Category Principal’s Message

Calvin Coolidge, the thirtieth US president, was known as a reserved man who spoke very little. One day, when a reporter attempted to interview him, the conversation went like this: Reporter: ‘Do you wish to say anything about the threat of war in Europe?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ Reporter: ‘Do you have anything to say about the strike in the clothing factories?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ Reporter: ‘Do you have anything to say about the League of Nations?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ Reporter: ‘Would you care to comment on the farm production problem?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ As the reporter was leaving the room, Coolidge unexpectedly called him back and said with a smile, ‘Don’t quote me!’

The Bible says, ‘For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. … A time to be quiet and a time to speak’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7 NLT). Never allow yourself to be pressured into saying something you don’t want to say or get drawn in when you don’t feel like talking. Silence isn’t a lack of communication; it’s a form of communication and can be a very effective one! Proverbs 29:11 (NKJV) says, ‘A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back.’ One thing is for sure, what you don’t say today, you won’t have to explain or apologise for tomorrow. If your tendency is to speak without thinking, or when you have nothing constructive to add, weigh the situation carefully and ask God for wisdom before deciding if you should speak or be quiet. Remember: ‘Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.’ (Proverbs 17:28 NKJV).

SoulFood: Isa 1-3 John 5:16-30 Ps 15 Pro 27:10-12

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024

One author writes: ‘One of the strategies I employ is to block enough time so that I’m not thinking of what I have to do next. I find it best to wait until I can invest more than a few minutes in being with someone so that the person is not frustrated with my divided attention and tight schedule.’ If you keep robbing your loved ones of time, there may come a day when they have no time for you. Ask yourself, ‘Is this person worth more to me than the plan, project, problem, or pressure I’m dealing with?’

Self-help books sometimes claim you can change your life in five or ten simple steps. It takes a lot more than that to make substantial and lasting changes in your life. First, change comes by drawing on a power greater than your own—God’s power. Paul writes: ‘I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:12-13 NKJV). Second, change comes from steady and determined hard work and effort. ‘And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart’ (Galatians 6:9 NKJV).

Many of our failures result from our failure to pray. As we examine our mistakes, we discover a forsaken prayer altar and an unopened Bible. James bottom-lines it: ‘… You do not have because you do not ask God’ (James 4:2 NIV).

An author writes: ‘Columbia researcher Sheena Iyengar has found that the average person makes about seventy conscious decisions every day. That’s 25,550 decisions a year. Over seventy years, that’s 1,788,500 decisions.

Why did God use Ananias to lead Saul of Tarsus to Christ? Because he was the right man, in the right place, at the right time, with the right message, and the right attitude. ‘In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.

Mary and Martha were similar in that they both loved Jesus. But the difference showed up when He visited their home. ‘…

When you commit your life to Christ, you switch sides. Now you’re up against three things. The world with its pressures, values, and agenda. The flesh, with its impulses and weaknesses. The devil, who is out to defeat you. But God would never allow us to get into a fight we couldn’t win, so let’s consider three blessings of battle.

Does it feel like the attack coming against you right now is more than you can bear? If so, read this: ‘Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,’ (Romans 5:3-4 ESV). Notice that you can reach a place of spiritual maturity where you automatically respond to difficulty with ‘joyful and confident hope.’ It’s easy to say, ‘don’t worry’, but to actually do that requires experience with the faithfulness of God.

Gideon chose thirty-two thousand soldiers to fight the Midianites. But the truth is, you don’t need lots of people in your life, you just need the right people. So, when Gideon said, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home’ (Judges 7:3 RSV), twenty-two thousand soldiers left. But God told him he still had too many, and added, ‘I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.’ (see Judges 7:4)