BBD 04.25.17 Determined (New)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Since June 8th 1998, this
is the 1780th
Burning Bush Devotional
25 April 2017
Determined
Then one of them, named Agabus,
stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine
throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each
according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in
Judea. This they also did, and sent it to
the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. – Acts 11:28-30 NKJV.
Then Solomon determined to build a
temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal house for himself. Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear
burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone
in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them. – 2 Chronicles 2:1-2 NKJV.
Huang Dafa is a village chief in the
mountains of Guizhou, China. In 1959, the village was in bad shape due to a
lack of water with their rice paddy barely surviving. It was then that Huang
began carving a canal out of rock through three mountains for his village to
have water. The canal when finished was 10 kilometers long (about 6.2 miles).
It took 36 years of hard labor, and at times dangerous work on the side of
mountains to complete the project. There were some setbacks; the
villagers spent ten years digging a tunnel through a mountain peak only to find
out that the water would not flow through their channel. It was then that Huang
began to study for several years water system engineering. After completion of
his studies, he asked the people of his village to once again attempt to
complete the water canal.
In 1995, the water canal was finally
completed. Not only does the canal supply water to Huang’s village, but also it
supplies water to three other villages. Huang, who is now 82-years-old, says
about his life’s work: “I was determined to bring water to Caowangba (the name
of his village). People have had plenty of food since. Full stomachs mean peace
of mind. If we can do something (for progress), we should. We shouldn’t wait
for things to happen. Dozens of years of my life could have passed without
anything happening.”
It is estimated by the Chinese
government that because of the canal rice production has been increased 1600%!
In the same year that the canal was completed (1995), a road to the village was
completed, and they finally gained access to electricity. Huang says, “I decided to do
three things for the villagers: draw water to the village, build a road and get
access to electricity.” (Xinhua News)
Before the village of
Huang Dafa could have water, a road, and electricity one man had to determine
that it would happen. However, deciding this, determining this in his heart and
mind was not enough to make it happen. Huang had to actually begin the work of
construction, and lead others to follow him helping with the work. He had to be
the first one to tie a rope around a tree and then climb down the rock face of
a mountain hundreds of feet to where the channel for the canal was to be cut
into the rock. Others would not have gone down the rope, if Huang had not led
the way.
The disciples after
hearing the prophecy of the coming famine “determined” that they would send relief. Determination,
however, was not enough; there also had to be action, the actual sending of the
help. The famine relief was sent by Paul and Barnabus. There is a non-Biblical
record of famine relief being sent as recorded by Josephus.
Solomon “determined” that he would build a “temple for the name of the Lord.” Upon Solomon’s making
that determination he immediately began to take action to make the building
happen.
Has God placed some
great vision or work upon your heart? The first step to bring that vision or
work into reality is a determination of the heart. However, determination is
not enough. Action is needed, unless there is action to bring about the
determination of the heart, nothing will happen. Begin to take that first step,
and then the next, and then the next. Often the first step is the hardest of
all…have you taken that first step?
Copyright © 2017. Ed Wrather. The
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