Friendship In The Pit
by Os Hillman, April 8, 2007
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. - Proverbs 17:17
"I am in there again," I told my friend. "The pit." A time when no one can cheer you up and you wonder if there ever was or is a God. Have you ever had such times? Discouragement can be devastating even to the best of saints. It can bring us so low. The writer of Proverbs phrased it well when he said, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). When we get so low that we despair of our belief, we can identify with the prophet Elijah who wanted to die after being so discouraged with life.
"I'm coming over," my friend said.
"Aw, you don't have to do that," I said.
"I'm coming over. We're going to pray."
About 30 minutes later my friend walked in the door. We sat down on the living room floor and simply lay on our backs as my friend began to pray. I didn't feel like praying. I was too deep in the pit. All I could do was listen. After awhile my friend was quiet. We both sat quietly for ten to fifteen minutes, praying quietly to ourselves. Suddenly my friend said, "First Thessalonians 5:24!"
"What verse is that?" I asked.
"I don't know," she said. "That is the verse He spoke to me."
I grabbed my Bible and looked up the verse. "The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it."
We laughed. Can He be so personal? Can He care that much? That night I grew more in my love of my two friends, not to mention being brought out of the pit.
Do you have a friend who is there when you need somebody at any hour of the day? Are you there for your friend? Ask the Lord how you can be a better friend to someone today.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Endurance Part 1
ENDURANCE
Vineyard Church NW - Jody Burgin
Endurance is associated with the physical stamina required for a race. However, the habit of endurance is much deeper than physical stamina. It includes the strength that comes from vital connection with God and others. As we draw closer to God, his unfathomable love and power is released into our lives. This enablement not only helps us to withstand the stress and strain of life, but equips us to persistently give our best to everything we do.
To endure is to tenaciously hold on until a goal is accomplished. The believer’s hope is that by enduring hardship, he will experience a greater measure of spiritual power in this life as well as rewards in Heaven. Jacob clung to the angel and declared, “I will not let you go until you bless me!” God not only blessed him but affirmed, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28). His perseverance grew from his hope of God’s blessing.
ENDURANCE vs. Discouragement
The inward strength to withstand stress and give my best to everything I do.
“I will…”
not waste my time, energy, and talent on meaningless pursuits.
accept both instruction and correction.
put my whole heart into everything I do.
bend instead of break.
not be a “quitter.”
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But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25
Oysters are fascinating shellfish. Once in a while an irritating object, such as a grain of sand, gets under the shell of the oyster and works its way to the soft flesh inside. To relieve the irritation, the oyster secretes a smooth substance that coats the grain of sand. Layer upon layer of this coating is added until at last the bothersome spec becomes a pearl. Pearls, then, are simply victories over irritations.
What is true of a precious pearl can be true for us if we use the same method. We can all produce pearls as we endure the irritations of life. A series of smooth words and actions, a little here and little there, offered with patience and love, work miracles. It comes in the form of the love and acceptance we always receive from vital connection with God and others. And when we offer our own patience and willingness to wait on God, we become more valuable to ourselves and others.
In a dark moment of his life, Hudson Taylor wrote:
“It doesn’t matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies – whether it comes between you and God or whether it presses you nearer his heart.”
Feeling the irritating pressure of “sand in the shell” today? Beginning the week with the “I’m going to crawl into my shell” blues? As you pray today, shift the load from your shoulders to God’s. He can handle it. He cares about you. Turn this quiet time of devotion into a pressure-release experience, allowing God’s love and mercy to coat the irritations. And get ready to harvest some new pearls.
Dear Lord, help me use limitations and rough spots as opportunities for your work in my life to conform me more to the image of your Son
Vineyard Church NW - Jody Burgin
Endurance is associated with the physical stamina required for a race. However, the habit of endurance is much deeper than physical stamina. It includes the strength that comes from vital connection with God and others. As we draw closer to God, his unfathomable love and power is released into our lives. This enablement not only helps us to withstand the stress and strain of life, but equips us to persistently give our best to everything we do.
To endure is to tenaciously hold on until a goal is accomplished. The believer’s hope is that by enduring hardship, he will experience a greater measure of spiritual power in this life as well as rewards in Heaven. Jacob clung to the angel and declared, “I will not let you go until you bless me!” God not only blessed him but affirmed, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28). His perseverance grew from his hope of God’s blessing.
ENDURANCE vs. Discouragement
The inward strength to withstand stress and give my best to everything I do.
“I will…”
not waste my time, energy, and talent on meaningless pursuits.
accept both instruction and correction.
put my whole heart into everything I do.
bend instead of break.
not be a “quitter.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25
Oysters are fascinating shellfish. Once in a while an irritating object, such as a grain of sand, gets under the shell of the oyster and works its way to the soft flesh inside. To relieve the irritation, the oyster secretes a smooth substance that coats the grain of sand. Layer upon layer of this coating is added until at last the bothersome spec becomes a pearl. Pearls, then, are simply victories over irritations.
What is true of a precious pearl can be true for us if we use the same method. We can all produce pearls as we endure the irritations of life. A series of smooth words and actions, a little here and little there, offered with patience and love, work miracles. It comes in the form of the love and acceptance we always receive from vital connection with God and others. And when we offer our own patience and willingness to wait on God, we become more valuable to ourselves and others.
In a dark moment of his life, Hudson Taylor wrote:
“It doesn’t matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies – whether it comes between you and God or whether it presses you nearer his heart.”
Feeling the irritating pressure of “sand in the shell” today? Beginning the week with the “I’m going to crawl into my shell” blues? As you pray today, shift the load from your shoulders to God’s. He can handle it. He cares about you. Turn this quiet time of devotion into a pressure-release experience, allowing God’s love and mercy to coat the irritations. And get ready to harvest some new pearls.
Dear Lord, help me use limitations and rough spots as opportunities for your work in my life to conform me more to the image of your Son
The Triple filter Test
Dear Friend,
There are many people in this world that are quick to spread gossip about their friends and acquaintances. It is a shame that people find joy in bringing others down rather than lifting them up. As children of the Lord and representatives of Christ here on Earth, we are never to allow the temptation of spreading gossip to enter into our hearts. We are to uplift and love others just as God loves us. The Bible declares in Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” I encourage you to love your neighbor as yourself and lift others up whom you have seen have fallen.
I hope today's message ministers to your heart to never spread gossip about someone else because the damage that is caused is irreparable.
The Triple Filter Test
Author Unknown
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test.”
“Triple filter?”
“That's right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”
“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and...”
“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”
“No, on the contrary...”
“So,” Socrates continued, “You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”
“No, not really.”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.
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Gracious Father
Give me a heart that is pure so that my words may be pure. Give me a heart that is kind so that my words may be kind. Give me a heart that is full of joy and encouragement so that I may share these with those You bring to my path and with whom I share conversation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and Amen
There are many people in this world that are quick to spread gossip about their friends and acquaintances. It is a shame that people find joy in bringing others down rather than lifting them up. As children of the Lord and representatives of Christ here on Earth, we are never to allow the temptation of spreading gossip to enter into our hearts. We are to uplift and love others just as God loves us. The Bible declares in Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” I encourage you to love your neighbor as yourself and lift others up whom you have seen have fallen.
I hope today's message ministers to your heart to never spread gossip about someone else because the damage that is caused is irreparable.
The Triple Filter Test
Author Unknown
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test.”
“Triple filter?”
“That's right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”
“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and...”
“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”
“No, on the contrary...”
“So,” Socrates continued, “You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”
“No, not really.”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.
<><><><><><> <><><><><> <><><><> <><><> <><> <> <><> <><><> <><><><> <><><><><> <><><><><><>
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Gracious Father
Give me a heart that is pure so that my words may be pure. Give me a heart that is kind so that my words may be kind. Give me a heart that is full of joy and encouragement so that I may share these with those You bring to my path and with whom I share conversation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and Amen
Planning for Success
Planning For Success
by Os Hillman, April 10, 2007
I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. - Jeremiah 10:23
In business I hear a lot about planning. Every January I hear workplace believers establishing their planning for the year. Corporations establish plans that cover anywhere from one to five years. Individuals establish personal life plans. There is only one problem that I see with most planning done by well-meaning believers. If God is not the originator and director of the plan, then that plan is doomed for failure. So often, Christian workplace believers set out to plan something that seems good in their own mind. The merits of what is being planned can look great, and it can even be a worthy endeavor. However, that is not the point. When Jesus said He came only to do the will of the Father, He could not consider doing anything that was not what the Father wanted, no matter how good or righteous it might appear to be.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" (Prov. 16:9). God must give us the vision for what He calls us to do. After we have the vision, we must ask Him if He wants us to take action on that vision and what the action steps entail. The Lord wants to direct each step of the planning process. David learned this lesson when he went to battle against his enemy, the Philistines. One day he inquired of God as to whether he was to go up against the Philistines, and the Lord said, "Yes, but only when you hear the marching in the balsam trees." It is a mistake to reason and analyze in order to come to a decision on a matter. The Lord already knows the answer. It is our responsibility to seek Him to find out His mind on the matter. Our planning must be established in Him. Only when we remain so connected to the source can we be assured of putting God's plan into place. Also, getting that plan confirmed through others will assure that we are not following the deceit of our own heart.
When you begin to plan next time, ask God for His wisdom for establishing the vision and action steps. You will be surprised how well He can plan.
by Os Hillman, April 10, 2007
I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. - Jeremiah 10:23
In business I hear a lot about planning. Every January I hear workplace believers establishing their planning for the year. Corporations establish plans that cover anywhere from one to five years. Individuals establish personal life plans. There is only one problem that I see with most planning done by well-meaning believers. If God is not the originator and director of the plan, then that plan is doomed for failure. So often, Christian workplace believers set out to plan something that seems good in their own mind. The merits of what is being planned can look great, and it can even be a worthy endeavor. However, that is not the point. When Jesus said He came only to do the will of the Father, He could not consider doing anything that was not what the Father wanted, no matter how good or righteous it might appear to be.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" (Prov. 16:9). God must give us the vision for what He calls us to do. After we have the vision, we must ask Him if He wants us to take action on that vision and what the action steps entail. The Lord wants to direct each step of the planning process. David learned this lesson when he went to battle against his enemy, the Philistines. One day he inquired of God as to whether he was to go up against the Philistines, and the Lord said, "Yes, but only when you hear the marching in the balsam trees." It is a mistake to reason and analyze in order to come to a decision on a matter. The Lord already knows the answer. It is our responsibility to seek Him to find out His mind on the matter. Our planning must be established in Him. Only when we remain so connected to the source can we be assured of putting God's plan into place. Also, getting that plan confirmed through others will assure that we are not following the deceit of our own heart.
When you begin to plan next time, ask God for His wisdom for establishing the vision and action steps. You will be surprised how well He can plan.
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