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CHRISTELW's Recent Blog Entries
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Sunday, November 01, 2009
The Power Of Encouragement (1)
Pleasant words are… health to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24 NKJV
Everybody needs encouragement. None of us achieves anything without help. The great achievers in history became all that they were because of the people in their lives.
We've seen The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. But did you know that their authors, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, were professors at Oxford University and maintained a close friendship? Every week they'd meet to eat, talk about their fiction-writing endeavours and read passages of their yet unpublished works. It was Tolkien who encouraged Lewis, an avowed atheist, to explore Christianity, ultimately leading to his conversion. And it was Lewis who encouraged Tolkien to continue writing fiction and to seek publication. Were it not for their friendship and mutual encouragement, the world wouldn't have received the finest writing in apologetics of the twentieth century, nor one of the finest fantasy works ever written.
Everyone, young and old, successful and less-than-successful, famous and unknown who receives encouragement is changed by it. Mark Twain said, 'One compliment can keep me going for a whole month.' A word of encouragement from a teacher can change a child's life; a word of encouragement from a spouse can strengthen or even save a marriage; a word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach his or her potential. Zig Ziglar says, 'You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.' The Bible says, 'Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones' (Proverbs 16:24 NKJV).
Daily Bible Reading:
Ezra 3-5, John 7:45-53, Psalm 9, Proverbs 24:30-34
The Word for Today is a popular Christian daily devotion written by Bob Gass, copyright © Bob Gass Ministries, PO Box 5130, Alpharetta, GA 30023-5130, USA.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Sunday, November 1 :: John 6:35-40
Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.' John 6:35-40 NIV
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Don't Just Say It, Enforce It!
Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines…
Hebrews 12:6 NAS
The Bible asks: 'What kind of father is it who doesn't correct his son?' Answer: 'Not much of a father!'
We don't know if that's how Eli, the High Priest, got started with Hophni and Phinehas, his two sons. We simply read, 'his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them' (1 Samuel 3:13 NKJV). Perhaps Eli heard about the terrible things his sons were doing and said, 'Now, boys, you know you shouldn't do that.' And the boys said, 'Yes, Daddy,' then went right back to defrauding the worshippers who came to the temple and seducing the women. The issue wasn't that Eli didn't tell his children the right things; it's that he didn't enforce what he was telling them. No doubt you don't know of any parents who tell their children, 'Go rob a bank, ten or twenty years in prison will do you good.' No, those parents probably said all the right things. A lot of prison inmates' parents said the right things too. But what's missing in so much well-intentioned parenting is enforcement. Eli was not enforcing the truth, he was only stating it. He didn't pull his boys from their posts and strip them of their privileges. He let them keep doing it; while telling them they ought not to do it. Parent, don't just say something; do something! If your children are going astray and you keep quiet, you're sparing yourself and sacrificing them. The most caring thing you can do as a parent is to discipline your children in love.
Daily Bible Reading:
1 Chronicles 17:1-20, Hebrews 11:4-12:3, Psalm 18:20-29, Proverbs 4:18
The Word for Today is a popular Christian daily devotion written by Bob Gass, copyright © Bob Gass Ministries, PO Box 5130, Alpharetta, GA 30023-5130, USA.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Romans 12:12-21 NIV
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,'says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Don't Discard Your Tomorrows!
Tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
Joshua 3:5 NAS
Your yesterdays have made you what you are today, but your tomorrows can make you what God always intended you to become. Joshua was talking to a nation whose yesterdays were a long list of repeated failures and rebellion against God. They had been convicted, judged, punished and reinstated frequently by the God they'd flagrantly sinned against. Surely, they ought to have been cut off from Him, stripped of any future blessing. But "Joshua said to the people, 'consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you'" (Joshua 3:5 NAS).
Consecrate yourself, realign yourself with God's plans and watch Him begin to work in your life. Just when the enemy has you convinced that with your past God couldn't possibly have a future for you, He calls you to prepare yourself so He can bless you. God is fully aware of your yesterdays, but He's much more focused on your tomorrows. Why do we discard our tomorrows when we so desperately need them? When Jesus cried, "It is finished!" (John 19:30 NKJV), His disciples misunderstood and concluded it was all over. So they slipped away to contemplate the tomorrow they thought would never be. But with God, every ending is a new beginning, and three mornings later the angel announced the resurrection and the new tomorrow that would guarantee the future for all believers. 'It (your yesterday) is finished!'
Don't give up your tomorrows by building monuments to your past failures. Acknowledge, confess and release your yesterdays to the crucified Christ. 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'
Daily Bible Reading:
Deuteronomy 18:9-18, Daniel 2, Isaiah 47:5-15, Acts 16:16-34
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