From: "Dwayne Savaya" <[email protected]> God's Work Ministry E-mail
Dear Friend, In times of trials and tribulations or if we just find ourselves discouraged and unmotivated, we should remember again why we are on this Earth. The Lord has given us life and breath so that we may use what we've been given to be a benefit to those around us. When someone asked the Lord Jesus what is the greatest commandment, He answered the man and said "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." When we find ourselves questioning our life and believing the lie that we have no purpose, we should remember these two commandments. Our main purpose is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and the second which is equal to it is to love our neighbor as ourselves. That simply means to go above and beyond to be helpful, giving, encouraging and simply do for them as we would have someone else do for us in our time of need. When we help to do for our neighbor, God is well pleased and proud that selfishness has not taken root in our hearts, but He sees that love and a giving heart is at the forefront of our being. Life is too short to only want for ourselves. Before we know it, our long life will have passed before us and all that we will have is what we have given to others. If we strive only to collect things, whose will they become when we die? Isn't it better to leave this Earth having been a giver than to be known for only being a collector? Let us remember then our main purpose in life; to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we do, we will not allow the dangers of greed and selfishness to take hold of our lives and we can use our life to make a difference that will never be forgotten. (Matthew 22:37-39) (Romans 15:1-4) (Luke 12:16-21) I hope this message inspires and encourages your heart to be a giver in life. No matter how big or small your gift or good deed; it can be used to make a difference to someone in need of it. FILLING THE BARREL I love it when God blesses us with bright, shining opportunities to help others. God always uses these opportunities to help us become better people as well. Sometimes, however, these opportunities come with difficulties. And they are the ones that challenge us the most. I had just arrived at the grocery store the other day. My shopping list was long and my cash was short. It seemed like we had run out of everything at once. It looked like there was no way that I would be able to get all the food I needed for my family that week with the money I had. As I walked in the store I noticed a big, blue barrel. On the side was a plea for food donations for the local food bank to help the needy. I glanced inside it. It was completely empty. Apparently, I wasn't the only one struggling to make ends meet that week. As I walked through the store, though, I couldn't get that barrel out of my mind. With each food item I put in my cart I thought of all the people who couldn't even afford to feed their own children right now. Finally, I picked up some extra boxes of noodles and put them in my cart. I prayed they would fill at least a few empty bellies that week. I knew if I had to I could put back something of my own to make up the difference. I paid for the groceries and had just enough to get them all. I smiled and walked to the barrel with an empty wallet, but a full heart. As I dropped the boxes of noodles in the barrel, I noticed too that it was slowly starting to fill up. I wasn't the only one who had decided to help the hungry that day. Every opportunity to help others is a gift from God. Every time we do help others, God is helping us as well to become better and more loving people. We are here, after all, to love each other and to help each other. We are here to fill both empty barrels and empty hearts. We are here to live as God's Children. May we always do so. By Joseph J. Mazzella Read and meditate on these scriptures: Ephesians 4:29-32 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Galatians 6:2-4 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." Romans 15:1-4 "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on Me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today's Selected Poem: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem84.htm Today's Selected Testimony: HE WANTED ME Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony88.htm ========================================== God's Work Ministry E-mail Dear Friend, While we are alive and well on this Earth, we should always strive to make the best of every situation that comes our way. It is easy to murmur and complain about the difficulties in our life, but if we change our thinking and see the many blessings that we possess, we will quickly find how much we have to be thankful for. We should never expect to have "fully arrived in life." We are all a work in progress and when we reach our full potential in one area, there are many more areas that we are lacking which needs our improvement. That is why I believe we should be happy with where we are today. We can be happy even though we are facing difficulties in our finances, our health, our relationships or whatever the situation may be. Happiness is not a state of destination, but it is a state of being. We don't need to have everything perfect in order to be happy, but by seeing the blessings that we do possess, we can be blissfully happy right where we are. (Hebrews 13:5-6) (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) (Jeremiah 31:3) If you don't think you can be happy or thankful today, I challenge you to blindfold your eyes for just one hour and try to go about doing what you were doing before. Many times we don't see our blessings until we lose them, but when we recognize it is the simple things in life that make life worth living, we can be thankful with what we have right now. There's a quote I think of often that says "I heard of a man who complained about not having any shoes until he met a man who had no feet." Sometimes we have to look at those who are less fortunate than we are to see our bounty of blessings. When we focus only on our plight, it is easy to have a pity party, but when we look at the greater difficulties of those around us, we will quickly find how much we have to be thankful for. Be encouraged to recognize all that you have. Do not focus on the difficulties, but rather be thankful that you have enough that you can be thankful. (1 Timothy 6:6-8) I hope this message ministers to your heart to see that it is not in things that our happiness lies, but rather it is in our state of being. When we recognize all that we have, we will be thankful and appreciative even in spite of all that we don't have. BEING AT HOME I have lived in several different houses and apartments in my life and none of them seemed like home. Well, that is at least not at first. You see, in all the hustle and bustle of settling in, unpacking boxes, hunting for lost items, hanging pictures, adjusting to new surroundings, and the general craziness of moving your life from one place to another there is no real sense of home. That sense comes much later and often unexpectedly. It comes one day when after a long day's work you settle into your chair, breath in deep, relax, and suddenly feel at peace. That is when you look around at those walls and ceiling as if for the first time and give thanks to God for this wonderful place to live. That is when you finally make your house into your home by blessing it with your love. No matter how small, old, or run down the places I have lived in have been there has always been that point when I blessed them with my love, took them into my heart, and made them my home. There has always been that point when I realized that any hut, shack, or hovel could still be a castle as long as God and love lived inside it with me. There is another place that we all should bless with our love and make our home. That is this world we live in. It may not be our permanent home, but while we are here we should do all we can to make it our loving home. We are here, after all, for only a short time. Why not use it to bring as much Heaven as we can down here to Earth? Whether you are sitting in your favorite chair, cooking your dinner, looking up at the night sky, or walking outside on a cool, brisk morning then know that you are home. Know that you are living in a world created in love. Know that you can bless that world with your love as well. Home is where the love is. Home is where God is. May everywhere you live be home to you. By Joseph J. Mazzella Read and meditate on these scriptures: 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 "...Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Jeremiah 31:3 "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Psalm 91:14-16 "Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him My salvation." All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today's Selected Poem: I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem190.htm Today's Selected Testimony: IN HIS TIMING Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony163.htm ============================================ God's Work Ministry E-mail Dear Friend, We should always be quick to both forgive and seek forgiveness. We should be quick to forgive others when they do something wrong against us because holding onto that hurt will only be to our detriment. When we refuse to have a forgiving heart, we are the ones who become the most affected in the end. The unforgiveness affects us in our mind, body and spirit. The Lord Jesus said in Mark 11:25-26 "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." We cannot have a holier than thou mentality towards those who have wronged us because in the end we are as much of a sinner in need of forgiveness from our Heavenly Father. When we forgive, we are not saying that we are weak, but rather we are saying we are so strong in the knowing of our own faults that to be unforgiving, we are placing ourselves above the authority of God's Throne. No man can be justified in doing this and that is why we should always forgive no matter the offense because our offenses towards God are greater still. We should also be quick to seek forgiveness when we know we have hurt someone else. Denying the wrong that we have done does nothing to bring healing to the soul, but when we admit the wrong we've done and ask to be forgiven, great healing can come forth for both ourselves and those we offended. The Bible declares in Hebrews 12:14-15 "Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." By doing what is right in the sight of the Lord, we are preserving our own life. We are blessing our future by being humble and admitting when we have done wrong. The boastful soul will not have a good ending, but the humble servant is blessed in all his deeds. I hope this message encourages and challenges your heart to be quick to forgive and to seek forgiveness. By doing so, you are ensuring a bright future for yourself. MIRACLES OF FORGIVENESS "Joe? Is that you?" The woman speaking to me at the baseball game looked vaguely familiar. "Marci?" "It is you!" she exclaimed, smiling broadly. "Gosh, it's good to see you again!" It was good to see Marci, too. Off and on during the past few decades I've wondered about her. I almost tried to track her down a few years ago after talking to a mutual friend who had indicated that the 1990s had been pretty rocky for Marci. So bumping into her at the baseball game was, at the very least, fortuitous. We spent a few minutes catching up on the business of our lives: kids and grandkids, spouses and houses, education and recreation (it's always a little disconcerting to see how few words are required to summarize 32 years of living). We played a little "have you seen...?" and "did you know...?" and we reminisced about the good old, bad old days. Then Marci grew quiet for a moment, looking out over the crowd milling about the concession area. "You know, Joe," she said, "I've always wanted to tell you...how...you know...how sorry I am for the way I treated you." I squirmed. One does not like to remember when one has been unceremoniously dumped. "It's OK," I said. "No big deal." At least, I thought to myself, not now. "But I was such a jerk," she continued. Yes you were, I thought. "We were both pretty young," I said. "I know," she said. "But that's no excuse for..." She hesitated, then continued. "It's just always bothered me, remembering how mean I was to you. And I've wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. So...I'm sorry." The smile on her face was warm and sincere. And there was something in her eyes -- it looked a lot like relief -- that melted any vestiges of icy resentment that may have built up within me during the years since she had played Wiffle ball with my heart. "OK," I said. "Apology accepted!" Overcome by the sweetness of the moment, I reached an arm around her and gave her a quick hug. Just then, the crowd erupted with a huge cheer, and Marci and I both returned our attention to the game. By the time I looked over to where she had been, she was gone. But the warm, wonderful feeling of our brief exchange was still there, and continues to this day whenever I think about it. We all carry bitter, discomforting memories of deeds done or undone, and words said or unsaid. And we all bear wounds -- some slight, some not-so- slight -- that have been inflicted upon us by others. The healing balm of forgiveness can soothe a troubled conscience and bring peace to an injured soul -- even years after the fact. Of course, it isn't enough to just say "I'm sorry" and "You're forgiven." While there is indeed great power in those simple words, it is not available to those who are insincere, or who are only looking for a way to control, manipulate or exploit. But when those words are truly felt and sincerely expressed, they can open the door to miracles of the heart and soul -- miracles of forgiveness. Even at a baseball game. By Joseph Walker Read and meditate on these scriptures: Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus says, "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." 1 Thessalonians 5:15 "See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men." Romans 12:17-21 "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today's Selected Poem: HOPE Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem31.htm Today's Selected Testimony: TESTIMONY OF GOD'S LOVE Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony150.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 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.
