A Huge Asset

As followers of God, you and I have a huge asset.  We know everything is going to turn out all right!

Christ has not budged from His throne, and Romans 8:28 has not evaporated from the Bible.  Our problems have always been His possibilities.

The kidnapping of Joseph resulted in the preservation of his family.  The persecution of Daniel led to a cabinet position.  Christ entered the world by a surprise pregnancy and redeemed it though His unjust murder.

Dare we believe what the Bible teaches?  That no disaster is ultimately fatal?

In 2nd Timothy 4:18 the apostle Paul wrote his final words from a Roman prison, chained to a guard, within earshot of his executioner’s footsteps.   Worst-case scenario?  Not from Paul’s perspective.

He wrote: “God is looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven.  All praise to Him, praise forever!”

Paul chose to trust his Father.  May we do the same.

We Can Do This

Parents!  We can do this.

We can take our parenting fears to Christ.  In fact, if we don’t, we’ll take our fears out on our kids!

Fear turns some parents into paranoid prison guards who monitor every minute, check the background of every friend.  They stifle growth and communicate distrust.  A family with no breathing room suffocates a child.

Fear can also create permissive parents.  For fear their child will feel too confined, too fenced in, they lower all boundaries.  High on hugs and low on discipline.   They don’t realize that appropriate discipline is an expression of love. 

Permissive parents.  Paranoid parents.  How can we avoid the extremes?

We pray!  Prayer is the saucer where parental fears are poured to cool.  Each time a parent prays, Christ responds.  His big message to moms and dads?

Bring your children to Me.  Pray!  Raise them in a greenhouse of prayer!

“Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire. Proverbs 29:17″

From: Fearless

Sunday Sermon - 29-July-2012 - Ps. Ronnie Teoh

Speaker: Pastor Ronnie Teoh
Damansara Utama Lutheran Church

http://www.mediafire.com/?80kko2823l2uyjr

How Important is Dad?

If you have been reading First Steps bulletins for a while, you may remember I've mentioned Daddy's role before.

When you have a newborn, Daddy needs time to bond with your baby. (See 'Make Room for Daddy' and Bonding and Brain Chemicals)

At around 18 months little boys realize they are more like dad than mom. They begin to shift their interest and allegiance to dad. They want to do everything dad does and they crave his attention. This is normal and vital to later healthy gender development. (See: 'Healthy Gender Development')

But now I have another piece to add to the puzzle, how important is Dad?

Last month two studies involving dads and their children were published in scientific journals. The first study was done at the University of Connecticut over several decades. The second one was done by Brigham Young University on the effects of parenting style of dads on their children.

In the first study they found that kids who feel rejected by their fathers show higher rates of behavioral problems than those who feel rejected by their mothers. These children show much higher rates of delinquency, depression, and substance abuse.

Vanderlei de Lima (2004 Olympics Athens)

At five feet, five inches, Vanderlei de Lima is shorter than some fifth graders.  Don’t let his size fool you.  The body may be small, but the heart is bigger than the Olympic Stadium in Athens.  That’s where he received the 2004 bronze medal for the marathon.

He should’ve won the gold.  He was leading when a deranged protester hurled himself into the runner–forcing him off course.  De Lima resumed the race.  But in the process he lost his rhythm, precious seconds, and his position.  But he entered the stadium punching the air with his fists, both arms extended, weaving for joy!

I’m taking notes on this guy!  He reminds me of another runner.  Paul, the imprisoned apostle.  His chains never come off.  The guards never leave.  He may appear to be bumped off track, but he’s actually right on target.  Christ is preached.  The mission is being accomplished.

Run the race!

Paul said, “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. I Corinthians 9:23-24”

From: Great Day Every Day

Balancing Work and Family

Money, Family, or Both?
Is it possible that we may be working so hard to support our families financially that we end up losing our families? Then money becomes empty compensation. This week we'll talk about the issue of money and marriage.

What is most important in life? If we are given stark choices, the issue becomes clear. If someone offered you one million dollars for your child or your spouse, would you take it? Any sensible parent or spouse would say, "No". But do we not sell our families for much less when we spend all of our energy working for money and have no time left to enjoy our relationships?

The Key is Balance
Work is a noble endeavor. In fact the Bible says that if a man will not work, neither should he eat. But can we work too much? Is vocational success worth losing a marriage? The Scriptures teach that life's meaning is not found in things, but in relationships. It is found first in a relationship with God, and then with family and others.

Seeing You

Why does God love you so much?

For the same reason the artist loves his paintings.  You are His idea!

Ephesians 2:10 confirms that we are “God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

In the movie Hook, Peter Pan had become old and looked nothing like the Peter the lost boys knew.  In the midst of the boys shouting that this was NOT Peter, one of the smallest boys pulled him down to his level.  He places his hands on Peter’s face, moved the skin around and reshaped his face.  The boy looked into Peter’s eyes and said, “There you are, Peter!”

Shh.  Listen.  Do you hear?

God is saying the same words to you.  There you are!  There you are!

He’s seeing you and loving the you he sees.

From: Fearless

God, the Devil and the ‘Dark Knight’ Tragedy

J. Lee Grady

Last week’s shooting in Colorado should remind us that Satan is not a fictional character.

Plenty of mystery surrounds last week’s movie theater massacre in Colorado. Why did the suspected gunman, James Holmes, stage his bizarre killing spree during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises? Why was this guy so angry that he would amass $15,000 worth of weapons and ammunition and then break into a crowded cineplex to kill and maim people? Did he dye his hair orange because he identified with The Joker, the most sinister villain in the Batman universe?

I’m not a crime sleuth. But if you ask me, the devil’s fingerprints are all over this tragedy.

"You can call me simplistic or old-fashioned, but I still believe the devil and his demons are real—and that Satan’s existence is the reason people like James Holmes carry out horrible crimes like the one we witnessed last week."

It has always baffled me that people question the existence of Satan—especially when something as horrific as the shootings in Aurora, Colo., makes headlines. But according to a Barna Research poll from 2009, the number of people in the United States who believe the devil is real is declining. A growing number of Americans believe he is just a mythological personification of evil.

When God Engraved Your Name

A person doesn’t have to be a golf fan to empathize with Adam Scott. With four holes to go he had a four shot lead in the British Open. Four shots! Par the final quartet of holes and the trophy was his. Might as well have told him to chew gum. He could par these holes in his sleep. Everyone knew the tournament was his. A craftsman in a nearby workshop began sketching the name Adam Scott on the winner’s medal.

But disaster struck. Missed putts. Wayward shots. The next thing he knew, he was scrambling to make a ten-foot putt to force a playoff. He missed it. “Wow,” he mouthed, chin trembling.

The most poignant moment of the collapse might have been the camera shot of the engraver as he was given the news. He stopped his work and, gulp, erased Adam Scott’s name from the first place medal.

Viewers offered a collective groan.

Many Christians can relate. We fear the same will happen to us. We fear the fatal stumble, the ultimate collapse. Might we fall so utterly that God will erase our name?

No, he won’t.

Jesus couldn’t be more emphatic. “And I shall give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28 AMP).

Jesus promised a new life that cannot be forfeited or terminated. “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned: he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NIV).

Unlike the medal engraver, Jesus has an eternal perspective. He knew every step of your life before you took the first one. He saw the bogies and the birdies, the strong days and bad ones. He made His choice. When you said “yes” to him, he entered your name into the eternal populace of heaven. Your name is “engraved on the palms of his hands.” (Is.49:16 )

Finish well. But, if you stumble along the way, don’t worry, Jesus doesn’t use an eraser.

A Life With No Fear

Can you imagine a life with no fear?

Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness.  We begin to wonder if love lives in heaven.  If God can sleep in our storms.  Does He care?  Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts, anger-stirring doubts.

In the middle of a raging storm Matthew 8:26 tells us:  “Jesus got up in the boat and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and the sea became completely calm.”  

He handles the great quaking with a great calming.  The sea becomes as still as a frozen lake, and the disciples who witnessed it are left wondering, “What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey Him.”  What kind of man indeed.

Jesus doesn’t want you to live in a state of fear.  Hysteria is not from God.  God has not given us a spirit of fear!

From: Fearless

He is Able

If your Father is God and you have a problem on your hands, what do you do?  Scripture tells us what to do.

Is your problem too large?  Ephesians 3:20 says, “God is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

Is your need too great?  2 Corinthians 9:8 reminds us, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance.”

Is your temptation too severe?  Hebrews 2:18 says, “God is able to help us when we are being tested.”

Is your future too frightening?  Jude 24 tells us, “God is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.”

Make these verses part of your daily diet.  God is able to accomplish, provide, help, save, keep, subdue.  He is able to do what you can’t.  Go to Him!

From: Great Day Every Day

The Secret of Success

An accomplished Ironman triathlete told me the secret of his success.  He said, “You last the long race by running short ones.”   Don’t swim 2.4 miles; just swim to the next buoy.  Rather than bike 112 miles, ride 10, take a break, and bike 10 more.  Never tackle more than the challenge ahead.

Didn’t Jesus offer the same counsel?  He said in Matthew 6:34, “So don’t ever worry about tomorrow.  After all, tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

When asked how he managed to write so many books, the author explained that he’d never written a book.  All he did was write one page a day.

Face challenges in stages.  You can’t control your temper forever, but you can control it for the next hour.

Remember, you last the long race by running the short ones!

From: Great Day Every Day

Sunday Sermon - 22-July-2012 - Ps. Lydia Karthigesu

Speaker: Pastor Lydia Karthigesu
The Tabernacle Seremban

http://www.mediafire.com/?yjv517439lf23py

Before the Engagement

Possible Proposal? Here are six questions you should ask before popping the question.

    Are my partner and I on the same wavelength intellectually? Try one of these exercises: Read a newspaper or online news article and discuss its merits and implications; read a book and share your impressions with each other.
    
    To what degree have we surveyed the foundation of our social unity? Explore the following areas: sports, music, dance, parties, and vocational aspirations.
    
    Do we have a clear understanding of each other's personality, strengths, and weaknesses? Take a personality profile. This is normally done under the direction of a counselor who will interpret the information and help you discover potential areas of personality conflicts.
    
    To what degree have we excavated our spiritual foundations? What are your beliefs about God, Scripture, organized religion, values, and morals?
    
    Are we being truthful with each other about our sexual histories? Are you far enough along in the relationship to feel comfortable talking about this? To what degree are you discussing your opinions about sexuality?
    
    Have we discovered and are we speaking each others primary love language? It is in the context of a full love tank that we are most capable of honestly exploring the foundations of our relationship. 

Continue the conversation: Share your questions, thoughts insights, or comments by joining the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/5lovelanguages

Why We Must Invest in the Timothy Generation

J. Lee Grady

Please don’t ignore the mandate to disciple young people.

I don’t think of myself as a particularly effective youth speaker. I’m in my 50s. No matter what brand of jeans I wear, high school kids are not going to label me “cool.”

But when my buddy Jason, a youth pastor from Pennsylvania, asked me to speak at his summer youth retreat, I took the challenge because (1) I wanted to invest in his life, and (2) I thought it would be fun to swim in Lake Erie.

"Many churches throw money at youth ministry, as if expensive sound systems or skate parks automatically win kids to Jesus. But the best financial investment we can make is in a real live youth worker, not a program or a building.

When it comes to ministering to different age groups, I feel the most intimidated when I speak to teens. This is mostly because they are so honest. You can’t fool them. They don’t wear church masks like adults. They have an uncanny ability to detect insincerity.

So I tried to relax and be myself, even though I was still self-conscious about my age. On the first night I challenged them to forgive their parents—especially their dads—for being distant, absent, critical, abusive or addicted. I didn’t have trendy movie clips or animated graphics to illustrate my points. But in the end many of the teens came to the altar to receive prayer, and Jesus healed wounded hearts.

God is Enough

Let’s face it–anxiety or worry have no advantages!  They ruin our health, rob us of joy, and change nothing!  Our day stands no chance against the terrorists of the Land of Anxiety.

But Christ offers a worry-bazooka.  Remember how He taught us to pray?  “Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11”  This simple sentence unveils God’s provision plan:  live one day at a time.

Worry gives small problems big shadows.  Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”   And Romans 8:28 affirms: “Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”

Most anxiety stems, not from what we need, but from what we want.  Philippians 4:4 says, “delight yourselves in the Lord, yes, find your joy in Him at all times!”

If God is enough, you’ll always have enough!

From: Great Day Every Day

Lavish Grace

Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Worry is falling short on faith.  Impatience is falling short on kindness.  The critical spirit falls short on love.

So, how often do you sin, hmm… in an hour?  For the sake of discussion, let’s say ten times an hour.  Ten sins an hour, times sixteen waking hours, times 365 days a year, times the average life span of 74 years.  I’m rounding the total off to 4,300,000 sins per person!  How do you plan to pay God for your 4.3 million sin increments?  You’re swimming in an ocean of debt.

But God pardons the zillion sins of selfish humanity.  He forgives sixty million sin-filled days.  He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where He always wanted us to be.  And He did it by the grace of Jesus Christ.

From: Great Day Every Day

Taking Out the Trash

Who wants to live with yesterday’s rubble?  Who wants to hoard the trash of the past?  You don’t, do you?  Or do you?

I’m not talking about the trash in your house, but in your heart.  Not the junk of papers and boxes but the remnants of anger and hurt.  Do you rat-pack your pain?  Amass offenses?  Record slights?

A tour of your heart might be telling.  A pile of rejections.  Accumulated insults.  No one can blame you.  They’re innocence takers, promise breakers, and wound makers.  They’re everywhere and you’ve had your share.

Jesus answered Peter’s question in Matthew 18:21 and 22 when he asked:  “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?”  “No, not seven times,” Jesus said.  “Seventy times seven!”

Do you want to give every day a chance?  Jesus says to get rid of the trash.  Give the grace you’ve been given!

From: Great Day Every Day

Do the Math

by Diane Brierley for Mark Gungor 

It seems as though too many people in our culture are not able to do the math when it comes to the following simple word problems:

If Person A doesn’t get married and have a child until 30-35 years of age, and then that child also waits until 30-35 years of age to marry and have a child, just how old will Person A be when he/she becomes a grandparent? How old will Person A be when he/she can actually have a meaningful conversation with said grandchild?

Now, let’s change the numbers a bit:

If Person B gets married and has a child at 18-22 years of age, and then that child also gets married and has a child at 18-22 years of age, how old will Person B be when he/she becomes a grandparent? How old will Person B be when he/she can actually have a meaningful conversation with said grandchild?

Maybe it’s not that people are incapable of the simple math required to figure out the answers. Maybe it’s something else. Perhaps it’s that we are thinking wrong about the problem to begin with….or we aren’t thinking about it at all.

Weed Hunts

God’s love sprouts around us like lilacs, but we go on weed hunts!  How many flowers do we miss in the process? If you look long enough, you’ll find something to bellyache about.  So quit looking!

Lift your eyes off the weeds.  Collect your blessings.  Catalog His kindnesses.  Assemble your reasons for gratitude.  “Always be joyful” is what Paul tells us in 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18.  “Pray continually and give thanks, whatever happens.  This is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude is always an option.  Make it your default emotion and you’ll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life.  Who knows what you might record in your journal:

Mondays.  Oh boy–my favorite!

Final exams.  I can hardly wait!

“Impossible,” you say?  How do you know?

How do you know until you give the day a chance?  Thank God!

From: Great Day Every Day

I Messed Up

We’ve all messed up.  Said the wrong words, loved the wrong person, reacted the wrong way…walked when we should have waited, indulged when we should have resisted.

You’ll mess up more if you let yesterday’s mistakes sabotage today’s attitude!

The Bible says, God’s mercies are new every morning.  Receive them.  Learn a lesson from them.

Thunderbolts of regret can ignite and consume you.  What makes the difference? Counteract them with downpours of God’s grace, daily washings of forgiveness.

Once a year won’t do.  Once a month is insufficient.  Sporadic mistings leave you combustible.  Weekly showers leave you dry.  You need a solid soaking every day!

Lamentations 3:22-23 says “The Lord’s love never ends; His mercies never stop.  They are new every morning.”

What a gift He has given to you.  What more do you need?

From: Great Day Every Day

Sunday Sermon - 15-July-2012 - Bro. Caleb Ramachandran

Speaker: Bro. Caleb Ramachandran
White Fields Assembly Seremban

http://www.mediafire.com/?hhi8iarpnqr5jw6

Why the Love Languages Matter

I believe that our deepest emotional need is the need to feel loved. If we are married, the person we would most like to love us is our spouse. If we feel loved by our spouse, the whole world is bright and life is wonderful. On the other hand, if we feel rejected or ignored, the world begins to look dark.

Most couples get married when they still have the euphoric feelings of being in love. When the euphoric feelings evaporate some time after the wedding and their differences begin to emerge, they often find themselves in conflict. With no positive plan for resolving conflicts, they often find themselves speaking harshly to each other. Harsh words create feelings of hurt, disappointment, and anger. Not only do they feel unloved, but they also begin to resent each other.

When couples readThe 5 Love Languages, they discover why they lost the romantic feelings of courtship and how emotional love can be rekindled in their relationship. Once they begin speaking each other's primary love language, they are surprised to see how quickly their emotions turn positive. With a full love tank, they can now process their conflicts in a much more positive manner and find solutions that are workable.

Important But Not Essential

Do you want to snatch a day from the grip of boredom?  Do overly generous deeds, acts beyond reimbursement. Kindness without compensation.  Here’s another idea…Get over yourself!

Sound too harsh?

Well, Moses did.  Numbers 12:3 says, he was a “very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

Mary did.  When Jesus called her womb His home, she did not boast; she simple confessed: “I am the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.”

Most of all–Jesus did.  Jesus chose the servants’ quarters.  Can’t we?

We’re important but not essential, valuable but not indispensable.  We have a song to sing, but we’re not the featured act.  God is!

He did well before our births; he’ll do fine after our deaths.  He started it all, sustains it all, and will bring it all to a glorious climax!

From: Great Day Every Day

A Wacky Idea

Imagine you’re 12.  You’d much rather play with your friends than face a sink of dirty dishes–you groan, moan, and wonder how you might place yourself up for adoption.  Then a wacky idea strikes you.

What if you surprise your mom by cleaning, not just the dishes, but the entire kitchen?  You begin to smile.  “I’ll sweep the floor and wipe down the cabinets. Maybe even re-organize the refrigerator!”

And from some unknown source comes a shot of energy!  A dull task becomes an adventure.  Why?  Liberation!  You’ve passed from slave to volunteer!  Jesus said, “It’s the least that are the greatest…”  “The last will be first.  Matthew 20:16”

I call it the joy of the “second mile.”  Have you found it?  Daily do a deed for which you cannot be repaid.  That’s the joy of the second mile!

From: Great Day Every Day

Don’t Let Delays Defeat You

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

A breakthrough is waiting for those who persevere. If you have stopped praying, receive fresh grace to pray again.

George Mueller, the great 19th-century British evangelist, prayed in more than $7 million during his lifetime to feed the thousands of orphans in his care. He didn't believe in telling people about his financial needs, yet he always had enough to pay his enormous grocery bill because God supernaturally provided.

But Mueller’s faith was stretched in other ways. He prayed regularly over a list of five people he wanted to see converted to faith in Jesus. The first man was saved after five years. The second and third men converted to Christ after 10 years. The fourth man was saved after 25 years of consistent prayer.

“Sometimes construction crews in my city erect large flashing signs along the highway near my house. All drivers groan when they see the message: ‘EXPECT DELAYS.’ Life is littered with these signs, and Jesus said they are part of our training process.”

But here’s the clincher: Mueller prayed for the fifth man’s conversion for a whopping 52 years. The friend made a profession of faith in Christ a few months after Mueller’s funeral!

This story challenges me to the core because I’m so impatient. I’m guilty of revving my engine at stoplights and tapping my foot when my Internet connection is slow. Technology is a blessing, but it has also spoiled me into thinking I can get spiritual results as fast as I want them.

A Choice

Mount Everest is sudden blinding snow.  Temperatures are hovering below zero.  In two hours, Dan Mazur would be at the summit realizing a lifelong dream.  He sees a flash of color; a person perched on a razor-edged rock.

“What’s your name?” he shouts.

“Lincoln Hall,” was the reply.

Earlier he’d heard the announcement, “Lincoln Hall is dead on the mountain.”

Dan was face to face with a miracle.  He was also face to face with a choice!  Descending a mountain has profound risks.  How long would Lincoln live anyway?  He had to choose.  Abandon his dream or abandon Lincoln Hall.

We make defining decisions every day.  Not on Everest, but with spouses, children, at work, in school, in churches.  Jesus tells us to “honor others above ourselves.”   Give more than requested.  Do more than demanded.

The sweetest satisfaction lies not in climbing your own Everest, but in helping others climb theirs!

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor. Romans 12:10″

From: Great Day Every Day

Three Questions

I’ve got three questions for you today!

The next time you’re mired in a bad day, check your outlook with these three questions:

1)  What do I feel guilty about?
2)  What am I worried about?
3)  What am I about?

Reflect on your answers with these reminders!

Yesterday — forgiven.
Tomorrow – surrendered.
Today — clarified.

Here’s my proposal.  Consult Jesus!  The Ancient of Days has something to say about our days.  In Colossians 3:2, the Apostle Paul says, “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground.  Look up, and be alert to what’s going on around Christ–that’s where the action is.”  In Matthew 11:30, Jesus says, “The load I give you to carry is light.”

Jesus’ design for a good day makes sense!  His grace erases guilt. His oversight removes fear.  His direction removes confusion.

Saturate your day in His grace.  Entrust your day to His oversight.  Give the day a chance!

From: Great Day Every Day

Sunday Sermon - 8-July-2012 - Ps. James Niles

Speaker: Pastor James Niles
The Tabernacle, Kuala Lumpur.

http://www.mediafire.com/?9w8i95cyfyoav5i

Making My Decisions Our Decisions

The Question
I recently got married, but have been on my own for many years. How do we build a life together? How do I submit to my spouse's decisions after making my own decisions for so long?

The Answer
In this question, you have hit upon one of the big differences between being married and being single. As a single, you do what you want to do when you want to do it. As a married, that is impossible. Why? Because "two have become one". It is no longer "your business" and "my business", but rather "our business." Now you must consider how your actions will affect your spouse. Now you are ready to learn what the Biblical concept of love is all about. Love is looking out for the other person's interest.

This doesn't mean that you must spend every waking hour together, but it does mean that you must keep each other informed. You are now a team, and team members must work together. It is not a matter of one making all the decisions. Rather, it is making decisions together so that each of you feels good about what is happening. If all of this seems costly to your independence, you are correct. Intimacy and independence are mutually exclusive..

Continue the conversation: Share your questions, thoughts insights, or comments by joining the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/5lovelanguages  

Anger Danger

Do cross-cultural workers ever get angry?  You know we do. In fact, unresolved anger has driven people away from their work and sent them home with their tails between their legs.

Actually, it is unrealistic to think we would never get angry. But it is realistic to learn what to do with that anger, and how to prevent explosions.

Anger has many causes, some unique to our cross-cultural context. But we may not find the help we need when we live and work overseas. After all, aren’t we supposed to be the strong ones?

I am indebted to a book called, She's Gonna Blow! by Julie Ann Barnhill for this discussion.

Julie's book is subtitled, 'Real help for moms dealing with anger.' Though she wrote the book with anger towards our children as the focus, much of what she discusses has real life applications for whatever stirs our wrath.

Anger is an emotion that can really affect families, co-workers, and nationals. It is not an emotion that can be ignored.

Julie compares our anger to a volcano. A mountain can look beautiful, peaceful, and fertile while the magma is boiling and coming slowly to the surface. Finally, one day it spews forth poisonous gases, liquid magma or lava as the volcano erupts. We can look lovely, calm, and productive on the outside while anger boils and slowly rises to the surface. When the volcano of our anger erupts a lot of damage occurs.

The Power of the Bowl and the Towel

Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

When I washed the feet of a Gypsy pastor in Hungary last week, it felt like a wall came crashing down.

More than a few times in my travels the Holy Spirit has asked me to wash someone’s feet.· Once this happened in India, when I was with pastors from the lowest caste in Andhra Pradesh. Another time I was with South American pastors who were bitterly divided. It happened again last week when I was in a small Gypsy village in Hungary just a mile from the Ukrainian border.

Washing feet isn't something I plan on doing during a missionary trip. I don’t travel with a large bowl (it fits awkwardly in a suitcase) and I never pack towels. But as I was driving with my friends Zsolt, Attila and Vera from Debrecen to Uszka, the Lord gave me that familiar nudge. I asked Zsolt to call and make sure a bowl and towel were ready when we arrived.

“During the Nazi era the Romanis were shot on sight or sent to prison camps for extermination. It is estimated that between 220,000 to 1.5 million Gypsies were killed during the World War II era. Because census records were not kept, the exact number is anyone’s guess.”

I know only a little about the struggle Gypsies have faced in Europe. Officially called the Romani people, their origins are mysterious. For years they were called Gypsies because it was assumed they wandered to Europe from Egypt. One legend suggests they were evicted from their Egyptian homeland because their ancestors helped protect the infant Jesus when His parents fled there to escape King Herod’s sword.

Blow off the Cloud Cover

Want to blow the cloud cover off a gray day?  Accept God’s direction!  It’s exactly what John Bentley did.

He and his wife were overseers of an orphanage for abandoned babies in Beijing.  Years ago a mother deposited a newborn in a nearby field.  No note, no explanation, just $1.25.  The Chinese equivalent of a burial.  The child was severely burned from head to toe.  The Bentleys weren’t about to let that child die.  They nursed him to health–and adopted him as their son.

I Corinthians 3:5 says, “The Lord has assigned to each of his task.”

What direction has God taken you?

What needs has he revealed to you?

What abilities has he given you?

Direction.  Need.  Ability.  Your spiritual DNA–you at your best!  None of us is called to carry the sin of the world.  But all of us can carry a burden for the world!

From: Great Day Every Day

Sunday Sermon - 1-July-2012 - Bro. Chin Teng Lum

Speaker: Bro. Chin Teng Lum
White Fields Assembly Seremban / YWAM

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