BETTER THAN THE MIGHTY

“HE THAT IS SLOW TO ANGER is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” – Proverbs 16:32

THE SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK column is hosted by Miss Felecia V and appears weekly each Sunday morning, featuring an encouraging scripture from the Bible as an uplifting way to start the week.

“AS THE DEW”

“DROP YOUR STILL DEWS OF QUIETNESS,

Till all our strivings cease:

Take from our souls the strain and stress;

And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Your peace.

“BREATHE THROUGH THE PULSES OF DESIRE

Your coolness and Your balm;

Let sense be mum, its beats expire:

Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,

O still small voice of calm!”

~ Selection from STREAMS IN THE DESERT

“I WILL BE AS THE DEW UNTO ISRAEL: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.” – Hosea 14:5

OVERCOMING THE WORLD

“YE ARE OF GOD, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

“FOR WHATSOEVER IS born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

~ I John 4:4, 5:4

THE SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK column is hosted by Miss Felecia V and appears weekly each Sunday morning, featuring an encouraging scripture from the Bible as an uplifting way to start the week.

WE MUST BE A DOER OF GOD’S WORD

TO BE BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of God, we must be a doer of his word.

IT IS KNOWN, by and large, that the feminine gender can spend a great deal of time in front of a mirror primping and preparing themselves before going out into society.  Hair, face, clothes, makeup, smile, profile, all must pass their scrupulous inspection. But there is one mirror that we all should spend much time in front of and that is the mirror of the word of God.

“For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer,  he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1: 23-25

AS WE ARE SEEKING TO BE BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of God, it is important that we understand what true beauty is in God’s eyes. Just as when we seek to be beautiful on the outward appearance, it should be even more important and more time consuming to be beautiful on the inside. For our Heavenly Father is not so much interested on our outward appearance. He is looking at our heart.

“…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”“ 1 Samuel 16:7

GOD’S WORD IS A MIRROR to our heart and soul. We must spend much time studying God’s word, and adjusting our heart and soul accordingly.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4: 12

JUST AS SOMEONE MAY TELL YOU that he knows and loves you, yet spend no time getting to know you and finding out what pleases you, so many treat the LORD Jesus Christ the same way, proving to God and to the world that truly something or someone else is their God. They are not looking at God’s word and doing their best to follow His precepts but rather they are choosing their own way and in the end will find, as the scripture above states, that they have simply deceived their own selves.

MANY DO WHAT THEY THINK is pleasing to God, but they never take time to study his word and make sure that, by his word, they are seeing reflected back a true Christian.

“Many will say to me in that day, LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man…” Matthew 7: 22-24

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, THIS PEOPLE HOUNERETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. HOWBEIT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.” Mark 7: 6-7

YOU SEE, this is a very serious matter, because, if we have not taken the time to know and to do God’s will, he will not know us when the last day comes. He will tell us depart.

YET, GOD IS SO MERCIFUL and longsuffering, that even if this is the way we have been treating him up until now, as long as we are on this side of eternity, we can turn around, repent and serve God acceptably. And He is waiting, with open arms, to receive us as dear children.

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Revelations 3: 20-22

ARE YOU LOOKING TO PLEASE GOD? Are you looking to hear him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant?” Then consider the perfect law of liberty- liberty from everything that is sinful and defiling- liberty in Christ; and be a doer of his word and not just a hearer!

“Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” Proverbs 31: 31

For Further Reading See: Behavior Modification Verses a Changed Life

THE STRENGTH OF MY LIFE

“THE LORD IS my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the STRENGTH OF MY LIFE; of whom shall I be afraid?”

SOMETIMES IN LIFE, we come to places where the way is so narrow, the path so steep or the road so treacherous, that we feel like we can’t go on. The way may be so dark that it is hard to see the next step. The pain may be so great that our heart breaks and we feel like we can no longer bear it.

IT IS AT our hardest points in life, that God’s power and strength can be revealed in us the best. The LORD is the STRENGTH of my life.

THIS PAST WEEK brought about a most tragic heartache to me and my family. It has been a rough week – busy, stressful and emotional. Yet through it all, God has been my strength. In this trial, I read this scripture (above) and it has stuck with me and proved to be true. GOD IS MY STRENGTH! I don’t know WHAT I would do without Him! Even when it seemed that I had literally cried myself sick, His hand was there with me and He gave me the strength and grace I needed. He has been there all along and His strength will continue to carry me through. “What a mighty God we serve!”

THE CARROT, THE EGG, AND THE COFFEE

Author Unknown

A YOUNG WOMAN went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

IN RESPONSE, her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

IN ABOUT TWENTY minutes she turned off the burners.. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“CARROTS, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

HER MOTHER brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

FINALLY, THE MOTHER asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

HER MOTHER ANSWERED, “Dear, each of these objects faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak The egg was fragile. Its thin outer shell protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water.”

“WHICH ARE YOU?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

NOW ASK YOURSELF – Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

AM I THE EGG that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

OR AM I LIKE the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

MAY YOU HAVE enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

PLACE OF REFUGE

“AND THERE SHALL BE a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

- ISAIAH 4:6

THE SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK column is hosted by Miss Felecia V and appears weekly each Sunday morning, featuring an encouraging scripture from the Bible as an uplifting way to start the week.

FORGOTTEN SONG

“A FRIEND IS someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.“ – Anonymous

HOW IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE?

JUST A THOUGHT . . .

WHEN WE PRAY, we are talking to GOD – the CREATOR of the universe, our Maker, the King above ALL kings and LORD above ALL Lords! And when we pray to Him, we aren’t just saying words – we are “communing” with Him.

OUR PRAYER LIFE needs to be something more than every night before we go to bed, “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” You get the picture! Prayer is more than a set time and place. It’s not using particular words or talking in a certain way. Prayer can be constant. Prayer is from the heart and the mind. Prayer is communication with our heavenly Father.

YES, PRAYER IS kneeling beside our bed each morning, asking God to be with us in the day. But prayer is also talking to God in your heart and in your mind throughout the day. When a problem DOES arise, asking for His guidance and His help in the situation. It is sharing with Him your joys and your sorrows. It is throwing your cares on Him because He WANTS you to! It is praising Him. It is remembering how good He is and how blessed you really are.

HOW IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE? Don’t let it become a form or even a “duty”! May it be the language of your heart to God. Let your communion with your Father flow freely throughout your day. You will truly be blessed! Cast your cares upon Him. Keep up your prayer life!!!

A FULL REWARD

“LOOK TO YOURSELVES, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” – 2 John 8

THE SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK column is hosted by Miss Felecia V and appears weekly each Sunday morning, featuring an encouraging scripture from the Bible as an uplifting way to start the week.