Tag: <span>depend</span>

Published August 30, 2009

Count to Eight (Woe, Be Gone)

by Max Lucado
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“We have here only five loaves and two fish.� Matthew 14:17

How do you suppose Jesus felt about the basket inventory? Any chance he might have wanted them to include the rest of the possibilities? Involve all the options? Do you think he was hoping someone might count to eight?

“Well, let’s see. We have five loaves, two fish…and Jesus!� Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who told us:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Luke 11:19 NIV)

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7 NIV)

What ever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24 NIV)

Standing next to the disciples was the solution to their problems…but they didn’t go to him. They stopped their count at seven and worried.

What about you? Are you counting to seven, or to eight?

Here are eight worry stoppers to expand your tally:

Pray, first. “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him…(I Peter 5:7 AMP)

Easy now. Slow down. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him”
(Psalms 37:7).

Act on it. The moment a concern surfaces, deal with it. Don’t dwell on it. Head off worries before they get the best of you. Be a doer, not a stewer.

Compile a worry list. Over a period of days record your anxious thoughts. Then review them. How many of them turned into a reality?

Evaluate your worry categories. Detect recurring areas of preoccupation that may become obsessions. Pray specifically about them.

Focus on today. God meets daily needs daily. He will give you what you need when it is needed.

Unleash a worry army. Share your feelings with a few loved ones. Ask them to pray with and for you.

Let God be enough. “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.� (Matthew 6:32-33 NLT).

Eight steps. Pray, first. Easy, now. Act on it. Compile a worry list. Evaluate your worry categories. Focus on today. Unleash a worry army. Let God be enough.
P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/08/30/ml_count/

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Max Lucado
From: Fearless
© (Thomas Nelson, 2009),

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published August 24, 2009

Not Quite Retired

by Marilyn Ehle
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“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…� Colossians 3:17

His entire career had been spent in the university classroom, not only lecturing in his chosen field but also encouraging students to always reach for higher goals. He loved the challenge of young minds as well as the personal intellectual and scientific growth, but the mandatory retirement age was looming. He couldn’t imagine filling each day with golf or fishing; he wondered what kind of stimulation lay ahead.

And then came the phone call from a young man he had known years earlier as a campus minister, a man he remembered who built life-changing relationships with students while leading them toward fuller understanding of life with Jesus Christ. Could they meet for coffee?

The scheduled hour flew by and turned into three. Would the professor consider a new career after the classroom: meeting regularly with faculty to share his personal faith in Christ and help those who expressed interest to walk into spiritual maturity. His heart quickened as he thought of the possibilities. He could be an influencer of the influencers. He would remain in academia albeit with a different perspective, an eternal perspective.

Today this professor remains in the hallowed halls he loved so much but he enthusiastically awakens each morning with the knowledge that in a very real sense, his career is just beginning.

Father, thank you for the wide roads of opportunity that lay ahead for each of your children. There truly are no closed doors for your Spirit, no end to a life of serving you.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/08/24/me_retired/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Marilyn Ehle Thoughts by Women