Wednesday, May 31, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Do not be like the cat who wanted a fish but was afraid to get his paws wet.” WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
“Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions, calling them apostles. He sent them out to preach, and he gave them authority to cast out demons.” Mark 3:13-15 NLT
“He sent them out.” Even Jesus divided the work up and got others to help Him. He did not carry the whole load of His ministry solely on His own shoulders. At this time in His ministry on earth, Jesus was being pressed by multitudes of people that were coming from far and near. You know how word spreads through the grapevine, and that is exactly what happened in the case of Jesus. He had tried to keep his fame at a minimum by telling many whom He healed to show themselves to the priests, but not to tell anyone else. Well you know what happened, they became so joyous over being healed of life long physical, mental, and spiritual problems that they blabbed. In some ways I can understand this. When we become relieved of some bondage that has held us down for long periods of time we share of our experience, strength and hope with others. Not only do others see the changes in us and possibly prompt us to speak about it, we ourselves sometimes can be driven by pride and will brag about changes in our lives. The part of recovery that is most difficult for me is the part about being a humble servant. My alcoholism and addictions were driven by fear and pride that manifested itself in a “self” that was out of control. My ego and my tongue always seem to be the last to change. Because of the fame that had went out about Jesus by those whom He had healed, the crowds got so big that He told His disciples to have a boat ready on the shore incase the crowds pushed Him out into the water. It was right after this that Jesus decided to call others to him and give them authority to preach and to cast out demons as He was doing. He did this to ease the workload. With the self-centered pride being the main resistance in my program of recovery, I find it difficult at times to ask for help. Through the examples that Jesus gave us I am learning to be graceful enough to realize that when others help me, they receive also. May I learn today to not let my foolish pride get in the way of someone else’s blessing. A blessing that they could receive by giving me a hand. This way God can do for me what I could not do for myself………………………….JRE
“Faith is more than our greatest gift; its sharing with others is our greatest responsibility. May we of A.A. continually seek the wisdom and the willingness by which we may fulfill that immense trust which the Giver of all perfect gifts has placed in our hands.”
BILL W. from an article in the Grapevine dated April 1961
Sharing the work load
Thought for the day: “Do not be like the cat who wanted a fish but was afraid to get his paws wet.” WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
“Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions, calling them apostles. He sent them out to preach, and he gave them authority to cast out demons.” Mark 3:13-15 NLT
“He sent them out.” Even Jesus divided the work up and got others to help Him. He did not carry the whole load of His ministry solely on His own shoulders. At this time in His ministry on earth, Jesus was being pressed by multitudes of people that were coming from far and near. You know how word spreads through the grapevine, and that is exactly what happened in the case of Jesus. He had tried to keep his fame at a minimum by telling many whom He healed to show themselves to the priests, but not to tell anyone else. Well you know what happened, they became so joyous over being healed of life long physical, mental, and spiritual problems that they blabbed. In some ways I can understand this. When we become relieved of some bondage that has held us down for long periods of time we share of our experience, strength and hope with others. Not only do others see the changes in us and possibly prompt us to speak about it, we ourselves sometimes can be driven by pride and will brag about changes in our lives. The part of recovery that is most difficult for me is the part about being a humble servant. My alcoholism and addictions were driven by fear and pride that manifested itself in a “self” that was out of control. My ego and my tongue always seem to be the last to change. Because of the fame that had went out about Jesus by those whom He had healed, the crowds got so big that He told His disciples to have a boat ready on the shore incase the crowds pushed Him out into the water. It was right after this that Jesus decided to call others to him and give them authority to preach and to cast out demons as He was doing. He did this to ease the workload. With the self-centered pride being the main resistance in my program of recovery, I find it difficult at times to ask for help. Through the examples that Jesus gave us I am learning to be graceful enough to realize that when others help me, they receive also. May I learn today to not let my foolish pride get in the way of someone else’s blessing. A blessing that they could receive by giving me a hand. This way God can do for me what I could not do for myself………………………….JRE
“Faith is more than our greatest gift; its sharing with others is our greatest responsibility. May we of A.A. continually seek the wisdom and the willingness by which we may fulfill that immense trust which the Giver of all perfect gifts has placed in our hands.”
BILL W. from an article in the Grapevine dated April 1961
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.”
Author unknown
“Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum, and every Sabbath day he went into the synagogue and taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, for he taught as one who had real authority, quite unlike the teachers of religious law.”
Mark 1:21-22 NLT
Early on in the ministry of Jesus the people could see something about Him that was different. There were many teachers at that time in Jewish history and there were many synagogues. They might have been as common as our church’s today. Each community probably had one. It only took something like ten men to form a synagogue. What was it about Jesus that amazed the people? I think is was not so much His words, which had authority, but the love, respect, and genuine compassion that flowed from the Father, through Jesus, and straight to their hearts. Love will have authority over anything else that comes up against it. Two scriptures that back up that statement are “God is love,” and “Love never fails.” When people know that you care, they will listen to you differently. I remember when I attended Penn Valley College in Kansas City in the early seventies a music theory teacher that I had named Miss Nelson. Miss Nelson was a woman in her seventies who had never married. I later learned that she had been a nun most of her life. I had Miss Nelson for four semesters over a two-year period. Our class time was always 8am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The time she chose for the theory class was really a bummer. As a young man attending college I didn’t care much for early classes because of the parties and studying that took place in the evening hours. Notice that I put the partying ahead of studies, that’s just how my priorities were in those days. I continued to study under Miss Nelson’s 8am theory class for four difficult semesters. It was because of something that made her different from the other teachers that I had experienced. She had authority in what she taught. I first noticed this when she sat down at the piano and commanded the instrument to obey her fingers. She had an amazing way of flowing over the keys producing sounds that came only from love of music, love of teaching, and love for her students. When I first became aware of the authority she had over the instrument I observed how she could take sheet music that was written in one key and play it from sight in any other key. I have never seen anyone yet that could transpose music as she could. She not only had authority over the piano, but authority over written music on paper. First thing each morning we would have a test on note intervals. This was to develop ear training. You could play any two notes on the piano and Miss Nelson could tell you how far apart they were. She had authority over her hearing also. Today I reflect on the authority Miss Nelson had as a music theory teacher and I think of the authority I see in the words of Jesus. Jesus cared about those He taught and it showed. In the program of Alcoholics Anonymous I see this same caring demonstrated time and time again. The love of one alcoholic helping another suffering alcoholics in order to stay sober themselves is the foundation of our fellowship. Today I don’t want to go back to the way I was. God has done for me, and is doing for me, what I could not do for myself……………………...JRE
“God looks at the world through the eyes of love. If we, therefore, as human beings made in the image of God also want to see reality rationally, that is, as it truly is, then we, too, must learn to look at what we see with love.”
ROBERTA BONDI
Miss Nelson
Thought for the day: “People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.”
Author unknown
“Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum, and every Sabbath day he went into the synagogue and taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, for he taught as one who had real authority, quite unlike the teachers of religious law.”
Mark 1:21-22 NLT
Early on in the ministry of Jesus the people could see something about Him that was different. There were many teachers at that time in Jewish history and there were many synagogues. They might have been as common as our church’s today. Each community probably had one. It only took something like ten men to form a synagogue. What was it about Jesus that amazed the people? I think is was not so much His words, which had authority, but the love, respect, and genuine compassion that flowed from the Father, through Jesus, and straight to their hearts. Love will have authority over anything else that comes up against it. Two scriptures that back up that statement are “God is love,” and “Love never fails.” When people know that you care, they will listen to you differently. I remember when I attended Penn Valley College in Kansas City in the early seventies a music theory teacher that I had named Miss Nelson. Miss Nelson was a woman in her seventies who had never married. I later learned that she had been a nun most of her life. I had Miss Nelson for four semesters over a two-year period. Our class time was always 8am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The time she chose for the theory class was really a bummer. As a young man attending college I didn’t care much for early classes because of the parties and studying that took place in the evening hours. Notice that I put the partying ahead of studies, that’s just how my priorities were in those days. I continued to study under Miss Nelson’s 8am theory class for four difficult semesters. It was because of something that made her different from the other teachers that I had experienced. She had authority in what she taught. I first noticed this when she sat down at the piano and commanded the instrument to obey her fingers. She had an amazing way of flowing over the keys producing sounds that came only from love of music, love of teaching, and love for her students. When I first became aware of the authority she had over the instrument I observed how she could take sheet music that was written in one key and play it from sight in any other key. I have never seen anyone yet that could transpose music as she could. She not only had authority over the piano, but authority over written music on paper. First thing each morning we would have a test on note intervals. This was to develop ear training. You could play any two notes on the piano and Miss Nelson could tell you how far apart they were. She had authority over her hearing also. Today I reflect on the authority Miss Nelson had as a music theory teacher and I think of the authority I see in the words of Jesus. Jesus cared about those He taught and it showed. In the program of Alcoholics Anonymous I see this same caring demonstrated time and time again. The love of one alcoholic helping another suffering alcoholics in order to stay sober themselves is the foundation of our fellowship. Today I don’t want to go back to the way I was. God has done for me, and is doing for me, what I could not do for myself……………………...JRE
“God looks at the world through the eyes of love. If we, therefore, as human beings made in the image of God also want to see reality rationally, that is, as it truly is, then we, too, must learn to look at what we see with love.”
ROBERTA BONDI
Thursday, May 25, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “We are never more fulfilled than when our longing for God is met by His presence in our lives.” Billy Graham
I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” O LORD, you took up my case, you redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3:55-58 NIV
The title of the book that is thought to have been written by Jeremiah called Lamentations, is taken from a Greek verb that means, “to cry aloud.” It is a short book that is made up of five poems that lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians. It must have been devastating to witness the city you call home, and place where you worshiped God from childhood being destroyed. I can assume that to Jeremiah and the ones that were not carried away into captivity were in shock similar to what we experienced in this nation at Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, or the World Trade Center. Jeremiah’s plea, “Do not close your eyes to my cry for relief,” was answered. The Lord’s answer was “do not fear.” The words “do not fear” are simple, but are found to be difficult to put into action when we’re in the middle of some catastrophe. When floods of circumstances keep pouring in how do we rise above them to recovery? I have discovered that one antidote for fears that venture their way into my life has been the exercise of faith. I’m not talking about just believing and waiting for the circumstances to change; I’m talking about “exercise of faith.” One of the greatest tools of my recovery from substance abuse has been the program of physical exercise that I have been forced to work. I say forced because I lost my driving privileges in 1996 for ten years, since then I have been walking and riding bicycles to get from one place to another. I have learned from my physical exercising how to exercise my faith. In my physical exercising I always have a beginning and ending destination. Likewise with my faith, I have learned to start my faith going by belief in the positive outcome, and like Jeremiah I cry out or pray to the Lord. I then must have an ending destination, I must be aware of when the object of the faith has been accomplished. At this point I give thanks to the Lord for helping me through, and for hearing my plea. Another important part of my physical exercise is pacing myself. Expecting results too soon will lead to discouragement. I must remember to start slowly and increase as I become more involved. Exercising faith also has an important similar aspect, the starting and continuing. To draw ourselves above our circumstances we must first believe that God is able to help us. Without this simple belief in faith, God’s help does not work. The continuing of the exercising of faith is the only way to arrive at the final destination. Half measures avail us nothing. The problem is that sometimes we can’t see the whole picture. When we’re in the middle of something it is hard to see how God is pulling us through it. Many times as life becomes better we can then see how God has helped us all along. I try and remember this. Today I know with out a doubt that God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
“People see God everyday. They just don’t recognize Him.” Pearl Baily
Daily workout
Thought for the day: “We are never more fulfilled than when our longing for God is met by His presence in our lives.” Billy Graham
I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” O LORD, you took up my case, you redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3:55-58 NIV
The title of the book that is thought to have been written by Jeremiah called Lamentations, is taken from a Greek verb that means, “to cry aloud.” It is a short book that is made up of five poems that lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians. It must have been devastating to witness the city you call home, and place where you worshiped God from childhood being destroyed. I can assume that to Jeremiah and the ones that were not carried away into captivity were in shock similar to what we experienced in this nation at Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, or the World Trade Center. Jeremiah’s plea, “Do not close your eyes to my cry for relief,” was answered. The Lord’s answer was “do not fear.” The words “do not fear” are simple, but are found to be difficult to put into action when we’re in the middle of some catastrophe. When floods of circumstances keep pouring in how do we rise above them to recovery? I have discovered that one antidote for fears that venture their way into my life has been the exercise of faith. I’m not talking about just believing and waiting for the circumstances to change; I’m talking about “exercise of faith.” One of the greatest tools of my recovery from substance abuse has been the program of physical exercise that I have been forced to work. I say forced because I lost my driving privileges in 1996 for ten years, since then I have been walking and riding bicycles to get from one place to another. I have learned from my physical exercising how to exercise my faith. In my physical exercising I always have a beginning and ending destination. Likewise with my faith, I have learned to start my faith going by belief in the positive outcome, and like Jeremiah I cry out or pray to the Lord. I then must have an ending destination, I must be aware of when the object of the faith has been accomplished. At this point I give thanks to the Lord for helping me through, and for hearing my plea. Another important part of my physical exercise is pacing myself. Expecting results too soon will lead to discouragement. I must remember to start slowly and increase as I become more involved. Exercising faith also has an important similar aspect, the starting and continuing. To draw ourselves above our circumstances we must first believe that God is able to help us. Without this simple belief in faith, God’s help does not work. The continuing of the exercising of faith is the only way to arrive at the final destination. Half measures avail us nothing. The problem is that sometimes we can’t see the whole picture. When we’re in the middle of something it is hard to see how God is pulling us through it. Many times as life becomes better we can then see how God has helped us all along. I try and remember this. Today I know with out a doubt that God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
“People see God everyday. They just don’t recognize Him.” Pearl Baily
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Distance lends enchantment to the view.”
THOMAS CAMPBELL
“Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?” And the King will tell them, “I assure you, that when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it for me!”
MATTHEW 25:37-40 NLT
About nine months ago my AA sponsor got a hold of this scripture and asked me to read it and study it out. He also gave me a VCR tape by Kenneth Copeland that talked about prison ministry, and asked that I watch it. My sponsor then asked me to consider taking AA meeting into the prisons. He said that he would go with me. I was somewhat reluctant at first, but came to the conclusion that it was what Jesus said we should do, and also the fact that I do not want to return to drinking. I knew that this would help ensure against taking that first drink. It was quite an ordeal to get to the point where we could enter through the gates. For years I had done all I could to stay out of the joint, I lied, I got lawyers, and I spent thousands of dollars to stay out of prison. Now I found myself doing what I could to get in. This felt strange indeed. I had to submit an application, get shots and spend a day at the state capital taking classes on being a Visitor In Corrections. When the day came to take meetings to the prison I was very anxious. I knew that it was only but for the grace of God that I was not in the penitentiary myself. I give God praise for a fellow AA member who encouraged us to do this, and who had been going in the prisons for years. He took my sponsor and I under his wings and showed us how to do it. Today I can truly say that taking meeting into to prison has been the most rewarding of any of my service work that I have done. Why, I ask myself? Possibly the answer can be found in scripture. When we do something for the least of those in society, we are doing it to Jesus. Service work doesn’t get any better than that. I like what the Life Recovery Bible has to say about this scripture, share this with me.
“Ultimately we will all be accountable to God on judgment day. We will be responsible not only for our own recovery but also for how we have helped others. The last step in recovery is to tell others about our recovery and encourage them in the recovery process. Since Jesus identifies himself with those who suffer, we should follow his example and be especially alert to the needs of others.”
Life Recovery Bible page 1154
By taking meetings into the prison system I have received more than I have given. I always go willing to share my experience, strength and hope, never planning to take away from there more than I have given. It just works out that way; it’s a spiritual thing. Freely I have received, freely I must give. What comes back to me comes in the form of serenity, sobriety, and life more abundantly. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
“When we measure ourself by the expectations of others or by our own need to be perfect, we may fall so short that we may not even try to succeed. All God ask of us is that we try to do something with our abilities and resources. When we allow ourself the option of just making modest progress, we will find the courage to progress in recovery. Even the least improvement is better than not trying at or being doomed to complete failure by our perfectionism.”
Life Recovery Bible page 1153
Thanks for letting me share today. Here recently I have shared much about recovery, I do this to keep myself strong in this area of my life. When I think about it, many people are in recovery of some kind. Some are recovering from physical problems and abuse, some from problems that stem from broken relationships, some from emotional problems, some from mental problems, some from spiritual problems, and some from problems that arise out of substance abuse. Life is a process of recovery. God has the answers for any and all types of recovery………………….JRE
I was in prison and you visited me
Thought for the day: “Distance lends enchantment to the view.”
THOMAS CAMPBELL
“Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?” And the King will tell them, “I assure you, that when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it for me!”
MATTHEW 25:37-40 NLT
About nine months ago my AA sponsor got a hold of this scripture and asked me to read it and study it out. He also gave me a VCR tape by Kenneth Copeland that talked about prison ministry, and asked that I watch it. My sponsor then asked me to consider taking AA meeting into the prisons. He said that he would go with me. I was somewhat reluctant at first, but came to the conclusion that it was what Jesus said we should do, and also the fact that I do not want to return to drinking. I knew that this would help ensure against taking that first drink. It was quite an ordeal to get to the point where we could enter through the gates. For years I had done all I could to stay out of the joint, I lied, I got lawyers, and I spent thousands of dollars to stay out of prison. Now I found myself doing what I could to get in. This felt strange indeed. I had to submit an application, get shots and spend a day at the state capital taking classes on being a Visitor In Corrections. When the day came to take meetings to the prison I was very anxious. I knew that it was only but for the grace of God that I was not in the penitentiary myself. I give God praise for a fellow AA member who encouraged us to do this, and who had been going in the prisons for years. He took my sponsor and I under his wings and showed us how to do it. Today I can truly say that taking meeting into to prison has been the most rewarding of any of my service work that I have done. Why, I ask myself? Possibly the answer can be found in scripture. When we do something for the least of those in society, we are doing it to Jesus. Service work doesn’t get any better than that. I like what the Life Recovery Bible has to say about this scripture, share this with me.
“Ultimately we will all be accountable to God on judgment day. We will be responsible not only for our own recovery but also for how we have helped others. The last step in recovery is to tell others about our recovery and encourage them in the recovery process. Since Jesus identifies himself with those who suffer, we should follow his example and be especially alert to the needs of others.”
Life Recovery Bible page 1154
By taking meetings into the prison system I have received more than I have given. I always go willing to share my experience, strength and hope, never planning to take away from there more than I have given. It just works out that way; it’s a spiritual thing. Freely I have received, freely I must give. What comes back to me comes in the form of serenity, sobriety, and life more abundantly. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
“When we measure ourself by the expectations of others or by our own need to be perfect, we may fall so short that we may not even try to succeed. All God ask of us is that we try to do something with our abilities and resources. When we allow ourself the option of just making modest progress, we will find the courage to progress in recovery. Even the least improvement is better than not trying at or being doomed to complete failure by our perfectionism.”
Life Recovery Bible page 1153
Thanks for letting me share today. Here recently I have shared much about recovery, I do this to keep myself strong in this area of my life. When I think about it, many people are in recovery of some kind. Some are recovering from physical problems and abuse, some from problems that stem from broken relationships, some from emotional problems, some from mental problems, some from spiritual problems, and some from problems that arise out of substance abuse. Life is a process of recovery. God has the answers for any and all types of recovery………………….JRE
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.”
Stanislaw J. Lec
“Finally all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV
The apostle Peter is giving the church some good advice in these few words. The words look good on paper but living them is much more difficult. Living in harmony with one another sounds wonderful, but the truth is that not all of us are harmonious. Anyone can sing the melody but to sing harmony a person must sing the song a little different. To be harmonious a person must take a part that is different than that of someone else, but not so much different that there is dissonance. Dissonance is a musical term that is used when two musical notes vibrate at levels that disagree with each other. Notes that are too close to each other do not harmonize well. Notes that are too far from each also do not harmonize well. Notes that harmonize the best are notes that are found in the same key signature or the same key that the song in played in, and they must be spaced at the proper distance so as to vibrate well together. Peter asked us to live in harmony with each other so to me that means that we must first of all be singing the same song, then we must be in the same key, and then we must be at the proper distance from each other. Not too close, and not too far. And we must communicate and agree on the timing or the pace that we are traveling. My experience with singing harmony is that it does not come easy, and practicing with another is the only way to improve it. You can’t sing harmony by your self. There must be someone else to harmonize with. I have know people who can harmonize with anyone and do it easily, and then there are those like myself who must work and work at it. And so it is with life, some people live in harmony with others easily, and the rest of us have to practice. I have found that life flows best if I don’t just float along. I must direct my way with the help of God and the experience of my fellows as I travel. I must be aware of sharp bends and any changes of current so as to adjust my position and not harmfully collide with someone else. I am learning to travel in harmony with others more each day as I get advice and direction from the word of God. I like what the Life Recovery Bible has to say about this scripture. Share this with me.
“The Christian community is to be like a healthy, loving family. Some of us who come from a dysfunctional family may not know what this means, but Peter spelled it out; people share their hurts and find sympathy; they humbly express their needs and receive loving care; they forgive one another rather than plot revenge they pray for each other they are careful not to say things that will unnecessarily hurt others; they can be honest about who they are; they seek to do good for one another; and they try to live in peace by resolving conflicts with each other. These same qualities are ideal for helping us with the recovery process.” (Life Recovery Bible page 1526)
It’s all about harmony, when I become willing to harmonize with others, God will help me stay in tune. God is, doing for me what I could not do for myself……….JRE
Harmonizing in tune
Thought for the day: “You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.”
Stanislaw J. Lec
“Finally all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV
The apostle Peter is giving the church some good advice in these few words. The words look good on paper but living them is much more difficult. Living in harmony with one another sounds wonderful, but the truth is that not all of us are harmonious. Anyone can sing the melody but to sing harmony a person must sing the song a little different. To be harmonious a person must take a part that is different than that of someone else, but not so much different that there is dissonance. Dissonance is a musical term that is used when two musical notes vibrate at levels that disagree with each other. Notes that are too close to each other do not harmonize well. Notes that are too far from each also do not harmonize well. Notes that harmonize the best are notes that are found in the same key signature or the same key that the song in played in, and they must be spaced at the proper distance so as to vibrate well together. Peter asked us to live in harmony with each other so to me that means that we must first of all be singing the same song, then we must be in the same key, and then we must be at the proper distance from each other. Not too close, and not too far. And we must communicate and agree on the timing or the pace that we are traveling. My experience with singing harmony is that it does not come easy, and practicing with another is the only way to improve it. You can’t sing harmony by your self. There must be someone else to harmonize with. I have know people who can harmonize with anyone and do it easily, and then there are those like myself who must work and work at it. And so it is with life, some people live in harmony with others easily, and the rest of us have to practice. I have found that life flows best if I don’t just float along. I must direct my way with the help of God and the experience of my fellows as I travel. I must be aware of sharp bends and any changes of current so as to adjust my position and not harmfully collide with someone else. I am learning to travel in harmony with others more each day as I get advice and direction from the word of God. I like what the Life Recovery Bible has to say about this scripture. Share this with me.
“The Christian community is to be like a healthy, loving family. Some of us who come from a dysfunctional family may not know what this means, but Peter spelled it out; people share their hurts and find sympathy; they humbly express their needs and receive loving care; they forgive one another rather than plot revenge they pray for each other they are careful not to say things that will unnecessarily hurt others; they can be honest about who they are; they seek to do good for one another; and they try to live in peace by resolving conflicts with each other. These same qualities are ideal for helping us with the recovery process.” (Life Recovery Bible page 1526)
It’s all about harmony, when I become willing to harmonize with others, God will help me stay in tune. God is, doing for me what I could not do for myself……….JRE
Monday, May 22, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Little said is soonest mended.”
GEORGE WITHER
Words of Jesus found in Luke 19:26 KJV, share this with me…….
“For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”
A first glance this scripture verse seems unfair to me. It reminds me of statements like “It takes money to make money,” and, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” I remember when I first became a Christian how verses like this one seemed to leave me puzzled as to the real meaning. That is because I was reading the Bible with new spiritual eyes that did not penetrate beyond the ink and paper. I have heard it said that reading the Bible is like mining for diamonds. In South Africa they found diamonds lying on top of the ground and they thought this was truly a gift. Then they began to dig and found an even better quality diamond. As they dug deeper the diamonds got better and better. The spiritual riches of the Words of God have many layers. Some verses I find are easy to dig into and find richer meanings, and others require prayer, study, time, and the changing of circumstances to find the richer meanings.
In the parable that Jesus spoke where this verse is found it is told of a nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom. Before he left he gave his ten servants each an equal sum of money. Upon returning after receiving the kingdom he commanded his servants to come to him and bring the money that they had earned. They were to have been investing and trading with the money he had given them. Some did well with their investments and were rewarded with position and responsibilities in the kingdom their master had received. Others did fair and were also rewarded according to how much they had earned with the nobleman’s money. And then there was this guy who was afraid of the nobleman because he knew that the nobleman had a reputation of using people and taking what was not his. So, he hid the money in a napkin for safekeeping, and when the boss showed up he gave it to him. This was not good in the eyes of the boss and he took the money and gave it to the guy that was the most productive with what was given to him. Seems unfair doesn’t it? After all the guy didn’t loose what was given to him, he just didn’t use it. That old saying of “Use it or loose it” fits this scripture. As I dig below that first level of diamonds I can see where God has given to each of us a “measure of faith.” The apostle Paul told us this and it can be found in Romans 12:3. It comes down to what we do with what God has given us. In the program of Alcoholics Anonymous we have a saying that states, “You’ve got to give it away to keep it.” As long as I reach out to other alcoholics and give what was so freely given to me, I keep getting sobriety, serenity, fellowship, support, respect, and most importantly love. In the Word of God I am learning to be patient and dig deeper for the better diamonds. How many layers of diamonds are there? I don’t know. You tell me. I do know that as I dig, God does for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV
“We should not seek material things first, but seek spiritual things first and material things will come to us, as we honestly work for them. Many people seek material things first and think they can then grow into knowledge of spiritual things. You cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. The first requisites of an abundant life are the spiritual things: honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. Until you have these qualities, quantities of material things are of little real use to you.”
HAZELDEN……………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Use it or loose it
Thought for the day: “Little said is soonest mended.”
GEORGE WITHER
Words of Jesus found in Luke 19:26 KJV, share this with me…….
“For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”
A first glance this scripture verse seems unfair to me. It reminds me of statements like “It takes money to make money,” and, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” I remember when I first became a Christian how verses like this one seemed to leave me puzzled as to the real meaning. That is because I was reading the Bible with new spiritual eyes that did not penetrate beyond the ink and paper. I have heard it said that reading the Bible is like mining for diamonds. In South Africa they found diamonds lying on top of the ground and they thought this was truly a gift. Then they began to dig and found an even better quality diamond. As they dug deeper the diamonds got better and better. The spiritual riches of the Words of God have many layers. Some verses I find are easy to dig into and find richer meanings, and others require prayer, study, time, and the changing of circumstances to find the richer meanings.
In the parable that Jesus spoke where this verse is found it is told of a nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom. Before he left he gave his ten servants each an equal sum of money. Upon returning after receiving the kingdom he commanded his servants to come to him and bring the money that they had earned. They were to have been investing and trading with the money he had given them. Some did well with their investments and were rewarded with position and responsibilities in the kingdom their master had received. Others did fair and were also rewarded according to how much they had earned with the nobleman’s money. And then there was this guy who was afraid of the nobleman because he knew that the nobleman had a reputation of using people and taking what was not his. So, he hid the money in a napkin for safekeeping, and when the boss showed up he gave it to him. This was not good in the eyes of the boss and he took the money and gave it to the guy that was the most productive with what was given to him. Seems unfair doesn’t it? After all the guy didn’t loose what was given to him, he just didn’t use it. That old saying of “Use it or loose it” fits this scripture. As I dig below that first level of diamonds I can see where God has given to each of us a “measure of faith.” The apostle Paul told us this and it can be found in Romans 12:3. It comes down to what we do with what God has given us. In the program of Alcoholics Anonymous we have a saying that states, “You’ve got to give it away to keep it.” As long as I reach out to other alcoholics and give what was so freely given to me, I keep getting sobriety, serenity, fellowship, support, respect, and most importantly love. In the Word of God I am learning to be patient and dig deeper for the better diamonds. How many layers of diamonds are there? I don’t know. You tell me. I do know that as I dig, God does for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV
“We should not seek material things first, but seek spiritual things first and material things will come to us, as we honestly work for them. Many people seek material things first and think they can then grow into knowledge of spiritual things. You cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. The first requisites of an abundant life are the spiritual things: honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. Until you have these qualities, quantities of material things are of little real use to you.”
HAZELDEN……………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Friday, May 19, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “He who wants to do good, knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gates open.”
R. TAGORE THAKUR
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
1 JOHN 2:15-16 NASB
When the apostle John referred to the “world” he was not referring to the earth. Although the world that he speaks of is on the earth and part of the earth, it’s meaning is not that of only the earth. The earth consists of all the natural elements that are found here, and the spiritual elements such as spirit, mind and soul, exist within the earth. They are not part of the earth. When the body dies it goes back to the earth, but the spirit lives on in a different realm. When the apostle John said, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world,” he did not mean not to love the earth. We as people must get along with the earth. If we don’t we will suffer because of it. I live in a rural community surrounded by dairy and beef farmers. They know from experience that they must love the earth and do all that is within their abilities to take care of it and get along with it. Their lives and the lives of their families depend upon their care of the soil. The world that John refers to is all that comes out of the earth that pulls on our flesh. Things that get our attention through our senses, our eyes, ears, mouth, nose, or touch. These are the physical attractions of the world and there is also a mental attraction that pulls us away from God and into the world. This mental attraction has to do with pride. To have ambitions, to want prosperity, and desire healthy relationships is all part of God’s will for us, but when pride steps in and we become boastful about these things that come out of the earth, and they start to consume us, then we cross over from the spiritual to the worldly. This will block the love of God. Oh, God will still bombard us with love, but the “stuff” in our lives will make it harder for that love to penetrate. The worldly things in this life that blocked God love for me were found packaged in attractive containers. They came to me in the form of bottles, cans, joints, and syringes. With each attraction came the pull for more and more, and with each successive using my will, and God’s will for me became less and less. This did not happen over night, but was very gradual and happened over years. Drugs and alcohol were a subtle foe that worked on me without me even being aware of them as harmful. Worldly desires are cunning, baffling, and powerful. But praise be to God who kept showering love on me. When my own light was so dim that I was totally in darkness I became aware of the one true Light, the Light of the world. At that point God started doing for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
“Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power, that One is God. May you find Him now.”
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 58-59
Thought for the day: “He who wants to do good, knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gates open.”
R. TAGORE THAKUR
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
1 JOHN 2:15-16 NASB
When the apostle John referred to the “world” he was not referring to the earth. Although the world that he speaks of is on the earth and part of the earth, it’s meaning is not that of only the earth. The earth consists of all the natural elements that are found here, and the spiritual elements such as spirit, mind and soul, exist within the earth. They are not part of the earth. When the body dies it goes back to the earth, but the spirit lives on in a different realm. When the apostle John said, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world,” he did not mean not to love the earth. We as people must get along with the earth. If we don’t we will suffer because of it. I live in a rural community surrounded by dairy and beef farmers. They know from experience that they must love the earth and do all that is within their abilities to take care of it and get along with it. Their lives and the lives of their families depend upon their care of the soil. The world that John refers to is all that comes out of the earth that pulls on our flesh. Things that get our attention through our senses, our eyes, ears, mouth, nose, or touch. These are the physical attractions of the world and there is also a mental attraction that pulls us away from God and into the world. This mental attraction has to do with pride. To have ambitions, to want prosperity, and desire healthy relationships is all part of God’s will for us, but when pride steps in and we become boastful about these things that come out of the earth, and they start to consume us, then we cross over from the spiritual to the worldly. This will block the love of God. Oh, God will still bombard us with love, but the “stuff” in our lives will make it harder for that love to penetrate. The worldly things in this life that blocked God love for me were found packaged in attractive containers. They came to me in the form of bottles, cans, joints, and syringes. With each attraction came the pull for more and more, and with each successive using my will, and God’s will for me became less and less. This did not happen over night, but was very gradual and happened over years. Drugs and alcohol were a subtle foe that worked on me without me even being aware of them as harmful. Worldly desires are cunning, baffling, and powerful. But praise be to God who kept showering love on me. When my own light was so dim that I was totally in darkness I became aware of the one true Light, the Light of the world. At that point God started doing for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
“Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power, that One is God. May you find Him now.”
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 58-59
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Buying on credit is robbing next year's crop.”
Author unknown
“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me strength. …………At the moment I have all I need, more than I need! I am generally supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable to God and pleases him. 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.”
Philippians 4:12, 13, 18, 19 NLT
This week at an AA meeting I shared a little about a time in my life in 1978 when I was homeless. I had been fired from a job that I had in 1976 because of drinking, and the year of 1977 I hitchhiked around the state drawing my unemployment, crashing at different pads, and relying on my mom. I drank alcohol and did drugs wherever and whenever possible. I was a bum. My bumming continued for the next two years. In the early summer of 1978 I came to the conclusion that Kansas City was my problem and moved to Springfield thinking that all I needed was a change in residence to make life better. I had a few dollars and checked into a cheap hotel downtown. I started giving blood at the plasma center to get enough money to buy booze, baloney, and bread. I sat on the town square with the hobo’s and shared their wine. My life had degenerated much from just a few years prior when I had graduated from Penn Valley Community College. I have noticed that it takes many years, sometimes a lifetime to move up the social ladder of life, but only a few short years or even months to move down to the bottom. I ran out of money quickly and had to move out of the hotel. I located an old abandoned warehouse with a concrete truck dock in back that had a hole in it big to enter. Inside I found a cardboard box big enough to hold a refrigerator. Someone had been there before me and had called the place home. I moved in. Everything I owned I carried in a little blue bag. I had arrived at my final destination in life unless some changes could be made. I ate at the mission, gave blood, and drank on the square with the bums. I was lonely and longed for relationships that were meaningful. I remember one night when I was at the mission for dinner and this young preacher boy told me I needed a change in my life. I knew this, from where I was standing in life everything was up. I was at my bottom. He told me I needed to repent and to ask God for forgiveness. He and I knelt at a folding metal chair and he led me in prayer. I walked away feeling no different, I though no big deal. I soon hitchhiked back to KC thinking that Springfield possibly was my problem. My drinking continued to escalate and in 1980 I found myself doing time for DWI. I attempted to change after this by living in an AA halfway house. This lasted for only a few months. In 1983 I again found myself doing time for another DWI but this time the seed of hope that had been planted by that young preacher boy in Springfield received a little water from a corrections officer. It germinated and I accepted Jesus Christ and my Lord and Savior. For the next fifteen years I had a Savior in my life but the Lord part was off and on, mostly off. I was my own lord most of the time. I managed to get a few years of not drinking here and there, but generally my life was unmanageable and not peaceable. In 1998 by the grace of a loving God I surrendered, not to drugs and alcohol, but to Jerry. I gave up the fight and won the victory. Doesn’t make since to believe in a victorious defeat, but that is exactly what it was. God had done for me what I could not do for myself………………….JRE
Victorious defeat
Thought for the day: “Buying on credit is robbing next year's crop.”
Author unknown
“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me strength. …………At the moment I have all I need, more than I need! I am generally supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable to God and pleases him. 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.”
Philippians 4:12, 13, 18, 19 NLT
This week at an AA meeting I shared a little about a time in my life in 1978 when I was homeless. I had been fired from a job that I had in 1976 because of drinking, and the year of 1977 I hitchhiked around the state drawing my unemployment, crashing at different pads, and relying on my mom. I drank alcohol and did drugs wherever and whenever possible. I was a bum. My bumming continued for the next two years. In the early summer of 1978 I came to the conclusion that Kansas City was my problem and moved to Springfield thinking that all I needed was a change in residence to make life better. I had a few dollars and checked into a cheap hotel downtown. I started giving blood at the plasma center to get enough money to buy booze, baloney, and bread. I sat on the town square with the hobo’s and shared their wine. My life had degenerated much from just a few years prior when I had graduated from Penn Valley Community College. I have noticed that it takes many years, sometimes a lifetime to move up the social ladder of life, but only a few short years or even months to move down to the bottom. I ran out of money quickly and had to move out of the hotel. I located an old abandoned warehouse with a concrete truck dock in back that had a hole in it big to enter. Inside I found a cardboard box big enough to hold a refrigerator. Someone had been there before me and had called the place home. I moved in. Everything I owned I carried in a little blue bag. I had arrived at my final destination in life unless some changes could be made. I ate at the mission, gave blood, and drank on the square with the bums. I was lonely and longed for relationships that were meaningful. I remember one night when I was at the mission for dinner and this young preacher boy told me I needed a change in my life. I knew this, from where I was standing in life everything was up. I was at my bottom. He told me I needed to repent and to ask God for forgiveness. He and I knelt at a folding metal chair and he led me in prayer. I walked away feeling no different, I though no big deal. I soon hitchhiked back to KC thinking that Springfield possibly was my problem. My drinking continued to escalate and in 1980 I found myself doing time for DWI. I attempted to change after this by living in an AA halfway house. This lasted for only a few months. In 1983 I again found myself doing time for another DWI but this time the seed of hope that had been planted by that young preacher boy in Springfield received a little water from a corrections officer. It germinated and I accepted Jesus Christ and my Lord and Savior. For the next fifteen years I had a Savior in my life but the Lord part was off and on, mostly off. I was my own lord most of the time. I managed to get a few years of not drinking here and there, but generally my life was unmanageable and not peaceable. In 1998 by the grace of a loving God I surrendered, not to drugs and alcohol, but to Jerry. I gave up the fight and won the victory. Doesn’t make since to believe in a victorious defeat, but that is exactly what it was. God had done for me what I could not do for myself………………….JRE
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “In judging of others a man labors in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and examining himself, he always labors fruitfully.”
Thomas a Kempis
“I am a God who is near,” declares the LORD. “And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:23-24 NASB)
My study of the Word of God has brought me to the Book of Jeremiah. This time in my reading I am really taking notice of the pain that the prophet had to endure daily. Not only did he have the emotional pain of not being accepted, but also the physical pain of being beaten and thrown in jail. God had given Jeremiah the vision of where the nation of Israel was headed and as he spoke the truth he found himself rejected, beaten and imprisoned. And Jeremiah had to go about all this alone, God would not allow him to marry. He was like a fish that is swimming against the school of other fish, being bombarded head on and on either side by those headed the other direction. Still, he kept moving in the direction that God wanted, what a remarkable person he must have been. We refer to him as the weeping prophet, and he was sad, but he was full of God and had strength to carry on. Jeremiah got so down that he even accused the Lord of deceiving him (Jeremiah 20:7), and complained that he was made a laughingstock and was mocked. He even cursed the day he was born. Now that’s depression. I feel that he said this only from his mind and not from his heart. When Jeremiah tried to not speak the words that the Lord had given him, his heart became like a burning fire (Jeremiah 20:9). When we do the right thing and it hurts, we still know that it was the right thing to do. Jeremiah’s life wasn’t all doom and gloom he probably retired comfortably. When the nation of Israel was invaded as Jeremiah predicted, and the nation taken into captivity, he was released from prison and given the option to stay in Jerusalem if he wanted. The light had finally started to shine. He chose to stay in Jerusalem and later moved to Egypt and there he died. I can relate to Jeremiah in many ways. Even though he served God and I served myself, some of his depression I have experienced. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity, of being alone and rejected have been part of my life also. These feelings I experienced as my alcoholism progressed and became a consuming self-centered disease that was killing me physically, emotionally and spiritually. Praise be to God for helping me see that I could live a different life. A life centered on Him and not my selfish self-pity. Today I share my experience, strength and hope, and my experiences have become livable. My strength has become stronger and my hope is clear and abounding in His love. God has done for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
Share this with me from today’s devotional reading by Oswald Chambers
“Partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4
We are made partakers of the Divine nature through the promises; then we have to “manipulate” the Divine nature in our human nature by habits, and the first habit to form is the habit of realizing the provisions God has made. “Oh, I can’t afford it,” we say, one of the worst lies is tucked up in that phrase. It is ungovernably bad taste to talk about money in the natural domain, and so it is spiritually, and yet we talk as if our Heavenly Father had cut us off without a shilling! We think it a sign of real modesty to say at the end of the day, “Oh, well, I have just got through, but it has been a severe tussle.” And all the Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will tax the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will obey Him. What does it matter if external circumstances are hard? Why should they not be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we banish God’s riches from our own lives and hinder others from entering into His provisions. No sin is worse than self-pity, because it obliterates God and puts self-interest upon the throne. It opens our mouths to spit out murmurings and our lives become craving spiritual sponges.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jeremiah's pain
Thought for the day: “In judging of others a man labors in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and examining himself, he always labors fruitfully.”
Thomas a Kempis
“I am a God who is near,” declares the LORD. “And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:23-24 NASB)
My study of the Word of God has brought me to the Book of Jeremiah. This time in my reading I am really taking notice of the pain that the prophet had to endure daily. Not only did he have the emotional pain of not being accepted, but also the physical pain of being beaten and thrown in jail. God had given Jeremiah the vision of where the nation of Israel was headed and as he spoke the truth he found himself rejected, beaten and imprisoned. And Jeremiah had to go about all this alone, God would not allow him to marry. He was like a fish that is swimming against the school of other fish, being bombarded head on and on either side by those headed the other direction. Still, he kept moving in the direction that God wanted, what a remarkable person he must have been. We refer to him as the weeping prophet, and he was sad, but he was full of God and had strength to carry on. Jeremiah got so down that he even accused the Lord of deceiving him (Jeremiah 20:7), and complained that he was made a laughingstock and was mocked. He even cursed the day he was born. Now that’s depression. I feel that he said this only from his mind and not from his heart. When Jeremiah tried to not speak the words that the Lord had given him, his heart became like a burning fire (Jeremiah 20:9). When we do the right thing and it hurts, we still know that it was the right thing to do. Jeremiah’s life wasn’t all doom and gloom he probably retired comfortably. When the nation of Israel was invaded as Jeremiah predicted, and the nation taken into captivity, he was released from prison and given the option to stay in Jerusalem if he wanted. The light had finally started to shine. He chose to stay in Jerusalem and later moved to Egypt and there he died. I can relate to Jeremiah in many ways. Even though he served God and I served myself, some of his depression I have experienced. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity, of being alone and rejected have been part of my life also. These feelings I experienced as my alcoholism progressed and became a consuming self-centered disease that was killing me physically, emotionally and spiritually. Praise be to God for helping me see that I could live a different life. A life centered on Him and not my selfish self-pity. Today I share my experience, strength and hope, and my experiences have become livable. My strength has become stronger and my hope is clear and abounding in His love. God has done for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
Share this with me from today’s devotional reading by Oswald Chambers
“Partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4
We are made partakers of the Divine nature through the promises; then we have to “manipulate” the Divine nature in our human nature by habits, and the first habit to form is the habit of realizing the provisions God has made. “Oh, I can’t afford it,” we say, one of the worst lies is tucked up in that phrase. It is ungovernably bad taste to talk about money in the natural domain, and so it is spiritually, and yet we talk as if our Heavenly Father had cut us off without a shilling! We think it a sign of real modesty to say at the end of the day, “Oh, well, I have just got through, but it has been a severe tussle.” And all the Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will tax the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will obey Him. What does it matter if external circumstances are hard? Why should they not be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we banish God’s riches from our own lives and hinder others from entering into His provisions. No sin is worse than self-pity, because it obliterates God and puts self-interest upon the throne. It opens our mouths to spit out murmurings and our lives become craving spiritual sponges.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
Monday, May 15, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Please all and you will soon please none.”
ASEOP (620-560 BC)
“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
PROVERBS 27:17
We can’t please all the people all the time. As we go about our lives we find ourselves being involved in the lives others who may be traveling our direction. At the same time we can find ourselves traveling with those who travel with a different azimuth. Now there’s a word I haven’t used in a while, just what is an azimuth? I learned what an azimuth is when I was in basic training in the army. Part of the training was the compass course. This was a course taken overland by foot from one point to another with only the use of a compass. We did it during daytime and also at night. We would first take a topographical map and find the tow points, the beginning and the ending points. We would take the map and lay it on the ground and with the compass line up north and south properly. We would then allow for the angle of declination, which has to do with the tilt of the earth on its axis. We could then get in degrees on the compass the straight line between the two points we wished to travel from. This is known as the azimuth. I have noticed in my life that not everyone is traveling the same azimuth that I am on. Some are a few degrees off of the direction I am traveling, and some are traveling on azimuths that are of a 90-degree difference and are traveling cross-grain. Then some are traveling a 180-degree difference and are headed in totally the opposite direction of my travel. I am sure that God wants us all headed in the same direction, and many times in my life I have had to adjust my azimuth. I can see where over the years I have adjusted my azimuth so many times that I feel that I am now headed in the opposite direction I started out on. God’s love has such a powerful pull that it has helped change my direction time and time again. That is not the only thing that adjusts my azimuth or the direction I am headed. The love of family, the fellowship of friends, a good church that believes in teaching the right direction to take, and having a spiritual mentor and AA sponsor in my life have all altered my direction from time to time. I found it necessary that in order to stay clean and sober I had to find a sponsor who was headed the direction I desired to head, and could feel the same pull of God great love. How important it is to have someone close to me who can say, “Jerry, that might be just a couple of degrees off.” As we cross paths, it is like iron sharpening iron. There might be some friction, and the wearing down of some tuff skin, but I become sharper and better able to cut through the difficulties of everyday life. The magnetic pull of God’s love on the compass of my heart has repeatedly allowed me to adjust, adjust and adjust. That my friend is the grace of God. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………………JRE
“My first sponsor told me there were two things to say about prayer and meditation: first, I had to start and second, I had to continue. When I came to AA my spiritual life was bankrupt; if I considered God at all, He was to be called upon only when my self-will was incapable of a task or when over-whelming fears had eroded my ego.
“Today I am grateful for a new life, one in which my prayers are those of thanksgiving. My prayer time is more for listening than for talking. I know today that I cannot change the wind, I can adjust my sail. I know the difference between superstition and spirituality. I know there is a graceful way of being right and many ways to be wrong.”
A.A. DAILY REFLECTIONS page 314
Jesus the Way to go, the Truth to know, and the Life to live, thanks for letting me share with you today……………jre
My azimuth
Thought for the day: “Please all and you will soon please none.”
ASEOP (620-560 BC)
“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
PROVERBS 27:17
We can’t please all the people all the time. As we go about our lives we find ourselves being involved in the lives others who may be traveling our direction. At the same time we can find ourselves traveling with those who travel with a different azimuth. Now there’s a word I haven’t used in a while, just what is an azimuth? I learned what an azimuth is when I was in basic training in the army. Part of the training was the compass course. This was a course taken overland by foot from one point to another with only the use of a compass. We did it during daytime and also at night. We would first take a topographical map and find the tow points, the beginning and the ending points. We would take the map and lay it on the ground and with the compass line up north and south properly. We would then allow for the angle of declination, which has to do with the tilt of the earth on its axis. We could then get in degrees on the compass the straight line between the two points we wished to travel from. This is known as the azimuth. I have noticed in my life that not everyone is traveling the same azimuth that I am on. Some are a few degrees off of the direction I am traveling, and some are traveling on azimuths that are of a 90-degree difference and are traveling cross-grain. Then some are traveling a 180-degree difference and are headed in totally the opposite direction of my travel. I am sure that God wants us all headed in the same direction, and many times in my life I have had to adjust my azimuth. I can see where over the years I have adjusted my azimuth so many times that I feel that I am now headed in the opposite direction I started out on. God’s love has such a powerful pull that it has helped change my direction time and time again. That is not the only thing that adjusts my azimuth or the direction I am headed. The love of family, the fellowship of friends, a good church that believes in teaching the right direction to take, and having a spiritual mentor and AA sponsor in my life have all altered my direction from time to time. I found it necessary that in order to stay clean and sober I had to find a sponsor who was headed the direction I desired to head, and could feel the same pull of God great love. How important it is to have someone close to me who can say, “Jerry, that might be just a couple of degrees off.” As we cross paths, it is like iron sharpening iron. There might be some friction, and the wearing down of some tuff skin, but I become sharper and better able to cut through the difficulties of everyday life. The magnetic pull of God’s love on the compass of my heart has repeatedly allowed me to adjust, adjust and adjust. That my friend is the grace of God. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………………JRE
“My first sponsor told me there were two things to say about prayer and meditation: first, I had to start and second, I had to continue. When I came to AA my spiritual life was bankrupt; if I considered God at all, He was to be called upon only when my self-will was incapable of a task or when over-whelming fears had eroded my ego.
“Today I am grateful for a new life, one in which my prayers are those of thanksgiving. My prayer time is more for listening than for talking. I know today that I cannot change the wind, I can adjust my sail. I know the difference between superstition and spirituality. I know there is a graceful way of being right and many ways to be wrong.”
A.A. DAILY REFLECTIONS page 314
Jesus the Way to go, the Truth to know, and the Life to live, thanks for letting me share with you today……………jre
Friday, May 12, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Be great I act, as you have been in thought. Suit the action to the word, and the word to the action.” WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR
“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of the sheep, he doesn’t just sit down and eat. He must first prepare his master’s meal and serve him his supper before eating his own. And the servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is supposed to do. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Words of Jesus (Luke 17:7-10 NLT)
I remember when I worked as an equipment operator how we would take the equipment out and work with it all day, and at the end of the day we would bring it in to the shop and wash, clean, repair, and grease the equipment before we went home. I was paid for the work that I did with the equipment, and the cleaning a greasing was just part of the deal. I got no thanks for it. Without the equipment in working condition I would have no job, so it was important to maintain it. Today I still care for my machinery and tools. When I use something I try and refuel it and make sure it is ready for use the next time. Its just part of the deal, the deal I have with myself. Why when I do God’s work do I sometimes seek praise? Serving others and God is just part of the deal. Today I ask myself what is the “deal?” The deal I got from God is if you believe in Me, My Son, and the finished work of the cross, than you will receive the gift of forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, healing, prosperity, serenity, deliverance of addictions of the flesh, the ability to love those who are not loveable, and the gift of being able to be of service to God and my fellow man. Service work is just part of the deal. Jesus said the greatest among you would be servant to all (Mark 9:35), He also said that He came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Today may I think of service to God and others as part of the deal. There is no way that I can repay God for the change that has occurred inside of me, and serving God and others is just part of the deal. Today may I serve with the right attitude and God will do for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE
Share this with me from the Dake Bible:
“The 38th parable in Luke, illustrating all that we can do as servants of God is merely a common duty of man, we merit nothing and should not expect thanks, grace, mercy, or answered prayer because of what we do.”
“This is the point illustrated by the parable. We are under obligation to serve God without earning merit or blessing. All God ever asked is our consecration to the best good of all which automatically betters our own selves. Shall we thank ourselves for bettering ourselves? Such service is returned to us in many ways. If we do things for self-praise we manifest extreme selfishness and we already have our reward.”
THE DAKE BIBLE page 80
“We desire many things, and God offers us only one thing. He can offer us only one thing, Himself. He has nothing else to give. There is nothing else to give.”
PETER KREFT
Part of the deal
Thought for the day: “Be great I act, as you have been in thought. Suit the action to the word, and the word to the action.” WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR
“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of the sheep, he doesn’t just sit down and eat. He must first prepare his master’s meal and serve him his supper before eating his own. And the servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is supposed to do. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Words of Jesus (Luke 17:7-10 NLT)
I remember when I worked as an equipment operator how we would take the equipment out and work with it all day, and at the end of the day we would bring it in to the shop and wash, clean, repair, and grease the equipment before we went home. I was paid for the work that I did with the equipment, and the cleaning a greasing was just part of the deal. I got no thanks for it. Without the equipment in working condition I would have no job, so it was important to maintain it. Today I still care for my machinery and tools. When I use something I try and refuel it and make sure it is ready for use the next time. Its just part of the deal, the deal I have with myself. Why when I do God’s work do I sometimes seek praise? Serving others and God is just part of the deal. Today I ask myself what is the “deal?” The deal I got from God is if you believe in Me, My Son, and the finished work of the cross, than you will receive the gift of forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, healing, prosperity, serenity, deliverance of addictions of the flesh, the ability to love those who are not loveable, and the gift of being able to be of service to God and my fellow man. Service work is just part of the deal. Jesus said the greatest among you would be servant to all (Mark 9:35), He also said that He came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Today may I think of service to God and others as part of the deal. There is no way that I can repay God for the change that has occurred inside of me, and serving God and others is just part of the deal. Today may I serve with the right attitude and God will do for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE
Share this with me from the Dake Bible:
“The 38th parable in Luke, illustrating all that we can do as servants of God is merely a common duty of man, we merit nothing and should not expect thanks, grace, mercy, or answered prayer because of what we do.”
“This is the point illustrated by the parable. We are under obligation to serve God without earning merit or blessing. All God ever asked is our consecration to the best good of all which automatically betters our own selves. Shall we thank ourselves for bettering ourselves? Such service is returned to us in many ways. If we do things for self-praise we manifest extreme selfishness and we already have our reward.”
THE DAKE BIBLE page 80
“We desire many things, and God offers us only one thing. He can offer us only one thing, Himself. He has nothing else to give. There is nothing else to give.”
PETER KREFT
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Envy is based on an incomplete understanding of the other person's situation. GEORGE CHAPMAN
“In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
TITUS 2:7-8 NASB
Titus was a Gentile by birth, but had been brought to faith in Jesus Christ by the apostle Paul. At that time some of the church’s in and around Greece were coming under the influence of Jewish believers who wanted to revert back to the old beliefs that were observed under the laws of Judaism. How restricting this must have been, once having been set free, no one wants to go back to the old ways. Paul had left Titus in Crete as an overseer to appoint elders in the church and to bring order. Paul gave Titus many instructions, but the words from the apostle about being “sound in speech” touch my spirit today. What is sound in speech? Can you tell a joke and be sound in speech? Can you laugh at something that at one time was wrong and be sound in speech? How sound does sound have to be? Is a little soundness all right? Is there such a thing as too much soundness that will drive always those we wish to share to? I don’t have all the answers to these questions, but today I seek and knock on the Word of God to have the eyes of my understanding opened. I remember when I was in the army how my platoon sergeant could tell me something, something that would be of sound speech, and it would rattle every muscle, bone and nerve in my body. Military leaders have a way of getting the point across direct and quickly. On the other hand I recall times when my AA sponsor would say something to me that was of sound speech, something that was corrective to my behavior, and I could receive it graciously. What was the difference? Both were sound in speech. The difference that I understand today could be summed up in the word love. I am not saying that my sponsor loved me and my platoon sergeant did not. It’s just that military leaders show love in a different way. When you get down to it, a command given that has the success of the operation and the welfare of the troops, as its basis is a command given in love. Sound speech which is beyond reproach must have love expressed in its tone and meaning. Then the opponent will have nothing bad to say. Today may I learn to take each word I speak and first meditate upon it in the light of the Father’s love. May I keep in mind how I would like to have others speak to me, then God will do for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
“We need to accept the difficulties and disciplines of life so as to fully share the common life of other people. Many things that we must accept in life are not to be taken so much as being necessary for us personally, as to be experienced in order that we may share in the suffering and problems of humanity. We need sympathy and understanding. We must share many of the experiences of life, in order to understand and sympathize with others. Unless we have been through the same experiences, we cannot understand other people or their makeup well enough to be able to help them.”
HAZELDEN………………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Sound speech
Thought for the day: “Envy is based on an incomplete understanding of the other person's situation. GEORGE CHAPMAN
“In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
TITUS 2:7-8 NASB
Titus was a Gentile by birth, but had been brought to faith in Jesus Christ by the apostle Paul. At that time some of the church’s in and around Greece were coming under the influence of Jewish believers who wanted to revert back to the old beliefs that were observed under the laws of Judaism. How restricting this must have been, once having been set free, no one wants to go back to the old ways. Paul had left Titus in Crete as an overseer to appoint elders in the church and to bring order. Paul gave Titus many instructions, but the words from the apostle about being “sound in speech” touch my spirit today. What is sound in speech? Can you tell a joke and be sound in speech? Can you laugh at something that at one time was wrong and be sound in speech? How sound does sound have to be? Is a little soundness all right? Is there such a thing as too much soundness that will drive always those we wish to share to? I don’t have all the answers to these questions, but today I seek and knock on the Word of God to have the eyes of my understanding opened. I remember when I was in the army how my platoon sergeant could tell me something, something that would be of sound speech, and it would rattle every muscle, bone and nerve in my body. Military leaders have a way of getting the point across direct and quickly. On the other hand I recall times when my AA sponsor would say something to me that was of sound speech, something that was corrective to my behavior, and I could receive it graciously. What was the difference? Both were sound in speech. The difference that I understand today could be summed up in the word love. I am not saying that my sponsor loved me and my platoon sergeant did not. It’s just that military leaders show love in a different way. When you get down to it, a command given that has the success of the operation and the welfare of the troops, as its basis is a command given in love. Sound speech which is beyond reproach must have love expressed in its tone and meaning. Then the opponent will have nothing bad to say. Today may I learn to take each word I speak and first meditate upon it in the light of the Father’s love. May I keep in mind how I would like to have others speak to me, then God will do for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
“We need to accept the difficulties and disciplines of life so as to fully share the common life of other people. Many things that we must accept in life are not to be taken so much as being necessary for us personally, as to be experienced in order that we may share in the suffering and problems of humanity. We need sympathy and understanding. We must share many of the experiences of life, in order to understand and sympathize with others. Unless we have been through the same experiences, we cannot understand other people or their makeup well enough to be able to help them.”
HAZELDEN………………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “All that is good, all that is true, all that is beautiful, all that is beneficent, be it great or small, be it perfect or fragmentary, natural as well as supernatural, moral as well as material, comes from God.”
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
Psalm 23
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT
HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES
HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS
HE RESTORETH MY SOUL
HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAMES SAKE
YEA THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH
I WILL FEAR NO EVIL
FOR THOU ART WITH ME
THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME
THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME
IN THEPRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES
THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL
MY CUP RUNNETH OVER
SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER
Typing out the 23rd Psalm today has stirred my spirit. Each line speaks to me in its own way. This psalm written by David refers to the Lord as our Shepherd. It was written by a man who himself was a shepherd. David as a young man tended the sheep of his father, and today we might say that he received his education at USS, the University of Sheep and Shepherds. Some of David’s earliest lessons could have come from being responsible for the sheep. He learned about how to be a good caregiver, and how to make the sheep secure and comfortable. How to make sure there was enough pasture and feed, and to make sure the water was good and the place for watering was suitable for sheep. He learned how to pick the right paths for the sheep to travel, and how to avoid the danger spots. He knew that as long as he was with the sheep they would be safe. He learned how to use the tools of his trade, his rod and staff, and the language of the shepherd. I feel that David learned much about life in his early formative years by being responsible in his family business. There was no better way to describe the God that he loved other than using the language of the shepherd. And so it is with us, when we try and explain God, we should use the language we know best. Our everyday communication that we use in our business and work, and with our family and friends is the best way to communicate to another person our point. When I relate to someone what God has done for me and how I have been delivered from a living hell as a result of addictions and alcoholism, I find it best to use my own personal experiences and to use the language most common to that environment. Of course God has washed some of my words, but the point is still conveyed because I am most familiar with that lifestyle, I lived it for too many years. Today as I read this great psalm the first line explains it all to me, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I can count of that!
God has done for me what I could not do for myself……………..…JRE
The University of Sheep and Shepherds
Thought for the day: “All that is good, all that is true, all that is beautiful, all that is beneficent, be it great or small, be it perfect or fragmentary, natural as well as supernatural, moral as well as material, comes from God.”
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
Psalm 23
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT
HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES
HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS
HE RESTORETH MY SOUL
HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAMES SAKE
YEA THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH
I WILL FEAR NO EVIL
FOR THOU ART WITH ME
THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME
THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME
IN THEPRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES
THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL
MY CUP RUNNETH OVER
SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER
Typing out the 23rd Psalm today has stirred my spirit. Each line speaks to me in its own way. This psalm written by David refers to the Lord as our Shepherd. It was written by a man who himself was a shepherd. David as a young man tended the sheep of his father, and today we might say that he received his education at USS, the University of Sheep and Shepherds. Some of David’s earliest lessons could have come from being responsible for the sheep. He learned about how to be a good caregiver, and how to make the sheep secure and comfortable. How to make sure there was enough pasture and feed, and to make sure the water was good and the place for watering was suitable for sheep. He learned how to pick the right paths for the sheep to travel, and how to avoid the danger spots. He knew that as long as he was with the sheep they would be safe. He learned how to use the tools of his trade, his rod and staff, and the language of the shepherd. I feel that David learned much about life in his early formative years by being responsible in his family business. There was no better way to describe the God that he loved other than using the language of the shepherd. And so it is with us, when we try and explain God, we should use the language we know best. Our everyday communication that we use in our business and work, and with our family and friends is the best way to communicate to another person our point. When I relate to someone what God has done for me and how I have been delivered from a living hell as a result of addictions and alcoholism, I find it best to use my own personal experiences and to use the language most common to that environment. Of course God has washed some of my words, but the point is still conveyed because I am most familiar with that lifestyle, I lived it for too many years. Today as I read this great psalm the first line explains it all to me, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I can count of that!
God has done for me what I could not do for myself……………..…JRE
Monday, May 08, 2006
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “We don’t have to adjust to changes all at once, only one day at a time.” Author unknown
“Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NLT)
Sometimes life takes us into the lives of those who are bound by decisions they have made that keep them from being free. Decisions such as the abuse of alcohol and drugs, decisions such as refusing to accept God in their lives, and decisions that allows self-centered thinking to abound giving no thought to others. The apostle Paul reminds us to “live wisely and make the most of every opportunity” when we are in such situations. How difficult I have found this to be in my own life. Many times when I am around people that don’t believe as I do, think as I do, or act as I do, I have a tendency to not get involved and just keep quiet. I find this to be especially true of people who have more education than myself, are more successful in the worldly sense, and those who have obtained greater material worth than myself. I find it more difficult to tell a person who has been blessed materially about how Jesus has changed my life, than someone who socially may be my equal or possibly a little less fortunate. Often the person’s material wealth is well deserved because of personal ambition, and I recognize this as being noble and worthy, but still I find it odd that I allow material wealth to obstruct my sharing of the spiritual victories in my life because of Jesus Christ. On the other hand I often don’t get involved in conversation when the person is intoxicated, how self-centered and wrong this can be of myself. I often feel that when I speak to someone who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol that my words go unheard. They always seem to have an answer for everything before I even stop talking. It is like they are not listening, and while I am sharing they are only thinking of what they will say next. These conversations make me want to just pack up and leave. How wrong this may be, the apostle Paul says to “make the most of every opportunity.” Even people under the influence of alcohol and drugs are able to understand and remember. I recall in the mid 1990’s, a time when I had slipped away from walking with the Lord, how a couple of friends of mine made a call on me. We had all done drugs together over the years and Gary and Jona had just accepted the Lord and were clean and sober. They had come to share the victory with me. I recall sitting there having been up on meth for several days, how the peace and love they were experiencing flowed out from them to me. They did not condemn, just share. In my strung-out condition the love of God was still able to penetrate into my spirit, and I remember this still today. Their “conversation was gracious,” and they “made to most of the opportunity,” just like the apostle Paul had said, and it worked. It took me about three more years of drug abuse to finally let go and let God have my life, but I never forgot that visit. May I learn from it today, and God will do for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share……………………JRE
“Patience is more than endurance. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says, “I cannot stand anymore.” God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly.”
OSWALD CHAMBERS
Make the most of every opportunity
Thought for the day: “We don’t have to adjust to changes all at once, only one day at a time.” Author unknown
“Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NLT)
Sometimes life takes us into the lives of those who are bound by decisions they have made that keep them from being free. Decisions such as the abuse of alcohol and drugs, decisions such as refusing to accept God in their lives, and decisions that allows self-centered thinking to abound giving no thought to others. The apostle Paul reminds us to “live wisely and make the most of every opportunity” when we are in such situations. How difficult I have found this to be in my own life. Many times when I am around people that don’t believe as I do, think as I do, or act as I do, I have a tendency to not get involved and just keep quiet. I find this to be especially true of people who have more education than myself, are more successful in the worldly sense, and those who have obtained greater material worth than myself. I find it more difficult to tell a person who has been blessed materially about how Jesus has changed my life, than someone who socially may be my equal or possibly a little less fortunate. Often the person’s material wealth is well deserved because of personal ambition, and I recognize this as being noble and worthy, but still I find it odd that I allow material wealth to obstruct my sharing of the spiritual victories in my life because of Jesus Christ. On the other hand I often don’t get involved in conversation when the person is intoxicated, how self-centered and wrong this can be of myself. I often feel that when I speak to someone who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol that my words go unheard. They always seem to have an answer for everything before I even stop talking. It is like they are not listening, and while I am sharing they are only thinking of what they will say next. These conversations make me want to just pack up and leave. How wrong this may be, the apostle Paul says to “make the most of every opportunity.” Even people under the influence of alcohol and drugs are able to understand and remember. I recall in the mid 1990’s, a time when I had slipped away from walking with the Lord, how a couple of friends of mine made a call on me. We had all done drugs together over the years and Gary and Jona had just accepted the Lord and were clean and sober. They had come to share the victory with me. I recall sitting there having been up on meth for several days, how the peace and love they were experiencing flowed out from them to me. They did not condemn, just share. In my strung-out condition the love of God was still able to penetrate into my spirit, and I remember this still today. Their “conversation was gracious,” and they “made to most of the opportunity,” just like the apostle Paul had said, and it worked. It took me about three more years of drug abuse to finally let go and let God have my life, but I never forgot that visit. May I learn from it today, and God will do for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share……………………JRE
“Patience is more than endurance. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says, “I cannot stand anymore.” God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly.”
OSWALD CHAMBERS
