How to tap into God's power

In a seminary mission class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.

After pondering his problem, he devised a plan.

He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off.

As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station.

When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood.

Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable."

He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson's astonishment, the engine roared to life.

For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.

J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, "How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God." When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.

The best gift

There is a story of a man who visited an infirmed old lady who used to work for a very wealthy man.

As the visitor sat next to the lady's bed, a frame hanging on her wall caught his attention.

Looking closer, he exclaimed, "Do you know that this is actually the last will and testament of your employer? It names you as the sole beneficiary of all that he has!"

For 50 years--since the day her employer passed on--that poor lady had worked day and night eking out an existence for herself, when all of her previous employer's estate had been given to her to enjoy.

The story is a great reminder that you received the greatest gift of all - the Lord Jesus Christ.

So quit focusing on your failures, regrets, and fear of aging.
Focus on God by memorizing and meditating His words.

Life is short and might as well enjoy it.

Here's one of my favorite verse that you can memorize.

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered--how fleeting my life is." - Psalm 39:4

This memory verse will help you to focus on what really matters in life.

Discovering the real fear

A Sultan decided to make a voyage with some of his best courtiers. They embarked at the port of Dubai and set out across the open seas.

As the ship sailed away from the land, one of his subjects, who had never seen the sea and had spent much of his life in the mountains, had a panic attack.

Everyone tried to calm him down, saying that the journey really wasn’t all that dangerous, but although their words reached his ears, they did not touch his heart.

The Sultan was ready to turn the ship around and head back to port, when one of his ministers, known for his wisdom, came over to him:
“Your Highness, with your permission, I will try to calm him down.”

The wise man ordered that the man be thrown into the sea. A group of crew members, pleased that the nightmare was about to end, dragged the struggling man up from the hold and hurled him into the ocean.

The courtier began to thrash about, he went under, swallowed salt water, came back up, shouted louder still, went down again, and again struggled to the surface.
At this point, the minister ordered that he be brought back on board the ship.

From that moment on, no one heard the slightest word of complaint from the man, who spent the rest of the voyage in silence.

Shortly before returning to port, the Sultan asked the minister:
“How did you know that you could calm the poor man down by throwing him into the sea?”

“Because of my own marriage,” replied the minister. “I was terrified of losing my wife, and I was so jealous that, like this man, I spent all my time weeping and wailing. One day, unable to stand it any longer, she left me, and I realized how awful life would be without her.

“She only came back when I promised that I would never again torture her with my fears. In the same way, this man had never tasted salt water and had never understood the agony of a man about to drown. Once he had known that experience, he understood perfectly how marvelous it is to feel the deck of a ship beneath one’s feet.”

“It is written in a book sacred to the Christians, the Bible: ‘Everything I most feared came to pass.’ Some people are only capable of valuing what they have once they have experienced its loss.”

Fake Coins

An old man was selling toys at the market in Bagdad. His buyers, knowing he had weak sight, would sometimes pay him with fake coins.

The old man noticed the trick but didn’t say anything.

In his prayers he asked God to forgive those who had tricked him.

‘Perhaps they don’t have much money and want to buy gifts for their children,’ he would say to himself.

Time passed by and the man died.

Standing before the portal of Paradise, he prayed once again.

‘Lord,’ he said, ‘I am a sinner.

‘I did many things wrong, I am no better than the fake coins I was given. Forgive me!’

On that moment the gate opened and a Voice said:

‘What should I forgive? How can I judge someone who has never judged anyone throughout his life?

The Best Dad

Years ago I heard a story of a dad named Paul who gave his young son a small chalkboard to practice writing on. One evening his son called out from the bedroom, "Dad, how do you spell best?"

Paul answered him. Moments later, the boy hollered, "How do you spell kid?"

Finally he asked, "How do you spell ever?"

When the boy showed him what he'd written on the chalkboard, Paul expected to see "I'm the best kid ever." Instead, the boy beamed as Paul read the message: "You're the best dad a kid can ever have."

Paul recalled that it was one of the best days of his life. In fact, he had to buy his son another chalkboard because he wanted to save this message forever and hang it on his wall. It's still there.

Feeling appreciated is enormously important to adults as well as children. So much so that we often don't think enough about what we'd most like to be appreciated for.
Being appreciated at work is a big deal. Who doesn't want approval and respect from one's boss and coworkers? Beyond the economic value of raises, promotions, and commendations, praise can be gratifying and motivating. That's why good employers look for opportunities to acknowledge and thank employees for their contributions.
Yet as meaningful as work recognition is, if you could choose between winning your child's "Best Mom/Dad A Kid Can Ever Have" award and being named "Best Employee," which would you choose?

The point is not to belittle the pursuit of approval in your business life but to remind you how much more meaningful it is to know you're important to and appreciated by the people who love and need you the most. Your most important job in life is to be worthy of that appreciation.
Being the "best ever" mom or dad, husband or wife, or friend - it doesn't get any better than that.

Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org

Scared to try

Many years ago a young lady who was attending a seminar shared an interesting story with Bob Proctor. Apparently she and two or three of her girlfriends went and tried out for a place in a stage play. She got the starring role while her girlfriends were not even picked for the supporting cast. Opening night she said she was really excited but afterwards became very disappointed when her girlfriends never came out and supported her. She was explaining the situation to an elderly friend of her fathers named Hap. He wrote her a letter and she gave me a copy with her permission to share it with others. Read it carefully and think.

Dear Ann,

Once upon a time there was a fellow by the name of Al Capp who wrote a comic strip called "L'll Abner." Many years ago he had some characters in his strip who lived in a town near Dogpatch. They were the town bums, the n'er do wells, the failures whose whole aim in life was to pass judgement on others. Their criticism and ridicule became so vehement that in time the rest of the people in the town became acutely conscious of it. "The boys down at the stable," as they were called because that's where they spent most of their time, soon set the social standards of the town. Nobody could do anything without their sanction.

Because they lived within the structure of their crummy little world, they would laugh and point their fingers at anyone and everyone who tried to be better than they were. As a result the people feared the ridicule of the boys down at the stable so much that they stopped trying. Soon everybody became bums and the town died.

In every social structure, Ann, whether it be family, town, county or state, there are "The boys down at the stable." They are the jealous ones. They are too scared to try something different. They show their ignorance by laughing at those who do. Learn to recognize them Ann, for what they are. Don't let them hurt you. It takes a certain amount of toughness to succeed. One has to rise above those who would tear you down so that they can laugh and say, "I told you so!"

There are too many of us who love you and want you to make it. I could put myself at the top of the list. You aren't going to fall flat on your face as they would have you. You are going to do a superb job. Remember this show is only a small step in the direction of greater things you will do, many of which are beyond your wildest dreams. All you have to do is want to. One of the things I like about you best is that you always give it hell for try.

The show will be a success because of you and others like you who try. There are only winners in the cast. The losers are gathered down at the stable laughing and hoping for your failure. If we could dig down deep inside them, I'm sure we'd find they want to win also, but are too scared to try, and they attempt to cover up their own failures as human beings by laughing at others. In a sense I'm sorry for them. Their guilt must make them very unhappy people.

Much love,

Hap

A Lesson Learnt From My Six Year Old

On Saturday mornings, my family and I stay in bed just a little bit longer. My two boys crawl into bed with my husband and I and we usually watch music videos all together cuddled up in bed.

A song came on called "If this was your last day" which I found intriguing and thought it posed an interesting question too, so I turned to my husband and asked him what he would do if it was his last day.

He thought for a while and then said that he would probably lie in bed all day just as we were doing right now, surrounded by all his favorite people, just savoring the time together.

I turned to my eight year old and asked him what he would do and he said that he would go to Canada's Wonderland and go on all the rides.
I then focused my attention on my six year old and posed the same question. He looked at me intently and asked "Is this my last day to live?", I said "yup".

He then answered the question quite matter of factly and said "I would go to the hospital".

Of course my husband and I thought his answer was genuinely funny, smart and pure (we are biased of course). However, I have been thinking about it for a few days now and I realize that my six year old has it all figured out.

He naturally thinks outside of the box, he does not accept a situation and assume a scenario just because it is posed to him.

In his mind, there was no reason why it should be his last day and he was going to find a way to ensure that it was not.

In a flash of a second, he realized that he has the capacity to ensure that it wouldn't be his last day and not only that, but he was going to take the requisite responsibility and the necessary action to ensure that it wasn't.

My son taught me that if you want to live then find a way to do it, don't give up, don't settle and don't just accept things for what they seem to be.

Don't assume and accept a situation just because it is presented to you as such. Rather make that situation your own, take responsibility for it and then decide to change it, my six year old did.

Now I know that I am his mother, but is this not the smartest six year old kid in the entire world?

Nicolle Kopping-Pavars

Nicolle Kopping-Pavars is a collaborative lawyer dedicated to using inspiration and motivation while guiding families through difficult transitions. You can view her website at: www.nkplaw.ca

He read the Bible with his tongue...

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion.
Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God.

The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands.

He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible.

Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille.

Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion.

One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them.

Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had "read" through the entire Bible four times.

How many of you can say you've read through the Bible four times--with two good eyes? This man had a craving--and even losing his eyesight wouldn't prevent him from reading God's Word.

So don't let laziness or procrastination prevent you from reading and memorizing God's Word.

Be a "no-excuse" Christian and start memorizing scriptures starting today.

How does God measure success...

In Washington D.C. there is a building called the "National Institute of Standards & Technology." This facility is responsible for storing perfect samples of weights and measurements.

They have what are called "prototypes" of pound weights and kilograms. Measuring rods for feet, yards & metric measurements like meters.

For example, they have a "Meter Standard" a reinforced bar of platinum alloyed with exactly 10% iridium. When they want to know the exact measurement of a "meter" they cool this bar down to 0 degrees Celsius at a sea level of 45 degrees latitude then they know they will have the exact tip to tip measurement of a meter.

That bar is known as prototype #27, because the original is kept in a suburb of Paris at the International Bureau of Weights & Measures.

We Christians also have a measuring rod that never changes. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us:

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Remember, there's no substitute having scripture in your heart and mind. Do not allow this world to dictate who you are and what to believe in.

Memorize scripture and let it be your life's standard.

It's your protection from devil's lies and deceptions.

The recipe to a victorious life...Biblically.

Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in '71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn't call his own signals was a source of trial for him.

Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!).

Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.

Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."

The point of the story is simple.

And that is in our relationship with God it requires full submission and obedience.

If God is convicting you to do something or to get rid of sins or habits...just do it.

Like in our story, once you learned to obey that's the only time you'll experience harmony, fulfillment, and victory in your life.

When God doesn't make sense...

A little boy wanted $100 very badly. He prayed for weeks, but nothing happened. So, he decided to write a letter to God requesting $100.

When the postal authorities received the letter to "God, USA", they decided to send it to the President.

The President was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5 bill. The President thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.

The little boy was delighted with the $5 bill, and sat down to write a thank-you note to God. The postal authorities forwarded this letter on to the President, too.
It read:

"Dear God, Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington, D.C., and those guys deducted $95 in taxes!"

It's a funny story but what we can learn from this is...
...sometimes when God answers your prayer it will not be exactly as you wanted it to be.

But you just have to trust. Trust that God's answer to your prayer is the best for you.

Yes, sometimes it seems that God doesn't make sense but remember in Isaiah 55:8-9 it says...His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways are higher than our ways.

That's why it's important to keep His Word to your heart and mind through scripture memorization. Because through regular reading, memorization, and meditation of God's Word you develop your faith.

Keep doing this and blessings will overtake you...

There was a story back in the 1800s about a group of explorers who got lost in the middle of a desert.

After using up their water supply, then began to dig under the sand in hopes of finding water.

But unfortunately none of them were able to find any, and none survived the ordeal.

Several years later, it was found out that there was indeed water just a few feet below the spot where they were digging. If they hadn't given up, they would've been able to drink fresh water to their heart's content.

The same can be said about doing good, particularly in relation to today's Scripture.

Whenever you are struggling with life, or having a bad break at your career, or having a difficult time with a relationship, you are simply experiencing a dry spell.

Don't quit. Dig. Rake in the soil and dig like there's no tomorrow because you never know when the Lord shall shower you with His favor and blessings, whose arrival into your life is only a matter of time.

Keep digging until you tap in to the well of the Lord's goodness!

Are you guilty of this...

A pastor friend recently told the true story of one of his church members, an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months.

He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its Biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail.

One by one, the letters began to return, unsigned and undelivered.

Perhaps a couple people had moved away though not likely.

16 of the 17 letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts.

How profound! We owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it but too many people will not even open the letter that explains that.

Are you guilty of not opening your Bible and reading enough of God's Word?

You know that memorizing and meditating scriptures is important, yet, you're still not doing it?

Listen, I know what you feel because I've been there for many years before I made a serious commitment to start memorizing His Words for me to grow spiritually.

This led me to start Memory Delight and start inspiring and teaching believers to start memorizing.

Thousands of lives were changed since then simply by memorizing one Bible verse at a time.

Let me help you and teach you how.

Click here to begin your journey in scripture memorization.

In Him,
Don and Dawn
P.S. One last thing; Thousands of people will receive this email but I know only a fraction of them will take action on their faith and start memorizing Bible verses.

So I'm challenging you to become one of those few who will take action and become a spirit-filled Christian.

What God wanted for you and me...

One time a friend of mine told me a story about how he was walking in the woods situated behind his house.

You see, he lived in the country. He said everywhere he looked he could see trees and dead, dried-up leaves that had covered the forest floor.

He went farther in than he's ever been into these woods before.

He kept walking until he came into a clearing. In the clearing, he saw something that attracted his eyes - a single beautiful, wild flower in the middle of the field.

That's when I realized what God wanted for us, God wants us to be a young blooming flower wherever He had chosen to plant us.

It doesn't mean you will be in one place forever, nor does it mean to always be the same and to never aspire change.

It simply means that God wants you to be the best that you can be in preparation for whatever is in store for you in the near future.

He wishes for you, as a Christian, to be always in full bloom. So do just that, bloom and thrive in whatever situation you find yourself in, and God will find a way to work His blessings into your life.

Inspiring father and son story...

Here's one inspiring story:

A father told the story of his son's first serious conflict at school.
His boy was being picked on by three bullies. They would punch him, push his bike over, and generally made his life miserable.

They told him that they'd meet him the next morning before school and beat him up.

That evening the dad really worked hard to show his son some moves on how to defend himself, passed on a few helpful techniques, and even gave him some tips on how he might win them over as friends.

The next morning, the boy choked back the tears knowing that the inevitable was going to happen. With a reassuring hug, the father smiled confidently and said, "you can do it, son. I know you'll make out all right."

The boy got on his bike and began the lonely, long ride to school.

What the boy didn't know was that every block he rode was under the watchful eye of his dad...who drove his car a safe distance behind, out of sight but ever ready to speed up and assist if the scene became too threatening.

The boy thought he was alone, but he wasn't alone at all. The father was there all the time.

End of story.

It's so reassuring to know that our heavenly Father is always watching us and He knows what's going through in our lives.

But the busyness in this world is trying to take our attention away from God.

That's why we CONSTANTLY need to read, memorize, and meditate His Words.

So take some time now to stop and memorize His Words.

How to Remain Faithful in God While Facing Life Challenges

A certain king needed a faithful servant and had to choose between two candidates for the office.

He hired both at fixed wages and told them to fill a basket with water from a nearby well, saying that he would come in the evening to inspect their work.

After dumping one or two buckets of water into the basket, one of the men said, "What is the good of doing this useless work? As soon as we pour the water in, it runs out the sides."

The other answered, "But we have our wages, haven't we? The purpose is the master's business, not ours. He is a wise King, and must have his own purpose that we do not understand."

"I'm not going to do such fool's work," replied the complainer. Throwing down his bucket, he went away.

The other man continued until he had drained the well. Looking down into it, he saw something shining at the bottom - it was a diamond ring.

"Now I see the use of pouring water into the basket!" he exclaimed. "If the bucket had brought up the ring before the well was dry, it would have been filtered out in the basket. The King was looking for his diamond. Our work was not useless."

The King found his most faithful servant!

The point is, in our lives there undesirable events that happened or will happen and only God knows why.

Regardless, we just need to do what we need to do and remain faithful.

Continue to read your Bible, memorize scriptures, and meditate it.

With scripture memorization, you're disciplining your eyes to focus on God no matter what's happening around you.

So take the time now to memorize at least one Bible verse and develop your faith better.

How to invite miracles to happen

A traveling man came into a hotel to secure a room for the night.

Upon being informed that every room in the building had been taken, he was naturally quite perturbed, until a portly gentleman standing nearby kindly offered to share his room with him.

The offer was thankfully accepted.

Upon retiring, the portly man knelt and prayed, tenderly mentioning his guest for the night in his petition.

In the morning his host informed him that it was his custom to read a portion of the Word of God and pray before taking up the responsibilities of the day.

The effect upon the man was moving; a strange feeling came over him; something had been working in his heart all the night.

When gently pressed by this stranger to accept the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior, his resistance went down in a heap. A soul had been won for Christ!

But who is this humble ambassador of Christ, who so strikingly resembles a member of President Wilson's cabinet?

When business cards were exchanged before parting, to the guest's amazement he read, "William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State."

You see, by starting your day with God's Word through memorization and meditation, you're inviting amazing and miraculous things to happen around you.

With scripture memorization and meditation, you're basically saying to God..."Oh Lord, please take control of my day today!"

Most Critical Rescue Mission

I once heard a story by Gene Appel.

A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad had been puttering out by the boat house.

Two of his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was supposed to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted.

The 3 year old, little Billy, thought that would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock.

So he went to the dock and put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water, which was about 5 or 6 ft deep.

The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a piercing scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to see anything, came up for air.

Sick with panic, he went right back down into this murky water, and began to feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn't feel anything.

Finally, on his way up, he felt little Billy's arms locked in a death grip on one of the posts of the dock, about 4 ft under water.

Prying the boy's fingers loose, they burst up together thru the surface to fill their lungs with life giving air.

Finally when the adrenaline had stopped surging, and nerves had calmed down a little bit, the Father asked his son, "What on earth were you doing down there hanging onto the post so far under the water?"

And little Billy's answer was a classic, laced with the wisdom only a toddler could give. He said, "I was just waiting for you dad. Just waiting for you."

My friend, 2000 yrs ago, the God of the universe left the glory and the splendor of heaven, a place where there was no pain and no sickness, no accidents, no hurt, and no death.

And he plunged into this dark, murky world on a rescue mission, a rescue mission for...

...All of us who are drowning.
...All of us who are barely hanging on.
...All of us who are lost in the darkness.

Don't let the busyness of this world overwhelm you that you've forgotten how much God loves you.

Take scripture memorization and meditation seriously.
This is one way to remind yourself daily that He gave His Son to rescue you.

So get in a habit of memorizing and meditating scriptures and never again forget God's most critical rescue mission.

How to brake spiritual poverty?

Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ tells this story of a famous oil field called Yates Pool:

During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn't able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch.

With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy.

Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills.

Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.

At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large.

In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.

And Mr. Yates owned it all.

The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he'd been living on relief.

A multimillionaire living in poverty.

The problem? He didn't know the oil was there even though he owned it.

Many Christians live in spiritual poverty.

Simply because they don't take the time to read, memorize, and meditate scriptures.

They are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, but they are not aware of their birthright.

Today is the day that you break spiritual poverty though scripture memorization.

With just one verse at a time begin to memorize and meditate scriptures throughout the day.

If you've tried to memorize before and failed, there's no harm in trying it again.

The secret of your future

A lot of people in our society spend a lot of time blaming others for their own lack of initiative, insight, ambition, and effort. 


The Southern Baptists one year had a slogan for church growth that would fit us individually: "If it is to be, it is up to me." 

Zig Ziglar said, "If you're looking for helping hand, there's one at the end of your sleeve."
 

Dr. Kenneth McFarland, the dean of American speakers, said, "The person you need to see about self-improvement is always available."

Mike Murdock is an Assemblies of God preacher and a motivational speaker. Some of my favorites of his statements are these: The Secret Of Your Future Is Hidden In Your Daily Routine.

That's true in health, wealth, relationships, and most importantly in your spiritual life.

Let me ask you this... 


What's your future of your spirituality look like with your daily routine today?

Are you moving towards to your ideal spirit-filled Christian or moving away from it?


What are you doing routinely to develop a deeper relationship with God?

You see, you should be more proactive to develop your faith in God. 


Surely, sitting in a couch and watching 3 hours of television won't help you.

Instead, consistently read, memorize, and meditate scriptures. Make it part of your daily routine. This seemingly small activity will make you a stronger Christian overtime.