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WFA Specials !
Roses and Thorns A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the thorns. And he thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?” Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died. So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential. Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is the characteristic of love, to look at a person, and knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns. Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we should feel for each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden. 
Be A Thermostat Most of us are like thermometers reflecting the culture around us. We buy things others buy, say things others say, wear things others wear, and value things others value. Oh, there are slight variations, but most of the time we don’t set the climate for the world we live in; we simply adjust to it. But not overcomers! No, they take life to the next level. They become thermostats and change the environment in which they’re placed. For instance, you may know people who raise the Spiritual temperature of a group or determine the attitudes of others just by being present. They’re Pacesetters. They influence, rather than merely allowing others to influence them. We should move from being a thermometer to being a thermostat. We should not become so well-adjusted to our culture that we fit into it without even thinking. We should not be Hypocrites. We need to change from the inside out. We should be true to ourselves. We need to be Authentic. The word Authentic comes from the Greek word “to author.” It means to write our own story, not copy somebody else’s. That’s living. That’s being a thermostat, not a thermometer! 
The Law of Reciprocity Mother Teresa wrote: ‘One night a man came to our house and said, “There’s a family of 8 children who haven’t eaten for days”. I took some food and went to see them. When I got there I saw the faces of little children disfigured by malnutrition. There was no sadness there, just the pain of hunger. I gave a sack of rice to the mother. She kept one half and went out carrying the other. When she came back I asked, “Where did you go?” She answered, “To my neighbors, they’re hungry also”. I wasn’t surprised that she gave, the poor are usually very generous. But I was surprised that she knew they were hungry. As a rule, when we’re suffering we’re so focused on our own problems that we have no time for others. The Law of Reciprocity teaches you that no seed is too little to multiply if you’re willing to sow it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above 3 Articles have been sourced from the WFA website. WFA is the Wilmington First Assembly of God in Delaware, USA. |
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