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At the Heart of Discipleship Pt. 1

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And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:29 KJV

By Peter Amsterdam Feb 23, 2015

I’ve been meditating recently on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is defined as a follower of the teachings of another; someone who accepts those teachings and tries to act according to them, and who assists in spreading them. So a disciple of Jesus is a person who accepts and follows His teachings, meaning that person is an active adherent, applying the teachings to his life; and he assists in some manner in the spreading of the good news of salvation—the message of Jesus.

Believers accept Jesus’ teachings as true; they believe in Him, believe that He is their Savior, and they are saved. Jesus made it clear that belief in Him is sufficient for salvation when He said in John 3:16 that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It’s a wonderful thing to be a believer! It brings with it everlasting life, eternity with God.

Walking the path of discipleship means that someone makes the choice to add action to belief. It’s going beyond the acceptance of the teachings and involves choosing to follow the teachings, to apply them in daily living. That path leads to becoming active in spreading the teachings. The word disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes (pronounced ma-tay-teis), meaning a learner. In the New Testament the word disciple is only used in the Gospels and the book of Acts. It’s a word that shows the contrast between the teacher and the learner. It also implies that the learner is an adherent of the teachings of the teacher, that he accepts the teachings not only in belief but in life, by applying and following them.

Disciples are key to the spreading of Christianity, to fulfilling the commission Jesus gave to His first disciples, those originally tasked with bringing the good news to the world of their day. As disciples today, we are tasked with bringing the gospel to the world of our time.

Each instance of one person introducing Jesus into the life of another, who in turn reaches someone else, is a microcosm of the history of Christianity. Christianity continues because disciples assist in spreading the teachings of Jesus. The spiritual lineage or genealogy is carried on from person to person, generation to generation, because of those who believe, follow, and spread the teaching.

Every Christian is a distant spiritual relative of the first Christians, of those who knew Jesus, who were the first to preach the good news. They preached the gospel, they taught others, they grounded them in the faith, and then the process was repeated over and over again, century after century. Christianity exists today because those throughout history have done what Jesus taught the first disciples to do—to preach the gospel and make disciples. So the presence of disciples in the world is vital to Christianity’s continuation. Faithful witnesses can never fully know the fruit they may bear years, even generations, into the future.

A disciple is someone, famous or not, flamboyant or not, known or unknown, who believes the teachings of Jesus and strives to put them into practice in his or her life, which includes spreading and teaching the gospel in some manner. Disciples are incredibly important, as it’s through them that other people are introduced to Jesus and salvation. It’s through them that Christianity grows, that the gospel is preached in all the earth.
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The safest place in the world for you is in the center of God's Will. No matter where you are, or how you are, or what you are, or what's against you, the Lord will keep you if you are in the center of His Will. It's a charmed circle where you live a charmed life. "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: The righteous runneth into it, and is safe" (Pro.18:10).



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God Knows - Final

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Obstacles block your path. Roads are barricaded. Doorways are padlocked. Do you know the frustration of a blocked door? You feel gridlocked, unable to escape.

In Max Lucado’s book, 3:16: The Numbers of Hope, he talks about the challenge of a blocked door. Lucado writes, “It’s not that our plans are bad but that God’s plans are better.”

God uses closed doors to advance his cause.

There is a familiar saying, “If you want to hear God laugh, then show him your plans.” It’s not that God doesn’t want you to try or dream big. He gives you the desires of your heart, but His plans are bigger than we can ever imagine.

People look to fortune tellers and psychics to get answers. They want to know their future and what to expect. God wants you to trust Him. You don’t need a crystal ball for that.

Possibly that traffic jam saved you from a horrible accident. Perhaps that job didn’t call you back because it’s really not the right place for you. Maybe if you wait a little longer, a better job opportunity is coming, and it is the right one.

When we struggle in life, our faith is tested. Learning to trust God is a lifelong journey. There will be days your faith will be challenged. When doors will be locked and you have to wait it out.

Psalm 37:3–4 says, “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

God knows today, tomorrow, and all things that intertwine. We cannot see everything He sees and we cannot know everything He knows.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”6

It’s not that our plans are bad, but that God’s plans are better. God knows what you need. He knows your heart and He knows what’s best. Just hold on; it will get better.—From FaithDream’s Inspiration blog7

6 Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT.
7 faith-dream-com/2012/03/01/god-knows-your-plans-and-your-needs-he-knows-your-heart.
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GOD IS FOR THEOCRACY! RULE BY GOD AND HIS PEOPLE, A DICTATORSHIP OF THE LORD!

The Lord has never been in favor of majority rule, because the majority are always wrong! As Jesus Himself taught: "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to Salvation, but few there be that enter therein. Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction, and many there be which go in thereat!" (Mat.7:13,14).

He always wants the righteous to rule, but the righteous, the followers of God are in a very small minority in the world at all times. Only a few find the narrow way, the straight gate, the right way, Salvation, Jesus, God's Love! Many go through the wide gate down that broad way to destruction! Few are right, many are wrong!

The best governments God ever had were Godly kings and Godly prophets who governed the people by the Word of God. His whole governmental structure has always been an absolute totalitarian dictatorship from the family unit on up, and every time the world has gotten away from that they've gotten into trouble!

Help us, Lord, to be amongst the few who follow You along Your straight and narrow pathway!






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Good Knows Pt. 2

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During the sermon on the mount, one of the subjects Christ talked about was prayer. As He was instructing the people to not be like the heathen by using vain repetitions in prayer, He added in Matthew 6:8, “for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

So many seem to have a problem with the fact that God is omniscient. He knows everything. But when you’re down and hurting, His total knowledge often becomes a source of comfort. Especially when an answer comes quickly, even as fast as while you’re still praying.

That happened to Daniel once in Daniel 9:21. He said while he was still praying, God sent His angel, Gabriel, to him. “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.”

It says in Isaiah 65:24 that this will be common in the life to come, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” But even though God isn’t always pleased to answer immediately every time we pray today, it doesn’t mean He isn’t very aware of what we’re going through.

Sometimes the lessons are in the waiting itself—a testing of faith—but if you are truly one of His own, there will never be a time when your needs will go unsupplied, as David had written in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

Because He knows what you need. Before you ask.

Are you hungry? “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”3

Do you need clothing? “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”4

No matter what your need is, God knows. And He will answer in His own way and in His own time.—Tammy5

3 Matthew 6:26 KJV.
4 Matthew 6:28–30 KJV.
5 keptbygrace-com/archive/god-knows-what-you-need-before-you-ask.
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FILL YOUR HEART AND MIND WITH GOD'S GOOD TRUTH!

The Lord has given you the best computer ever constructed--your own mind, but it's up to you how you fill it! It has to be filled with something, good or bad, and your reflexes are mentally conditioned to react in a certain way according to what you have learned or experienced. That's why you could hardly accomplish anything more important than to memorize the Word of God!

God Himself is like the Great Central Computer, and you can plug into Him and by His power, His Spirit, He can give you all the information, all the wisdom, and all the answers you need! If you'll be faithful to read, study and memorize His Word, then He can spiel it off by the Spirit when you need it! He will just pop it up in your little computer whenever you make the right connection in your programming!

Once you've saturated your heart and mind with God's Word, you just need to be a yielded instrument and then the Lord can sit down at the console and play at the keys to get out of your computer the information that He wants.--For your little chips off the old block right there in your head have got the whole story, as much as you've programmed it to contain!





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God Knows Pt. 1

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A compilation Feb 17, 2015

“I need oil,” said an ancient monk; so he planted an olive sapling.

“Lord,” he prayed, “it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell. Send gentle showers.” And the Lord sent gentle showers.

“Lord,” prayed the monk, “my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray Thee.” And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds.

“Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues,” cried the monk. And behold, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience.

“I, too, planted a little tree,” he said, “and see, it thrives well. But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed no ways or means. ‘Lord, send what it needs,’ I prayed. ‘Storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost—Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.’”—Attributed to Linda Dillow

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The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day’s work. I felt very weary and depressed, when swiftly and suddenly that text came to me, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”1

I said, “I should think it is, Lord,” and burst out laughing. It seemed to make unbelief so absurd.

It was as though some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and Father Thames said, “Drink away, little fish. My stream is sufficient for thee.”

Again, I imagined a man away up yonder, in a lofty mountain, saying to himself, “I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year, I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere.” But the earth might say, “Breathe away, O man, and fill thy lungs. My atmosphere is sufficient for thee.”

Be great believers! Little faith will bring your souls to Heaven, but great faith will bring Heaven to your souls.—C. H. Spurgeon

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“Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ … For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”—Matthew 6:31–332

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I cannot but God can
Oh, balm for all my care,
The burden that I drop
His hand will lift and bear.
Though eagle’s pinions tire,
I walk where once I ran,
This is my strength: to know
I cannot, but God can.

I know not, but God knows.
Oh, blessed rest from fear,
All my unfolding days
To Him are plain and clear.
Each anxious puzzled “Why?”
From doubt or dread that grows,
Finds answer in this thought:
I know not, but God knows!
—Annie Johnson Flint

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All we have to do is follow Jesus! … Even though we are faithless, yet He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself, and He cannot break His word. He is going to see it through. God is going to carry us through. He has begun a good work in us, and He’s going to complete it to the end.

God alone can do it and God alone can show us what to do, how to do it, and protect us in doing it, supply the needs, and lead and guide us every step of the way. So don’t try to figure it out for yourself. … Cry out to God and ask God for the solution, and God will never fail.

Only God knows what to do, and only God knows what He wants done, and only God can do it. … God knows what He’s doing. So for God’s sake let Him do it, and just look to Him to find out what He’s doing, and what He wants you to do, and which way He’s going!

Don’t try to reason around with your own understanding, but get down in prayer and cry out to God with strong crying and tears and desperation, and look to Him alone for the answers. God alone has the answers and God alone can do it.—David Berg

1 2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV.
2 NKJV.




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For Where Your Treasures Are

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Written by Rosane Pereira February 2015

As a child, I loved to visit my grandmother Sabina’s small house in the mountains. My aunt Iota lived next door, so my sister and I would spend our days exploring with our cousins, going to the waterfall, swimming in the river that ran behind the property, or climbing the many mountains in the Mantigueira Ridge. It was heaven on earth for a city girl like me.

Their family didn’t have as much materially as ours did. Once, my cousin Anette said, “I may not be rich in things, but I am rich in my heart, and Grandma told me that is the most important!” That was a new thought for me. Was there another kind of riches other than material ones?

I also remember how impressed I was when my mother took me to see The Ten Commandments1 at a movie theater. Moses could have stayed in his comfort zone until the day he died, but he didn't — he left everything to free his people from oppression. It took me until adulthood to understand how much it must have cost him to follow God.

When I first read the Gospels, one of the stories that stood out to me was the one of the jeweler who discovered a pearl of great price and immediately sold all that he had in order to buy it.2 Jesus explained that this pearl was the kingdom of God, and when I read that, I felt a burning in my heart. I too wanted that pearl!

Jesus also taught: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”3 Being from a metropolitan beach city with a high crime rate, I understood that concept very well.

As I matured, I came to understand more clearly that true riches are not things of this earth; they are joy, peace, love, goodness, faith, and all the other real valuables that God wants to give each of us daily. Ours is the easy part, opening our souls to receive His gifts. If our treasures are in heaven, our hearts will be filled with happiness both now and in the life to come.

1. Cecil B. DeMille. Paramount Pictures, 1956.
2. See Matthew 13:45–46.
3. Matthew 6:19–21.

Rosane Pereira is Brazilian and has been a career missionary together with her late husband, Carlos Cordoba, since 1975. She has eight children and five grandchildren. Rosane is an English and Spanish teacher, translator, and writer. She has authored a book on faith titled: Proofs of His Presence, and is currently writing a second book titled: An Eternal Apprentice.
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"WE'RE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS!" (GAL.3:28).

God's people are called out of every nation and religion on the face of the Earth to become one nation, one people under God.--Not just under Him, but in Him! All the millions of Saints throughout this Earth who know and believe in and love Jesus are part of the Kingdom of God.--Regardless of their race or color or creed or language or nation!

We, who have received Christ, are nothing but Christians in the realm of the Spirit! God doesn't see any fleshly characteristic! In spiritual things there's no longer any Jew nor Gentile, no male nor female, no Black nor White, no bond nor free! (Gal.3:28). "Man looketh upon the outward appearance, but God looketh upon the heart!" (1Sam.16:7). It's the color of the heart that counts!



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LIVING, LOVING, GIVING

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Compilation February 2015

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.—Proverbs 11:25 NIV
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Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple.—Scott Adams (b. 1957)
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You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others—something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965)
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I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.—Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909)
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If only we could realize while we are yet mortals that day by day we are building for eternity, how different our lives in many ways would be! Every gentle word, every generous thought, every unselfish deed will become a pillar of eternal beauty in the life to come. We cannot be selfish and unloving in one life and generous and loving in the next. The two lives are too closely blended—one but a continuation of the other.—Rebecca Springer (1832–1904)1
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It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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Human beings who leave behind them no great achievements, but only a sequence of small kindnesses, have not had wasted lives.—Charlotte Gray
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In any given day, you have so many opportunities to practice patience, acts of kindness, and forgiveness. You have time to think loving thoughts, smile, embrace others, and practice gratitude. You can practice being a better listener. You can try to be compassionate, especially with difficult or abrasive people. You can practice your spirituality in virtually everything you do.—Richard Carlson (1961–2006)2
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You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.—Henry Drummond (1851–1897)
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Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.—Mother Teresa (1910–1997)
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No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.—Amelia Earhart (1897–1937 )
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If you stop to think about it, you’d probably be surprised at how many thoughtful little things you could find to do for others that would cost almost nothing and take almost no time. Want to transform your relationships with family, friends, and workmates? Become a master of the five-minute favor.—Shannon Shaylor3
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St. Francis of Assisi stated, “All getting separates you from others; all giving unites you with others.” The heart of selflessness is generosity. It not only helps to unite the team, but it also helps to advance the team.—John C. Maxwell (b. 1947)
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If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love, then the world will indeed become a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004)
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Good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.—Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892)
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You have been treated generously, so live generously.—Matthew 10:8 MSG

1. Intra Muros, 1922
2. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work (New York: Hyperion, 1998)
3. Love’s Many Faces (Aurora Production, 2010)




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Deserted Phone Booths

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by Curtis Peter van Gorder January 2012

A city where I used to live is dotted with deserted public telephone booths. Obsolete and derelict, they stand silent and empty, eerie reminders of their former usefulness, now simply taking up sidewalk space, useless to all but a few spiders that are ever quick to spin their webs in out-of-the-way corners. Ten or twenty years ago, these booths were a vital means of communication. Long replaced by cell phones that are more convenient and capable, these relics are no longer worth the trouble, either to keep up or to tear down.

Those old phone booths strike a sad chord in me. They remind me of people who are stuck in the past because they couldn’t or wouldn’t adapt to the new. Any of us can become like that. If we focus on the past instead of the present and future, we will get out of touch with the world around us and be left behind. The world is ever changing, and we need to be ready to change with it, to learn new skills and continually strive to make progress. That is true of both our physical and our spiritual lives.

The past year was full of learning experiences for me. I moved from the Middle East to India and started a new job. That was certainly challenging. Change is often downright difficult, but I’ve found that it usually works out for my good. I’ve needed to adapt to my new location and situation, and I’ve acquired some new skills in the process.

Human nature seems to want things to remain static, but the ways we did things yesterday are often no longer the best approach to the needs of today. Regardless of whether or not we change with the times, what was cutting edge yesterday often doesn’t cut it today. Take a look at the rapidly changing world of computerized gadgetry to see what I mean. I recently looked through back issues of a popular electronics magazine and couldn’t help but chuckle at the products that were being hailed as “innovative” in their day, but are outdated now.

As the saying goes, “Time and tide wait for no man.” We had better move with the times.
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Your potential lies ahead of you—whether you’re 8, 18, 48, or 80. You still have room to improve yourself. You can become better tomorrow than you are today.—John C. Maxwell



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Story of Neng Kuei the basket-maker Pt. 1

Neng Kuei the basket-maker in Ning Po.

By PowerPointParadise 07/10

In the year 1858, Hudson Taylor’s mission in China was beginning to reach some of the Chinese people with the gospel. There was Neng-kuei the basket-maker, Wang the farmer and Tsui the teacher.

One evening, a Mr. Ni passed by the open door where the bell was being rung to announce the time for Bible services to begin. Mr. Ni had never heard the gospel, but he had searched all his life for the truth. He had studied Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and had found no rest.

He stepped in to hear the religious message. As he listened to the message taken from John 3:14-17 about how Christ became sin for all, he understood many things for the first time.

At the close of the service, he arose and announced that he had finally found the peace he had long sought for and that from henceforth he would be a believer in Jesus. He proved true to his word and became one of the most faithful workers in the mission.

One day, he asked Hudson Taylor, “How long have you had the Glad Tidings in your country?” The missionary reluctantly told him, “Some hundreds of years.” “What!” replied Mr. Ni, “My father sought the Truth and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?”

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Ad. from Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor.
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“As a poor helpless sinner,” Hudson Taylor wrote, Neng-kuei cast himself upon God’s forgiving mercy, and found peace in believing. His love for the Bible was great, and he spent every available moment over its pages. Perhaps it was this that made his Christian life so restful. Wherever he went he carried a blessing with him and many a woman on a back street first heard the message of redeeming love from his lips.

Neng-kuei, too, from the very first was a soul-winner. Not unlike Peter in his fervent, devoted spirit, he also was used to bring the message of salvation to seeking souls whose prayers were known to God alone. One such was daily traversing the streets of Ning-po at this time, in search of a religion of which he knew nothing save that it would bring him peace; and but for a great trial coming into Neng-kuei’s life, he might have been long without finding it.

It was the busy season for basket-makers, and Neng kuei’s master insisted that he must work on Sunday. It was no use reminding him of his agreement, or suggesting that he should call in additional help. No, this idea of resting one day in seven was all very well for foreigners. but, now there was work to be done, Neng-kuei must be broken of it.

“Come to-morrow, or not at all,” was his ultimatum. And the Christian basket-maker knew himself dismissed.

Nor was this the worst of it. For on Monday morning, when he set about seeking other employment, every door was closed. No one wanted workmen, busy season though it was, and Neng-kuei tramped the city in vain.

“The devil is having hard at me,” thought he at last; “but I must and will resist him. If he will not let me have other employment, I will give my time to plucking souls from his kingdom.”

And this he did by spending the rest of the day in distributing tracts, and talking in the streets amid tea-shops with all who were inclined to listen.

Far away from Ning-po, in the beautiful valley of the Feng-hwa river, lay the farming district from which Neng kuei himself had come. There he had learned his trade and married the young wife from whom he had been parted in little more than a year. Her death had been terrible— a death in the dark, like so many thousands, alas, in China every year! Poor Neng-kuei could speak no word of comfort as she was passing from him in anguish and fear. And still there was no voice to tell among all those hills and valleys of Jesus and His redeeming love.




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MORNING CALM

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Written by Abi May 05/13

The Bible contains a lot of guidance for how to spend our time and energy: We’re to love and help others,1 share the good news of God’s love,2 and apply ourselves in our work,3 to name a few. But the Bible also teaches that sometimes it is best to stay put and let God work on our behalf.

“I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter told his fellow disciples.4
“We are going with you also,” they replied.

This was in the weeks following Jesus’ death. The disciples had seen Him twice since His resurrection,5 but it seems they were still at a loss as to what to do next. Some of them had been fishermen before Jesus had called them to follow Him,6 and perhaps going back to their former occupation seemed like the logical choice—plus it was something they could do.

But sometimes doing doesn’t get us very far.

It didn’t get Simon and his fishing partners very far that day. “They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.”

Many of us can relate. We keep ourselves busy, actively doing things, but not always getting very far or accomplishing much.

Picture the disciples the next morning, tired, discouraged, and hungry. They had worked all night and received nothing for their labors. To top things off, an apparent stranger calls from the shore: “Have you any food?” No, they didn’t have any! It took the stranger’s instruction to “cast the net on the right side of the boat” for any of them to begin to guess that the stranger might be Jesus.

They did as the Master told them, and this time they did land some fish—153, to be exact. However, when they arrived at the shore, they saw fish already roasting over an open fire, and fresh bread. They had not needed to fish all night after all. Their Lord was more than able to satisfy their needs.

The next time you feel like your efforts aren’t getting you anywhere, remember that God doesn’t expect or want us to always be doing something; sometimes He wants us to simply be. A few moments of quiet reflection before starting a busy day can make all the difference to the outcome of that day. Be with God at the start, and He will be with you throughout.

1. See John 15:12; Matthew 19:21.
2. See Mark 16:15.
3. See 1 Thessalonians 4:11.
4. Read this story in John 21:3–13.
5. See John 21:14.
6. See Matthew 4:18, 21.



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THE SKY AT NIGHT

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Written by Abi May, 01 October 2012

"Two things fill me with constantly increasing admiration and awe, the longer and more earnestly I reflect on them: the starry heavens without and the moral law within."—Immanuel Kant1

This is an exercise for the evening or nighttime, preferably on a clear night, when the stars and moon are clearly visible. Outside is best, but if that isn’t possible, anywhere with a view outside a window will suffice.

Gaze up at the vastness of the sky. Observe the stars, twinkling in their uncountable millions, at distances incomprehensible to our finite minds. Look at the moon, our nearest neighbor in the great expanse of space. Take your time; the vista before you is immense and worthy of your attention.

The Lord, whose name is excellent, has set His glory in those heavens.—So wrote David, the psalmist.2 You are following his meditation, for he too sat and observed:

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained …”3

When you look up at the stars, the moon, the great spread of the sky, do you feel small and insignificant? David seemed to feel the same, yet it is his next realization that merits our focus. He is speaking to the Lord when he asks, “... what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.”4

As small as you may feel, as insignificant as you may judge yourself to be in the great scope of the world and history, God thinks about you.

He “is mindful” of you. The God who set the great creation into motion, the same God knows the very hairs of your head.5 He knows your thoughts and plans.6 He knows your secret sorrows just as He knows your wishes.7

You are not alone in the universe; God knows and loves you.8

And with this meditation on the all-encompassing, virtually incomprehensible love of God for you—one solitary individual—you can conclude along with David, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!”9

1. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was a German philosopher and anthropologist at the end of the Enlightenment.
2. Psalm 8:1
3. Psalm 8:3
4. Psalm 8:4–5
5. Luke 12:7
6. Hebrews 4:12
7. Psalm 38:9
8. John 3:16
9. Psalm 8:9

Abi May (also credited as Chris Hunt) is a freelance writer and educator in Great Britain, and also active as a volunteer in healthcare advocacy.



Activated TFI

The God Factor

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from Jesus Through Prophecy February 2015

Nearly everyone in the world experiences financial pressure at one time or another, but some people deal with it better than others. The difference is often not so much these people’s circumstances, but to whom they turn for help. The secret to overcoming financial problems is actually the secret to overcoming any problem: Do what you can, and then rely on the “God factor.”

I told My disciples long ago, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”1 The God factor can change everything! When you apply the God factor, all things become possible for you, too, because faith in God and His promises overrides all impossibilities.

Here are some promises you can bank on: “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.”2 “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”3 “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”4

All that the Father has is Mine, so I have all the riches of the universe at My disposal, and I am concerned about your happiness and well-being. So start by doing what you can and then apply the God factor, asking Me to step in and do what you can’t.—Jesus

1. Mark 10:27
2. Philippians 4:19
3. Mark 11:24
4. Matthew 6:33
**
GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GIVE REAL MEANING TO LIVING.

So many people today don't know what to believe; they don't know where they're from, who they are or where they're going.--They're in absolute CONFUSION!--Because they've lost touch with the only concrete frame of reference, & that's GOD & His explanation of life, the BIBLE! They've lost faith in God, so therefore they lose faith in Love, & therefore they lose faith in Life, in people, in EVERYTHING!
But WE have found Love that lasts forever & a God that cannot fail!--For we "know Him, Whom to know is Life Eternal"! (Jn.17:3) We're born again & we now have an utterly different outlook on life & a new way of looking at the World, thank God!

And besides the wonderful happiness, life & love that living for Jesus gives us, we've also been given a real PURPOSE in living & Someone to live FOR! We now LIKE to face life, & find a thrill in our newfound tasks & the greatest of pleasure in the fellowship of our newfound family & the greatest of satisfaction in our newfound faith. Thank You Jesus!"

Ah, Sweet mystery of life; At last I've found thee, Now at last I know the MEANING of it all!"
--It's JESUS!



Activated TFI

Martin Luther the Monk

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by Power Point Paradise • February 3, 2015 •

During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.

Actually Luther was a very good Catholic! He loved to flagellate himself and suffer for Christ, pray long prayers. He was (brace yourself..) a Scorpio, most of whom have an deep religious interest. Good organisers, although a bit of control freaks, but that was good, as he really gave the Reformation form and direction, and took control when run away Reformists like Karlstadt went too far, and became too violent, causing the peasants uprising and iconoclasm.

The thirty year war was really a result of the stubborn Roman Popes, clergy and established order, who did not want to reform, but wanted to keep their cozy situation with lots of money and politics. Inspite of the counter reformation that cleaned the Popish church up a little bit, the Catholic church failed to latch onto the new winds of change that God caused through Luther.

The Reformation wasn’t the first schism either in the Church of Christ, as the Greek Orthodox and Rome split several times until around the year 1000 AD when it became permanent. Luther’s questions in the movie to his professor in Witenberg brings this out well.

It is an inspiring movie, and very timely, as many of us will have to stand up for what we believe “by the grace of God” and not recant. May Luther give us faith and courage to be brave like him in these Last Days. By God’s grace alone!
**
EARTH HAS NO SORROW THAT HEAVEN CANNOT HEAL.

His Word is always a comfort and the Voice of His Spirit is always an encouragement in the hour of greatest trial. "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us" (Rom.8:18). When you think about that, it helps you bear some of the things you have to go through now.
**

"Sorrow shall endure for a season, but joy cometh in the morning" Psalms 30:5

Keep your eyes on the Lord! Look forward to Heaven, and it will help you bear some of these burdens and trials that you're going through now when you realize these are only just for a moment! Now you see through a glass darkly, but soon it will all be clear and you'll understand. God's tomorrow is a beautiful place! You'll be with Jesus and all your loved ones, and no sorrow will be there, praise God!

"The tears shall be wiped away and the former things shall be no more in the glories of the ecstasies of the Kingdom to come!"

"It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Life's trials will seem so small, when we see Christ!
One glimpse of His dear face,
All sorrow will erase!
So bravely run the race,
'till we see Christ!"


PowerPointParadise TFI [Video Posted]
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