In search of blessings

 

When the Spirit of God descends on a person it is to make him an instrument to benefit others.
The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners… Isaiah 61:1 (HCSB)
Those who seek the Spirit of God solely for personal ends deceive themselves.
By the way, this is the main reason why more people have not yet been sealed with the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, the same Spirit enriches those who have faith to use His resources to benefit the poor and oppressed — whether through evangelizing or social outreach.
The fact is: the LORD God is the wellspring of all that is good. His desires to bless everyone — believers and unbelievers.
Since unbelievers are blocked from receiving, He wants to use believers to reach out to those who do not yet believe.
The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made. Psalm 145.9 (HCSB)
But the LORD hates greed so much that He equates it with the sin of prostitution, theft and murder.
Gold, diamonds and money are not evil, but our attachment to them, our uncontrollable desire and love for them constitute reliance, passion, and idolatry. This is highly offensive to the LORD.
The Lord Jesus warned:
Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.  Luke 12:15 (HCSB)


 Bishop Macedo's Blog

DEALING WITH VERY RUDE PEOPLE

                              

"Quite often, people are rude without knowing they are being rude.
They are what workplace shanks call overly focused.

They'll jump all over your conversation, interrupt, finish off your sentences and monopolise the discussion.
Ever thought about why they do it?

Quite often rudeness has its roots in shyness and a feeling of inadequacy.
The rude who jumps into your conversation probably doesn't look very shy, but inside them there is a little voice that says 'if I don't jump in, I'll never get my point across.'
Seeing the rude person in that context makes them more a person to feel sorry for than to get excited about.

The professional rude person will monopolise a conversation and make it impossible for anyone else to get a word in edgeways.

(Text from the book Dealing with difficult people)

"A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger."
(Proverbs 15:1)

Alexander's three wishes

On his deathbed, Alexander "The Great" summoned his generals and told them his 3 ultimate wishes:
1. The best doctors should carry his coffin;
2. The wealth he accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery;
3. His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to see.
One of his generals, who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain.
Alexander said:
1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that they have NO power to heal;
2. I want the road to be covered with my treasures so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth;
3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so people can understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed.