Saturday, March 31, 2012

CREATED STRONG AND RESILIENT

By:  A Coach

I am always fascinated by the way bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.. When I think of its ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word RESILIENCE comes to mind.

When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression, or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions ... Have you ever felt like you are about to snap? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience.

Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments ... The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend but don’t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you. If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, BEND BUT DON’T BREAK!!

I’ve experienced a lot of storms in my own life, too. The only thing that keeps me going is that I serve and worship a God who promised never to abandon me. My being a Bamboo man is the result of Somebody who gave His life for me on the cross. By God’s grace, I can say that I may be knocked down but I am not knocked out. – eoh via mentor & me


We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. – 2 Cor. 4: 8-9

Friday, March 23, 2012

BALANCING ONE’S LIFE

Author Unknown                                                                                     

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is unique and special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a gift: that’s why we call it The Present.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

OBEDIENCE OR PERFORMANCE

By:  F. Kong

This couple has always been known as “The Christian Couple”

I could count at least some five or six magazines that published their testimonies.

They’re active and they’re all over the place. In fact they not only get invited to speak in gatherings, but they offer themselves to be invited to give their heart stirring testimonies to whoever would care to listen.

I had a business appointment with them one day. The moment I saw them something stirred within me. I wasn’t quite comfortable because the conversation was expectedly laced with a lot of predictable “Christian jargons.”

Now here comes the shocker. This couple is known not only for the testimonies they give, but also for the bad reputation they have in business. I would meet one business man telling bad stories of how he’s been ripped off in a sour business deal. Others also shared the same low opinion of the couple. Strange isn’t it? To stand public talking about the goodness of God and how He was able to restore their broken lives and marriage and then do business with pre-meditated malice and deception. Breaks your heart, doesn’t it?

When a person stands in front of a crowd and talks about godly stuff without the lives to show it, he is merely performing. I don’t know if they’re aware of this but they’re actually creating more harm than good.

I don’t know if people understand the difference between obedience and performance. Here’s what Max Lucado has to say about.

  • Obedience is seeking God with all your heart. Performance is having quiet time because you feel guilty if you don’t.
  • Obedience is finding ways to let the word of God dwell in you richly. Performance is quickly scanning a passage so you can check it off your Bible reading plan.
  • Obedience is inviting guests to your home for dinner. Performance is feeling anxious about whether every detail of the meal will be perfect.
  • Obedience is following God’s prompting to start a small group, Bible study or relationship. Performance is reluctance to let anyone else lead the group because they might not do it as well as you would.
  • Obedience is doing your best. Performance is wanting to be the best.
  • Obedience is saying yes to whatever God asks you. Performance is saying yes to whatever people ask you.
  • Obedience is following the prompting of God’s spirit. Performance is following a list of man-made requirements.
  • Obedience springs from fear of God. Performance springs from a fear of failure.
  •  Obedience is letting the life speak out loud without the lips moving. Performance is all lips but the life clearly doesn’t show it.
When the lips and the life match, when the talk and the walk are compatible, -integrity is achieved. Nothing destroys the work of God’s Kingdom than finding people performing God’s work but failing to live out God’s word.

May I offer an advice for people who perform and long to be in the limelight and then do unethical business practices in the dark? Stop what you’re doing and get your act together. The name of Christ suffers. And don’t you dare forget that every secret deed you do in the dark, God sees and will reveal in the open. You can do all the performance you want to do but without a life of obedience, your actions are not acceptable to God.

By the way, performance is essentially “play acting” which in Greek is the etymology of “Hypocrisy.” Oswald Chambers was right all along. He said: “The world is glad of an excuse not to listen to the gospel message, and the inconsistencies of Christians is the excuse.”

Don’t forget, the most wearisome thing to do in our lifetime is to be insincere. So don’t.

Friday, March 16, 2012

STARS AND SAND

By:  D. McCasland

A team led by an Australian Astronomer calculated the number of stars in the known universe to be 70 sextillion – 7 followed by 22 zeros. That unfathomable number is said to be more than the grains of sand in every beach and every desert on earth. The calculation was the by-product of research on the development of galaxies. One team member said, “Finding the number of stars is not really the research we were doing, but it was a nice result to play around with.”

Having an estimate of the number of stars can help us praise God with greater awe and wonder. Psalm 147 says: “It is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful ... He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite (vv. 1, 4-5).

This Psalm not only presents God’s majesty, but it also affirms His personal concern for each of us. He “heals the brokenhearted” (v.3), “lifts up the humble” (v.6), and “takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy” (v.11).

Let’s us praise the great God of stars and sand who knows and cares for each one of us.

The God who made the firmament,
Who made the deepest sea,
The God who put the stars in place
Is the God who cares for me. – Berg


“All creation points to the almighty Creator.”

Waiting on God and His Light in the Heart

By:   A. Murray “I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they t...