From: "Dwayne Savaya" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> God's Work Ministry E-mail
Dear Friend, I hope you are doing well and are in the best of health. I am doing very well and am thankful for another day that God has given us. The Ministry work that God has called me into has been a tremendous blessing in my life. I know many people believe that ministers give much of themselves and do not receive in like manner, but that is not the case at all. I believe the one who ministers receives more from the Lord than those who are ministered to. The Lord is faithful to supply every need in their life and encourage them to know that they are doing good. I am thankful to God in heaven for using a simple vessel like myself to encourage, inspire, challenge and reaffirm His people in their walk with Him. I dare not take an ounce of credit because God did it all and He alone deserves the Honor, Glory and Praise. If you have received anything from God’s Work Ministry, give thanks to the Lord because He is the one who did it. (Isaiah 42:8) The Lord has spoken to my heart to write a message on the benefits and blessings that givers receive from both man and God. There are many people who question giving whether it be of their time or their finances. What they lack in understanding is keeping them from reaching the heights which God wishes for them to reach. We must understand that everything God has created is meant to reproduce and multiply. But in order for there to be multiplication of anything, seeds must first be sown so that there will be a harvest or fruit from those sown seeds. We read in the first book of the Bible Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” I hope this message on giving and receiving ministers to your heart and shows you that we the givers have much more to gain than those who receive from us. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) (Genesis 1:22) (1 Corinthians 3:6-9) There are many instances shown throughout the Bible that God will reward the obedience of those who give no matter what it is. There is a great story in 1 Kings 17:8-16 about Elijah the Prophet. God sent Elijah to Zarephath where God told him a widow woman would give him something to eat. Elijah followed God's instructions and when he came near to the woman in that town, Elijah asked her if she had anything to eat. She informed him that she had only a little bit of food left for herself and her son. She then went on to say that this was the last amount of food they had and after they would eat that last meal they would die of starvation. Elijah knew that this would not be the case if she believed what he would say next. We read in verses 13-16 “But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.” (Malachi 3:10-12) (2 Samuel 9:1-13) (Psalm 37:1-6) The Lord is faithful to extend and supply everything we need when we obey His Word. What we sow is promised to be multiplied to us again. Even believing God's word by obeying what He says can bring a harvest into our lives. Another great story concerning obedience is found in 2 Kings 4:1-8 where a widow came to Elisha the Prophet to ask for help. She informed him that her husband who served Elisha had died and now a creditor came to her to demand her two sons to be his slaves unless she could pay the debt. Elisha answered her as we read in verses 2-7 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” (Psalm 145:15-19) The Lord is faithful to meet our every need when we obey what He tells us to do. Obedience is just as important for us to receive as sowing is. The Bible says that Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. The Bible also says that those who come to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We must be confident in God's ability to bring our harvest into reality and when we do something good or sow a seed that we wish to reap the harvest from, we should bring those deeds into God's remembrance. The Prophet Nehemiah did this when he did something good for others. He reminded God of his good deeds and asked that God would remember it for his good. I believe Nehemiah did this because he knew that every good deed that was done would bring a reward from the Lord in due season. (Genesis 15:6) (Hebrews 11:6) (Nehemiah 13:31) The Apostle Paul also knew the importance of sowing and reaping. We read in Philippians 4:15-19 “As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” The Apostle Paul wanted them to know that they would receive a reward for the seeds they sowed into his life. We must have the same expectation with the seeds that we sow. (Ephesians 6:7) I encourage you with my whole heart to do good deeds when you have the opportunity. Sow seeds both for your finances and in blessings towards others. Everything you do whether good or bad will come back to you in like manner. The Bible declares in Galatians 6:7-9 “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9-10) (Mark 10:29-31) Read and meditate on these scriptures: Luke 6:38 Jesus declares “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Isaiah 1:19-20 “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Proverbs 8:32-36 “Now therefore hearken unto Me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep My ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death.” All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today’s Selected Poem: DROP A PEBBLE IN THE WATER Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem63.htm Today’s Selected Testimony: THE LORD ALWAYS PROVIDES Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony184.htm =================================================== God's Work Ministry E-mail Dear Friend, No matter the discouragements, shortfalls, tragedies or trials that come our way, we can rest in the hope that is the Lord Jesus Christ. With Him in our lives all will be well. Do not allow the fear of this world to take root in your heart. Stand strong and confident knowing that God holds this earth in the palms of His Hands and nothing by any means shall harm you. If we allow our circumstances to cause us to worry or become anxious about what the future holds, then we are not showing our steadfast faith in God Almighty. The Lord Jesus has promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. In Him is life and there is no death. No matter what may be going wrong in your life today, know that God loves you and wishes for you to trust Him. The Bible tells us to rest in the Lord as we read in Psalm 37:4-6 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” (2 Timothy 1:7) (Jeremiah 32:17) I hope this message ministers to your heart to trust in the Lord at all times. Many instances in life we do not fully understand why certain things happen the way they do, but if we trust that God has our best interest in mind, our hearts can rest easy knowing that we are in good hands. JACK'S LILY A barking dog in the distance brought Jack out of his sleep and back into consciousness. He lay in the prison cell and curses the emptiness, the loneliness, the blackness around him. Morning was about to dawn, ushering in the anniversary of Lily's first visit. Lily had been all that mattered to him in the world. From the day when she was born, she was fragile and sweet like the morning breeze blowing through a field of lilies. No other name would have done her justice. But Lily never had a chance. When she was two, her mother walked out, announcing that she did not want to be tied down to a crippled child. Jack wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Hatred and self pity overcame him out of the depth of his conscience. He never knew where his wife went, but his life hit a downward path--too much drinking and gambling, too many fights. He recalled with an oath that the last fight over a game of cards when tempers and blood ran hot together. He was doing time now on a manslaughter conviction. Lily had lived out her days in a crippled children's home. She never walked in her five short years of life. The only kind spot in Jack's heart was for the nice elderly couple who had cared for Lily in the home. Jack stared at the ceiling remembering every detail of Lily's last visit. Her yellow straw bonnet stuck up just right on top of her yellow curls, making a frame for her doll-like face. Eyes, blue like sapphires, flashed at him behind the wire screen that separated them in the visiting room. Both dimples showed when she smiled. A dress of yellow ruffles and ribbons hid the thinness of her body and made her look every inch of living Lily that she was. Jack sat up, cringing at the memory of the spotted lily his own Lily had brought him. She had hugged the clay pot before she let go of it. Then she said, “Daddy, this is me. I am going to be with you all the time. Every time you see this lily think of me, for I am your Lily!” Lily soon had to wave goodbye, but the blooming lily remained to brighten his world of gloom, filling his cell with the slightest suggestion of perfume, so light, so alive, so pure! Not even the foul prison air stifled it! A thousand times a day Jack had stared at the blossom, looking though misty eyes into the face of Lily, “Daddy, this is me,” the silent blossom cried into his heart. Tender care kept the plant alive. Jack dreamed of the day when he would walk from this prison a free man. He would take her away, down south where the sunshine would bring color to her cheeks and a smile to her face. However, one night Jack's world caved in. The chaplain had tried to soften the shock with words of hope, but it was no use. Lily had died. Pneumonia. Jack folded the telegram and stalked out of the chaplains office with head held low. From that night on he was like a man walking in his sleep. Nothing had mattered anymore. Nothing. The next day, as he moved the fading plant to a sunny spot, his hands trembled and he dropped it. The stem snapped as the pot smashed into pieces on the cement floor. Jack was stunned--too stunned to move for a long time. Then, dropping to his knees, he gathered the fragments of clay, earth, and plant and molded them into a mound in the corner of his cell. Lily was dead--the mound of dirt was her grave. “daddy, this is me.” Jack turned away. He could not endure the sight of her lonely grave. A buzzer brought Jack out of his memories and to his feet. Lights blinked on as he listened to a shuffle of feet. Then he remembered. There was going to be a sunrise service in the chapel. It was still dark. No service for him he thought. Never! Lily was dead and with her had died all his hopes and dreams. There was only one thing left for him to do and that was to hang himself. As he walked toward the window Jack glanced down and froze in his tracks. The lily, which had lain in its grave for a year, had burst into life! A lily blossom stood in triumph on the dirt tomb. “THIS IS ME, DADDY, THIS IS ME!” The words rang like a silver bell in Jack's heart. He bowed his head as hot tears rolled down his face and dropped to the floor. Jack found a seat in the chapel just as the chaplain rose from behind a bank of lilies, opened his Bible and began to read, “Jesus is the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this.” John 11:25-26 Jack leaned forward. He did not know the Bible said this. In fact, he never read the Bible. The chaplain explained the way to receive forgiveness of sins. Suddenly Jack felt his sins heavy as mountains weighing down upon him. Would God forgive him? “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8, explained the chaplain. Jack fell on his knees in earnest prayer and confessed his sins to God and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ who died for him. Romans 10:9 When he rose to his feet, he knew his load of sin and guilt was all gone! He was forgiven! He was filled with peace and joy! Later tears of joy filled his eyes as he knelt to pray beside the blooming lily in his cell. Someday he would meet Lily in Heaven. Jack was not alone now. He felt the sweet presence of his Savior who promises to “Never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 Author Unknown Read and meditate on these scriptures: Psalm 84:11-12 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.” Romans 8:14-17 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today’s Selected Poem: GOD IS ALREADY THERE Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem107.htm Today’s Selected Testimony: GOD IS FAITHFUL Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony118.htm In Christ’s Service, Dwayne Savaya God’s 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 right on our website. Volume One contains 15 messages that can be heard and enjoyed at Godswork.org. To hear our messages, please click on this link: http://www.Godswork.org/Audio.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.
