"Blame our exhaustion on a peculiar pride we have in margin-less living."

A thought by Max Lucado, from his book, Begin Again (p. 40). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That's where we live, isn't it?

Max says, "We are proud of our long hours and late flights. Weariness is a badge of honor. If we aren’t swamped and overworked, we almost hate to admit it.

"The consequence? A society of exhaustion. People pushed and pulled in a thousand directions."

He goes on, "Are you among them? You don’t have to be. Jesus has an invitation for you. 'Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest' (Matt. 11:28 NASB).

"Rest. Isn’t that what we need? Rest for the soul. God has plenty to offer."

Max continues, "The story is told about a poor man who lived in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. Seeking a better life for himself and his family, he scraped together enough money to buy a third-class ticket on a steamship to New York City. He planned to find work and send for his family.

"Having exhausted nearly all his money on the passage, he subsisted for the twelve-day journey on a wheel of hard cheese and a box of crackers. He looked longingly through the dining room window at the other passengers who ate hot, hearty, delicious meals. He would retreat into his tiny stateroom for his ration of cheese.

"On the final day of the voyage, with the Statue of Liberty in sight, the man found himself standing at the railing next to one of the ship’s stewards.

"'I don’t mean to pry,' said the steward, 'but why have we not seen you in the dining room?'

"The traveler explained his lack of money and dependence upon crackers and cheese. The steward responded with shock, 'Did you not know that three meals a day were included in your ticket? We set you a place every day, but you never came.'"

Max then says, "God has set you a place at his table. You’ve been given more than cheese and crackers. Avail yourself of every spiritual strength and blessing. Heaven knows, we need the help. God is here to give it."

And that is a great thing to know, isn't it?

Yes, yes!

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog