August H. Francke and the Homeless Orphans

In the latter part of the 17th century, German preacher August H. Francke founded an orphanage to care for the homeless children of Halle. One day when Francke desperately needed funds to carry on his work, a destitute Christian widow came to his door begging for a ducat--a gold coin.

Because of his financial situation, he politely but regretfully told her he couldn't help her. Disheartened, the woman began to weep. Moved by her tears, Francke asked her to wait while he went to his room to pray.

After seeking God's guidance, he felt that the Holy Spirit wanted him to change his mind. So, trusting the Lord to meet his own needs, he gave her the money.

Two mornings later, he received a letter of thanks from the widow. She explained that because of his generosity she had asked the Lord to shower the orphanage with gifts.

That same day Francke received 12 ducats from a wealthy lady and 2 more from a friend in Sweden. He thought he had been amply rewarded for helping the widow, but he was soon informed that the orphanage was to receive 500 gold pieces from the estate of Prince Lodewyk Van Wurtenburg.

When he heard this, Francke wept in gratitude. In sacrificially providing for that needy widow, he had been enriched, not impoverished.

Proverbs 28:27 New International Version (NIV)

27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
    but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

God Provides!

Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to Zaire, told the following story.

 "A mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister.

One of the girls responded,

 'Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead.

And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won't feel so lonely.'

That afternoon a large package arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it.

 Much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle!

Immediately the girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming,

'If God sent that, I'm sure He also sent a doll!'

And she was right!

The heavenly Father knew in advance of that child's sincere requests, and 5 months earlier He had led a ladies' group to include both of those specific articles."

Make Prayer A Habit

Luke 5:16 New International Version (NIV)

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Habits are powerful things. We form our habits, then our habits form us.

So this year are you going to stop talking about it, and make it a habit to spend time with God in prayer each day?

If your desire is to be like Jesus, you must begin to pray regularly, for He ‘often withdrew to lonely places and prayed’.

Don’t let the word ‘lonely’ intimidate you. Once you cultivate an awareness of God’s presence, you’ll prefer His company to that of anybody else.

Don’t let the word ‘withdrew’ intimidate you.

Just shut off your TV, your computer and your mobile phone and you’ll make a wonderful discovery:

Psalm 16:11 New International Version (NIV)

11 You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

 John Wesley said,

‘I have so much to do that I must spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.’

 Martin Luther said,

 ‘Prayer is the most important thing in my life. If I should neglect prayer for a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith.’

 The hymnist wrote:

‘Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care. And bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief my soul has often found relief, and often escaped the tempter’s snare, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.’

When the disciples asked Jesus about prayer, He began by saying,

Matthew 6:9-15 New International Version (NIV)

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
2. Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

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Is There a Catfish in Your Tank?

- Anonymous

Some fish suppliers were having problems in shipping codfish from the East Coast. By the time the fish reached the West coast, they were spoiled. They froze them, but by the time the fish arrived, they were mushy. They decided to send them alive. But the fish arrived dead.

So they tried sending the fish alive again, but with one difference.

They included a catfish in each tank. You see, the catfish is the natural enemy of the codfish. By the time the codfish arrived, they were alive and well, because they had spent their trip fleeing the catfish. This is my point.

 Maybe God has put a catfish in your tank to keep you alive and well spiritually.

 It's called Persecution.

Maybe there's a person at work who always has eight hard questions for you every Monday morning regarding spiritual things. Maybe it’s that neighbour who is giving you a hard time for your faith in Jesus.

Maybe it is a spouse or family member who doesn't believe.

You are wondering why this is happening. It is like that catfish. That person is keeping you on your toes.

Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples,

John 15:19English Standard Version (ESV)

19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

God will allow persecution in the life of the believer.

If you're experiencing persecution, here are two things to remember:

 1. Persecution confirms that you are a child of God.
 2. Persecution causes you to cling closer to Jesus.

When you are suffering persecution for your faith, remember that this world is not your home.