You are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3:3
Have you ever thought about the idea that our lives tell a story? In every situation—good, bad, or indifferent—people around us are watching and listening to the story we are telling. Our story is communicated not only through our words but also through our attitudes and actions as we respond to life. Our children and grand-children, spouses, neighbours, and co-workers can all observe the story we’re telling. Paul reminds us that as followers of Jesus, our lives are like letters “known and read by all men; . . . an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor. 3:2-3). What is the story that those around us are reading through the letter of our lives? Stories of forgiveness? Compassion? Generosity? Patience? Love? Let your life tell the story of Christ’s love and mercy to the world around you. "The need of expansion is as genuine an instinct in man as the need in a plant for the light, or the need in man himself for going upright. The love of liberty is simply the instinct in man for expansion." ~ Matthew Arnold
"You can do little about the length of your life, but you can do much about its width and depth." ~ H.L. Mencken "If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness." ~ Les Brown "People who exercise their freedom day after day, little by little, expand that freedom. People who do not will find that it withers until they are literally 'being lived.' [That is, until] they are acting out scripts written by parents, associates and society." ~ Stephen Covey If money guaranteed happiness, wouldn't the rich be happier than everybody else? Studies show that often they're not. Happy people don't follow money, they follow their God-given passion. In 'What Happy People Know', Dr. Dan Baker writes: 'The man in front of me seemed to have it all: money, freedom, friends and family. But he didn't have the one thing he wanted most - happiness. His home life would horrify most people - alienated kids, a wife who resented his obsession with work, no time to kick back.' What was this man's biggest concern? Keeping what he had! Maybe you're reading this, thinking, 'Yeah, but that doesn't apply to me. In his situation I know I could be happy!' No, money can't buy happiness; regardless of how much you have, it's never enough. Fear will always whisper, 'Unless you get more you won't be secure.' So what's the secret of happiness? Paul writes: 'For I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength' (vv. 11-13 NLT). When you pursue God's purpose for your life, money is secondary. Your real status symbols are salvation, spiritual growth, a secure home, special friends, and the satisfaction of doing what God called you to do. Watchman Nee said, 'I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord, and has not been satisfied himself.'
Soul food: Jas 3-5; Mt 10:1-10; Ps 96; Prov. 3:5-6 Matthew 13:22
'The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.' - There are two things that ruin our lives. 1. The worries of life. 2. The love of money. - Be fruitful in life by staying away from these aspects. PRAYER: Lord, I desire that my life would be fruitful and productive. Help me not to be side-tracked by things that would hinder or block this from being a reality. Amen. Die storie oor die kraaie wat vir Elia kos gebring het, leer ons dat God vir ons kan voorsien in 'n slegte ekonomie (1 Konings 17:1-7). Die storie van Josef leer ons dat as ons God se plan volg, ons alles sal hê wat ons nodig het om ons deur die moeilike tye te laat kom (Genesis 41:37-57). Een van die gevare daarvan om in 'n materialistiese samelewing te bly, is dat jy geregtig daarop voel om sekere goed te hê, selfs al kan jy dit nie bekostig nie. As jy angstig is oor jou finansies, moet jy jouself op hierdie gebied dissiplineer. God seën nie onverskilligheid nie. Die aanbieder van 'n gewilde radioprogram in Amerika begin elke program met die woorde: "Spandeer minder, spaar meer, en moenie ingedoen word nie." Hy praat oor banke wat buitensporige rentekoerse op kredietkaarte hef en moedig mense aan om binne hul inkomste te lewe. "Maar ek is gewoond aan my lewenstyl," sê jy. Dis tyd om minder gewoond te raak daaraan. As jy gemoedsrus wil hê, moet jy die kuns van tevredenheid aanleer. Beteken tevredenheid dat jy nie ambisie kan hê nie? Nee, dit beteken dat jy die bevrediging van jou begeertes uitstel en dat jy die plek geniet waar jy nou is, terwyl jy op pad is na waar jy wil wees. Dit beteken dat jy leer om volgens hierdie woorde te lewe: "Ek weet wat dit is om boomskraap te lewe, en ek weet wat dit is om oorvloed te hê... Ek kan alles doen deur Hom wat my krag gee." (Filippense 4:11-13 NLV).
Sielskos: Num. 1-2; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 100; Spr. 3:7-8 Start with GOD—the first step in learning is bowing down to GOD; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning. Proverbs 1:7 (MSG)
Have you noticed that the moment you establish a goal in your life, you start hearing people say, “Who do you think you are?” or “It can't be done” or “Forget about it”? The antidote to the voices of doubt is to instead listen to the voice of God. Just imagine all the critics that were in Noah's life. “That guy, Noah, thinks God speaks to him, but he's just messing up all of our property values by building that ark in his front yard.” The Bible tells us that Noah listened to God. And what did he hear? He heard God's warning that the world was going to be destroyed. He heard what he had not yet seen. That's what faith is — being certain of something we don't see. So Noah didn't turn back on the vision God had given him. Instead, he built the ark. A young woman wrote to me, “My boyfriend and I split up. I applied for a job and was rejected. Is God even listening to me?
You need to know that God knows more about life than we do! And, yes, He’s listening! One day, my then six-year old said she wanted me leave the ministry. “I just really wish you sold snow cones!” An honest request from an honest heart. To her the happiest people in the world were the guys who drove the snow-cone trucks. I heard her request, but I didn’t heed it. Why? Because I know more about life than she did. Same with God. God hears our requests. But His answer isn’t always what we’d like it to be. Because He knows more about life than we do? Don’t panic. Don’t bail out. Talk to your heavenly Father. He’s still in control! “Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.” Philippians 4:6-7 Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:
1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?”Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big? 2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel. “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.”Lao Tzu 3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life. 4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that. “The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle 5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly! “A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind”Elly Roselle 6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking. 7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all. 8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly. 9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it. “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell 10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer 11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place. “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt 12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real. 13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now. 14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words. 15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path. There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah. Brother Christianson taught at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over. One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?" Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do." Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?" Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson. "Well, I can try," said Steve. "Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," BrotherChristianson said. Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it." Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday." Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend. Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?" Cynthia said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk. Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?" Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Jenny said, "No." Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut. By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Bo. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?" Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want." And Bro. Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come." Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him." Steve said, "Yes, let him come in." Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?" "Yes." "Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut? Linda said, very sadly, "No thank you." Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson, can I help him?" Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten." Have a Blessed Day eating your donut! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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