Children do help us to see life more clearly, as these stories show so well.
Heartwarming stories that put much in perspective: Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, Nothing, I just helped him cry." ******* Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different color hair than the other family members. One child suggested that he was adopted and a little girl said, "I know all about adoptions because I was adopted." "What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child. "It means," said the girl, "that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy." ************ A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, "Do you think I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl stayed silent. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there?" Again, the little girl was silent. Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in there?" "Oh, no!" the little girl replied. "Jesus is in my heart. Barney's on my underpants." ********** As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was. "We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile. "Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged." "Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet." ************ Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in my life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what Mom," he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me: "I've been chosen to clap and cheer." ************ A lesson in "heart" is my little, 10 year old daughter, Sarah, who was born with a muscle missing in her foot and wears a brace all the time. She came home one beautiful spring day to tell me she had competed in "field day" - that's where they have lots of races and other competitive events. Because of her leg support, my mind raced as I tried to think of encouragement for my Sarah, things I could say to her about not letting this get her down - but before I could get a word out, she said "Daddy, I won two of the races!" I couldn't believe it! And then Sarah said, "I had an advantage." Ah. I knew it. I thought she must have been given a head start...some kind of physical advantage. But again, before I could say anything, she said, "Daddy, I didn't get a head start... My advantage was I had to try harder!" I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. Psa 139:14 Antonio Stradivari was a seventeenth-century violin maker whose name in its Latin form, Stradivarius, has become synonymous with excellence. He once said that to make a violin less than his best would be to rob God, who could not make Antonio Stradivari's violins without Antonio. He was right. God could not make Stradivarius violins without Antonio Stradivari. Certain gifts were given to that craftsman that no other violin maker possessed. In the same vein, there are certain things you can do that no one else can. Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged. There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them. In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely. The Applause of Heaven (Max Lucado) Sometimes I feel like broken pottery thrown into a heap of broken pieces.
But this is a lie. God says; I would never discard you to the ash heap. No child of mine will be thrown away or set aside to be useless all thei day. The world may break you. Life may blow huge holes in your vessel. Circumstances will crack you, but now there are so many places where can shine through. Many will not let me shine through their broken places. They are ashamed and embarrassed by the cracks and slivers they have obtained in life. But everyone has cracks. Everyone has broken places. If you don’t have broken places, would you ever come to Me? Would I ever be able to mae you more glorious than you ever thought you could be? Or would you be sitting on a shelf thinking you are so grand? It’s the broken ones that I fix that will far outshine any lovely piece with no cracks. Now you have a choice. You can remain, a broken, unused vessel, it is your choice. Or you can come to me and let me heal you and restore all the broken places. I can, you know. Be warned though, you may not look the same when I am done with you but you will look like Me. I will fill all the broken places with Me. So not only will you be able to be used but you will be more beautiful than when you started and they will see Me! The more brokenness restored, the more they will see Me. Remember, the greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph! (Go to youtube and watch “The Butterfly Circus”) Will you be a lovely untouched vessel on a shelf? Will you be a broken, cracked vessel lying in a heap refusing to be fixed? Or will you let me touch all your broken places and restore you to a greater glory than you can ever imagine? May we let Him fix us so we may shine for Him! God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Four people—a pilot, a professor, a pastor, and a hiker—were flying in a small plane when the engines died. The pilot said, “There are only three parachutes. Since this is my plane, I’m taking one of them.” He put it on and jumped out. The professor said, “I’m brilliant and the world needs me, so I’m taking a parachute,” and he jumped out. Then the pastor told the hiker, “I don’t want to be selfish, so you take the last parachute.” The hiker replied, “There are still two left, so we can each have one. The professor jumped out with my backpack instead of the parachute!” Though the professor thought he would land safely, his assurance was based on faulty thinking. Some people have an assurance of salvation based on faulty thinking. They believe that church attendance, baptism, or just being good will gain them approval from God. But our thinking is faulty if it isn’t based on what God says in His Word. God says that “all have sinned” and that we are His enemies. But through the death and resurrection of His Son, we can be made right with God (Rom. 3:23; 5:8-10). By faith in what Christ has done, we can have peace with God (5:1) and the assurance of eternal life in heaven. Do you believe it? Your eternity is at stake. Don’t trust faulty thinking but put your faith in Christ. If we could earn our salvation, Christ would not have died to provide it. He felt sorry for them and healed those who were sick. Mat 14:14 Matthew writes that Jesus "healed their sick." Not some of their sick. Not the righteous among the sick. Not the deserving among the sick. But "the sick." Surely, among the many thousands, there were a few people unworthy of good health. The same divinity that gave Jesus the power to heal also gave him the power to perceive… I wonder if Jesus was tempted to say to the bigot, "Get out of here, buddy, and take your arrogance with you." And he could see not only their past, he could see their future. Undoubtedly, there were those in the multitude who would use their newfound health to hurt others. Jesus released tongues that would someday curse. He gave sight to eyes that would lust. He healed hands that would kill… Each time Jesus healed, he had to overlook the future and the past. Something, by the way, that he still does. In the Eye of the Storm (Max Lucado) “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”(Deuteronomy 30:19, NKJV)
Your words have creative power. With your words, you can either bless your future or curse your future. If you want to know what your life is going to be like five years from now, just listen to what you’re saying about yourself today. Too many people go around saying, “I’ll never get well. I’ll never get out of debt.” “It’s flu season. I’ll probably get it.” “This marriage is never going to last.” Then they wonder why they don’t see things turn around. It’s because they’re calling defeat into their future. They’re calling in mediocrity. Don’t let that be you! When you wake up in the morning, no matter how you feel or what things look like, instead of using your words to describe your situation, use your words to change your situation. Make a declaration of faith by saying, “This is going to be a great day. I have God’s favor. He’s directing my steps.” When you do that, you are choosing to bless your future. You are calling in favor, increase and opportunities. You are opening the door for God to move on your behalf so you can live the abundant life He has for you! Father, thank You for the blessings You have prepared for my future. I submit my ways and my words to You. Help me to speak what You speak and keep me close to You. I give You the glory in all things in Jesus’ name. Amen. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Do you like surprises? Some do, some don't. My husband, not too much. He likes a plan and knowing what comes next. When he had one of the big mile-marker birthdays, I gave him a big surprise party and that's how I found out. Several years ago I heard a message by Lloyd Ogilvie, who later became chaplain of the United States Senate. It was about a surprise party he had been given. At first, he was upset, because he viewed it as one more interruption in his plans for that day. Later, after he'd thought about it, he realized that's what life is: a series of interruptions. Kind of like God saying, "Surprise!" We make plans, God laughs. Life goes on, with our schedules being continuously interrupted. All the while, Jehovah "Surprise" has unexpected plans for us, plans for our good. So next time things don't go quite the way I'd planned and expected, perhaps if I listen I will hear God's voice whispering, "Surprise!!" "But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!'" Matthew 14:30
Life is filled with storms. It may be smooth sailing for a while, and then suddenly a storm comes. The boss informs you that you no longer have a job; your spouse files for divorce; or the doctor says those dreaded words you don’t want to hear. Jesus appeared to his disciples when they were at sea in a storm. Because He was walking on water, Peter said, "Lord, if it's You, command me to walk in the water with You." He did and Peter stepped out of the boat in faith. He was doing okay as long as he focused on Jesus. But suddenly, he thought about what he was doing and looked at the darkness of the sea. Amidst the howling winds, he was overcome with fear and began to sink. At the last moment, he cried out to Jesus to save him and Jesus did. Taking his eyes off Jesus and focusing on the dangers of the storm overwhelmed Peter. But God is bigger than any storm. Focus on Him in faith and He'll give you the strength to get through the storms of life victoriously. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24
Don't think you are separated from God, he at the top end of a great ladder, you at the other. Dismiss any thought that God is on Venus while you are on earth. Since God is Spirit (John 4:23 ), he is next to you: God himself is our roof. God himself is our wall. And God himself is our foundation. Moses knew this. "LORD," he prayed, "you have been our home since the beginning" (Ps. 90:l). What a powerful thought: God as your home. Your home is the place where you can kick off your shoes and eat pickles and crackers and not worry about what people think when they see you in your bathrobe. Your home is familiar to you. No one has to tell you how to locate your bedroom… God can be equally familiar to you. With time you can learn where to go for nourishment, where to hide for protection, where to turn for guidance. Just as your earthly house is a place of refuge, so God's house is a place of peace. God's house has never been plundered, his walls have never been breached. The Great House of God (Max Lucado) Matthew 5:14
'You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill.' - You and I were designed to shine with His light in the world. - As His children we can take light and hope into our world. - We must not hide our light, but instead we must shine. - So shine, shine and keep on shining. PRAYER: Lord, help me in all I do and say to be a worthy ambassador for You and may I be the light in my situation that You have intended me to be. Amen. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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