Good Morning Peeps! How are you doing this Friday morning, good I hope? Have you had a good work week so far, I sure hope so? Have a good and very Blessed Friday today and weekend too! - May God Bless You and Yours In 2018 and Beyond!!! - “Are YOU 100% sure, that you are Saved and headed to Heaven when you die? Are you sure YOUR name IS written in the Heavenly “Book of Life?” Is there absolutely not a shadow of a doubt in your mind, that your Salvation is already secured and you’re just waiting on the good Lord to call you home to be with Him? If the answer is “No, Not Sure, I Think So, Maybe, or Probably, then you need to get busy right now working on fixing that. You need to be totally sure where your Soul will spend eternity!” And AMEN goes right here….
***Remember, if you haven’t purchased it already, my newly published book “The Third Eye Perspective” book of Devotionals is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Xulon Press in Paperback, Hardback, also on EBook. It would make a great gift idea for your family and friends! Order yours today! Thank you! Be Exceedingly Blessed!
#AChildOfTheMostHighGod!
#SalvationIsOnlyThruJesusChrist
“This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!”
The Third Eye Perspective:
By Carlos C. Brown
Thought For Today – “Adversity Will Either Leave You “Bitter” or “Better!”
By a show of virtual hands, how many of you reading this now are dealing with sometype of form of “Adversity?” Just for the record, MY hand went straight up in the air as high as I could put it! Nobody likes adversity, it can take our lives and turn it upside down and inside out, which is never a good thing, or is it? In most cases, adversity will leave a person very “Bitter,” maybe even to the point of giving up or “throwing in the towel.” It is with this train of thought, or line of thinking, that it was placed on my heart this morning to talk about, “Adversity Will Either Leave Your “Bitter” or “Better!” And AMEN goes right here! The Dictionary definition of the word “Adversity” is as follows : “A state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” More and more in the world we live it today, we see people dealing with Adversity in many different forms don’t we? We also see how those people react or respond to adverse conditions or situations. Four years ago, one evening just before dark, I witnessed a real life example of this very thing. As I drove over to the store at Toadsuck Lock and Dam bridge that goes over the Arkansas River, I noticed that a young gentleman had climbed over the railing of the river bridge, and was just sitting there as if to be contemplating jumping in the river. There was a young lady who had stopped to talk him down, that I am assuming might have been his wife, and a man that might have been his father also was there talking to him. I only got a brief opportunity, as I didn’t want to be “one of those people” who rubberneck and hold up traffic, to assess the situation. As I came back across the bridge on my way home I noticed that traffic was backed up at a standstill, and I could see blue police lights flashing way up near where they people and the guy were. I also noticed that my former interim Pastor whom I to this day, still have the utmost respect and admiration for, was walking back to the store where his vehicle was parked.
Apparently, he (the Pastor) had taken it upon himself to go up there and try to talk the guy out of jumping and taking his life. I wasn’t there to witness what was said and done, but a good friend of mine told me it went down like this: Pastor McCray walked up to the scene on the bridge and upon his arrival, saw the police talking to the young man about all of his problems as to what drove him to the bridge. First let me say this, if you saw this bridge and how high up in the air above the water it was, not to mention how fast the water was rushing thru the lock and dam below, that should have been enough to keep anyone from even considering that way as a method of ending their lives! However, it would be very effective I’m sure in getting the job done quickly. Ok back to this story, apparently being the very knowledgeable and calm and cool customer Pastor McCray is, he quickly came to the conclusion that this man did not need to discuss his problems at that very moment, and with total strangers especially! What he needed was to hear what I was told Pastor McCray told him, “Hey there young man what’s the matter, I am a Minister and I want you to know that I love you, and I also what you to know that God loves you and nothing you have going on in your life, is worth you jumping off that ledge and taking your own life.” A few moments after those words flowed out of Pastor McCray’s mouth, the young man turned and climbed back over the ledge where he was grabbed by the police to keep him from maybe changing his mind and jumping anyways. Now again, I am hearing this 2nd hand, and it may or may not have happened “exactly” like that. But knowing the person who told me like I do, they are not one to make up lies or stories. I would bet everything, that it happened pretty darn close to how he described it to me if not exactly. The ironic thing here, is as I was driving over the bridge, the first time and saw him out on the ledge, something told ME to stop and try to speak to him from a spiritual aspect, but I didn’t, I didn’t think I was “qualified” to do such a thing. Thank God that Pastor McCray, who in my opinion, was and IS very qualified to do exactly what he actually did that Thursday evening in 2014 successfully, happened to be driving by because he didn’t hesitate at all. Whereas I did. And don’t be fooled, Pastor McCray didn’t just “happen to be driving over there,” that was a “God Thing! God knew exactly what that young man needed to hear to change his mind, and He sent the perfect person to do it! And AMEN goes right here!
Now back to the subject of today’s “Thought for today”, and how it is relevant to the subject of “Adversity will leave you either bitter or “better”. I realize that it is not humanly possible, to read someone’s mind literally, but let’s attempt to step inside that man’s mind for just a brief moment, to see if he will be left “Bitter or Better” after his near death experience? For his problems to have been so bad in his mind, to feel it was just easier to jump off that bridge and end his life, as opposed to dealing with them, do you think he will be “Bitter” or “Better”??? From my standpoint, I would vote for the latter, that he was given his hope back, that things will get “Better”. And if it went down like I was told it did, all this guy needed to hear was that someone outside of his immediate family or inner circle, and especially God loved him. My brothers and my sisters, if that alone doesn’t tell you how powerful the Love of God is, nothing will. People take for granted God’s love everyday, not even giving it the respect that it deserves. Think about it, God sent His only begotten Son, down in this mean old world for thirty-three long years trying to teach us humans about His Father’s LOVE for us that can conquer all things, and we take it for granted everyday. This fact also points to the conclusion that the young man will be left “Better” versus “Bitter” with his near death experience being put behind him. The Bible is full of other examples of this very thing, of people facing adversity and emerging either “Bitter” or “Better”. I won’t list those as the one above was what God placed on my heart to relay to you as my example for today’s subject, and I fell it was a very effective one. If your experiences with “adversity” left you “Bitter,” that means you didn’t learn anything from the experience. As I stated in the previous “Thought for today” about “adversity,” “there is a lesson to be learned in every adversity situation. Because we ARE going to experience adversity whether we want to, desire to, or like to, it doesn’t mean that the entire experience has to be a wasted one. Try and learn a lesson that is hidden in that adverse moment which in return, might just help keep you from experiencing that very type of adversity again. If you can do that as opposed to being “Bitter”, you will definitely emerge from if “Better”. And our human race likes anything with “Better” in front of it don’t we? Can I leave you with a question to ponder?
The next time “adversity” knocks on your door and invites itself into your life, will you emerge “Bitter” or “Better” after it leaves?”
Can I get an Amen????
“You Pray for me, and I will Pray for you, we will have then Prayed for each other and God WILL answer those Prayers!”
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