IT'S NOT LOCKED!

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." - Michael Jordan 

Not Locked

If you have ever searched for something you already had, you'll understand how frustrating it can be. This can happen, when we expect the object of our search to be far. You're in hurry, and you begin the search for your car key, but can't find it, then you realize you'd been holding it all the time. Or, you're searching for your glasses and are unable to find it, until you realize you've had them on, all along.

On one of his European tours, the master magician and locksmith Harry Houdini found himself locked in by his own thinking. After he had been searched and manacled in a Scottish town jail, the old turnkey shut him in a cell and walked away. Houdini quickly freed himself from his shackles and then tackled the cell lock. But despite all his efforts, the lock wouldn't open.

SINFUL DESIRE

"Every temptation that we meet in the path of duty is another chance of filling our souls with the power of heaven." - Frederick Temple 

 

Dan Delzell, Pastor of Wellspring Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska wrote, '7 Things You Should Know About Temptation.' It appeared in the Christian Post in June 2014. In the article he said, "If you think you already know all there is to know about temptation, think again." Temptation is a visitor, that comes knocking on the door of our heart daily. It never gets tired.

With temptation, 'what you see isn't what you get.' The power of temptation lies in the desire to have what is being offered; one of its many deceptions is that it doesn't really deliver the promised goods: even if it does, it hides from you the pain that comes with it; it offers one thing, but delivers another. What you see isn't what you get. Instead, you end up getting all the baggage that comes with the decision to give into temptation. The pressure to resist

FOR ALL

"Look back, and smile on perils past." - Walter Scott

FOR ALL

We are ALL humans, that means, we ALL have a PAST, can make mistakes. Lately, in the media is the story about Josh Duggar. In summary, it's a case of being disappointed by one person's failure: one person whom the world thinks shouldn't have made such mistakes, because of his faith. How ironic.
Michael J. Straczynski said, "People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives." Christians are almost, always too quick to pull the plug on a fellow Christian, when they fall. Why?

FAILING FORWARD

"Whatever you do in life, never disappoint yourself" - Alex Enakhifo

Everyone desires to "pass" as it were every test. In school when every student is given an assignment or homework, it's the expectation of everyone; parents and even the student himself that he passes it. So, frantically or meticulously every student goes into either a frenzy or concentration mood to try to unravel the mysteries behind such assignments. All in a bid to, "PASS" the test.

It's very elating to go through your assignments and see "red check marks" signifying "good" in examination sheets, and very depressing having an "X", however the number of "Xs" determines how happy a student will be or not. It shows how intelligently, how averagely or how poorly a child performs. Well, that's in the formal educational system. What about the "educational system of life"? I bet you things, happen differently, and passing or failing is recorded differently.

Years ago, I had a discussion with my uncle, in the end I said, "I won't disappoint you sir", to which paused, and replied. "No, son, not me. Don't disappoint yourself" he continued. "You see, everyone is so quick to expect every other person to be this or that, and rarely don't bother about what the individual in question really wants to be. That's why most parents would force their children to study courses, or get married to someone against the child's wish resulting in frustrated adults and destinies today. Son, you have your own dream, you can disappoint me, but never disappoint yourself." He added, "I will live my life, and you'll live yours, don't please anyone and displease yourself"

REJECTION IS COMMON TO ALL

"Sometimes I feel my whole life has been one big rejection." - Marilyn Monroe

Have you ever asked the question “WHY ME?”, after you have been disappointed; you weren't picked for the promotion, did not pass the interview, your show of love and affection turned down, your calls not returned, or even something as simple as not getting back a smile after you offered one?

The truth is that rejection hurts, but you must also keep another truth in mind, “it happens to everybody”. In answering the question, who can be rejected? The simple answer is, EVERYONE.

Robert Fulton, the American engineer and inventor was among the brilliants minds of the 18th century widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat, he is also credited with inventing some of the world's earliest naval torpedoes for use by the British Navy. In 1800, he was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the Nautilus, which was the first practical submarine in history. But the story was not all rosy, after Fulton got the idea of using steam to power boats, he excitedly shared this breakthrough invention with Napoleon, to which Napoleon replied “What, sir? You would make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a