Finding The Secret

More Than Conquerors
June 2003 Part I

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”
—Proverb 12:25

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
—Proverb 17:22

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
—Proverb 16:24

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
—Proverb 25:11

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” –Ephesians 4:29

If we want to be the “light of the world” that Jesus tells us we are, like everything else in life, we have to start out with the little things. Words seem like harmless things, but it is our words and our countenances that are the first witnesses to the world. If we live with a crushed spirit instead of a cheerful heart, we are a bane to those we are around, not medicine. As Christians, with the joy of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we need to live with smiles on our faces and words of kindness in our mouths. These will witness first and foremost to a hurting world that we are different!
It is the little things in life that often end up touching our hearts. It is the smile, the helping hand, and the word of compassion that can remain in our memories forever. When someone looks you in the eye and shares a smile, or takes the time to give you some help, or sees your hurt and speaks a word of compassion, you know that they are honestly thinking about you, and care about you. When people feel this kindness and compassion, which is so rare in this world of selfishness, they will want the joy in our hearts.
But the opposite is true as well: if we live with a frown, and speak selfishly, people will avoid us, and not want any part of the life we have. The sarcastic word can hurt for just as long as a kind word is remembered, and it can create scars on the heart. We need to be careful to live kindly and compassionately, like Christ did, or we will tear down the lives of those around us instead of building them up.
So let us live a second at a time, with a cheerful heart and words of kindness, not just to be a witness to a hurting world, but for the building up of each other in Christ as well. Learning to love each other can start with the little words that come from our mouths. We have the choice today to touch our brother’s heart for good or bad, to build him up or tear him down. There is only one way Christ would choose… Let’s follow Him.

Apples

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverb 25:11

In the book of Proverbs we are told…
A word fitly spoken is as apples of gold…

Apples of gold in pictures of silver…
What a beautiful vision these words deliver…

Words spoken harshly can cause one to grieve…
And once they are heard, they never completely leave…

Help me, Dear Lord, to speak apples of gold…
That I may bring happiness to whom my words are told…

—Jeanie Hutton
© Jeanie C. Hutton. Used with permission
www.christianpoetry.org/Hutton.html

One Word At A Time

Six billion hearts to touch

Six billion souls to reach

Six billions spirits seeking

Six billion minds to teach

I want to help these people
And heal their broken hearts,
I want to change their lives
But I’m not sure where to start—

They need to know that Someone
Has come to set them free,
That He’s giving us life
And life more
Abundantly.

So how shall I start?
It is quite a hill to climb—
But I’ll start changing the world
One
    Word
          At
              A
                 Time.

—Benjamin Graber

Changing the World

You can change the world
By the thoughtful things you do,
Making a difference—
Letting God's love shine through.

Reaching out to help others,
With compassion He gave you,
Multiplies His seed—
Making hearts brand new.

© by Joyce C. Lock
Used with permission
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SmileSharing

Thy Heart

Make not of thy heart a casket,
Opening seldom, quick to close;
But of bread a wide-mouthed basket,
Or a cup that overflows.

—George MacDonald

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

—Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

—Emily Dickinson

Gifts That Console

If you want to bless others
But you don’t know what to share:
Give your love and give yourself
And take the time to care

Give your smile and you may see,
To someone it was priceless,
Who needed a ray of sunshine
To pierce through their loneliness

Speak words of compassion
To someone that is in pain,
And you will touch a heart
And a hurting soul sustain

Reach out your hand and you’ll find
That to someone in despair,
You’ve held out a saving rope
By just simply being there

Give of all the best you have
Give of your heart and your soul,
And more than riches or wealth,
These are gifts that console

—Benjamin Graber

My Candle

In my heart there’s a candle,
Put there by my Lord, one night.
As I went to the altar,
He put inside me a glowing light.

Because I trusted Him,
He put it high upon a stand;
Just as a ship, out at sea,
Could see the Lighthouse on the land.

He’s my Savior and my Lighthouse,
Who saw and reeled me in ~
When I was lost, way out at sea,
And sinking deep in sin.

I pray I keep my candle lit,
Held up high that all might see
The joy of marching on ~
To show others the way to victory.

The old cross was the stand
And He is the great Lighthouse
Holding my candle high, for me to see;
My heart to arouse...

With me knowing in my heart,
When I kneel down in Prayer,
One day, my Lighthouse will beckon
The Angels to bring me there.

Help me keep my candle lit,
Lord, for all the more to see.
Hold it up to the passer-by,
So he may more clearly know Thee.

Help me in the twilight Lord,
To neatly trim my candle’s wick;
That it might shine more brightly,
For the healthy and the sick.

Help me, upon this road of life,
To spread Thy word around.
Though they are in written form,
Let my candle light up the ground...

Where people walk daily
And, maybe, cannot clearly see ~
So, when the Angels bring me home,
In my heart, may there a shining candle be.

© 2003 by Pearlie Duncan Walker
Used with permission
http://www.kavitanjali.com/poets2/wildfern.htm

A Smile

A smile is a candle,
Shining into the dark.
It spreads light through the night,
Each heart is left a mark.

A smile is a healer
That mends a broken heart.
Its simple beauty is
One of God’s great works of art!

A smile given away
Is a joy freely shared;
The secret of a smile
Is knowing someone cared!

—Benjamin Graber

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
—Romans 8:35, 37

If you have any comments or questions, or if you have a poem to share that you would like included in the next issue, please send an e-mail to bgraber@neo.rr.com

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