Ant on the Wall

Perseverance – Persistence in anything undertaken; keeps honour bright.  Patience and perseverance overcome the greatest difficulties.

Hebrews 3:6

But Christ is faithful as the Son in charge of God's house. We are his house if we keep up our courage and our confidence in what we hope for.

The beginning of a new year has the ability to put me on a high, unexplainable to anybody else.  It’s filled with a rush of adrenaline through my veins, with the thoughts of new and exciting challenges and experiences that awaits me.   But, sadly, as they say, anything that goes up must come down…… 

The downer kicks in when I realise, that I don’t always have the tools available to meet those new challenges, and I tend to feel quite overwhelmed in a very short period of time.  What tools am I talking about?  Well, it’s quite basic, and I’m sure a lot of you can relate … knowledge; energy; time; faith and perseverance!  The truth is, I cannot remember when last I actually completed a new task I set to do for myself? When things get tough, I throw in the towel!

An ant was walking across the dining room wall, obviously at an angle only suitable to insects!  The wall is about 4m in width.  To the human being, this might mean two or three steps, but to an ant measuring 1,5mm, it’s quite a few stretches more.  The ant was carrying food in his mouth, TWICE his size, and it was clearly heavy and weighing him down.  He was walking slowly, but continued with a state of grace.  At times it seemed like the food was going to fall and he appeared to be stumbling over his four little feet, but he hang on and kept going.  A few cm’s later he lost track and walked into the picture frame, but recovered and found his way again.  In my mind he was walking with perseverance and faith!!!!

Looking at this little creature, I realised, that from God’s perspective, we’re also like little ants, trying to walk across a 4m wall.   Sometimes our load seems too heavy, and our feet are tired.  We might even hit a “brick wall”…… However, we have something the ant doesn’t …. The knowledge of Heb 3:6 “keep the courage and confidence” and walk in perseverance and faith!

God Bless

Just Another New Resolution?

New Year’s resolutions …. need I say more?  We make them, we break them, and so it carries on.  We all have something that we know we need to change, but change is difficult, especially when you’re a bit older and probably a whole lot more set in your (not always so good) ways.   

Joyce Meyer hit the nail on the head with her message today, and I would like to share it with you.

BREAKING BAD HABITS

(Romans 12:21)  Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good. (GNB)

You can break up with your bad habits just like you can break up with a bad boyfriend or girlfriend.  Bad relationships are one of the hardest habits to break, but if we choose to end them, we can spare ourselves a lot of trouble and pain.

Maybe you gossip or cuss or drink too much coffee or watch too much TV or spend money on things you don’t need.  Whatever your bad habit is, you can break it.

Breaking a bad habit is not easy, but it’s God’s desire for us to take authority over our bad habits.  He doesn’t want us to be “bossed around” by our emotions; He wants us to have victory.

 Breaking a bad habit requires making a series of good choices, one after the other.  Most of us will try to do that on our own without the help of the Holy Spirit.  We eventually figure out that we can’t please God without God helping us.

The Holy Spirit is our “standby”.  He’s always standing by in case you get into trouble and need a little help.  But He won’t just show up uninvited.  You have to ask Him for help.

Romans 12:21 says we “conquer evil with good”.  That’s one of the biggest secrets in the Word of God.  It’s a lot easier to make the right choice when you’re focusing on God and your victory instead of the fear of failure.

Make the choice today to walk in the Spirit to overcome bad habits and live in victory!

God Bless!

NEW BEGINNINGS

Isaiah 43:18-19 (GNB)

18. But the LORD says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago.

19. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already---you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.

Joyce Meyer wrote: “God created us to need new beginnings – places where we can release our faith and say, “This is a place of new beginnings for me, a place to have a fresh start.”  The dawn of a new year is always a good time for a fresh start.”

This year is my fresh start, my chance to have the abundant life Jesus said I can have, and the only way I can accomplish this successfully is by letting go of the past.

The last 15 months have been one big rollercoaster for me when it comes to change, trying to find a place I can call home.  I learned a lot, I experienced a lot and I cried a lot.  I also asked God on a number of occasions, “Why am I here?”  At first He didn’t answer, but the day I said my goodbyes, I knew the reason, He was building my strength and faith for bigger things to come.

God granted me the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people, each one with their own troubles and hopes and dreams, each one looking for acceptance in their own special way.  I learned that I’m not alone in my search for belonging, but that He was there to help me find rest for my feet.

Sometimes He will place you somewhere for a mere season.  The season may be a day, a month, a year or a lifetime, we don’t know.  My season was short, but the impact on my life was enough to last a lifetime.

I’m embarking on a new journey, a brand new season in my life.  Forever, I will carry His promise with me, (Jeremiah 29:11) I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.

Have a blessed New Year!

Amen!

No Room - Mary Southerland

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (John 3:16, NIV)

I make room for things that are important to me. I eat two or three meals every day and sleep several hours each night even though my "to do" list is not much shorter today than it was yesterday. I will choose to play with a grandchild over cleaning the house any day of the week. I manage to find a place for that great piece of furniture I don't really need - but really like. After all, it was on sale. I like watches. Don't ask me why because I simply don't know. I only need one watch, but I own several inexpensive ones. I will have lunch with a friend instead of running errands. And there is always room for chocolate! Silly examples - right? I wonder. I wonder what the innkeeper thought as  he turned away the young man and his very pregnant wife that holy night so long ago. He had no room - it was that simple. Do we?

The Christmas season is almost here! Our calendars are already full, our bank accounts are closing in on empty and our hearts and lives are crowded with things we deem important, but have we made room for Jesus?

I simply cannot imagine a world without the presence of God and yet I often live my life as if He does not exist. A crisis hits, and I try to handle it on my own. I don't understand the trials in my life while those who could care less about God seem to prosper. Instead of reaching out to Him, I withdraw into the darkness. Financial stress fuels worry. Instead of turning to God, I rely on what I can see and understand. I settle.

When I do cry out to God, He lovingly fills each dark corner with Light. His love flows over the pain like soothing balm and once again, I experience the manger. Once again, Jesus Christ steps into the smelly, unlikely and very ordinary existence that is mine to change everything - absolutely everything!

Jesus could have come to us in many ways. The simplicity of His birth is extraordinary and sometimes hard to grasp. Jesus could have been born in a mansion. He was, after all, a King. Instead, He came to a dirty smelly manger and His birth was announced by common shepherds instead of Kings -- the greatest of all miracles in the midst of total simplicity. Today, Jesus still wants to meet us in the midst of our simple daily lives. It seems too easy and too good to be true, doesn't it?

It was Christmas Eve, and the family was preparing to attend the special service of their local church. Everyone was going except Dad, who was an honest man, a man who could not seem to wrap his logical mind around the story of God come to earth as a baby in a manger. He didn't want to be a hypocrite, pretending to worship a Savior he wasn't sure even existed, so he stayed home, built a fire to dispel the bitter cold of that winter night and began to read the paper, waiting for his family's return. Hearing a knock at the window, he turned to see a tiny bird trying to reach the warmth of the fire. The man opened the window, but the bird refused to come in.  Grabbing his coat, the man went  out to the barn and opened the barn doors wide - but still, the bird refused to come in. The man thought, "If only I could be a bird, for just one minute, I could lead the bird to safety." At that moment, he heard the church bells ring and finally understood why Jesus came to earth as a man -- to become one of us so He could lead us to eternal safety.

The very heart of Christmas is Emanuel, God with us - with me - and with you. Christmas is not a date on a calendar. Christmas is a way of life that celebrates the presence of God in the simple, ordinary happenings of daily life: where we go and what we do -- the smile we give the harried stranger or the patience we choose in the crowd of impatient shoppers -- the love that prompts the secret gift or the heart that constantly celebrates His birth through every sparkling light, every beautifully wrapped gift, each special meal, every card, phone call and visit. God is with us - if we choose to make room for Him.

BREAKING THE WILL NOT THE SPIRIT - Sharon Jaynes

Submit yourselves, then, to God ... (James 4:7, NIV).

Friend to Friend

Of all of the activities ten-year-old Miriam enjoyed, she loved riding her horse, Charlie, the best. He had a sleek chestnut mane, well-defined muscular legs, and a fierce strong will to match. Miriam felt powerful and self-assured when controlling this massive animal-except when he caught a glimpse of the barn. Whenever Miriam and Charlie returned from a jaunt in the woods, as soon as they got close enough for him to see the barn, he bolted homeward, forcing Miriam to hang on to the reins for dear life.

One day Miriam's riding instructor witnessed this strong-willed animal taking control of his master.

"Miriam!" she called out. "You cannot let that animal control you in that manner! Bring that horse back out of the barn this instant."

Dutifully, Miriam mounted Charlie and led him a distance away from the stalls.

"Now, when you turn around and Charlie sees the barn and begins to run toward it," the wiser, older woman instructed, "pull the reins all the way to the right. Do not let him go forward."

On cue, Miriam steered her horse toward the stalls. On cue, he bolted.

"Turn him! Turn him!" the instructor shouted.

Young Miriam pulled the reins to the right as hard as she could until the horse's head was inches away from touching his right shoulder. Charlie fought her with the force of a war horse. Round and round the horse and rider circled.

"Don't let go," the instructor shouted. "You must break his will!"

After ten long minutes, Charlie stopped circling, and Miriam stopped pulling him to the right. Miriam gently tapped his flanks, and he slowly walked toward the stable. She had broken his will, and he now obeyed his master's touch.

Have you ever felt that you are going in circles? Perhaps God is trying to break some old habit patterns in your life to help you become more adept at sensing His gentle nudges and tender tugging. Perhaps He is trying to steer you in the different direction other than bolting to the familiar. It's an amazing ride when you yield your will to the Master and travel the path He leads.

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, so many times I see myself in Miriam's horse. I bolt to what is familiar rather than submit to You. Help me to follow Your lead, submit to Your guidance, and walk at the pace You set.

 In Jesus' name,

Amen.

GOD IS ENOUGH FOR YOU!

(1 Corinthians 13:13)  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

What is hope?

Hope is a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.

Hope is one of the 3 main elements of a Christian character.  It is joined to faith and love.  Hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life.  In it the whole glory of the Christian vocation is centred.  (Ephesians 4:4)  There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call--

Each one of us have something we hope for on a daily basis, be it spiritual or physical.  We were created in such a way that our needs and desires change constantly.  What we need today will not necessarily be what we hope for tomorrow.   What we hope for today might also not necessarily be what we need at all!

God, our Father, knows our heart’s desires.  He knows what we hope for, what we want and what we truly need.  Take your desires to Him, and leave it with Him. Trust in Him, He is enough for you!

God Bless.

SHAKE IT OFF!! - Joyce Meyer

Let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) ... and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.
—Hebrews 12:1

One of my favorite stories is about a farmer's donkey that fell into a dry well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do for his poor donkey. Finally, he concluded that the well was too deep, and it really needed to be covered up anyway. Besides, the donkey was old, and it would be a lot of trouble to get him out of the pit. The farmer decided that it was not worth trying to retrieve the animal, so he asked his neighbors to help him fill in the well and bury the donkey.

They all grabbed shovels and began to toss dirt into the well. The don¬key immediately realized what was happening, and he began to bray horribly. Crying would be our normal response if somebody was mistreating us this badly, so this donkey was responding the same way we would at first, but then he got real quiet. A few shovel loads of dirt later, the farmer looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit the donkey's back, the donkey would shake it off and step on top of it.

As the neighbors and the farmer continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon the donkey shook off the last shovel full of dirt, took a step up, and walked right out of the well. We can learn from this story. When trouble comes, if we will get still and listen, God will tell us what to do.

By the grace and mercy of God, I was able to shake off a lot of things in my life, a lot of hurt feelings, a lot of mistreatment, a lot of abuse, a lot of unfair, unjust, unkind things. Just like the donkey, in order to keep pressing on and have victory in our lives, we are going to have to learn to shake off the troubles that come our way.