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A Cup of Coffee :)

A friend sent me this, it was so awesome, had to share 🙂

“A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that IS the source of your problems and stress.”
The professor continued, “Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it IS just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups….

.And then you begin eyeing each other’s cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, NOT the cups! The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.”

My thoughts and prayers are that you do NOT get burdened down with things of the world. That you seek first the Kingdom of God – surrender ALL to your Father in heaven. That your coffee IS Love and Peace, that only our Lord can give. That you thank the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for moments granted on earth – to be used wisely and to His Glory and Honor. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen.”

The Blessing: Ireland & Scotland

An Irish Blessing

Matthew 24: How will we know Jesus from the imposters that will come?

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”-(Matthew 24:11 KJV)

It’s a good question! How will we know the real Christ. It says in the Bible that even some of the “elect” may be deceived. Here are some tips from God’s Word:

The first is to pray to the Holy Spirit that we will always see the truth-God’s Truth. The Holy Spirit can enable us to see God’s Truth. Ask Him. And do not be disturbed if a non-believer does not “see” it the way we do. We who Truly seek God’s Face will always see His Truth, not the world’s…

The second is to read the Bible. When Christ comes again, He will not contradict what God has written :).

And lastly, in verse 30 & 31 in Matthew Chapter 24, it says:

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

If we are Truly looking and praying for God’s Help, we will not miss nor mistake Christ’s return 🙂

Making Messes & Asking for Help!

A friend sent me this about creating messes and asking for help. Despite our best efforts, we all create “messes” sometimes 🙂

“Once upon a time, there was a child, who was 6 years old, who wanted his parent to take them to the store to “help” go shopping. The child knew that there was a good chance they would stop at the place next to the store and get their favorite drink – a “Slushee”. As expected, the parent asked the child if they would like to go to the place next to the store. The child replied, “Oh, Yes!!”. They both got something and of course the child requested a “Slushee”. They both sat down at a table and wouldn’t you know – the child accidentally spilled their drink. We are talking blue and red goop all over the floor, the table – everywhere! The child looked up at their parent and immediately apologized. Instead of getting angry, the parent said, “Hey, it happens. Let’s go get napkins and I can show you how to clean it up.” Then they calmly went to get napkins and then helped the child clean the entire mess. As they were throwing the napkins ways, the parent said to the child, “You’re going to be a human being for probably some time, and you have such a smart brain that it’s important you learn how to be more careful of what you’re doing. So next time, just be sure to pay more attention to your surroundings – so accidents like this don’t happen. Accidents like these can be prevented, but it’s still okay if they happen. As long as you take responsibility for your mistakes, the clean up is a breeze. I know big messes seem overwhelming and you might feel like you can’t do it by yourself – it’s okay to ask for help. There is no problem with asking for help when you need it.”
Truly, God’s Children on this earth are born into human nature, which sometimes creates a huge mess. Your Heavenly Father knows this and even helps to guide you around those surroundings, that creates these. He lovingly still gives you a choice – whether to follow His Direction or to create a big mess on your own – all over you and even sometimes all over those around you. He also gives you His Word to help you prevent such problems you may encounter. The best you can do IS really try to follow His Voice in His Will and Purpose for you. When you make mistakes, take responsibility for them – ask your Father to forgive you. Even when they seem overwhelming to you, that you just can’t cope with it all – ask for His Help. He may even send one of His to help you clean up your mess. He IS SO Good like that!
My thoughts and prayers are that you do your best not to make a mess of your life. If you do sometimes, that you not hesitate to ask for your Heavenly Father’s help to wipe away your mess with His Living Water. That especially when you are overwhelmed with the world, that you give yourself to Him and thank Him for helping you. It’s okay to ask for help. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen”

If God Says No or Not Yet!

God always answers all prayers. But sometimes the answer is “No” or “Not yet”. God doesn’t say no or not yet because He doesn’t love us enough. God does love us enough 🙂

But we have to trust in God’s love too. We have to trust that God knows the whole story, where we only know part of it. We know yesterday and today, but God knows all of that-and tomorrow.

For example, sometimes taking someone to Heaven is the most Merciful thing to do, whether we like it or not. Sometimes a bit of “rain” has to fall for us to grow closer to God. It’s hard to build faith when it’s not used often enough. Tough times force us to use it. (Just like a muscle) 🙂

So if we have been praying with a certain end in mind and it’s not happening. If God seems to be saying, “No” or “Not yet”. Perhaps what we need to do is,

Pray “In Jesus Name, Let thy Will be done”. And find a way to trust in that ?

Matthew 24: More on the Last Days!

⁹“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,”- Matthew 24:9-10

Aren’t people already being put to death for following Christ in some countries? Do we not see many turning away from our faith? And are those who turned away from our faith not angry with those who still follow Christ?

We have seen this yesterday and today. And we will see more of it tomorrow.

And as we approach the Last Days, the persecution will intensify and spread.

So what can we do?

We can pray for those who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus. And we can reach out and give them our love-really give them our love. They need to know that we are here for them. And they need to be reminded that Jesus IS coming back! And that He IS taking them to Heaven forever!

And it WILL be worth it!

The Blessing: Australia

Do Not Fear

A friend sent this to me, it was so good, just had to share 🙂

Fear not, for I AM with you, be not dismayed, for I AM your God,I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, like no other one could,I will uphold you with My Righteous Right Hand, they against you,Shall be ashamed, disgraced, shall be as nothing, for All you do.

Those who strive with you shall perish, so shall seek and not find,Those who contended with you, those who war against your mind,Shall be as a nonexistent thing, for I, the Lord your God, will hold,Your right hand, saying to you, “Fear not, I will help you, be bold”.

I will open rivers in desolate heights, fountains in midst of valleys,I will make the wilderness a pool of water, dry lands springs sees,I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, myrtle,I will set in the desert, the cypress tree and the pine, so may tell.

That they may see and know, consider and understand together,That the Hand of the Lord has done this, created All this for sure,Indeed all else is worthless, world works are nothing to compare,Molded images of wind and confusion, trust Me for All, I AM here.

More From Matthew 24: The Last Days

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginnings of sorryow.” Matthew 24:7-8 KJV version.

As we can see from this warning from Jesus, war is not enough. It must be accompanied by other things such as “pestilences, famines and earthquakes in diverse places”

We’re not there yet. We may be heading there. We may even be heading there soon. While pestlence does refer to disease, it’s still only one part of the Bible verse. Is a famine coming, maybe. Some even say probably. But it’s not here yet.

So what should we do?

Prepare, Watch and Pray 🙂