From: "Dwayne Savaya" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Gods Work Ministry Inspirational and Encouragement E-Mail
Dear Friend, We should never allow ourselves to get agitated or frustrated because things don't seem to be going our way. We are to have God's perfect peace at all times and allow His Word to dwell in us richly. The Lord Jesus reminded us that in the world we will have tribulation, but then He went on to reassure us to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world for us. No matter the trials or tribulations that come near to you, you stay in peace, and allow the Lord to comfort your heart where nothing will be able to steal your joy or move your faith in Him. (Colossians 3:12-17) I hope you are encouraged by this message to stay in peace no matter the trials or tribulations that come to tempt you to lose your patience, joy and your peace. WANNA BORROW A JACK? One day I went to a lawyer friend for advice. “I'm in real trouble” I said. “My neighbors across the road are going on vacation for a month; and instead of boarding their dogs they are going to keep them locked up and a woman is coming to feed them, if she doesn't forget. Meanwhile they'll be lonely and bark all day and howl all night, and I won't be able to sleep. I'll either have to call the SPCA to haul them away or I'll go berserk and go over there and shoot them and then when my neighbors return, they'll go berserk and come over and shoot me.” My lawyer patted back a delicate yawn. “Let me tell you a story,” he said. “And don't stop me if you've heard it because it will do you good to hear it again.” “A fellow was speeding down a country road late at night and Bang, went a tire. He got out and looked but he had no jack. “Then he said to himself. 'Well, I'll just walk to the nearest farmhouse and borrow a jack.' He saw a light in the distance and said, 'Well, I'm in luck; the farmer's up. I'll just knock on the door and say I'm in trouble; would you please lend me a jack? And he'll say, why sure, neighbor, help yourself, but bring it back.' “He walked on a little farther and the light went out so he said to himself, 'Now he's gone to bed, and he'll be annoyed because I'm bothering him so he'll probably want some money for his jack. And I'll say, all right, it isn't very neighborly but I'll give you a quarter. And he'll say, do you think you can get me out of bed in the middle of the night and then offer me a quarter? Give me a dollar or get yourself a jack somewhere else.' “By the time he got to the farmhouse the fellow had worked himself into a lather. He turned into the gate and muttered. 'A dollar! All right, I'll give you a dollar. But not a cent more! A poor devil has an accident and all he needs is a jack. You probably won't let me have one no matter what I give you. That's the kind of guy you are.' “Which brought him to the door and he knocked angrily, loudly. The farmer stuck his head out the window above the door and hollered down, 'Who's there? What do you want?' The fellow stopped pounding on the door and yelled up, 'You and your stupid jack! You know what you can do with it!'” When I stopped laughing, I started thinking, and I said, “Is that what I've been doing?” “Right,” he said, “and you'd be surprised how many people come to a lawyer for advice, and instead of calmly stating the facts, start building up a big imaginary fight; what he'll say to his partner, what she'll say to her husband, or how they'll tell the Old Man off about his will. So I tell them the story about the jack and they cool off. “The next time I hear from them, one tells me that the partner was glad to meet him halfway; the gal says she can't understand it, her husband was so reasonable she thought she must have gotten somebody else on the phone; the relatives found out the Old Man had already been asking a lawyer how he could give everything to them before he died, to save them inheritance tax.” I thought, “How true! Most of us go through life bumping into obstacles we could easily bypass; spoiling for a fight and lashing out in blind rages at fancied wrongs and imaginary foes. “And we don't even realize what we are doing until someone startles us one day with a vivid word like a lightning flash on a dark night.” Well, the other night I was driving home from the city. I was late for dinner and I hadn't phoned my wife. As I crawled along in a line of cars, I became more and more frustrated and angry. I'll tell her I was caught in the heavy weekend traffic and she'll say, “Why didn't you phone me before you left town?” Then I'll say, “What difference does it make anyway, I'm here!” And she'll say, “Yes, and I'm here, too, and I've been here all day waiting to hear from you!” And I'll say, “I suppose I haven't anything else to do but call you up every hour on the hour and make like a lovebird!” And she'll say, “You mean like a wolf, but you wouldn't be calling me!” By this time I am turning into the drive and I am plenty steamed up. As I jumped out and slammed the car door, my wife flung open the window upstairs. “All right!” I shouted up to her, “Say it!” “I will,” she cooed softly. “Wanna borrow a jack?” By J.P. McEvoy When you are tempted to begin an argument with your spouse, child or family member because of something they have done wrong, either real or imagined, take a moment of perspective and ask yourself if it's worth it to lose your peace. You will find sooner than later, that whatever the situation was that tried to cause you to lose your peace was trivial and not worthy of causing you to miss God’s best in that situation. (James 1:19-22) Read and meditate on these scriptures: Proverbs 15:1-5 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.” Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus declares “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” James 1:19-22 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today’s Selected Poem: TRUE LOVE AND PEACE Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem177.htm Today’s Selected Testimony: THE PRAYER OF AN ATHEIST Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony25.htm ================================================ From: "Dwayne Savaya" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Gods Work Ministry Inspirational and Encouragement E-Mail Dear Friend, We should never waste the precious time that God has given us on the earth. We are to use each minute to our benefit blessing those we love and care for and encouraging those who are down or discouraged. We are to use our life to better the lives of others and show them how great they truly are. We who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, are to lead our life by example and love others unconditionally just as the Lord loves us. Imparting the love that you have in your heart towards someone else will be remembered far longer than you may even believe. Be encouraged to do good deeds and create memories with those whom you love because memories last forever whereas this life is not promised even one more day. (Galatians 6:1-10) (James 4:13-15) I hope today's message encourages your heart to make known your love so that those closest to you can hear for themselves the love and care that you have for them. GRAMMIE'S GERANIUMS Geraniums and marigolds were two flowers my mother couldn't tolerate. As a kid, I tended to agree with her. They were a far cry from roses. As the years past like sand through the hour glass, I didn't give geraniums more than a passing thought. While I was in France with my Army husband, I planted flowers by our front door step. No geraniums or marigolds -- only sweet scented flowers. While pulling weeds from my small garden one day in June, my husband arrived home just before noon to tell me my grandmother was ill and in the hospital. Of course, my first thought was getting home to see her, but I was way "too pregnant" for the airlines to allow my emergency flight to the states. When we got word that my grandmother had passed away, I went into false labor. Later that week, I delivered my precious daughter. When Lorena was a year old, we were finally shipped back to American soil. It was a bitter sweet home coming because my beloved grandmother wouldn't be there to welcome us back. My two younger children would never know her or be held and hugged by her. While showing off my three children to my favorite uncle, he asked me if I'd like a "trinket" from Grammie's jewelry box. I was thrilled to be able to visit Grammie's house once again. I'd spent many happy childhood hours there -- playing the piano, playing Monopoly with Uncle Reggie, or exploring the magical upstairs of Grammie's sea captain type house and marveling over the beautiful hand pieced quilts and crocheted bedspreads, the oak dresser with oval mirror, and bath tub with feet. I loved looking from the alcove window in Grammie's downstairs bedroom to watch fishermen as they came to sell their lobsters at my uncle's wharf. I loved sitting at the window seat in the dining room and looking out at the ever changing ocean as sea gulls glided overhead making their gull noises for Grammie to toss them a tidbit. To me, her house was truly an elegant place to be. The first time I slept over in the guest bedroom, I felt like a princess right out of a fairy tale. Her house was always filled with intriguing smells -- cookies, pies and cakes, Evening in Paris cologne in deep blue bottles, Spic and Span, and her ever present house plants. I coveted the Easter lilies, geraniums, and a huge, gorgeous Christmas cactus. Grammie had had the cactus for eons, and she'd given me many slips from it to start. Every time one succumbed, she'd give me another and warn me again not to over water it. When, at last, the door to Grammie's house was swung opened, though my mind knew better, my heart expected her welcoming arms to reach out to us and pull us into her inviting kitchen. "Sit a spell and have a piece of pie," I could hear her say. What I didn't expect, after her home had been closed up for over a year, was to be greeted by the spicy scent of geraniums. It seemed as if the house had been holding its breath all that time, and when the door was opened, it exhaled. The powerful scent of geranium washed over my very soul like a crashing wave from the Atlantic at the height of a storm. The night before Grammie's passing, a strong wind shook the cement walled house we lived in and caused me a restless night. The morning was peaceful, sunny and bright. When I noticed our Spanish neighbor across the street, I commented about the howling wind of the night before. He looked at me rather strangely and told me he'd been up several times during the night and added in broken English, "No Honey, calm...No wind last night." When the news of Grammie's passing came, I wasn't surprised. I felt the wind had been forewarning me of the sad news to come. Had the geranium scent really lingered in Grammie's house all that time? Or had it been tucked into the recesses of my memory waiting for the right moment to emerge? Whether the geranium scent was real or imagined, it spoke volumes to me. Grammie's physical presence may be missing from my life, but the essence of her love, like perfume from a beautiful rose, would remain in my heart forever. By Kay Seefeldt Read and meditate on these scriptures: 1 John 4:18-21 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." Romans 12:9-10 "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another." Hebrews 13:1-3 "Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body." 1 John 4:10-12 "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us." All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today's Selected Poem: THE SMILE STARTER Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem161.htm Today's Selected Testimony: AN EASTER MIRACLE Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony172.htm In Christ's Service, Dwayne Savaya Gods Work Ministry Please feel free to visit the Website to read more Encouraging and Inspirational stories, poems and testimonies. Our E-mail Archives are available as well to read the messages that have been sent in the past. You can now hear our stories and poems by ordering Voice Messages. Each volume contains 15 messages that can be heard and enjoyed anywhere a CD player is available. To order your copy, please click on this link: http://www.Godswork.org/voicemessages.htm You can also send Free E-cards to friends and loved ones with the many choices available. You are also welcome to post your prayer requests in our Prayer Forum. All this and more available at --- http://www.Godswork.org You can also send prayer requests to --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Add your E-mail address if you'd like correspondence with the prayer partners.
