For all the gifts that Thou dost send,
For every kind and loyal friend,
For prompt supply of all my need,
For all that's good in word or deed,
For gift of health along life's way,
For strength to work from day to day,
I give Thee humble thanks.
For ready hands to help and cheer,
For listening ears Thy voice to hear,
For yielded tongue Thy love to talk,
For willing feet Thy paths to walk,
For open eyes Thy Word to read,
For loving heart Thy will to heed,
I give Thee humble thanks.
For Christ who came from Heaven above,
For the Cross and His redeeming love,
For His mighty power to seek and save,
For His glorious triumph o'ver the grave,
For the lovely mansions in the sky,
For His blessed coming by-and-by,
I give Thee humble thanks.
-Clifford Lewis
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
A Monkey's Viewpoint...
Three monkeys dining in a coconut tree
Were discussing something they thought shouldn't be,
Said one to the others,
"Now, listen, you two-Here monkeys,
is something that cannot be true:
"That humans descend from our noble race!
Why, it's shocking- a terrible disgrace!
Whoever heard of a monkey deserting his wife;
Leaving a baby to starve; maybe ruin its life?"
And have you ever known of a mother monk
To leave her darling with strangers to bunk?
Human babies are handed from one to another
And some scarcely know the love of a mother.
"I've never known a monkey so selfish to be
As to build a fence 'round a coconut tree
So other monkeys couldn't get a wee taste
While bushels of coconuts were going to waste.
"Why, if I'd put a fence 'round this coconut tree,
Starvation would force you to steal food from me.
And here is another thing a monkey won't do:
Seek a cocktail parlor and get on a stew;
"Carouse on a whoopee, disgracing his life,
Then reel madly home and beat up his wife.
Some humans think it fun-they fuss and theycuss-
They've descended from something, but it can'tbe from us."
-Anonymous
Were discussing something they thought shouldn't be,
Said one to the others,
"Now, listen, you two-Here monkeys,
is something that cannot be true:
"That humans descend from our noble race!
Why, it's shocking- a terrible disgrace!
Whoever heard of a monkey deserting his wife;
Leaving a baby to starve; maybe ruin its life?"
And have you ever known of a mother monk
To leave her darling with strangers to bunk?
Human babies are handed from one to another
And some scarcely know the love of a mother.
"I've never known a monkey so selfish to be
As to build a fence 'round a coconut tree
So other monkeys couldn't get a wee taste
While bushels of coconuts were going to waste.
"Why, if I'd put a fence 'round this coconut tree,
Starvation would force you to steal food from me.
And here is another thing a monkey won't do:
Seek a cocktail parlor and get on a stew;
"Carouse on a whoopee, disgracing his life,
Then reel madly home and beat up his wife.
Some humans think it fun-they fuss and theycuss-
They've descended from something, but it can'tbe from us."
-Anonymous
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sitting at His Feet...
"So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah" (Ruth 2:17-18).
The story of Ruth provides an excellent illustration of the connection between spending time in the presence of God and receiving physical provision. Naomi was married to Elimelech. They had two married sons. Elimelech died and ten years later both of the sons also died. Ruth was married to one of the sons.
The other daughter-in-law moved back to her family, but Ruth, in spite of Naomi's encouragement, insisted on staying with Naomi. The only way for the family line to continue would have been for Ruth to marry another son or direct relative. Now, through a custom known as the kinsman redeemer, Ruth could be married to a relative in the family line. Times were tough and most people made a living by farming. Naomi had a relative named Boaz who was a prominent land owner and farmer. She sent Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz all day in hopes of picking up excess grain left behind by the harvesters.
Ruth stayed in the fields all day and yielded just one ephah of grain. It is a picture of sweat and toil for very little return. However, something happens later in the story. Naomi realized the only way Ruth was going to have any kind of future is if a kinsman redeemer came to her rescue. She instructed Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz would be and to quietly sit at the feet of Boaz all night. This would be a sign of submitting her life to Boaz. He would have to exercise his right to be her kinsmen redeemer.
Later, Boaz sends Ruth home and takes the necessary steps to become her redeemer. But before he sends her home, he gives her six ephahs of barley - six times what she got spending all day in the fields.
Friend, if we are going to succeed in fulfilling God's destiny for our lives, we must have a life of intimate worship and devotion to Jesus. Why not start spending more time at the feet of Jesus.
-Os Hillman
The story of Ruth provides an excellent illustration of the connection between spending time in the presence of God and receiving physical provision. Naomi was married to Elimelech. They had two married sons. Elimelech died and ten years later both of the sons also died. Ruth was married to one of the sons.
The other daughter-in-law moved back to her family, but Ruth, in spite of Naomi's encouragement, insisted on staying with Naomi. The only way for the family line to continue would have been for Ruth to marry another son or direct relative. Now, through a custom known as the kinsman redeemer, Ruth could be married to a relative in the family line. Times were tough and most people made a living by farming. Naomi had a relative named Boaz who was a prominent land owner and farmer. She sent Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz all day in hopes of picking up excess grain left behind by the harvesters.
Ruth stayed in the fields all day and yielded just one ephah of grain. It is a picture of sweat and toil for very little return. However, something happens later in the story. Naomi realized the only way Ruth was going to have any kind of future is if a kinsman redeemer came to her rescue. She instructed Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz would be and to quietly sit at the feet of Boaz all night. This would be a sign of submitting her life to Boaz. He would have to exercise his right to be her kinsmen redeemer.
Later, Boaz sends Ruth home and takes the necessary steps to become her redeemer. But before he sends her home, he gives her six ephahs of barley - six times what she got spending all day in the fields.
Friend, if we are going to succeed in fulfilling God's destiny for our lives, we must have a life of intimate worship and devotion to Jesus. Why not start spending more time at the feet of Jesus.
-Os Hillman
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Daily Bread...
Losing Your Life for His Purposes...TGIF, Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Saturday, April 18 2009
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it." - Luke 9:24
When the time came for God to fulfill Joseph's dreams, Joseph himself had virtually no interest at all in it. Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it" (Lk. 9:24). God wants to teach us a different set of values so that the kind of thing we start out wanting becomes secondary. God has something in mind for us that is far greater than the interest we began with.
Joseph's day of exaltation had arrived. Yet, through it all, a very real humiliation had to take place. We know about the humiliation Joseph had experienced for 13 years after being sold by his brothers into slavery, then taken to Egypt. We know how he was falsely accused and cast into prison.
Then came a different situation. Joseph had had a triumph and was given an exaltation, but the kind he really never asked for. He did not appear to be all that interested in what was about to happen. He watched as the Pharaoh took his ring off his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. Joseph never asked for that. All he wanted was to go home. He longed to go back to Canaan, to see his father, and to have his dreams fulfilled.
Therefore, here we find an extraordinary incongruity: a humiliation in the heart of vindication. A triumph that was the opposite of everything he, himself, could have envisaged. Joseph wanted to go home, but a one-way ticket to Canaan wasn't available. Before he knew it, he had Egypt in his hip pocket. He had never prayed for that. But God wanted Egypt. What God wanted is what Joseph got.
Joseph was given something that he could be trusted with because it didn't mean that much to him.
Saturday, April 18 2009
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it." - Luke 9:24
When the time came for God to fulfill Joseph's dreams, Joseph himself had virtually no interest at all in it. Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it" (Lk. 9:24). God wants to teach us a different set of values so that the kind of thing we start out wanting becomes secondary. God has something in mind for us that is far greater than the interest we began with.
Joseph's day of exaltation had arrived. Yet, through it all, a very real humiliation had to take place. We know about the humiliation Joseph had experienced for 13 years after being sold by his brothers into slavery, then taken to Egypt. We know how he was falsely accused and cast into prison.
Then came a different situation. Joseph had had a triumph and was given an exaltation, but the kind he really never asked for. He did not appear to be all that interested in what was about to happen. He watched as the Pharaoh took his ring off his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. Joseph never asked for that. All he wanted was to go home. He longed to go back to Canaan, to see his father, and to have his dreams fulfilled.
Therefore, here we find an extraordinary incongruity: a humiliation in the heart of vindication. A triumph that was the opposite of everything he, himself, could have envisaged. Joseph wanted to go home, but a one-way ticket to Canaan wasn't available. Before he knew it, he had Egypt in his hip pocket. He had never prayed for that. But God wanted Egypt. What God wanted is what Joseph got.
Joseph was given something that he could be trusted with because it didn't mean that much to him.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Remember This...
If it's free, it's advice.
If you have to pay for it, it's counseling.
If you can use either one, it's a miracle!
-Barbara Johnson, Author
If you have to pay for it, it's counseling.
If you can use either one, it's a miracle!
-Barbara Johnson, Author
Sunday, April 12, 2009
The Owners Manual...
I borrowed this from a fellow blogger, I hope they don't mind.
Years ago a young man was stopped by the side of the road with the hood of his Model T Ford raised up, trying to figure out how to get it started again. While he was bent over the motor a limousine pulled up behind him, and out stepped a well-dressed man. "Can I help you with that?" the stranger asked. "Nah....I'm just tinkering around 'till I get it fixed. I think I can handle it, thanks."After watching the young man for a few minutes the stranger offered a couple of suggestions: "You know, you might try jigging that thing right there, and then crank up the engine again." Frustrated that he hadn't figured it out for himself the young man snorted, "Fine", and gave it a whirl. To his surprise the motor roared to life again."Wow. How'd you know to finagle that thing?"Reaching his hand out the stranger said, "My name is Henry Ford, son, and I designed and built that thing."You know, friends, life is like a Model T. God has designed and built it for us to use and run at peak perfection, but sometimes things break down, and we can be as stubborn as the young man by the side of the road: "I think I can fix it on my own, thanks."But why not go straight to the Designer and His Owner's Manual for our fix-it advice? He knows better than any of us what needs to be jigged and tweaked.
Ps 139:13-24"For You formed my inward parts;You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;When I awake, I am still with You.Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me..... and lead me in the way everlasting.
Years ago a young man was stopped by the side of the road with the hood of his Model T Ford raised up, trying to figure out how to get it started again. While he was bent over the motor a limousine pulled up behind him, and out stepped a well-dressed man. "Can I help you with that?" the stranger asked. "Nah....I'm just tinkering around 'till I get it fixed. I think I can handle it, thanks."After watching the young man for a few minutes the stranger offered a couple of suggestions: "You know, you might try jigging that thing right there, and then crank up the engine again." Frustrated that he hadn't figured it out for himself the young man snorted, "Fine", and gave it a whirl. To his surprise the motor roared to life again."Wow. How'd you know to finagle that thing?"Reaching his hand out the stranger said, "My name is Henry Ford, son, and I designed and built that thing."You know, friends, life is like a Model T. God has designed and built it for us to use and run at peak perfection, but sometimes things break down, and we can be as stubborn as the young man by the side of the road: "I think I can fix it on my own, thanks."But why not go straight to the Designer and His Owner's Manual for our fix-it advice? He knows better than any of us what needs to be jigged and tweaked.
Ps 139:13-24"For You formed my inward parts;You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;When I awake, I am still with You.Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me..... and lead me in the way everlasting.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The Dangers of Overcontrol...
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os HillmanSaturday, April 04 2009
"For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king." - 1 Samuel 15:23
A friend of mine who is a jet pilot once told me that whenever a jet goes out of control and begins to spin, the only thing to do is totally take your hands off the controls and the plane will right itself. This goes against our natural inclination to control and manipulate in order to bring things back under control. It is scary to be out of control. Or is it?
Saul was a man out of control. He was losing control of his kingdom to David. He was losing the favor of God and the people. It began as compromises. Eventually he was given a final test to obey the voice of God fully. He was instructed to kill the Amalekites completely; but he failed to follow through. The prophet Samuel delivered a hard word to King Saul, "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king" (see 1 Sam. 15:26). Saul obeyed partially, but not fully. It was partial obedience that led to his removal as king of Israel and his calling from God. But why did Saul do such a thing? "I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them" (1 Sam. 15:24b). Saul's fear and insecurity made him more afraid of the people and what they thought than of God. At the core of Saul's disobedience was fear of losing control. That fear of losing control led to partial obedience and the loss of his reign as king.
How many of us are in danger of losing God's blessing due to partial obedience? How many of us have such a need to control people and circumstances that we fail to fully walk in obedience to God's voice in our lives? Saul provides a great lesson for us as workplace believers. The need to overcontrol things around us can prevent us from receiving all that God has for us. Today, take an inventory of your control quotient.
Ask God if you are being fully obedient to what He has called you to do this day, and avoid being put on the shelf for disobedience. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22b).
"For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king." - 1 Samuel 15:23
A friend of mine who is a jet pilot once told me that whenever a jet goes out of control and begins to spin, the only thing to do is totally take your hands off the controls and the plane will right itself. This goes against our natural inclination to control and manipulate in order to bring things back under control. It is scary to be out of control. Or is it?
Saul was a man out of control. He was losing control of his kingdom to David. He was losing the favor of God and the people. It began as compromises. Eventually he was given a final test to obey the voice of God fully. He was instructed to kill the Amalekites completely; but he failed to follow through. The prophet Samuel delivered a hard word to King Saul, "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king" (see 1 Sam. 15:26). Saul obeyed partially, but not fully. It was partial obedience that led to his removal as king of Israel and his calling from God. But why did Saul do such a thing? "I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them" (1 Sam. 15:24b). Saul's fear and insecurity made him more afraid of the people and what they thought than of God. At the core of Saul's disobedience was fear of losing control. That fear of losing control led to partial obedience and the loss of his reign as king.
How many of us are in danger of losing God's blessing due to partial obedience? How many of us have such a need to control people and circumstances that we fail to fully walk in obedience to God's voice in our lives? Saul provides a great lesson for us as workplace believers. The need to overcontrol things around us can prevent us from receiving all that God has for us. Today, take an inventory of your control quotient.
Ask God if you are being fully obedient to what He has called you to do this day, and avoid being put on the shelf for disobedience. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22b).
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