The Fern and the Bamboo

Don’t give up…..

One day I decided to quit…
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality… I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God”, I asked, “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”
His answer surprised me…
“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.

I gave them light.

I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth.

Its brilliant green covered the floor.

Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.

But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would
not quit.” He said.
“Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared
to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant….But just 6
months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”
He asked me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”.

“I would not quit on the bamboo.

I will never quit on you.”
“Don’t compare yourself to others.”

He said.

“The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.

Yet they both make the forest beautiful.”
“Your time will come”, God said to me.

“You will rise high”
“How high should I rise?”

I asked.
“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.
“As high as it can?” I questioned.
“Yes.” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”
I left the forest and brought back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never, Never, Never Give up.
For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
Don’t tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Oh well!!

It has been a while. I need to refocus on every area of my life, tomorrow is my 9th wedding anniversary and I need to do some evaluation there too. Basically every area of my life. Right now I am just too tired to do anything about anything.

Run To Daddy

Daily Devotional by Tommy Tenney,

Scripture Reading
Acts 16:25-34, where Paul and Silas, beaten and locked up in the Philippian jail, offer prayer and praise to God. He delivers them with an earthquake, and the jailer and his household become believers.

 

It is taught by some in the modern church that believers can expect an easy road in life if they will only have faith. It is good—even absolutely necessary—for true believers to believe and have faith in God. But the Christ of the Bible has never said “Life should be a breeze!”

 

Christians— good Christians —sometimes go bankrupt. Christians get cancer. Christians lose their jobs. Trials and adversity are real, even for believers—perhaps especially for believers. They touch every one of us and they hurt (and they usually have nothing to do with our faith level).

 

So how do you handle adversity in your life? Do you gripe and complain, saying, “Oh, woe is me!” Do you challenge or question God? “Why are You letting this happen to me?” Or have you learned to view trials as an opportunity to grow and to draw closer to your heavenly Father?

 

Children who get a cut or a scrape run to Mommy or Daddy for comfort—somehow their comforting and reassuring kisses make life better. The pain offers yet another opportunity to exchange love and deepen the bonds of unconditional love between children and parents.

 

In the same way, trials and hard times should propel us into our Father’s arms. Rather than run from Him, we must run to Him and find comfort, strength and direction in His presence. Our faith is in Him, in His abiding love, and in His Word; not in the false expectation that all trouble and adversity will leave our lives.

Jesus said, “A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…” He also gave us this great promise: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” You are on assignment in enemy territory, and trials and adversity are part of living in a fallen world. As God walks through the hard times with you, the problems serve as purifying fires burning away your impurities and strengthening you for service— if you embrace the process of growth. Your trials tend to either make you or break you—it all depends on your response.

 

Paul and Silas were thrown into the Philippian prison, with their feet in stocks and their backs bruised and bleeding from wrongful beatings. They could have moaned and groaned, but at the midnight hour they were too busy “praying and singing hymns to God”! They transformed their pain into praise and their stripes into songs of joy. The jubilant worship birthed in the midst of fierce tribulation became a sweet fragrance in the nostrils of God. The presence of the Father arrived with such force that it shook the earth and brought deliverance to His worshipers. The sweet fragrance of their worship even affected the lives of the jailer and his family and changed their lives forever.

 

Athletes know that in order to grow stronger their muscles must be stressed and stretched in exercise so even stronger tissue will generate. This principle of “no pain, no gain” even applies to the Christian life. We cannot grow without pain and resistance.

 

God uses the trials and hardships of life to draw us closer to Him and to develop greater maturity in us so we can go on to greater things. Willing worship in times of tribulation becomes the sweet fragrance that brings God near.

 

It’s easy to praise God when things go well. Have you learned to worship Him in hard times as well? Your trials and adversity are fresh opportunities to praise and worship God—and to experience new growth. When life hurts, don’t run away— run to Daddy!

PRAYER: Father, sometimes life hurts. My first impulse is to turn my back or run away, but I know You love me. The bad times and the sad times in my life should draw me closer to Your side and make me more like You. Teach me to worship You at all times—even in the hard times. Let my worship be a sweet fragrance rising to Your throne.

Changing conditions

When conditions change for the worse, there is no need to despair. For you have the ability to respond.

With every new problem there are plenty of new opportunities. Every setback represents a new starting point from which you can raise yourself to higher levels of purposeful achievement.

Just because things have changed is no reason to give up. In fact, that makes your worthwhile goal even more valuable.

There is always a way to get where you have chosen to go. Each challenge gives you new ways to add value to your dream.

Always, life is overwhelmingly abundant. When conditions change, you have the chance to see aspects of that abundance that you did not previously know were there.

Pause for a moment, take a deep breath, assess the situation, and re-focus yourself on the path you have chosen. Then step boldly and enthusiastically forward with more positive determination than ever.

– Ralph Marston

Psalm 46

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.

1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

⁴There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

⁹He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

How much time do you spend with God?

I have this theory that in we call our selves Christians then it is  a must that we should spend some time on a regular basis with God.

So just how much time do you spend with God?

What do you do? Do you really try to meet Him, or do  you rush in and out of his presence?  In order to really meet God, you have to spend some time speaking to him sometimes, other times being silent and listening to him speak to your heart. Without being rushed or being too concerned about the things you have to do afterwards. Seeking God’s plan for your life.

I don’t always get to spend as much time as I would love, but the onus is on me to make the time as this sacrifice is my reasonable service.

 

 

 

Where do you dwell?

This morning I shared with a few friends a portion of the scriptures.

It’s taken from Ps 91

It says ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, in whom will I put my trust.’

This is just a few lines from the chapter which goes on to describe the protection that God offers to those who dwell in the secret place of the God.

So where is that place?

I am of the opinion that this place resides in ones heart and actions towards God. Such a person finds the time on a regular basis to meet with God and to commune with Him.

After all, if we take a human relationship into consideration and we say we love someone. Then we are going to do everything to please that person. We will talk to the person every chance we get. When we are away from the person we will long for that. That kind of thing. And so it is with God, if we really desire to dwell in a secret place with him, then we will need to make the necessary sacrifices to spend time with Him and to live in obedience to His Word.

So the question is, where  do you dwell?

 

 

 

Does God seem far away

There were times in my life when God seem to be so far away from me, it’s like no matter how I try I can’t seem to reach Him. I read something recently that caused me to realize that I was to be blamed. I had been doing things unconciously and those things stood as a barrier between me and God. These are some of the things that block our prayers.

• Unforgiveness
• Not giving thanks all the time (shocker for me)
• Lack of giving
• unrepentant heart
• presumptious sins

Just to name a few. When we doubt God, we don’t see him as the ALMIGHTY, therefore we have made Him small in our eyes.

I have been spending more time in prayer, seeking him out to do His will in my life  

Prayer of affirmation

Prayer of affirmation 

When we come before God, we aught to acknowledge who we were when Jesus found us. We need to acknowledge that God loved us when only He knew the worst about us.

 

• Affirm that God opened our eyes bringing conviction and repentance
• Affirm that you have not forgotten that you were dead in trespass and sin and unworthy of God’s grace
• Affirm that you deserved God’s wrath and His just anger against sin and sinners
• Affirm that you have renounced Satan‘s hold over your life. Declare boldly that “I have renounced the god of this world”.
• Affirm your allegiance to God
• Affirm that you recognize God’s sovereignty as touching every area of your life. Tell Him again that He is sovereign over all you, human relationships and career ambitions and also that he has sovereign right over your possessions.

 

In doing this your relationship is clear in your mind in relation to how you approach God.

 

Introduction to Beyond Petition

Nobody is too wicked or too far from God to be redeemed by him, We see the gospel penetrating the sensual and immoral city of Ephesus. God is able to awakened anyone to their sense of need for him

When the Apostle Paul, in wrtining to the Ephesians told them to pray ALL KINDS OF PRAYER (Eph 6:18). Paul spoke about the special kind of faith they had.

Kinds of Faith

 Head Faith

The knowledge of Christ being the Son of God and the fact that he alone is able to help us in our needs and distress

Mathh 7:22-23 speak about those who know of God and still not ackowledge Him for who He is in the way they live their daily lives.

Dead Faith

This is where faith is exercised where persons follow certain guidelines only, and whatever is not mentioned is not taken onto account. Eg. The Pharisees

Devils Faith

This is basically an emotional response to God’s word. It is to have the fear of hell and the pleasure at the prospect of heaven. The devils themselves believe and tremble.

Heart Faith

Where you personally receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of the life, confessing and believing that God had raised Him from the dead and then live a live according to His word.