Count your Blessings, Not Your Burdens

I love grass-to-grace stories; I enjoy reading about people and corporations that had humble beginnings. To me it is motivational. If you sow a seed in a cup with well-watered soil, if the seed is viable it will grow and become big depending on the type of seed. At some point, the cup cannot contain its guest embedded in that soil. The beautiful flowers we see and love had their humble beginnings, they were buried in the ground with no promise of beauty. I never knew that big corporations like Apple, Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Mattel started in a garage . Your origin is not an impediment to success. Bible has this encouraging text in Job 8:7 “And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.” You may have something that may seem insignificant to you now, or you are battling with a discouraging issue, none is beyond our God who turns small things to big ones, the one who turns our burdens to blessings, our disappointments to appointments, our crosses to crowns. It takes faith to look beyond our current situations, and levels that make the future look bleak. It is reported in the Bible that Job lost everything he had including his health and children. In human estimation his situation was hopeless. God was still in control. This is the testimony about him: “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.” Job 42:12. The brothers of Joseph wanted to kill him with his dream, that was not possible, they threw him into a deep pit, but the very hands that threw him into that pit were the same hands that brought him up, he was sold to a foreign land, he was falsely accused, lost his job, jailed without a lawyer, in prison without family visit, had unspecified jail term, his past dreams had not been fulfilled but he helped to interpret dreams in prison, his colleague prisoner who was set free had forgotten him, he had no outside friends. Families might have forgotten him, but heaven had not forgotten him, the young man who was a dreamer, hated for his dreams, assisted prisoners with their dreams, got his freedom because of the Egyptian’s leader dream. He was a man of dreams. At God’s appointed time God changed his room in prison and gave him a new one in a palace, something that Joseph never dreamed of. That is how God does his work, He does it in His own time and does it with perfection. He became a leader in Egypt, his brothers wanted him to die, but God used him to save his family from death. Will you endure whatever you are going through before the fulfillment of your dream and what God has in store for you including heaven? “They afflicted his feet with fetters, He himself was laid in irons; until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. The king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free” Psalm 105:18-20. Brothers and sisters let us endure until the time. God bless you.

I read an interesting news story captioned “Return my tithes or face court action-Man threatens church” at Myjoyonline News Portal . It was a man who demanded his church to return all his tithes and other financial contributions he had given. His reason was that his church failed to assist him when he went through extreme financial hardships. When we are committed to Christ, we are to maintain our relationship with Him, any assistance rendered to church should not be done to expect rewards from men or leadership.We should not be fair-weather Christians. Job was not a fair-weather follower of God. He followed Him in sweet and bitter times. Not even when his wife asked him to curse God and die. Kay Arthur wrote “If you do not plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to Him, then don’t begin, for this is what Christianity is all about. It is a change of citizenship, a change of governments, a change of allegiance. If you have no intention of letting Christ rule your life, then forget Christianity; it is not for you.” This is what we fail to recognize that when we become Christians, it is a call for a total commitment. That call changes our taste, our lifestyles, our allegiance, our entertainment, and other areas of our lives. Committed Christians move from their comfort zones and perform needed services regardless of the pains they would go through. One of such people was David Livingstone. He offered this prayer “Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever any ties but the tie that binds me to Your service and to Your heart.” One day he received this message from his missionary society: “Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.” Livingstone in a letter replied, “If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.” Committed people move even if there is no road or when the road is rough; they don’t mind the comfort of their lives when people are perishing in sins. Commitment is a fundamental component in any relationship else it crumbles. Friends need to be committed to each other. In marriage, commitment is glue that holds the marriage together. Many wedding sermons have been preached on commitment. The newly wedded couples need to know that it is not the flowers that hold the marriage together, it is not the number of attendees who come to support them. What is the meaning of commitment? Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “a willingness to give your time and energy to something that you believe in, or a promise or firm decision to do something.” In our relationship with God, we need commitment. I can say that today we are more committed to our jobs than in our walk with God. Christian commitment demands that we follow the footsteps of Jesus. We have to take His path. The path of Jesus may seem unattractive, thorny, boring, weedy and crooked, but He says take that path, the path of Satan will engage your emotion, it looks rosy, appealing, shiny, golden, alluring, and promising, but it is a highway to death, the path of Jesus leads you to life. Jesus explains “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’ ” (Luke 9:23). Our commitment is a regular one. It’s a full-time commitment. There is no part-time Christianity in God’s “dictionary”. He wants our full hearts. One of my favorite hymns is: “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder” The last stanza challenges Christians to work for Jesus with commitment. “Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care; Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.” God bless you.

Do you think you are alone in this struggle of life? It seems nobody cares about you, and there are troubles here and there for you to overcome. In human perspective that may be true, because those who are supposed to come to your aid have turned their backs on you, and you do not know what is going to happen next. You feel disappointed, rejected, and unloved. You may think all is lost; your dream is shattered, on your part, there is nothing that you can do to improve your situation. Amidst this hopelessness, there is good news for you. There is somebody who cares more than you can imagine. His love for you is beyond human understanding. I want to introduce a very Special Friend to you who cares. He is Jesus. He loves you, no matter where you were born and what you have done. Jesus revealed His love to the disciples, and all of us, the love the Father extended to Him was made available to us too. This is how Jesus explained it: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other” (John 15:9-17). Whether rich or poor, king or slave. His love for you knows no bounds. He knows what you are going through, He knows everything about you, but He still loves you and cares about you. His death on the cross gives credence to that fact. He died that you can have the life that is beyond this life, a life that is eternal and problem-free. He is a bridge to reach heaven and to have access to the Father. He can provide your needs today and tomorrow. He has time for you if you talk to Him in prayers. He has messages for you today if you read His mailbox in the Bible. Jesus is a Special Friend to you. He loves to hold your hand and to live with you. He is not partial in His relationship with people. Everybody can come to Him, and that person cannot be sent away. He loves you more than you can imagine. Why don’t you come to Him today? You may remember this popular song, “Jesus Loves Me,” this song was written for a Sunday School teacher to cheer a sick boy. Today it is still encouraging song for kids and adults around the world. Anytime you feel discouraged and feel the heavy burden pressing you down without support remember this song “Jesus Loves Me.” Yes, Jesus loves you. Our Lord who clothed the grass of the field will provide for us. God bless you. Reference Jesus Loves Me -The history (n.d.). http://www.allaboutgod.com/jesus-loves-me.htm

It is written in Hebrews 13:5 that, “Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” The last statement is about {Deuteronomy 31:6} Perhaps you have often heard this, “there is nothing that money can’t do,” or “money can do everything.” Some people believe that. However, according to Arne Garborg, “For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money.” Money promises a lot, but it does not fulfill all, it attracts, but it distracts at the same time, yes money can give one, a comfortable bed but not a comfortable sleep. Charles F. Bunning also said that “If all the gold in the world were melted down into a solid cube, it would be about the size of an eight room house. If a man got possession of all that gold — billions of dollars worth — he could not buy a friend, character, peace of mind, clear conscience or a sense of eternity.” It is evident that money cannot do all things, it has limitations. One might ask if money is not almighty as some people believe it is, why it has so many followers? Money has become part of people. I once heard Dr. Mensah Otabil, a Christian preacher in Ghana on television saying “Some people when they see money, their blood pressure goes up, and their eyes blink.” It may seem funny, but he is right. This story that I found in The Huge Joke Book can further illustrate the point. There was an old lady who won big money in a lottery. Her family members knowing her heart problem feared that telling her about the big win could cause her a shock. The members of the family discussed how to go about it to her doctor. The doctor said based on his training in medical profession he could handle it and break the news to her without a hitch. When the doctor met the old lady, he said, “Tell me what will you do if you had a large win on lotto about 1 million pounds?” The old woman replied, “I would give half of it to you.” The doctor fell dead with a shock. With or without it money can change a person’s mood. Today money has become a trap for many people; it has kept many in chains, it has led some to sell their bodies for prostitution and drugs, it has separated families to live in different geographic places, it has kept many sleepless nights and left many to become liars. God wants each one of us to be free from this bondage. God invites us to be content with what we have, no matter how small it is. We may never be satisfied in our quest to get more money when we acquire more money; we will always find more ways to use it. When we become content with what God gives us we will have peace of minds for our dear souls. Money can never buy us happiness; it is only God who gives real peace and happiness. Let us free ourselves from that illusion of equating more money with more happiness. Let us dwell on God’s promise that He will not leave us, neither will He forsake us. God bless you.