bullet for Christ

One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000 member congregation was
surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black
and carrying submachine guns.
One of the men proclaimed, "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ
remain where you are."
Immediately, the choir fled...
the deacons fled...
and most of the congregation fled....
Out of the 2,000 there only remained around 20.
The man who had spoken took off his hood...
He then looked at the preacher and said "Okay Pastor, I got rid of all
the hypocrites... Now you may begin your service. Have a nice day!"
And the two men turned and walked out.

====================
From: jgc73s@yahoo.com

what is stress

O, bakit ka na naman na-i-istress? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

Meron ka bang deadline na i-bi-beat ngayong araw na ito?

It's important to understand stress before we can effectively manage it kaya Stress ang pag-uusapan natin ngayon.

Ayon sa mga scientists mayroong dalawang uri ng stress.



Eustress and Distress.

Eustress is positive stress. Ito ang nararamdaman ng isang dalaga

kapag dumarating na ang kanyang manliligaw at may daladalang flowers.

Eustress din ang tawag sa stress na nararanasan ng mga nagwo- work-out when they are doing their exercises.

Ang mga athletes, pagkatapos na ma-stress ang kanilang muscles, they rest para ma-repair ang kanilang muscles.

Kapag hindi sila nagpahinga, the stressed muscles will be injured.

When injury happens, yan ang distress .



Distress is the negative side of stress.

Nakakaramdam ka na ng sakit ng ulo, pagsakit ng tiyan, hindi na makatulog, di pa makakain.

Distress ang uri ng stress na nagreresulta sa kung ano-anong sakit tulad ng hypertension , minsan nga ay emotional breakdown pa .

Ano ba ang pwede nating gawin para ang stress natin ay hindi maging distress? Famous author and inspirational speaker, Dr. John Maxwell has the following suggestions:



Don't be overly sensitive to criticism .

Tanggapin na natin ang katotohanang hindi natin kayang i-please ang lahat ng tao .

Talagang mayroong hindi aayon sa iyo kahit na napaka-noble ng iyong mga intentions and motives.

So when you receive criticisms , take it constructively kung sensible ang criticism.

If you think the criticism is not objective , huwag na lang pansinin at ng hindi ka ma-distress .

Don't take too much pride in your achievements .

Ang pride ay parang uling, ginagatungan niyan ang distress.

Ang taong proud ay mas lalong nadi-distress dahil masyado niyang iniingatan

ang kanyang achievement at accomplishment.

Minsan nga our achievements hinder us from growing and learning kasi sinasabi natin sa ating sarili, aba may na-accomplish na ko.

Mas mahusay ako kaysa sa iba, hindi na nila ko pwedeng turuan.

Ang lungkot ng buhay kapag naging ganyan ang attitude natin.



Don't harbor jealousy over the achievement of others .

Ang taong mainggitin madalas ding madistress, kasi nga totoo namang mayroong mas higit kaysa sa atin .

Natural ang iba ay maaaring magkaroon ng achievements na wala tayo di ba.

Instead of being jealous or envious, let's learn to rejoice in the successes of others.

Malay mo malibre ka pa bogchi dahil nakikigalak ka sa kanilang tagumpay, di ba?



Don't focus on your weaknesses and inadequacies .

Ang sugat kapag mas lalo mong ginalaw mas lalong lalala at baka maimpeksyon.

The more you focus on your weaknesses and inadequacies, the bigger the tendency of wallowing in self-pity .

While it is important to acknowledge your inadequacies, it is helpful to focus on your strengths and capabilities .



One effective way of fighting distress is by counting our blessings - the good things which life brings.

When we have grateful hearts, we will always be reminded that we are too blessed to be stressed!



Someone wrote that

"The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.

The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything ."

 

====================

From:  jgc73s@yahoo.com

The tablecloth

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first
ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early
October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church,
it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have
everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc.,
and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On
December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and
lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when
he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just
behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else
to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way
he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale
for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work,
fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just
the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it
and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the
opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The
pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45
minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a
ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.
The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered
up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was
like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that
tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the
lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it
there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just
gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came,
she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next
week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or
her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor
keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that
was the least he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten
Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was
almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the
service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many
said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood,
continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered
why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall
because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two
tablecloths so much alike.

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee
for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested
and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the
35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little
ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the
pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's
apartment knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

Who says God does not work in mysterious ways..

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today. To guide you
and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you,
His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He
will see us through. So when the road you're traveling on seems
difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here praying and God will do the
rest.

====================
From: Jun.Abenido@unilever.com

He who has ears to hear, let him hear

Daily Reading & Meditation
Saturday (9/17): "He who has ears to hear, let him hear"
Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

4 And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to
him, he said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he
sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of
the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it
withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and
the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew,
and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to
hear, let him hear." 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable
meant, 10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom
of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is
the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the
devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not
believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear
the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while
and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns,
they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the
cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

Meditation: How good are you at listening, especially for the word of God? God
is ever ready to speak to each of us and to give us understanding of his word.
Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are
different ways of accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of
fruit accordingly. There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a
person is unteachable and blind to the things of God. Then there is the shallow
hearer who fails to think things out or think them through; such a person lacks
spiritual depth. They may initially respond with an emotional fervor; but when
it wears off their mind wanders to something else. Another type of hearer is
the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear
or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to
pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. He or she may
work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their
work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times
willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to
learn. They listen in order to understand. God gives grace to those who
hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength to
live according to it. Do you hunger for God's word?

"Lord, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan
is to grow in the truth. Open my eyes to your deeds, and my ears to the sound
of your call, that I may understand your will for my life and live according to
it."

Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his
people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks
to him, bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his
faithfulness to all generations.

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Go to | Daily Reading & Meditation Index |
(c) 2005 Don Schwager

From: Jun.Abenido@unilever.com