Who but the same God Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms of our hearts and says, ''Yes, let the God of Heaven and Earth be born here -- in THIS place.'' -- Leslie Leyland Fields Who but we who would be sanctified stay the door for fear the God of everywhere will find our darksome places fouler than the foulest.. Behold I stand at the door and knock! I would be born in this place yet only open this door and I will enter therein. Have you any dark and filthy holes, I have, we would not wholesome be? For fear God will see, God will know? He does! Let us not be afraid for he will enter into the stable of these places and be born in us today - open the door!
Two Horses
Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing....
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.
This alone is amazing.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.
Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell.
It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow
As you stand and watch these two friends,
you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse,
and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk
to where the other horse is,
trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns
to the shelter of the barn each evening,
it stops occasionally and looks back,
making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses,
God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect
or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives
to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse
being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way....
Good friends are like that... you may not always see them, but you know they are always there.
Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
And remember...be kinder than necessary- everyone you meet is fighting
some kind of battle.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly....
Leave the rest to God
Right click on picture square and then click on show picture. The horses will appear.
This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa ..
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).
We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen". I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.
By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting.
Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ... could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!"
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
"Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24). This awesome prayer takes less than a minute. When you receive this, say the prayer, that's all you have to do. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever you want - but do send it on. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards.
Let's continue praying for one another: Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this right now. I am asking 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 to work through them. Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding, guidance, 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, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them. Give each of them discernment to recognize the evil 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.
P.S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something Christ would do.
"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet."
This time of year I think back to that unforgettable night of the annual Christmas musical at our college. All the school choirs were there to present a powerful musical evening. The backdrop of the stage was all black, to simulate the night of Jesus' birth. And as the choir sang, costumed Christmas story characters would re-enact some of those familiar scenes on the stage. The one I'll never forget is "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night." My friend Al was the angel. The shepherds were all shepherding on the stage, and Al was to step out of the black velvet night and onto this little platform to announce Jesus' birth - good plan. I guess being coordinated is not a qualification for being an angel. See, Al stepped out onto that platform and promptly lost his balance and fell out of the night sky and right onto the shepherds. Now, that is being touched by an angel! But on his way down, Al did manage to get his opening line out, "Fear not!" Well, that is the important part.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "God's Opening Line."
Our word from the Word of God comes from Luke 2:9-10, "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.'" As God is preparing to introduce those shepherds to something great that He's going to do, He opens with a "fear not."
When the angel appeared to tell Mary the miracle part she was going to play in Christ's coming, early on he said these words, "Do not be afraid, Mary" (Luke 1:30). How about the angel's announcement to Joseph about his part in it? "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife" (Matthew 1:20). But this "fear not" is not just in the Christmas story. It's all through the Bible in God's dealings with people. On numerous occasions in the Old Testament when God's people were facing a variety of challenges, God said these words over and over again, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
When God has something to say to us, He often seems to begin by addressing our fear. Why? Because fear often keeps us from hearing or responding to what God wants us to hear. We focus on the uncertainties, the pressure, the possibilities that could happen - the mountains - and we panic. Which usually leads us to one of two nowhere responses. We start running around doing things God never told us to do. Or we just freeze up and do nothing. If we do our thing or nothing, we're probably not doing God's thing.
So He opens what He wants to say with, "Do not be afraid." It may very well be that this is what He's trying to say to you right now. "Do not be afraid of ________." You have to fill in the blank with the thing that you're worrying a lot about right now; the things that are keeping you awake, keeping you stressed. Listen to your Lord. First put your name in here (in the blank) ________ . There's your name, then "do not be afraid of ________." "Do not be afraid that ________." See, He's trying to deal with that fear that has your heart and mind so tensed up that nothing can get in there - even God's voice.
At a time when David's life was literally in the balance, he wrote, "I sought the Lord and He delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:4). God wants to do that for you right now. Like a distraught little child, cuddled in a parent's arms, let your Father reassure you that there's nothing facing you that He can't handle. The whole point of Jesus coming at Christmas was that we could belong to God in this intimate personal way, and finally be in the only really safe place in the universe - in a relationship with our Creator. He had to die - Jesus did - for that to happen, and walk out of His grave under His own power. And this Christmas season, He may be knocking on the door of your heart. That may be what you feel inside; giving you the opportunity to finally be safe in God's arms.
Never be sympathetic with the soul whose case makes you come to the
conclusion that God is hard. God is more tender than we can conceive,
and every now and again He gives us the chance of being the rugged
one that He may be the tender One. If a man cannot get through to God
it is because there is a secret thing he does not intend to give up -
I will admit I have done wrong, but I no more intend to give up that
thing than fly. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with a case
like that: we have to get right deep down to the root until there is
antagonism and resentment against the message. People want the
blessing of God, but they will not stand the thing that goes straight
to the quick.
If God has had His way with you, your message as His servant is
merciless insistence on the one line, cut down to the very root,
otherwise there will be no healing. Drive home the message until
there is no possible refuge from its application. Begin to get at
people where they are until you get them to realize what they lack,
and then erect the standard of Jesus Christ for their lives - "We
never can be that." Then drive it home - "Jesus Christ says you
must." "But how can we be?" "You cannot, unless you have a new
Spirit." (Luke 11:13.)
There must be a sense of need before your message is of any use.
Thousands of people are happy without God in this world. If I was
happy and moral till Jesus came, why did He come? Because that kind
of happiness and peace is on a wrong level; Jesus Christ came to send
a sword through every peace that is not based on a personal
relationship to Himself.
Right click on picture square and then click on show picture. The horses will appear.