Tag: self doubt

Posted on

Compassion is Difficult to Give Away Because it Comes Back

Thanks to all of you who have been signing up for the RSS feed recently. It has helped us go up in the Google Search Rankings. Help us climb even higher by signing up today of you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

__________________________________________________________

We recently opened a new bookstore. We only have one book in it so far, but plan to add others as we publish more books, and have some outstanding books from friends we would like to have here.

The one book we have is called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” Many of the posts at my blog: www.dailysignsofhope.com, have posts from this book. This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

Check it out by clicking on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

_______________________________________________________

Today’s excerpt is from the book I was just talking about and is called,  “Compassion is Difficult  to Give Away Because it Keeps Coming Back.”

This has been proven so many times you might want to think about it.

__________________________________________________________

Chapter 64

 

Compassion Is Difficult to Give Away Because It Keeps Coming Back

 

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

 

I was warming up one day before playing a round of golf. I had been looking forward to a relaxing day, a chance to get away from it all, and was hitting a few balls at the driving range. I was hitting the ball well when a young man in his 20s to my right also started hitting balls. He was hitting the balls very far, which was distracting to me. I felt intimidated by his skills.

I continued to hit, but my shots started going in all directions. I was so distracted by this young man’s abilities that I couldn’t concentrate! I tried to regroup, and stepped up to the tee, saying to myself: I have to ignore the person to my right and hit the ball straight. I took a big swing, and the ball went directly right, hitting the young man on the outside of his left knee. He went down to the ground, grabbing his knee in pain. I was horrified!

I ran over to him, repeating how sorry I was, to ask if he was all right. He looked up at me.

“I’ll be OK,” he said. “And don’t feel bad—you weren’t trying to hit me.”

I could see he was in a great deal of pain, but his first action was to try to calm me down. Here was young a man who had every right to be really mad. God had given this young man the right things to say. That was another of my close encounters with God!

I couldn’t believe how calming his answer was. I was very upset, and I bet it showed! He, the injured party, calmed me by his loving spirit! He could have cursed at me, but he used the moment to show his Christian attitude toward another person.

How do you know he was a Christian? you wonder. Well, I really don’t know because our conversation never went to that subject, but if I were a betting man (and I’m not!), I’d say he was a believer because he never hesitated to show compassion for someone in spite of his own discomfort.

Can people look at you and tell you are a Christian by your actions?

I’ve always felt that you don’t have to grab a Bible and “preach” to a person to have a large effect on them. This young man had a tremendous effect on me, and he didn’t do much. He just forgave me, and let it go at that!

Have you had the opportunity to be a witness to someone by your actions, and let it pass you by?

We can be a witness to someone without trying to impress them with what we know about the Bible. It’s wonderful if you have that knowledge, but most people don’t care how much you know; they want to know how much you care. Many times a people will say, “I want to be like that person,” just by what they see us do. A calming spirit will win more people over than an angry, hateful spirit.

Aim straight for the heart with your love, and the feeling will become a part of those around you.

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,

but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

 

Further Adventures

The next time someone is angry, try the gentle approach. You may be very surprised to see that it will calm them down much faster than yelling back at them. Your friends or family will really look up to you if you are consistent in your approach to stress and pressure. Your example may help them to also be meek and therefore be an example for the next person.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that the more we show kindness to someone, the more we get back in return?

Posted on

Born-Again Pagan

Thanks to all of you who have recently signed up for the RSS feed to this site. It has helped us climb up in the rankings on Google Search rankings.

Help us go even higher by signing up today if you haven’t already. When you do, you will get a notification of any posts that are done here.

Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

_________________________________________________________

Our bookstore only has one book in it since we just opened up less than a year ago. That book, is called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, addictions, depression, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects. I am sure you can think of someone who could benefit from a book like this.

Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to check it out.

__________________________________________________________

I have a chapter right from the book I have been talking about. See for yourself how it may help people. It is about the attitude of younger people today towards God. The title “Born-Again Pagan,” covers it all.

__________________________________________________________________

 

Chapter 63

 

Born-Again Pagan

 

But the word of the Lord stands forever.  And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

1 Peter 1:25—2:1

 

I saw this bumper sticker while sitting at a stop light. I stretched my neck for a closer look. Bumper stickers fascinate me and make me think about the person in the car. What a wonderful way to “advertise”—both good thoughts and bad thoughts.

At first I laughed, and then I thought about what is happening in the world. Many people—especially young people—today are heading in the wrong direction. They are getting caught up in New Age religions and cults. People search for thrills, and find them in sinful places. Other bumper sticks promote cults—and even Satan worship.

We read about mass killings at schools, children who kill their parents, date rape, racial beatings, gay bashing, and on and one goes the list.

It is the responsibility of parents and local churches to reach out to these people. Peers who have already found Jesus can also come alongside them. Laughing at their bumper stickers just reinforces their belief in their “religions.”

We need to seek out the young people who are getting sucked into these false religions and wrong ways of becoming “spiritually connected” to let them know the true high they can have by knowing Jesus. Often a church’s ability to relate to young people in this way is measured by the number of teens and young adults in it. My church has a tremendous youth outreach that grows every day. The young people of the church go out and invite their friends to come see what’s going on.

We can model for the young people in our churches how to reach out to others to give them hope and then send our youth out to do the same. Young people are more open to others their own age who can show them the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Once these young men and women find Jesus, their lives will have new meaning. Then they need to feed on the truth and steadily grow as Christians.

 

By this time you ought to be teachers, [but] you need someone to

 teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.

You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,

 is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have

 trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity.

Hebrews 5:12—6:1

 

Further Adventures

Have an open house at your church for young people to come by and “test the waters.” You don’t have to have people telling the kids to get down on their knees and confess their sins right there on the spot. Let it be a comfortable time—a time to get acquainted in a relaxed setting. You do not even have to have a formal service. It should be like a real open house. Just let them be in the church with other young people from the church. They will decide if they want to come back for more.

In fact, let the youth group organize the open house and determine the best approach to use. (It may not look like anything you would plan, but that’s OK.) Since they’ve “been there and done that,” they know what other young people—even those “on the streets”—are going through.

If the open house goes well, you’ll not only have newborn Christians, you’ll also have a growing church.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how some misguided sinners think that Satan is their master, but the God of peace will soon crush Satan under His feet?

 

Posted on

Be Fishers of Men. You Catch Them; He’ll Clean Them.

I am thankful for those of you who have been signing up for the RSS feed to this site. It has helped the ratings climb up the Google Search Rankings.

Help the site climb the ladder by signing up today if you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

__________________________________________________________ 

Our bookstore is still carrying the great book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It is a very timely book that reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, self-doubt, addictions, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

I am sure you can think of someone who could benefit from this book. You could help them change their lives.

______________________________________________________________

I am sharing a chapter from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This chapter talks to us about our need to reach out to others who may be suffering and show them the way to happiness.

________________________________________________________

 

Chapter 62

 

Be Fishers of Men. You Catch Them; He’ll Clean Them

 

They went out and preached that people should repent.

Mark6:12

 

I loved this catchy bumper sticker when I saw it on the car ahead of me. I almost drove off the road trying to write it down!

I said earlier that fishing is one of my favorite pastimes. Catching fish is fun, but cleaning them has to be one of the most disgusting jobs in the world. The fish are slimy, and you have to clean out their insides—yuck! Kinda’ takes away the desire to eat the fish. But we always do, and the fish is always delicious. It is also good for you.

This is true for Christians today. We spend time going to church, trying to learn more about God so we can live for Him more effectively. We do our own growing and have close encounters with God. Almost as an aside, we want other people to be Christians, but we don’t want to get involved in their messy lives to help them get cleaned up. We’d rather have someone else do that part. It is an unpleasant job that takes courage.

We forget that there are many people outside (and even some inside!) the church who need to know God too. But we, His followers, don’t spend enough time sharing the Word with non-Christians. Our attitude is almost: “I am in this church protected from the outside, and the rest of the world out there can go to hell!”

We are commissioned to help as many people come to God as we can.

The obvious way to start spreading Christianity is in our own homes with our children. If we raise them in the way of the Lord, they will also raise their children the same way. I have been blessed in this way. My three children are all Christians, and their children love the Lord just as much as they do. Bringing them up in a Christian home is what made the difference.

For those who aren’t comfortable witnessing to someone, being a good example is always a proven way to lead others to Christ. If we are consistent in living out our Christian beliefs, others will say, “I want to be like him/her.” I love a quote that has been attributed to St. Francis: “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

Door-to-door or cold-calling, trying to pressure someone into a decision for Christ is not a very effective way of reaching others with Christ’s message. It’s much more natural to witness to others when the opportunity arises. When something happens that causes pain in someone’s life, we can let them know about the Lord and perhaps how He helped us work through a similar situation.

We’re not telling them they need to get down and confess all of their sins right there on the spot, but that they can turn to the Lord for help. The Lord will take it from there. He will clean up the “mess” in their lives while we can stay close, letting them know we’re there for them and are praying for them. They will want to know more about our faith.

We have brought them to Jesus, who will take over from there. We may need to stay on the sidelines to encourage them, but Jesus is the only one who can clean up the mess in their lives.

 

[Jesus said], “In the same way, let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

 

Further Adventures

Try calling on someone you know who is under stress for any reason. Just let them know you’re praying for them and how God has helped you through similar problems. You don’t have to try to lead them to the Lord right then. It may happen just because the person is ready to do that. Don’t fear praying with them to accept the Lord if they seem very open to learning more about how to do that.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week?