Stand Out from the Crowd

Stand out from the crowd

A man walking into a bank held the door open for the lady behind him. Instead of thanking him, she said, ‘You don’t have to hold the door because I’m a woman.’ Smiling, he replied, ‘I’m not doing it because you’re a woman, I’m doing it because I’m a gentleman.’ As believers we do what we do because of who we are ‘in Christ’, not because of how society thinks we should act. John says, ‘…The Holy Spirit…lives within…so [we] don’t need anyone to teach [us] what is true…’ (1John 2:27 NLT). In his book ‘Hope Again’, Chuck Swindoll says: ‘In the Marine Corps…our troopship carried us…onto Japanese soil…For many of us, it was our first visit to a foreign country. We were surging with excitement…Our company commander called us together…and…said…“Remember, for the first time in your lives, you’re the foreigners. This isn’t your country or your culture…you’re the minority. These aren’t your fellow citizens; they don’t speak your language. They know nothing of your homeland except what they see in you…Act in a way that the Japanese people will gain a good impression of your country.”…As Christians,…our citizenship is in heaven…We belong to the kingdom of God…We need to be on our best behaviour, otherwise people will get a distorted perception of what our homeland is like…Our earthly culture is pagan to the core…God left us here for a purpose…to demonstrate what it’s like to be a member of another country, to have a citizenship in another land, that we might create a desire for others to emigrate.’ Think about it!

Follow God's Wisdom, Not Your Own Feelings

Follow God's Wisdom, Not Your Own Feelings 

For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.  Proverbs 2:6

Life is no fun when we let our feelings run the show. Feelings change from day to day, hour to hour, even moment to moment. They often lie to us. In short, we cannot trust our feelings. 

But we can choose, as Christ followers, to ignore false emotions and live by truth and wisdom. Let me give you some examples. Perhaps you have found yourself in a crowd of people and felt as though everyone was talking about you. That doesn't mean they were. Maybe you feel that nobody understands you, but that doesn't mean they don't. You may feel misunderstood, unappreciated or even mistreated, but that doesn't mean you are. 

These are only feelings. We need to be mature, disciplined, Holy Spirit-controlled people, determined to walk in the Spirit. It takes a constant act of the will to choose to do things God's way rather than our way. 

Even though we may feel occasionally bombarded by negative emotions, we cannot allow those feelings to control and spoil life. Instead, we
can choose to follow the truth-godly wisdom, knowledge and understanding. 

Dear God, 
my feelings often go against Your wisdom and try to deceive me, but I won't let them run my life. Guide me with Your truth so that I can stay connected to You, and not be run by my constantly changing emotions.

Gethsemane

'Jesus went...to a place called Gethsemane...'ARE YOU IN GETHSEMANE?

Matthew 26:36 NIV
The word Gethsemane means 'crushed olives.' And from crushed olives comes oil that heals, illuminates, and nourishes. We all have our Gethsemane. To understand and embrace yours, look at the night Christ spent there before going to the cross: 'Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them..."My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch [pray] with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will'' ' (vv.36-39 NIV). Notice: 1) Gethsemane is where your prayers are not answered as you'd like them to be. God understands how you feel, and He has a better plan in mind. 2) Gethsemane is where those closest to you cannot help. Like Christ's disciples, they will pray with you for a while but then grow tired and give up. At this point, you pray alone. You go on alone. 3) Gethsemane is where you feel the full weight of God's will. The Old Testament prophets spoke of 'the burden of the Word of the Lord.' Luke tells us that in Gethsemane Jesus was ' in anguish' and that 'his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground' (Luke 22:44). We used to sing in church, 'All that I have, all that I am, all I shall ever be; cannot repay the love debt I owe; I surrender to Thee!' If you're finding it easier to sing than to surrender, you're in Gethsemane!

Touched by the Master's hand

Touched by the Master's hand

By Myra Welsh

‘It was battered and scarred and the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while to waste much time on the old violin, so he held it up with a smile. “What am I bid for this old violin? Who’ll start the bidding for me? A pound, a pound, who’ll make it two? Two pounds, and who’ll make it three? Three pounds once, three pounds twice, going for three,” but no; from the back of the room a grey- haired man came forward and picked up the bow. Then sweeping the dust from the old violin, and tightening up all the strings, he played a melody pure and sweet, as sweet as the angels sing. The music ceased and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, said, “What am I bid for the old violin?” and he held it up with the bow. “A thousand pounds, and who’ll make it two? Two thousand, and who’ll make it three? Three thousand once, three thousand twice, going, and gone,” said he. The people cheered, but some of them said, “We do not quite understand. What changed its worth?” Then came the reply, “The touch of the Master’s hand.” And many a man with his life out of tune, battered and scarred with sin, is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin. A mess of pottage, a glass of wine, a game, and he shuffles along: going once, going twice, he’s going and almost gone. But the Master comes, and the thoughtless crowd never can quite understand, the worth of the soul, and the change that’s wrought, by the touch of the Master’s hand.'