THE DEVIL’S DISCIPLES

As the Bible tells us, in the last days the hearts of men will be desperately wicked.  Some have lost all sense of what is right and wrong.  Some seem to have sold their souls  to the devil.  They will do anything to rob the poor of the very little that they have.  Some of these people will even try to use the name of God to seek wealth.  They have no conscience.  They target the poor, the disillusioned, those who are desperate for hope and do not understand that they should put their trust in God and not in man.

They say a drowning man will catch at a straw.  When you are down and out and everything seem to come crashing down.  When nothing is going well in your life, you are desperate for hope  and someone says ” I can guarantee you an eight minute miracle”  you might be tempted to stop and listen.  When someone tells you plant a seed faith of two hundred five hundred or a thousand  dollars and you will see an instant turn around in your life you might be so desperate for a change in your life that you do as you  told without question.

No matter how desperate you are you need to ask yourself if this is how God operates.  He said ask and it shall be given, seek and he shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you.  Where did it say you have to pay in cash first to receive these favors?  Some of them will tell you it is not for everyone, take a hint; the miracles they are promising are for only those who can afford to pay.

God wants us to give but not in the selfish manner that some of those who proclaim to teach in the name of the Lord want you to.  When you  feed the hungry, give to the poor, provide a home for the homeless  and clothes the naked you are doing these things to the glory of God and as such you will receive his blessings because you are doing it out of love not because you expect to get something in return.  Jesus said”‘ In so much as you do these things to the least of my brothers you do them unto me.”

These are the kind of seeds that God wants us to sow.     He wants us to give of ourselves unselfishly expecting nothing in return from those for whom we do these good deeds.  This is how we receive God’s blessings.  This is how we see the miracles in our lives.  No man on earth can guarantee you a miracle.  If miracles were for sale what would happen to the poor?

Have faith in God.  Trust in Him and believe that He will supply all your needs.  Help the less fortunate in whatever way you can.  God knows what is in the heart of every man.  Those who try to sell you miracles as disciples of the devil and not of God.  The Bible tells us that in the last days there will be false prophets.  Open your eyes and see, open your ears and hear.  Ask God for knowledge and understanding.  Put not your trust in man and their promises.  Trust only in God

PARENTING

The world is no longer as safe as it once was.  In almost every society across the globe crime is on the increase. Young people are becoming more and more caught up in this growing trend and are becoming more reckless in the way they conduct their lives and deal with problems. More and more are experimenting with drugs and alcohol and many  getting involved in gun crimes.

With all of this going on it is not surprising that some parents will do everything in their power to try to protect their children and keep them from being exposed to all the negative things in society. Some parents however take things to the extent where they become over-protective. They can become over-protective to the point where their teenagers have very little or no social life because they are not allowed to hang out with friends for fear that they might get caught up in the wrong crowd.

Parents need to realize that being over-protective is not necessarily a good thing. We do not exist in a vacuum; we live in a world where there is good and bad. If children are only exposed to the good, how will they be able to deal with the bad when they come in contact with it. It is inevitable that they will come in contact with people who are bad influences. If this happens will they be strong enough to make the right decision never having to deal with such situations before?

It is important to expose teenagers   to the good as well as the bad situations they might encounter in life. Exposure, not in a way to endanger their lives but to educate them on what goes on in the world outside the safe place they call home. Some parents do not allow their teenagers to go to parties or to the movies with their friends. They make the decision as to what age their children can go off to college. There are some who feel that at the age of eighteen their children are still to young to leave for college.

Parents have to understand that simply growing older without gaining the experience necessary to deal with real life situations and problems they might encounter along the way will hinder rather than help teenagers. They need to be allowed the freedom necessary to make import decisions because parents are not always going to be around to make these decisions for them.

Teach your children values, the importance of believing in themselves and to know the difference between right and wrong. Let them know that you have enough faith to believe in them and that you trust them to make the right choices in life. They are not going to be perfect and they are going to make mistakes, but this is how they are going to gain experience and learn to deal with the problems they encounter. Life is a learning process.

Second Chances

It’s funny how things change,
There was a time when other things mattered,
In life not all dreams come true,
But there comes a time when you realize,
That the things that matters most,
Are the things you already have,
And everything else takes second place.
Sometimes you have to wonder,
What the fuss was all about,
So many did not make it through,
So many lives have been cut short,
So many have met untimely deaths,
So many tears have been shed,
So many have known sorrow,
For so many there is no tomorrow.

So many of us spend our lives complaining
When we should be giving thanks,
For the life that we have,
It may not be perfect,
But we are alive, and because we are alive,
There is still hope.
There is hope for a brighter tomorrow,
Hope to see our dreams come true.
We must use the time we have,
To repair broken relationships,
Heal old wounds,
Forgive those who hurt us,
And be at peace with our enemies,
Our friends and ourselves.

A Clever Dog

A Clever Dog

By Unknown

A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he saw a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again.

So, he goes over to the dog and notices he has a note in his mouth. He takes the note and it reads “Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in his mouth, as well.”

The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten dollar Note there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog’s mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it’s about closing time, he decides to shut up shop and follow the dog.

So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street when he comes To a level crossing.

The dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then he waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way.

The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.

The butcher is in awe at this stage. The dog checks out the times, and then sits on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The dog walks around to the front, looks at the number, and goes back to his seat.

Another bus comes. Again the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it’s the right bus, and climbs on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, follows him onto the bus.

The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the dog Looking at the scenery. Eventually he gets up, and moves to the front of the bus. He stands on 2 back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then he gets off, his groceries still in his mouth.

Well, dog and butcher are walking along the road, and then the dog turns into a house. He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the step.

Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself against the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again, it throws himself against it. There’s no answer at the house, so the dog goes back down the path, jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along the perimeter of the garden. He gets to the window, and beats his head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door.

The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.

The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. “What in heaven’s name are You doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!” to which the guy responds: “You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog’s forgotten his key.”

Reflection:
 Looks like some, people will never be satisfied with what they’ve got.

When it comes to the work place, Employers do not know how to appreciate their people who have served them loyally through the years. I’ve seen companies lose good people for the simple fact their leaders failed to show appreciation. Employers with big egos enjoy the fact that they have more power and authority than others. They show, in the way they give orders and directions, that they think they are superior. They get a kick out of displaying this superiority. People who do this are fools, and everyone but them knows it. They are never satisfied because they could not be satisfied even if their people perform well.

They don’t listen to the opinion and ideas of their subordinates.

Why? Because of their stupid pride and insecurity.

People of this kind will never be satisfied. Why? Because they are so busy wrapped up in themselves and, fact is, the self can never be satisfied. Happy and productive people are always those who are “others-centered” rather than “self- centered.” The greatest idea of leadership is not someone who throws his weight around. Rather, he is a servant. As Bible would say, “He who wish to be a leader should first be a servant.”

His joy is derived from delivering a job that others benefit from his contribution. Aim for service and success will follow

Shared from Lifeofhope.com

God’s Love Comes With ‘NO CHARGE’!

Our airways these days are flooded with people who all proclaim to be preaching or teaching the words of God.   Many of these persons are truly genuine and the messages they deliver are filled with hope and inspiration.  They try to teach people to live according to God’s will.

There are others whose motives are questionable and it is not difficult to see who these people are.  Most of them start their broadcast by telling you to plant a seed faith then they go on to tell you how much money you should send and sometimes these sum seems quite exorbitant!

“Plant a seed faith of two hundred dollars and expect a miracle,  something wonderful will happen in your life!   Plant a recovery seed faith of two hundred and seventy three dollars and you will receive an instant miracle,  great changes will happen in your life.  Plant a seed faith of two hundred, five hundred or a thousand dollars whatever you can afford!   Apparently no thought is given to the person who can only afford five or ten dollars!

These false prophets will tell you that God tell them to ask for this seed faith, they will try and tell you to obey God’s will without question and most of their broadcast will focus on them telling you to send them money instead of bringing you much message on the word of God.  By their fruits you shall know them.  They will say “I know many of you are going through financial problems right now”  and in the next breath say “Put it on your bank card”

These people are not of God they don’t care about you all they want is your money and they are using the name of God in order to get it.   God’s Love comes with no charge.  Miracles come through faith and for that there is no charge.  When you pray to God and ask anything of him in faith and believing, he will answer your prayer and there is no charge!  You do not have to pay anyone to pray to God for you to receive a miracle in your life.  You can pray to him and ask him yourself and there is no charge.

Do not be fooled by people who uses promises of miracles to get your money or make you put yourself in debt to send it to them because they are not of God.  In fact they have no faith themselves because if they did they would know that God will supply all their needs.  If they were there to spread they gospel of God he would supply their finances to do so, there would be no need for them to be preying on vulnerable who are so desperate for hope that they would be willing to pay money to receive a miracle!

Jesus warned about these false prophets who would appear in the last days so do not be deceived.  Miracles cannot be bought and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar and not of God!

Do You Feel There is No Hope

 

 

Do You Feel There is No Hope

 

By Unknown

 

In your times of deep despair,
Do you feel there is no hope?
As the darkness closes in on you,
Do you feel you cannot cope?

As you struggle on through every trial,
Do you say “When will it end”?
As you cry yourself to sleep at night,
Do you wish you had a friend?

When your body’s racked with aches and pains,
Do you feel you are alone?
When you think about the future,
Do you fear the great unknown?

There is someone who really cares,
And He hears your every cry.
His arms are reaching out to you,
And on Him you can rely.

 

When things close in around you,
He sees your fear and doubt –
He wants to hold you in His arms,
And He will never cast you out.

As you stumble through the darkness,
He will be your guiding light.
He wants to wipe away your tears,
For you are precious in His sight.

Reach out right now to Jesus,
And let Him take complete control –
He’ll take that heavy burden,
And He’ll touch and make you whole.

He’s reaching out His arms to you,
And He wants to be your friend.
Let Him take you in His loving arms,
For His love will never end.

Shared From LifeofHope.com

marvaseaton's avatarON WINGS OF HOPE

Chasing a shadow,
Chasing dreams,
Chasing an illusion,
Of what could have been,
It is so much easier to stay,
In touch with reality,

Shooting stars,
Cannot be chased,
But revolve around the moon,
In never ending space,

As free as the breeze,
Is a mind at ease,
Nothing can disturb the peace,
And an outstretched arm,
Of friendship,
Can make a difference in a world,
Torn with strife, violence and grief.

View original post

Relationships

 

Is it possible to stop loving someone you once truly loved?

The topic I am writing on today is up for debate and I am sure many of my readers views might be different from mine.   Some people believe that if you love someone you will continue to love that person no matter what and if you stop loving that person it means that you never truly loved them in the first place. The problem I have with this scenario is that it seems a bit one-sided.  The first question that comes to mind is what if that person you love don’t love you as much as you love him or her.  Even then that is not the real issue; what if the one you that love is constantly abusing you, physically and emotionally?  Isn’t there a possibility that at some point in time you might stop loving that person?  Some people will contend that you should still love the person but not the behavior but seriously how are you going to separate the two?

Love is an emotion and emotions do not necessarily remain constant except in a fairy tale world.  People and situations change and while in some cases couples are able to remain in love for a life time in a lot of other cases relationships just fail to work out.  That does not necessarily mean they did not love each other initially.  As we grow older we evolve and our needs change and if both parties are not in touch with each other needs the relationship can disintegrate.  There are times when dreams, hopes and expectations do not materialize and couples become disillusioned and bitter and blame each other, this  can destroy a relationship.

There is a high rate of divorce and many relationships fall apart over time but this does not mean that people might not have felt what they thought was true love for each other at some point in the relationship.  If a relationship doesn’t work out does that mean that both parties never truly loved each other?  What do you think?

 

marvaseaton's avatarON WINGS OF HOPE

We see it all around us, everywhere we turn there are signs of violence and abuse.  It is in our homes, in the streets, in our schools, it is even in the churches.  Often times it is the person who has earned our trust who turns out to be the abuser.  Many of these people hide behind their titles and professions to prey on the innocent’

It is ironic, everyone enters this world a baby, seemingly innocent, in need of nurturing.  What make some grow up to be such monsters while others are not?  Was it something in their genes, lying there dormant waiting for the right moment to burst forth?  Or is it something learned from society,  from the environment in which these people grow up?

Many will quickly point out that kids that come from the ghetto are more likely to commit crime.  They try to convince you that crime is directly linked to poverty…

View original post 213 more words

JOKES

 

 DOCTOR JOKES

A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office. 

After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said, “Your husband is suffering from a very severe stress disorder. If you don’t do the following, your husband will surely die.” 

“Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant at all times. For lunch make him a nutritious meal. For dinner prepare an especially nice meal for him. Don’t burden him with chores. Don’t discuss your problems with him, it will only make his stress worse. No nagging. And most importantly, make love with your husband several times a week. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely.” 

On the way home, the husband asked his wife. “What did the doctor say?” 

“He said you’re going to die,” she replied.

*************************************************************************************************************************************

Mr. Smith goes to the doctor’s office to collect his wife’s test results. 

The lab tech says to him, “I’m sorry, sir, but there has been a bit of a mix-up and we have a problem. When we sent the samples from your wife to the lab,

the samples from another Mrs. Smith were sent as well and we are now uncertain which one is your wife’s. Frankly, that’s either bad or terrible.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, one Mrs. Smith has tested positive for Alzheimer’s disease and the other for AIDS. We can’t tell which is your wife.” 

“That’s terrible! Can we do the test over?” asked Mr. Smith. 

“Normally, yes. But you have an HMO, and they won’t pay for these expensive tests more than once.” 

“Well, what am I supposed to do now?” 

“The HMO recommends that you drop your wife off in the middle of town. If she finds her way home, don’t sleep with her.”

**********************************************************************************************************************************

After hearing that one of the patients in a mental hospital had saved another from a suicide attempt by pulling him out of a bathtub, the director reviewed the rescuer’s file and called him into his office. 

“Mr. James, your records and your heroic behaviour indicate that you’re ready to go home. I’m only sorry that the man you saved later killed himself with a rope around the neck.” 

“Oh, he didn’t kill himself,” Mr. James replied. “I hung him up to dry.” 

***********************************************************************************************************************************

LAWYER JOKES

An old man was a witness in a burglary trial. 

The defense lawyer asks Sam, “Did you see my client commit this burglary?” 

“Yes,” said Sam , “I saw him plainly take the goods.” 

The lawyer asks Sam again, “Sam, this happened at night. Are you sure you saw my client commit this crime?” 

“Yes” says Sam, “I saw him do it.” 

Then the lawyer asks Sam, “Sam listen, you are 80 years old and your eyesight probably is bad. Just how far can you see at night?” 

Sam says, “I can see the moon, how far is that?”

****************************************************************************************************************************

A farmer walked into an attorney’s office wanting to file for a divorce. The attorney asked, “May I help you?” 

The farmer said, “Yea, I want to get one of those dayvorces.” 

The attorney said, “Well do you have any grounds?” 

The farmer said, “Yea, I got about 140 acres.” The attorney said, “No, you don’t understand, do you have a case?” 

The farmer said, “No, I don’t have a Case, but I have a John Deere.” 

The attorney said, “No you don’t understand, I mean do you have a grudge?” 

The farmer said, “Yea I got a grudge, that’s where I park my John Deere.” 

The attorney said, “No sir, I mean do you have a suit?” 

The farmer said, “Yes sir, I got a suit. I wear it to church on Sundays.” 

The exasperated attorney said, “Well sir, does your wife beat you up or anything?” 

The farmer said, “No sir, we both get up about 4:30.” 

Finally, the attorney says, “Okay, let me put it this way. WHY DO YOU WANT A DIVORCE?” 

And the farmer says, “Well, I can never have a meaningful conversation with her.”

*************************************************************************************************************************

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. 

In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out. 

Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining. 

The doctor grabbed one and said “I’m a doctor, I save lives, so I must live,” and jumped out. 

The lawyer then said, “I’m a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live.” 

He also grabbed a parachute and jumped. 

The priest looked at the little boy and said, “My son, I’ve lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace.” 

The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, “Not to worry, Father. The ‘smartest man in the world’ just took off with my back pack.”

**************************************************************************************************************************************DRUNK JOKES

Proudly showing off his new apartment to a couple of his friends late one night the drunk led the way to his bedroom where there was a big brass gong. 

“What’s that big brass gong for?” one of the guests asked. “It’s not a gong. It’s a talking clock” the drunk replied. 

“A talking clock? Seriously?” asked his astonished friend. 

“Yup” replied the drunk. 

“How’s it work?” the second guest asked, squinting at it. 

“Watch” the man said. He picked up a hammer, gave it an ear shattering pound and stepped back. 

The three stood looking at one another for a moment. Suddenly, someone on the other side of the wall screamed “You friggin’ IDIOT!…it’s ten past three in the morning!” 

********************************************************************************************************************************

A man walked into a cafe, went to the bar and ordered a beer. 

“Certainly, Sir , that’ll be one cent.” 

One Cent?” the man exclaimed. 

He glanced at the menu and asked: “How much for a nice juicy steak and a bottle of wine?” 

“A nickel,” the barman replied. 

“A nickel?” exclaimed the man. 

“Where’s the guy who owns this place?” 

The bartender replied: “Upstairs, with my wife.” 

The man asked: “What’s he doing upstairs with your wife?” 

The bartender replied: “The same thing I’m doing to his business down here.” 

*******************************************************************************************************************************

A fellow decides to take off early from work and go drinking. He stays until the bar closes at 2am, at which time he is extremely drunk. When he enters his house, he doesn’t want to wake anyone, so he takes off his shoes and starts tip-toeing up the stairs. Half-way up the stairs, he falls over backwards and lands flat on his rear end. 

That wouldn’t have been so bad, except that he had couple of empty pint bottles in his back pockets, and they broke, and the broken glass carved up his buttocks terribly. But,he was so drunk that he didn’t know he was hurt. A few minutes later, as he was undressing, he noticed blood,so he checked himself out in the mirror, and, sure enough, his behind was cut up something terrible. Well, he repaired the damage as best he could under the circumstances, and he went to bed. 

The next morning, his head was hurting, and his rear was hurting, and he was hunkering under the covers trying to think up some good story, when his wife came into the bedroom. 

“Well, you really tied one on last night,” she said. “Where’d you go?” “I worked late,” he said, “and I stopped off for a couple of beers.” 

“A couple of beers? That’s a laugh,” she replied, “You got plastered last night. Where the heck did you go?” 

“What makes you so sure I got drunk last night,anyway?” 

“Well,” she replied, “my first big clue was when I got up this morning and found a bunch of band-aids stuck to the mirror.”