From: suyento
Learning To Not Fear The Future
by Howard Dayton
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP)--Many Christians make decisions related to financial
issues that are motivated by fear of the future rather than by trust in God and
in his provision.
Fear of the future can cause Christian families to scrimp and sacrifice for
retirement or for some financial disaster. But too often, little or no thought
is given to the fact that God is able to care for those who put their total
faith in him.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan ahead, make retirement provisions or
maintain an emergency reserve account. These are all necessary to ensure
financial stability for the family. However, when primary attitudes of fear and
worry are motivating a Christian's financial decisions, there needs to be a
re-evaluation of financial priorities and a recommitment to trust in the Lord.
When Christian families are prompted by fear of their financial future, often
they will cut back on their tithes and offerings as a first step in their
attempt at financial stability. Such action, in the words of William
Shakespeare, is much like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Honoring God's mandate to tithe the first fruits of our income and keeping our
offering vows to God are the ways for us to ensure that we will not become
victimized by financial downturns.
Withholding financial commitments made to the Lord for the sake of buffering
ourselves against potential future financial hardships will end up costing us
our financial security, rather than guarding it, simply because God's blessings
will not be on these self-imposed buffers.
Faith is the opposite of fear, and Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as things that
we hope for and things that we do not presently see or have. God's plan is that
we have some needs in our lives in order that we can develop our faith in him.
That is why it's vital for us to view these potential future financial needs as
opportunities to exercise and develop our faith.
No Christian who truly wants to serve God can live in fear of financial loss.
In Matthew 6:24, Christ was very specific when he said that we must make a
choice about either serving God or money. We cannot serve both. If we are
fearful of our financial future, then we aren't trusting in God or in his
provision. In essence, we are choosing to serve the fear of financial loss,
rather than serving God who has conquered all fear and holds the future in his
hands.
We live in an extremely materialistic society. Too often, our priorities are
based on desires and wants, rather than on real needs. Our perspective of what
is actually a need is clouded by what our materialistic society promotes. So,
we get caught up in the mad rush to protect against any future crisis that can
potentially threaten these society-defined needs. Although God has promised
that he will always supply our needs, he has not promised that he will supply
all of our wants.
Just because we expect an answer from God that we feel will be a positive
response to our situation, he may not choose to answer the way that we want or
expect. His answer very well may be "no," in order that we can learn maturity
and learn how to rely totally on him.
There could be different reasons why God may not answer the way we expect him
to respond. We may ask with the wrong motives (James 4:3), or the timing may
not be right, according to God's will and purpose. Or it may simply be contrary
to his overall plan (Acts 21:13-14).
There are four steps that we must follow in order to trust God with the present
and the future. They are:
Find God's direction for your life. Most frustrations experienced by Christians
come as a result of patterning their lives after someone else's life, rather
than finding -- through prayer and study -- God's direction for their lives.
Develop a conscious effort to trust God. Put thoughts, words and commitments
into action and do not buy on credit or hoard. Wait for God to supply, and plan
ahead.
Develop a long-range viewpoint. Trust God's directives and his guidance, even
though we cannot see the end result or understand why he is doing it that way
(Matthew 6:34).
Pray diligently. Prayer is the key that unlocks God's blessings, power and
direction (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).
Even though we are bombarded daily with doubts concerning the financial future
of our nation's economy and the economies of the world, we must not doubt that
God is in complete control. Do not panic and do not allow yourself to be
governed by fear of the future. Keep your commitments and vows to God, pray
without ceasing, and trust him without reservation.
-PurposeDriven-
Taken from www.pastors.com
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Love
Learn to love the people who are with you at present. Forget the people in the
past and thank them for hurting you, which led you to love the people you have
right now.
When you love someone, you'll do crazy things you can't explain, you'll deny
the truth and believe in lies. When you love someone, you sacrifice, give
everything you've got and don't think twice.
You risk it all no matter what.
Everything in life is temporary because everything changes. That is why it
takes courage to love, knowing it might end anytime...having faith will make it
last.
Friends are not the one who laugh when you laugh and cry when you cry. They are
the ones who make you laugh and stop you from crying.
Love is the feeling we fall in and out of, and every time we fall off, we learn
to hold on
tighter...hoping that next time, we may never have to let go.
They say when love knocks at your door, open it.
But do you know that sometimes love enters through the back door and before you
begin to notice it, it's on it's way out.
Have you ever loved only to let it go?..
Have you ever hated someone and loved him so?.. Have you ever missed someone
so bad it made you cry?.. Have you ever seen someone left alone without knowing
why? ..
True: Lucky is the man who wins the first love of a woman but luckier is the
woman who wins the last love of a man.
Love is not the right word to say when you feel guilty nor the right word to
say when you like a person but love really matters when we share our thoughts,
our minds, and our hearts...
Life has a way of changing things but not the joy that friendship brings, for
friendship is like the shining moon, makes each night a brighter one.
Love is not for beauty or color of the skin, but for a heart that is loyal
within, for beauty fades and the skin would grow old but a heart that is loyal
will never turn cold.
If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them for they
have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom
you open your heart.
A love is easy to feel, so hard to explain; so easy to get, so hard to let go;
so easy to spell, so hard to define...and yet everyone is still taking the risk.
That's love !
We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone
whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in love
in mutual weirdness and call it LOVE!
Never be afraid to fall in love. It may hurt a lot, it may give you aches and
pain, but if you don't follow your heart; in the end you will cry even more for
not giving love a chance.
Don't run ahead of God. Let Him direct your steps.
He has plans and He has His time. God's clock is never one minute early nor one
minute late. It always strikes right on time.
If someone loves you, love them back not only because they love you, but also
because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to things
you have never seen or felt without them.
The past is meant to be used as a tool for the future. Bad experiences indeed
make you bitter but the lessons learned should make you better.
On letting go: it hurts to see someone you love happy with somebody else; but
wouldn't it hurt you more to see that person unhappy...with you?
When you find arms that will hold you at your weakest, eyes that will see you
at your ugliest, lips that will kiss you in both instances, and a heart that
will love you at your worst, then you have found true love.
Someday, someone might come into your life and love you in a way you always
wanted.
If your someday was yesterday.. LEARN
If your someday is tomorrow.. HOPE
If your someday is today.. CHERISH.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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