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Need a promotion?

I used to sell newspaper subscriptions door to door and deliver flowers for a living. I also volunteered for years with my churches inner city bus ministry. My wife waited tables and cleaned houses. She volunteered with a number of ministries, doing youth work and teaching worship dance among other things. Never could we imagine that the Lord would take us to Israel and use us in full time ministry in this capacity. Neither of us ever did anything great in this world but we were faithful in some little things and God found it in His heart to promote us.

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The Volcano Waiting to Erupt!

As I write, it seems the prevailing concern among people everywhere is -– what’s going on with the economy? Europe is on the verge of an economic collapse. Even the kings of wall street are reportedly dumping their shares in U.S. companies. People are watching their wealth dissipating and dwindling away. Reflecting on these material losses reminds me of a story about a lady who perished in Pompeii in the first century.

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New Year — New Attitude!

The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, “What are you doing?” The first replied, “I’m cutting stone for a shabby 10 shillings a day.” The next answered, “I’m putting in 13 hard hours a day on this job.” But the last said, “I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals.”

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Be Rich with God!

1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

A sailor who was shipwrecked on a desert island was captured by some of the natives of that island. They carried him off on their shoulders to their village, where he was sure he would end up being the main course. But instead, they put a crown on his head and made him king. He was enjoying all the attention he was receiving but was growing a little suspicious. He started making inquiries and discovered that their custom was to crown a stranger king for a year and at the end of that year the crowned king would be sent to a deserted island where he was allowed to starve to death.

Obviously, this did not appeal to the sailor so he devised a plan. Since he was the king and the natives obeyed his every order, he ordered them to ship supplies to the island where he would be sent when the year was up. He had them clear the land and build him a hut and plant enough vegetables and fruits for quite an adequate garden.When his year was up and was banned to the deserted island, he lived in abundance.

How are we using the good gifts God has graciously given us? Wealth and authority can be a dangerous thing — or it can be a blessing. It can be used to destroy and tear down or to store up good things in heaven. The choice is ours. Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be wise in our attitude toward our material possessions that we might not end up being rich in things and poor with God!