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We should never put so much emphasis on gaining the material possessions of
this world only for our vanity to be satisfied. What we must realize and
remind ourselves is that life is temporary and the things associated with
it will one day pass away. Striving for self gain will leave one's heart
feeling empty no matter how many possessions surround them. Material
things don't make the man, but a heart seeking God's will and trying our
best to act in a manner that is pleasing to Him will satisfy our souls and
will fill our hearts with a Joy that is unimaginable. Living only for
yourself will not bring lasting satisfaction to your life, but striving to
be of use to someone else and trying to better their life will bless you
beyond comprehension.
I am a firm believer in sowing and reaping. I believe that whatever I put
into the ground will come back one day to either bless or curse my life.
When I sow goodness, charity, love, encouragement and hope than I should
expect to reap those same blessings that I imparted into someone else's
life. Whatever good you do to someone else will come back to you. The
opposite is also true. Whatever strife you cause, hatred you impart or
evil that you do will come back to you one day. We will receive the same
things that we give out so let us recognize the importance of sowing
goodness into our own lives and into the lives of those around us.
I know many of us can think back over our life and see that decades have
passed that seem like only a few short years ago and it is for this reason
that we should focus on using our life to make a difference that will
never be erased. Doing good lasts forever no matter who the good is done
to. It may be a family member, a friend or a complete stranger. The good
works that are done do not matter who they are done to because the same
result will come forth regardless. If you’re blessing someone you know or
someone you don't know, your memory will remain alive in their hearts for
the rest of their life. No good deed goes forgotten and every blessing
given will be returned multiplied back to you in ways that you've never
thought of.
Always remember and keep in mind that when you do something good for
someone else, the same will be done for you in your time of need. You are
ensuring your own life's success when you act in a manner that is loving,
kind, charitable and encouraging. I encourage you to think on how you
portray yourself. Are you doing the things that are necessary to bless
your own future or are you only interested in what you can gain from
others. If you are in the latter category, I strongly encourage you to
change your ways. It's not too late to start afresh and lead your life in
a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. We never see a millionaire on his
deathbed clinching to his riches, but rather what's most important to them
at that time are the people that they love the most. Material things
don't love back, but the relationships that we nurture, cultivate and
bless will love us for the rest of our life and for the rest of theirs.
I hope this message inspires and encourages your heart to see the
importance and blessing those who are not as fortunate as you are. Seeing
the many blessings that we possess, we should do our best to bless those
who aren't as fortunate as we are.
A FAMILY TRADITION
It was mid-October when I first spotted them. They were nestled in next to
the candy and Halloween costumes as I walked through the store. They were
the first Christmas decorations of the year. It was the beginning of the
10 week period when the stores do all they can to get us to buy all we
can. It was the great Christmas shopping rush and the bigger the gifts the
better. I shook my head sadly and walked on, but then a wonderful memory
came back into my mind.
It was late-December from several years earlier. I was shopping alone
trying to pick up some thick winter socks to warm my frozen feet. As I
rounded the corner in the store I saw a Christmas tree full of paper
angels. On each angel was the name of a needy child whose family couldn’t
afford to buy them a gift that year. Shoppers who picked an angel could
buy a simple toy or gift and the store would wrap it and send it to the
child that Christmas.
Around the tree I saw a teenage boy and girl picking out several angels
apiece. Their mother was smiling while she watched them. I walked up next
to her and started talking with her. She told me that her children started
this several years ago when she first explained to them what the Charity
Angel tree was for. Each offered to give up one of their toys that year so
that a needy child could have one. It didn’t stop then, though. Each year
since the kids had saved money they earned throughout the year and bought
more and more children the gifts they wouldn’t have otherwise. It had
become a family tradition. I smiled when she finished, walked over to the
tree, and picked out a few angels too. I left the store feeling in touch
with God, Christmas and life once again.
May we always remember that life is about the love you share not the money
you have. Life is about the people you help not the things you own. And
may we also see that it is never too late to start a family tradition that
makes the Father of us all smile.
By Joseph J. Mazzella
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Ephesians 4:29-32 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,
but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace
unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all
malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Galatians 6:2-4 “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he
have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
Romans 15:1-4 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the
weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour
for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as
it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on Me. For
whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: GOOD THINGS TO REMEMBER
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem129.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony27.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
