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Eye has not seen
nor ear heard;
neither has entered
into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared
For those who LOVE Him.
1 Corinthians 2:9

 
 


Moment of Decision!
You just never know when you may be called upon to do something really significant in life.
You just never know! - It could be today! - Be ready!  
Don't Look Back.


Over fifty years ago, she was asked, with three others, to relinquish her seat on a crowded bus for a white man who had just boarded. Though they were already seated in the section reserved for blacks, they were ordered by the bus driver to stand in the aisle. Three complied. Rosa Parks remained seated.

Recalling the incident for a television series in 1987, Parks said quietly: " When he saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up and I said, 'No, I'm not.'   And he said, 'Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to have to call the police and have you arrested.'   I said, 'You may do that.' "

She was immediately arrested and ordered to pay a fine of fourteen dollars.

Mrs. Parks died at the age of 92 - a woman history will always remember for her courage and her convictions.

As she hurriedly left the department store where she worked as a seamstress on December 1, 1955, the last thing she was thinking about was becoming a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. She had errands to run and preparations to make for a workshop that she was organizing for teenagers that weekend. "So it was not a time for me to be planning to get arrested," she said in an interview.

There are moments in life that call us out of our daily lives and into something totally unanticipated, and with unforeseeable consequences into the future far beyond.   Almost always these moments come with a certain degree of inconvenience.

The soft spoken Montgomery seamstress who refused to give up her seat could have given in to injustice with the rationale of not wanting to get involved or the daunting thought of all the things she had to get done that day. Instead, she brought about the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and ignited the Civil Rights Movement.

"Life's setbacks," writes Dr. Joseph Walker, "are never accidental. They are always a piece of a larger landscape - distinct metaphorical scenes in an epic masterpiece."
Perhaps, at this moment, you feel a sense of failure; numbing loneliness, disappointed expectations amidst ruptured relationships, where life seems so joyless and unfair; and you wonder about God and Christianity.

Take heart, friend.
As Jesus and his disciples walked throughout the cities of ancient Palestine, they often encountered would-be disciples. "I will follow you wherever you go," called out one man. "I will follow you, Lord," said another. Jesus' responses were surprising, perhaps especially to those of us who long for others to see the appeal or merit of Christianity.

We would rejoice in such an eager declaration to follow Christ. But Jesus spoke far more candidly about the inconveniences of discipleship, the cost of standing with God, than he did the allure of it.

The Gospel of Luke recounts one follower replying to the call of Christ, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." Jesus answered him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the Kingdom of God." Another man said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:57-62).

It’s tempting to look at Jesus’ responses as severe, and perhaps insensitive—one man was grieving the death of his father; another only wanted to say goodbye to his family – What’s so wrong about that? But we must not fail to see that this speaks to our priorities.

There is always going to be something that needs to be done first, a reason to timidly wait, silently to play it safe; or follow when all appears to be right; at a better, more convenient time. There is always going to be an inconvenience to setting aside my priorities for God’s; for laying down my life or agenda for the sake of His Kingdom.

The call to follow Christ is not theoretical; he makes it clear from the start that the only way to follow is by leaving everything and going completely with the incarnate son of God. In John …, Jesus affirms: God must be numero uno … you must LOVE the Lord with all your heart, strength, soul, and mind.

Indeed, as Rosa Parks discovered:  There are moments in life that call us out of our daily lives and into something far beyond it. -- How do you answer when it is God who is calling you?   Friend, this will make all the difference in your life!
 
When others around you are running scared, standing firm is easier said than done! 

* * *

My prayer for you at this time of your life, is that you may experience the wonder and reality of Jesus Christ anew, in a very personal, life-changing way, in your "Moment of Decision".
Jesus Christ is worthy, INDEED!

God bless you.

* * *



Archive:

Life´s Great Conundrums Life's Imponderables.
Mysteries in life which defy explanation; things whichshould never be; - but yet are.


Your attitude determines your altitude How is your Attitude?
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.


Samsom and Dalila Samsom and The Secret    -
It´s the story of love and hatred, devotion and betrayal; of one man´s love for his foreign woman, and the destiny of a nation.  More
or  Play mp3


Storms of Life The Weapons of our Warfare
Our Father in heaven intentionally withholds many of the answers our hearts cry out for!
He asks us to trust Him for what He alone can see.  


Friends Relationships
There are dimensions of God you will never know except in relationships with others.   Hebrews 12:15


KeeperKeep your Heart - Part I
Diligently guard your heart against the defilement of bitterness.   Hebrews 12:15
Keep your Heart - Part II
Guard your heart against the defilement of unforgiveness.   Matthew 6:14
Keep your Heart - Part III
The heart of the problem is a problem of the heart!
Only God can make a perfect heart.   Ezekiel 36:26


Holy Spirit - Part I
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.   Romans 8:14
Holy Spirit - Part II  
The Holy Spirit does not indwell you to make you religious, but to be like Jesus.   John 16:14
Holy Spirit - Part III  
Pray always in the Spirit.   Eph. 6:18
He who believes in Me, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.   John 7:38


 Marriage - The Pursuit of Excellence
In these modern times of marital uncertainties, Rev Peterson Stephen presents an inspiringly majestic panorama of finding personal fulfillment and happiness in your marriage.

 
   
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