Although Beverly Sklover stands only 4 feet 10 inches tall, she is described as a "towering presence on the telephone." She advertises in a local newspaper as "The Nudge Lady," after the Yiddish word that sounds like "noodge" and stands for a chronic and persistent nag or badgerer.For $50 the first hour, and $40 each additional hour, she'll make call after call after call to right a wrong or get someone a refund. How does she do it? The lawyer and former New York City planner says 5 years in business have taught her that yelling gets you nowhere. "I always speak in the softest voice possible," she says. "Then people have to listen."
The Nudge Lady somewhat like Abigail. Her family and servants were headed for disaster (1 Sam. 25). David and his soldiers had been insulted by her husband. Faced with a crisis, Abigail became a woman of initiative. With grace and courage she appealed to David's sense of mercy. By gentleness and humility she calmed his anger, and her household was saved.
God doesn't expect us to overlook all wrongs done to us. Nor does He want us to confront others with anger and insults. His Spirit can help us to be like Abigail: gentle and courageous.
No one could say George Smith didn't have courage. A daring jet test pilot in the 1950's, back when the sound barrier was first being broken, he could face anything - until he had to bail out of a jet going 805 miles per hour (Guideposts 1958). Though he survived, he was afraid of ever flying again. Then, during his hospital stay, a nurse gave him an antidote to fear. He took her words to heart: "Courage," she said, "is knowing the worst - and discovering that, in God's world, the very worst can't really hurt you."
Something for us all to think about.
A lone shipwreck survivor on an uninhabited island managed to build a rude hut in which he placed all that he had saved from the sinking ship. He prayed to God for deliverance, and anxiously scanned the horizon each day to hail any passing ship. One day he was horrified to find his hut in flames. All that he had was gone. To the man’s limited vision, it was the worst that could happen and he cursed God. Yet the very next day a ship arrived. "We saw your smoke signal," the captain said.
Anon
And why are you troubled about clothing? See the flowers of the field, how they come up; they do no work, they make no thread: But I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God gives such clothing to the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is put into the oven, will he not much more give you clothing, O you of little faith?
Mathew 6: 28-30.
Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel they are unique and special people.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
There's nothing like a good old proverb.....
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them"
"Live your day so that you sleep well at night"
"A problem is something you can do something about.
If you can't, it is not your problem.""Don't major in minor things."
"Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly."
"A word of encouragement can make the difference between giving up and going on."
"To ease another's burden, help to carry it."
"You'll never arrive as number one, if you only walk in the footsteps of others"
"When troubles are great, turn to the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you."
"Obstacles are those frightening things you see when you take your eyes off the goal."
"Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech."
"Judge your success by the degree of which you're enjoying peace, health and love."
"The only time you can't afford to fail is the last time you try."
"Winners never quit, and quitters never win."
"A man travels the world in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it"
"Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures."
"Talk the way you would like to be, and you will be the way you talk."
"It's not the hours you put in, but what you put in the hours, that counts."
One of the great wonders and magnificent benefits of accepting God into our heart and life is that you get a new you. But there are problems in getting a new you. Many people do not want to get rid of the old self, the old self steeped in sin, the self that causes them so much discontent and torment. Many people want to keep the old self alive by hanging onto it. Getting rid of the old self is, for some people who do not want to change, like getting a divorce or suffering the death of a loved one. In getting rid of the old self, or in letting the old self die, there can be a grieving process. Letting the old self die, then changing so dramatically, and then having a new person come out within you, can be one of the scariest things about the Christian faith. We don't think of our faith as scary. But people who are not Christians, or people who are Christians who are still carrying around the old bag of garbage from the old self, are afraid of changing. People are afraid of the unknown, and for many people, becoming a Christian means venturing into the unknown. People are afraid of things they don't know anything about. People are afraid of change. If people knew what their new life with God would be like in advance, they would be overjoyed. A person's new life as a Christian is full of peace and blessings but people are afraid of the change to get the peace and blessings. Not changing makes no sense if you are a Christian but staying away from the changes makes perfect sense if you are not a Christian. With a new birth, just as in human childbirth, there may be some pain. But just like human childbirth, you forget the pain after the new you is born.
There is in each of us the capacity to be on fire for God. To have this fire and maintain this fire for God is sometimes incredibly difficult. In our life, Satan puts adversity, pain, and suffering onus without our will and without our consent. Satan can put a disability onus that robs us of all our energy, all our enthusiasm, and all of our life force several times a day. But as long as we have a mind we can come against Satan. Satan might kill our energy and put us on the floor but he can't get our mind if we are determined to keep our mind in Christ and Christ only. Satan can't make us wish Christ was not our Savoir without our consent. Satan can't make us renounce our faith in Christ without our consent. Satan can't make us desert and run the other way without our consent. The apostle Paul noted, 2 Corinthians 12:10. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NIV). In our life, when we are weak against Satan, we can be and must be determined to be strong in our faith for Christ.
God lets us lean on Him only to do His will in our life. God does not let us lean on Him to escape our responsibilities or escape from doing His will. Leaning and depending upon God is OK but only during timeouts. When the game is on, we have to stand up, stand tall, and play the game with maximum effort and maximum fortitude. When the game is on and we are on the playing field there shall be no excuses, no complaining, no whining, no slacking off, and no protesting, no matter how much pain and suffering we are in. When we are on the playing field there need be no leaning, for God empowers us.
Zacchaeus was a little tax man who shinnied up a sycamore tree to get a good look at Jesus. The Teacher spotted him perched on one of the branches, told him to come down, and then invited Himself over for a meal.
During dinner something happened that revolutionized the tax collector's life. Luke's record tells us nothing about the conversation, but when Zacchaeus emerged from the house that afternoon he made a dramatic announcement. He promised to give away half of his wealth to poor people, and to return fourfold the amount of money he had taken dishonestly.
We think we are generous if we give God 10 percent of our income. Most pastors and deacons would be delighted if everyone in the congregation contributed 5 percent.
The mark of Zacchaeus' transformation was his staggering generosity. That's why Jesus declared, "Today salvation has come to this house" (Lk. 19:9). Obviously, salvation isn't bought with money, but one evidence of whether or not people have trusted Christ is how completely they trust Him with all they own.
Author Susan Lenzkes was deeply troubled by the pictures on the news reports coming from Oklahoma City. The April 1995 bombing had taken its toll on the city's residents and on the nation's spirit. As Susan sat in her California home wishing she could do something, she prayed, "Lord, show me how I can help."
Two hours later the phone rang. It was a woman in Enid, Oklahoma, who had previously contacted Susan to tell her how one of her books had helped her. Now she was inquiring if copies of the book could be sent to people affected by the tragedy.
Soon Susan was talking with her publisher, who immediately provided a quantity of the books free. As word of this project spread, other ministries got involved. In just a couple of days, thousands of books and Bibles were on their way to Oklahoma City.
Susan prayed. God answered. Spiritual needs were met.
That's how prayer works. We call out to God in faith, knowing that He can do what we could never do. The answer may not be dramatic; it could be as simple as giving us strength to make it to tomorrow. Whatever the case, we can pray as David did, "Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call" (Ps. 20:9).
In an excavation at Jerusalem, archaeologist Gabriel Barkay uncovered a small copper scroll with writing on it from the Bible. This fragment of Scripture was brittle and tarnished with age. Barkay took it to his laboratory and worked with unbelievable patience and delicate care to unroll it without destroying it.
Dated around 400 BC, the scroll was a very important find because it contained the earliest written Hebrew name for God, Yahweh (or Jehovah). Apparently the scribe who copied it had broken with the practice of never writing that sacred name. Always before, because of their reverence for its holiness, Jewish scribes had felt unworthy to pen that special name.
The Bible is God's holy, inspired, infallible Word, and we must handle its truths with the same care Gabriel Barkay gave to his discovery and the same reverence the copyists gave to God's name. Scripture comes to us from God's heart. Therefore, we must guard its message with integrity by "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). We must respect its every word. To take Scripture out of context or twist its meaning to serve our purposes or justify our own opinions is to dishonour God's Word and His name.
Although Beverly Sklover stands only 4 feet 10 inches tall, she is described as a "towering presence on the telephone." She advertises in a local newspaper as "The Nudge Lady," after the Yiddish word that sounds like "noodge" and stands for a chronic and persistent nag or badgerer.
For $50 the first hour, and $40 each additional hour, she'll make call after call after call to right a wrong or get someone a refund. How does she do it? The lawyer and former New York City planner says 5 years in business have taught her that yelling gets you nowhere. "I always speak in the softest voice possible," she says. "Then people have to listen."
The Nudge Lady somewhat like Abigail. Her family and servants were headed for disaster (1 Sam. 25). David and his soldiers had been insulted by her husband. Faced with a crisis, Abigail became a woman of initiative. With grace and courage she appealed to David's sense of mercy. By gentleness and humility she calmed his anger, and her household was saved.
God doesn't expect us to overlook all wrongs done to us. Nor does He want us to confront others with anger and insults. His Spirit can help us to be like Abigail: gentle and courageous.
The night before Jesus was crucified, two of His disciples turned against Him. Judas betrayed Jesus, leading His enemies to Him in the Garden (Lk. 22:47-48). And Peter denied three times that he even knew the Lord (vv.57-60).
But the difference in what they did next was enormous. Peter wept bitter tears of repentance and later was gently restored (v.62; Jn. 21:15-17); Judas hanged himself (Mt. 27:5).
When we commit a sin, the most important thing is what we do next. If we lose our temper and say something cruel to a family member, what do we do next? If we mistreat a co-worker, what do we do next? If we find we are dwelling on evil thoughts, what do we do next? To make excuses, to justify our bad behaviour, to blame the other person, or to ignore God is only to add more sin to the first.
Perhaps God has brought our attention to some sin in our life. If so, we're faced with a choice--to repent and admit it to God (1 Jn. 1:9), or to continue denying that we have a sin problem.
when we sin, we shouldn't compound it with another sin. We really must take it immediately to God in prayerful honesty. The most important thing is what we do next.
Why do some people seem to be experts at finding a speck in the eye of someone else? (Mt. 7:3). Is it because the fault stands out like Santa Claus at a Fourth of July picnic? No, they deliberately search for specks because they're looking for something to criticize.
The chief speck inspector is Satan. When God called his attention to the good character of Job, Satan responded with a raised eyebrow. "Does Job fear God for nothing?" he smirked (Job 1:9). He insinuated that Job was good only because God made it pay to be good. Satan was so sharp-eyed he could see a speck that wasn't there.
Faultfinders are never reliable fact-finders. The enemies of our Lord even tried to find fault in the only One who ever lived a perfect life (Mt. 12:24; Lk. 7:34; Jn. 9:16). Because they looked for the worst, they were blind to the best.
Do we really understand the wickedness of faultfinding? It's a cruel habit that damages ourselves and those around us.
We must first get the plank out of our own eye. That means we must recognize and admit our sins. As we learn to see people through eyes of love, we won't be so quick to point out specks in theirs.
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