PENCIL

 

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

ONE: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

TWO: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

THREE: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

FOUR: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

AND FIVE: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

ONE: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

TWO: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

THREE: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

FOUR: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

AND FIVE: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties. By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth having a meaningful purpose in our heart.

We are just like the pencil, who can make a difference in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. Don't ever underestimate what you have the power to do!

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GROWING BY KNOWING

 

 

“We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:69 NIV).

Because the well runs dry, we know Jesus is the river of living water (John 4).

Because the storm rages, we know Jesus is the Lord of the storms (Matthew 14).

Because the floods overwhelm, we know Jesus is the rock on which to build (Matthew 7).

Because the foundation shivers, we know Jesus is the cornerstone that will not move (Matthew 21).

Because sickness comes, we know Jesus is the healer (Matthew 4).

Because we’re bankrupt through the debt of sin, we know Jesus is our redeemer (Galatians 3).

Because we grieve, we know Jesus is the voice calling from the shore, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (John 21).

Because we’re full of doubt, we know Jesus is the nail-scarred palm inviting our touch (John 20).

Jesus taught in the nasty-now-and-now because he knew disciples with focused faith are never made in the classroom; we’re made in the uncertainty of life as we come face-to-face with “I can’t; but God can.” Our lives change more through the crisis we experience than through the creed we confess.

In other words, what we know first-hand of God is what takes root and changes the way we live. We change because we have believed and come to know the Holy One of God (based in John 6:69).

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THE STORY IRON AND WATER

 

There are two objects namely iron and water,Iron is often proud of himself.He often bragged to his friend:"Look it's me, strong and hard. I do not like you are weak and soft"
Water only silent with the behavior of his friend. One day iron challenging water race to penetrate a cave and overcome all the obstacles that were there.
The rule: "He who can pass through the cave  without getting hurt he is the winner
Iron and the waters began to race

Their first hurdle is : that they have to pass the cave guard  namely stones hard and sharp,Iron began to show his strength, he rammed himself into the rocks.But because of the too hard rock finally began to crumble and overwrite iron,the iron many injured because against the stone.Water does his job he dripped little by little to counter the rocks.he gently scrape the rocks it so that other stones are not disturbed and do not realize it,
he was just punching holes as needed in order to pass through but does not damage other stones.Water and iron Score 1: 0 to obstacles in.

The second hurdle is; they have to go through various narrow gap to arrive at the bottom of the cave.Iron rely to his power, he transformed himself into a solid drill bit and he started to spin to penetrate the cracks.But the crack it was quite difficult be passed,getting hard spin the slit was getting ruined but he was also getting injure.Water casually transform itself following the shape of the cracks,
it flows slowly and because of that it can be changed freely without injured running through the cracks and arrived quickly bottom of the cave.
Score water and iron 2: 0.

The third hurdle is that they must be able to pass through a valley and arrived outside the cave.Iron difficulty overcoming this hurdle, he does not know what to do, finally he said to water : " Score 2: 0, I will acknowledge your greatness if you can go through this last hurdle!"Water pooled immediately in fact he struggles to overcome this hurdle, but then he let the sun help to be able to evaporate.Then the water fall as rain. Air wins hands down over the iron with the score 3: 0.

Make your life like a water.

He can get something with softness without damaging and injure due to little by little he moves but he can penetrate rock hard.Remember a person's heart can only be opened with tenderness and love not by coercion and violence.Violence only leads to resentment and coercion only lead to a desire for self-defense.

Water always changes its shape according to its environment, it is flexible and not rigid so he can be accepted by the environment and there is nothing contrary to her.Water not despair, though he still flowing through the smallest gap.And even if the water run into an impossibility to solve the problem, still given potentiality transform themselves into a vapor (This is the miracle).


Thomas, KMK St Petrus

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FAUCET

 

There was a man living in rural areas who throughout his life has not been touched by the progress of the modern world.One time he was invited by his son to visit the capital city, just enjoy and knowing that another lifestyle of the ordinary he faced. While in the city he lives in a fantastic luxury hotel. Everything was like a dream. he felt the presence of heaven on earth.

Just imagine, in a small box, stand a few minutes, suddenly was in a high floor (elevator). Just by pressing a small tool (remote control), suddenly a light exit box, and inside was a picture of life (television) He endlessly amazed any world oddity  he had never experienced before.

When he going back to the place of origin, when asked, what  like to take home as memories, Without thinking he said: 'I want to bring home two water taps.' All the shocked,But he explained that after returning home, two water tap will be affixed to the wall of his house.He thought, just by rotating the tap water, he will get a much-needed water especially when the hot sun stung hard.He did not know that the tap water is connected hotel room with a pipe to the water source.

_____________________________
- If not connected with the ORIGIN, then life is just an empty dream.  
- Outside appearance does not represent the truth inner person'n


 
Tarsis Sigho - Taipei

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GOD never says"YOU did what"?

 

 

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

"God is never confused by a problem. He's never surprised and he's never shocked. "

One night I was standing in front of the refrigerator. I'd gotten out of bed to make a midnight refrigerator raid even though I was on a diet. And I stood there with the refrigerator door open, thinking, "Just one bite ...."

You know how it goes. You get into a debate with yourself: "Go ahead; it won't hurt this one time." "No, I'm on this diet."

It's in moments like these that Satan feeds us a devilish excuse, "No one will ever know."

You may not be standing in front of the refrigerator. You may be at work, or filling out your income tax form, or some place your family wouldn't want you to be. But you go ahead and do something questionable because it's easy to get caught up in the false belief that 'no one will ever know.'

The truth is, God already knows!

The Bible says nothing in creation is hidden from God (Psalms 147:5), and that God knows everything about you (Psalm 139). This means there's no question God can't answer and no problem that confuses Him. He's never surprised and he's never shocked. He never says, "Oh, really!?" God knows everything. Theologians call this the omniscience of God.

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REFUEL YOUR LOVE TANK

 

 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT)

"How do you refuel your love tank? You start by letting God love you."

Love can be absolutely exhausting. Don't let anyone fool you. The kind of love that really makes a difference in this world will zap everything out of you.

Sometimes you just don't feel like you have any more love to give. Maybe you're in a people-intensive job - such as teacher, salesman, or waitress - and you come home and think, "I just can't face another need, another problem, or another heartache." So you just shut down.

Or you need to show love to a particular person who is demanding, selfish, and never returns your love. And you just think to yourself, "I'm done. No more."

While that's perfectly natural and perfectly human, it's not the standard of love God calls us to in the Bible. The Bible says, "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT) Love NEVER gives up.

How can you have that kind of persistent love for another person? You get refueled.

When my kids were young, I remember taking the family to a nearby air show. It was so impressive to see how they would hook up a tanker to a jet in flight to refuel. I'll never forget that.

But, can you imagine someone flying a jet saying, "I don't need to refuel?" The jet would crash and burn. In a long distance flight, a jet has to refuel.

To give the kind of persistent love that God wants you to give, you have to refuel your love tank. Look around at society, and you'll see it's littered with debris from relationships that have crashed and burned because people didn't refuel their love.

How do you refuel your love tank? You start by letting God love you. "We love because he first loved us." (I John 4:19 NIV) When you're worn out, tired, and can't imagine showing love to anyone else, remember that God loved you so much that he sent his son to die for you.

Now that's real fuel. That's what keeps you going when you want to quit.

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THE SIX PHASES OF FAITH

 

 

"Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, "Let it happen, then, just as you believe!" Matthew 9:29 (TEV)

"When things don't happen on our timetable, we tend to run ahead of God and create detours to make it happen. You may end up making the wrong decision."

God takes our belief and he blesses us through it, and that makes life a great adventure. It is critical that we cooperate with God as he builds faith within us. Because of its importance, I want to review the six phases of faith we've studied over the past week. This will also let you see them all in one place.

Phase 1—Dream: Do I have a dream planted in me by God? If you don't have a dream, start praying, "God give me your dream." If you can't write down the dream God has given you, you need to be praying. If you don't have a dream, you're not living, you're just existing. God placed you on this earth for a purpose.

Phase 2—Decision: Do I need to make a faith-decision that will help that dream become a reality? Some of you have a dream from God, but you haven't made a decision to follow it. You're still on the fence. God's word for you is "Go for it!" Some of you may need to make the decision to give your life to Christ. Some of you may need to make the decision to join a church. Some of you may need to make the decision to get involved in ministry.

Phase 3—Delay: What has caused my dream to be delayed? If your prayer hasn't been answered, that's okay. It just means you're in God's waiting room. Now is not the time to detour. When things don't happen on our timetable, we tend to run ahead of God and create detours to make it happen. You may end up making the wrong decision. Wait, wait, and wait for God to work his hand.

Phase 4—Difficulty: What difficulties have I faced waiting for the dream to be fulfilled? You are being tested, but it's not going to be the last time. You'll go through many, many tests in life. God says, "I know exactly what you're going through. I see it. I'm watching. Don't think I've forgotten you—I haven't."

Phase 5—Dead End: Have I come to a dead end yet? Some of you are there ready to give up. But the truth is—you're right where God wants you. You're getting prepared for deliverance. God's word for you is "Hang on! Keep on believing! Don't give up!"

Phase 6—Deliverance: Do I expect and trust God to deliver me? "According to your faith will it be done to you." (Matthew 9:29 NIV) God is faithful. What he tells us to do, he will do. But it doesn't happen overnight. You go through the faith-phases of Dream, Decision, Delay, Difficulty, and Dead End . . . and then comes Deliverance.

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BIRDS AND WINGS

 

 

An old legend says that God first created birds without wings. Sometime later, God made wings and said to the birds, "Come, take up these burdens and bear them." The birds hesitated at first, but soon obeyed. They tried picking up the wings in their beaks, but found them too heavy. Then they tried picking them up wit their claws, but found them too large. Finally one of the birds managed to get the wings hoisted onto its shoulders where it was possible to carry them.

To the amazement of the birds, before long the wings began to grow and they soon had attached themselves to the bodies of the birds. One of the birds began to flap his wings and others followed his example. Shortly afterwards, one of the birds took off and began to soar in the air above.

What had once been a heavy burden now became the very thing that enabled the birds to go where they could never go before...and at the same time, truly fulfill the destiny of their creation. The duties and responsibilities you count as burdens today may be part of God's destiny for your life, the means by which your soul is lifted up and prepared for eternity.

Don't be afraid of pressure. Remember that pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond. You know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:3,4

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THE BLESSING OF THORNS

 

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose annual holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come.

What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder.

"Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered aloud. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear- ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?"

The shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I....I need an arrangement, "stammered Sandra. "For Thanksgiving?

Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special?" asked the shop clerk.

"I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued.

"Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. " Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses.

Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped...there were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers!?! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. "Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile.

"You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest.

"Uhh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uhh... she just left with no flowers!"

"Right...I cut off the flowers. That's the Special... I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that?" exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband, "continued the clerk," and for the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel.

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra. "I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for good things in life and never thought to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important.

I always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.

"Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort.

I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

"Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement ....twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem.

He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks to Him for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too... fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time.

Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?" asked Sandra.

"Nothing." said the clerk.

"Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me. "The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra.

"I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you'd like to read it first."

It read:

"Dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to you along the path of pain.

Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look much more brilliant."

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HE NEVER SLEEPS

 

By Bill Crowder

Read: Psalm 121
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. —Psalm 121:3
Bible in a year:
1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31

Giraffes have the shortest sleep cycle of any mammal. They sleep only between 10 minutes and 2 hours in a 24-hour period and average just 1.9 hours of sleep per day. Seemingly always awake, the giraffe has nothing much in common with most humans in that regard. If we had so little sleep, it would probably mean we had some form of insomnia. But for giraffes, it’s not a sleep disorder that keeps them awake. It’s just the way God has made them.

If you think 1.9 hours a day is not much sleep, consider this fact about the Creator of our tall animal friends: Our heavenly Father never sleeps.

Describing God’s continual concern for us, the psalmist declares, “He who keeps you will not slumber” (Ps. 121:3). In the context of this psalm, the writer makes it clear that God’s sleepless vigilance is for our good. Verse 5 says, “The Lord is your keeper.” God keeps us, protects us, and cares for us—with no need for refreshing. Our Protector is constantly seeking our good. As one song puts it: “He never sleeps, He never slumbers. He watches me both night and day.”

Are you facing difficulties? Turn to the One who never sleeps. Each second of each day, let Him “preserve your going out and your coming in” (v.8).

The Rock of Ages stands secure,
He always will be there;
He watches over all His own
To calm their anxious care. —Keith

The One who upholds the universe will never let you down.

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