The Golden Box and the Black Box

 A man was given two kinds of boxes – a golden box where he could put all his blessings in, and the black box where he could stock all the problems that he would encounter in life. All throughout his life, he diligently classified the blessings and the problems to their respective boxes. 

When he finally went “home” to our Creator he found his two boxes in heaven. He tried carrying the golden box but was almost impossible to do so as it was fully loaded. He was expecting the black box to be heavier but when he carried it, he was surprised to have lifted it up using a finger. He opened the box and saw that it was startlingly empty. He wondered why and started examining the black box. He discovered that it had a hole and a pipe connected to the golden box. All the problems had been actually drained from the black box to the golden box and eventually became blessings. J (story from the talk of Bo Sanchez during the Light of Jesus Community's anniversary celebrated here in Baguio)

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace.
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, for prosperity.
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.

All the while, You hear each spoken need.
Your love is way too much to give us lesser things.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this life, are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love.
As if every promise from Your word is not enough.

All, the while, You hear each desperate plea.
And long that we'd have faith to believe.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this life, are Your mercies in disguise?

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win;
We know that pain reminds this heart, that this is not, this is not our home.
It's not our home.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life;
Is a revealing of greater thirst that a world can't satisfy?

And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights;
Are Your mercies in disguise?

B-U-S-Y

This is an email I received few years ago.  Worth sharing... ;-)

SATAN'S MEETING: (Read even if you're busy)    

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
 In his opening address he said,
 "We can't keep Christians from going to church."
 "We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."
 "We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."
 "Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."
 "This is what I want you to do," said the devil:
 "Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.
 "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."
 "Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."
 "Keep them from spending time with their children."
 "As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."
 "Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."
 "This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."
 "Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."
 "Invade their driving moments with billboards."
 "Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives."
 "Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."
 "Give them headaches too! "
 "If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."
 "That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."
 "Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."
 "Have them return from their recreation exhausted."
 "Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."
 "Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."
 "Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"
 "It will work!"
 It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
 Having little time for their God or their families.
 Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Are you B-being U-under S-satan's Y-yoke (BUSY)?