Will God Use Me In 2006?

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to Me.; I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose. "So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend.

Will God use Me in 2006?

The Allegheny ants help in forests by carrying tons of soil from below to the surface. A study done over a three-year period of time a colony of ants moved 15 tons of subsoil. "Go to the ant. consider her ways and be wise." If God can use a bunch of ants to move 15 tons of dirt do not you believe He can use you is 2006?

Matthew 9:36-10:7

1. God uses you as you look on others with compassion. The 36th verse says Jesus was moved with compassion. 1 COR. 13:7 "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." The love that Christ gives us helps us to look with love on people who are different from us. Compassion makes us reach out to people in need with warmth.

2. God will use you as you realize the hopeless situation of those who are perishing without Christ. There are people around us and maybe even in this building who are full of fear, filled with despair, living in depression, overcome with sadness, deep in misery and feelings of rejection who could use love that only you can give. When we look at others, can we see on their faces that they have no hope? Those without Christ have no purpose in life and every day is filled with despair and pointlessness.

3. God uses those who will be enthusiastic with response to help the lost. Christ faced the challenge of reaching the lost and found few willing to be involved. He did not face this with despair and defeatism but with hope that through prayer there would be many to help in going to rescue the lost. The ones that cannot be of help are those who let doubt and fear be their way of life. If our thinking is only that the church is weak and destined to fail, we will be wall block to the cause of Christ. God uses those who see there is a remarkable job that has to be done and with us, it can be done. As we help those who are bored with life and have no hope we are doing what Christ started. This is an age of wickedness and leisure activity in which people spend more money on dog and cat food than they give to the church. People make bets on sport games and hope to win the lottery with their money than to buy the things they really need. How excited are you about leading others to a faith in Christ that will give them an eternity in heaven?