A New Spin On Things
A hunter bought a dog with a special ability. It seems the dog would run ahead to the lake, see how many ducks were available for the taking, then go back and bark the number to the potential shooter. The young man anxious to try out his new dog turned the dog loose to check out the lake. The dog came back shortly jumping and spinning in circles, holding a stick in his mouth. The bewildered hunter shot the dog fearing he was rabid. He then took the dog back to the man he purchased if from, demanding his money back, saying the dog had gone crazy. The older man asked the young man what it was the dog had done. He told him the dog had gone wild, spinning with a stick in his mouth. The old man said, “I think you are the one who is crazy. The dog was telling you there were more ducks at the lake than you could shake a stick at.” How often do Christians mistakenly judge moves of God in this way? We have so many available miracles ready for the taking. If God chooses to send them in an unconventional way, we sometime shake with fear and say forget it, kind of ask God for our money back. We should always be anxious for miracles, signs, and wonders, even the kind that have the potential to make us jump and spin around awhile.
The Light Shining Through
A grandmother added a square to a quilt top. The pink square was embroidered with the name and date of birth of a new baby just born into her family .A granddaughter looked on as the grandmother held her work to the light to inspect it. The grandmother said, “I think it is coming along quite nicely.” The granddaughter said, “Yes, well done Grandma.” The light shone though brightly colored squares representing births and marriages, as well as, through a few scattered dark squares. The young girl asked her grandmother what the dark squares represented. The grandmother sighed and said, “Among the happy moments in my life there have been some dark moments, those squares represent things such as death and divorce.” The granddaughter told her grandma she was sorry she had faced sad times in her life. The grandmother smiled and said, “Don’t be sorry, sad times are woven in with happy times in all of our lives. God uses sad times to draw us closer to Him. Someday when we stand before Jesus and He inspects the entire tapestry of our lives, both the bright and dark moments, He will smile as He sees how we allowed His light to shine through the dark times. Then He will say, “Well done.”
Impact
A farmer walked in the field one day to lookat an old abandoned tractor. The entire body was rusted. He looked at the wheels with rotten tires barely hanging on. He knewit would take a little time and energy to move the old tractor, but he wanted it moved! As he planned how to move the tractor, he knew the first step would be to turn the bolts on hte wheels that had been rusting for over twenty years. He would most likely need a tool called an impact wrench made especially to move immoveable, rusted bolts. An impact wrench uses both a hammering and turning motion together. When the trigger is pulled, impact from tiny hammers inside the wrench is transformed into a rotary motion. Both actions working together save time and energy.
Christians are called to have an impact on this world. We are to give hope to those who are barely hanging on, move immoveable, and trigger transformation. If is time we worked together, putting enery into action if we truly want to see God move.
Pray First
A family was desperate for food. The father made a decision to go hunting with an old rifle and only three bullets He came upon a rabbit, shot, and missed. He came upon a squirrel, shot. and missed. Down to his very last bullet, he saw a turkey high above his head. As he pointed his gun to fire the last bullet, he heard a voice speak, “Pray first, aim high, and stay focused.” Just then the hunter saw a deer which he thought would be a much greater kill. But as he aimed at the deer, he saw a rattlesnake on the ground ready to bite him. He then brought the gun down to shoot the snake. As he did, the voice spoke again, “I said, pray first, aim high, and stay focused.” The hunter recognized the voice of God. He prayed, aimed high and focused. He shot. The lone bullet bounced off the turkey, killing the deer. The handle fell off the gun, hitting the snake in the head, killing it. The force of the shot knocked the man in the water. He stood up to find his pockets full of fish, looking upon a dead deer, turkey and snake. When you are down to your last shot, forced to make quick decisions in life, always pray first, aim high, and stay focused. The enemy will be defeated and you will receive more blessings than you will be able to carry.
A New Spin On Things
A hunter bought a dog with a special ability. It seems the dog would run ahead to the lake, see how many ducks were available for the taking, then go back and bark the number to the potential shooter. The young man anxious to try out his new dog turned the dog loose to check out the lake. The dog came back shortly jumping and spinning in circles, holding a stick in his mouth. The bewildered hunter shot the dog fearing he was rabid. He then took the dog back to the man he purchased if from, demanding his money back, saying the dog had gone crazy. The older man asked the young man what it was the dog had done. He told him the dog had gone wild, spinning with a stick in his mouth. The old man said, “I think you are the one who is crazy. The dog was telling you there were more ducks at the lake than you could shake a stick at.” How often do Christians mistakenly judge moves of God in this way? We have so many available miracles ready for the taking. If God chooses to send them in an unconventional way, we sometime shake with fear and say forget it, kind of ask God for our money back. We should always be anxious for miracles, signs, and wonders, even the kind that have the potential to make us jump and spin around awhile.
The Light Shining Through
A grandmother added a square to a quilt top. The pink square was embroidered with the name and date of birth of a new baby just born into her family .A granddaughter looked on as the grandmother held her work to the light to inspect it. The grandmother said, “I think it is coming along quite nicely.” The granddaughter said, “Yes, well done Grandma.” The light shone though brightly colored squares representing births and marriages, as well as, through a few scattered dark squares. The young girl asked her grandmother what the dark squares represented. The grandmother sighed and said, “Among the happy moments in my life there have been some dark moments, those squares represent things such as death and divorce.” The granddaughter told her grandma she was sorry she had faced sad times in her life. The grandmother smiled and said, “Don’t be sorry, sad times are woven in with happy times in all of our lives. God uses sad times to draw us closer to Him. Someday when we stand before Jesus and He inspects the entire tapestry of our lives, both the bright and dark moments, He will smile as He sees how we allowed His light to shine through the dark times. Then He will say, “Well done.”
Impact
A farmer walked in the field one day to lookat an old abandoned tractor. The entire body was rusted. He looked at the wheels with rotten tires barely hanging on. He knewit would take a little time and energy to move the old tractor, but he wanted it moved! As he planned how to move the tractor, he knew the first step would be to turn the bolts on hte wheels that had been rusting for over twenty years. He would most likely need a tool called an impact wrench made especially to move immoveable, rusted bolts. An impact wrench uses both a hammering and turning motion together. When the trigger is pulled, impact from tiny hammers inside the wrench is transformed into a rotary motion. Both actions working together save time and energy.
Christians are called to have an impact on this world. We are to give hope to those who are barely hanging on, move immoveable, and trigger transformation. If is time we worked together, putting enery into action if we truly want to see God move.
Pray First
A family was desperate for food. The father made a decision to go hunting with an old rifle and only three bullets He came upon a rabbit, shot, and missed. He came upon a squirrel, shot. and missed. Down to his very last bullet, he saw a turkey high above his head. As he pointed his gun to fire the last bullet, he heard a voice speak, “Pray first, aim high, and stay focused.” Just then the hunter saw a deer which he thought would be a much greater kill. But as he aimed at the deer, he saw a rattlesnake on the ground ready to bite him. He then brought the gun down to shoot the snake. As he did, the voice spoke again, “I said, pray first, aim high, and stay focused.” The hunter recognized the voice of God. He prayed, aimed high and focused. He shot. The lone bullet bounced off the turkey, killing the deer. The handle fell off the gun, hitting the snake in the head, killing it. The force of the shot knocked the man in the water. He stood up to find his pockets full of fish, looking upon a dead deer, turkey and snake. When you are down to your last shot, forced to make quick decisions in life, always pray first, aim high, and stay focused. The enemy will be defeated and you will receive more blessings than you will be able to carry.