinthians 1:21). He wasn’t motivated by popularity or profit but by his genuine love for them. His faith permeated all of his dealings.

We should be careful to let the good news permeate our entire lives and influence everything we do. This may mean standing alone and risking profits in order to live in continuity with our Christian faith. When we talk and behave in a way that’s beyond criticism, we will draw attention to the truthfulness and the power of God’s message.

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Acts 13:36-52 (Good News Translation)

God’s Word: Embracing Us in Love

From: American Bible Society

Introduction

Acts 13:36-52: Paul and Barnabas are invited to return to the synagogue, and many Gentiles received their message with joy. Others, however, sought to expel them from their region.

Today’s Scripture: Acts 13:47

“This is the commandment that the Lord has given us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.’”

Today’s Reading

36 For David served God’s purposes in his own time, and then he died, was buried with his ancestors, and his body rotted in the grave. 37 But this did not happen to the one whom God raised from death. 38-39 All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free. 40 Take care, then, so that what the prophets said may not happen to you:41 ‘Look, you scoffers! Be astonished and die!For what I am doing todayis something that you will not believe, even when someone explains it to you!’” 42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to come back the next Sabbath and tell them more about these things. 43 After the people had left the meeting, Paul and Barnabas were followed by many Jews and by many Gentiles who had been converted to Judaism. The apostles spoke to them and encouraged them to keep on living in the grace of God. 44 The next Sabbath nearly everyone in the town came to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; they disputed what Paul was saying and insulted him. 46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles. 47 For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us:‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,so that all the world may be saved.’” 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord’s message; and those who had been chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 The word of the Lord spread everywhere in that region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the leading men of the city and the Gentile women of high social standing who worshiped God. They started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their region. 51 The apostles shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went on to Iconium. 52 The believers in Antioch were full of joy and the Holy Spirit.

Reflect

How did Paul and his companions encourage the believers? Who opposed their message? What did Paul and Barnabas do? Has anyone ever challenged you about your faith? If so, how did you respond?

Pray

Lord Jesus, I want to be a light that leads others to you. Help me to be a witness for you and to proclaim boldly your message of love and salvation. Amen.

The Compelling Force of the Call

From: My Utmost For HIs Highest

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16

Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it-”If anyone . . .” (Luke 14:26).

Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “. . .separated to the gospel. . . .” Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.

One of Jesus’ Miracles

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 Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus Christ

Two Men

 — by Anne Cetas
Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. . . . Jesus wept. —John 11:33,35

Two men were killed in our city on the same day. The first, a police officer, was shot down while trying to help a family. The other was a homeless man who was shot while drinking with friends early that day.

The whole city grieved for the police officer. He was a fine young man who cared for others and was loved by the neighborhood he served. A few homeless people grieved for the friend they loved and lost.

I think the Lord grieved with them all.

When Jesus saw Mary and Martha and their friends weeping over the death of Lazarus, “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33). He loved Lazarus and his sisters. Even though He knew that He would soon be raising Lazarus from the dead, He wept with them (v.35). Some Bible scholars think that part of Jesus’ weeping also may have been over death itself and the pain and sadness it causes in people’s hearts.

Loss is a part of life. But because Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” (v.25), those who believe in Him will one day experience an end of all death and sorrow. In the meantime, He weeps with us over our losses and asks us to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15).

Give me a heart sympathetic and tender;
Jesus, like Thine, Jesus, like Thine,
Touched by the needs that are surging around me,
And filled with compassion divine. —<poem_author>Anon.
Compassion helps to heal the hurts of others. From: Our Daily Bread

Vision and Darkness

From: My Utmost for HIs HIghest

When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12

Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).

Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.

give what you have

From: OurDailyJourney

Romans 12:4-8
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you (Romans 12:6).

Meditate on Philippians 1:6and apply it to the way you use your time, talents, and treasures today.

How can you put the talents and resources God has given you to better use? Why is it important for us to give back to God?

Last year, a few foreign exchange college students from Saudi Arabia celebrated Christmas with our family. When they arrived, they told us they had never experienced a Christmas in the US and were looking forward to it with great anticipation.

When it came time to exchange gifts, we carefully explained to our guests that the tradition of giving gifts to those we love was one way we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ—God’s greatest gift to the world (John 3:16).

As one who has received the gift of God’s Son, I sometimes wonder what I can give in return. It’s helpful to realize that God simply asks us to give what we have (Romans 12:6). He doesn’t ask us to be more than we are. He simply asks us to do our best with what He’s given us.

Each of us has something of substance to give. We can give our time to assist a person in need. We can give our money to support a kingdom effort. We can help by volunteering our talents in helping others. It doesn’t matter how much natural ability or resources we possess. What matters to God is whether we make good use of what we have been given for His kingdom, whether big or small. Paul wrote that whatever we do for God with the gifting He’s given us, we should do it “well” (Romans 12:7).

Doing our best is the best gift we can give Him in return for sending Jesus to rescue us and for the gift of new life. What we give back won’t be enough to bring His kingdom to earth as it is in heaven, but it will help.

As the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, “Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

He did his Duty

From: inspirationalarchive.com


 To augment his schoolteacher salary, for a number of years, back when corner stores were better known than supermarkets, my dad filled in as a grocery store clerk at one of the larger such stores in our community. The cash registers in those days rang up sales but only after someone tallied up the sale total. Dad could run his pencil down a long column of figures listing customer purchases and speedily arrive at the correct sum.

Later on, after the corner stores went the way of the dinosaur, Dad had another career as a taxi driver, first driving for a local cab owner and later buying the business and running it for some years—although in this case “business” means one car, used as a taxi and also as his personal vehicle.

We never went anywhere with Dad, even out of town, that he did not meet someone he knew. His three jobs had one thing in common—they kept him in the public eye. He was so well-known that we were sure that in any city in the United States he would meet someone he knew in the first half hour.

My mother suffered from several different chronic illnesses. As the years passed, they grew worse, even as a total of five children were born in the family. We all lived in a house with only four rooms, a circumstances I’m sure was shared by many of our neighbors in those post depression and war years. Perhaps, however, some of those families had more ready cash than we did. Even though Dad usually taught all day and worked at the grocery all evening, with all the medical expenses we incurred, there wasn’t enough money for us to own a car. Dad hitched rides to school with other teachers during most of his teaching career. There was a bus he occasionally rode to and from the grocery store, but many times he saved the dime by riding the distance of around four miles to and from his extra job on his bike.

The bike was about the only way he went anywhere. Mom often had to call a taxi to take her or us to the doctor because the bus required walking at least a country block to the bus stop and Mom’s asthma seldom allowed her to do so. Dad however, usually went places on his bike. For me, as a pre-schooler, there was a little wooden seat Dad called his “buddy seat” that was fastened to the “boy” bar of his bike. That way, as he rode, I was always right in front of him and encircled by his arms.

At that time I used to stutter and I had a serious inability to pronounce the letter “R.” As we rode along, Dad, ever the teacher, would talk with me, encouraging me to think ahead about what I was going to say so I would be able to get it out without error.

He used to take me to town on Saturday mornings and one place I loved to go was the junk yard. Dad was always working on bikes for one of us kids and he would scavenge the junk yard for parts. One time, how-ever, he incurred my mother’s wrath by taking me with him to a pool parlor. Mom didn’t think much of pool parlors.

Some years later, after the grocery closed, Dad worked as the night manager of a pool room for a year or two. Mother never did like that. She thought that as a school teacher, Dad was compromising his integrity by working in such a den of inequity.

I was always proud that my father was a well-respected man. I used to think being a teacher made him a special kind of person, but today I realize that the most special thing about him was not his career, but the way he persevered. The mantel of respect always falls on those who consistently do their duty and that’s what my father did.

Living Sacrifices

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Is My Sacrifice Living?

From: My Utmost for HIs Highest

Abraham built an altar . . . ; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar . . . —Genesis 22:9

This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You . . . to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

Angel Knocking at the Door

From: inspirationalarchives.com

There came a frantic knock
At the doctor’s office door,
A knock, more urgent than
he had ever heard before.
~~~~
“Come in, Come in,”
the impatient doctor said,
“Come in, Come in,
before you wake the dead.”
~~
In walked a frightened little girl,
a child no more than nine,
It was plain for all to see,
she had troubles on her mind.
~~~
“Oh doctor, I beg you,
please come with me,
My mother is surely dying,
she’s as sick as she can be.”
~~~~
“I don’t make house calls,
bring your mother here,”
“But she’s too sick,
so you must come or she will die I fear.”
~~~~
The doctor, touched by her devotion,
decided he would go,
She said he would be blessed,
more than he could know.
~~~~
She led him to her house
where her mother lay in bed,
Her mother was so very sick
she couldn’t raise her head.
~~~~
But her eyes cried out for help
and help her the doctor did,
She would have died that very night
had it not been for her kid.
~~~~
The doctor got her fever down
and she lived through the night,
And morning brought the doctor signs,
that she would be all right.
~~~~
The doctor said he had to leave
but would return again by two,
And later he came back to check,
just like he said he’d do.
~~~~
The mother praised the doctor
for all the things he’d done,
He told her she would have died,
were it not for her little one.
~~~~
“How proud you must be
of your wonderful little girl,
It was her pleading that made me come,
she is really quite a pearl!
~~~~
“But doctor, my daughter died
over three years ago,
Is the picture on the wall
of the little girl you know?”
~~~~
The doctors legs went limp
for the picture on the wall,
Was the same little girl
for whom he’d made this call.
~~~~
The doctor stood motionless,
for quite a little while,
And then his solemn face,
was broken by his smile.
~~~~
He was thinking of that frantic knock
heard at his office door,
And of the beautiful little angel
that had walked across his floor.
I KNOW there are Angels among us…….

Author Unknown

 

Things aren’t always what they seem

From: inspirationalarchives.com

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead, the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bedroom the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied…. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good nights’ rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel “How could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” she accused. ”The second family had so little, but was willing to share everything and you let their cow die.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied.”When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way you think they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

 

Your Angel

From: inspirationalarchives.com

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God: “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

God replied, “Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

“But tell me, here in Heaven, I don’t do anything else but sing and smile, that’s enough for me to be happy.”

“Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel’s love and be happy.”

“And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t know the language that men talk?”

“Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

“Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

“I’ve heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?”

“Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.”

“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

“Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly:

“Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

“Your angel’s name is of no importance, you will call your angel: Mommy.”

Author Unknown

 

Life’s Important Lessons

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SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS LIFE TEACHES YOU

Author Unknown

1 ~ Most Important Lesson – Always remember that everyone is important to God.

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

“Absolutely,”said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello’.”

“I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

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Second Important Lesson – Always stop and help others in need.

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him.

Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.

A special note was attached. It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole”.

*********************************

Third Important Lesson ~ Always remember those who serve you.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.” Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.”Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.” The little boy again counted his coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five cents – You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

*********************************

Fourth Important Lesson ~ Always remember that every obstacle can be an opportunity.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then, a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

*********************************

Fifth Important Lesson ~ Always remember to love others no matter what the cost.

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and seriousdisease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do it if it will save her…” As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then, his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

You see, understanding and attitude, after all, is everything. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

From: gatewaytoJesus.com

“Walk in the Light”

If we walk in the light as He is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin —1 John 1:7

To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7 , which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.

I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.

silverbar

Living Letters

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Living Letters

 — by Dennis Fisher
Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God. —2 Corinthians 3:3
Bible in a Year:
Ezekiel 20-21; James 5

In November 1963, the same day that President John F. Kennedy was shot, another leader died—Clive Staples Lewis. This Oxford scholar, who had converted from atheism to Christianity, was a prolific writer. Intellectual books, science fiction, children’s fantasies, and other works flowed from his pen with a strong Christian message. His books have been used by God in the conversion of many, including a politician and a Nobel Prize-winning scientist.

Some are called to tell others about Christ through their writing, but all believers are called to be “epistles,” or letters of Christ, in the way we live. The apostle Paul tells us, “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor. 3:3).

Certainly Paul does not mean we are actually pieces of paper upon which God’s message has been written. But as living “letters” we can illustrate how Jesus Christ makes a difference in how we treat others and strive to live with integrity.

Few will have the influence that C. S. Lewis did, but we are all called to bring glory to the One who loves us and has redeemed us!

Dear Lord, You have called me to be a witness for You
wherever You have placed me. Every day my life is on
display. Help me to live in such a way that others will
want to know You and the abundant life You offer.
We are Christ’s “letters of recommendation” to all who read our lives.

A Beautiful Life

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Tips for a beautiful life!

This story contains some “tips” that may bring you a beautiful life. Read them, live by them more fully, and I promise you will experience

A beautiful life!

Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and while you walk, smile.

Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, “My purpose is to … today.”

Live with the 3 E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy, and the 3 F’s: Faith, Family, Friends.

Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

Dream more while you are awake.

Try to make at least three people smile each day.

Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn, pass all your tests. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagreements.

Make peace with your past, so it won’t mess up the present.

Don’t compare your life with others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Burn the candles, use the nice sheets. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

Forgive everyone for everything.

What other people think of you is none of your business.

Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will stay in touch.

Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or joyful.

The best is yet to come… Believe.

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

Do the right thing!

Call your family often.

Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: “I am thankful for…” – “Today I accomplished…”

Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. Make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
Author Unknown

From: www.academictips.org.

Quenching Thirst

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Quench the World’s Thirst

Paul Kennel

“As President of World Concern, Paul Kennel has traveled thousands of miles to bring Christ’s compassion to individuals, families and communities in many deserving, underdeveloped nations. However, it was the briefest work-related trip, a few steps from the side of the room to a speaker’s podium, that showed me what Paul’s life work is all about — confronting daily suffering and experiencing the source of infinite undeniable joy.

   I had just introduced Paul to his fellow leaders at CRISTA Ministries who had gathered to encourage each other with some of the recent life-changing stories in our individual areas. Here came Paul, balancing a bucket of water on his shoulder, a bucket sloshing with every careful step he took. Talk about getting your attention.

  “In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, we read about a Samaritan woman who came to draw water

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from a well, and Jesus says to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ The Lord of the universe was thirsty,” Paul continued. “He needed a drink! What a startling reminder that water is required for life. Clearly, no one can live without water.”

   Paul has faced this more than once. “For three and a half years I lived and worked in India where the temperature was over 100 degrees. In our village the unrelenting heat meant drought, and drought meant you had to live on two or three cups of water a day. When all you’ve got is a few sips, you learn to give thanks and see the rest of the world with new eyes. This morning millions of people don’t have the luxury of a nearby river or watershed. In Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, the picture is the same; it is not uncommon for people to walk up to five hours to collect water in wooden buckets, jugs or other containers and bring it back to their village.

   “If you’ve ever carried a gallon of milk from the dairy cooler to the checkstand, you’ll start to appreciate this. That gallon of milk, like a gallon of water, weighs seven and a half pounds. Now imagine carrying not one but five gallons in two wooden buckets balanced on a pole across your shoulders. The weight of the buckets means you’re carrying about 40 pounds.”

   Balancing that load from the dairy cooler to the front of the store is one thing. Try carrying that water for

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five miles barefoot, over dirt roads scattered with thistles and rocks. “Five gallons is all you have that day for your entire family. One gallon is for drinking. Another gallon or two is for washing dishes. Whatever is left is for washing clothes.

   “Look at it another way: In a family of six, each person has but three quarts to last them all day. In the morning, usually in the wee, dark hours of the morning before the sun blazes down, a family member, usually a woman, makes the long, daily routine again.”

   Does it ever get any easier? Is it possible to change a community’s way of life, literally quench a people’s thirst and improve their way of life?

   “In Tibet, the village of Ne is perched on a mountain top 13,000-plus feet from the nearest water source. From the time they were very young, villagers learned to walk two hours down the mountain to collect water from a river, and then trudge two hours back up. Every day, every week, every month of a lifetime. Living on little water brought diseases like diarrhea and scabies. If clothes weren’t washed because of too little water, children and adults alike contracted lice. The lack of water in the village hurt entire families. It was difficult for parents to find wives for their sons; no one wanted their daughters spending four hours a day collecting water.

   “The villagers tried to make pipes out of wood to bring water from the river or nearby spring, but their

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efforts prove futile. Three times they asked Chinese contractors to help, but each time the builders said, ‘It can’t be done.’ Sometimes, it takes extreme amounts of determination, ingenuity and faith to do the impossible.”

   In 2004, World Concern staff in Tibet believed they found a solution. “By running almost five miles of plastic pipe from the river to the village, the life, health, and future of every person, every family, would change for the better. It took I guess 30 to 40 villagers four months of continuous work to get the job done. When water flowed through the pipe, the people celebrated into the early morning hours.”

   The village of Ne is a different place today. “Women are now weaving clothes. Men are making new eating bowls. Families with young men are able to find wives for their sons. Water now runs all the time allowing farmers to irrigate gardens for extra nutrition. Gratitude has flourished, disease has declined, and lives are changed.

   “When you consider how many communities around the world still lack sufficient water, the transformation in Ne may seem like a drop in the bucket. For every Ne there is another village where World Concern is now at work. In Somalia, the deadly tsunami in January 2004 struck clogged wells with salt water and debris, so we’ve been busy making the water in those wells drinkable again.

   “On the other side of world this morning, there is a child, a father, a mother in a place like Ne who is glad for   

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water. The reality is the same for them and for us: Our bodies cannot survive very long without water. And we cannot live forever without the living water, Jesus Christ.

   “He is our hope, and without hope people die. As Jesus himself said, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst again. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life, life-giving and life-changing.’ I hope the story of Ne, the inspiring work of World Concern, and the precious bounty of water, today will lead you one step closer to the source of life, Jesus Christ.”

The Story Lives on . . .

When have you been thirsty beyond description?

How did you find water?

Who in your life needs the living water Jesus talks about?

How might you be part of the “delivery system” for such water?

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THE PROMISE OF LIVING WATER

. . . but whoever drinks the water I give

him will never thirst. Indeed, the water

I give him will become in him a spring

of water welling up to eternal life.

John 4:14

Know Jesus and you will never thirst. How will you

remain close to this spring of eternal life? “

 Quench The World’s Thirst, By: Paul Kennel, A story from the book,  “A Life Well Lived,”  written by: Jim Gwinn.