Sampaguita in the Street

A woman in rags, cradling a baby, was selling stranded sampaguita flowers in a street of Metro Manila.

Suddenly, a police squad car appeared and the policeman at the wheel shouted at her, “You have been told that it is prohibited to sell your goods in this street! Give me all your sampaguita. Otherwise, I will send you to jail.  Hurry up!”

In a burst of tears, the woman lifted her baby and said, “Sir, if you take all my sampaguita please take my baby also. It is for him that I am trying to earn a living. My baby and I are sick, and I do not have any money to buy medicines. If I cannot sell sampaguita, my son will not survive the cold and the hunger tonight. Please take him with you. He will die anyway with me.”

A Prescription For Peace

Tracie Miles

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Despite attempts for more than a year to figure out what was wrong with me, doctors could not identify a serious medical condition. It's not that I wanted something to be wrong. I certainly didn't need anything else to stress about.

I was desperately seeking a prescription for peace.

Looking back I can see the main culprit for my stress was my job. Overwhelming expectations and the impossible perfectionism my supervisor demanded took their toll on me physically, emotionally and spiritually.

His harsh criticisms and comments made me feel inadequate, and my self-esteem plunged to an all-time low. Chaos swirled around me, stress raged within me, and my health continued to decline. But I didn't recognize the cause.

When a medical diagnosis continued to elude doctors, I believed the lie that excessive stress was normal and I needed to learn how to live with it.

No Longer Addicted

SANDRA LESOURD

 

 

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(© Madja/StockFreeImages.com)

Any traumatic occurrence can lead to a life of desperation and idolatry, but Christ can set you free from addictions and compulsive habits

It's 6 a.m., and the alarm is beeping relentlessly. Decision time: Slap the "snooze" bar, or up and at 'em?

These days my feet hit the floor with great anticipation for what the Lord has planned for me. In prayer and in His Word, I get my marching orders for the 24 hours ahead.

Our World on Fire

GEORGE OTIS JR.

 

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If we truly want to see the Holy Spirit transform our communities, here’s how we can prepare ourselves for His coming

Only God can transform a community, but there are several things we can do to prepare for His arrival. Here’s a short list of considerations.

1. Picture true success. In short, a transformed community is a neighborhood, city or nation where values and institutions have been overrun by the grace and presence of God; a place where divine fire has not merely been summoned, it has fallen; a society in which natural evolutionary change has been disrupted by invasive supernatural power; a culture that has been impacted comprehensively and undeniably by the kingdom of God; a location where kingdom values are celebrated publicly and passed on to future generations.

2. Discern your condition. Obscured Jeopardy Syndrome is a condition that prevails in communities where serious illnesses are not readily discernible. The primary symptom is a false sense of security, and the only remedy is to ask God to help us see things as they really are. This revelation helps us avoid superficial assessments based on how circumstances are affecting us personally, as well as what prior experience has taught us is normal.

From Desperation to Devotion

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2)

Things, things, things! A better job. A bigger house. New clothes for the kids. Tomorrow's luncheon date. A better television. Get the picture?

Many of us have learned to believe God to prosper us to such a degree that we have too much to keep up with. We end up spending so much time and energy taking care of the legitimate "things" of life that we unconsciously give the attention and affections of our heart over to this natural world instead of to God.

When Kenneth and I first heard about living by faith, we were in desperate circumstances. We were sick and broke, so it was easy for us to dedicate ourselves to prayer and to the Word. But as we honored God's Word, He honored and prospered us. We came to the place where we were no longer desperate. Then came the real test of our faith. Would we serve God out of our love for Him instead of our desperation?