There are many people in this world that are never satisfied with their
life. It is true that we should believe God for bigger and better things,
but we should also be content with the life that God has given us. People
always assume that having the better things in life will bring happiness,
but the truth is; happiness comes from within.

This is a good story that shows how happiness does not pertain to where we
live, but rather who we are on the inside is what gives someone peace,
happiness and contentment. I hope this message will minister to you and
remind you that happiness comes from the inside and not from the material
possessions the world has to offer. (Matthew 11:28-30)


WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

Once there was an old and very wise man. Every day he would sit outside a
gas station in his rocking chair and wait to greet motorists as they passed
through this small town. On this day, his granddaughter knelt down at the
door of his chair and slowly passed the time with him. 

As they sat and watched the people come and go, a tall man who surely had
to be a tourist--since they knew everyone in the town--began looking around
as if he were checking out the area for a place to live. The stranger
walked up and asked, "So what kind of town is this that we're in?" The
older gentleman slowly turned to the man and replied, "Well, what kind of
town are you from?" The tourist said, "In the town I'm from everyone is 
very critical of each other. The neighbors all gossip about everyone, and
it's a real negative place to live. I'm sure glad to be leaving. It is 
not a very cheerful place." The man in the chair looked at the stranger 
and said, "You know, that's just how this town is."

An hour or so later a family that was also passing through stopped for gas.
The car slowly turned in and rolled to a stop in front of where the older
gentleman and his granddaughter were sitting. The mother jumped out with
two small children and asked where the restrooms were. The man in the 
chair pointed to a small bent-up sign that was barely hanging by one nail
on the side of the door.

The father stepped out of the car and also asked the man, "Is this town a
pretty good place to live?" The man in the chair replied, "What about the
town you are from? How is it?" The father looked at him and said, "Well, in
the town I'm from everyone is very close and always willing to lend their
neighbor a helping hand. There's always a hello and thank you everywhere
you go. I really hate to leave. I feel almost like we are leaving family."
The older gentleman turned to the father and gave him a warm smile. "You
know, that's a lot like this small town." Then the family returned to their
car, said their thank yous, waved goodbye and drove away.

After the family was in the distance, the granddaughter looked up at her 
grandfather and asked, "Grandpa, how come when the first man came into our
town you told him it was a terrible place to live and when the family came
in to town you told them it was a wonderful place to live?" The grandfather
lovingly looked down at his granddaughter's wondering blue eyes and said,
"No matter where you move, you take your own attitude with you and that's
what makes it wonderful or terrible."

By Kris Gray


It is a great thing to have the Bible as our instruction manual. Through
God's Word we know that it is better to give than to receive, that it is 
better to humble ourselves instead of being proud and arrogant, and that it
is better to be content with the little that we might have, than the untold
riches of the wicked that will perish for eternity. 
(Acts 20:35) (1 Peter 5:5-6) (Proverbs 16:8)

Always remember that you have the power to be positive and upbeat or 
negative and critical concerning how you live. Life is short and it should
not be spent unhappily, but rather we should live each day with gratitude
and thanksgiving unto the Lord.

I encourage you to never look at what others have in envy, but rather trust
the Lord to meet your personal needs. I want you to remember that true
happiness never comes through material possessions, but it always comes 
through the peace that God puts in the hearts of those who trust Him.


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in 
everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Timothy 6:7-10 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall
be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in 
destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Matthew 6:25-26 Jesus says "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what
you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than 
clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of 
more value than they?"

Philippians 4:11-13 "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned
in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know
how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full
and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things 
through Christ who strengthens me."

All scriptures can be found in the New King James Version.


In Christ Service, 

Dwayne Savaya 
Gods Work Ministry