Monday, January 25, 2010

Offended?


Hi..
We sometimes tend to get offended when people we love hurt us, people we trust betray our trust, when people misunderstand us or we  misunderstand someone good motives.
In this stressful world one gets offended so....easily.
Today we see a rise in the number of suicides among children and teenagers.
It's sad some of them wanted to end their life because they were offended at the way they were treated or could not take discipline or even good advice.

People who do a good job, have  a good intentions are also taken in offense!
Mark 6:3
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

When we let offense take over our spirit, we end up loosing our joy and peace.
It's better to let go of all hurt feelings.forgive people who offend us and ask forgiveness when we offend people.
One of the devil's beatitudes is,
 Blessed are those who are easily offended 
for they will soon get angry and quit.    
       But we are not quitters but more than conquerors.
Romans 8: 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us
Let us continue to shine for JESUS.
Let's be 'stars' that reflect the Glory of God.
Let's not let rude people steal our joy...
Be blessed this day,
 ~Julie~
          

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

We cannot stop the storm..but sure can learn to survive it.....!


Hi.......
Have you sometimes wondered...
"Why do bad things happen to good people?" and 
"Good things to bad people?"
As believers, we too face storms in our life and some storms are really fierce.
One thing I've learned,
We can't stop the storm but can learn how to survive it!
How we react to the storm and handle it matters.
Instead of asking, "Why Lord?" We can ask,"Lord how can I handle this, show me ways to survive this?"
Characters of a storm...
  • Storms will come.
  • It will come suddenly ( Illness, accident, loss of finance etc happens all of a sudden)
  • It may be severe.
  • It may last for a long time sometimes.
So we see that  storms are a reality....!
Dear child of God, are you going through trials, pain, losses, delays, prolonged illness....??
Feel like giving up...?
Please hold on....For the storm will pass by....!
Remember our redeemer lives and He said,"I'll never leave you or forsake you."
So you are not alone in the storm.
Your saviour who promised He will never leave you is with you even if you are right in the middle of the storm....
Just the thought Jesus is with you  is YOUR ANCHOR OF HOPE!
He will comfort you, intervene in your problems BUT IN HIS TIME & HIS WAY!
HE IS IN CHARGE OF THE WAVES THAT TRY TO TOSS THE SHIP(Your life)....REMEMBER THE WAVES ( YOUR PROBLEMS) ARE UNDER HIS FEET!
Isn't that comforting?
How we respond to the storm matters... !
If when we face problems we say'" I won't read the Bible" "Won't go to Church" etc we will only mess up things.
We got to continue to hold on to our faith 
and walk with faith!
We should keep our focus on Jesus and not on the storm that rages around us.
Once our focus shifts to the storm we start to sink.
Matthew 14: 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"


Are you walking through a fierce storm? Is the pain too much to bear?...
Is your burden too heavy?
Look up to Jesus ..He's right beside you...
Tell Him you love Him , Praise Him in midst of your pain....!
He knows your pain , He has suffered more pain that that and so understands...
Just love Him and surrender your all to Him...
Rest in His arms and let the storm rage...As long as your eyes are fixed on His face that's all that matters....
Daniel's 3 friends said that they will not bow to that idol even the Lord didn't save them.
DANIEL 3:17,18
~~"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."~~
Habakkuk 3:17,18
~~" Though the fig tree does not bud & there is no grapes on the wines...though the olive crops fail, YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD I WILL BE JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOUR!"~~
Today even in the midst of the storm can we praise HIM?
I trust and pray some one out here is blessed and encouraged.

YSIC,
Julia
~Story for the day~
LIFE'S STRUGGLES

A man found a cocoon of an emperor butterfly,
He took it home so that he
could watch the butterfly come out of the cocoon.
On the day a small opening
appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force the body through that little hole.
The butterfly seemed to be stuck and appeared to have stopped making progress.
It seemed as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
The man, in his kindness, decided to help the butterfly; so he took a pair of scissors
and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged
easily.But its body was swollen and small,
its wings wrinkled and shriveled.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that,
at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to and able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened!
In fact, the little butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a small, swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
The man in his kindness and haste did not understand that the struggle required
for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was necessary to force fluid from the body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight upon achieving its freedom from the cocoon.
Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle.
By depriving the butterfly of a struggle, he deprived the butterfly of health.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through
our life without any obstacles,
we would be crippled.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets, and don't forget the power in the struggle.
~Unknown~