Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled. Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight. Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge. You cannot unsay a cruel word. Every path has a few puddles. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. The best sermons are lived, not preached. Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway. Don’t judge folks by their relatives. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. Live a good, honorable life… Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time. Don ‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’. Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got. The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’. Always drink upstream from the herd. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in. If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you. Most times, it just gets down to common sense. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. All over the world, Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Occurring usually in the month of September, this feast is celebrated with the blowing of trumpets—the shofar or ram’s horn. That is why it is also called the Feast of Trumpets. The Jews observe seven feasts: The Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. The first four have been fulfilled literally by Jesus. He was the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), the bread of life (John 6:35) and the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20) And when Pentecost had fully come after His ascension, He sent us the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1–4) So the next feast that we are waiting for Jesus to fulfill literally is the Feast of Trumpets. Why is this feast significant to us? Because when Jesus fulfills it, it means that we are going up to meet Him in the clouds! I am talking about the rapture of the church. When the trumpet sounds, “in the twinkling of an eye”, we who are alive will be changed. We will put on new bodies that will be like Jesus’! Those who are dead in Christ will rise and also receive new bodies. They will go up first followed by us who are alive, and we will all meet the Lord in the air. (1 Corinthians 15:51–55) This means that there is a possibility that you might not see death! The Bible says, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) It is one thing to happen to be alive, but quite another to remain alive. I believe that there is a generation of Christians who know the resurrection power of the Lord. They know how to walk in their inheritance and put off sickness and death until the coming of the Lord. My friend, may you be counted as one of them as you take the Lord Jesus and His finished work as your victory over sickness and death! “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19:5)
Many of us are bad at remembering names; yet it is one of the greatest things we can say to someone is his or her name. whether famous or obscure, it builds ties with people when we remember and use their names. How wonderful that God knows our names. Have you ever noticed in the Bible (I hope you are reading your Bible), how often Jesus called people by their names: “Martha, Martha…go and tell John…blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah…Lazarus, come forth…” He knows your name, it’s written on His heart, and He loves you today. Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You that you love me even at times when I feel alone and rejected. I thank You that You are always willing to listen to my cry because You love me. In the book of Psalm 23 I read that you prepare a table in the face of my enemies; I rejoice for that in the Name of Your Son Jesus…Amen HEBREWS 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
If you are facing a challenge right now, I want you to know that you have a standing invitation from your heavenly Father to come boldly to the throne of grace to “obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. The phrase “help in time of need” means that you get healing when you are sick, provisions when you are in lack, restoration when your relationship with a loved one breaks down, and favor when news of job cuts or bad prospects are rife. “Pastor Prince, how can I come boldly when I have been a lousy Christian?” You can come boldly because you come to God by the blood of Jesus Christ and not by how you have lived your life. So whenever you come into God’s presence, you don’t have to be afraid that your sins will be exposed because the blood of Jesus has removed every one of them. God does not see even one speck of sin in you because He sees only the blood of His Son, which has been shed for your total forgiveness and acceptance. My friend, when you have failed and need mercy, God’s Word assures you that you will find mercy when you come boldly to God. Mercy means that you don’t get the bad things you deserve, such as condemnation, poverty, failure, loss and even death. And mercy is not the only thing that you will obtain when you come boldly to God. You will also find grace. Grace means that you get the good things that you don’t deserve, such as health, protection, anointing, favor, good success and life more abundant. So come boldly to the One who loves you passionately, unconditionally and with an undying love. Come boldly to Him who knows everything about your situation and has the solution. He has wisdom far beyond that doctor you highly respect, that lawyer you greatly honor and the best experts you can consult. Beloved, come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace to help in your time of need! I like the conversation Bob Benson recounts in his book, See You at the House, about his friend who’d had a heart attack. For a while it seemed his friend wouldn’t make it. But he recovered.
Months later Bob asked him, “How did you like your heart attack?” “It scared me to death, almost.” “Would you do it again?” “No!” “Would you recommend it?” Bob asked. “Definitely not.” Then Bob asked him, “Does your life mean more to you now than it did before?” “Well, yes.” “You and your wife always had a beautiful marriage, but are you closer now than ever?” “Yes.” “Do you have a new compassion for people—a deeper understanding and sympathy?” “Yes, I do.” “Do you know the Lord in a richer fellowship than you’d ever realized?” “Yes.” Then Bob said, “So, how’d you like your heart attack?” Deuteronomy 11:2 reminds us to remember what you’ve learned about the Lord through your experience with Him. Do that, my friend, and your mess will become your message! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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