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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #892 August 27, 2003 Peep Peep Peep It seems that our email problem has now been rectified and I'm caught up from my time away. I suspect that some of our outgoing mail disappeared into cyberspace (one of the problems with using recycled electrons). If you dropped us a note and didn't receive a reply, please accept my apologies and send again. Thanks. As I walked around the lake with Genni the wonder dog the other evening, I could hear a non stop peep-peep-peeeeeppppp. The sound carried a long way and I was half way around the lake before I discovered the source. The baby grebes are getting to be nearly fully grown. They are being taught how to be independent. One of the "babies" was kicking up quite the fuss as its parent fished. The parent would dive and bring up a small fish. The young grebe would peep and push against the parent obviously trying to be fed. The parent would ignore the young grebe, then dive again. All the time the parent was under water, the young grebe peeped. The young one still hadn't caught on that it was time to be fishing on its own when I finally passed out of earshot. The peep-peep-peeeeeppppp of "feed me, feed me" is a sound that often resonates from the church pew. Yet there is so much more to the Christian walk than being ministered to. Like the grebe, we gain much more when we grow up a little. We're called to minister as well as be ministered to. On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39 NIV Christ will meet our needs, but when we know Him, we're filled with the Spirit. The Spirit is given to us to teach us, but also to equip us for ministry. We should begin to bear fruit once we've been Spirit filled. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 NIV The fruit of the Spirit manifests itself in our life and ripens in our ministry. Are you sitting in the church on Sunday morning going peep-peep-peeeeeppppppp or are you having your needs met AND ministering to others? Are you learning to fish or waiting for someone else to feed you? Until next time, may you learn to fish. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you are called to glory. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING Perhaps your life feels empty and unfulfilled. That may well be God calling you to His eternal service. He'll meet your needs and enable you to be a blessing to others if you let Him. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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