Quote from Forum Archives on February 5, 2002, 2:47 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

The article I've chosen to share today was sent to me by someone
who has been praying for me in response to a prayer request that
I sent to Larry Davies' "Sowing Seeds of Faith" prayer ministry.
I know this message is relevant to me today, personally. But I
have to wonder if perhaps it is also valuable to others as well?

It really involves renewing our minds and focusing on the things
that really matter. The Bible says "Do not conform any longer to
the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will" (Romans 12:2,
NIV).

When struggles and difficulties overtake us, will we stretch and
meet the obstacle, bending and adjusting as necessary? Or will
we be stretched to the brittle edge and snap? Though calamities
are all around us, I believe that in God's strength, with His
power at work within our heart - the depths of our mind - the
things of which our deepest convictions are based, it is there we
find resolve to stretch. It is God who supplies and meets every
need, and it is God who brings peace to our troubled spirits.

If you truly believe that, perhaps then you will understand the
passage in Philippians 4:4-9, where the apostle Paul says:
"Rejoice in the Lord, always! I will say it again: rejoice!"
Paul is not some crazed lunatic, pumping up our emotions, only to
have them shattered into pieces. No, Paul personally learned how
to be content in all circumstances (and he HAD to, for he went
through many horrible events and eventually died while
imprisoned).

Did Paul's life end in waste? No way. Paul was able to extend
Christ's message throughout the known world of his day,
stretching all the way into Europe and Asia from Jerusalem!

If we face difficulty, we have the choice of allowing ourselves
to become hardened and brittle, or well oiled and pliable, usable
by the Lord for acts of kindness and loving service in His Name.
Which path are YOU on today?

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
=====

WILL YOU SNAP OR STRETCH?
By Sandy Moran

Recently I needed to bundle some papers together. After searching
a few minutes for a rubber band, I finally found one in the back
of my drawer. But when I stretched it to pull it over the papers,
SNAP! The band broke instantly. It had become dry and brittle
from a long period of exposure to heat.

The Lord began to teach me through that simple incident. He
reminded me how resilient and stretchable some rubber bands
are. It's amazing how far they can stretch around a large item or
several smaller ones! Other rubber bands break with very little
effort at all.

What is it that makes one rubber band stretch way beyond its
capability and another snap when the least amount of tension is
placed on it? The performance is determined by the condition of
the material the band is composed of.

When rubber is exposed to heat for an extended time, it tends to
dry out. Its natural oils dissolve, and it becomes hard. Once
this occurs to the rubber in a rubber band, it completely loses
its elasticity.

The Lord showed me that this is the way it is with His
people. When we are exposed to long periods of heat in the form
of trials, challenges or persecution, we often tend to become
hard and bitter. If we refuse to allow God to instruct us or
challenge us in our growth in Him, we no longer have the oil of
the Holy Spirit to keep us soft and pliable. We "dry out"-and
when He tries to stretch us, we "snap," limiting our usefulness
to Him.

God allows us to walk through fires not for the purpose of
destroying us but to purify us, not to make us all dried out and
brittle but to bring us to a new level in Him--so that we can be
stretched beyond our natural abilities. Malachi 3:2 says of the
Lord, "Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand
when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like
launderers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of
silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold
and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in
righteousness" (NKJV).

Every time I see a rubber band now I pray, "Oh, Holy Spirit, pour
Your oil on me so that when the fires of purification come I may
remain pliable in Your hands. Don't ever let me become hardened
to what You are doing in me. I want to be stretched by You to any
degree You see fit. I know You would never test me beyond my
ability to endure, and I want to reach new heights in You."

All of us want to grow in God and be used by Him. Let's allow the
Holy Spirit to keep us "well oiled" and watch what He will
accomplish through us!

PRAYER POWER Week of 2-4-02

This week thank God for His infinite wisdom in dealing with us.
Bring Him all that is in your heart and trust Him for the
results. Continue to pray for our country and its leaders, as
well as peace in Israel and other nations. Remember the
persecuted church at home and abroad, and pray for revival fires
to sweep across the globe. I Thes. 5:17

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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