Sunday, November 20, 2011
Bible Verses About Faith
Below are several Bible verses about faith. Feel free to add your favorite in the comment box.
FAITH DEFINED:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Hebrews 11:1-2
“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:3
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
WHEN YOUR FAITH IS TESTED:
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.” Psalm 138:7
“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
“Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.” James 1:3
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” Psalm 138:8
“In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength in my inner self.” Psalm 138:3
“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” Psalm 147:5
FAITH PROMISES
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.” Psalm 145:18
“The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him.” Lamentations 3:25
“The Lord upholds all those (of His own) who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:14
“Faithful is He that calleth you, Who will also do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
ACTIONS OF FAITH
“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.” Habbakuk 2:4
“The Lord is my portion, says my living being; therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” Lamentations 3:24
“When Jesus heard [it], He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Matthew 8:10
“But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
“Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Matthew 9:2
“But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.” Matthew 9:22
“Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” Matthew 9:29
“And immediately Jesus stretched out [His] hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31
“Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great [is] your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” Matthew 15:28
“But Jesus, being aware of [it], said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Matthew 16:8
“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” Matthew 21:21
“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Mark 2:5
“And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:34
“Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” Mark 10:52
“When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Luke 7:9
“Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:50
RESULTS OF FAITH:
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.” Hebrews 11:7
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10
“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Hebrews 11:11-12
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.” Hebrews 11:17-19
“By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
“By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” Hebrews 11:23
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.” Hebrews 11:24-28
“By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.” Hebrews 11:29
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.” Hebrews 11:30
My great source : http://devotionalchristian.com/bible-verses-about-faith/
FAITH DEFINED:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Hebrews 11:1-2
“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:3
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
WHEN YOUR FAITH IS TESTED:
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.” Psalm 138:7
“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
“Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.” James 1:3
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” Psalm 138:8
“In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength in my inner self.” Psalm 138:3
“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” Psalm 147:5
FAITH PROMISES
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.” Psalm 145:18
“The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him.” Lamentations 3:25
“The Lord upholds all those (of His own) who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:14
“Faithful is He that calleth you, Who will also do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
ACTIONS OF FAITH
“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.” Habbakuk 2:4
“The Lord is my portion, says my living being; therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” Lamentations 3:24
“When Jesus heard [it], He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Matthew 8:10
“But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
“Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Matthew 9:2
“But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.” Matthew 9:22
“Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” Matthew 9:29
“And immediately Jesus stretched out [His] hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31
“Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great [is] your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” Matthew 15:28
“But Jesus, being aware of [it], said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Matthew 16:8
“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” Matthew 21:21
“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Mark 2:5
“And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:34
“Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” Mark 10:52
“When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Luke 7:9
“Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:50
RESULTS OF FAITH:
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.” Hebrews 11:7
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10
“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Hebrews 11:11-12
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.” Hebrews 11:17-19
“By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
“By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” Hebrews 11:23
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.” Hebrews 11:24-28
“By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.” Hebrews 11:29
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.” Hebrews 11:30
My great source : http://devotionalchristian.com/bible-verses-about-faith/
Bible Verses about Self-Control
I read and i love this article from http://devotionalchristian.com, so i copy this, i hope can bless other people who really need this verse...for me i really hard to take my self control so this article mean so much for me... feel free to comment and thank you so much
Self-control: “restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.” Below are verses which relate to self-control. Some of these are examples and comparisons. Others are information and directives. The verses are by no means exhaustive. Please feel free to offer additional passages that speak to you regarding self-control in the comment box below.
In comparison, self-control:
“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” Proverbs 25:28 (NIV)
“Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32
Our responsibility to be self-controlled:
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:13
“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” 1 Thessalonians 5:6
“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8
“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
“Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” Proverbs 23:20-21
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” Colossians 3:5-8
” But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” 1 Corinthians 7:9
“that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,” 1 Thessalonians 4:4
Self-control is evidence of faith and the Holy Spirit in our lives:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 20 For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. . . 26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:19-20, 26-27
Passages of consequence with a lack of self-control:
Eve and Adam eat forbidden fruit–disobeys God. (See Genesis 3:17-19)
Cain kills Abel–does not control his envy and jealousy. (See Genesis 4)
Esau trades birthright for porridge–does not control his hunger. (See Genesis 25:29-34)
Lot’s wife turns into pillar of salt–does not control longings. (See Genesis 19:15-26)
Abraham has child with servant-girl, Hagar, rather than waiting upon God’s promise with Sarah. Ishmael and Hagar is sent away and wars continue to this day as a result. (See Genesis 16:2)
Moses kills an Egyptian–doesn’t exercise forbearance and restraint. Seeks to exact justice that was not his to render. (See Exodus 2:14)
Moses strikes the rock–doesn’t control impatience. (See Numbers 20:1-12)
David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband–doesn’t control his sexual appetites, or his desire to go to any length to give into them. (See 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Chp.14)
Peter’s impulsive blow to soldier’s ear when Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. (See Luke 22:49-51)
Bearing false witness–Ananias and Sapphira. (See Acts 5:1-11)
Examples of self-control:
Joseph ran from Pharoah’s wife–didn’t succumb to her wiles. (See Genesis 39)
David not killing Saul when he had opportunity. (See 1 Samuel Chapters 24 and 26)
Jesus when He resisted temptations in wilderness. (See Matthew 4:1-11)
Jesus waiting three days, and not going to Lazarus before he died. Emotion did not dictate His actions. (See John 11)
Jesus’ sinlessness. (Hebrews 4:15)
Compiled by © Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011
Source : http://devotionalchristian.com/self-control-bible-verses/
Self-control: “restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.” Below are verses which relate to self-control. Some of these are examples and comparisons. Others are information and directives. The verses are by no means exhaustive. Please feel free to offer additional passages that speak to you regarding self-control in the comment box below.
In comparison, self-control:
“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” Proverbs 25:28 (NIV)
“Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32
Our responsibility to be self-controlled:
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:13
“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” 1 Thessalonians 5:6
“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8
“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
“Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” Proverbs 23:20-21
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” Colossians 3:5-8
” But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” 1 Corinthians 7:9
“that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,” 1 Thessalonians 4:4
Self-control is evidence of faith and the Holy Spirit in our lives:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 20 For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. . . 26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:19-20, 26-27
Passages of consequence with a lack of self-control:
Eve and Adam eat forbidden fruit–disobeys God. (See Genesis 3:17-19)
Cain kills Abel–does not control his envy and jealousy. (See Genesis 4)
Esau trades birthright for porridge–does not control his hunger. (See Genesis 25:29-34)
Lot’s wife turns into pillar of salt–does not control longings. (See Genesis 19:15-26)
Abraham has child with servant-girl, Hagar, rather than waiting upon God’s promise with Sarah. Ishmael and Hagar is sent away and wars continue to this day as a result. (See Genesis 16:2)
Moses kills an Egyptian–doesn’t exercise forbearance and restraint. Seeks to exact justice that was not his to render. (See Exodus 2:14)
Moses strikes the rock–doesn’t control impatience. (See Numbers 20:1-12)
David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband–doesn’t control his sexual appetites, or his desire to go to any length to give into them. (See 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Chp.14)
Peter’s impulsive blow to soldier’s ear when Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. (See Luke 22:49-51)
Bearing false witness–Ananias and Sapphira. (See Acts 5:1-11)
Examples of self-control:
Joseph ran from Pharoah’s wife–didn’t succumb to her wiles. (See Genesis 39)
David not killing Saul when he had opportunity. (See 1 Samuel Chapters 24 and 26)
Jesus when He resisted temptations in wilderness. (See Matthew 4:1-11)
Jesus waiting three days, and not going to Lazarus before he died. Emotion did not dictate His actions. (See John 11)
Jesus’ sinlessness. (Hebrews 4:15)
Compiled by © Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011
Source : http://devotionalchristian.com/self-control-bible-verses/
10 Bible Verses about Strength
10 Inspirational Bible Verses about Strength
Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.1 Chronicles 19:13 Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.”
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Habakkuk 3:19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Philippians 4:12-13 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. (13) I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Source : http://devotionalchristian.com/10-bible-verses-about-strength/
Bible Verse That Says God Is Love
Bible Verse That Says God Is Love
1 John 4:7-8 ESV Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (8) Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.Jesus Commanded Love
John 13:34-35 ESV A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”John 15:12-14 ESV “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (13) Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. (14) You are my friends if you do what I command you.
1 John 3:23-24 ESV And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (24) Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Matthew 22:36-40 ESV “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (37) And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (38) This is the great and first commandment. (39) And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (40) On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
1 John 4:16-19 ESV So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (17) By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (18) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (19) We love because he first loved us.We Love Because He First Loved Us
1 John 4:19-21 ESV We love because he first loved us. (20) If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (21) And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.Bible Description Of Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (5) or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (6) it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (7) Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Without Love All Is Nothing
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (2) And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (3) If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.1 Thessalonians 4:9 ESV Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,
Colossians 3:14 ESV And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 ESV and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
Hebrews 13:1 ESV Let brotherly love continue.
Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, (25) not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Romans 12:9-10 ESV Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (10) Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
1 Peter 4:8 ESV Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV Let all that you do be done in love.
Ephesians 5:25 ESV Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Leviticus 19:34 ESV You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Matthew 5:43-44 ESV “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Galatians 5:13-14 ESV For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (14) For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, (2) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, (3) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Romans 13:8 ESV Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
1 John 3:10-11 ESV By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (11) For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
i copy this from incredible source : http://devotionalchristian.com/bible-verses-about-love/
Is Your Life Balanced?
Is Your Life Balanced?
The top three goals of humans seem to be Wealth –Health – Purpose.
Let me address each of these because they actually all interrelate. If you have wealth, and tons of it, but your health is deteriorating, what good is your wealth? If you have great health, good looks, and your weight and teeth are perfect, what good is it if you have no purpose? If you have purpose and are blessed with good health, what can you accomplish with no money?
I speak from experience here. I have been a multi-millionaire and bankrupt. God has blessed me with fair looks and good health – even at my tender young age of 67! I also have a purpose in life, so I get to experience all three so far. I want to say, though, that once you get all three of your life goals together, you must continue to work at keeping them
Let me start with purpose first, because without purpose, there is no point of having wealth or health. Where does purpose come from? If all that your life is about is eat, sleep, work – and you do this every day, then your life has no purpose whatsoever.
Now, let me begin with some good news! Every person on the face of the planet has equality concerning the time that the Good Lord gives us. The rich man or woman has exactly 168 hours a week to eat, sleep, work and accomplish purpose. The poor beggar on the street has exactly 168 hours a week to eat, sleep, and accomplish purpose. Because they typically don’t work, their purpose may simply be to figure out where their next meal will come from – or where they are going to sleep tonight.
Purpose comes from one of two sources: Internal or external. Some sense early in life – internally - what they want to become, or they have a particular gift (like music or art), so they figure out what their purpose is, and they act upon it for the rest of their life.
Purpose comes from without. This sense of purpose can come from a person’s awareness of their surroundings. Maybe they come from broken homes, or from alcoholic parents. They develop a purpose from their surroundings, and that purpose can be used for good – or evil, depending on the influences they had as a child usually.
The other sense of purpose that works from the external and internally is God-given, and here is how I know that to be true: Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, said this in Proverbs 10:6 (The MESSAGE Version): “Blessings accrue on a good and honest life, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.” So, you see, blessings (including wealth, good health and purpose) are given by God. The recipient must choose to be “good”, or “evil”. If the choice – as a result of one’s childhood surroundings – is to do evil, then the mouth of that wicked one will be abuse, and we all know how this may manifest itself.
I want to work from the angle of God-given external purpose, which then becomes internalized once we understand what God’s intent, purpose and plan is for our life.
Mine is clear. I write books. That is my passion. That is my God-given talent. I also sell real estate for a primary source of income. I’m a landlord, and I have other means of supporting myself, but using the God-given talents or gifts that He gives us is key to discovering our purpose for being on the planet in the first place.
Identify your talent. If you do not have one, ask God to show you what He has given you, or what He intends to give you should you seek out His purpose for your life.
I found out what God’s will is…His plan and purpose. From that, I gathered what His plan and purpose for me is. You can do it to by seeking Him out, and asking Him for direction and purpose.
Sometimes, I refer to the Bible as the source of discovery about life. Now, I'm reminded of the young man who was asked, "Which books- aside from the Bible, helped you the most? He said, "My mom's cookbook and my father's checkbook!"
I have studied the Bible from the age of eleven, and I get certain things – like when Jesus was walking upon the earth, and He said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” - John 6:40.
God’s will, therefore, is that every soul on the planet who looks to His Son – and believes in Him, will reap the benefit of spending eternity in heaven. That’s a pretty good goal. For God to accomplish that goal, He uses people….anyone who is willing to be used for the purpose of telling as many souls as possible about God’s Son.
If that is God’s primary will, and it is because Jesus said so, then it stands to reason that God’s plan and purpose for us must surround that primary goal of His.
Therefore, I came to the conclusion that God’s plan and purpose for me and for you is to first seek out His Son.
Once we believe in Jesus, we get to ask God to reveal His plan and purpose for our life.
By believing, God means that we believe that Jesus is God’s Son, that He came to this planet for one purpose, and that was to become the one-time sacrifice for our nasty sins….and He would exchange our sins for His righteousness. To believe on God’s Son is to believe that Jesus did die on a horrific cross of crucifixion, and that He was raised from the tomb in which He laid for three days…as witnessed by over 515 people, including eleven of His apostles. To believe on God’s Son also means that we choose to believe that He took upon Himself all of our sins, and only He can forgive those sins. To believe on God’s Son also takes an act of asking Him to save us from our sins, and from the punishment for those sins – which would be to spend eternity in a place of torment called hell.
Once we accept His Son as our Savior, we are then promised two things: Heaven for eternity, and we also are given the gift of having the Holy Spirit of God dwell within us, and He is here to lead, guide and direct our paths to accomplish God’s will on the earth.
Knowing that, we then get to ask God to help us to accomplish His will. To do that, it may require that we have wealth, health and purpose combined.
Once our purpose is defined (usually by the gifts that God chooses to give us to accomplish His primary will), we can then ask Him to take care of our daily needs…like food, clothing and shelter, and then we can ask Him to give us the extra resources of wealth to go out and get the job done.
Only God gives us the power to get wealth….and to be healthy. Deuteronomy 8:18 reads this way: “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.”
So, now that you know where wealth comes from, and you decide to use your abundance of it (beyond your daily bread needs), what are we supposed to do with it to further God’s primary will?
We find that in Isaiah, God is very upset with His people. We play at church, and we play at life. We have no true purpose because we don’t ask God to divulge His plan and purpose for our life. Listen to what God tells us – through His prophet Isaiah:
"Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.“ Isaiah 1:14-17 – The MESSAGE.
Pretty harsh, wouldn’t you say?
God’s primary will is that we use His gifts, including health and wealth – to tell others about His Son, and secondarily, to “Do good unto others….to work for justice (not social justice, but equal, righteous justice), and to help the down-and-out (poor) and to take care of the homeless, the orphans, the widows, and to go to bat for those who cannot defend themselves.”
That’s a pretty good calling. With that as our purpose, it’s easy to now understand why Jesus gave two commandments, and these two would take care of all of the previous Laws of Moses – Ten Commandments.
The two new commandments from Jesus are: “Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, and love your fellow man as well as you love yourself.” - Mark 12:30.
To do good, we must try not to do evil.
3 John:11 puts it this way: “Friend, don't go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God's work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn't know the first thing about God.”
Jesus gave every one who believes on Him a plan and a purpose. He spelled it out in Matthew 28:19-20 –“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." - The Message.
The AMPLIFIED Version of the Bible sums it all up. Love for God and our fellow man, and wanting to accomplish God’s will for them…which is to win them to Christ and give them the gift of heaven, is our plan and purpose.
1 Corinthians 14:1 –“ I want you to eagerly pursue and seek to acquire love. Make love your aim, your great quest; and earnestly desire and cultivate the gifts that God has given you - especially that you may interpret the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching”.
Do you truly want to have the purpose and plan that God has designated for you to accomplish? If that is the case, then it would be fitting for you to ask God to help you to accomplish His will, His plan and His purpose for your life.
Remind Him that He said He would give you all the resources and gifts necessary to accomplish that purpose.
To do God’s plan and purpose is to reach that state of absolute peace and harmony with God. He wants us to have a close relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him intimately, and what better way to do it all than to do His plan and purpose for your life?
Source : http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=128084
The top three goals of humans seem to be Wealth –Health – Purpose.
Let me address each of these because they actually all interrelate. If you have wealth, and tons of it, but your health is deteriorating, what good is your wealth? If you have great health, good looks, and your weight and teeth are perfect, what good is it if you have no purpose? If you have purpose and are blessed with good health, what can you accomplish with no money?
I speak from experience here. I have been a multi-millionaire and bankrupt. God has blessed me with fair looks and good health – even at my tender young age of 67! I also have a purpose in life, so I get to experience all three so far. I want to say, though, that once you get all three of your life goals together, you must continue to work at keeping them
Let me start with purpose first, because without purpose, there is no point of having wealth or health. Where does purpose come from? If all that your life is about is eat, sleep, work – and you do this every day, then your life has no purpose whatsoever.
Now, let me begin with some good news! Every person on the face of the planet has equality concerning the time that the Good Lord gives us. The rich man or woman has exactly 168 hours a week to eat, sleep, work and accomplish purpose. The poor beggar on the street has exactly 168 hours a week to eat, sleep, and accomplish purpose. Because they typically don’t work, their purpose may simply be to figure out where their next meal will come from – or where they are going to sleep tonight.
Purpose comes from one of two sources: Internal or external. Some sense early in life – internally - what they want to become, or they have a particular gift (like music or art), so they figure out what their purpose is, and they act upon it for the rest of their life.
Purpose comes from without. This sense of purpose can come from a person’s awareness of their surroundings. Maybe they come from broken homes, or from alcoholic parents. They develop a purpose from their surroundings, and that purpose can be used for good – or evil, depending on the influences they had as a child usually.
The other sense of purpose that works from the external and internally is God-given, and here is how I know that to be true: Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, said this in Proverbs 10:6 (The MESSAGE Version): “Blessings accrue on a good and honest life, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.” So, you see, blessings (including wealth, good health and purpose) are given by God. The recipient must choose to be “good”, or “evil”. If the choice – as a result of one’s childhood surroundings – is to do evil, then the mouth of that wicked one will be abuse, and we all know how this may manifest itself.
I want to work from the angle of God-given external purpose, which then becomes internalized once we understand what God’s intent, purpose and plan is for our life.
Mine is clear. I write books. That is my passion. That is my God-given talent. I also sell real estate for a primary source of income. I’m a landlord, and I have other means of supporting myself, but using the God-given talents or gifts that He gives us is key to discovering our purpose for being on the planet in the first place.
Identify your talent. If you do not have one, ask God to show you what He has given you, or what He intends to give you should you seek out His purpose for your life.
I found out what God’s will is…His plan and purpose. From that, I gathered what His plan and purpose for me is. You can do it to by seeking Him out, and asking Him for direction and purpose.
Sometimes, I refer to the Bible as the source of discovery about life. Now, I'm reminded of the young man who was asked, "Which books- aside from the Bible, helped you the most? He said, "My mom's cookbook and my father's checkbook!"
I have studied the Bible from the age of eleven, and I get certain things – like when Jesus was walking upon the earth, and He said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” - John 6:40.
God’s will, therefore, is that every soul on the planet who looks to His Son – and believes in Him, will reap the benefit of spending eternity in heaven. That’s a pretty good goal. For God to accomplish that goal, He uses people….anyone who is willing to be used for the purpose of telling as many souls as possible about God’s Son.
If that is God’s primary will, and it is because Jesus said so, then it stands to reason that God’s plan and purpose for us must surround that primary goal of His.
Therefore, I came to the conclusion that God’s plan and purpose for me and for you is to first seek out His Son.
Once we believe in Jesus, we get to ask God to reveal His plan and purpose for our life.
By believing, God means that we believe that Jesus is God’s Son, that He came to this planet for one purpose, and that was to become the one-time sacrifice for our nasty sins….and He would exchange our sins for His righteousness. To believe on God’s Son is to believe that Jesus did die on a horrific cross of crucifixion, and that He was raised from the tomb in which He laid for three days…as witnessed by over 515 people, including eleven of His apostles. To believe on God’s Son also means that we choose to believe that He took upon Himself all of our sins, and only He can forgive those sins. To believe on God’s Son also takes an act of asking Him to save us from our sins, and from the punishment for those sins – which would be to spend eternity in a place of torment called hell.
Once we accept His Son as our Savior, we are then promised two things: Heaven for eternity, and we also are given the gift of having the Holy Spirit of God dwell within us, and He is here to lead, guide and direct our paths to accomplish God’s will on the earth.
Knowing that, we then get to ask God to help us to accomplish His will. To do that, it may require that we have wealth, health and purpose combined.
Once our purpose is defined (usually by the gifts that God chooses to give us to accomplish His primary will), we can then ask Him to take care of our daily needs…like food, clothing and shelter, and then we can ask Him to give us the extra resources of wealth to go out and get the job done.
Only God gives us the power to get wealth….and to be healthy. Deuteronomy 8:18 reads this way: “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.”
So, now that you know where wealth comes from, and you decide to use your abundance of it (beyond your daily bread needs), what are we supposed to do with it to further God’s primary will?
We find that in Isaiah, God is very upset with His people. We play at church, and we play at life. We have no true purpose because we don’t ask God to divulge His plan and purpose for our life. Listen to what God tells us – through His prophet Isaiah:
"Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.“ Isaiah 1:14-17 – The MESSAGE.
Pretty harsh, wouldn’t you say?
God’s primary will is that we use His gifts, including health and wealth – to tell others about His Son, and secondarily, to “Do good unto others….to work for justice (not social justice, but equal, righteous justice), and to help the down-and-out (poor) and to take care of the homeless, the orphans, the widows, and to go to bat for those who cannot defend themselves.”
That’s a pretty good calling. With that as our purpose, it’s easy to now understand why Jesus gave two commandments, and these two would take care of all of the previous Laws of Moses – Ten Commandments.
The two new commandments from Jesus are: “Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, and love your fellow man as well as you love yourself.” - Mark 12:30.
To do good, we must try not to do evil.
3 John:11 puts it this way: “Friend, don't go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God's work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn't know the first thing about God.”
Jesus gave every one who believes on Him a plan and a purpose. He spelled it out in Matthew 28:19-20 –“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." - The Message.
The AMPLIFIED Version of the Bible sums it all up. Love for God and our fellow man, and wanting to accomplish God’s will for them…which is to win them to Christ and give them the gift of heaven, is our plan and purpose.
1 Corinthians 14:1 –“ I want you to eagerly pursue and seek to acquire love. Make love your aim, your great quest; and earnestly desire and cultivate the gifts that God has given you - especially that you may interpret the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching”.
Do you truly want to have the purpose and plan that God has designated for you to accomplish? If that is the case, then it would be fitting for you to ask God to help you to accomplish His will, His plan and His purpose for your life.
Remind Him that He said He would give you all the resources and gifts necessary to accomplish that purpose.
To do God’s plan and purpose is to reach that state of absolute peace and harmony with God. He wants us to have a close relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him intimately, and what better way to do it all than to do His plan and purpose for your life?
Source : http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=128084
What Makes Some Of Us Rich?
What Makes Some Of Us Rich?
Text-Matthew 20
A Story About Workers
Verse 1-2 "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. 3-5"Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. 5-6"He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?' 7"They said, 'Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard. 8"When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' 9-12"Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.' 13-15"He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'
16 "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
The parable (earthly story with a heavenly meaning) of Matthew 20 has multiple things to garner from it.
The first realization is in the last verse.
Moses, Abraham, King David…all came before you and I were born - yet, when we die, our spirit gets to go to heaven immediately. Those who were here before Jesus died on the cross – have been waiting in a placed called “Abraham’s Bosom” since their death. They are waiting for the great rapture of the saints. So, we were last, but we taste heaven first – until the great day of the rapture. At that moment, the last (the “dead in Christ”) shall be raised first…and those of us who remain shall then be caught up last. That is the dual meaning of Matthew 20:16.
Now, I want to get to a more practical application of Matthew 20, and that is found within the confines of the griping and complaining spoken of in verses 9-15.
The “estate manager” in this parable is, of course, Jesus. Jesus is saying to them (and now us), “Listen, and let me make you aware of some things you are not seeing clearly. First, you all agreed to work for me for a dollar, so I am honoring my commitment to pay that dollar. Those who came in and started working at 5PM get the same reward as those who toiled all day in the fields….yet some of you complain about that. What you are missing, in heavenly terms, is the fact that all who work in my vineyard, on my behalf, are going to receive the same reward regardless of whether they have served me for fifty years, ninety years…or one day, and that reward is heaven itself. Do you think the reward is unfair?”
The other wonderful things that the workers who murmured missed out on was that they complained about fellow workers….not unlike Christians do today in God’s vineyard.
We say, “I am teaching Sunday school, and that other guy isn’t. Shouldn’t I get more credit….more recognition…more blessings?"
What Jesus wanted them to understand (and now us) is that they should never complain about how long someone works for Him – or about what their “gifts” are. Instead, they should be rejoicing over the fact that those who worked the longest have been blessed longer – knowing they are serving the almighty Himself. They should be asking themselves, “Oh, that I could have been working the Master’s Plan for longer than a day, a week, a year, or five years.”
This story is not finished, because Jesus would like us to know that we should always be content in whatever state we find ourselves – as long as we are working in His vineyard.
Paul, the apostle, sums it up like this: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:11-13.
Now, we learn more from God’s Owner’s Manual – The Bible. Here in Phillipians, God wants us to know that, whatever gifts He gives you (or me) are different, but they are all used so that we might do the jobs necessary to win souls into the kingdom (working in the vineyard of earth).
He allowed Paul to be rich – and allowed him to be in poverty. Paul learned, through trials and times of testing, to trust Christ who “allowed him to do all things, and gave him strength, gifts, tools, resources, to do the job.” When Paul was filthy rich, he was content. When he was dirt poor – he was content.
This author has been a multi-millionaire – and a bankrupt, yet I have learned (through a trip through God’s Boot Camp – described in greater detail in two of my books …Satan’s Games and You Can Take It With You), that I can be content – even happy…when God gives me fortunes – or when He decides to give me just enough to meet my “Daily Bread Needs”. Being content is learned…it isn’t a gift.
When we learn to be content, we discard jealousies – as described in Matthew 20, and we develop a sense of contentment that is then elevated to the word satisfaction. We become satisfied knowing that whatever God gives us for gifts, tools, resources (finances) are to be used to first take care of our daily bread needs (food, clothing and shelter) – which becomes contentment, and then those resources are to be used to further God's plan and purpose for our lives. We then become satisfied with God’s plan for our life, which is to give…and not to receive.
How many of us can truly say, "We are happy? Satisfied? Content? Unfortunately, many are never satisfied. The media conditions us to "want more". It's Satan's game to detract us from what brings true contentment, happiness, peace and joy, and that is found when we are working God's plan and purpose for our life.
Our gifts, tools and finances are to be used to further the work of Christ, which is to do the “Will of the Father”. And what is that will? Jesus spelled it out quite clearly in John 6:40, when He said, “ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
So, this message all ties together with an attempt on my part to have you develop an "attitude change".
It has been said that we Christians need to develop an “attitude of gratitude”, and I agree…only, I would add that we need to have an attitude of contentment - and gratitude that, no matter when we came into the household of God, we all share the same reward. We all receive the gift of eternal life in heaven, and all that heaven offers, and we should be happy - not jealous, for all who receive that reward with us. Heaven - that wonderful gift of God, is spoken of - and a first-clas tour of it is hosted by me in my book, Heaven-How Do I Get There?.
We also get to pile up treasures on the other side. And, we do it by working the vineyards of the Master on this side.
Someone once said that the graveyard is a sad place….and it is for those who have gone on to a place called Hades…and who await their fate at that Great White Throne of Judgment, but it is equally sad for those who died – never knowing what God’s plan and purpose for their life was.
I almost went that route. In 2007, however, I asked God to show me what His plan and purpose for my life is. Part of that is to share, in writing, many things. Parts of those life-lessons are written here in these articles. They are intended to encourage and to help Christians become better workers in the vineyard of life.
God has a plan and purpose for your life, too. Ask Him what it is…. but, be prepared to go through His “Boot Camp”. It won’t be fun, but you will not trade the end results for all the gold in the earth, believe me!
What makes us rich? It is seeking God’s plan and purpose for our life – then working that plan, and becoming content.
Use the tools, gifts, and resources that God gives (or will give) you, and it will lead toward satisfaction. Don’t look around at others and become envious of what their gifts are. Instead, remember that the master of lies – the great deceiver….the one who wants to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10), wants to pull you away from doing God's plan and purpose for your life, but Jesus came to let you have life on this planet…an abundant, content, satisfied life - doing and working His plan.
Your reward is the same as it is for all who serve….eternal life in a place where there is no sorrow, no pain, no illness…and where you will meet loved ones who have gone on before you.
Satan wants to rob you of that blessing of working out God’s plan and purpose for your life. Jesus wants you to enjoy life to the fullest. Which will you choose?
John Tyler, Author
Be sure to visit with us if you are a “rookie author” and need help. Some of the gifts God has given this author includie helping others to share experiences, write articles and books, and to encourage others. That website is www.RookieAuthors.com
Also, if you don’t have a daily devotional, head over to www.ChristianDailyBread.com, and take a look at all the “stuff” there that should help you in your daily walk with Christ.
good source for me and blessing me with their articles : http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=127767
Text-Matthew 20
A Story About Workers
Verse 1-2 "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. 3-5"Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. 5-6"He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?' 7"They said, 'Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard. 8"When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' 9-12"Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.' 13-15"He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'
16 "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
The parable (earthly story with a heavenly meaning) of Matthew 20 has multiple things to garner from it.
The first realization is in the last verse.
Moses, Abraham, King David…all came before you and I were born - yet, when we die, our spirit gets to go to heaven immediately. Those who were here before Jesus died on the cross – have been waiting in a placed called “Abraham’s Bosom” since their death. They are waiting for the great rapture of the saints. So, we were last, but we taste heaven first – until the great day of the rapture. At that moment, the last (the “dead in Christ”) shall be raised first…and those of us who remain shall then be caught up last. That is the dual meaning of Matthew 20:16.
Now, I want to get to a more practical application of Matthew 20, and that is found within the confines of the griping and complaining spoken of in verses 9-15.
The “estate manager” in this parable is, of course, Jesus. Jesus is saying to them (and now us), “Listen, and let me make you aware of some things you are not seeing clearly. First, you all agreed to work for me for a dollar, so I am honoring my commitment to pay that dollar. Those who came in and started working at 5PM get the same reward as those who toiled all day in the fields….yet some of you complain about that. What you are missing, in heavenly terms, is the fact that all who work in my vineyard, on my behalf, are going to receive the same reward regardless of whether they have served me for fifty years, ninety years…or one day, and that reward is heaven itself. Do you think the reward is unfair?”
The other wonderful things that the workers who murmured missed out on was that they complained about fellow workers….not unlike Christians do today in God’s vineyard.
We say, “I am teaching Sunday school, and that other guy isn’t. Shouldn’t I get more credit….more recognition…more blessings?"
What Jesus wanted them to understand (and now us) is that they should never complain about how long someone works for Him – or about what their “gifts” are. Instead, they should be rejoicing over the fact that those who worked the longest have been blessed longer – knowing they are serving the almighty Himself. They should be asking themselves, “Oh, that I could have been working the Master’s Plan for longer than a day, a week, a year, or five years.”
This story is not finished, because Jesus would like us to know that we should always be content in whatever state we find ourselves – as long as we are working in His vineyard.
Paul, the apostle, sums it up like this: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:11-13.
Now, we learn more from God’s Owner’s Manual – The Bible. Here in Phillipians, God wants us to know that, whatever gifts He gives you (or me) are different, but they are all used so that we might do the jobs necessary to win souls into the kingdom (working in the vineyard of earth).
He allowed Paul to be rich – and allowed him to be in poverty. Paul learned, through trials and times of testing, to trust Christ who “allowed him to do all things, and gave him strength, gifts, tools, resources, to do the job.” When Paul was filthy rich, he was content. When he was dirt poor – he was content.
This author has been a multi-millionaire – and a bankrupt, yet I have learned (through a trip through God’s Boot Camp – described in greater detail in two of my books …Satan’s Games and You Can Take It With You), that I can be content – even happy…when God gives me fortunes – or when He decides to give me just enough to meet my “Daily Bread Needs”. Being content is learned…it isn’t a gift.
When we learn to be content, we discard jealousies – as described in Matthew 20, and we develop a sense of contentment that is then elevated to the word satisfaction. We become satisfied knowing that whatever God gives us for gifts, tools, resources (finances) are to be used to first take care of our daily bread needs (food, clothing and shelter) – which becomes contentment, and then those resources are to be used to further God's plan and purpose for our lives. We then become satisfied with God’s plan for our life, which is to give…and not to receive.
How many of us can truly say, "We are happy? Satisfied? Content? Unfortunately, many are never satisfied. The media conditions us to "want more". It's Satan's game to detract us from what brings true contentment, happiness, peace and joy, and that is found when we are working God's plan and purpose for our life.
Our gifts, tools and finances are to be used to further the work of Christ, which is to do the “Will of the Father”. And what is that will? Jesus spelled it out quite clearly in John 6:40, when He said, “ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
So, this message all ties together with an attempt on my part to have you develop an "attitude change".
It has been said that we Christians need to develop an “attitude of gratitude”, and I agree…only, I would add that we need to have an attitude of contentment - and gratitude that, no matter when we came into the household of God, we all share the same reward. We all receive the gift of eternal life in heaven, and all that heaven offers, and we should be happy - not jealous, for all who receive that reward with us. Heaven - that wonderful gift of God, is spoken of - and a first-clas tour of it is hosted by me in my book, Heaven-How Do I Get There?.
We also get to pile up treasures on the other side. And, we do it by working the vineyards of the Master on this side.
Someone once said that the graveyard is a sad place….and it is for those who have gone on to a place called Hades…and who await their fate at that Great White Throne of Judgment, but it is equally sad for those who died – never knowing what God’s plan and purpose for their life was.
I almost went that route. In 2007, however, I asked God to show me what His plan and purpose for my life is. Part of that is to share, in writing, many things. Parts of those life-lessons are written here in these articles. They are intended to encourage and to help Christians become better workers in the vineyard of life.
God has a plan and purpose for your life, too. Ask Him what it is…. but, be prepared to go through His “Boot Camp”. It won’t be fun, but you will not trade the end results for all the gold in the earth, believe me!
What makes us rich? It is seeking God’s plan and purpose for our life – then working that plan, and becoming content.
Use the tools, gifts, and resources that God gives (or will give) you, and it will lead toward satisfaction. Don’t look around at others and become envious of what their gifts are. Instead, remember that the master of lies – the great deceiver….the one who wants to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10), wants to pull you away from doing God's plan and purpose for your life, but Jesus came to let you have life on this planet…an abundant, content, satisfied life - doing and working His plan.
Your reward is the same as it is for all who serve….eternal life in a place where there is no sorrow, no pain, no illness…and where you will meet loved ones who have gone on before you.
Satan wants to rob you of that blessing of working out God’s plan and purpose for your life. Jesus wants you to enjoy life to the fullest. Which will you choose?
John Tyler, Author
Be sure to visit with us if you are a “rookie author” and need help. Some of the gifts God has given this author includie helping others to share experiences, write articles and books, and to encourage others. That website is www.RookieAuthors.com
Also, if you don’t have a daily devotional, head over to www.ChristianDailyBread.com, and take a look at all the “stuff” there that should help you in your daily walk with Christ.
good source for me and blessing me with their articles : http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=127767
When You Need God's Help
When You Need Help From God
All of us call upon God or upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, when we need HELP. Sometimes, we don’t seem to get help from heaven…at least not immediately. Why is this?
Sometimes, God wants us to learn patience because we need to learn how to be patient. Patience builds trust. Trust builds confidence in the Lord. We need more and more trust as our life unfolds because our enemy, Satan, goes about the earth DAILY – seeking whom he may devour.
I stumbled upon a story in Mark where a father had a son who was demon possessed. The boy was possessed since the father could remember. The demon living in the boy tried, unsuccessfully, to make the lad go into fires to burn him to death. He tried to make him go into the waters to drown him.
The father was, obviously, perplexed because he loved his son, and would have to bear the son’s pain every time he had to watch the demon throw his son to the ground and watch him foaming at the mouth.
When the father came upon Jesus one day, he said, “Mark 9:17-24 –“Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wherever that demon takes him, he tears him: and he foams at the mouth and he grinds his teeth, and pines away: and I spoke to thy apostles that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Jesus answered the man, “Oh FAITHLESS generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I put up with you? Bring him unto me.
And they brought the lad to Jesus, and when Jesus saw him, straightway the demonic spirit tossed him to the ground, and he writhed there on the ground – foaming at the mouth.
And Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long ago did this come upon him?”: And he said, “Since he was a child - and – very often this demon has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if you can do any thing, have compassion on us, and HELP US.”
Jesus said, “IF YOU CAN BELIEVE, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVES.” - and immediately - the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
It seems to me that we lack BELIEF. Not in God or in His beloved Son, Jesus….we don’t lack BELIEF in their ability to heal, or do any other miracle.
Where we seem to lack BELIEF is in our letting it go…and letting Jesus do His work. We don’t seem to believe that He WILL do what we ask….and therein lies the problem…and the solution to our unbelief.
We need to pray – without ceasing, over an issue that is getting us depressed. We then need to BELIEVE that Jesus WILL answer that prayer.
BELIEF needs to be defined here. According to Merriam-Webster online, BELIEF is “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.”
Therefore, our state of mind must be such that we build trust and confidence in Jesus BEFORE He will answer those prayers. This is the HARDEST PART of our prayer life, and that is to TRUST that Jesus will do all that He said He will do in His Bible.
For example, Jesus said “If we seek out the things of heaven FIRST in our life, then He will deliver on His promise to ensure that our daily bread needs (our food, clothing and shelter needs) are met.” That principle is found in Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
The first thing we have to do to build trust and belief that Jesus will do all that He says He will do, is to first seek Him…and His righteousness…and then all the things spoken of in the preceding verses (food, clothing and shelter) SHALL be given to you as well.
Have you asked Jesus to save you? If not, He will not hear any prayers other than, “Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I know you died on the cross for my sins. I know that you were raised again on the third day, and I know that you are God’s Son. I want to ask you to come into my heart and save my soul from an eternity in hell. I want to then ask you to build trust in me that all of the rest of your Word (the Bible) is true.”
To BELIEVE, then, as defined by Webster, is “to consider to be true or honest.” We must BELIEVE as truth that the words spoken in God’s Word, the Bible, are TRUE and HONEST. How then can we set out to prove that God’s Word is true and honest?
It all begins with PATIENCE. God will try us to see if we are serious about seeking Him out and trusting Him in every facet of our lives….financial, health, family, job…everything.
If you show God that you are PATIENT, then He will begin to meet your daily bread needs. When He does that, your CONFINDENCE in Him begins to build, and you can then TRUST Him for more…and He can trust that you will TRUST Him when you lay your burdens at His feet.
God will NOT be your Santa Claus. He’s not your genie in a bottle or your genie that comes out of Aladdin’s lamp that you rub each time you have a wish. No, God is sovereign. He is all-knowing – omniscient. He is everywhere at the same time – Omnipresent. God is a loving, caring heavenly Father who is concerned over you as much as you should be concerned over your children and their needs…not their wants, but their needs.
PATIENCE is a process. It never happens overnight. It comes as a result of your having to go through some difficulty…or trials…or times of testing. Then, when God believes He has accomplished the degree of patience that He needs from you, He will begin to supply your prayer needs.
God, of course, may want to instantly supply a need if He feels it is warranted…meaning perhaps there is a healing needed.
Our prayer should be the same as that father of the demon-possessed boy….”Help thou my unbelief,Lord.”
If we ask God to help us with our unbelief, He will do so. Then, we should be well underway toward seeing our faith, trust and confidence in God build toward the day when no matter what comes our way, we can face it knowing God is there to guide us through it.
God gives us a bonus promise: “And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” All things means ALL THINGS.
Source : http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=113106
All of us call upon God or upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, when we need HELP. Sometimes, we don’t seem to get help from heaven…at least not immediately. Why is this?
Sometimes, God wants us to learn patience because we need to learn how to be patient. Patience builds trust. Trust builds confidence in the Lord. We need more and more trust as our life unfolds because our enemy, Satan, goes about the earth DAILY – seeking whom he may devour.
I stumbled upon a story in Mark where a father had a son who was demon possessed. The boy was possessed since the father could remember. The demon living in the boy tried, unsuccessfully, to make the lad go into fires to burn him to death. He tried to make him go into the waters to drown him.
The father was, obviously, perplexed because he loved his son, and would have to bear the son’s pain every time he had to watch the demon throw his son to the ground and watch him foaming at the mouth.
When the father came upon Jesus one day, he said, “Mark 9:17-24 –“Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wherever that demon takes him, he tears him: and he foams at the mouth and he grinds his teeth, and pines away: and I spoke to thy apostles that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Jesus answered the man, “Oh FAITHLESS generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I put up with you? Bring him unto me.
And they brought the lad to Jesus, and when Jesus saw him, straightway the demonic spirit tossed him to the ground, and he writhed there on the ground – foaming at the mouth.
And Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long ago did this come upon him?”: And he said, “Since he was a child - and – very often this demon has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if you can do any thing, have compassion on us, and HELP US.”
Jesus said, “IF YOU CAN BELIEVE, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVES.” - and immediately - the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
It seems to me that we lack BELIEF. Not in God or in His beloved Son, Jesus….we don’t lack BELIEF in their ability to heal, or do any other miracle.
Where we seem to lack BELIEF is in our letting it go…and letting Jesus do His work. We don’t seem to believe that He WILL do what we ask….and therein lies the problem…and the solution to our unbelief.
We need to pray – without ceasing, over an issue that is getting us depressed. We then need to BELIEVE that Jesus WILL answer that prayer.
BELIEF needs to be defined here. According to Merriam-Webster online, BELIEF is “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.”
Therefore, our state of mind must be such that we build trust and confidence in Jesus BEFORE He will answer those prayers. This is the HARDEST PART of our prayer life, and that is to TRUST that Jesus will do all that He said He will do in His Bible.
For example, Jesus said “If we seek out the things of heaven FIRST in our life, then He will deliver on His promise to ensure that our daily bread needs (our food, clothing and shelter needs) are met.” That principle is found in Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
The first thing we have to do to build trust and belief that Jesus will do all that He says He will do, is to first seek Him…and His righteousness…and then all the things spoken of in the preceding verses (food, clothing and shelter) SHALL be given to you as well.
Have you asked Jesus to save you? If not, He will not hear any prayers other than, “Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I know you died on the cross for my sins. I know that you were raised again on the third day, and I know that you are God’s Son. I want to ask you to come into my heart and save my soul from an eternity in hell. I want to then ask you to build trust in me that all of the rest of your Word (the Bible) is true.”
To BELIEVE, then, as defined by Webster, is “to consider to be true or honest.” We must BELIEVE as truth that the words spoken in God’s Word, the Bible, are TRUE and HONEST. How then can we set out to prove that God’s Word is true and honest?
It all begins with PATIENCE. God will try us to see if we are serious about seeking Him out and trusting Him in every facet of our lives….financial, health, family, job…everything.
If you show God that you are PATIENT, then He will begin to meet your daily bread needs. When He does that, your CONFINDENCE in Him begins to build, and you can then TRUST Him for more…and He can trust that you will TRUST Him when you lay your burdens at His feet.
God will NOT be your Santa Claus. He’s not your genie in a bottle or your genie that comes out of Aladdin’s lamp that you rub each time you have a wish. No, God is sovereign. He is all-knowing – omniscient. He is everywhere at the same time – Omnipresent. God is a loving, caring heavenly Father who is concerned over you as much as you should be concerned over your children and their needs…not their wants, but their needs.
PATIENCE is a process. It never happens overnight. It comes as a result of your having to go through some difficulty…or trials…or times of testing. Then, when God believes He has accomplished the degree of patience that He needs from you, He will begin to supply your prayer needs.
God, of course, may want to instantly supply a need if He feels it is warranted…meaning perhaps there is a healing needed.
Our prayer should be the same as that father of the demon-possessed boy….”Help thou my unbelief,Lord.”
If we ask God to help us with our unbelief, He will do so. Then, we should be well underway toward seeing our faith, trust and confidence in God build toward the day when no matter what comes our way, we can face it knowing God is there to guide us through it.
God gives us a bonus promise: “And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” All things means ALL THINGS.
Source : http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=113106
Perkataan Positif dan Negatif - Good for your career
Source : http://renunganharian.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/perkataan-positif-dan-negatif/
Perkataan Positif dan Negatif
Mengapa banyak dari antara kita ingat dengan rinci, semua hal negatif yang pernah dilakukan atau dikatakan pasangan kita, sejak awal hubungan sampai saat ini? “Kamu selalu terlambat”, “Tempat ini selalu berantakan”, atau “Kamu tidak pernah benar-benar mendengarkan”. Mengapa sebuket bunga mawar atau tiket ke event olahraga favorit tidak bisa menebus dan menggantikan hal-hal yang menyakiti perasaan? Mengapa kita lebih mengingat hal-hal negatif dibanding yang positif?
Penelitian yang dilakukan Dr. John Cacioppo dari Universitas Chicago telah menunjukkan apa yang dia sebut sebagai “bias negatif” dari otak. Otak kita sebenarnya lebih sensitif dan responsif terhadap hal-hal yang tidak menyenangkan. Inilah sebabnya mengapa hinaan atau kritik “memukul” kita lebih keras dan tinggal di otak kita lebih lama.
Ini adalah permainan angka.
Tidak hanya kita lebih sensitif pada informasi negatif, tapi rekaman-rekaman negatif itu meningkat secara tidak proporsional melebihi rekaman-rekaman positif. Ini bukanlah rasio satu banding satu. Dengan kata lain, satu informasi positif tidak bisa menutup atau mengganti satu informasi negatif. Saat anda berkata pada suami anda, “Terima kasih sudah memandikan anak-anak, sayang…” dan 5 menit kemudian berkata, “Kamu lupa membuang sampah keluar – lagi.” Maka kata-kata yang negatif menenggelamkan yang positif.
Otak kita membutuhkan jumlah masukan hal-hal positif yang lebih banyak untuk mengimbangi “bias negatif” ini. Dan beberapa tindakan positif yang kecil dan sering lebih berhasil dibanding satu tindakan positif yang besar. Ukuran dari hal positif tidak menjadi masalah, namun kuantitaslah yang menang. Ini memang seperti permainan angka. Inilah sebabnya mengapa memberikan kejutan pesta ulang tahun yang mahal untuk istri di restoran terkenal tidak bisa menebus rekaman perilaku negatif sehari-hari suami. Dan hadiah istri berupa alat pemotong rumput yang sudah lama diinginkan suaminya juga tidak akan dapat menjadi kompensasi dari komentar-komentar negatif dan kritis si istri kepada suaminya. Satu hal positif yang sangat besar tidak dapat mengimbangi banyak hal negatif.
Formula yang tepat
Lalu berapa banyak hal positif yang diperlukan untuk mengimbangi hal-hal yang negatif? Paling tidak 2 hal positif untuk 1 hal negatif, menurut pendapat para ahli. Para peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa ketika mempraktekkan formula ini dalam hubungan-hubungan kita yang paling intim, rasio hal-hal yang positif menjadi harus lebih tinggi. Mereka mengatakan rasio itu seharusnya 5:1 untuk pasangan yang menikah. Jadi, bagaimana anda akan melakukannya?
Buatlah Daftar
Tulislah paling sedikit 15 kualitas positif pasangan anda (dan tambahkan terus). Bagaimana pasangan anda membuat hidup anda lebih baik? Apakah dia mencari nafkah? Memotong rumput? Bekerja dengan tekun? Berbelanja untuk keluarga? Meluangkan waktu bersama anak-anak? Membuat anda tertawa?
Katakan 2 hal setiap hari
Latihlah kebiasaan untuk mengatakan setidaknya 2 hal positif tentang pasangan anda setiap hari. Tiadakan atau kurangi secara drastis hal-hal negatif selama beberapa minggu pertama anda membiasakan diri untuk mengubah fokus. Ya, anda bisa melakukannya, imbalannya akan sangat layak.
Hindari memotong pembicaraan pasangan anda
Ini mungkin menjadi tantangan bagi yang memiliki karakter dominan. Umumnya, wanita mengalami kesulitan dalam hal ini karena otak wanita memproses fakta dan emosi pada waktu yang bersamaan. Banyak pikiran yang lalu lalang dalam kepala wanita yang ingin segera diungkapkannya. Jika anda gagal, jangan menyerah, mulailah kembali. Kebanyakan orang menginterupsi perkataan orang lain dalam waktu kurang dari 20 detik.
Pujilah pasangan anda di depan orang lainnya
Termasuk di depan anak-anak anda. Jangan berlebihan atau dibuat-buat, pujilah dengan benar dan tulus. Akan lebih baik jika pasangan anda juga mendengar pujian itu. Denga melakukan ini anda mengembangkan kebiasaan yang sangat baik.
Carilah humor dalam setiap situasi
Cepatlah untuk tersenyum atau tertawa. Dosis harian dari humor, belajar menertawakan diri sendiri, dan tertawa bersama dapat meringankan beban apapun.
Ekspresikan rasa terima kasih dan penghargaan kepada pasangan anda
Juga kepada Tuhan, untuk kualitas-kualitas yang dimilikinya dan tindakan-tindakannya. Ingatlah untuk tidak berlebihan atau dibuat-buat. Pililah waktu yang tepat, berbicaralah dengan lembut, dan pandanglah mata pasangan anda dalam-dalam saat mengatakannya.
5 Hal Positif Urutan Teratas
Banyak suami, istri dan anak-anak kelaparan secara emosional. Mereka haus untuk sejumlah kebaikan dan pengakuan. Berikan mereka:
1. Sentuhan yang bermakna
2. Telinga yang mendengar
3. Persetujuan atau dukungan tanpa syarat
4. Tindakan-tindakan baik
5. Waktu untuk dihabiskan bersama dengan mereka, melakukan apa yang mereka sukai
Sebelum Anda Berbicara
Tanyakan kepada anda beberapa pertanyaan berikut ini:
• Apakah ini benar-benar perlu dikatakan?
• Apakah orang lain mau mendengar ini?
• Apakah ini akan membangun mereka?
• Apakah ini bijaksana?
• Apakah ini akan membuat saya menjadi lebih baik?
• Apakah ini akan membuat orang lain menjadi lebih baik?
• Bisakah ini dikatakan dengan lembut, baik, dan dengan kasih?
• Apakah ini memberkati?
7 Cara Cepat Untuk Menghargai Pasangan Anda
1. Letakkan foto terbaru pasangan anda di tempat yang gampang terlihat, baik di rumah maupun tempat kerja anda.
2. Buatlah sebuah papan kreatif tempat anda bisa menempelkan tulisan-tulisan positif, kata-kata semangat dan dukungan, atau ungkapan cinta dimana pasangan anda bisa melihatnya setiap hari.
3. Pujilah karakter dan keberhasilan-keberhasilan pasangan kepada orang-orang lainnya (dalam jarak yang masih dapat didengar langsung oleh pasangan anda).
4. Tulislah sebuah doa singkat untuk dia di kertas “post it” dan tempelkan di tempat yang pasti ditemukannya.
5. Tirulah pendekatan “10 alasan”, misalnya, “10 cara kamu menolongku bulan ini”, atau “10 alasan kamu membuatku tersenyum”.
6. Rekatkan kartu kecil dengan namanya dan ayat alkitab di cermin kamar mandi atau di tempat yang terlihat olehnya. Ganti kartu itu tiap sebulan sekali.
7. Tinggalkan pesan cinta atau terima kasih anda di voicemail pasangan anda.
Perkataan Positif dan Negatif
Mengapa banyak dari antara kita ingat dengan rinci, semua hal negatif yang pernah dilakukan atau dikatakan pasangan kita, sejak awal hubungan sampai saat ini? “Kamu selalu terlambat”, “Tempat ini selalu berantakan”, atau “Kamu tidak pernah benar-benar mendengarkan”. Mengapa sebuket bunga mawar atau tiket ke event olahraga favorit tidak bisa menebus dan menggantikan hal-hal yang menyakiti perasaan? Mengapa kita lebih mengingat hal-hal negatif dibanding yang positif?
Penelitian yang dilakukan Dr. John Cacioppo dari Universitas Chicago telah menunjukkan apa yang dia sebut sebagai “bias negatif” dari otak. Otak kita sebenarnya lebih sensitif dan responsif terhadap hal-hal yang tidak menyenangkan. Inilah sebabnya mengapa hinaan atau kritik “memukul” kita lebih keras dan tinggal di otak kita lebih lama.
Ini adalah permainan angka.
Tidak hanya kita lebih sensitif pada informasi negatif, tapi rekaman-rekaman negatif itu meningkat secara tidak proporsional melebihi rekaman-rekaman positif. Ini bukanlah rasio satu banding satu. Dengan kata lain, satu informasi positif tidak bisa menutup atau mengganti satu informasi negatif. Saat anda berkata pada suami anda, “Terima kasih sudah memandikan anak-anak, sayang…” dan 5 menit kemudian berkata, “Kamu lupa membuang sampah keluar – lagi.” Maka kata-kata yang negatif menenggelamkan yang positif.
Otak kita membutuhkan jumlah masukan hal-hal positif yang lebih banyak untuk mengimbangi “bias negatif” ini. Dan beberapa tindakan positif yang kecil dan sering lebih berhasil dibanding satu tindakan positif yang besar. Ukuran dari hal positif tidak menjadi masalah, namun kuantitaslah yang menang. Ini memang seperti permainan angka. Inilah sebabnya mengapa memberikan kejutan pesta ulang tahun yang mahal untuk istri di restoran terkenal tidak bisa menebus rekaman perilaku negatif sehari-hari suami. Dan hadiah istri berupa alat pemotong rumput yang sudah lama diinginkan suaminya juga tidak akan dapat menjadi kompensasi dari komentar-komentar negatif dan kritis si istri kepada suaminya. Satu hal positif yang sangat besar tidak dapat mengimbangi banyak hal negatif.
Formula yang tepat
Lalu berapa banyak hal positif yang diperlukan untuk mengimbangi hal-hal yang negatif? Paling tidak 2 hal positif untuk 1 hal negatif, menurut pendapat para ahli. Para peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa ketika mempraktekkan formula ini dalam hubungan-hubungan kita yang paling intim, rasio hal-hal yang positif menjadi harus lebih tinggi. Mereka mengatakan rasio itu seharusnya 5:1 untuk pasangan yang menikah. Jadi, bagaimana anda akan melakukannya?
Buatlah Daftar
Tulislah paling sedikit 15 kualitas positif pasangan anda (dan tambahkan terus). Bagaimana pasangan anda membuat hidup anda lebih baik? Apakah dia mencari nafkah? Memotong rumput? Bekerja dengan tekun? Berbelanja untuk keluarga? Meluangkan waktu bersama anak-anak? Membuat anda tertawa?
Katakan 2 hal setiap hari
Latihlah kebiasaan untuk mengatakan setidaknya 2 hal positif tentang pasangan anda setiap hari. Tiadakan atau kurangi secara drastis hal-hal negatif selama beberapa minggu pertama anda membiasakan diri untuk mengubah fokus. Ya, anda bisa melakukannya, imbalannya akan sangat layak.
Hindari memotong pembicaraan pasangan anda
Ini mungkin menjadi tantangan bagi yang memiliki karakter dominan. Umumnya, wanita mengalami kesulitan dalam hal ini karena otak wanita memproses fakta dan emosi pada waktu yang bersamaan. Banyak pikiran yang lalu lalang dalam kepala wanita yang ingin segera diungkapkannya. Jika anda gagal, jangan menyerah, mulailah kembali. Kebanyakan orang menginterupsi perkataan orang lain dalam waktu kurang dari 20 detik.
Pujilah pasangan anda di depan orang lainnya
Termasuk di depan anak-anak anda. Jangan berlebihan atau dibuat-buat, pujilah dengan benar dan tulus. Akan lebih baik jika pasangan anda juga mendengar pujian itu. Denga melakukan ini anda mengembangkan kebiasaan yang sangat baik.
Carilah humor dalam setiap situasi
Cepatlah untuk tersenyum atau tertawa. Dosis harian dari humor, belajar menertawakan diri sendiri, dan tertawa bersama dapat meringankan beban apapun.
Ekspresikan rasa terima kasih dan penghargaan kepada pasangan anda
Juga kepada Tuhan, untuk kualitas-kualitas yang dimilikinya dan tindakan-tindakannya. Ingatlah untuk tidak berlebihan atau dibuat-buat. Pililah waktu yang tepat, berbicaralah dengan lembut, dan pandanglah mata pasangan anda dalam-dalam saat mengatakannya.
5 Hal Positif Urutan Teratas
Banyak suami, istri dan anak-anak kelaparan secara emosional. Mereka haus untuk sejumlah kebaikan dan pengakuan. Berikan mereka:
1. Sentuhan yang bermakna
2. Telinga yang mendengar
3. Persetujuan atau dukungan tanpa syarat
4. Tindakan-tindakan baik
5. Waktu untuk dihabiskan bersama dengan mereka, melakukan apa yang mereka sukai
Sebelum Anda Berbicara
Tanyakan kepada anda beberapa pertanyaan berikut ini:
• Apakah ini benar-benar perlu dikatakan?
• Apakah orang lain mau mendengar ini?
• Apakah ini akan membangun mereka?
• Apakah ini bijaksana?
• Apakah ini akan membuat saya menjadi lebih baik?
• Apakah ini akan membuat orang lain menjadi lebih baik?
• Bisakah ini dikatakan dengan lembut, baik, dan dengan kasih?
• Apakah ini memberkati?
7 Cara Cepat Untuk Menghargai Pasangan Anda
1. Letakkan foto terbaru pasangan anda di tempat yang gampang terlihat, baik di rumah maupun tempat kerja anda.
2. Buatlah sebuah papan kreatif tempat anda bisa menempelkan tulisan-tulisan positif, kata-kata semangat dan dukungan, atau ungkapan cinta dimana pasangan anda bisa melihatnya setiap hari.
3. Pujilah karakter dan keberhasilan-keberhasilan pasangan kepada orang-orang lainnya (dalam jarak yang masih dapat didengar langsung oleh pasangan anda).
4. Tulislah sebuah doa singkat untuk dia di kertas “post it” dan tempelkan di tempat yang pasti ditemukannya.
5. Tirulah pendekatan “10 alasan”, misalnya, “10 cara kamu menolongku bulan ini”, atau “10 alasan kamu membuatku tersenyum”.
6. Rekatkan kartu kecil dengan namanya dan ayat alkitab di cermin kamar mandi atau di tempat yang terlihat olehnya. Ganti kartu itu tiap sebulan sekali.
7. Tinggalkan pesan cinta atau terima kasih anda di voicemail pasangan anda.
What You Believe Is What You Get
Source : http://renunganharian.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/what-you-believe-is-what-you-get/
What You Believe Is What You Get
Nick adalah seorang yang besar, kuat dan keras, yang bekerja di suatu langsiran kereta api selama bertahun-tahun. Ia adalah salah seorang pegawai terbaik perusahaannya – selalu tiba tepat waktu, dapat diandalkan, pekerja keras yang dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan para pegawai lainnya.
Tetapi Nick mempunyai satu masalah besar. Sikapnya terus-menerus negatif. Ia dikenal di sekitar langsiran kereta api itu sebagai orang yang paling pesimis di tempat kerja. Ia selalu takut pada hal yang terburuk dan terus-menerus khawatir, takut bahwa sesuatu yang buruk akan terjadi.
Suatu hari musim panas, para pegawai diberitahukan bahwa mereka dapat pulang satu jam lebih awal untuk merayakan ulang tahun mandor mereka. Semua pekerja pergi, tetapi entah bagaimana, Nick secara kebetulan terkunci dalam sebuah mo bil boks pendingin yang telah dibawa ke langsirang kereta api itu untuk diperbaiki. Mobil boks itu kosong dan tidak terhubung dengan satu kereta pun.
Saat Nick menyadari bahwa ia terkunci di dalam mobil boks pendingin itu, ia panik. Nick mulai memukuli pintu-pintu begitu kerasnya sehingga lengan dan tinjunya berdarah. Ia menjerit dan menjerit, tetapi para rekan kerjanya telah pulang ke rumah untuk bersiap ke pesta itu. Tak seorang pun dapat mendengar panggilan minta tolong Nick yang putus asa. Lagi dan lagi ia memanggil, sampai suaranya menjadi suatu bisikan serak.
Karena sadar bahwa ia ada dalam mobil boks, Nick mengira bahwa suhu dalam mobil itu jauh di bawah titik beku, mungkin serendah lima atau sepuluh derajat Fahrenheit. Nick takut pada hal terburuk. Ia mengira, Apakah yang akan kulakukan? Jika aku tidak keluar dari sini, aku akan membeku sampai mati! Aku tidak bisa tinggal di sini sepanjang malam. Semakin ia memikirkan keadaan-keadaannya, semakin dingin rasa tubuhnya. Dengan pintu tertutup rapat, dan tak ada jalan keluar yang tampak, ia duduk menunggu kematiannya yang tak terhindari dengan mati membeku atau kekurangan udara, yang mana yang datang lebih dahulu.
Waktu berlalu, ia memutuskan untuk mencatat tentang kematiannya. Ia menemukan sebatang pena dalam saku kemejanya dan melihat selembar karton tua bekas di sudut mobil itu. Sambil gemetar hampir tak terkendalikan, ia menulis cepat-cepat sebuah pesan untuk keluarganya. Di dalamnya Nick mencatat kemungkinan-kemungkinannya yang menakutkan: “Semakin kedingingan. Tubuh mati rasa. Jika aku tidak segera keluar, ini mungkin akan menjadi kata-kata terakhirku.”
Dan memang demikian…
Pagi berikutnya, saat para pegawai datang bekerja, mereka membuka mobil boks itu dan menemukan tubuh Nick rubuh di sudut. Saat otopsi diselesaikan, ternyata Nick memang membeku sampai mati.
Nah, sekarang adalah teka-teki yang menarik: para investigator menemukan bahwa unit pendingin bagi mobil di mana Nick telah terjebak itu bahkan tidak menyala! Nyatanya, mobil itu sudah rusak untuk beberapa waktu dan tidak berfungsi pada saat Nick mati. Suhu dalam mobil tersebut malam itu -malam Nick membeku sampai mati- adalah enam puluh satu derajat Fahrenheit! Nick membeku sampai mati dalam suhu yang sedikit kurang dari suhu ruangan normal karena ia percaya bahwa ia ada dalam sebuah mobil boks yang membeku. Ia mengharapkan untuk mati! Ia yakin bahwa ia tidak mempunyai kesempatan sedikit pun. Ia mengharapkan yang terburuk terjadi pada dirinya. Ia melihat dirinya sendiri ditakdirkan tidak dapat lolos. Ia kalah dalam peperangan dalam pikirannya sendiri!
Bagi Nick, hal yang ia takutkan dan harapkan terjadi, terwujud juga. Pepatah lama “Kehidupan adalah suatu nubuatan yang dipenuhi sendiri” memang benar baginya. Itu biasanya terjadi dalam kehidupan anda juga. Banyak orang pada masa kini sama dengan Nick. Mereka selalu mengharapkan yang terburuk. Mereka mengharapkan kekalahan. Mereka mengharapkan kegagalan. Mereka mengharapkan keadaan biasa-biasa saja. Dan, mereka biasanya mendapatkan apa yang mereka harapkan;
mereka menjadi apa yang mereka percayai.
Tetapi anda dapat mempercayai hal-hal baik. Saat anda menghadapi masa sukar, jangan berharap untuk tetap tinggal di sana . Harapkanlah untuk keluar dari masalah itu. Harapkanlah Tuhan untuk secara ajaib mengubahnya.
Saat bisnis menjadi sedikit sepi, jangan harapkan untuk bangkrut; jangan membuat rencana-rencana untuk gagal. Berdoalah dan harapkanlah Tuhan untuk mendatangkan para pelanggan kepada anda.
Jika anda mengalami kesukaran-kesukaran dalam pernikahan anda, jangan hanya menyerah dalam frustasi dan berkata, “Aku seharusnya tahu bahwa pernikahan ini memang ditakdirkan untuk gagal sejak semula.”
Tidak! Jika anda sedang melakukannya, berarti anda sedang menanggapi dengan cara Nick. Pengharapan anda yang lemah akan menghancurkan pernikahan anda; cara berpikir anda yang salah akan menjatuhkan anda. Anda harus mengubah cara berpikir anda. Ubahlah yang anda harapkan. Berhentilah mengharapkan untuk gagal. Mulailah mempercayai bahwa anda akan berhasil!
Bahkan jika fondasi hidup anda runtuh, sikap anda seharusnya adalah: “Tuhan, aku tahu bahwa Engkau akan mengubah ini dan menggunakannya untuk kebaikanku. Tuhan, aku percaya, bahwa Engkau akan membawaku keluar lebih kuat
dibanding sebelumnya.. .”
Quoted from “Your Best Life” Now by Joel Osteen
What You Believe Is What You Get
Nick adalah seorang yang besar, kuat dan keras, yang bekerja di suatu langsiran kereta api selama bertahun-tahun. Ia adalah salah seorang pegawai terbaik perusahaannya – selalu tiba tepat waktu, dapat diandalkan, pekerja keras yang dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan para pegawai lainnya.
Tetapi Nick mempunyai satu masalah besar. Sikapnya terus-menerus negatif. Ia dikenal di sekitar langsiran kereta api itu sebagai orang yang paling pesimis di tempat kerja. Ia selalu takut pada hal yang terburuk dan terus-menerus khawatir, takut bahwa sesuatu yang buruk akan terjadi.
Suatu hari musim panas, para pegawai diberitahukan bahwa mereka dapat pulang satu jam lebih awal untuk merayakan ulang tahun mandor mereka. Semua pekerja pergi, tetapi entah bagaimana, Nick secara kebetulan terkunci dalam sebuah mo bil boks pendingin yang telah dibawa ke langsirang kereta api itu untuk diperbaiki. Mobil boks itu kosong dan tidak terhubung dengan satu kereta pun.
Saat Nick menyadari bahwa ia terkunci di dalam mobil boks pendingin itu, ia panik. Nick mulai memukuli pintu-pintu begitu kerasnya sehingga lengan dan tinjunya berdarah. Ia menjerit dan menjerit, tetapi para rekan kerjanya telah pulang ke rumah untuk bersiap ke pesta itu. Tak seorang pun dapat mendengar panggilan minta tolong Nick yang putus asa. Lagi dan lagi ia memanggil, sampai suaranya menjadi suatu bisikan serak.
Karena sadar bahwa ia ada dalam mobil boks, Nick mengira bahwa suhu dalam mobil itu jauh di bawah titik beku, mungkin serendah lima atau sepuluh derajat Fahrenheit. Nick takut pada hal terburuk. Ia mengira, Apakah yang akan kulakukan? Jika aku tidak keluar dari sini, aku akan membeku sampai mati! Aku tidak bisa tinggal di sini sepanjang malam. Semakin ia memikirkan keadaan-keadaannya, semakin dingin rasa tubuhnya. Dengan pintu tertutup rapat, dan tak ada jalan keluar yang tampak, ia duduk menunggu kematiannya yang tak terhindari dengan mati membeku atau kekurangan udara, yang mana yang datang lebih dahulu.
Waktu berlalu, ia memutuskan untuk mencatat tentang kematiannya. Ia menemukan sebatang pena dalam saku kemejanya dan melihat selembar karton tua bekas di sudut mobil itu. Sambil gemetar hampir tak terkendalikan, ia menulis cepat-cepat sebuah pesan untuk keluarganya. Di dalamnya Nick mencatat kemungkinan-kemungkinannya yang menakutkan: “Semakin kedingingan. Tubuh mati rasa. Jika aku tidak segera keluar, ini mungkin akan menjadi kata-kata terakhirku.”
Dan memang demikian…
Pagi berikutnya, saat para pegawai datang bekerja, mereka membuka mobil boks itu dan menemukan tubuh Nick rubuh di sudut. Saat otopsi diselesaikan, ternyata Nick memang membeku sampai mati.
Nah, sekarang adalah teka-teki yang menarik: para investigator menemukan bahwa unit pendingin bagi mobil di mana Nick telah terjebak itu bahkan tidak menyala! Nyatanya, mobil itu sudah rusak untuk beberapa waktu dan tidak berfungsi pada saat Nick mati. Suhu dalam mobil tersebut malam itu -malam Nick membeku sampai mati- adalah enam puluh satu derajat Fahrenheit! Nick membeku sampai mati dalam suhu yang sedikit kurang dari suhu ruangan normal karena ia percaya bahwa ia ada dalam sebuah mobil boks yang membeku. Ia mengharapkan untuk mati! Ia yakin bahwa ia tidak mempunyai kesempatan sedikit pun. Ia mengharapkan yang terburuk terjadi pada dirinya. Ia melihat dirinya sendiri ditakdirkan tidak dapat lolos. Ia kalah dalam peperangan dalam pikirannya sendiri!
Bagi Nick, hal yang ia takutkan dan harapkan terjadi, terwujud juga. Pepatah lama “Kehidupan adalah suatu nubuatan yang dipenuhi sendiri” memang benar baginya. Itu biasanya terjadi dalam kehidupan anda juga. Banyak orang pada masa kini sama dengan Nick. Mereka selalu mengharapkan yang terburuk. Mereka mengharapkan kekalahan. Mereka mengharapkan kegagalan. Mereka mengharapkan keadaan biasa-biasa saja. Dan, mereka biasanya mendapatkan apa yang mereka harapkan;
mereka menjadi apa yang mereka percayai.
Tetapi anda dapat mempercayai hal-hal baik. Saat anda menghadapi masa sukar, jangan berharap untuk tetap tinggal di sana . Harapkanlah untuk keluar dari masalah itu. Harapkanlah Tuhan untuk secara ajaib mengubahnya.
Saat bisnis menjadi sedikit sepi, jangan harapkan untuk bangkrut; jangan membuat rencana-rencana untuk gagal. Berdoalah dan harapkanlah Tuhan untuk mendatangkan para pelanggan kepada anda.
Jika anda mengalami kesukaran-kesukaran dalam pernikahan anda, jangan hanya menyerah dalam frustasi dan berkata, “Aku seharusnya tahu bahwa pernikahan ini memang ditakdirkan untuk gagal sejak semula.”
Tidak! Jika anda sedang melakukannya, berarti anda sedang menanggapi dengan cara Nick. Pengharapan anda yang lemah akan menghancurkan pernikahan anda; cara berpikir anda yang salah akan menjatuhkan anda. Anda harus mengubah cara berpikir anda. Ubahlah yang anda harapkan. Berhentilah mengharapkan untuk gagal. Mulailah mempercayai bahwa anda akan berhasil!
Bahkan jika fondasi hidup anda runtuh, sikap anda seharusnya adalah: “Tuhan, aku tahu bahwa Engkau akan mengubah ini dan menggunakannya untuk kebaikanku. Tuhan, aku percaya, bahwa Engkau akan membawaku keluar lebih kuat
dibanding sebelumnya.. .”
Quoted from “Your Best Life” Now by Joel Osteen
inspiring story - Half Man – Half Price Store
Source : http://renunganharian.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/half-man-half-price-store/#more-85
Inspirational Story of Peng Shuilin 彭 水林
Translated by : -editopan-.
merupakan cerita ketangguhan seseorang yang cacat amputasi untuk kembali berusaha terus.
Dalam kehidupan kita terus mengeluh tentang apa yang sedang atau mengapa kita tidak miliki.
Setengah dari waktu kita sepertinya tidak puas, meskipun gemuk dan bebas untuk memilih.
Lemak orang berkata, “Aku ingin menjadi langsing.” Skinny orang berkata, “Aku ingin menjadi gemuk.”
Orang miskin ingin menjadi kaya dan kaya tidak pernah puas dengan apa yang mereka miliki.
Gambar di atas menunjukan tubuh PENG Shuilin (彭水 林) sepenuhnya yang hanya 78 cm tingginya. Ia dilahirkan di Provinsi Hunan, Cina. Pada tanggal 9 Maret 2004 di Shenzhen, sebuah truk barang mengiris setengah tubuhnya. Pada saat foto ini di ambil, dokter masih sedang riset untuk membuatkan tubuh bawahnya.
Ahli bedah dadanya dijahit. Pada umur 43, Peng Shuilin menghabiskan hampir dua tahun di rumah sakit di Shenzhen, Cina selatan, menjalani serangkaian operasi untuk re-route hampir setiap organ utama atau sistem dalam tubuhnya. Peng terus melatih lengan, membangun kekuatan, mencuci muka dan menyikat gigi.
Dia bertahan melawan segala rintangan. Sekarang Peng Shulin mengagetkan dokternya dengan belajar berjalan lagi setelah satu dekade.
Pada tahun 2007, dokter di China Rehabilitation Research Centre di Beijing menemukan cara yang cerdik untuk membiarkan dia berjalan sendiri, menciptakan telur cangkir canggih seperti casing untuk menahan tubuhnya, dengan dua kaki bionik terpasang.
Butuh pertimbangan cermat, pengukuran terampil dan keahlian teknis. Peng telah berjalan pada koridor Beijing Pusat Rehabilitasi dengan bantuan kakin khusus yang disesuaikan dan kerangka untuk berjalan kembali.
RGO adalah kiprah orthosis recipicating, menempel pada soket prostetik ember. Ada kabel terpasang ke kedua kaki sehingga ketika berjalan ke depan, yang lainnya ke belakang. pindah ke samping, tambahkan sedikit putaran di satu kaki , sementara yang lain tetap diam, memberikan cara yang sangat sangat tidak nyaman.meski begitu, Pheng lin berkarta ” Oh begitu senangnya untuk ‘berjalan’ lagi setelah sepuluh tahun dengan tubuh setengah!”
wakil pimpiman Rumah Sakit Lin Liu berkata: “Kami baru saja memeriksanya, ia adalah orang yg sangat kuat daripada kebanyakan pria seusianya.”
Saat ini Peng Shuilin telah membuka supermarket menawar sendiri, disebut half man -half price store (toko Manusia Setengah badan-Setengah Harga). kisah amputasi yang inspiratif ini dimana seseorang yg cacat amputasi sekarang ini telah menjadi seorang pengusaha dan berperan sebagai panutan bagi org2 yg diamputasi lainnya.
Dengan Tinggi 2 Kaki 7 inchi, ia bergerak di dalam sebuah kursi roda memberikan ceramah pada pemulihan dari cacat. Sikapnya luar biasa, dia tidak mengeluh.
“Dia memang telah dirawat dengan baik, tapi rahasianya adalah dia selalu berusaha. Tidak ada satu pun yang bisa bikin dia menyerah.”
Anda memiliki tubuh lengkap. Anda punya kaki.
Sekarang Anda telah membaca tentang seorang pria yang tidak memiliki kaki.
Hidupnya adalah perjuangan daya tahan terhadap masalah, sebuah kemenangan semangat manusia dalam mengatasi kesulitan ekstrim.
Lain kali jika anda ingin mengeluh untuk hal yang sepele yang anda merasa tidak mungkin dan menyerah, ingatlah Shulin Peng. Manusia setengah badan yang memiliki toko setengah harga di China.
Inspirational Story of Peng Shuilin 彭 水林
Translated by : -editopan-.
merupakan cerita ketangguhan seseorang yang cacat amputasi untuk kembali berusaha terus.
凡事謝恩 Always Count Your Blessings
Setengah dari waktu kita sepertinya tidak puas, meskipun gemuk dan bebas untuk memilih.
Lemak orang berkata, “Aku ingin menjadi langsing.” Skinny orang berkata, “Aku ingin menjadi gemuk.”
Orang miskin ingin menjadi kaya dan kaya tidak pernah puas dengan apa yang mereka miliki.
Gambar di atas menunjukan tubuh PENG Shuilin (彭水 林) sepenuhnya yang hanya 78 cm tingginya. Ia dilahirkan di Provinsi Hunan, Cina. Pada tanggal 9 Maret 2004 di Shenzhen, sebuah truk barang mengiris setengah tubuhnya. Pada saat foto ini di ambil, dokter masih sedang riset untuk membuatkan tubuh bawahnya.
Ahli bedah dadanya dijahit. Pada umur 43, Peng Shuilin menghabiskan hampir dua tahun di rumah sakit di Shenzhen, Cina selatan, menjalani serangkaian operasi untuk re-route hampir setiap organ utama atau sistem dalam tubuhnya. Peng terus melatih lengan, membangun kekuatan, mencuci muka dan menyikat gigi.
Dia bertahan melawan segala rintangan. Sekarang Peng Shulin mengagetkan dokternya dengan belajar berjalan lagi setelah satu dekade.
Pada tahun 2007, dokter di China Rehabilitation Research Centre di Beijing menemukan cara yang cerdik untuk membiarkan dia berjalan sendiri, menciptakan telur cangkir canggih seperti casing untuk menahan tubuhnya, dengan dua kaki bionik terpasang.
Butuh pertimbangan cermat, pengukuran terampil dan keahlian teknis. Peng telah berjalan pada koridor Beijing Pusat Rehabilitasi dengan bantuan kakin khusus yang disesuaikan dan kerangka untuk berjalan kembali.
RGO adalah kiprah orthosis recipicating, menempel pada soket prostetik ember. Ada kabel terpasang ke kedua kaki sehingga ketika berjalan ke depan, yang lainnya ke belakang. pindah ke samping, tambahkan sedikit putaran di satu kaki , sementara yang lain tetap diam, memberikan cara yang sangat sangat tidak nyaman.meski begitu, Pheng lin berkarta ” Oh begitu senangnya untuk ‘berjalan’ lagi setelah sepuluh tahun dengan tubuh setengah!”
wakil pimpiman Rumah Sakit Lin Liu berkata: “Kami baru saja memeriksanya, ia adalah orang yg sangat kuat daripada kebanyakan pria seusianya.”
Saat ini Peng Shuilin telah membuka supermarket menawar sendiri, disebut half man -half price store (toko Manusia Setengah badan-Setengah Harga). kisah amputasi yang inspiratif ini dimana seseorang yg cacat amputasi sekarang ini telah menjadi seorang pengusaha dan berperan sebagai panutan bagi org2 yg diamputasi lainnya.
Dengan Tinggi 2 Kaki 7 inchi, ia bergerak di dalam sebuah kursi roda memberikan ceramah pada pemulihan dari cacat. Sikapnya luar biasa, dia tidak mengeluh.
“Dia memang telah dirawat dengan baik, tapi rahasianya adalah dia selalu berusaha. Tidak ada satu pun yang bisa bikin dia menyerah.”
Anda memiliki tubuh lengkap. Anda punya kaki.
Sekarang Anda telah membaca tentang seorang pria yang tidak memiliki kaki.
Hidupnya adalah perjuangan daya tahan terhadap masalah, sebuah kemenangan semangat manusia dalam mengatasi kesulitan ekstrim.
Lain kali jika anda ingin mengeluh untuk hal yang sepele yang anda merasa tidak mungkin dan menyerah, ingatlah Shulin Peng. Manusia setengah badan yang memiliki toko setengah harga di China.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
—2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
When was the last time you thought of yourself as "the righteousness of God"? What does that mean anyway? It means that we have the best of qualities, found in the best of beings! But we know we are not god-like! We know our fallibility and flaws! We know our imperfections and our inconsistencies! How can we be "the righteousness of God"? Jesus, the perfect and sinless Righteous One of God, became our sin for us so we could be his righteousness. More than grace, that's a miracle! And a miracle, dear friend of Jesus, is exactly what each one of us is!Prayer...
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Last Words: First Priority - Its call for us to invest in people not things
Source : http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201111/20111106_lastwords01.html
More than three decades have passed. It's hard to believe. The hospital where it happened, West Texas Medical Center, is no longer in existence. After ten agonizing years, my father's battle with asthma after forty was coming to an end. With three large abscesses in his lungs, the doctors were convinced it was last his last night. So after everyone went home and before he slipped into unconscious sleep, I spent a few precious hours with my daddy.
Communication was very, very, hard. At first he scribbled weakly on an erasable tablet — just a word or two to help me understand. Eventually, I had to read his lips and check my understanding of what I heard with his head nods or shakes. By the end of a couple of hours, my dad passed into unconsciousness — a light coma they said. I didn't expect to see him alive in the morning.
That conversation and those last words are precious to me. They revealed faith and sadness and conviction. They were shared with a great outpouring of energy and effort through labored breathing and shaky hands. The primary messages I walked away with from that conversation were very simple:
When Jesus came to the end of his time on earth, he left last words. Yes, I know he has continued to communicate to and through his people in other ways, but what we call the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) contains the last words of Jesus ... and the first priority of his followers after he returned to the Father. Some talk about the Great Commission as a great evangelism passage. In some ways it is, but Jesus' last words never mention evangelism. There is one clear command in his last words: "Make disciples!" Three other responsibilities help us fulfill Jesus' last words: "go ... baptize ... teach to obey ..."
I like to paraphrase the passage to help me clearly see our mandate from the Lord:
And the focus of these words? Make disciples — help others mature to live the life of Jesus (Colossians 1:28-29) and partner with the Holy Spirit to help others become like Jesus a little more each day (2 Corinthians 3:18) and do this until Christ is fully formed in them (Galatians 4:19).
This is not a call for drive-by preaching or mass marketing dunk-a-thons, but a clear call for hearts that hear the last words of the Savior and yearn to see people transformed, lives changed, and people be given a new identity. It is a call for us to invest in people and not things. It is a commitment to not walk away from others when the new has worn off. It is the white-hot desire to see Jesus come alive among us and in us and those around us.
These are Jesus' last words. This is our first priority.
More than three decades have passed. It's hard to believe. The hospital where it happened, West Texas Medical Center, is no longer in existence. After ten agonizing years, my father's battle with asthma after forty was coming to an end. With three large abscesses in his lungs, the doctors were convinced it was last his last night. So after everyone went home and before he slipped into unconscious sleep, I spent a few precious hours with my daddy.
Communication was very, very, hard. At first he scribbled weakly on an erasable tablet — just a word or two to help me understand. Eventually, I had to read his lips and check my understanding of what I heard with his head nods or shakes. By the end of a couple of hours, my dad passed into unconsciousness — a light coma they said. I didn't expect to see him alive in the morning.
That conversation and those last words are precious to me. They revealed faith and sadness and conviction. They were shared with a great outpouring of energy and effort through labored breathing and shaky hands. The primary messages I walked away with from that conversation were very simple:
- "I am not afraid being dead, but getting there is scary. But I have faith!"
- "Take care of your mom!"
- "Be a good daddy."
It is a call for us to invest in people and not things!
I like to paraphrase the passage to help me clearly see our mandate from the Lord:
Now, my friends, go make disciples — help people become like me. Do this by going outside your safe culture and comfort zones to share the message about me. Baptize everyone who accepts this message. Walk beside them until they are trained to live my life in this world. And as you do this, you will find you are not alone. I will be with you ... always!These words must be our first priority! They must become our identity and our mission statement.
And the focus of these words? Make disciples — help others mature to live the life of Jesus (Colossians 1:28-29) and partner with the Holy Spirit to help others become like Jesus a little more each day (2 Corinthians 3:18) and do this until Christ is fully formed in them (Galatians 4:19).
This is not a call for drive-by preaching or mass marketing dunk-a-thons, but a clear call for hearts that hear the last words of the Savior and yearn to see people transformed, lives changed, and people be given a new identity. It is a call for us to invest in people and not things. It is a commitment to not walk away from others when the new has worn off. It is the white-hot desire to see Jesus come alive among us and in us and those around us.
These are Jesus' last words. This is our first priority.
A Sure-Fire Investment
Source : http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201111/20111118_investment.html
by Rubel Shelly on November 18, 2011
Category: Leading in Hope
I am convinced most people want to do some great thing with their lives. But they are under the illusion that the doing of authentically great things is reserved for a chosen few. Heroes. Martyrs. Saints. But not them.
But what if the greatest thing is not to go out in a blaze of glory but to honor God with a life that consistently seeks to do his will in the little things? Not to climb the highest mountain but to stay on the uneven course that life has marked out for you? Not dying for your faith but staying true to it over a difficult lifetime?
Think of the 24-hour blocks of your life as bank-fresh bundles of a hundred $1 bills. Your challenge each day is to spend your life. You can't bank it. You can't save up until you get 500 or 1000. You get a fresh handful of life currency each morning, and any unspent balance evaporates before tomorrow comes.
You spend life assets when you mentor a new employee who is struggling, listen to someone who is upset, or volunteer to help someone catch up.
You are laying down your life when you are generous with hard-earned money to help someone who has lost her job, a family that is being drained by long-term illness, or the ministries of your church. You have plunked down a huge chunk of your life in giving birth, praying through your tears for a struggling child, and investing all the time, energy, and passion that go into molding a life for what lies ahead in this challenging world.
You are spending your life capital by putting your love for a fiancée, mate, or child above career advancement that moves you away from spiritual stability, calls for you to spend far too much time away from people who need you more than money, or calls for you to compromise a central value you have embraced.
The Bible says:
You have today's life capital in hand. Invest it wisely — in small increments of unselfishness here and there. Or lose it completely.
by Rubel Shelly on November 18, 2011
Category: Leading in Hope
I am convinced most people want to do some great thing with their lives. But they are under the illusion that the doing of authentically great things is reserved for a chosen few. Heroes. Martyrs. Saints. But not them.
But what if the greatest thing is not to go out in a blaze of glory but to honor God with a life that consistently seeks to do his will in the little things? Not to climb the highest mountain but to stay on the uneven course that life has marked out for you? Not dying for your faith but staying true to it over a difficult lifetime?
Think of the 24-hour blocks of your life as bank-fresh bundles of a hundred $1 bills. Your challenge each day is to spend your life. You can't bank it. You can't save up until you get 500 or 1000. You get a fresh handful of life currency each morning, and any unspent balance evaporates before tomorrow comes.
You spend life assets when you mentor a new employee who is struggling, listen to someone who is upset, or volunteer to help someone catch up.
Think of the 24-hour blocks of your life as bank-fresh bundles of a hundred $1 bills!
You are spending your life capital by putting your love for a fiancée, mate, or child above career advancement that moves you away from spiritual stability, calls for you to spend far too much time away from people who need you more than money, or calls for you to compromise a central value you have embraced.
The Bible says:
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another (1 John 3:16).Could it be that there are people who would die in bold, heroic moments (i.e., "cash in" everything) who just don't grasp that we must spend the smaller increments of our lives in unselfish, other-directed events that honor God by serving the people he has placed on our paths? What a shame that they never developed a concept of serving God by serving men and women in his image!
You have today's life capital in hand. Invest it wisely — in small increments of unselfishness here and there. Or lose it completely.
SH!FT: PRAY_passionately
Source : http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201102/20110211_pray.html
Terrified. Broken. Emasculated. Broken. "O Lord, don't let my family suffer because of my mistake!"
The physical danger was real. The emotions were overwhelming. My helplessness in the situation was devastating. I didn't know where to turn ... until two convictions led me to grace. As I accessed those reservoirs of grace, God made his presence and protection abundantly real.
What were these convictions?
Over the years, the Psalms have furnished me with words when I wasn't sure what to say or if I could say any words. Then, these same honest psalms have led me back to God — my Father who loves me and my Creator who is worthy of all praise.
Jesus' prayer in the Garden is the example that pulled my heart to prayer and the Psalms in the first place. This collision of Jesus' heart, Satan's opposition, the hostile brutality of evil men, as well as God's will to redeem lost humanity provides one of the most compelling and instructive passages about prayer in all of the Bible.
These few short verses open up a treasure chest of insights for us as we pray:
God made us, knows us, loves us and has plans for each of us. Let's not fake who we are or why we are struggling. Let's come to our Abba Father in joy and in sorrow. In the middle of wrestling with God honestly, the Spirit of God begins to speak out our hurt to God and speak into our hurt from God to heal us. Let's be honest about our sin, our confusion, our trust, our joy, our hope, and our faith. In the process, our Father becomes real and God's strength comes when we often least expect it and most desperately need it.
Let's make the SH!FT to PRAY_passionately!
Terrified. Broken. Emasculated. Broken. "O Lord, don't let my family suffer because of my mistake!"
The physical danger was real. The emotions were overwhelming. My helplessness in the situation was devastating. I didn't know where to turn ... until two convictions led me to grace. As I accessed those reservoirs of grace, God made his presence and protection abundantly real.
What were these convictions?
- Jesus turned to God in his greatest moment of crisis in the Garden of Gethsemane, so I should, too.
- God has given me the Psalms as a resource to share my honest longings and disappointments with God and to also receive the Father's reassuring promises.
Over the years, the Psalms have furnished me with words when I wasn't sure what to say or if I could say any words. Then, these same honest psalms have led me back to God — my Father who loves me and my Creator who is worthy of all praise.
Jesus' prayer in the Garden is the example that pulled my heart to prayer and the Psalms in the first place. This collision of Jesus' heart, Satan's opposition, the hostile brutality of evil men, as well as God's will to redeem lost humanity provides one of the most compelling and instructive passages about prayer in all of the Bible.
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
36 "Abba , Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:32-36 TNIV).
The Creator of the universe invites us to be real!
- Mark 14:32 Be Consistent: We are talking about daily authenticity before God. Jesus consistently withdrew to Gethsemane to pray when he was in or near Jerusalem (Luke 22:39). Judas knew where to find Jesus because this was where he often went with his closest followers (John 18:2). From Jesus' first days of ministry until this all critical moment in his life, Jesus made a regular habit of withdrawing and spending time with his Father in prayer (Luke 5:16). But before we can be consistent, we have to begin, so let's find a time — our commute time, our time before bed, our time when we rise up, our time stuck in lines, a set place and time — to begin our consistent time of prayer.
- Mark 14:34-35 Be Emotional: We are talking about emotional authenticity with God. Everything was at stake for Jesus and he was honest about his emotions with his followers and with his Father in this moment! As Jesus' followers, we have help in doing this. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us even when we don't have words and the Spirit cleans up our prayers so they coalesce with the will of God (Romans 8:26-27). The key is that we come to our Father in all of life's emotions. God would rather us be honest about our emotions — in all of our imperfection and confusion — than for us to wait till we had everything all figured out before we prayed. The Psalms are a great testimony to this truth just as Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane is!
- Mark 14:35 Be Physical: After first kneeling before God in the garden (Luke 22:41), Jesus fell face down before God to pray. Jesus prayed with physical authenticity. Prayer takes all sorts of physical forms in the Bible — face down, on knees, kneeling, face uplifted, head bowed, hands raised, and even hands tearing garments in anguish. Our bodies express our emotions and can even lead our emotions as we speak to God (Lamentations 2:19; Lamentations 3:41; Psalm 28:2; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 119:48; Psalm 134:2; Ephesians 3:14; 1 Timothy 2:8).
- Mark 14:36 Be Tender: We are talking about approaching God as our Father with childlike authenticity. Jesus addressed God with the most tender, dependent, words a child could use to address a father. Jesus cried to God as "Abba, Father"! These were the simple syllables used for centuries by Jewish babies to call out to their human fathers. Jesus teaches us to approach God with this same reverential tenderness. The Holy Spirit empowers us as Jesus' younger brothers and sisters in God's family (Romans 8:14-17). Jesus taught us to pray with childlike simplicity (Luke 11:2-4) and he also taught us to pray with dependent and reverential tenderness.
- Mark 14:36 Be Passionate: We are taught to approach God with situational authenticity. God is God — our Heavenly Father is great, majestic, all powerful, and beyond our power to grasp in his magnificence. We are human — flawed, sinful, broken, joyous, thankful, disappointed, despairing, delighted, and on and on we could go. Jesus was passionate about God's power and also passionate about what he wanted. We are led to this same place if we will honestly pray Psalm 22 just as Jesus did!
- Mark 14:36 Be His: Ultimately Jesus approached God in submissive authenticity: "Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Just as Jesus' life began with Mary's words of submissive authenticity, “I am the Lord’s servant ... May it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38), so also Jesus offers up himself to do the will and work of God, no matter how painful because God is God, and his will is to be done and his grace is to be honored!
God made us, knows us, loves us and has plans for each of us. Let's not fake who we are or why we are struggling. Let's come to our Abba Father in joy and in sorrow. In the middle of wrestling with God honestly, the Spirit of God begins to speak out our hurt to God and speak into our hurt from God to heal us. Let's be honest about our sin, our confusion, our trust, our joy, our hope, and our faith. In the process, our Father becomes real and God's strength comes when we often least expect it and most desperately need it.
Let's make the SH!FT to PRAY_passionately!
The Hardest Lesson Learned
by Phil Ware on June 11, 2011
Category: Two Minute Meditations
Isn't it amazing how quickly we can lose our way when we are on our own and think we are following the right path for ourselves? Years ago, my father was in the Denver Asthma Clinic and my mom and brothers went to see him. After a hard week at the hospital, some friends took them to a get-away for the weekend in the flat iron mountain range. Early the next morning, my brothers went out to climb the backside of the mountains, promising to follow a well-marked trail.
As they neared the top, they followed what looked like a small foot trail leading to a great view at the top of the mountain. But as the trail crested the top of the mountain, they realized too late that the trail was really a wash where rain and snow melt drained off the mountain. They lost their footing in the loose gravel. They fell about ten feet to a ledge at near the top of the sheer flat side of the mountain, with hundreds of feet of near straight down drop below them. Hours later, they were rescued off the mountain. One brother had to go to the hospital with an awful case of "poison ivy" — the exact kind of poisonous plant is unknown to me, but it saved his life because he grabbed to keep from plunging down the sheer face of the mountain.
My brothers thought that they were on safe footing. They realized later that taking the hike by themselves, without a map or guide, was foolish. The results were nearly catastrophic during an already incredibly stressful time in our family's life. Now this makes for a good story about boys being boys. Yet without the grace of God, a strong vine, a "convenient ledge," and a mountain rescue squad, the story would have been the heartbreaking death of my brothers during the time my dad was beginning his slow descent into incredible health troubles.
Jesus tells the story of a son who thought he knew best how to seize the gusto out of life (Luke 15:11-24). This son shames his father — telling him he is just as good as dead to him — and demands his inheritance so he can follow the path he thinks is best. Off he goes, blowing his fortune, ruining his life, and finding himself in despicable circumstances, with little hope for the future. Then this headstrong, self-willed son comes to an important realization: it's better to be a hired hand in my father's house than to be on my own and away from my father.
Jesus' point is clear. While Satan will do everything he can to make us believe what God asks of us is unfair, capricious, mean, demanding, limiting, joy killing, and ridiculous, what God asks of us is for our blessing and protection. It is better to be a servant in our Father's family than to be on our own and away from the Father.
This realization is the hardest lesson learned. Many of us have to learn it the hard way — wasting our influence, our lives, and our time on the pursuit of stuff that does not matter, or worse, contribute to our own destruction and the destruction of others.
The glorious truth about this hardest lesson learned is this: we have a Father who will take us back, bring us home, love us back to health, restore us with his grace as his beloved children, and give us important work to do for his kingdom (Ephesians 2:1-10). Our Father longs to show us that it is better to be a servant in his house than to be on our own and living it up without him. The only difference, and the powerful point of our story, is that once we come to our senses and really get this hardest lesson learned, God doesn't make us hired hands, he brings us home as his beloved children.
Category: Two Minute Meditations
Isn't it amazing how quickly we can lose our way when we are on our own and think we are following the right path for ourselves? Years ago, my father was in the Denver Asthma Clinic and my mom and brothers went to see him. After a hard week at the hospital, some friends took them to a get-away for the weekend in the flat iron mountain range. Early the next morning, my brothers went out to climb the backside of the mountains, promising to follow a well-marked trail.
As they neared the top, they followed what looked like a small foot trail leading to a great view at the top of the mountain. But as the trail crested the top of the mountain, they realized too late that the trail was really a wash where rain and snow melt drained off the mountain. They lost their footing in the loose gravel. They fell about ten feet to a ledge at near the top of the sheer flat side of the mountain, with hundreds of feet of near straight down drop below them. Hours later, they were rescued off the mountain. One brother had to go to the hospital with an awful case of "poison ivy" — the exact kind of poisonous plant is unknown to me, but it saved his life because he grabbed to keep from plunging down the sheer face of the mountain.
My brothers thought that they were on safe footing. They realized later that taking the hike by themselves, without a map or guide, was foolish. The results were nearly catastrophic during an already incredibly stressful time in our family's life. Now this makes for a good story about boys being boys. Yet without the grace of God, a strong vine, a "convenient ledge," and a mountain rescue squad, the story would have been the heartbreaking death of my brothers during the time my dad was beginning his slow descent into incredible health troubles.
Jesus tells the story of a son who thought he knew best how to seize the gusto out of life (Luke 15:11-24). This son shames his father — telling him he is just as good as dead to him — and demands his inheritance so he can follow the path he thinks is best. Off he goes, blowing his fortune, ruining his life, and finding himself in despicable circumstances, with little hope for the future. Then this headstrong, self-willed son comes to an important realization: it's better to be a hired hand in my father's house than to be on my own and away from my father.
Many of us have to learn it the hard way!
Jesus' point is clear. While Satan will do everything he can to make us believe what God asks of us is unfair, capricious, mean, demanding, limiting, joy killing, and ridiculous, what God asks of us is for our blessing and protection. It is better to be a servant in our Father's family than to be on our own and away from the Father.
This realization is the hardest lesson learned. Many of us have to learn it the hard way — wasting our influence, our lives, and our time on the pursuit of stuff that does not matter, or worse, contribute to our own destruction and the destruction of others.
The glorious truth about this hardest lesson learned is this: we have a Father who will take us back, bring us home, love us back to health, restore us with his grace as his beloved children, and give us important work to do for his kingdom (Ephesians 2:1-10). Our Father longs to show us that it is better to be a servant in his house than to be on our own and living it up without him. The only difference, and the powerful point of our story, is that once we come to our senses and really get this hardest lesson learned, God doesn't make us hired hands, he brings us home as his beloved children.
Wasted Time!
Source : http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201106/20110616_wastedtime.html
by Phil Ware on June 16, 2011
Category: Two Minute Meditations
"Doesn't anybody have to pay for what they have done?"
That's a reaction I've gotten from a few folks about the parable we call "The Prodigal Son" (Luke 15:11-32). Of course they are not talking about the whole parable, which Jesus entitles this way: "There Was a Man Who Had Two Sons" (Luke 15:11). But, what they mean is the part about the younger, rebellious, wasteful, disrespectful brother.
And they're right, aren't they. There's something wrong about a kid asking for all of his inheritance before his father dies. It's like saying, "Look dad, we've got no relationship. You're not important to me. In fact, dad, you're as good as dead to me. So I'm asking you to give me my inheritance now! Yep, you heard me. I want what's coming to me right now and I'm putting this place in my rear view mirror forever!" Then he goes off and blows everything. And only after he is broke, dejected, and pitiful does he decide he should go back to daddy.
But when that boy left, before he crashed and burned, before he wasted all his dad's money, no one would have ever expected that this snotty, selfish boy would go from a rebellious spirit to a humble relationship with his father! No one would have ever predicted that the younger brother would go from the painful insults against his daddy to his humble insights of how good his father was! And in his worst moments, slopping the pigs in the pig pen while starving to death himself, no one would have imagined him going from the pig pen to a joyous party in his honor in the mansion. No one would have hoped this possible ... except for the father.
So there is a sense in which this story is powerfully assuring and deeply moving. We see the rebellious son come to his senses (Luke 15:17), then he heads back to his father. He doesn't go back for the stuff, the money, the privilege, or the house, but he goes home for the father (Luke 15:18; Luke 15:20).
Yet there is something troubling for all of those who have tried to live with integrity and who end up having to clean up other people's messes! Come on, admit it, if you are one of those, there is a twinge of irritation. You're glad ... but also a little mad ... when younger sons come home!
"I hate the younger brother!" Thomas* said this like he was releasing great pressure from deep in his soul. "And I hate it that there are all these people that get to live it up with drugs, alcohol, and sex and then come back and be treated as something special. I haven't done any of that crap. I haven't gotten to do that stuff because I've tried to be good and when they come back they're the heroes. I hate it ... and if I am not careful, I hate them."
This spilled out of him in our men's Bible study group that had been reading through Luke. He began his diatribe with a sneer and finished with tears streaming down his cheeks. The rest of us sat there stunned ... bewildered ... and shocked.
"Oh yes you did!" Jack, an older and very frank member of our group, gruffly interrupted. "You missed a lot of hell. You missed a lot of hell I brought into my life ... and my family's life ... and into my children's lives. And I don't know if I can ever undo the messes I've made for them and in them." By now, Jack was in a soft sob. We came to this holy moment unexpectedly all because of Jesus' story he described this way, "There was a man who had two sons." And in this room of men seeking to honor Jesus and not run from their earnest and honest heart-yearnings, we had older brothers and younger brothers broken on the truth of sin and our Father's grace.
Yes, no matter how we read it, or understand it, there is a price to pay for rebellion and self-will — wasted time, bad influence on others, and the knowledge that many that rebelled will never make it back home — they got lost and stayed there in the far country.
And there is also a price to pay for hearts that covet the freedom of the rebels and yet slog away trying to please a taskmaster when they really have had a Father who wanted to invite them into his party of grace. Their bitterness of unmet expectations, their anger at not being honored as they thought they deserved, and their not getting to decide how the father parcels out his loving approval has ripped the joy out of their hearts. Meanwhile, their Father has wanted to party with them the whole time and they never realized it!
Two lost sons. One Father. A big party ... for both of them. Yet the one who stayed in closest proximity to the father never drew close to him. And when the story ends, we are not sure if he will ever hear — and if we are honest, if we will ever hear — the loving invitation of grace and come into the party.
This, my friends, is what happens when we turn our Christian faith into a religion and righteous into legalism, and a celebration into sullen and boring church services. Jesus gives this message to us — us uptight religious folks, us older brothers. Your Father has come out of the party and is searching for you to bring you home, into the celebration of his grace, and begs you to come enjoy the party.
You see, the Father wants us to realize that the party isn't just for the returning rebels, but it's also for the reluctant religious older brothers who never realized that all their Father ever wanted to do was party at their side and bring the joy of grace to their buttoned down hearts.
Whether you are in the far country a long way from God or if you are in the far country right next door to the grace of God you've never experienced, isn't it time to come home ... to the Father ... and party?
by Phil Ware on June 16, 2011
Category: Two Minute Meditations
"Doesn't anybody have to pay for what they have done?"
That's a reaction I've gotten from a few folks about the parable we call "The Prodigal Son" (Luke 15:11-32). Of course they are not talking about the whole parable, which Jesus entitles this way: "There Was a Man Who Had Two Sons" (Luke 15:11). But, what they mean is the part about the younger, rebellious, wasteful, disrespectful brother.
And they're right, aren't they. There's something wrong about a kid asking for all of his inheritance before his father dies. It's like saying, "Look dad, we've got no relationship. You're not important to me. In fact, dad, you're as good as dead to me. So I'm asking you to give me my inheritance now! Yep, you heard me. I want what's coming to me right now and I'm putting this place in my rear view mirror forever!" Then he goes off and blows everything. And only after he is broke, dejected, and pitiful does he decide he should go back to daddy.
But when that boy left, before he crashed and burned, before he wasted all his dad's money, no one would have ever expected that this snotty, selfish boy would go from a rebellious spirit to a humble relationship with his father! No one would have ever predicted that the younger brother would go from the painful insults against his daddy to his humble insights of how good his father was! And in his worst moments, slopping the pigs in the pig pen while starving to death himself, no one would have imagined him going from the pig pen to a joyous party in his honor in the mansion. No one would have hoped this possible ... except for the father.
So there is a sense in which this story is powerfully assuring and deeply moving. We see the rebellious son come to his senses (Luke 15:17), then he heads back to his father. He doesn't go back for the stuff, the money, the privilege, or the house, but he goes home for the father (Luke 15:18; Luke 15:20).
Yet there is something troubling for all of those who have tried to live with integrity and who end up having to clean up other people's messes! Come on, admit it, if you are one of those, there is a twinge of irritation. You're glad ... but also a little mad ... when younger sons come home!
"I hate the younger brother!" Thomas* said this like he was releasing great pressure from deep in his soul. "And I hate it that there are all these people that get to live it up with drugs, alcohol, and sex and then come back and be treated as something special. I haven't done any of that crap. I haven't gotten to do that stuff because I've tried to be good and when they come back they're the heroes. I hate it ... and if I am not careful, I hate them."
This spilled out of him in our men's Bible study group that had been reading through Luke. He began his diatribe with a sneer and finished with tears streaming down his cheeks. The rest of us sat there stunned ... bewildered ... and shocked.
The party is also for us!
Then Paul spoke up, his voice breaking and tears in his eyes, "Oh Thomas, I am one of those guys, and it's not so glorious. I can't rid my mind of the residue left behind by my sin. I can't shake the sadness because of the bad influence I've had on people who may never come to the Lord. I hate my past. You have been protected from the 'crap' that still swims in my soul. You didn't miss anything." "Oh yes you did!" Jack, an older and very frank member of our group, gruffly interrupted. "You missed a lot of hell. You missed a lot of hell I brought into my life ... and my family's life ... and into my children's lives. And I don't know if I can ever undo the messes I've made for them and in them." By now, Jack was in a soft sob. We came to this holy moment unexpectedly all because of Jesus' story he described this way, "There was a man who had two sons." And in this room of men seeking to honor Jesus and not run from their earnest and honest heart-yearnings, we had older brothers and younger brothers broken on the truth of sin and our Father's grace.
Yes, no matter how we read it, or understand it, there is a price to pay for rebellion and self-will — wasted time, bad influence on others, and the knowledge that many that rebelled will never make it back home — they got lost and stayed there in the far country.
And there is also a price to pay for hearts that covet the freedom of the rebels and yet slog away trying to please a taskmaster when they really have had a Father who wanted to invite them into his party of grace. Their bitterness of unmet expectations, their anger at not being honored as they thought they deserved, and their not getting to decide how the father parcels out his loving approval has ripped the joy out of their hearts. Meanwhile, their Father has wanted to party with them the whole time and they never realized it!
Two lost sons. One Father. A big party ... for both of them. Yet the one who stayed in closest proximity to the father never drew close to him. And when the story ends, we are not sure if he will ever hear — and if we are honest, if we will ever hear — the loving invitation of grace and come into the party.
This, my friends, is what happens when we turn our Christian faith into a religion and righteous into legalism, and a celebration into sullen and boring church services. Jesus gives this message to us — us uptight religious folks, us older brothers. Your Father has come out of the party and is searching for you to bring you home, into the celebration of his grace, and begs you to come enjoy the party.
You see, the Father wants us to realize that the party isn't just for the returning rebels, but it's also for the reluctant religious older brothers who never realized that all their Father ever wanted to do was party at their side and bring the joy of grace to their buttoned down hearts.
Whether you are in the far country a long way from God or if you are in the far country right next door to the grace of God you've never experienced, isn't it time to come home ... to the Father ... and party?
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