Posted on 03/01/2013 7:30:59 AM PST by JustAmy
Life is a lot like bumper cars at an amusement park. You get in your car, knowing that you will get hit . . . you just dont know how hard. And when you get hit, you step on the gas pedal, chase the one who has hit you, and hope to bump that person harder than they have bumped you.
That may be a fun strategy for bumper cars, but its a terrible strategy for life. When you get bumped in life, bumping back only escalates matters and in the end everyone suffers damage.
Jesus had a better strategy: Forgive those who have bumped us. Like Peter, we may wonder how many times we have to forgive. When Peter asked Jesus, Up to seven times? Jesus answered Up to seventy times seven (Matt. 18:21-22). In other words, there are no limits to grace. We should always extend a spirit of forgiveness. Why? In the story of the forgiving master, Jesus explained that we forgive not because our offenders deserve it but because weve been forgiven. He says, I forgave you . . . because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? (vv.32-33).
Since we are among those whove been forgiven much, lets stop the damage and share that blessing with others.
Read: Matthew 18:23-35
When butterflies hatch at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they do so in an indoor tropical paradise perfectly suited to meet their every need. The temperature is perfect. The humidity is perfect. The food is a perfect balance of calories and nutrition to keep them healthy. No need to go elsewhere. Yet some butterflies see the bright blue sky outside the conservatory and spend their days fluttering near the glass ceiling far away from the plentiful food supply.
I want to say to those butterflies, Dont you know everything you need is inside? The outside is cold and harsh, and you will die within minutes if you get what you are longing to have.
I wonder if that is the message God has for me. So I ask myself, Do I look longingly at things that would harm me? Do I use my energy to gain what I dont need and shouldnt have? Do I ignore Gods plentiful provision because I imagine that something just beyond my reach is better? Do I spend my time on the fringes of faith?
God supplies all our needs from His riches (Phil. 4:19). So instead of striving for what we dont have, may we open our hearts to gratefully receive everything weve already been given by Him.
Read: Philippians 4:10-20
In 2002 the Oakland Athletics built a winning baseball team in an unorthodox way. They had lost three top players after 2001, and the team didnt have money to sign any stars. So Oaklands general manager, Billy Beane, used some often-neglected statistics to assemble a group of lesser-known players either past their prime or seen by other teams as not skilled enough. That ragtag team ran off a 20-game winning streak on the way to winning their division and 103 games.
This reminds me a little of the way Jesus put together His team of disciples. He included rough Galilean fishermen, a zealot, and even a despised tax collector named Levi (Matthew). This reminds me that God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty (1 Cor. 1:27). God used those dedicated men (minus Judas) to ignite a movement that affected the world so dramatically it has never been the same.
Theres a lesson here for us. Sometimes we seek out the familiar, the influential, and the rich. And we tend to ignore people with less status or those with physical limitations.
Jesus put some of societys less desirable people on His teamtreating everyone the same. With the Spirits power and guidance, we too can honor all people equally.
Read: Luke 5:27-35
God created the butterfly with instincts. Naturally they migrate to warmer climates in the fall. We may close them inside and interfere with their natural instincts to migrate.
We trust God and are to be content where ever we find our self. Change what in our circumstances will be good to change and tell our brethren about God. Be true to God.
There is a work or lesson in all things. Even suffering. Repent and turn to God and away from evil, in Jesus name. Amen.
I met my friend Angie for lunch after having not seen her for several months. At the end of our time together, she pulled out a piece of paper with notes from our previous get-together. It was a list of my prayer requests she had been praying for since then. She went through each one and asked if God had answered yet or if there were any updates. And then we talked about her prayer requests. How encouraging to have a praying friend!
The apostle Paul had a praying relationship with the churches he served, including the one at Thessalonica. He thanked God for the faith, love, and hope of the people (1 Thess. 1:2-3). He longed to see them, and asked God night and day that he might be able to visit them again (3:10-11). He requested that the Lord would help them increase and abound in love to one another and to all (v.12). He also prayed that their hearts would be blameless before God (v.13). They must have been encouraged as they read about Pauls concern and prayers for them. Paul knew too his own need for Gods presence and power and pleaded, Brethren, pray for us (5:25).
Loving Father, thank You for wanting us to talk with You. Teach us all to be praying friends.
Read: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Awwwww...So Sweeeeett!
I’m sure you have had that same experience with Linda! :)
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Have a blessed Lord’s day, hubby forgot to set the clocks forward last night....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kace3TBloZo
At Calvary
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Indeed I do!
She missed “Daylight Saving Time” this morning. We BOTH overslept! LOL!
When I was pastoring a small church, we faced a huge crisis. Unless we could complete the extensive renovations necessary to bring our building up to the proper safety codes, we would lose our place of worship. A desperate time of fundraising ensued to pay for those renovations; but of all the money given, one gift captured our leaderships attention.
An elderly woman in the church donated several hundred dollars to the projectmoney we knew she could not spare. We thanked her for her gift but wanted to return it, feeling that her needs were greater than the churchs. However, she refused to take the money back. She had been saving for years in order to buy a stove and was cooking on a hot plate in the meantime. Yet she insisted that she needed a place to worship with her church family more than she needed a stove. We were astounded by her extravagant gift.
When our Lord observed a widow putting two mites (the smallest of coins) into the temple offerings, He praised her for her extravagance (Luke 21:3-4). Why? Not because of how much she gave, but because she gave all she had. Its the kind of gift that not only honors our God, but also reminds us of the most extravagant of gifts to usChrist.
Read: Luke 21:1-4
prayers up
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