A man forgot put his phone on silent and it rang so loud in the church during preaching, the pastor scolded him. The worshippers admonished him after the sermon for interrupting. His wife kept on lecturing on his carelessness all the way home. His friends and acquaintances shook their heads in disgust. He never stepped foot in the church again after the service that Sunday.
That evening,he went to a bar. He was still nervous and trembling. He spilled his drink on the table,the bottle fell by accident and it splashed on some people.
Those it touched rushed towards him. He close his eyes expecting a bashing of words or slaps. Instead, the cared to know if he did get cut from the broken bottle.
The waiter apologized and give him a napkin to clean himself. The janet mopped the floor. The female manager offered him a complimentery drink. She also gave him a huge hug and peck while saying: “don’t worry,man who doesn’t make mistakes.” He has not stopped going to that bar since then.
Sometimes our attitude a believer drive souls to hell. We can make a difference by how we treat people espcially when the make mistakes.
Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the house of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead,the angels were given space in the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor,the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repair it. When the younger angel asked why,the older angel replied,things aren’t always what they seem.
The next night,the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food,the couple let the angels sleep in their bed,where they could have a good night’s rest.
When the sun came up the next morning,the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow,whose milk had been their sole income lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel,”how could you have let this happen?. The first man had everything,yet you helped him.” Younger angel accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything,and you let the cow die.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem.” The older angel replied. When we stayed in the basement of the mansions, I noticed there was gold,stored in that holenin the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he would’nt find it. The last night,as we slept in the farmer’s bed,the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.
Things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way we think it should be.
If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage.
At first the man was disturbed. As usual, on Halloween night children wear strange costumes and come to houses. They are ready to play if the owner of the house wants, or if not, they are simply given candy. Therefore, the person became angry when the children kept coming and shouting, “Game or candy!”
“I will not remain silent!” he cried out to his wife. “If any kids in weird costumes show up again tonight, they won’t get anything from me. And if they don’t leave too, I’ll call the police.”
While speaking, his face turned red and his breathing was short. With a look of astonishment his wife looked at him and said, “George, it’s just about candy.”
“It’s just about candy.” That sentence puts the problem in its rightful position. How easy it is to become angry that our rights, possessions, and pleasures are being disturbed, until we are reminded that we have allowed something insignificant to eat away at us.
Jesus’ words sound strange to us: “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. (Matthew 5:40-41). Jesus wants us to respond to those around us in ways that reflect our faith in Him and our commitment to heavenly values.
So much anger can be avoided by simply pausing and saying, “You’re right, Lord. It’s just about candy.”
“Keep your tongue against evil and your lips against deceptive speech”
One of the problems that is happening in the world these days is that many people tend to speak rather than listen: a little protest, a little comment, a little arguing, a little criticizing, a little reproaching, cursing or speaking harshly without regard for the feelings of others.
In essence, people prefer to talk without wanting to learn to hear others. It is written: “Life and death are ruled by the tongue, whoever likes to echo it, will eat its fruit.”
Be careful! The tongue determines much in human life, and most problems in the life of households, communities, churches and even nations often start with the tongue.
From the beginning God created man with one mouth and two ears for the purpose of hearing more than speaking, not the other way around.
Then it is very important to take care of our tongue or words. A God – fearing person will not only be able to keep his heart and mind but also his tongue.
If you speak, your words will definitely bring blessings, peace, strength, encouragement and blessing to those who hear them.
On the contrary, a man who cannot keep his tongue and likes to echo it, everywhere must be disliked by people and have many enemies, because his tongue is “like a sharpened razor,”, so many people are hurt by it, it can even become the master’s eating weapon.
By turning our ears to advice, teachings, suggestions or positive things and especially hearing God’s words, not only knowledge, wisdom and intelligence are being added, but also the blessings of God’s blessings are increasingly revealed in our lives.
“My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.”-Proverb
Loves life and wants to see good days. Watch your tongue.
David’s story against Goliath is no ordinary story, it is an event that happened about 3,000 years ago but was never erased by the passage of time. David, a sheepherd with a handsome, rosy face and fond of playing the lyre, in a matter of days became the hero of his people by defeating Goliath, the toughest opponent of his people.
It was physically a far cry between David and Goliath. It is estimated that Goliath was about 2.93 meters tall and so great that just after David’s soldiers saw him, they had already fled before fighting. Goliath is an example of a real threat so terrible that it makes us flinch and run away before actually fighting against it.
In terms of combat experience, there is a huge difference. Goliath was raised as a fighter while David was a shepherd. Goliath was accustomed to defeating enemy warriors, David was accustomed to defeating enemy beasts from his flock. In terms of completeness of weapons there is also a big difference, Goliath went to war with heavy and complete armor and weapons and this is what was written about Goliath’s war equipment.
“The copper helmet is on his head, and he wears a scaly suit of armor; The weight of this armor is five thousand copper shekels or 57.5 kg. He wears a copper leg cover, and on his shoulders he carries a copper javelin. The handle of the spear is like a weaver’s pesa, and the spearhead is six hundred shekels of iron or 6.9 kg in weight. And a shieldbearer walked in front of him”.
David never wore armor, on the other hand, or used the instruments of war. He was nervous and nervous when wearing battle clothes so he decided to fight only in the shepherd’s “uniform” he had. The end of the story we all know is that David knocked Goliath down with a stone thrown by a sling that violently and precisely hit Goliath’s forehead right between his eyes.
What can we learn? I see 3 important lessons from the story of David defeating Goliath.
First, David’s courage was born of great conviction or faith that he was doing what was right and God would surely be with him.
David told King Saul that he was not afraid to face Goliath and the enemy army because he had experienced God’s providence when it came to fighting lions and bears that plagued his flock. My conclusion is not to be afraid of challenges if we are doing something right.
The second David went to war with what he had in his hands, something he was used to doing. He doesn’t fixate on things he doesn’t have compared to his opponent Goliath. Whether it is a tall, large physical figure, long combat hours or mighty war tools. David fought “only” using a sling.
World bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell in his book David and Goliath wrote that a hard rock thrown by a sling can skyrocket like a bullet from a .45-caliber pistol. Stone ejections from slings can be very deadly when they hit unprotected parts of the body and are vulnerable to hard blows. The sling is actually not just a tool to repel wild animals, the sling is also one of the weapons for war.
The ability to stalk with a loud throw and hit accurately was one of the special skills of war soldiers at that time. Historical records of warfare write that the accuracy of the sling stone hitting the target is the same as the accuracy of arrows penetrating the target. What do I want to draw lessons from? David not only brought what he could do, which was swearing, but he was truly capable and skilled at doing it. It is able to catapult quickly, loudly and precisely hit deadly targets.
This is called PROFESSIONALISM. A professional figure is a figure who is very competent in completing the work he carries in such a way that it is right on target, right on quality, on time and on cost.
The third lesson is how David invited Goliath to fight against him on a rink that Goliath had never faced before. Goliath was used to fighting in strong and heavy armor and equipment that made him very protected but at the same time unable to move quickly. As long as the enemy also uses the same equipment, Goliath will be the winner because his body is bigger, can wear stronger armor, and his power is also greater, able to carry heavier and deadlier war equipment.
David did not fight Goliath the way Goliath used to fight. He fought without armor so he could move quickly. He fought without using weapons of war like Goliath so that his enemies were caught off guard and underestimated him. The story of David and Goliath’s fight begins with Goliath first approaching David and David immediately running to meet and then throwing stones with his sling.
Who is Goliath we are dealing with today?
Learn from David and let’s do these 3 things together:
· Make sure God is on our side by always having INTEGRITY by always doing what is ethical and right.
. Be a highly competent person or team. Whatever your current position, be a very capable person in your job. That’s PROFESSIONALISM.
. Let’s innovate. Don’t get stuck with doing old strategies and ways, it’s all out of date.
Humans are creatures created specially by the Creator. Humans are not only given brains like other living creatures, but humans are also given the inner reason to think. Humans are also equipped with instincts and feelings like other living creatures on earth. However, humans are said to be the most perfect creation of the Creator among the creations He has ever created.
In the forest live various types of animals with various types of colors as well. There is the elephant who is gray, there is the deer with its brown body, there is the pigeon who is brilliant white. All animals have their own distinctive colors, except the Iguana.
Wherever he goes, his skin color will also change according to where he is. It will be orange when perched on ripe oranges. When playing in clumps of lavender flowers, it will also be purple. Even when riding on the zebra’s shoulder, his skin changed to black and white mottled.
One day feeling sad, jealous and eager to have its own distinctive color, the Iguana decided to stay on a leaf. “On these green leaves my color will become green and then I will have my own color,” he thought cheerfully.
But the months changed and autumn came. The leaves, which were once the greenest among the other leaves, have now turned yellow. The skin of the Iguana also turned yellow. Not long ago the leaves changed color again to red and the Iguana who was still faithfully perched on it also changed.
The seasons change again and a strong winter breeze blows the leaves where the Iguana perches from its branches. He was also carried away with him. And on the dark winter nights, the Iguana’s skin turns black with the color of the leaves that have now fallen and blended into the ground in the dark of night.
When spring finally came, the Iguana stepped on a grove of green grass. There he met another iguana. He also shared his story with her. He told his dream to have his own distinctive color and also his sad journey through the past seasons.
“Will we never be allowed to have our own distinctive colors?” the iguana asked listlessly to his iguana friend.
The Iguana’s older and more experienced friends answered wisely. “It doesn’t seem to be.”
It continues. “But why look for our own special colours when we ourselves have something special with our skin that can change color? And why are you grieving about that? Hence our uniqueness and advantages that other animals do not have.
“Let’s take a walk together. Maybe our color will indeed keep changing to adjust where we’re going. But that’s where our beauty lies.”
Sometimes because of jealousy of what others have, we are blind to our own advantages that may indeed be different from others. But there really is no problem if we are different from the rest, it is also a beauty for which we should be grateful.
God has given us each other’s talents. There is no need to be envious of other people’s talents that we may not be able to do. Just focus on what we can do and the talents that God has given us, maximise that, then we will be beautiful in our own colors.
We often hear the phrase “Failure is delayed success”. Failure is sometimes painful. Because what we have hoped for so far is not to our liking.
Often these failures make a person’s life ‘down’ or weak and then give up. Yet we must bear in mind that failure is justified and everyone will surely experience it.
Failure is not the end of everything, but it is a process to give birth to success. The more we keep trying to fix every failure we experience, the closer that success comes to us.
Man will never achieve success if he never falls in the lowest point. Believe me there is a rainbow after the rain and that failure is just a delayed success.
Don’t give up when you experience failure. Don’t despair but pull on that success immediately with determination and burning passion. Failure is just a process to make us better. Get out of your comfort zone.
Continue to be enthusiastic in achieving your goals. Hope and trust in God. He will make your life more sincere and calm. We are able to design and work yet, God decides. Don’t be disappointed if God hasn’t answered your prayer. He will definitely give it all at the right time. He knows better the best time for us.
Failure is like our best friend even if we don’t like it, but it will teach us many things. Taking lessons from failure is better than complaining and despairing. There are still many opportunities open for people who are always trying.
Face everything with a smile and always try to improve yourself. Face failure with a smile, reassure in your mind and heart this failure is not the end for you. Rather it is a sign that success is approaching. Be diligent in improving yourself because that will immediately invite the success we want.
When we smile and continue to improve, it will make our hearts and minds calmer and distance ourselves from the attitude of despair.
Pass failures with a calm and sincere heart and mind. Because with a sincere heart we will never stop trying despite many obstacles. When our hearts and minds calm down it will make us immediately rise up and correct all the mistakes we have made.
Don’t blame the situation but adapt to the situation immediately to prepare yourself for the eventualities that will happen next. Remember, failure is just delayed success.
There is no denying that these days many people experience anxiety in life due to the precarious and shake-up of the world in all aspects. Because it is dominated by the strength of the loss of joy in a person, perhaps the mouth can still laugh or smile, but indeed our heart can languish. Strength is the greatest thief of joy.
Do not worry about anything, but express in all things the desires of your heart in prayer and supplication with thanks to your Lord. We may have 1001 reasons to worry and not rejoice because there are too many difficulties that are happening in life. But then we say to ourselves, “Rejoice always in God!
The secret to remaining able to rejoice in whatever the situation is; We must understand that rejoicing or remaining worried is a decision. It is we who decide whether we want to choose worry or rejoice. We must decide not to be dominated by worry because, worry will not only discourage us, but will also absorb our energy and stamina.
Doesn’t a joyless heart trigger the creation of various diseases aka interfere with our health? Worry really only pulls us in the opposite direction, away from the goal we want to go to, so our focus is divided. That is why we must not want to be dominated by worry. This is not an attitude of rejection or running away from the feelings that are being experienced, but an attitude that does not want to be dominated and destroyed by the anxiety that is happening.
Discard the anxiety created by our feelings because, what we often worry about is mostly not happening, it only harms us. Replace our fears with joy. We can do it.
Looking at the positive side of every trial that occurs in this life will enable us to endure and will not reduce the slightest feeling of happiness in the heart, because we have a strong reason. What is the reason?
We believe that God will surely give us the strength to face it and also give us the best way out, because the trials you experience are ordinary trials, which do not exceed human strength. When you are tempted He will give you a way out, so that you can bear it.
The next reason is because God has promised that He will not leave and leave us alone. God’s grace is sufficient for us to triumph over all trials. True happiness comes out of our hearts and is not affected by the circumstances or situations around it. True happiness flows from the heart when we live because we believe, not because we see.
This attitude is what drives us to continue to persevere. Our perseverance produces the ability to face all kinds of problems, difficulties, trials and sufferings with steadfast fortitude and faithfulness. In other words, we do not stand still without doing anything, but are determined and earnest (work, study, and try). Perseverance definitely brings rewards! “For ye need perseverance, that after ye have done the will of the Lord, ye may have the things which are promised.”
Blessed is he who endures trials, for when he has withstood the test, he will receive the crown of life promised by God to those who love Him.
𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐫 