A few thoughts from Coyunde Special Meetings

• Often we get stuck where we are because of a fear of the future.

• What God has for us is always ahead.  

• Blowing on a coal ignites the fire.  Spitting on the coal, the fire is put out.  The breath and the saliva proceed from the same mouth.  We decide if we want to ignite the fire or put it out.

• Saying yes to the will of God brings joy.  It brings a song.  It gives us power.

• May our yes always be yes.

• There's a need to lead a spiritually healthy life today.

• Time doesn't always heal things that we don't treat, take care of.

• The more we have, the more we need.  To feed a big fire, you need lots of wood.  If you have no fire, you don't need any wood.

• We don't need to present God with a plan.  He can give solutions that we would never have thought of.

• A wise man asks for wisdom.  He receives counsel.

• We don't want to look for anything in the Old Testament to justify ourselves; in Jesus we have the perfect law.

• If I offend or if I have been offended, the answer is in Jesus.

• Take care of things today.

• If we are not right with our neighbor, we are not right with God.

• Is it worth it to get offended over something human?  We could fight to keep a meter of land when, sooner or later, we're going to leave behind all our land.

• As we get closer to Jesus, we realize more and more that for nothing do we want to lose what we have in Him.  For nothing do we want to be offended.

• The devil will use anything to try and hinder our intimate communication with God.

• We're thankful that God takes away our peace when we're not right with Him.

• When offenses come, it's a special opportunity to show that Christ is reigning in our lives.

• The tongue is the most offensive member of the body.  It's better to remain silent than to offend.  When there's a fire in the house, don't open the doors.  Our lips are like doors; when we open them, they can spread the fire.

• We are very responsible in our treatment of our brother.

• Jesus was willing to drink of the most bitter cup so that we could partake of the sweetest cup in eternity.

• Abraham was willing and available.

• Great storms don't come on suddenly; they develop little by little.

• After death, there is life.  After the winter, the spring comes again, bringing new hope.

• The women who stood by the cross couldn't change the situation, but they could be a support to Jesus.

• In order to be able to rest, it's necessary to be in the center of God's will.

• The world will never aid a true follower in the way of God.

• Jesus never allowed anything or anybody to disturb or take away His peace.

• Abigail didn't just come to David with good words; she came with a good spirit.  That makes all the difference.

• Abigail knew that the need was for bread.  Joseph offered his brothers bread - bread of reconciliation, bread of pardon, bread of peace.  

• Abigail didn't take wheat; she took bread.  She didn't take grapes; she took wine.  Having a good understanding will help us see the needs of the kingdom, help us labor for things that will feed.

• A good understanding will help us take the place of others in order to have peace.

• I Sam. 25:25 In the Portuguese bible, it says "Don't let what Nabal has done make an impression on your heart."  Abigail could say that because she had lived for years with Nabal, but it was God who was making impressions on her heart.  "Come down from the cross" didn't make an impression on the heart of Jesus.  The enemy has the same message for us, but we want to have the same purpose as Jesus.

• Abigail reminded David that he was in the kingdom, not to defend himself, but to fight the battles of the Lord.  Jesus knew how to fight the Lord's battles, to defend the will of God, and He was willing to lose His own life in the process.

• We don't want to worry overly much about things in this world because we're not of this world. We're just passing through.  Our homeland is eternal.

• God has created us to walk forward.

• We receive help as we obey.

• Jesus never used "I'm just human" as an excuse.

• Sometimes we look at others and think, "They're not progressing very well."  Have we prayed for them?  A lady was continually complaining that nobody had bread in the Sunday morning meeting.  The sister worker's response was, "You bring the bread."  After a while, the lady's attitude changed completely.

• We always want to be able to learn from others.

• The details are important to God.

• God will do what is right.  My part is to wait.