Once upon a time, there was a man who was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Saviour appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the man's mind such as: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.
These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough." And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
"Lord," he said, "I have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?" To this the Lord responded compassionately, "My child, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.
And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at you
In every change that you experience in life, there will be times when you'll wonder if you can endure. But you'll learn that facing each difficulty one by one isn't so hard. It's when you don't deal with a situation that it sometimes comes back to confront you again. Changes are sometimes very painful, but they teach us that we can endure and that we can become stronger. Everything that comes into your life has a purpose, but the outcome is in your hands by the action you take. Be wise with your life, be willing to endure, and always be willing to face life's challenges.
Today story is "God Works In Mud". In a 1950s novel,there is a scene in which four village men confess their sins to one another.One of the men,Michelis ,cries out,"How can God let us live on the earth"?Why doesn't He kill us to purify creation?" "Because Michelis",one of the men answered,"God is a potter;He works in mud".This is literally what the Lord did in Genesis.The sovereign Creator formed and shaped humanity by unique design.This process involved fashioning a man from the dust of the ground.The word formed in Genesis 2;7 describes the work of an artist.Like a potter,molding and fashioning mud into a pot or something earthen vessel,so the Lord God formed humanity from clay.God's work with dust and mud continued by breathing into man the breath of life,changing his form into a living soul.This made man a spiritual being,with the capacity to serve and fellowship with the Lord.After Adam and Eve sinned,God continued working in and with mud,sending his son Jesus to die for humanity and then regenerating those who receive him so that we can enjoy fellowship with Him.In gratitude,let's use our hands to do good works for his glory.Genesis 2vs7"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;and became a living being.
The heavens are sounding the glory of God; the arch of the sky makes clear the work of his hands. 2 Day after day it sends out its word, and night after night it gives knowledge. 3 There are no words or language; their voice makes no sound. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them has he put a tent for the sun, 5 Who is like a newly married man coming from his bride-tent, and is glad like a strong runner starting on his way. 6 His going out is from the end of the heaven, and his circle to the ends of it; there is nothing which is not open to his heat.
7 The law of the Lord is good, giving new life to the soul: the witness of the Lord is certain, giving wisdom to the foolish. 8 The orders of the Lord are right, making glad the heart: the rule of the Lord is holy, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, and has no end; the decisions of the Lord are true and full of righteousness. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even than much shining gold; sweeter than the dropping honey. 11 By them is your servant made conscious of danger, and in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who has full knowledge of his errors? make me clean from secret evil. 13 Keep your servant back from sins of pride; let them not have rule over me: then will I be upright and free from great sin. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in your eyes, O Lord, my strength and my salvation.
There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren't the way you had hoped they would be. That's when you have to tell yourself that things will get better. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down. But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself. There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them.
constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are. So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be. Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.
i thank you for taking the time out of your life to think about and send encouraging words to me. thank and bless you as well more than you can imagine or contain. i'm working on my bday. till i can get to the place where i'm forced to rest! hope to see you at chit chats in decatur dec 3 for my comedy show! bring some friends its going to be a good time!
J.,As you know by know I do not preach, nor do I boast. I am not by any means a self proclaimed Prophet, Apostle, Evangelist, Minister, Pastor or Priest. I am simply a child of God. With the same hopes and dreams, trouble and struggles as you. With this being said I'd like to share with you something very profound to me. From the book of Romans and the heart of Paul, one of God's greatest servants."I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do: no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law but: i see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ Our Lord!" (Chapter 7: 15-25 N.I.V.) Yikes! I thought I had some deep thoughts! lol What Paul is saying here is so so deep. I'm not gonna try and explain it to ya. But I think if you read it carefully and think about who he was sending it to. (This is from his letter to the Romans whose land at that time was full of every horrific kind of sin imaginable) It becomes quite understandable. When you communicate with someone, it's easiest, when you speak their language. God's grace, face
Thanks for the kind Birthday wishes--I spend part of the day working at the barn riding horses with my daughter..it was wonderful-came home to find out my son made the honor roll--which was a New Thing(yay)!!
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