Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Learning to Laugh

A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life. Proverbs 14:30 (LB)

Did you know that people who laugh live longer? It’s true. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life.” (LB) Humor is an amazing thing. It’s a tension dissolver. It’s an antidote to anxiety. It’s just like a tranquilizer, but without any troublesome side-effects. And it’s free! You don’t even need a prescription. Laughter is life’s shock absorber. If you want to have less stress in your life, learn to laugh at your circumstances.

Someone once asked U.S. President Abraham Lincoln how he handled all the stresses of the Civil War. He said, “If it hadn’t been for laughter, I could not have made it.” Many famous comedians grew up in poor neighborhoods with lots of problems. They coped with their troubles by learning to laugh and making others laugh.

So learn to laugh. If you can laugh at it, you can live with it. And besides, if you learn to laugh at your troubles, you’ll never run out of anything to laugh at! Life is full of funny situations. The cowboy comedian Will Rogers once said, “I don’t know any jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 2:4, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs.” (NIV) Isn’t that a great verse? God has a sense of humor. God laughs! Have you ever seen the face of an orangutan? God thought that one up! That proves he has a sense of humor. Do you want to be more like God? Learn to laugh.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Salvation

Beloved! The God shall shower His favour upon you and exalt you!
The Word Of God says that God increased in favour with Almighty Lord and men Likewise, you shall increase in favour with God and men.
“In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” Acceptable time is the time of God’s favour. His kindness, mercy and grace will be upon His people. God’s hand will lift you before the people who are against you and they shall come seeking your favour!
Friend, when you diligently seek the Lord, He will shower His favour upon you. You will receive spiritual blessings and material blessings. Yes, God will exalt you in due time and the whole world will be in awe of you!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Fools Are Quick To Judge

By: Max Lucado, from his book: In The Eye of the Storm.

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. "This horse is not a horse to me," he would tell them. "It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?"

The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse. One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. You are so poor. How could
you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."

The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I've been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"

The people contested, "Don't make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse."

The old man spoke again. "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don't know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can't say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn't, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out
of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn't been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him.

Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. 'Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."

The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don't judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?
You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

'Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don't say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don't."

'Maybe the old man is right," they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold
for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

"You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever."

The old man spoke again. "You people are obsessed with judging. Don't go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments."

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured.

Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."

The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."

The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life's mishaps and disappointments are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment on life's storms until we know the whole story.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

YWCA-Chennai

Dear beloved in Jesus,
Greetings in His name.
We are going to start up worship cum Bible discourse in YWCA Conference hall on all saturdays from 5th April.
Please do come and learn God's will for you, family and your business to be success in doing His will in glorigyin His name on earth.
The same is being conducted in other following places of Chennai city.
Monday: 0730 - 0830 AM in 100 Vellacherry road, Guindy.
Wedenesday: 1830- 2030 PM in Vedapalani.
Thursday: 1830 - 2030hrs PM in Ashok nagar.
Friday: 1730-1930hrs PM in Indranagar, adyar.
Saturday: 1830 -2030hrs in YWCA Poonamallee Road.
Sunday: 0930 - 1130hrs AM in Arumbakkam
Please call the undersigned to get exact addresses .

You are most wecome and introduce to some one who desires to be spiritual than religious and have close relationship with Jesus in learning the Gospel and teachings of Jesus Chrsit irresespective of cast, creed and religion.
S. Bramwel
98841 98377

Why Go To Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. 'I've gone for 30 years now,' he wrote, 'and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.'

This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

'I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!' When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment adding to our physical and spiritual endurance!


Food for thot! CH....CH means nothing unless UR in it.