One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: Do not be afraid; keep on
speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and
harm you, because I have many people in this city. – Acts 18:9-10
As pointed out in the post “Always by My Side”, God is the source of
Paul’s courage. The courage to admit that he once persecuted Christians and the
courage to talk about controversial issues even when placed in a very difficult
situation.
We can take this example of Paul
and use the courage from God to crush the enemy by turning our issues of the
past into opportunities for the future. We can do this by simply sharing about
our knowledge of God and sharing about the experiences we have gone through.
It is through our experiences
that others can relate and this helps those we share with to accept the gospel
message. To inspire us towards that purpose, here is today’s video:
From the depression of the
1930’s and to a smaller degree with the stock market crash in 2008, there is a
lesson to be learned. Bad loans build up a bubble that eventually will burst.
As written about in the post Heaven’s Riches
Are Far More Valuable Than Earthly Wealth, a manager was accused of wasting
a rich man’s possessions. We are not told what possessions the manager was
wasting but we have to speculate that the manger’s greed caused him to take
risk with the rich man’s money.
It could also have been that he
just couldn’t say “no” to those who bought things from his master on loan
without the ability to pay back the loan. We see the same things happening with
many money managers of today. There is this push to sale things or give out
loans to people that can’t pay it off.
When we serve God, the emphasis
is not so much on short term gain but on doing the right things that result in
long term success. There are right attitudes, motives, and actions to take. If we
are focused on serving Him only; to being a good steward for what He gives and
look forward to the time we get to spend with Him each day, then we have a
tendency to think things through and make better decisions.
I found this video that inspires
this desire to hear God’s voice and help make good decisions: Word of God Speak – MercyMe. As we go to
God each day in prayer, it’s important to listen for the instructions and take
the proper steps.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to
all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. – James 1:5
After dinner, Annie went out on the back porch. It was a Saturday evening and darkness had started to set over the Delaware sky. Her mom noticed that Annie was looking up at the stars so she went out to take a look. Annie’s Mom had always loved to star-gaze and had recently noticed that her daughter had this same passion so she had taught Annie the constellations. Annie’s Dad was finishing up dinner. Later he would meet with his business manager about a major project in his shipbuilding business.
Several years went by and Annie was home for Christmas. She was taking a few weeks away from traveling and dabbling in photography to think about her future. She decides to go out on that same back porch she used to go as a child to look up at the Delaware sky. She had graduated from Wellesley College recently where she studied physics and was contemplating reentering college to specialize in astronomy at Radcliffe College.
A few more years went by before Annie got word that she had been appointed to the staff at Harvard College Observatory to record, classify and catalog stars based on temperatures. Five years later, this would lead to the publishing of a catalog of 1,122 southern stars. In 1910, her system was adapted by observatories worldwide. Annie Jump Cannon’s system of star classification groups stars into categories labeled O, B, A, F, G, K and M (known by the mnemonic, “Oh, Be aFine Girl, Kiss Me”)
She later compiled the Henry Draper Catalogue which was published by the Harvard Observatory between 1918 and 1924. The catalogue lists the spectral types, magnitudes, and positions of 225,300 stars and continues to be used internationally by astronomers.
This story is just one of many great stories found when we look into the lives of people that have made a difference. You see, Annie set in motion the tremendous discoveries that are being made today. Just recently, astronomers have found a new planet in a different solar system that may be Earth’s twin; capable of supporting life. They study the brightness of stars and notice a planet because its orbit crosses in front of the star and causes it to dim. Here’s a link: New Planets Discovered.
What will be your story? Right now, you may know of something that no one else could possibly know about. My hope is that this video will inspire you to give some thought to what great discovery you might make in the future: Giants Awakening - Vision for Success.
You may be like Annie’s mom and give a child a dream or you may be like Annie, looking to make new discoveries. Reflect on these thoughts each day and be thankful for the opportunity to reach for the stars in whatever you do.
Check out my other blogs where I receive a constant supply of inspiration for my writings by clicking on the links below:
