Bear's Inspirations

When I Say I Am A Christian

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not shouting, "I am saved!" I'm whispering, "I get lost; That is why I chose this way."



When I say, "I am a Christian," I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble And need Someone to be my Guide.



When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak, And pray for strength to carry on.



When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed And cannot ever pay the debt.



When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are all too visible, But God believes I'm worth it.



When I say, "I am a Christian," I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, Which is why I speak His name.



When I say, "I am a Christian," I do not wish to judge. I have no authority; I only know I'm loved.


Have a blessed day in JESUS..

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

The Freedom of Sacrifice

When Abraham gave Isaac

Upon the altar there

A sacrifice, the depth of which

His soul could scarcely bear



He wrestled long into the night

ln agony of soul

How could he give his precious son

And trust God keeps him whole.



He agonized and wrestled

Until he realized

That Isaac had become THE one

The one that he most prized



And then in deep repentance

and agony of soul

He called on God's forgiveness

And gave Him back the whole.



He cried "Forgive me Father

l never realized

That l had made young Isaac

An idol in my life



I give him Lord into Your hands

I love him so much Lord,

But, Oh I need to love you more

And trust you at your Word."



And God returned to Abraham

The son he dearly loved

But ne'er again did Isaac

Take the place reserved for God.



And so to each of us it seems

There comes this very test

Will we surrender loved ones

And in His promise rest?



The battle oft is long and hard

We agonize and weep,

It's not that we're not willing

It's just that love's so deep

We build an altar

Hoping still that God will intervene

And then at last abandon

Every hope and dream.



We lay them down with trembling heart

We feel 'twill never mend

And pray "God let the tire fall

I’ll trust You to the end



For there is no—one else to trust

No other voice but Thine

And so, I give completely

All once I thought was mine."

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

5 Sponges

There are 5 sponges lying on your kitchen countertop. Each member of your family has been cleaning up different areas of your home, but the sponges all look the same. You are curious as to what

You squeeze each sponge to see what comes out. As you squeeze the first sponge, you see that cola comes out, and so you decide that someone cleaned the kitchen with that one.

Upon squeezing the second sponge, you find tub and tile cleaner, that one was used to clean the bathroom.

Next, in the third sponge, you find motor oil — hubby was cleaning the garage!

In the fourth sponge, baby powder puffs out when it is squeezed —yep, the baby's nursery was done with that one!

And finally, in the last one, is floor wax — that was the one you used on the hall floor!

As you lay the last one down, you look again at their similarity -and they all look the same until they're squeezed. Christians are the same way. As life squeezes us, different things come out — anger from one, a need for revenge from another, tears from one, remorse from yet another — also greed, untruth, lust — and finally, from one saint, pours forth the love of Christ.

Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in — stay in the Word daily, and be in continuous prayer, so that when life puts the squeeze on you (and it WILL), Jesus and Jesus ALONE will shine forth from you!

Have a blessed, squeaky clean day!

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

The Starfish

The old man awoke just before sunrise, as he often did, to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As he moved through the morning dawn, he focused on a faint, far away motion.



He saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As he approached, he realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.



He asked the youth the purpose of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the youth replied. "When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back into the sea."



As the youth explained, the old man surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond eyesight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation.



The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear and the old man countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference."



The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to the man, he said,



"I made a difference to that one."


Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

Angels In The Classroom
A pastor read a letter from an elementary school teacher who attends East Hill Church.
The gist of the letter was as follows:
Last school year, her classroom was made up of little third graders, everyone of which
came from either a single parent uncared for, lived in an abusive home, and was either beaten, bruised, or r***d by other family members; one little girl's dad died of aids, and the list goes on. Her heart bled for these kids.
Before the '99-2000 school year started, she and her husband went to her classroom and prayed over each desk in the room. They prayed that God would place an angel behind each and every child throughout the coming year to watch over them and protect them. A month or so after the year had started, she gave the kids an assignment to write about that they would like to be when they grew up. Everybody was busy with his or her assignment, when "Andrew" raised his hand. When she asked him what he needed, he asked how to spell "mighty." After telling him how to spell mighty, she asked him why he needed to know. Andrew said it was because when he grew up he wanted to be a "mighty man of God." When he said this, little "Mark" sitting next to him asked, "So, what's a mighty man of God?" The teacher, swallowing back her tears, and knowing she could not say anything in the classroom, told Andrew to go ahead and tell Mark what it was.
So Andrew says, "It's a man who puts on the armor of God and is a soldier for God." After observing some conversation between Andrew and Mark, the teacher, with a lump in her throat, started to walk away when Andrew motioned with his little forefinger for her to come closer. He whispered to her, asking if she believed in angels. She told him yes, she did. Then he asked her if she thought people could see angels, and she said she thought some people probably could. Andrew said that he did, and he could see an angel standing behind each kid in the room.
I don't think there was a dry eye in the church that night! We need to remember to pray for all of the teachers, that although there is no prayer in school that they are dedicated enough to pray for the protection of God's angels over the lives of their students. Maybe it wouldn't hurt, even at work.