In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at  a  nearby  church  and  talk  to the  minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned. “If Christians have caste differences also,” he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.” That usher’s prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior. (Our Daily Bread)

Francois Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher. King Louis demanded, “What does this mean?” Fenelon replied, “I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king.”   (Source Unknown)

One blistering hot day when they had guests for dinner, Mother asked 4-year old Johnny to give thanks. “But I don’t know what to say!” the boy complained. “Oh, just say what you hear me say” his mother replied. Obediently the boy bowed his head and mumbled, “Oh Lord, why did I invite these people over on a hot day like this?” (Source Unknown.)

Things are going well, no crisis, no conflicts to speak of, pretty much smooth sailing.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, a storm hits. Maybe it’s a crisis, or a hardship. Maybe it’s a personal tragedy.

So what do you do when a hurricane-force storm hits and water is filling your boat? Answer: You take heart. Because you are not alone.

When Paul was at sea on his way to Rome and the mighty tempest hit him and the others on board, he was able to courageously encourage others. He told them, “But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me” (Acts 27:22-23).

How was Paul able to be so confident? He was conscious of the presence of God in the face of danger. He knew that God was there with him.

And God is with us in our storms as well. God will always give us what we need when we need it.

You remember that Paul had what he called his “thorn in the flesh,” which was presumably some kind of physical disability or illness. He asked the Lord three times to remove it (see 2 Corinthians 12). God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9), which is another way of saying, “I will be with you, Paul. Instead of a healing, I will personally be there in a special and sufficient way.”

A. B. Simpson wrote these words:
“Once it was the Blessing, now it is the Lord.
Once it was the Feeling, now it is His Word.
Once His Gifts I wanted, now the Giver alone.
Once I sought Healing, now Himself alone.”

God is with you right now, regardless of the storm or even the shipwreck. We may not hear an audible voice, but you may hear that “still small voice” of God’s Holy Spirit. Or He will speak to you through His Word. You can take heart in the face of danger or uncertainty because you are aware of God’s presence with you.

When your boss says, “I’m really sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go!” Or when the doctor says, “The test results are back and I need you to come in.” Or when the telephone rings and someone says, “There’s been an accident.”

You are not alone. The Lord is standing next to you. He cares. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

I have been teaching my granddaughter Stella a new Bible verse that I will leave you with today: “Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) (GREG LAURIE)

It really depends upon what you are aiming for. Like most parents you long for your children to “succeed” in life. But what does that mean? Is it merely getting into the right schools, having the right grades, the right friends and the right skills so that they can get the right job?

Ask yourself this question: “Am I helping my kids develop the ‘right stuff’ from a Biblical perspective?” Are you, like an archer, carefully aiming your parenting to produce Godly children who will not only have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ, but embody God’s Kingdom values in the way they live their lives?

What can you do to help your kids develop spiritually? Merely sending them to church activities isn’t enough. Studies show that 90% of youth who have heavily participated in church drop out after 2 years in college. For many youth, the checking out begins as early as the age of 16. They find packaged religion to be irrelevant to the real world. What can you do to counter this trend?

1. Embrace God’s Kingdom agenda. Whether you know it or not, you are now teaching them values that either conform to or conflict with God’s Kingdom. When you decide to participate in an activity that regularly interferes with spiritual responsibilities (church attendance, Bible study, spiritual service) you have taught them that personal fulfillment is more important than obedience to and fellowship with God. You are on display to them 24/7. They watch your every move, how you spend your time, how you spend your money. They listen to what you talk about. Do they see in you generosity, compassion, and a love of God and His Word? Do they see you ordering your life around God’s priorities? You are the first Bible they have read and they started reading right after birth. What have they learned?

2. Create the environment. How does the environment of your home aesthetically and socially reflect God’s Kingdom agenda? Children swim in the environment of the home. Things dear to God’s heart can be reflected even in the way you decorate your home. Have you as carefully thought about the “value environment” in your home as you have how you have selected its décor? Think of how you celebrate holidays…what can you do to turn them into “teaching moments” that zero in on what God values?

3. Teach by using experience. Jesus taught people by taking them to places and exposing them to real life. The world and all its activity became a textbook of illustrations Jesus used to drive home Biblical truth. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to begin to serve Christ as a family. Go on family mission trips together. Serve in your local area together. God has placed gifts and abilities in your family and He expects you to use them.     (J. RANDALL WALLACE)

We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first. (Oswald J. Smith)

Lost people matter to God, and so they must matter to us. (Keith Wright)

If I had 1,000 lives, I’d give them all for China. (Hudson Taylor, missionary to China)

If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn’t it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages to death.  (Dave Davidson)

We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.  (John Stott)

God had only one Son and He made that Son a missionary. (David Livingstone, missionary to Africa)

God is a God of missions. He wills missions. He commands missions. He demands missions. He made missions possible through His Son. He made missions actual in sending the Holy Spirit.   (George Peters)

We should not ask, “What is wrong with the world?” for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather, we should ask, “What has happened to the salt and light?”  (John Stott)

I’ve seen for too many Christians who are more willing to travel halfway around the world to volunteer for a week in an orphanage, but who cannot bring themselves to take the personal risk of sharing Jesus with the co-worker who sits day after day in the cubicle right next to them. (Lee Strobel)

There are only three kinds of Christians when it comes to world missions: zealous goers, zealous senders, and disobedient. (John Piper)

I believe that in each generation God has called enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. It is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!

(Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand)

If you take missions out of the Bible, you won’t have anything left but the covers.    (Nina Gunter)

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows it must out-run the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter if we are a lion or a gazelle…when the sun comes up, you better be running.

Running for survival? Don’t usually need a reminder about that: I hit the floor at full tilt, my brain rocketing into orbit the minute I wake up. Some days I’m the hunter. Others, I’m the hunted. But there’s more to the story. While I’m racing through life at the speed of light, I must keep in mind who is really in charge. What happens when the heat turns up and I go into pressure cooker-mode? Will I trust the One who made the stars and placed them in the sky?

One of my favourite verses is Jeremiah 29:11 – I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (The Message)
It comforts me greatly to know that He’s got my back, whether I’m a pursuer or a pursuee. He promises me a future and a hope. And He has plans. I may not always see them. Or just may not want to listen.

Sometimes life is hard and we wonder where He is. But He says He will never abandon me. I need to hang on to that. Even when it’s a jungle out there.   (KIMBERLY RUSSELL)