IT’S NOT MY FAULT

*** IT’S NOT MY FAULT ***

A Mathews says on his book;

I watched the following conversation unfold on TV between a distraught woman and a financial advisor:

Woman: My husband just lost his job and we don’t know what we are going to do. We have huge mortgage plus loans for two expensive cars. All these overpaid executives on Wall Street have created this global financial mess. It’s not fair… The Government should do something!

Expert: Your husband had a well-paid job?

Woman: Yes he did.

Expert: He got pay rises over the last few years?

Woman: Yes he did. He was very good at his job and he got pay rises and promotions … And … bonuses.

Expert: And how was your lifestyle?

Woman: We had a good life. We went to Rome, Rio, Las Vegas, we extended the house and we built a swimming pool on the backyard.

Expert: And each time your husband got a bonus, How much did you save for your future?

Woman: PARDON? !!!

Expert: How much did you save for your future?

Woman: We didn’t SAVE. We borrowed more__ be…cause he was making so much.

HERE IS WHAT’S STRANGE:

*  It never occurred to this couple that:

a)     While he was making huge money, It might have been a good idea to save some.

b)    They created this situation where they are now.

c)     No job, and might be no hiring for the now aged husband (because the hiring now a days is a new educated and young and fresh.

REMEMBER THIS:

“A LOAN IS MONEY YOU DON’T HAVE.

 BE CAREFUL HOW YOU SHOULD SPEND IT.”

THE SEASONS OF LIFE

THE BEST STORY YOU SHOULD KNOW.

There was a man who had four sons. 

He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said, "no it was covered with green buds and full of promise."

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The father then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, the fulfillment of your fall.

MORAL:

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come sometime or later.

''Tears may fall in the night...

But Joy comes in the morning''

(Psalms 30:5)  . . .

Stay Strong....Hold On...Keep Your Head up.....If The LORD Got YOU THIS Far....Believe in HIM To See you through 😀 GOD BLESS YOU

How the Poor Live

 How the Poor Live

 

One day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. 

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. 

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." the son replied.
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

THE CROSS

 THE CROSS

A young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said, "I have too heavy of a cross to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief and said, "Thank you, Lord," and he did as he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you can imagined.

 Matt 16:24

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

Matt 10:38

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

The Flight and The Wonderful Sit-mate

 The Flight and The Sit-mate 

When This Man Sees Who Sits Next To Him In The Plane, He’s Disgusted. 2 Hours Later, He Hates Himself For That.

The story starts with a man getting on a plane and taking his seat next to the window. It’s an ordinary flight, from Tokyo to Hong Kong. But when an overweight woman sits down next to him, his worst nightmare suddenly becomes a reality.

“‘Hi! How are you?’
The woman smiled as she took the seat beside me. She had to lower herself slowly, squeezing her ample bottom into the seat, filling all available space.
Positioning herself comfortably, she plopped her enormous arm on our common armrest. Her immensity saturated the space around us, shrinking me and my seat into insignificance.
I cringed and reclined towards the window.
She leaned towards me and repeated her greeting in an upbeat, friendly voice. Her face towered above my head, forcing me to turn to look at her. ‘Hi,’ I replied with obvious loathing.”

 Image source

 ''I turned away to stare out the cabin window, sulking silently about the long hours of discomfort I was going to experience with this monster beside me.

She nudged me with her meaty arm. ‘My name is Laura. I’m from Britain. How about you? Japan?’
‘Malaysia,’ I barked.
‘I’m so sorry! Will you accept my heartfelt apology? Come, shake my hand. If we’re going to spend six hours side-by-side on this flight, we’d better be friends, don’t you think?’ A palm waved in front of my face. I shook the hand reluctantly, still silent.
Laura started a conversation with me, taking no notice of my unfriendly reactions. She talked excitedly about herself and her trip to Hong Kong to see her friends. She rattled off a list of things she was going to buy for her students in the boarding school where she was teaching.
I gave her one-word answers to her questions about me. Unperturbed by my coldness, she nodded as she made appreciative comments to my answers. Her voice was warm and caring. She was considerate and obliging when we were served drinks and meals, making sure that I had room to maneuver in my seat. ‘I don’t want to clobber you with my elephant size!’ she said with utmost sincerity.
To my surprise, her face which repulsed me hours before, now opened into extraordinary smiles, lively and calm at the same time. I couldn’t help but let down my guard slowly.
Laura was an interesting conversationalist. She was well read in many subjects from philosophy to science. She turned a seemingly unimportant subject into something to explore and understand. Her comments were humorous and inspirational. When our topic turned to cultures, I was pleasantly surprised by her intelligent comments and well-thought-out analysis.
During our conversation, Laura managed to make every cabin crew who served us walk away laughing at her jokes.
When a flight attendant was clearing our plates, Laura cracked several jokes about her size. The flight attendant roared with laughter as she grabbed Laura’s hand, ‘You really make my day!’
For the next few minutes, Laura listened attentively and gave pointers to the flight attendant’s weight problem. The grateful attendant said before she rushed off, ‘I’ve got to work. I’ll come back later and talk to you about it.’
I asked Laura, ‘Have you ever thought about losing some weight?’
‘No. I’ve worked hard to get this way. Why would I want to give it up?’
‘You aren’t worried about cardiovascular diseases that come with being overweight?’
‘Not at all. You only get the diseases if you’re worried about your weight all the time. You see advertisements from slimming centers that say, “Liberate yourself from your extra baggage so that you are free to be yourself.” It’s rubbish! You’re liberated only if you’re comfortable about who you are, and what you look like any time of the day and anytime of the year! Why would I want to waste my time on slimming regimes when I have so many other important things to do and so many people to be friends with? I eat healthily and walk regularly; I’m this size because I am born to be big! There is more to life than worrying about weight all day long.’
She sipped at her wine. ‘Besides, God gives me so much happiness that I need a bigger body to hold all of it! Why would I lose weight to lose my happiness?’ Taken aback by her reasoning, I chuckled.
Laura continued. ‘Folks often see me as a fat lady with big bosoms, big thighs and a big bottom that no man would even bother to cast a glance at. They see me as a slob. They think I’m lazy and have no willpower. They’re wrong.’
She held up her glass to a passing flight attendant. ‘More of this magnificent wine, please.’ She smiled sweetly at the attendant. ‘Great service from your crew. May God bless all of you.’
She turned to me, ‘I’m actually a slim person inside. I’m so full of energy that people won’t be able to keep up with me. This extra flesh is here to slow me down, otherwise I’ll be running everywhere chasing after men!’
‘Do men chase after you?’ I asked jokingly.
‘Of course they do. I’m happily married, but men still keep proposing to me. Most of them have relationship problems and they need someone to confide in. For some reason, they like to talk to me. I think I should have been a counselor instead of a school teacher!’
Laura paused before she said thoughtfully, ‘You know, the relationship between men and women is so complicated. Women worship men and call them, “Honey” until they find out they have been lied to, and then they turn into bitter gourds! Men love women so much that they see them as their soul mates until they look at their credit card bills, and then women become devils with tridents!’
Laura’s enthralling conversation had turned the flight into something thoroughly enjoyable. I was also fascinated by the way people were drawn to her. By the end of the flight, almost half the cabin crew was standing near the aisle by us, laughing and joking with Laura. The passengers around us joined in the merry-making, too. Laura was the center of attention, filling the cabin with delightful warmth.”
“When we waved goodbye to each other at the arrival lounge at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport, I watched her walking towards a big group of adoring adults and kids. Cheers sounded as the group hugged and kissed Laura. She turned around and winked at me.
I was stunned, as the realization set in: Laura was the most beautiful woman I had ever met in my life.”

Story Source * Newsner

Stairway To Heaven

"Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 
There above it stood The Lord, and He said, "I Am The Lord, The God of your father Abraham and The God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I Am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land." (Genesis 28:10-15)

 

 One of the most well-known stories of the Bible is Jacob's "stairway to heaven" dream (also known as "Jacob's ladder"). It occurred while Jacob was fleeing the wrath of Esau, his brother. Esau was the older, and therefore would have been foremost in line for their father Isaac's inheritance. Esau however did not place great value upon his right, at least until it was too late. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for that famous bowl of stew, and after having done so, he actually despised it (Genesis 25:27-34). Later, Jacob deceived his father into giving him the blessing as well. (Genesis 27:1-40)

Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau, had taken part in Jacob's misleading scheme to obtain the blessing (Genesis 27:5-10), and after the deed was done, it was she who sent Jacob away to live with her brother Laban (where he married his cousins Rachel and Leah, and had the 12 sons from whom came the 12 tribes of Israel) to keep Esau from killing him. That's why he was traveling near Bethel (just north of Jerusalem in what is today the "West Bank" area - see map) where the stairway dream took place.

But what did the dream mean?

The first part was a direct statement by God that Jacob's receiving the blessing and birthright was God's will. It had been part of the plan all along - it was not something that Jacob and Rebekah, of themselves, brought about. God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18), that carried on through his son Isaac, would now continue through Jacob - who God renamed Israel (Genesis 35:10).

God then promised that the land of Israel was to be rightfully occupied by Jacob's seed - fulfilled today by the descendants of Jacob's son Judah, who are now commonly called Jews. God also revealed that the entire world would benefit from the descendants of Jacob, which they indeed have through the other tribes - the so-called "Lost Ten Tribes" of Israel.

The dream had an ultimate messianic application - the very reason for it. Jesus Christ was humanly descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is our stairway to heaven that will provide us with the way to get from down here to up there. He directly referred to Himself as the true object of Jacob's dream

"He then added, "I tell you the truth, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1:51)

Fact Finder: Is Jesus Christ the only way to salvation?
                      *** Acts 4:12 ***


Bible study  Stairway to heaven

What Is The Value of Life?

A man went to God and asked,

  "What's the value of life?"

God gave him one stone and said, 

"Find out the value of this stone, but don't sell it."

The man took the stone to an Orange Seller and asked him what it's cost would be.

The Orange Seller saw the shiny stone and said, "You can take 12 oranges and give me the stone."

The man apologized and said that the God has asked him not to sell it.

He went ahead and found a vegetable seller. "What could be the value of this stone?" he asked the vegetable seller. The seller saw the shiny stone and said, " Take one sack of potatoes and give me the stone." The man again apologized and said he can't sell it.

Further ahead, he went into a jewellery shop and asked the value of the stone. The jeweler saw the stone under a lens and said, "I'll give you 50 Lakhs for this stone." When the man shook his head, the jeweler said, "Alright, alright, take 2 crores, but give me the stone." The man explained that he can't sell the stone. 

Further ahead, the man saw a precious stone's shop and asked the seller the value of this stone.

When the precious stone's seller saw the big ruby, he lay down a red cloth and put the ruby on it. Then he walked in circles around the ruby and bent down and touched his head in front of the ruby. 

"From where did you bring this priceless ruby from?" he asked. "Even if I sell the whole world, and my life, I won't be able to purchase this priceless stone.

Stunned and confused, the man returned to the God and told him what had happened. 

"Now tell me what is the value of life, God?

Then God said, 

"The answers you got from the Orange Seller, the Vegetable Seller, the Jeweler & the Precious Stone's Seller explain the value of our life... 

You may be a precious stone, even priceless, but people may value you based on their level of information, their belief in you, their motive behind entertaining you, their ambition, and their risk taking ability. 

But don't fear, you will surely find someone who will discern your true value."

In the eyes of God you are very very precious. 

Respect yourself. 

You are Unique. No one can Replace you!