 Friends         |  Lishman: Merry Christmas from New Zealand. Wishing you all a happy and blessed time and may 2024 be an awesome year for you . Love and blessings from Lish . Lishman: A great reading at a funeral : 'THE APOSTLES SAID TO THE LORD, 'INCREASE OUR FAITH.' LUKE 17:5 S G Holland, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, said, 'Faith draws the poison from every grief, takes the sting from every loss, and quenches the fire of every pain; and only faith can do it.' Henry Nouwen says that our greatest challenge as disciples is, 'to recognise and believe that unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions...but the way in which God moulds our hearts and prepares us.' The deeper your faith in God, the greater its potential to carry you through the rough times. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, 'Faith like Job's cannot be shaken, because it is the result of having been shaken.' But faith in Christ alone, gives us the assurance for heaven. When you die - what then? John Maxwell tells of attending the funeral of Jane Chapman, wife of his good friend Tom Chapman. During the service the following poem was read: 'I am standing on the seashore. A ship appears, spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last she fades away on the horizon. Somebody at my side quietly says, 'She is gone.' Gone where? Gone from my vision, that is all; she is just as large as when I saw her last. The diminished size and loss of sight is in me, not her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says 'She is gone,' there are others who are watching her coming, and voices take up the joyful shout, 'Here she comes!'' Lishman: Testimony of going from an atheist to a born again Christian. Most of my life I never believed and thought it was all a big fairy tale, a Christian friend gave me a very small booklet ( a tract ) it was titled " How to recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit... So one morning I got out of bed and got down on my knees after reading the booklet I thought Oh well I have nothing to lose , so said what the booklet said and it went like this. Pray to God that I am a sinner and ask God to forgive me of my sins through Jesus Christ which I did and then the last page said " Now ask God to give you the Holy Spirit " At that very moment with eyes closed and on my knees, it was like someone pouring pure love electricity down from the top of my head, I cried like a baby and said to God , now I have have no more doubts about you and was born again . When I opened my eyes everything looked fresh and clean .It changed my whole life with Real truth, wisdom, awareness and the love of all people. After that God spoke to me in dreams and His word. View all 8 posts (Post deleted by Lishman ) (Post deleted by Lishman )  BigAlNH: That's really good to read, Lishman. I was brought up Catholic, and was a very wishy-washy one until I had an experience similar to yours. It took a few more years until I actually accepted Christ as my savior and was baptized, but my faith has only grown stronger since then. I used to think that once I became a follower of Jesus Christ my life would be perfect in every way (including eliminating sinning!) provided I stuck to all of His "strict rules". Instead, my day to day life has been pretty normal except my faith has carried me through difficult times and made me more grateful for the good times. And those awful "rules" have given me guidance and a purpose in life. God Is Good, Lishman! All the time! May He keep you blessed. Lishman: Testimony of going from an atheist to a born again Christian. Most of my life I never believed and thought it was all a big fairy tale, a Christian friend gave me a very small booklet ( a tract ) it was titled " How to recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit... So one morning I got out of bed and got down on my knees after reading the booklet I thought Oh well I have nothing to lose , so said what the booklet said and it went like this. Pray to God that I am a sinner and ask God to forgive me of my sins through Jesus Christ which I did and then the last page said " Now ask God to give you the Holy Spirit " At that very moment with eyes closed and on my knees, it was like someone pouring pure love electricity down from the top of my head, I cried like a baby and said to God , now I have have no more doubts about you and was born again . When I opened my eyes everything looked fresh and clean .It changed my whole life with Real truth, wisdom, awareness and the love of all people. After that God spoke to me in dreams and His word. Lishman: Sunday, 29 January 2023 God is concerned for you 'Give all your worries and cares to God.' 1 Peter 5:7 NLT Doug Coldiron writes: 'I'm a trucker, and my Jack Russell Terrier, Dee Dee, rides shotgun on my road trips. We were playing fetch outside Atlanta when something caught her eye and she shot into the woods. I paced the perimeter calling her name. I alerted other truckers and searched until it was pitch black. Nothing. Eventually the others left; some said, "I'll pray for you." I wasn't so sure God was listening. I'd already been praying for hours. Next morning, I had to get on the road, and when I opened my laptop and pulled up my Facebook page, it was filled with postings: "We're praying for you." "Hang in there." "Trust God." I felt comforted; someone besides me was worried about my dog. If only I could get back to Atlanta soon! I thought about praying, "Lord, get me an assignment in Atlanta...NOW!" I knew that could take weeks, but when I clicked on my company website to check the destination for my next job...it was Atlanta! Could prayer be working? Next morning my cell phone woke me. It was Russ, the maintenance supervisor. "I saw your dog on my way to work."...I had to get to Atlanta! From the truck centre, Russ drove me to where he had seen Dee Dee. After searching for hours, I glanced over my shoulder...and there she sat on the doorstep of a house. She bolted over, and as I picked her up, I prayed, "Thank you, God."' The Bible says, 'Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you' (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). Coldiron adds, 'Who knows what goes on in a dog's mind? One thing I know is we're never alone. God always answers prayer.' Lishman: Author Barbara Glanz tells about a gentleman who remembered his eighth-grade literature teacher. He wrote to her and received this reply: 'You will never know how much your letter meant. I'm 83 years old, and...living all alone. My friends are all gone. My family's gone. I taught school 50 years and yours is the first "thank you" letter I have ever gotten from a student. Sometimes I wonder what I did with my life. I will read and reread your letter until the day I die.' Ironically, she was the teacher students talked most about at class reunions, but nobody ever told her. Showing appreciation costs so little in terms of time and money, but it can mean the world to somebody. Who do you need to express your appreciation to? Lishman: View this email in your browser Saturday, 26 November 2022 Defeat your giant To defeat giants like addiction, resentment, fear, lust, pride, envy or anger, you must understand these three Scriptures: (1) 'The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience' (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT). Goliath was born a baby, but he grew into a giant. Our giants are often little sins we overlooked and indulged until they assumed a life of their own and came back to haunt us. As you say no to small impulses, you will gain the strength to say it to bigger ones. (2) 'As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him' (1 Samuel 17:48 NLT). David faced Goliath head-on. You must force your giant out into the light, and not let him back into your life. Establish boundaries! And if necessary, make yourself accountable to someone who can strengthen and encourage you. Stay out of the wrong company. And above all, don't view God in the light of your problem, view your problem in the light of God. (3) 'This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us' (1 Samuel 17:47 NLT)! You're not in this fight alone. God wants to help you to overcome old habits and establish new behaviours. His will for you is 'to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own' (Ephesians 4:1 CEV). When you repent, which means to do an about-face, turn, and resolve to walk with God, he will give you the strength to conquer the giant you're facing. God has never lost a battle yet, and when you invite him to join you, you will win. Lishman: Don't isolate, engage! 'I am making everything new!' Revelation 21:5 NIV It's said the Titanic sank because of cheap rivets and poor planning. Faced with a shortage of quality bolts, the shipbuilders used substandard ones that popped when the ship hit the iceberg. So, how sturdy are the bolts of your faith? Reinforce them daily with God's word, seasons of in-depth prayer and fortifying fellowship. Describing signs of the end of earthly time, Jesus said, 'All these are the beginning of birth pains' (Matthew 24:8 NIV), and birth pains signal the onset of the final push. The midwife says, 'This will hurt for a while, but it's going to get better,' and Jesus offers us the same assurance about our future. We'll be in the final hours - just a few pushes away from delivery. John said: 'I saw "a new Heaven and a new earth," for the first Heaven and the first earth had passed away, and...the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be...their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new"' (Revelation 21:1-5 NIV)! People everywhere are searching for answers. So don't isolate, engage! Your goal isn't to get out of this world in one piece; it's to take as many people as you can to Heaven along with you. |
Monday, 1 January 2024
'[You] too may live a new life.' Romans 6:4 NIV
Refuse to let your past rob you of your future. This year God wants to give you a new start. Let's face it, we all have relationships that can't be healed, and issues that will never be resolved to our liking. But by God's grace we can forgive, forget and move on. You don't have to lie awake at night digging up old bones, picking at scars and reviving painful memories. If you give them an opening, the ghosts of your past will take up residence in your head.
You say, 'But I still struggle in so many areas.' We all do. Even the great apostle Paul admitted he didn't have it all together. Paul admits: 'So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. I know that my selfish desires won't let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot' (Romans 7:17-18 CEV). 'Thank you, Paul,' from all of us who mistakenly thought that once we became Christians there would be no more struggles! But Paul doesn't stop there; he adds these two important Scriptures: (1) 'Just as Christ was raised from the dead...we too may live a new life' (Romans 6:4 NIV). (2) 'In the same way [as Jesus], count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus' (Romans 6:11 NIV).
You ask, 'How should I handle my old issues?' Admit them, give them up and forget them! Instead of fighting battles you can't win, let Jesus' resurrection power sweep through your life and sever the ties between you and the pain of your past.
SoulFood: Rom 13:12 - 14:19, Matt 1:1-17, Isa 43:18-19 (New Year's Day)