The Everything!

Everything we do is a portrait of ourselves.  All our actions 

take their hue from the complexion of the heart.

Living the truth in your heart without compromise 

brings kindness into the world.

All that is worth cherishing begins in the heart.

(Tender Thoughts - Janet L. Weaver.)

~ * IT ! ~

IT will all work out.k.
(Pause and think on that.)

**** ~ A Crutch ?? !! ~ ****

HAVE you ever heard skeptics say that the Christian faith is nothing more than a crutch - that the only reason people claim to trust Jesus is that they are weaklings who have to make up "religion" to get by?

Apparently those skeptics haven't heard about the doctor in one Far Eastern country who spent 2-1/2 years in jail being "re-educated" because he professed faith in Christ. THEN, after his release, he was arrested again - this time for his efforts at his church.

And perhaps those skeptics haven't heard about Paul. AFTER trusting Christ, he was arrested, flogged, mocked, and shipwrecked (2 Cor. 11: 16-29).

These believers were not looking for a crutch. No, they had something deep and essential in their hearts. They had a personal relationship with God - a relationship born of faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. As a result, they became children of the King - eager to sacrifice everything for the privilege of proclaiming Him. They were not limping along looking for something to hold them up.

A crutch? Hardly. Faith in Christ is not about safety and caution. It's about believing Jesus and trusting Him no matter what. (It's about taking up a daily cross (Luke 9:23) and living for the Savior.) - Dave Brannon.

"Take up your cross," the Savior said,
"If you would My disciple be;
Take up your cross with willing heart
And humbly follow after Me." - Everest.

"We are hard-pressed
on every side, yet not
crushed." - 2 Corinthians 4:8

(*READ: 2 Corinthians 4: 8-15)

Because Jesus bore the cross for us, we willingly (*have/been given the desire to) take it up for Him!

*** SEE associated posting dated 27/11/2010 titled 'Eternity'.kim.

*** THORNS ? ! ***

I take pleasure in infirmities, . . . in distresses, for Christ's sake. - 2 Corinthians 12:10

TO give thanks in every situation is sometimes very difficult. When your body is wracked with pain, or you have just learned that you have a physical problem for which there is no cure, or you have lost your job, or a cherished relationship has been broken, it's hard to feel grateful. But we can learn to thank God because He gives us strength when we feel weak.

That's why Paul could say, "I take pleasure in infirmities, . . . in distresses, for Christ's sake" (2 Corinthians 12:10). And as believers, we can be grateful that through such experiences God is accomplishing what is best for us. EVEN through our suffering. He is working for our good (Romans 8:28).

Scottish author and preacher George Matheson (1842-1906), who was blind, expressed this prayer: "I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my 'thorn' . . . . Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my 'thorn.' Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow."

As we surrender ourselves to the Lord and remember that He is working in everything to accomplish our ultimate good, we can thank Him even when we are pierced by "thorns." - Richard De Haan.

We can give thanks in everything
And say, "Your will be done,"
For God's at work in everything
To make us like His Son. - D. De Haan

It's easier to bear the burden of suffering when we carry it with gratitude.

* DEAD Sea ? ! *

Will and Bill were arguing about whose father was stronger !

Will said, 'Well, you know the Pacific Ocean? My dad dug the hole for it.'

Bill wasn't impressed.

'Well, that's nothing. You know the Dead Sea? My father's the one who killed it!'

*** "UNIQUE" !!! ***

"Does caring
for me loom
so large that
it obscures
everything else?
I am still me and
you are still you
and we together have our world
about us". (Carer)