This Week With Jesus

The Little Foxes Did you know foxes love grapes (among other fruits). In fact, the term  "sour grapes"  comes from the story of the fox who tried to eat the grapes on a branch but couldn't reach them so after several failed attempts he gave up muttering - "they would have been sour anyway" Learn what the Bible has to say about these sweet little creatures. Click Here   Repurposing Failure How many times in life we take a decision or done or not done something only to realize we have blown it? When failure stares us in the face we dread the result with that sinking feeling, with the knowledge of the outcome of our failure? But guess what? We know of at least 5 Biblical characters who went through failures and yet built on it for success. Click Here to read more   

          A whole Sermon can be compressed into a single quote   The true call of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way - Dean Stanley. A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip - Billy Graham A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know . - Dwight L. Moody Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ - Billy Graham As a Christian, Christ died so that we will have eternal life in Him in Heaven. What it looks like doesn't matter, what it smells like doesn't matter, as long as Christ is there it will be Heaven to me - T . D. Jakes The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then only can i change - Carl Rogers. You have to look at what a person does with his life. Anyone can say that he's a Christian, but you

  In our world of immediate gratification, success is measured by grandiose achievements. Yet, God delights in small, everyday acts and things, as He does in those grandiose achievements. For Him, it's the heart of the matter, not the outcome. So today we pray - Heavenly Father, help us to see the value and significance of the small tasks we do every day. May we find joy in the ordinary and the mundane, knowing that you are present in every moment. Give us the strength to be faithful in small things trusting that you can use them in your Glory. We thank you for the recovery of your servant in Australia and those who were sick and needed your intervention. Today DeeSki asks for Gods help and says - "Please god do not let her give up on me and this relationship. I am completely lost knowing I could losing her and my children. I’m asking for all of the prayers I can get and for somehow someway god to help me keep this relationship and family together." David thanks God for

                                                  Life is lived on trust. When we consult a doctor or an architect for example, we trust that the outcome of their work will be good for us. When we board an aircraft, we trust the pilot and the technology to reach our destination. When we eat our food, we trust the farmer has not used dangerous fertilizers. Even when we cross the road we trust the walk sign. When we sleep, we trust that we will wake up the next morning. In all these situations where we trust, we trust fully. No halfway trust, no partial trust. There is no such thing.  When we completely trust all these things throughout our life so easily, why is it a challenge for us to trust God who made, maintains and runs all these things that we, so easily, trust? Jeremiah 17 Says   "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves rem

  Dead Ends Have you ever encountered a situation so dire that it was beyond any conceivable thought or plan? Read More.... What Part of the Word did you Practice today? Reading the word of God is great, but do we really practice it? Read More...

  As we relax on Saturdays, its time to not only think about ourselves but also all those people who need our prayers and support. We are sharing some prayer needs so that we all can support each other. For Upper Room readers who have requested prayers- Kait   requests prayer saying: Please pray that God relieves the pain in my body after a hard days work. Please pray that God will allow me to fulfill his calling for me for a long time. Thank you God for the many blessings you bestow RN requests prayer saying: Please pray my doctor’s appointment goes well tomorrow. Thank you so much. Jlow requests prayer saying: Prayer for my freedom. God bless those who are not. For a senior in India suffering from Dementia . We pray for her peace as well as strength for her caregiver. Please pray for Jim . Pray that he can work thru an issue that happened today. Pray for it to go well. John requests prayer saying: Please pray that my dad's hearing will be corrected and that at least one of his

"Judas Iscariot is proof that you can sit in a dynamic church with an amazing pastor & still become a friend of the devil" (Rev Fredy Paul) Surprised?  Judas did not spend a day with Christ, he spent 3 years . And yet. The reason is that we humans have an affinity to the devil and his dance of death. By nature, we are materialistic and selfish, only interested to cater to our material life in this material world. Demi Lovato , a famous singer says in her song Dancing with the Devil - "I was dancing with the devil Out of control Almost made it to heaven It was closer than you know Playing with the enemy Gambling with my soul When you're dancing with the devil It's so hard to say no" I am sure a great many of us identify with that. A dance with the devil is extremely thrilling in the short term and extremely dangerous in the long term.  An anonymous writer, a member of the Alcoholics Anonymous once said - "there is a devil in that bottle. When I open

The world is full of people in need of something. Even the richest have needs, as do the poorest. Everyone has some need or the other. As we are called upon to support one another, how do we fill in the needs of all the people around us? Financial, emotional, education, jobs, medical, loneliness, and the list goes on. No one single person can help fulfill all this. Or can they? We know of a lady who tries to do just that and has developed a very unique operating model. When she comes to know of someone in need, she first listens, ascertains it is genuine to the best of her ability, and then circulates that need to her circle of friends and acquaintances. People come together, contribute what they can, and she then channelizes it to the person who needed it. She does not amass on a large scale and then distribute. She addresses each need separately - be it a wedding of a poor person, or medical needs or education, clothes, food and so on.  In short, she has created an informal support

 

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes" .  Song of Solomon 2:15  Did you know foxes love grapes (among other fruits). In fact, the term "sour grapes" comes from the story of the fox who tried to eat the grapes on a branch but couldn't reach them so after several failed attempts he gave up muttering - "they would have been sour anyway". Little foxes are smaller animals that cannot reach the hanging grapes, so they gnaw the vines off at the ground, causing the out of reach fruit to fall with the ruined vine. It is one thing to lose some of one seasons grape, but it is far worse to lose forever a vine that took 12 to 14 years to mature. Like little foxes, there may be little faults and sins in us that seem little but can destroy the fruit we produce. These could be "little" lies , "little" selfishness, "little" greed, "little" envy, gluttony of food, gluttony o