Many stories are told of Paul Gerhardt whose hymns are still sung in Germany. John Wesley translated some of them into English.
Gerhardt's family was very poor. He was the shepherd boy who cared for the small flock of sheep and goats on the edge of the forest. One day a hunter came out from among the trees and asked the lad how far it was to the nearest village. "Six miles, sire," he replied, "but the road is only a sheep track and can easily be missed." "I have lost my way, and I am very tired," returned the hunter. "Leave your sheep and show me the way. I will pay you well." "No, sire," said Gerhardt. "I cannot do that for they would stray into the forest and be stolen or eaten by the wolves." "Never mind; your master would never miss one or two, and I would pay you more than the price of one or two sheep. "But sire, my master trusts me with these sheep, and I have promised not to leave them." "Well," said the hunter, "let me take care of the sheep while you fetch me food from the village and a guide." "The sheep do not know your voice and would not obey you, sir." "Can you not trust me? Do I not look like an honest man?" asked the hunter with a frown. "Sir," said the boy slowly, "You tried to make me false to my trust, and break my word to my master. How do I know that you will keep your word to me?" The hunter could not help laughing. "I see you are an honest lad, and I will not forget you," said the hunter. "Which is the path? I must find my way for myself." But Gerhardt would not let the man depart hungry, so he gave him the humble contents of his scrip. Just at that moment several men came hurrying through the forest uttering shouts of delight as they caught sight of the two of them. Gerhardt had been talking to the Grand Duke, and these were his attendants who had been much alarmed at his disappearance. This was the beginning of Gerhardt's future career of honor and success. Pleased with the lad's honesty, the Duke had him well educated and thus gave him a good state in life. Yes, God wants us to be honest in His sight, and to our fellowman. You will find throughout your life that it pays to be honest. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Matthew 21:22
This statement of faith cannot be argued away: every prayer of faith will be answered by God. It is very important to learn to apply the Word of God when you pray, because the Word is spirit and life. God’s Word is the truth and will never fail. God watches over His Word to ensure that His promises come to pass. When you pray according to the Word of God, your prayers are in line with the will of God. However, you must be careful not to claim the promises in the Bible without taking notice of the conditions that often accompany those promises. It is no use asking God to fulfill a promise if you are not prepared to obey the conditions that go with it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. By spending time with the Word daily, your faith will be built up and you will be encouraged. Study and learn to pray according to the Word. Take a portion of Scripture and make it your own. Assume that God is speaking directly to you as one of His children. Pray over every phrase, preferably out loud, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to absorb the Scripture verses and let them make a difference in your life. You will be amazed at how words you have read so often before will suddenly come to life in your spirit. The Word of God will become a personal revelation to you because you believe! Then the Word and the Holy Spirit will be able to work together and your prayer life will take a new and exciting dimension. “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2
If the pursuit of happiness is your primary goal, you'll never find it. Happiness is a by-product of being in God's will, and making the most of your gifts and talents. The pursuit of happiness is a selfish thing, and selfishness never leads to happiness. Instead: * Get to know God personally and begin to do His will. * Live in a right relationship with Him and your fellow man. Develop the gifts and abilities He's given you for His glory and for service to your fellow man. In the process, you may discover happiness. But pursuing happiness, well, you'll never find it that way. Pursue God in Christ, and happiness results. “... because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you.” 2Co 9:14, NIV
King David wrote, "The entrance of Your words give light; it gives understanding to the simple" (Psalm 119:130). I like the way Eugene Peterson puts this in The Message, "Every word You give me is a miracle word— how could I help but obey? Break open Your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.” Elsewhere the Bible says, "This man, Daniel, distinguished himself among the other officials and rulers because there was an extraordinary spirit in him" (Daniel 6:3). God is in the business of making ordinary people into extraordinary individuals. He does it through the transforming power of His Word, and by the extraordinary grace He gives to each one of us. This is what He wants to do with you. "Follow Me," Jesus said to Simon Peter, "and I will make you a fisher of men." Peter did so and stepped into history. We may do the same today. While you may not regard yourself as an extraordinary individual, you can nevertheless witness many extraordinary things in your life as you seek to faithfully follow Jesus, our extraordinary Savior. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul" (Acts 19:11), whose to say He can't do the same through you? And, besides, why not wait until it's all said and done before you sell yourself short. You may very well be much more extraordinary than you think...because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you. Ephesians 5:4 ‘Remind each other of God’s goodness, and be thankful.’ We need to encourage each other to be thankful. How do we do this? We can do this as we remind each other of how good God has been and as we remind each other of His goodness for the future. God has been good in so many ways. Sometimes when we become consumed with the worries and cares of life we forget just how good God has been. Even with this very thought that you are reading, I am endeavoring to remind you of God’s goodness. In the same way we should remind one another to be thankful. The scripture says; ‘and be thankful’. It sounds pretty decisive to me. Perhaps that because it includes a quality decision that we will be thankful. This also speaks of a lifestyle of thankfulness towards God for His goodness and loving kindness towards us. As I read this verse I see a determination that needs to be in our hearts. We need to be determinedly thankful. We must settle it in our hearts that we will be thankful people no matter what everyone else is talking about. Begin to speak out your thankfulness towards God. Thank Him for His faithfulness, Thank Him for His enduring love for us. Thank Him for the answers to prayer and thank Him for those things that you are still trusting and believing Him for. This is only the beginning of your lifestyle of thankfulness. Each day we can be thankful and remind each other to be thankful. PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness towards me. I love You! Amen. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2
Every day we are bombarded with news of conflicts, natural disasters, diseases etc... We also hear of people losing their loved ones in freak accidents. And we ask ourselves, Is there a place where I can take refuge from a world gone mad?” Yes, there is! God foresaw all these things and He has promised in His Word protection from every evil known to man. There is no trap set by the devil that our Father cannot deliver us from, if we trust in Him and take Him as our refuge – that is His promise in Psalm 91. Whether it is an earthquake at midnight, an unknown virus or a terror attack, God says, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste by noonday.” (Psalm 91:5-6) Because you have made Him your dwelling place, angels are watching over you right now. (Psalm 91:9-11) They give heed to the voice of God’s Word, so you should give voice to God’s Word. This means that you should agree with and speak what God’s Word says about preserving and protecting you. Then, angels are send to minister for you. (Hebrews 1:14) Don’t say, “If it can happen to them, it can also happen to me!” Say, “A thousand may fall at my side, and 10 000 at my right hand, but it will not come near me!” (Psalm 91:7) The world says that you cannot but accept danger all around. God says, “You are in this world, but not of this world. You have My protection because you are of Me and in Me.” (John 17:14-23) You have access by faith into the secret place of the Most High where no evil can touch you. There is no need to fear living in the end times because the Lord is your refuge and fortress. His Word says so. And those who trust His Word completely find His Word true! Peace is not the absence of trouble, it is the presence of God
You are strong... when you take your grief and teach it to smile. You are brave... when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same. You are happy... when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing. You love... when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others. You are wise... when you know the limits of your wisdom. You are true... when you admit there are times you fool yourself. You are alive... when tomorrows hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake. You are growing... when you know that you are but not what you are becoming. You are free... when you are in control of yourself but do not wish to control others. You are honourable... when you find your honour is to honour others. You are humble... when you do not know how humble you are. You are beautiful... when you don't need a mirror to tell you. You are rich... when you never need more than you have. You are you... when you are at peace with who you are not. YOU must have a great day, Thank you for being an inspiration to me A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows.
An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me, he said. 'No, who are you?" said the father. The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up," ! "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head." ”I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me, "Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest." "Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. "Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now." "So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though if my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm." The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon. Did he die in peace?" he asked. Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me how much he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?" The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that." Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. I asked God for water, He gave me an ocean. I asked God for a flower, He gave me a garden. I asked God for a friend, He gave me all of YOU... If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments! , seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God. One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.
He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score good grades. The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school ?" the youth answered "None." The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees ?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees." The director asked, "Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner." The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect. The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before ?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me." The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning." The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid. The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water. This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes every day to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future. After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother. That night, mother and son talked for a very long time. Next morning, the youth went to the director's office. The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?" The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes."The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings." The youth said,
I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired. Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously. Lessons to be Learnt: A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead? You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done. Matt. 18:4-5 "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Johnny's Mother looked out the window and noticed him "playing church" with their cat. He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching to it. She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the cat in a tub of water. She called out, "Johnny, stop that! The cat is afraid of water!" Johnny looked up at her and said, "He should have thought about that before he joined my church." |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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