Vision, passion, discipline and risk—these are the marks of a noble fellowship assembled by the Son of God down through the ages; men and women called out of mediocrity into magnificence; followers of Jesus from each generation who have left their world better than they found it. They each heard God's voice and followed Him with trusting hearts—marked by vision, passion, discipline and risk. And now it's your turn.
The Lord longs for you to answer the call on your life and be a part of this timeless Team. And in your heart you know it's what you want to do more than anything else in the world! I pray, in the words of Paul, that God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness in your life, and bring to pass with His power each and every work of faith you perform for His honour! ~ Joel Osteen “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets”
(1 Corinthians 2:9–10, NLT) Who in your life do you share your deepest secrets with? Most people only share their inner thoughts with those who are closest to them; people they trust or people they’ve gone through experiences with. Do you know who God shares His secrets with? The people who are closest to Him. God wants to share His deepest secrets with you. He wants you to know what He thinks about you. He wants you to know about the plans He has for you. He wants to show you things you’ve never seen, heard about or even imagined. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, not only are you His child, but you are also His friend. You are His closest companion. He wants to walk with you, talk with you and share with you. This passage goes on to say, “Who can know a man’s thoughts except his own spirit?” As believers, God’s Spirit lives inside of us, revealing to us His very own heart. What a wonderful, amazing thought — we can know God’s thoughts because we are one with Him. Open your heart and allow Him to share His deep secrets with you today! PRAYER Father in heaven, I am so humbled that You call me friend. I am honored to be connected with You and invite You to share Your heart with me. I surrender all that I am to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. In the same way, since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in them so that you can help the church grow
1 CORINTHIANS 14 : 12 DO YOU HAVE A FOCUSED GOAL FOR YOUR LIFE ? Ambitions .. Dreams .. Goals .. Each one of us should have at least one dream or one goal that stirs up deep passion and deep commitment in our lives .. Each One Of Us Should Have .. but sadly enough there are still too many of us that are walking around aimlessly .. without any real purpose or direction .. because we have not yet focused our hearts and minds on a specific goal. Without a focused goal in your life .. you will discover that you are capable of doing lots and lots of things .. however you do them randomly, unsystematically and inconsistently .. you do not put your very best efforts into the same old, same old everyday stuff. If only we would wake up and realize how forceful and powerful each one of us could be .. if only we would focus .. put in the time .. put in the effort .. and put in the commitment towards a specific goal. MASTERFUL = To be an expert .. To demonstrate exceptional skills and ability. MEDIOCRE = Adequate or Acceptable .. but not good enough. So what kind of person are you .. Mediocre or Masterful ? .. Do you know that the difference between being "masterful" and "mediocre" is very often just a focused effort. You must however look at the above very carefully because the interpretation and understanding of the words masterful and mediocre will be different for each one of us .. for example being mediocre is often seen as masterful to a person who has limited resources, abilities, gifts and talents .. Confusing .. yes it does all sound a little confusing .. but if you break it down, this is what the above statement is actually telling you .. True success is dependent on and connected to your personal abilities. What might seem to be an awesome, fabulous, miraculous event for one person .. could be of absolutely no value or importance to another person. So basically what you need to really, really learn and understand is this .. when you set yourself goals for your life .. you are always allowed to dream big .. but you must also remember that you should remain realistic, sensible, and true to yourself. So goals should be set according to your personal ability to develop and grow your talents .. as well as the speed and quickness with which you are confident that you can bring about the desired results. So are you totally satisfied that you have fully grown and developed your gifts and talents ? .. How many of us can stand proudly and with one-hundred percent confidence answer that question with a yes ? If we are totally open and honest .. each and everyone of us can afford to do a little bit extra to become a little bit better !! You need to get your fires of commitment burning again .. you have to get your passion back .. the passion to become all that God your Father intended and predestined you to be .. you need to make this commitment not only for God .. but also for your families .. as well as for yourself. IT IS HIGH TIME THAT WE ROLLED UP OUR SLEEVES AND GOT BACK TO WORK !! Keep this in mind .. Effort is the bridge between mediocrity and masterful accomplishments. God did not do half a job when it came to you .. so don't you ever settle for just giving Him a second rate effort in return. WHAT YOU ARE IS GOD'S GIFT TO YOU .. WHAT YOU BECOME IS YOUR GIFT TO GOD As “new creatures” in Christ, we are to “put off” anything and everything that is a part of our old, corrupt flesh – sinful habits, wrong attitudes, impure motives, and so on. But it’s not enough just to “put off” the old life. In its place, by God’s grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit, we must actively “put on the new self” – those qualities of the life of Christ within us. (Ephesians 4:22 - 24). (Taken from: Seeking Him by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom). Father, thank You for the grace to ‘put on’ love, edifying speech, kindness, praise, trust, humility, faith, and discipline. Thank you for delivering us from the old and covering us with the new. We are now a new creation in Jesus Christ.
Give all your wories to Him because He cares for you. 1 Pet 5:7 Worry makes us forget Who is in charge . Do not get anxious give it to God.
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its Dedicated staff, he offered a question:
'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfecting. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?' The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.' Then he told the following story: Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps. I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..' Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay' Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ' Run to third! Shay, run to third !' As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'. Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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