We should never discount our life or the lives of others because of our past failings because our past does not dictate the brightness of our future. What the past does for each of us is it teaches us lessons, shapes our character and strengthens our resolve to never give up and never give in no matter how strong the storms may be raging against us. What the past also does is it shows us that there is a better way to be better, to do better and to lead by example better. We gain such wisdom and understanding when we fail or fall short personally or professionally. What we must do is use that hard earned wisdom for our betterment and for the betterment of those around us. We don’t have to wallow in our past, but we can gird ourselves up, dig our heels in leaning forward ready to start the race again. I believe that is how God can use us for His glory. God loves to use those who can’t do it on their own so that they can know that it wasn’t in their ability that they succeeded and triumphed, but it was in God’s ability through them. (1 Peter 1:13-16) (Jeremiah 33:3)

Whenever you think you are the outcast, you are the one that’s alone or you are the one that is misunderstood, I want you to know you are the perfect candidate for God to use. One of my favorite scriptures is found in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 which declares “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” Be encouraged to take the reins that God has entrusted you with and become all that God has instilled within your heart to be. Don’t worry about the naysayers, don’t think about those who have never believed in you, but with a quiet and bold confidence in God dare to become all that you were created to be. (Isaiah 6:5-8) (Psalm 26:1-3)

I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to believe that you are here for a purpose that needs to be fulfilled.


DO YOU KNOW A HERO?

Not every Marine is a hero. During field training exercises at Parris Island, South Carolina, one drill instructor threw a pine cone among the recruits and yelled, “Grenade!” The trainees immediately turned away and hit the ground. “Just as I suspected,” chided the drill instructor. “Not a hero among you! Didn't anyone want to jump on that grenade to save the others?”

A little later the instructor tossed another pine cone and yelled, “Grenade!” This time, all the recruits but one jumped on the “explosive.”

“Why are you still standing there?” the DI demanded.

“Sir,” the recruit replied, “someone had to live to tell about it.”

Not everyone is a hero. But then, not every hero jumps on grenades, pulls terrified children from burning buildings, or wears an impressive uniform.

Do you know a hero? I am not asking you to simply name a favorite celebrity. There is a difference.

Do you know a hero? I think perhaps you do. Heroes, you see, can be found in some of the most unexpected places. I knew a young mother who was slowly dying of cancer, yet she put aside her pain long enough every day to smile and laugh with her children. She tried hard every day to bring sunshine into the gloomy hospital room when her family was present. And I watched her husband fill the roles of single parent and financial provider, and still spend every remaining moment sitting at his mate's bedside, valiantly encouraging and offering whatever hope he could muster.

I knew a talented teacher who could have worked at a far more lucrative profession, yet was determined to stay in a disadvantaged school in the hope that she could make a difference in a difficult situation. She did it for her students.

I've known other heroes, too.

You may have noticed - many of the world's true heroes will never be confused with action figures. Most have never been to battle, competed athletically nor sung in a pop band. But they have faced nearly impossible challenges with unimaginable determination and courage. They found what it takes to bear the unbearable, forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, outlast the unendurable or defeat the undefeatable. And often they do it for the sake of others.

Do you know a hero? Maybe one lives in your home. And perhaps one even looks back at you from the mirror. For it is in everyday battles of the spirit that true wars are fought and won. And it is those real-life heroes who give the rest of us hope and remind us that anything is possible.

Do you know a hero? I think you do.

By Steve Goodier


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

Psalm 139:17-18 “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with Thee.”

Psalm 8:3-5 “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”

Romans 8:35-37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”

Psalm 145:14-19 “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.”

All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. 


Today's Selected Poem: ENRICHING THOUGHTS
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem157.htm

Today's Selected Testimony: GOD HEALED ME FROM EPILEPSY
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony91.htm


In Christ’s Service,

Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry