Inspirational

 

Shake it Off and Step Up

   Once upon a time, a farmer owned an old mule which tripped and fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule braying and was unable to figure out how to bring up the old animal. It grieved him that he could not pull the animal out. He'd been a good worker around the farm. Although the farmer sympathized with the mule, he called his neighbours together and told them what had happened. He had them help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and quietly put him out of his misery.

   At first, the old mule was puzzled, but as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt hit his back, he had a thought: he ought to shake off the dirt and step up. And he did just that. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up." Even though he took painful blows of dirt and fought panic, he just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!

   It wasn't long before the old mule stepped up and over the lip of that well. What could have buried him actually blessed him... all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

All Things Change, But Jesus Never

As sure as the night follows the day, light follows darkness. As sure as the sun rises, it must also set. As sure as the rain falls, it must also rise again. As sure as "dust you are, and to dust you shall return,"¹ there must be a continual birth, life, death, resurrection. The cycle must be completed—the perfect circle of eternity—of which God is the designer, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.²

God moves. He is a moving God. He is never still. He is always doing, going, saying, and effecting change in every sphere of creation. He is never static, except for Himself—"I am the Lord, I do not change"³—except for His Word—"Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven"⁴—and except for the future, His promises to His children—"Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed."⁵

Yesterday, today, and forever, Jesus is the same. All things change, but Jesus never.⁶

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
—Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)

Unchanging

When God sent Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, He told him, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"⁷ God's name is "I AM"—not "I WAS," but "I AM." What a wonderful realization! What assurance! What security!

"There is a stream that makes glad the heart of man."⁸ So many things in life change. So many springs run dry. So many sources of pleasure evaporate as the years go by. But the Christian's joy and peace don't dry up, because they have as their source an upper, everlasting fountain—the unchanging God.

________________
1. Genesis 3:19
2. Revelation 1:8
3. Malachi 3:6
4. Psalm 119:89
5. Joshua 23:14
6. Hebrews 13:8
7. Exodus 3:14
8. Psalm 46:4

FAITH THE TITLE DEED

        Faith has lost its meaning to us today. Today the word faith means kind of a hazy vague belief of some kind in something or other; the word faith doesn't really mean much. But in God's Word it means much more than that! It is the SUBSTANCE, it is the "HUPOSTASIS", it is the TITLE DEED!

        Nearly 400 years ago, when they were translating the Greek New Testament into English, the translators ran into a puzzling problem: How should they translate the word "hupostasis" in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews.

        They knew from the way this word "hupostasis" was used in other Greek literature that it apparently meant something fairly substantial.

        But just a few years ago archaeologists uncovered the burned ruins of an old inn in Northern Israel.There they found a small iron chest...containing apparently the valuable papers of some Roman noblewoman who had been travelling in Israel at that time, for the purpose of checking up on her various land holdings, properties that she owned in Israel. In this little chest they found that most of the papers were labelled with a big title "HUPOSTASIS". All of these papers which had the title "Hupostasis" across the top were, guess what?--TITLE DEEDS to her properties! But this was long after the Bible was translated, so they didn't have the advantage of that discovery.

        If you want to turn to Hebrews the 11th Chapter, the word "substance" is just as good and conveys the message and I'm quite sure it's sufficient, but if you want to make it even clearer and more explicit, you can write above that word "substance", in parentheses, "title deed". Now faith is what?-THE TITLE DEED!

        This Roman woman perhaps had never seen her properties she'd bought in Israel, but she knew she had them and she could prove her ownership even though she had never seen them.

        A friend gave me a car once; I got the title through the mail. Though I'd never seen the car, never driven it, didn't know what it was like, I knew I owned a car. I knew I had it because I HAD THE TITLE in my hand.

        If you've got real FAITH, even though you haven't SEEN the answer yet, you've got the TITLE DEED to it! What you asked for is YOURS; your name's written on it, and you will see it eventually-that's faith!

        So how do you GET such faith? "FAITH COMETH by HEARING the WORD of GOD." (Romans 10:17) HEAR and READ the WORD!--The FUTURE is as BRIGHT as the PROMISES of GOD!--Believe it!

The Almond Tree

A positive view of our great future

 

We shouldn’t worry about the future, if anything we can look forward to it because there are so many beautiful promises for those that fear Him and serve Him. Listen to this:

The Lord compares us, His children, to the almond tree, which is a very extraordinary tree. It flourishes in the full winter time and not on the spring like all the other trees. It’s a beautiful and inspiring scene and people come from everywhere to see it in the countries of southern Europe. Like a Spanish farmer explains:  This phenomenal yearly event of the flourishing of the almond tree starts (more or less, depending on the weather conditions) with the New Year (sometimes we can see the first flowers as a Christmas present) and it reaches its peak in February's full moon.

In the Bible we see it mentioned only twice. It was the very first vision of the prophet Jeremiah, a branch of an almond tree. Jer 1:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

Then in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 1 to 7 we see it again in the middle of sadness and darkness and deadness, the almond tree flourishing. Ecc 12:5  Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

In Isaiah chapter 60 starting in verse 1 the Lord is promising to give us so much glory, light, and guidance that kings will come to us to listen to what we have to say. He even promises financial abundance like we have never seen before, all this in the middle of the tribulation of the dark days of the future:

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Isa 60:2  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

Isa 60:3  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isa 60:4  Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

Isa 60:5  Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

In Malachi, chapter 4, the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament, the Lord promise us, His children that fear His name, great healing and fruitfulness for these dark days of the future before His coming.  Something to look forward to:

Mal 4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Mal 4:3  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 4:4  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Of course He also told us many other things for the end time, like” be sober, be vigilant”, “watch and pray”. It’s not going to be a holiday camp, but He is going to take us through it marvellously. Like He promised in Malachi 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

It’s not all gloom and doom but lots of joy and victory!