“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”¹

There’s an old fable that talks about a man who found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken.

He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet in the air.

Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. “Who’s that?” he asked. “That’s the eagle, the king of the birds,” said his neighbor. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth—we’re chickens.”

So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.²

How sad when we who are children of the King live as chickens when we could fly with the eagles.

As the old saying goes, “You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to wait upon and hope in you and see realized in my life all that you have for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV).
2. Anthony DeMello from A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Copyright 1997 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty.

<:))))><

“It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work [of telling his good news to others], and so we never give up.”¹

When the United Kingdom’s back was against the wall during World War II, Winston Churchill declared: “We shall go to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

May we who call ourselves Christian have the same determination when coming against our arch enemy who himself, with his horde of evil spirits, is totally committed to destroying everything that is Christian and doing everything in his power to stop people coming to Jesus and receiving God’s gift of sins forgiven and eternal life.

In the words of the classic hymn:

Onward Christian soldiers
Marching as to war
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be a true soldier of the cross with a determination to never give up in doing my part to help ‘the cause of Christ,’ to make a stand for right, and to help spread the gospel around the world. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 4:1 (TLB).

<:))))><

“And then he [Jesus] told them, ‘You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.’”¹

I have often felt that much of my education taught me how to make a living and do a lot of good things, but it didn’t teach me how to live or make a life. That I have had to learn the hard way—and am still learning how to do that.

Nevertheless, my education did teach me many valuable lessons. One that I have never forgotten was from my journalism professor. Time and again in bright red he would write on my papers, “Show me. Don’t tell me!”

I took it to mean that in my writing I needed to illustrate important points with stories, which was the way that Jesus taught in his many parables.²

I like to apply the “show me—don’t tell me” principle not only in my writing, but also in my teaching and especially in my witness for Christ. In other words, one of the greatest ways we can teach others and witness for Christ is to model true Christianity. Until we do this, our words won’t carry much weight.

Like Mother Theresa wisely said in words to this effect: “Witness at every opportunity. Use words when necessary.” And as another wisely said, “The living truth I long to see, I cannot live on what used to be, so close your Bible and show me how the Christ you talk about is living now.”

In other words, “To win some we need to be winsome.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to so live the Christian life that others, seeing what you have done in my life, will want you in their lives as well. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Mark 16:15, TLB).
2. See Matthew 13:35.

<:))))><

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.”¹

A Daily Encounter reader writes, “My husband and I started a business a year ago and it has been a constant struggle. How can we know if what we are doing is God’s goal/purpose for us?”

First, as indicated you are doing the right thing by seeking God’s direction in prayer.

Second, are you gifted for the work that you are doing? I don’t believe God ever calls us to do things that he hasn’t already gifted us for.

Third, are you adequately trained for what you are doing? This is a constant challenge in today’s competitive world because if we don’t keep upgrading our training, we can easily get left behind.

Fourth, is what you are doing in harmony with the will of God based on principles as found in his Word, the Bible? This is very important if we are to get God’s blessing.

Fifth, is what you are doing a business or service that people want? It doesn’t matter how good a product or service is, if people don’t want it, it won’t succeed.

Sixth, keep in mind, too, that a big percentage of new businesses never survive. It takes all of the above plus hard work, determination, and stick-ability. Very few successful projects happen without these qualities.

Seventh, above all we need to keep seeking God’s direction by every day committing and trusting our life, our loved ones, our work, and all that we are doing to the Lord in prayer. By way of interest, whenever I have a problem, challenge, question or struggle, I always ask God to face me with the truth and reality of the situation I am in. Once I see the truth and reality I pretty much know what I need to do.

I trust these few thoughts will be helpful.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you are interested in every detail of my life. Again this day I commit and trust every aspect of my life to you. Please give me the insight to see the reality in every situation I am in. And then, help me to know what I need to do and give me the courage to do it no matter what it is. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Solomon (Proverbs 3:5-6).

<:))))><

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”¹

<:))))><