Faith

Faith isn't anything you can see;
It isn't anything you can touch.
But you can feel it in your heart.
Faith is what keeps you trying
When others would have given up.
It keeps you believing in
The goodness of others
And helps you find it. 

Faith is trusting in a power
Greater than yourself
And knowing that whatever happens,
This power will carry you through anything.
It is believing in yourself
And having courage
To stand up for what you believe in.

Faith is:
Peace in the midst of a storm,
Determination in the midst
Of adversity,
And safety in the midst of trouble.
For nothing can touch a soul
That is protected by faith.

Life Is A Very Fragile Thing

Life is a very fragile thing
It passes by so fast
We need to live each day with faith
And make each moment last.

Life is a very fragile thing
A blessing and a care
So let us treasure it with love
And cherish it with prayer.

Life is a very fragile thing
God holds it in His hand
And when the time for us has come
He'll help us understand.

~ Hope C. Oberhelman ~

What Will He See

When Jesus looks upon my life,
What picture does He see?
Does He see His own reflection,
Or does He just see me?

Does He see His likeness,
The product of His hand.
Or just another Christian,
Who never took a stand?

Does He see a child of God,
A child that He set free?
Living life to honor Him,
Or does He just see me?

What about the other folks,
I meet along the way.
Do I show them Jesus,
To brighten up their day?

When someone looks into my eyes,
Can they truly see.
That calm and gentle peace of God,
That dwells inside of me?

When I reach out and shake a hand,
Is He right there in my grip?
Can they feel that strength from God,
That steadies when I slip?

When folks are in my presence,
Do they know His Spirit's there?
Can they see that He's the one,
Who guides me everywhere?

When other people think of me,
What is on their mind?
Do they think of Jesus Christ,
So gentle and so kind?

Other folks should see the joy,
That Christ has given me.
They should want to have it too,
Especially since it's free.

They should begin to ask me,
What is it they must do.
Just how it is they go about,
Getting Jesus too.

Then I get to tell them,
This wondrous gift is free.
It only takes a humble heart,
A prayer on bended knee.

Someday when I'm face to face,
With the Lord who set me free.
Will He see His own reflection,
Or will He just see me?

~ Teresa Piercey-Gates ~

In The Valley

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble, and woe
It's then I have to remember
That it's in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God's love
And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it's in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan's loss.

Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I'm feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it's in the valleys I grow!

~ Jane Eggleston ~

The Oyster

There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand had got into his shell.
It was only a grain but it gave him great pain,
For oysters have feelings although they're so plain.

                                   
Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse at the government, cry for election,
And claim that the sea should have given him protection?

No--He said to himself as he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it.
Now the years have rolled around,
as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny--stew.

And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.
Now the tale has a moral;
For isn't it grand what an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand.

What couldn't we do
If we'd only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

~ David Cohen ~

Gems

"Potential"- Our potential is what we can be, but haven't yet attained.  God didn't choose us because of what we were.  He chose us because of what we can be when He works unhindered in us.  Naturally, all of us have potential, but when the Gospel comes, we have potential to be what we aren't by nature.  John 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."  This verse reminds us of what we can be in Him.  The best way to fulfill the potential that God has in mind for us, is to have the attitude that Samuel had as a child, "Speak Lord, thy servant heareth." Maybe God has told us something at this convention that we should do.  Are we asking God to tell me how to do it?  That is how we will fulfill our potential.    

 

While still in Egypt God promised the Children of Israel a land, and He often spoke of their future in that land. "When you enter the promised land, When these things come to pass. Etc."  God saw their potential.

 

Psalms 78:9, "The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle."  We don't know what went through their minds, but they didn't fulfill their potential. 

 

Song of Sol. 2:15 "Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vine..."  Little foxes are playful, and fun, but they can become big.  They have potential for destruction.   

 

Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters."  Serving two Masters at the same time is beyond the potential of every man.  We need to make up our mind which one we want to serve, because none of us can serve two.

 

Our potential is equal to what God wants us to do.  Speaking of the tribe of Asher, Deuteronomy 1:25, "...as thy days, so shall thy strength be." 

 

Is. 40:3, "... they shall mount up with wings as Eagles."  The One who made the eagle also made us.  He sees this potential, and is promising us a power which is not of us, to fulfill His blest design.

 

When Peter was first called to the ministry he was known as Simon Barjona.  But the Lord saw in this crude fisherman, a very special potential that changed him to be known as Peter (Rock).  Thou art Simon, but you will be called Peter.  By the end of the Gospel he was known as Peter.  In Matthew 14:28, Peter walked on the water.  Let's not be critical of Peter.  He went to the limit of the potential that God gave to him. 

 

Of the woman who broke the Alabaster box and poured out the ointment on Jesus, he said of her, "She hath done what she could."  She reached the potential that God gave to her.

 

 

Today..,

Today everything is so iffy,
I can't decide which way to go,
They say I'll be there in a jiffy,
But that was two day ago.

I wonder why they can't just say;
I have more on my waiting list than you,
I guess some people are just that way;
Until they say there is money due.

I obey the law so I won't get fined,
I eat at home to at least save a little,
I pay my bills, so I don't get behind,
Life today is so iffy, kind of like a riddle.

P. Oberg