We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us - one gracious blessing after another. John 1:16
If you saw a dollar bill on the ground as you were walking to your car, would you pick it up? Probably so, most people would. How about if you saw a penny? Would you pick that up? I don’t think most people would. They kinda “ignore” the small denomination.
How about blessings? Do you notice the little ones as well as the big ones? We get excited about the big blessings: an illness healed, a lost child found. But we often walk past and disregard the small ones: the beautiful picture painted on the landscape when the sun is rising or setting, the safe trip when traveling, the meal just finished.
Both the dollar bill and penny have the words “In God We Trust” imprinted. We need to apply that to our blessings as well. Keep God in all you do, whether big or small, trust God to care for you through it all. Seek out ALL his blessings and rejoice !!!
A Story of 3 Trees Once there were 3 trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the 1st tree said, “Someday, I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems and be decorated with intricate carvings. Everyone would see my beauty.”
The 2nd tree said, “Someday, I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.”
Finally, the 3rd tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time, and people will always remember me.”
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. One came to the 1st tree and said, “This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter,” and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the 2nd tree, one of the other woodsmen said, “This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The 2nd tree was happy, because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the 3rd tree, the tree was frightened, because it knew that, if it were cut down, its dream would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree, so I’ll take this one,” and he cut it down.
When the 1st tree arrived at the carpenter’s, he was made into a feed box for animals, placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The 2nd tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The 3rd tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one filtered day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth, and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose, and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace,” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets, and the crowd mocked the man who was carrying it. Finally, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best!
Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. John 11:6
The disciples were confused. They knew how much Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters so when he told them of Lazarus’s death and that they were not yet returning to Bethany they thought he must have been wrong.
But Jesus wished to show them His power and their need to trust. By the time they reached the home of Martha and Mary, Lazarus had been in the tomb 4 days. Well known verse 35 simply reads “Jesus wept”. I wonder, did He weep because Lazarus was dead? He knew Lazarus was dead (see verse 14) so why was He weeping? He had just told Martha that her brother would resurrect and asked if she believed. She answered yes, but she did not really understand what He was saying. His heart was breaking from the lack of faith those closest to Him were experiencing. The Savior was right there in their midst, they admitted He was the Savior and still they did not understand.
I find myself in that same state of confusion sometimes. I know He is the Savior. I know He is Lord and can do all things. Yet, I find myself saying “yes Lord” and then moving ahead as if He were not here. Do you do that?
Lord give me patience and give it to me now! God may show Himself early but He will always show Himself on time. Yes, ON time. We find in verse 45 ”..many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him”. They saw and they believed. That is why Jesus delayed, “so that God’s Son may be glorified” (verse 4).
Delay does not mean “no”.
When I step back and allow God to work and I seek to follow His timeframe and not my own, I can see God’s Son being glorified and rejoice in His good works.
You can read the entire story in John 11. Click here
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Campus Crusade for Christ International is seeking donations to supply Bibles to the Middle East and surrounding countries. (click here)
A couple of stories from their website include:
One woman who recently came to Christ wrote, “On discovering the Truth in the Word of God … I was reconciled with myself. My life has purpose today, after you guided me to the right path of Jesus and I opened the door to Him with joy.”
This recent report highlights just how desperate people in closed nations are for Christian materials: “[The team started] to talk with two young men about their faith; after a while they said that there is a man in their village that has the same faith, so the group went to (his) house. They found a powerful believer in Jesus. After an hour they asked him, ‘How [did] you became Christian? You don’t have TV, or satellite, you don’t even have [a] Bible.’ He brought out an old radio, and told them that one day when he was changing the waves of the radio, he found the voice of hope, and then he started to listen, and gave his heart to Christ. They found that he has written down everything that he heard from the radio. So they gave him a Bible …”
We are so privileged to freely hear and study God’s Word. If you are interested in helping to spread the gospel, check out Campus Crusade for Christ International.
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Prov. 4:25 NIV
Chuck promised his 7-yr-old son Johnny that he would take him fishing on Saturday. The little boy waited eagerly for the day to arrive, but he awoke Saturday morning to the sound of rain. Johnny grumbled all morning, complaining and sharing his disappointment with everyone. But by 2:00 the rain ended, the sun came out and Johnny and his dad headed off for the fishing hole. The conditions seemed to be just right, and they came home with more fish than they had ever caught in an entire day. At supper that evening, Johnny’s mother asked him to say grace. Johnny did – and concluded his prayer by saying – “and Lord, if I sounded grumpy earlier today, it was because I wasn’t able to see far enough ahead.” (Adapted from a James Ryle sermon — http://www.truthworks.org/)
When I was a child my favorite hiding place was under my bed. I’d lay on my back on the cool tile and trace the bed springs with my hand. This was my safe place, no one could find me here. At least that is what my 5 year old mind believed. I remember the day my mother found me there and told me to come out of there. I never went back. It wasn’t my hiding place anymore.
There is no place we can go that God is not with us. We are never in a place where we are completely unseen. Las Vegas has a commercial that says “what happens here, stays here’. God can see you even in Las Vegas :)
If you are feeling alone and in need of a hiding place, look to God. He will comfort you and keep you safe.
All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.  Acts 9:39
I recently ran across a story about a modern day Dorcas from the Cleveland area. She shared her talent for sewing to do alternations for the elderly and made teddy bears from fur coats for people with cancer.   Click Here to read the story  She was a true “Bearnabas”.
..if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. 2Cor 5:17
I wish I had invested money in the orange barrel industry. I don’t know about where you live, but here in the Kansas City metro area you can go no where without running into a detour, under construction area or just a whole line a orange barrels along the road side alerting all that some change will be forthcoming. If you are planning any kind of trip, whether across the state line or across town you need patience because the workers aren’t finished there yet. Kinda like the phrase that was so popular when I was a child “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me yetâ€. Will they ever finish the construction?!?!?!
It reminded me that our daily life is like this. When we first meet Jesus Christ we are like a road under construction. The old layer and way of life is removed as Christ’s love washes over us. Then a firm foundation is laid as Christ makes His home in our hearts. Slowly the changes to the road side begin and changes in our lives begin. Sometimes I can drive by a work area day after day and even though I witness the heavy equipment and the workers I don’t always see any change in the surface area. It’s like that in our lives; at least it’s like that in my life. God is working on me and there are occasions when these changes are not visible to those around me.
If any man is in Christ he is a new creature and each day when I awake God places those orange barrels around me and continues working, chipping away the old things of my life and carefully laying the new foundations and resurfacing. Each day He works in my life as I become a new person, a Christ controlled person. I hope when you look at me you can see the work under construction.
How about you? Are you letting God work in your life? Are you presently “under construction�
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread will give him a stone instead? …If you then…know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give to those who ask him†Luke 11:10-13
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