Watch this!

Walking along life's highway towards heaven, we  have to watch out for slippery paths underneath our feet that might trip us off the path, much against our will.

I think we'll be safe if we can recognise these traps before we stumble into them.

But if we're not sure of  the difference between flowers and weeds, we wouldn't be able to take care of a garden. No one would put us in charge of it and we would feel a bit uncomfortable and inadequate if they did!

It's simply not enough to have the truth of God's word planted in our minds. We will have to learn about these weeds and work to keep the ground clear of nettles and brambles, foolish mistakes and maybe even more deliberate errors, which have a wicked likelihood of choking the word of life in us.

But please could we never be disappointed with ourselves? It isn't when we become aware of our own faults that we are at our most sinful: quite the opposite! In recognising our faults as Christian people We are actually rising up and away from them again: that's because we are seeing by a brighter light.

And please hang on to this; when our souls are in need of strengthening again, that we don't actually become aware of our sins until the moment our Lord begins to lift them up and wash them.

Have a great weekend -- Mike

The Fashion Store.

A tourist visits a large fashion store in London and tries to buy clothes with Euros or dollars or yen and, unsurprisingly, does not really succeed.

The Store Manager sends a member of staff after him as he leaves the store. The tourist is told that £Sterling would cause a much more fruitful in-store reaction.

The tourist visits the cash machine and then goes back into the store to buy successfully.

We pray in hope and fear and sadness and guilt and desperation and love but expectancy is the more easily acceptable currency in the kingdom of God. Have a blessed day! -- Mike

Revd Mike Endicott
Director: Order of Jacob's Well

 

UK office phone: 01633 483660

 

USA and Canada office phone: 647-932 3542

 

Postal Address:
Order of Jacob's Well, Forge House, Clomendy Rd, Old Cwmbran, Wales UK NP44 3LS

 

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/revd.endicott

 

Twitter feed link: 
http://twitter.com/simplyhealing

 

International Resources for you:
www.simplyhealing.org
and
www.jacobswell.org.uk

Parable of the pencil

Parable Of The Pencil

 

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

 

1: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

2: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

3: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

4: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

And 5: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

 

Now replacing us in the pencil box; we should always remember these points and never forget, and we will become the best person we can be.

1: We will be able to do many great things, but only if we allow ourselves to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access us for the many gifts we possess.

2: We will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but we'll need it to become a stronger person.

3: We will be able to correct any mistakes we might make.

4: The most important part of us will always be what's on the inside.

And 5: On every surface we walk through, we must leave our mark. No matter the situation, we must continue to do our duties.

May we pencils go on with our life on this earth with a new and meaningful purpose in our heart! -- Mike

Got a moment for a short story? Try having a go at this -– works for me!

I was much taken recently with the story of an old Chinaman who left his village for a few months to visit his children in a far off city. They had become Christians since leaving home and so, through much discussion and prayer, the old man gave his life to Christ and began to enjoy a new life.

 

At the end of his life-changing holiday he returned to his village, the only Christian to be found there. Every single day he climbed the hill that overlooked the village and its fields and spent each morning in prayer over them.

 

"Thank you, Lord, that you have placed me in authority over this village. Your kingdom come. This is your village and you have appointed me to watch over it. Your kingdom come, your will be done, here in this village as it is in heaven."

 

Over the following few years the rice harvest surprised everyone  with its excessive abundance. The farm animals gave more milk and more babies each year. Sickness and disease all but vanished from the village and the people who died first were the eldest, in itself a remarkable change.

 

Ten years later the old man died and went to Glory, leaving the hillside empty every morning. Slowly the harvest yields began to drop back to their original levels and disease and sickness returned to the people. The village elders met to discuss these unhappy circumstances, this change for the worse, and could only conclude, without knowing why, that the good years must have had something to do with the old man who kept faithful watch on the hill above them. Be blessed - Mike

Revd Mike Endicott
Director: Order of Jacob's Well

 

UK office phone: 01633 483660

 

USA and Canada office phone: 647-932 3542

 

Postal Address:
Order of Jacob's Well, Forge House, Clomendy Rd, Old Cwmbran, Wales UK NP44 3LS

 

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/revd.endicott

 

Twitter feed link: 
http://twitter.com/simplyhealing

 

International Resources for you:
www.simplyhealing.org
and
www.jacobswell.org.uk