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BE A BLESSING
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By:
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Blessing-to-you
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Mood:
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Inspirational
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Date:
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11/26/2007 17:33:06
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Music:
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None
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James 2:16-19If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. 2 Corinthians 9:6-12Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. < /SPAN>
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,Where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
I don really need to say more, but that never stopped me before. If I have it in my means to help a need the Lord has shown me and I ignore it, I worse than an unbeliever. What do I have I earned ON MY OWN? What am I; did I grow anything I am in MY OWN GARDEN UNAIDED? WHAT IS MINE ANYWAY?What I am NOT saying:~I not saying to give to one person, only. ~I am not saying to impoverish yourself for others, UNLESS God asks you to.~all help is material or financial.~Just because I give doesn mean I will receive more later.
WHAT I AM SAYING IS, if I see a need I can fill I will try to fill it. One of the first rules is of course to Ask God. I gone off half-cocked a few times giving help to people and found out later when God reminded me that I am not that person source He is, that God had in mind something else for that need.
Matthew 10:6 Freely you have received, freely give
yet we since we are out as sheep amongst wolves:
Matthew 11:28 Therefore be as shrewd as snakes yet innocent as Doves. I Matthew 5:42 Jesus said. to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. size=3>And yet: PR 22:26 Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;In fact we are to: PR 6:-51 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
This is yet another reason to Ask God first.
~~~~
A man came across a beautiful beach and as he walked on the beach he started noticing more and more starfish stranded on the beach when the high tide went back out. He walked further and saw thousands of starfish and a young boy who was throwing them back in the ocean. He stopped and asked the boy, do you bother to rescue the starfish when clearly there is nothing you can do to make a difference to so many. The boy didn answer just kept on throwing them back. Again the man asked in a louder voice. The boy picked one up and looked carefully at the starfish just before he threw it also back into the sea, and he said, "It made a difference to that one, didn it? size=3> My Pastor likened all the problems in this world to ocean of trouble and all we can do each of us is to take out our own bucketful. If I see a bucket of trouble and I dump it out, it made a difference to that one, didn it?
For me lately the heavens have gone all brass, all my prayers seem to fall to the ground like birds who try to fly to close to the sun. I'm used to my prayers for myself being shut down, [except for my famous "teach me perfect obedience...", and "help me to learn patience...", Hahahaha.
Lately my prayers for others are not only going unanswered but seem to be making things worse for the ones I'm praying for.
Two items here, While at a service at a nursing home one lady kept saying I will serve the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, she said it about four times and inwardly I chuckled, "Maybe she's stuck..." I thought unkindly. But No, the Lord was speaking to me thru' her and since I refused to credit it the first three times, He had her say it again, "Get the point, Katy?" He seemed to say...
Second, I was at a grocery store, I live in a very small town and I know so many people here. I noticed a stock clerk I've spoken with a few times as she walked past me she said, "Hi." I noticed she was hurting, never mind how I knew...
"Hi", I said, "how are you? Is your back hurting?"
"She replied that it was, "a little."
Instantly I wanted to pray with her for it, but I pulled away telling myself, it wouldn't help her and it would probably make her worse." I thought morosely.
but it kept on nagging at me; I thought about how, when God pulls away it's like when we get our toddle to take a few more steps by walking back a bit as they teeter on two feet, and I finally thought a short unadorned prayer might be good, So 'i id, I asked her for a moment of her time and took her hands in mine and just simply prayed for her healing. How else will I ever become the blessing I want to be? Lord, Help me to see the problems in this world others are going through as my problem; as something I can do something about. Help me Lord to ask you first if it a need you want me to fill and provide the means for me to help. I ask that you give each of us so much blessing that we can bless others with what overflows from our cup. And help me Lord to open my hands and let go of what I seen as mine, share with others; to scoop my bucketful out of the world. In Jesus Name. Amen.
, ,,,A LIVING WATER DEVOTIONAL Katy Brezger webriter@verizon.nethttp://www.angelfire.com/mi3/lw/index.htmlI sending this out to a tentative list, if you prefer not to receive this send it back with unsubscribe in the subject line, if you wish to send it to others do so, and if they want to receive devotionals send it back with subscribe in the subject line. God Blessmy own personal miracle http://productshealth.net/index.html
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