Small things

The Desert Rat speaks....

“Four things are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise: The ants are not a strong people, but they prepare their food in the summer; the shephanim are not mighty people, yet they make their houses in the rocks; the locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks; the lizard you may grasp with the hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces” (Proverbs 30:24-28).

Lord, give us wisdom (James 1:5; 3:17).
May we take every opportunity to be spiritually fed with the abundance of resources we have at our disposal while we still can.
May we make You, our Rock, our only Refuge.
May we stay unified in the purpose You have given us.
May Your people be found in every corner of this world, no matter how obscure or forbidding – or how bountiful and distracted.
All these things, Father, we ask, that Your name will be “holy, holy, holy” in all the earth.
All these things, Father, we ask, that Your Kingdom come.
All these things, Father, we ask, that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
All things are Yours for Your glory alone.
Through Christ, Your wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:1-3), we ask, Amen.

Daily Nugget

   Monday, September 30th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“Happy is the man who is too busy to worry by day, and too sleepy to worry at night” ( Unknown).

Billions of dollars are spent each year (maybe each month) to help individuals forget their worries so they can sleep at night. The above quote gives us good advice: stay busy, work hard, and sleep well. We also rest well in the hands of our Heavenly Father.

Let us take the advice of the writer of Jeremiah 3:8: “He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”
        
God, let me rest in You as You keep me in Your care. In Your care my I can rest easy. Amen.
Bro. Bill
In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

   Sunday, September 29th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

Ten rules for getting rid of the blues: Go out and do something for someone else and repeat it nine times.

If we seek, we can always find someone who needs a kind word or a cup of cool water. If I could only be a water boy in heaven, I would be content in serving the Master.

The Apostle Paul's tells us, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up” (1Corinthians 13:4).  With that in mind, our goal should be to make someone’s day bloom in a positive way.

God, let me be Your hands and feet to spread cheer to someone today. Amen.

Bro. Bill

Daily Nugget

   Saturday, September 28th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“The mortality rate for this procedure is 1 percent,” a medical school professor said as he reviewed a procedure. “Put another way, mortality is 1 percent if it happens to somebody else. If it happens to you, it’s 100 percent” (Jaya Mahajan, Readers Digest).

When others ask us to pray for them, that request is a matter of great importance. We live in such a time of self-importance and self-sufficiency that if our friends ask us to pray for them, we can be assured that, more than likely, they have exhausted most other avenues. In other words, the comparison can go back to the difference between major surgery and minor surgery. It is minor surgery if others are going through it, but major surgery if I it is happening to us.

Jesus asked us to “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

God, give me the ability to share the burdens of others in such a way as to lighten their load. Amen.
Bro. Bill
In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

     Friday, September 27th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way to my heart” (John Wesley).

God did not say, “Money is the root of all evil"; He said, "love of money is the root of all evil” (1Timothy 6:10). John Wesley knew his own heart. He knew the temptations he would face with money and did not want it to come between him and God.

Love of money is not the only temptation known to man. Many are not only tempted by money to turn away from God but also tempted by many other ways: entertainment, drugs, alcohol, even vocation, and a myriad of other things.

God, keep my heart pure and turned toward You. Help me to throw temptation out of my hands and out of my life as soon as possible to keep it from finding its way into my heart. Amen.

Bro. Bill

In GOD we Trust!

The coming hunger

Yahweh continues moving in our world to demonstrate how arrogant for man to imagine that man can control the climate of the earth ... for either good or ill.  And some are actually paying attention and speaking up right out of the scientific community.

Climate scientist warns of impending global-cooling crisis....

Contrary to the so-called “consensus,” the planet’s climate is not warming, says David Archibald, an Australian scientist and visiting fellow at the The Institute of World Politics (IWP) in Washington, D.C.

“The temperature of the planet is the same as it was 30 years ago,” said Archibald. “The IPCC models have failed.”
..... 

Open the link for the full article.

xtnyoda, shalomed 

Daily Nugget

   Thursday, September 26th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

Dean Dexter asks, “If someone were to pay you 10 cents for every kind word you said about people, and collected 5 cents for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor?”

Our words are powerful for building relationships or for tearing down relationships. Some truth can be found in the fact: “Birds of a feather flock together.” If the groups we hang out with are negative, we are very likely to be negative--unless we choose to rise above the bunch.

Paul, in the letter he wrote to the church at Ephesus, gives us this challenge: “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

God, let my actions as well as my words be a blessing to others. Amen
Bro Bill

In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

   Wednesday, September 25th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“The main ingredient to stardom is the rest of the team” (John Wooden).

No matter how great an athlete is or how successful a businessman is, he can become a floundering tragedy without the support of his friends, family, and team. As individuals, we must lift up, help, and encourage those not as strong as ourselves, while at the same time not being consumed with self-pride.

Matthew 27:12 reminds us, “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Be an encourager to someone today.

God, help us to be to others the factor to make their day. Amen

Bro. Bill

In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

   Tuesday, September 24th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“Gardens are not made by singing, 'Oh, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade” (Rudyard Kipling).

Every time I look at a well-kept garden, I am reminded of an old-timer whose garden was so beautiful and weed-free I had to stop and ask, “What do you use on your ground to keep the weeds out?”

He replied, “Cotaran.”

When I told him I had never heard of that, he said, “Let me show you my Cotaran.” He went to his shed and pulled out a well-worn hoe. “Let me introduce you to Cotaran," he said. “I use Cotaran to cotaran this and cotaran that until all the weeds are gone.” 

The same is true in our lives. It takes work to keep out the weeds that want to choke out the beauty God wants to sow in our lives. The Apostle Paul gives us this advice: “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9) .

God, help us to be diligent in eliminating those things that keep us from allowing Your beauty to shine in our life. Amen.

Bro. Bill
In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

   Monday, September 23rd, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

A pastor, when speaking to his people on the relationship between fact and faith, said, “That you are sitting before me in this church—is fact. That I am standing here, speaking from this pulpit—is fact. That I believe anyone is listening to me—is faith!”

Whether I am a preacher, a teacher, or even a parent, the quote above gives me food for thought. Is anyone really listening to me? It is a matter of faith that we write or speak to others with the confidence the message is being received. Fortunately, we sometimes get feedback in the form of seeing a life changed, or a person moving in the right direction. By faith let us continue to edify and encourage one another while we can.

I Thessalonians 5:11-14 gives this advice: “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.”

God, let us by faith encourage those in our sphere of influence while we are able. God, help us to remember the results are up to You. Amen.

Bro. Bill

Today praise God early, often, and heartily. In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

   Sunday, September 22nd, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

Henry Ward Beecher said that a man who was starving to death would not go into the laboratory to try and figure out how wheat germinates in the soil nor demand a chemical analysis of bread. So those who are really conscious of their need for forgiveness are not concerned with the mechanics of the atonement, but only concerned that they themselves are the recipients of its effects.

Praise God, even with my limited knowledge, I am able to receive the forgiveness He has extended to me. I don’t understand it, or deserve it, but I by grace accept it.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:10).
Praise God Who knows you, loves you and forgives you.

God, thank You for loving us beyond measure. I give You praise that I do not have to understand Your grace, I just receive it. Amen.

Bro. Bill
In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

   Saturday, September 21st, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to 5 ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently"  (Warren Buffet).

The Bible speaks a great truth in the statement: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor than silver and gold" (Proverbs 22:1). Live today building your legacy.

God, in these days where the world’s values are movable, help us to remain steadfast on walking with You. Amen.

Bro. Bill

In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

     Thursday, September 19th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

Someone once showed an artist a costly handkerchief, on which a blot of ink had been made. “Nothing can be done with it now; it is absolutely worthless.” The artist made no reply, but carried it away with him. After a time he sent it back, to the great surprise of his friend, who could scarcely recognize it. In a most skillful and artistic way, he had made a fine design in India ink, using the blot as a basis, making the handkerchief more valuable than ever.

Every one of us can look at mistakes in our life and declare ourselves useless. Oh, but we do not receive that report from our own mind nor from others. What we have messed up can be made clean by God Who loves us and desires to have fellowship with us in spite of our shortcomings. A blotted life is not necessarily a useless life. Though it has been marred by sin, Jesus can make a life beautiful.

The Prophet Isaiah reminds us: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

God, I love You and want Your total cleansing making me into the work of art You want me to be. Amen.
Bro. Bill
In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

     Wednesday, September 18th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“Praise is the rent we owe to God; and the larger the farm, the greater the rent” (Bowles).

Have you ever tried to thank God for all He has done for you? Even if we tried, we will only scratch the surface of the praise that is due Him. The trouble is that most people do not even try to give Him the praise He is due, while others try to steal the praise due Him for themselves.

In Psalm 30:12, we are challenged to give praise in this manner: “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.”

As His mercy to us endures forever, let our praise for Him, to Him, and about Him get past our brain to His ear.

God, thank You for our daily opportunity to worship and praise You. Amen.

Bro. Bill
In GOD we Trust!

Daily Nugget

     Tuesday, September 17th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

A young man spent an entire evening telling a girl how much he loved her. He said that he could not live without her, that he would go to the ends of the earth for her, yes, go through fire for her, or die for her. However, on leaving, he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow night if it doesn’t rain.”

I wonder how God feels when we pledge our undying love to Him and can’t even find our way to His house regularly. How does he feel when we sing on Sunday morning, “I love Thee, I love Thee, my Lord, and that Thou must know; but how much I love Thee, my actions will show,” and then we are silent for the rest of the week.

The writer in Psalm 30:12 gives us this word: “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.”

God, let us praise You daily while we have breath. Amen.
Bro. Bill

Draw near to God daily, He desires fellowship with you.

Daily Nugget

    Monday, September 16th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

"In a dream you are never eighty" (New England Poet Anne Sexton).

Children dream of being older, but adults never do. This is an interesting thought as we are all growing older. The writer of Proverbs tells us, "Where there is no vision the people perish" (29:18). Even our subconscious knows we do not quit having fun because we get old; we grow old because we stop having fun.

God, thank You for this day, and for all the blessings of it. Amen.
Bro. Bill
In God we trust!

Daily Nugget

    Sunday, September 15th, 2013.  Today's cherished Nugget from guest blogger Pastor Bill.

“No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, it is never too late to turn around” (Unknown).

The quote above was seen in an eating establishment, and bears too much truth to ignore. When we find ourselves even tempted to sin, it is time to turn around and run back to The Father. Don’t wait too long, for He is waiting for you. 1John 1:9 tells us: “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

God, remind me to repent, turn around, and come back to the right relationship with You. Amen.
Bro. Bill

In GOD we Trust!