If you feel the need to get even, try getting even with those that have helped you.
We seem to live not only in time but also in eternity. If we abide with Gold and God abides with us, we may bring forth spiritual fruit which can last for eternity. If we live with God, our lives can flow as some calm river through the dry land of earth. It can cause the trees and flowers of the spiritual life - love and service - to spring forth and yield abundantly. Spiritual work may be done for eternity, not just for now. Even here on earth we can live as though our real lives were eternal.
I pray that I may try to make my life like cool river in a thirsty land. I pray that I may give freely to all who ask my help.
My Lord and God,
It's so easy to get caught up in the rush of our daily lives,
dead lines to meet, phone calls, work, house...
All the time you are waiting...
waiting for us to stop and realise your daily presence with us.
Help us Lord to imitate Your love for one another,
to lend someone a helping hand,
a smile,
a kind word.
Through our actions and our words,
may our relationship grow with you day by day,
hour by hour.
Help us to have you constantly on our minds and always in our hearts.
Amen
- - -
Take time to THINK, it is the source of power.
Take time to PLAY, it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to READ, it is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to PRAY, it is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to LOVE and be LOVED, it is a God-given privilege.
Take time to be FRIENDLY, it is the road to happiness
Take time to LAUGH, it is the music of the soul.
Take time to GIVE, it is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to WORK, it is the price of success.
Take time to do CHARITY, it is the key to Heaven.
A Bird Feeder?
A blue jay, by nature, is a glutton. A magnificent bird yes, but a glutton.
He can clean out a bird feeder in the time it takes for a sparrow to return thanks.
He swoops into a feeder, gobbles up everything and squawks for more. Such an irritable
disposition at mealtime would in itself be sufficient reason for ulcers, but the blue jay
who dominates my bird feeder has even further reason to be aggravated.
My tomcat keeps him under constant surveillance. Every time wings flutter on
the horizon Sir. Purrcival Van mouser comes stiffly to attention. Should the blue jay
catch him at ease his reaction is immediate and swift an enormous leap, a wild gallop down the
hall and Purrcival is at his post. I fear one day his breaks may fail, and he will
crash through the window. At present, however, he displays magnificent restraint, for which
the blue jay should be thankful. But instead, the jay is indignant that a tomcat has the
audacity to peer at him through the glass while he's eating.
And yet for all his faults of gluttony, ingratitude, and irritability ( or
perhaps because of them) I can identify with that blue jay. Flying hither and thither in the course
of the day's work, I can swoop into Scripture and skim a whole chapter in the time it takes for a
scholar to collect his thoughts. Such a superficial approach toward the Word reveals an ungrateful
attitude that can in itself be a serious hindrance to in-depth Bible study. But even more
frightening is the thought that while I hastily gobble up snatches of Scripture here, there
and everywhere, my adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to
devour, (1 Peter 5:8).
The more brilliant my spiritual "plumage," the greater his efforts to thwart my digestion of the Scripture.
What the blue jay and I must both learn is that the presence of the enemy
does not mean he will prevail. The tomcat may lick his chops in anticipation of a blue jay
brisket, but he is helpless to inflict any harm because the bird feeder is beyond his reach.
So long as the blue jay exercise diligence and care, he receives both protection and nourishment.
In my case, the see is the Word of God, and while Satan may lie in wait to
catch me, claw at my inconsistencies, or pounce on my mistakes, his threatening demeanor is but
futile threats so long as I prayerfully appropriate scriptural truths on a daily basis.
Contrary to what Satan may expect, the close scrutiny of his evil eye simply promotes a more careful
walk, encourages a more disciplined life-style and calls me to complete reliance upon God.
Engrossed in His Word, I am both fortified and fed.
Light: "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand
in the path of sinners, not sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates day and night." (Psalms 1:1-2).
Reflection: Despite the presence of evil around us, we should still be
determined to feed on God's Word!
THE WATER
Author Unknown
It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in
almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The
creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season
that would bankrupt several farmers before it was through. Every day, my
husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of trying to get
water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking a truck to the
local water rendering plant and filling it up with water. But severe
rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn't see some rain soon...we would
lose everything. It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of
sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have seen with my own eyes. I was
in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my
six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn't walking with
the usual carefree abandon of a youth but with a serious purpose. I could
only see his back. He was obviously walking with a great effort...trying to
be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he
came running out again, toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches;
thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later,
however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful stride toward the
woods.
This activity went on for an hour: walk carefully to the woods, run back to
the house. Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I crept out of the
house and followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be
seen...as he was obviously doing important work and didn't need his Mommy
checking up on him). He was cupping both hands in front of him as he
walked; being very careful not to spill the water he held in them...maybe
two or three tablespoons were held in his tiny hands. I sneaked close as he
went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did
not try to avoid them. He had a much higher purpose. As I leaned in to spy
on him, I saw the most amazing site. Several large deer loomed in front of
him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away.
A huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did
not threaten him...he didn't even move as Billy knelt down. And I saw a
tiny fawn laying on the ground, obviously suffering from dehydration and
heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped
in my beautiful boy's hand.
When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I hid
behind a tree. I followed him back to the house; to a spigot that we had
shut off the water to. Billy opened it all the way up and a small trickle
began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drip, drip slowly fill up
his makeshift "cup," as the sun beat down on his little back. And it came
clear to me. The trouble he had gotten into for playing with the hose the
week before. The lecture he had received about the importance of not
wasting water. The reason he didn't ask me to help him.
It took almost twenty minutes for the drops to fill his hands. When he
stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him. His little
eyes just filled with tears. "I'm not wasting," was all he said. As he
began his walk, I joined him...with a small pot of water from the kitchen.
I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his job. I stood on the
edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I have ever known
working so hard to save another life. As the tears that rolled down my face
began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops...and more
drops...and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, himself, was
weeping with pride. Some will probably say that this was all just a huge
coincidence. That miracles don't really exist. That it was bound to rain
sometime. And I can't argue with that...I'm not going to try. All I can
say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm...just like that
actions of one little boy saved another.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
-- Author Unknown
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after
having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a
friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know the son continued, he was hurt
pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an
arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live
with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to
live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone
with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own
lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our
lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy.
He'll find a way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing
more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from
the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a
building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The
grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the
city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him,
but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know,
their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love
those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like
people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would
rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or
smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that
way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us
into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little
prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people
as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are
different from us!!
October 29 - Jesus Calling
Linger in My Presence a while.Rein in your impulses to plunge into the day’s activities. Beginning your day alone with Me is essential preparation for success. A great athlete takes time to prepare himself mentally for the feat ahead of him before he moves a muscle. Similarly, your time of being still in My Presence equips you for the day ahead of you. Only I know what will happen to you this day. I have arranged the events you will encounter as you go along your way. If you are not adequately equipped for the journey, you will grow weary and lose heart. Relax with Me while I ready you for action.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. —Ephesians 2:10
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. —Hebrews 12:3
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