Before she died, an old lady wanted to visit England, the home of her ancestors. She went to the Federal Office and asked for a passport.

“You must take the loyalty oath first,” the passport clerk said. “Raise your right hand, please.” The senior citizen raised her right hand as the clerk asked, “Do you swear to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, domestic or foreign?”

The sweet old face paled and the voice trembled as she responded, “Well, I guess so, but … will I have help, or will I have to do it all by myself?”

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

’…You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.’ Psalm 86:17
NIV

Have you been hurt by a Christian who chose to condemn you
instead of showing compassion and helping you? Or by someone
who neglected you when they should have sought you out, restored
you spiritually and returned you to your rightful place in the family
of God? Most people who’ve been hurt by other Christians could
easily convince a jury that it should never have happened. And the
truth is, it shouldn’t. But it does – and reliving it won’t change
things, or change you, for the better.

Stop and think: if you were mugged and taken to the hospital, you
wouldn’t spend all your time obsessing about the person who beat
you up. No, your main objective would be to recover as quickly as
possible and move on. Ironically, with physical wounds we seek
help immediately, but with emotional ones we’re inclined to focus
on the problem instead of the solution.

So what are you going to do? Here are your options:

(1) Rehearse it. By constantly talking to others about what
happened, you empower your pain and keep it alive.

(2) Repress it. David did that: ‘When I kept silent…my strength was
sapped as in the heat of summer’ (Psalm 32:3-4 NIV).

(3) Process it. That means being willing to uncover the areas where
you were wounded and opening yourself to receive God’s grace.
That’s when you discover that ‘He heals the brokenhearted and
binds up their wounds’ (Psalm 147:3 NKJV).

(4) Share it. The Bible says, ‘Confess your sins to each other, and
pray for each other, that you may be healed…’ (James 5:16 NIV).

If you’re wise you’ll choose options (3) and (4).

SoulFood: Acts 1:1 – 3:10; Matt 2:1-12; Ps 127; Pro 10:19-21

as seen in The Word For Today and passed on by Cup O’Cheer

In your prayers, please remember those who are being subjected to the whims of the weather, and the earthquakes. All across the earth the weather is playing havoc with the populations, and the earth just doesn’t want to stop moving over in the Nepal area. Two massive earthquakes within 3 weeks, plus the attendant aftershocks have claimed almost 9,000 lives, injured thousands more, and turned homes & other buildings into rubble. They truly need our prayers.

What Really Matters

A man once went to a minister for counseling.
“I’ve lost everything,” he told the minister.
“Oh I’m so sorry to hear you’ve lost your faith,” the minister responded.
“No,” the man corrected him, “I haven’t lost my faith.”
“Well, then I’m sad to hear you’ve lost your character.”
“I didn’t say that,” the man corrected. “I still have my character.”
“I’m so sorry you’ve lost your salvation,” said the minister.
“That’s not what I said,” the man objected.
“You have your faith, your character, and your salvation. Seems to me,” the minister observed, “that you’ve lost none of the things that really matter.”
You and I could pray like the Puritan. He sat down to a meal of bread and water.  He bowed his head and declared, “All this and Jesus, too?” What will you gain with contentment? You may gain joy—and the faith to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!”
From Traveling Light