When God Changes Your Plan!

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” – Jeremiah 29:11

In March 2001, Sujo John and his wife Mary left their native India to work in New York City. One day, Sujo remembers reflecting on his life: “I made my way to my office and as I sat on my chair I started reflecting on God’s goodness on our lives. He had blessed us with good jobs and now we were expecting our first child. Everything seemed to be going well. However, I began to feel a deep sense of emptiness in my life. I knew there was a call of God upon my life but I was not doing anything about it. I decided to write an email to a friend at my church telling him how I felt and how I was looking for purpose in life. I let go of that email at 8:05 am from my office. Little did I know how the next few moments would change us forever.” That day was September 11, 2001.

Sujo worked on the North Tower of the World Trade Center and Mary worked on the South Tower. Miraculously, the Lord spared both Sujo and Mary that day as they called out to Him.

Since that fateful day, Sujo and Mary have traveled the world sharing their incredible story of survival.  They have a full-time ministry of evangelism, compassion and church planting.

"God has taken us to more than 400 cities around the world where I've travelled with the greatest story ever told for God who offers his un-conditional, irrational love upon His people," said Sujo.

God’s plans are far greater than any plans we may have for ourselves. Today in prayer, praise the Lord and look to Him for the wonderful plans He has for your life.

"God hath a work to do; and not to help Him is to oppose Him." - John Owen

God’s Word: “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” – Psalms 40:5

By Peter Kennedy,

For detailed story: http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/Sujo-John-091010.aspx

Forgive Your Enemies

The preacher, in his Sunday's sermon, used "Forgive Your Enemies" as his subject. 

After a long sermon, he asked how many were willing to forgive their enemies. About half held up their hands. 

Not satisfied he harangued for another twenty minutes and repeated his question. This time he received a response of about 80 percent. 

Still unsatisfied, he lectured for another 15 minutes and repeated his question. With all thoughts now on Sunday dinner, all responded except one elderly lady in the rear.

"Mrs. Jones, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?"

"I don't have any."

"Mrs. Jones, that is very unusual. How old are you?"

"Ninety three."

"Mrs. Jones, please come down in front and tell the congregation how a person can live to be ninety-three, and not have an enemy in the world."

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, very slowly turned around and said:

"It's easy, I just outlived all of those idiots."

They Can Fly!

In “Run With The Horses,” Eugene Peterson writes about seeing a family of birds teaching the young to fly: 

Three young swallows were perched on a dead branch that stretched out over a lake.

One adult swallow got alongside the chicks and started shoving them out toward the end of the branch - pushing, pushing, pushing.  The end one fell off.  Somewhere between the branch and the water four feet below, the wings started working, and the fledgling was off on his own.  Then the second one.

The third was not to be bullied.  At the last possible moment his grip on the branch loosened just enough so that he swung downward, then tightened again, bulldog tenacious.  The parent was without sentiment.  He pecked at the desperately clinging talons until it was more painful for the poor chick to hang on than risk the insecurities of flying.  

The grip was released, and the inexperienced wings began pumping.  The mature swallow knew what the chick did not - that it would fly - that there was no danger in making it do what it was perfectly designed to do.

Birds have feet and can walk.  Birds have talons and can grasp a branch securely.  They can walk; they can cling.  But flying is their characteristic action, and not until they fly are they living at their best, gracefully, and beautifully.
Giving is what we do best.  It is the air into which we were born.  It is the action that was designed into us before out birth.

Some of us try desperately to hold on to ourselves, to live for ourselves.  We look so bedraggled and pathetic doing it, hanging on to the dead branch of a bank account for dear life, afraid to risk ourselves on the untried wings of giving.
Eugene Peterson

Fifty Feet of Water

Many mythical years ago, word went out that within sixty days, the southern tip of Florida was about to fall away and be covered by fifty feet of water. What to do?

The scientists and the engineers and the politicians were completely baffled. The mayor of one small community decided to call together all the religious leader in the threatened area. "You must tell us how to respond to this impending 'Act of God,'" he challenged them.

One leader said piously: "The solution is prayer.  We must pray." Another suggested that a study committee be appointed.

Still another thought that evacuation was the only answer. The most learned philosopher in the group merely said, "What will be, will be."

Finally, one of the persons serving coffee spoke up, "Find out how to live under fifty feet of water!"

Learning from Pigeons

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."1

You may have read about an experiment where "pigeons were put in cages with one green and one red button. In one cage, if the birds pecked the green button they got food every time. In the other, the green button yielded food erratically and the pigeons had to persist to get enough food. 

In both cases, pecking the red button did nothing. Both sets of birds thrived, learning what they had to do to survive and ignoring the red button that yielded no food. But when the birds that were used to getting a reward every time were put in the cage that fed them only occasionally, they failed to adapt; they hit their heads against the cage and pecked wildly at everything in sight."2

Birds and animals can be very smart and quickly learn to pursue activities that produce positive results while avoiding activities that don't. Pity we humans aren't always as smart. Too many of us invest our lives in empty, meaningless or even harmful activities and relationships, and have a way of continually hitting red buttons that always result in getting negative responses.

Others, who, like the pigeons that were used to getting rewarded all the time when put in the cage where they were rewarded only occasionally, couldn't cope, so people who, when growing up, were overprotected, spoiled, or had parents that did far too much for them, have a difficult time adjusting to adult life and accepting personal responsibility. Also as adults, when we, other organizations, and/or the government do for others what they CAN and NEED to do for themselves, we keep them over-dependent and irresponsible.

As adults we need to eliminate (overcome) our own red buttons that trigger our unresolved issues from the past, and not purposely hit others' red buttons that never result in obtaining what we need or want.

Furthermore, we need to learn through experience and hard work to accept personal responsibility for every area of our life. True, we were not responsible for our upbringing and early training, but as adults we are totally responsible for our recovery, our actions, our well-being, for who and what we become, and for every area of our life. To expect otherwise is self-defeating and ultimately self-destructive.

Most important of all is that we need to remind ourselves that we are not only responsible for ourselves and what we do, but we are also responsible before God and one day will be required to give an account of our life to him.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the gift of life and for all the blessings you have given so freely to me. Help me to see issues in my life that I need to resolve and overcome, to avoid unnecessarily hitting others' red buttons, and help me to accept personal responsibility for every area of my life so that when I stand before you, I will hear your welcoming words, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

1. Hebrews 4:13 (NIV).
2. Michael Josephson in Character Counts. www.charactercounts.org

By Dick Innes <:))))><