All too often we listen to the wrong voice. The pressures of life
come along and more often than not, we pick up the tools to deal with
them from the wrong rack. We grab whatever tool is closest first. It's usually panic with it's key attachment...fear. And that's where things begin to go pear-shaped. (Click on the image to see who cares about you.)
God longs to have fellowship with us. He speaks to us constantly but do we recognise His voice? Consider these 6 keys to recognising God's voice...Listen to the Message.
Just imagine living your whole life limited by your fears. It would be like living in a fish bowl not much bigger than yourself. Now imagine living your life as God (the perfect Father) designed you to live it through Him. It's like living in the big fish bowl with more water and more room to move.
Cast away your fears and trust God with your future. It will be worth the effort! Listen to the Message.
We all have an internal radar but where do we have it pointed? What's it picking up - the things of God or the things of this world?
We concern ourselves with everything around us so much that our radar ends up getting stuck on self; focused on all those things that impact the way we feel about our situations, how we feel about ourselves, what we think of ourselves, how much money we have (or don't have), the job we have and don't like, the people that rub us up the wrong way, the things we get upset about....and the list goes on. Focusing on self will well and truly cause your radar to get corroded into place. And then it takes a major effort to get it unlocked and moving again.
The Word of God says that focusing on self is the opposite to focusing on God. (Romans 8:5-8 Message Bible).
The thing about radars is that they're only designed to pick up a signal from the source that they're pointed at. They can't pick up the signal from behind. So if your radar is focused on self, then according to the Word, the back of your radar is pointed towards God. You can't pick up the signal from God if you're busy picking up the signal from self.
This is why when we listen to God, when we have our radar pointed to the Holy Spirit to hear His voice, we sacrifice self. Listen to the Message.
A record 316,323 children in 7 countries received shoeboxes from Australia and New Zealand for Christmas in 2013!
From October to December the merry band of Operation Christmas Child volunteers have been hard at work processing shoeboxes and loading them into containers.
Depending on schedules, teh containers are shipped between November and January. On arrival, after clearing customs, they are transported to villages, often in very remote and hard to reach places.
This year OCC shipped the most ever number of shoeboxes! It's very exciting and it's also a very big challenge. After all, how do you transport over 316,000 of anything?
Shoeboxes travel by boat, plane, car, yak, hores, motorbike, bullock-drawn cart - and OCC have even seen them carried on top of people's heads as they make the journey to waiting boys and girls.
Transport times vary according to weather, roughness of the road or track, remoteness of the village and mode of transport but, one thing is certain, when those shoeboxes arrive, it's Christmas for these children who have most likely never received a gift in their life!
This is where the 316,323 shoeboxes from Australia and New Zealand were distributed to;
5,162 shoeboxes were shipped to children in Vanuatu.
14,843 shoeboxes were shipped to children in Samoa.
42,982 shoeboxes were shipped to children in Fiji.
