Quotes

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, floodiing, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegience?" Jay Leno

Conformity or Non-Conformity

Spring Is Here!

What are you going to do about it?

Spring is a time when those things that have been planted start to show their fruit. Are you ready for spring? Did you spend your winter getting the necessary nutrients to prepare you to burst forth through the shell of darkness?

I remember looking at my passport one day. As I was reading the different pieces of information in it, I asked the Lord why He told me to get it if He wasn't going to allow me the opportunity to use it. Did I miss Him?

Then I noticed a section on one page of the passport that said "Not valid until signed". All of a sudden it hit me. I did everything I felt God told me to do to prepare myself for ministry, except one thing. I didn't activate my faith. I thought that buying luggage and applying for and receiving my passport was enough. After that, I wanted the Lord to present me with the opportunity before I placed any validty to what He called me to do.

Now I realize that God wants us to validate His call on our lives by following through in every area of our lives and then watch Him move on our behalf. You see, I was only giving Him a partial commitment by not signing the passport for instance. Like the story of the Chicken and the Pig. In order to provide the farmer with bacon and eggs for breakfast, the chicken just lays an egg (partial commitment), but the pig lays down his life (total surrender).

Needless to say, I signed the passport right away and it was as if the heavens opened up. I imagine it is like the plant that is breaking through the soil. It is that moment when the darkness is dispelled and the Light has come.

Spring is here! Have you totally surrendered yourself to God's call so that your fruit will begin to show?

"By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength" Ephesians 1:18,19 (Amp) {Bold emphasis mine}

The Obstacle In Our Path

I received the following story in an email.

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 arount 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 orad 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 us never understand.

Ever obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

What an incredible lesson! Everyone has obstacles in their path. What is important however is what you do when you come upon them. Do you walk around and let them sit in the middle of your road? If you remove the rock from the road, then your path to the future is clear and you can walk towards your goal with a clear path. Even if there are other obstacles along the way, you already know what happens when you remove them.

STAY BLESSED!

Don't Sweat It!

Daniel 3:21 goes into great detail about how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were dressed when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. While we've all heard about the miraculous way their clothes were kept intact, sometimes we forget the fact that they didn't sweat it. Their mindset was, if the Lord delivers us it's all good, but even if He doesn't, it's all good.

After they were thrown in, they were walking in midst of the fire unhurt and unconcerned.

Why? Because they knew they were not alone in the midst of the fire.

If you are bound by life's difficulties, but fully clothes (Ephesians 6:10-18) and in the will of God, He will protect you in - not always from - the fiery furnace.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!

There is a chorus to a country song by Rodney Atkins that goes a little something like this:

"If you're going through hell, keep on going. Don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there. When you're going through hell, keep on moving. Face that fire, walk right throught it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there."

DON'T SWEAT IT!!!!

For All Survivors

I received this story several years ago by emai. and it has helped me through a very difficult time by reminding me of God's Goodness and Love.

The only survivor of a shipwrech was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to resue him. Everyday he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief and anger.

He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

The Moral of the Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.

Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Phil. 1:3-5 (Msg)

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing & proclaiming God’s Message