Do You Know the Voice?

 

Ref:  John 10:3 

There are some verses which we don't really think about and/or take for granted.

The example of the shepherd and the sheep is one. Today let's see what it's about?

A query on an artificial intelligence engine tells us "Sheep are herd animals that are led by voice and naturally follow their shepherd. Shepherds use their voice to guide their sheep, with specific calls to stop, turn, or move forward. Sheep will eventually learn to recognize the shepherd's voice and trust him, and will not listen to commands from others".

"Sheep learn their shepherd's voice by following other sheep, who instinctively move towards new pasture lands".

What this AI engine knows and tells us today, the Biblical authors knew and told us 2000 plus years ago. Three things stand out:

1. The shepherd's voice 

2. Following other sheep.

3. The gatekeeper.

As God's people, we often become confused with the voices, sounds and sights and get mixed up in things of the world. Sin is tempting as we surround ourselves with the wrong crowd and or the wrong leaders. but God is always watching and calls us back to the fold. We find Him when we are lost because we know the sound of His voice; it's the only one we've chosen to follow, and we do not confuse it with others.

How wonderful is this relationship; how true is the Bible; how great is the shepherd who calls when we are lost. What a great sense of security knowing that we are protected by Jesus the gatekeeper who will not allow false leaders to mislead us. What power which protects us, greater than anything in the world.

The lesson we can draw from this verse is that we need to recognize His voice and His words as also choose wisely the people around us.

Your 'Belly of the Fish' moment

Have you ever felt trapped? like there was no way out of a difficult situation. Jonah was no stranger to that feeling. After running away from God's call, he found himself in the belly of a great fish. Can you imagine the darkness, the stench and the despair he must have felt? Yet, in the midst of his darkest hour God was still with him. 

Sometimes we find ourselves in our own 'Belly of the Fish" moments. It maybe a broken relationship, a health crisis or a seemingly impossible situation. Its in those moments we need to remember that God is with us even in those depths. He is our refuge and our strength. 

Just like Jonah, God can use our difficult circumstances to shape us and teach us important lessons. It was in the belly of the fish that Jonah repented and cried out to the Lord. Sometimes it takes being in the belly of the fish for us to truly surrender to God and seek His guidance. 

So if you find yourself in a seemingly impossible situation, remember Jonah. Your belly of the fish moment maybe the turning point in your life. 

A Letter from a Friend

 

Good morning,  
As you got up I watched and hoped you would talk to me. Just a few words, such as thanking me for something good in your life yesterday or last week would do.
But I noticed you were busy selecting the right clothes for work. I waited again to hear from you. When you ran around the house collecting papers, I knew there would be a few minutes to stop and say hello, but you never slowed down.
I wanted to tell you that I could help you accomplish more than you ever dreamed possible if you would just spend some of each day with me. At one point, you waited fifteen minutes in a chair with nothing to do. I waited to hear from you.
Then I saw you spring to your feet; I thought you wanted to talk to me, but you ran to the phone and called a friend. I watched as off to work you went and waited patiently all day long to hear from you. With all your activities you were too busy to talk with me.
I noticed at lunch you looked around; maybe you just felt embarrassed to talk to me. You glanced three tables over and noticed some of your friends talking to me before they ate, but you wouldn't.
There was still more time left, and I hoped that we would talk. You went home and had many things to do. After they were done, you turned on the TV; just about anything goes there and you spend many hours watching. I waited as you continued watching TV and ate your meal but again you wouldn't talk to me.
At bedtime you were totally tired. After you said good night to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep. I had so much wanted to be part of your day. We could have had so much fun and accomplished so much together.
I love you so much that I wait every day for a thought, prayer or thanks. Well, maybe tomorrow! I'll be waiting. We have the whole week ahead. :) 
Your Friend,
God
-Author Unknown

Sunday Quotes

"God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile" - Max Lucado

"God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies." - Hudson Taylor

"Remember who you are. Don’t compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth." - Lysa Terkeurst

"Let God’s promises shine on your problems.” - Corrie Ten Boom

"Christ literally walked in our shoes." - Tim Keller

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength." - Corrie Ten Boom

"The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us." - Billy Graham

"Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them." - Elisabeth Elliot

"God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go." - Tony Evans

"The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." - Chuck Swindoll

"Your potential is the sum of all the possibilities God has for your life." - Charles Stanley

"The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm." - Matt Chandler

You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read." - John MacArthur

Saturday Vespers

 

Comforting God, you promise to be with all who suffer in mind, body, and spirit. We pray for those whose bodies and minds are captive to disease or injury and for those whose minds and spirits are captive to grief or fear
We pray today especially for those affected by the school shooting in Sanski Most, Bosnia, for those harmed by the spread of mpox in the Congo, and for all the people of Israel, Palestine, the Ukraine and elsewhere whose souls and bodies are captive to war and injustice. Give us your compassion, so that we might proclaim with our words and our actions the hope that comes from your loving presence.

We Pray for a revival among Christian families across the world. 
We prayer for the Pastor in Australia who needs sustenance and strength to recoup from his illness to be able to continue God's work.
We pray for a lady in India who is undergoing medical tests and needs prayers for all to be fine.
We continue to prayer for a senior in India who is a patient of Parkinsons for her peace and strength and patience for her caregiver.
We pray for all those who needs jobs and going through financial difficulties.
We pray for a gentleman in India undergoing chemo for strength and well being.
"Please cover Julian, Thomas, Olivia, Esther and her mom, Abe, Phoebe, Andrew, Paul, Rachel, Michael, Susan with the blood of Jesus and lift them up to the throne of grace for mercy and timely help. Please ask Abba Father to put his hedge of protection around us. Thank you. May Abba Father bless you richly. amen amen"
"May God cover our family with safety, strength & healing. Tonya & Mallory need to lean on Him for blessings, miracles & hope with every breath in trust & faith".

One Glass of Milk : A Short Story

“He that watereth, shall be watered also himself” Proverbs 11:25

"I read this touching true story of a boy selling from door to door to pay for his school. One day he found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.

However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly and then asked, how much do I owe you?”

You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “mother has taught us never to accept pay for kindness.”

He said … “then I thank you from my heart.”

As he left the house, he felt physically stronger, and his faith in God and man was strong. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Many years later, that same young woman became critically ill.

The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

A doctor named Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. A strange light filled his eyes when he heard the name of the town she came from.

Immediately he rose and went down the hospital hall to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.

He returned to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won, and Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.

He looked at it, wrote something on edge, and sent the bill to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.

Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words … “paid in full with one glass of milk.”

(signed) Dr Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “thank you, god, that your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands.” 

- shared by Shubha Apte on medium.com

This, friends, is a true story. Dr. Howard Kelly (1858–1943) was a distinguished physician who was one of the four founding doctors of Johns Hopkins, the first medical research university in the USA. 

Here we are taught a great lesson: To get we must give; to accumulate we must scatter; to make us happy, we must make others happy. So, "Spread the Ripple. Be kind to someone today".  

This story was brought to you by Spread the Ripple. A publication dedicated to kindness. Kindness is our superpower. Read more stories and come and write with us here:

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We spread the ripple of kindness. This is the place for stories on kindness. Let kindness be your superpower.

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The Secret Place

Every human being has a secret place where he or she retires from time to time, when they seek solace or rest from the world. This place is deep in the recesses of the mind, in a museum of memories. It's like a room which may house all the fantasies, ambitions and dreams. But that's all this secret place can be, a fantasy, which cannot provide or change reality, no matter how much we try.

But, if we let in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit into this secret chamber, and fill it with their knowledge and presence, the secret place starts becoming a reality because we see the physical manifestation of the works of this Triune in our life. The peace one enjoys with complete freedom from worry, having put off the mountains of our "what if" problems in the hands of the triune, beats any form of escape. 

When they occupy that secret chamber, there is no room for anything else. We long to meet them and talk with them. Our wrong doings and our problems become minuscule and fade away. We look forward to our time with them and listen to what they have to say. Our secret place is no longer our secret but now becomes a permanent home to God's Holy Spirit.

In the words of Pastor Jorel

"The Secret place is a place of Encounter and intimacy With The Spirit and Presence of God which causes an Undeniable Transformation in the life and personality of a man."

Our transformation is visible not only to us but others as well, in the way we live, the way we behave, the way we talk, what we talk, how we treat others, what we say and do and so on. It minimizes the difference between intent and action. One starts living and seeing beyond oneself.

Psalms 91:1 sums it up beautifully when it says -"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

This beautiful Psalm 91describes that secret place and the outcome of our communion with God, with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. 

A Christians Job Description

Exodus 8:1 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me".
Many people, throughout time, have wondered what is their purpose and role in this world?
As Christians, the purpose is very simple and clear: serve the Lord.
It was so during Adams time, and it is now. 

How do we serve the Lord?
1. Take care of Gods world around us. - He entrusted it to Adam and thereby to us.
2. Take care of people around us. - Jesus entrusted people to us.
3. Thank, Praise and worship God. Why? Because Praise diverts our focus from ourselves to God. A very logical and clear explanation of this can be found here
4. Implement His principles, wisdom and advice in our lives.
5. Talk to Him. - no one likes to be ignored, including our creator. He likes to talk to us, laugh with us, cry with us. He wants to be let into our lives and be part. He wants to do good things for us. He wants to have a relationship with us - not only on Sundays and during devotions but throughout the day, everyday. Remember, He walked and talked with Adam every day. 

What's in a name?

What's in a name? Plenty if we go by the Bible. Name changes, most often given by God, establish a new identity and purpose God wants its user to embody.

In the Bible, names often convey identity, destiny, or divine promise. The practice of changing names marks transformative journeys and reflects new beginnings, new statuses, or new roles designated by God.

Based on your journey, what name would you choose today? Some may define who you have become and some may define who you want to be. 

Here are a few suggestions: 

1.     Abigail: Hebrew — The father’s joy.
2. Alexandra: Greek — Helper; defender of mankind.
3. Alice: English — Noble; kind.
4. Amara: Latin — Strong; attractive; stylish.
5. Amelia: German — Industrious; striving.
6. Anne: Hebrew — Favored grace.
7. Arianna: Greek — Holy.
8. Avery: French — Wise.
9. Charvi: Sanskrit — Beautiful.
10. Gabriella: Hebrew — Devoted to God.
11. Grace: Latin: Goodness; generosity.
12. Hannah: Hebrew — Favor; grace of God.
13. Isabelle: Hebrew — God is my strength; devoted to God.
14. Jocelyn: Latin — Happy; joyful.
15. Kaitlyn: Greek — Pure.
16. Naila: Arabic — Successful.
17. Levi: Hebrew — Joined in harmony.
18. Matthew: Hebrew — Gift from God.
19. Miles: Latin — Soldier.
20. Milo: German — Merciful.
21. Nathan: Hebrew — He gave.
22. Ned: English — Wealthy guardian.
23. Noah: Hebrew — Rest; comfort.
24. Oswald: English — Divine power.
25. Zachary: Hebrew — Remembered by God.
26. Zane: Hebrew — God’s gracious gift.

Sunday Quotes

                                 

 Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence. Augustine

It is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness. In both cases we cast aspersions upon His majesty and His character. God views our distrust of Him as seriously as He views our disobedience. Jerry Bridges

To some degree Satanism is purely a kind of disease of Christianity. You've got to really be Christian to believe in Satan. Alan Moore

No Christian can be a pessimist, for Christianity is a system of radical optimism. William Inge

Christianity helps us face the music even when we don't like the tune. Phillips Brooks

Christianity means a lot more than church membership. Billy Sunday

We ministers have undoubtedly failed to connect and apply Christianity to the practical everyday problems of the average man. In this, we have failed to follow in Christ's footsteps. For the religion which He taught and revealed in His own life and ministry was an intensely practical and down-to-earth affair. Peter Marshall