Father, I ask you to bless my
friends reading this right now Lord. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You
to minister to their spirit at this very moment.
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubting, release
a renewed confidence in your ability to work through them. Where there is
tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give them
understanding, patience and strength as they learn submission to Your leading.
Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to
renew them by revealing Your nearness and by drawing them into greater intimacy
with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love and
release to them Your courage. Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it and
break its hold over my friend's life. Bless their finances, give them greater
vision, raise up leaders and friends to support and
encourage them.
Give each of them discernment to
recognize the demonic forces around them and reveal to them the power they have
in You to defeat it. I ask You
to do these things in Jesus' name.
In Christian love, your
friend in Jesus. Amen.
A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read
"Puppies for
The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30-$50."
The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some
change. "I have $2.37, can I look at them?" The store owner smiled
and whistled. Out of the kennel came his dog named Lady, running down the aisle
of his store followed by five little puppies. One puppy was lagging
considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging,
limping puppy.
He asked "What's wrong with that little dog?" The man
explained that when the puppy was born the vet said that this puppy had a bad
hip socket and would limp for the rest of his life. The little boy got really
excited and said, "That's the puppy I want to buy!
The man replied "No, you don't want to buy that little dog.
If you really want him, I'll give him to you."
The little boy got upset. He looked straight into the man's eyes
and said "I don't want you to give him to me. He is worth every bit as
much as the other dogs and I'll pay the full price. In fact, I will give you
$2.37 now and 50 cent every month until I have him paid for."
The man countered, "You really don't want to buy this puppy
son. He is never going to be able to run, jump and play like other
puppies."
The little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal
a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up
at the man and said, "Well, I don't run so well myself
and the little puppy will need someone who understands.
The man was now biting his bottom lip. Tears welled up in his
eyes. He smiled and said, "Son, I hope and pray that each and every one of
these puppies will have an owner such as you."
IN LIFE, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHETHER SOMEONE
APPRECIATES YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE, ACCEPTS YOU AND LOVES YOU
UNCONDITIONALLY. A REAL FRIEND IS ONE
WHO WALKS IN WHEN THE REST OF THE WORLD WALKS AWAY.
“There is not a righteous man
on earth
who does what is right
and never sins.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
(New King James Version)
“Be strong and of good courage,
do not fear nor be afraid of them;
for the LORD your God,
He is the One who goes with you.
nor forsake you.”
What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? (Answer -
Psalms 117)
What is the longest chapter in the Bible? (Answer -
Psalms 119)
Which chapter is in the center of the Bible (Answer -
Psalms 118)
Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118
Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118
Add these numbers up and you get 1188
What is the center verse in the Bible? (Answer -
Psalms 118:8)
Does this verse say something significant about God's
perfect will
for our lives? The next time someone says
they would like to find
God's perfect will for their lives and that they want
to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word!
* Psalms 118:8
(NKJV) "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put
confidence in man."
* Now isn't
that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of
it)?
The young man was at
the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.
"Lord, I can't go
on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."
The Lord replied,
"My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this
room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."
The man was filled
with relief.
"Thank you,
Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many
crosses, some so large the tops were not visible.
Then, he spotted a
tiny cross leaning against a far wall.
"I'd like that
one, Lord," he whispered.
And the Lord replied,
"My son, that is the cross you just brought in."
When life's problem
seems overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are
coping with. You may consider yourself
far more fortunate than you imagined.
YOUR CROSS
Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain, there will always be sunshine after the rain. Perhaps you
may stumble, perhaps even fall, but God's always there to help you through it
all.
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 neighbour was an elderly gentleman
who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went
into the old gentlemen's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When
his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbour,
the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."
At the prodding of my friends, I am
writing this story. My name is Mildred Hondorf.
I am a former elementary school music teacher
from
One such student was Robby. Robby was 11
years old when his mother (a single mom) dropped him off for his first piano
lesson. I prefer that students (especially boys)! begin
at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had
always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him
as a student. Well, Robby began with his piano lessons and from the
beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried,
he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel. But he
dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my
students to learn.
Over the months he tried and tried while
I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each
weekly lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day."
But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only
knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged
car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but never
stopped in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I
thought about calling him but assumed, because of his lack of ability, that he
had decided to pursue something else. I also was glad that he stopped
coming. He was a bad advertisement for my teaching!
Several weeks later I mailed to the
student's homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby
(who received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that
the recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out he really did
not qualify. He said that his mom had been sick and unable to take him to
piano lessons but he was still practising.
"Miss Hondorf...I've just got to play!" he
insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the
recital. Maybe it was his persistence or maybe it was something inside of
me saying that it would be all right.
The night for the recital came.
The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends and relatives. I put
Robby up last in the program before I was to come up and thank all the students
and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he would do would come at
the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through
my "curtain closer."
Well, the recital went off without a
hitch. The students had been practising and it
showed. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his
hair looked like he had run an eggbeater through it. "Why didn't he dress
up like the other students?" I thought. "Why didn't his mother
at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" Robby pulled out
the piano bench and he began. I was surprised when he announced that he had
chosen Mozart's Concerto #21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I
heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they
even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to
fortissimo...from allegro to virtuoso.
His suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I
heard Mozart played so well by people his age. After six and a half minutes he
ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on their feet in wild applause.
Overcome and in tears I ran up on stage
and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that,
Robby! How did you do it?"
Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well Miss Hondorf...remember I told you my Mom was sick? Well,
actually she had cancer and passed away this morning. And well....she was born
deaf so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it
special." There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As
the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into
foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy and I thought to
myself how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil.
No, I've never had a prodigy but that
night I became a protege...of Robby's. He was the
teacher and I was the pupil. For it is he that taught me the meaning of
perseverance and love and believing in yourself and maybe even taking a chance
in someone and you don't know why.
This is especially meaningful to me
since after serving in Desert Storm Robby was killed in the senseless bombing
of the
And now, a footnote to the story.
If you are thinking about forwarding this message, you are probably thinking
about which people on your address list aren't the "appropriate" ones
to receive this type of message. The person who sent this to you believes that
we can all make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities a day to
help realize God's plan. So many seemingly trivial interactions between two
people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a spark of the Divine?
Or do we pass up that opportunity, and leave the world a bit colder in the
process?
IMAGINE IF EVERYONE DID THIS EVERY
DAY........
I hired a carpenter to help me
restore an old farmhouse, and he had just finished a rough first day on the job.
A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his
ancient pickup truck refused to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in
stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked
toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching tips of the
branches with both hands. When opening the door, he underwent an amazing
transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two
small children and
gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he walked me to the car. We
passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I
had seen him do earlier. "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied.
"I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure,
troubles don't belong
in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them
up on the tree
every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.
Funny thing is", he smiled,
"When I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I
remember hanging up the night before."
Diane, a young Christian university student, was home for the
summer. She had gone to
visit some friends one evening and the time passed quickly as each shared
their various
experiences of the past year. She ended up staying longer than she had planned
and had to walk home alone.
But she wasn't afraid because it was a small town and she lived
only a few blocks away. As she walked along under the tall elm trees, Diane
asked God" to keep her safe from harm and danger.
When she reached the alley, which was a short cut to her house, she
decided to take it.
However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the
end as though he were waiting for her. She became uneasy and began to pray,
asking for "God's" protection. Instantly a comforting feeling of
quietness and security wrapped around her, she felt as though someone was
walking with her. When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the
man and arrived home safely.
The following day, she read in the paper that a young girl had been
raped in the same alley, just twenty minutes after she had been there. Feeling
overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began
to weep. Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she
decided to go to the police station. She felt she could recognize the man, so
she told them her story. The police asked her if she would be willing to look
at a lineup to see if she could identify him.
She agreed and immediately pointed
out the man she had seen in the alley the night
before. When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately
broke down and
confessed. The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was
anything they could do for her, she asked if they would ask the man one
question. Diane was curious as to why he had not attacked her.
When the policeman asked him, he answered, "Because she wasn't
alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her."
Moral of the story? Don't underestimate the power of Prayer"
Rotten Christians versus My Children
The devil does everything he can to make us miserable. He has a “radio program” that he broadcasts to every Christiaa. The name of the program is “Rotten Christians.” But we don’t have to listen to it! We can turn it off, and we should!
We should
listen to God’s program called “My Children.” In the Bible, He calls us His
children. If we are His children then He is our Father. If we are rotten, then
our Father did a poor job when He created us new in Christ Jesus. (Read II
Corinthians 5:17).
~ Merlin Carothers