HERO OR FAILURE
AT THE END HOW WILL THEY REMEMBER YOU?

As I approach my 60th birthday things that I never thought about before begin to appear in my mind. If it is the same for you then these two very short articles from Henri Nouwen might appeal to you as much they do to me.

Will we lose the game in the last few moments.
What shall we do with our lives between ages 60 and 80?

 

TESTS FROM GOD

Students in the DCI Schools of Mission face an exam at the end but then comes an even greater test from God who graduates them into the School of the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 66.10-12 you find the program and notice that it is God who is doing the testing. His first test is to refine you as a future leader like silver which means that He applies heat to reveal impurities which rise to the surface. Next He puts you in prison where movement is restricted by a lack of all things although the demands and the call remain heavy upon you. Then God allows men to trample all over you and you go through the fire of hot words with cold water being poured on your vision. All this has to happen so that when God brings you into a place of abundance you will not fall or fail Him.



 

ASK GOD

Sometimes it's wise to wait, to say, 'I don't have the answer right now but I'll think about it, pray, and get back to you.' Your own need to rescue someone, or impress them and make yourself look good may come back to bite you. Allow wisdom not your ego to determine your response. When people are anxious for answers they'll pressure you into speaking before you have all the facts or have taken time to pray and consider the situation. If you ask Him, God will tell you what to say, when to say it and what to do, if it is you that He wants to use. Your mind says, 'Don't just stand there, say something,' but wisdom says, 'Don't just say something, stand there!' And quietly ask God for insight because one word from Him can settle things in a hurry. Someone else's need for an answer, and now - should not determine your need to provide one - now! Adapted from Bob Gass, The Word For Today




 



THE DRIPPING TAP

Last night I didn't turn off the tap in kitchen properly and it dripped all night.  I could hear it from my bed but I was tired, and what difference does one tiny drop of water make anyway? This morning I found the kitchen sink full and overflowing and suddenly as I looked I understood how all the hundreds of little things that I do every day and every week make sense. You see, a life marked by brilliant activity and lived in the public eye is not necessarily a perfect life, or a successful or fulfilled life. On the contrary a life that consists of a thousand and one small activities and lived in the shadows can lead to fullness, holiness and can radiate beauty to the ends of the earth. Drip, drip, drip and keep dripping. The desert of this world is slowly beginning to blossom and bear fruit as all of our drips, day and night, come together and overflow north, south , east and west as living waters of hope, faith and compassion for the lost, the last and the least.