THE SEED

A successful Christian business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young executives in his company together.
"It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO," he said. "I have decided to choose one of you."

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed.
He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened.

Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back.

"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO.
"Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front.

Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"
Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed.

I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
"When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it.

Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.

If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

If you plant faith in Christ, you will reap a harvest.

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Two thousand years ago Paul wrote to the church at Galatia the same story but with fewer words, "What you sow, so shall you reap" (Gal. 6:7).

"We are grass that will wither and die but the incorruptible seed of God's Word will live forever - sow it daily into the life of your family! (1 Peter 1: 23 - 25).

--Author Unknown

http://www.candacehouse.org/

Domestic Violence Has A New Face - Juanita Bynum

Last night I watched a True Lady. This woman displayed so much grace and integrity it was such an joy to watch her. I am talking about Juanita Bynum. This is truly a woman of character. I watched her last night on TBN and the one thing that struck me was her grace under fire.

I have always admired this woman of God and have prayed for her over the years. But I have never witnessed what I did last night. There is a pliableness for lack of a better word to her.

There is a different type of anointing on her. It is the anointing of a warrior and and a defender of the weak. A champion.

When she was abused so horribly I was enraged! Why? Because this should not have happened. I personally wanted to go and tear Bishop Weeks from limb to limb. Instead I sat down and wrote about it. Juanita Bynum exemplified every woman, every where that was dealing with being abused. Surely now something would be done about this!

One of the things that struck me was, the enemy had no idea what he set in motion. Because of this public display of humiliation out the ash heap rises a victor and not a victim. Last night I saw a Champion. I wait in anticipation to see how the Lord uses her in this next dimension of ministry.

Go to TBN and watch the archive of the two hour talk show with Juanita Bynum and guest which aired Tues, Sept 04, 2007.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has some excerpts from the show;

Bynum appeared Tuesday night as a special guest on TBN’s “Praise The Lord” program, a Christian talk show featuring ministers, gospel artists and other newsmakers.

On the show, Bynum said she had no bitterness toward her husband.

She would not say anything negative about Weeks. “Nobody could give me enough money,” she said. “As long as he’s my husband I won’t break that covenant.”

Also on the show, she said the church would help people by preaching more about personal experiences such as her own.

While interviews other guests, an emotional Bynum said, “I came here tonight to declare that I can bear it, I can bear it, I can bear it.”

Before the television appearance, in a room with flashing cameras, Bynum said she has forgiven Weeks for the alleged attack and that her ministry will take a new twist because of the pain she has suffered.

“Today, domestic violence has a face and a name and it is Juanita Bynum,” said the pastor.
“This is such a difficult moment for me,” Bynum said. “First, I want to go on record and say I forgive my husband and I wish him all of the best.”

The pastor said while some of her supporters have kept quiet about the incident, she does not intend to move on with her ministry as if the attack never happened.

“Relationships are what they are, [they] have their difficult moments,” she said. “… This has changed my life forever.”

Bynum said that after the alleged attack she was holed up with family feeling “weak and helpless.”

But Tuesday she said she won’t keep quiet on the issue of domestic violence.

“This isn’t a religious issue, it’s a social issue,” she said.

Bynum would not say whether she would participate in the prosecution of her husband or discuss her feelings about him. She said she is focusing on her new ministry. “Instead of a victim,

I want to become an advocate,” she said.

Let us continue to lift Prophetess Bynum in prayer as well as Bishop Weeks.

http://www.candacehouse.org/

2007 Candace House, All Rights reserved.

No Unsung Heroes

This morning I started thinking about an incident that happened to me. I was reading a verse of scripture when this came to mind.

“God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.”
—Hebrews 6:10

I remember when I implemented a program in a former church years ago to have a variety store for the poor. I went and set up an account with Second Harvest, a food warehouse where you pay pennies on the dollar for items. I solicited the help of my best friend who was a minister in the church as well. We asked the pastor for space in an industrial park the church owned to set up a free store. He said yes.

We stocked it with food, medicine, personal hygiene products, clothes, furniture and toys. My girlfriend and I were the ones who went and picked the items up and unloaded them. Furniture and heavier items we had delivered.

We worked the store 2 days a week. We also traveled 2 hours one way to pick up food for a couple of years before they would send a truck our way. Never asked for gas money, and half the time paid for the food. We did this at least twice a month.

We made these items available to people that had fallen on hard times for free. People that came in for assistance traded time working in the store for items given. It made them feel good to be able to contribute. During this time we had the opportunity to share the Love of the Lord with them.

Many came to the Lord through this outreach, and joined the church as well. After a year the pastor wanted to re-evaluate whether we needed to continue with this project and if it brought "any value" to the ministry. After fighting with him on this issue, at the end of two years we handed it back over to him to do with as he wished.

Someone else joined the church a little later with like vision and went to him and said how the church could get publicity for the store. He went for it. Mind you the church had been getting publicity all along on a local level. He wanted "his" "name" recognized regionally.

When it was all said and done, the pastor credited this person to the media for piloting the program and doing all of the work. My girlfriend and I were never mentioned.

I don't know if you have ever experienced this before: you do the work and turn in a great performance someone else gets the credit. They may not have done all that much to earn it, they were just there at the right time or simply knew how to "suck up" to the “people that matter.” They get the credit deserved by others who end up forgotten.

As Christians, this leaves us in a tough position. We don’t want to be selfish and egotistically toot our own horn. But it hurts. It’s not fair. It can lead to discouragement, anger, and resentment. I know it did with me for about a year I held on this.

When we find ourselves in this situation, I believe it is helpful to remember two things. First, we don’t work for our employer, teacher, manager, or boss or pastor: we ultimately work for the Lord. (see Ephesians 5:6-8)

If He is pleased, then we should be proud of our work and feel our goal has been accomplished even when we are not pat on the back. Yes, we all need some affirmation for a job well done, but sometimes it doesn’t come until the Father says, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Second, God who sees will not forget what we have done. He knows who really did the hard work and who deserves the credit. He will be the one to reward us for doing His work for His Glory even if no one else knows or cares. So if you’ve found yourself in this situation, IN GOD’S FAMILY, THERE ARE NO UNSONG HEROES!


Shalom,
Candace

http://www.candacehouse.org/

2007 Candace House, All Rights reserved. Email info@candacehouse.org for permission to use.

Sleeping Through The Storm

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the old man's response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, and he returned to bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

Where to take it from here......

When you're prepared, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm. We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves firmly in the Word of God.

Author Unknown

http://www.candacehouse.org/

2007 Candace House, All Rights reserved. Email info@candacehouse.org for permission to use.

The Devil Made Me Do It According to Bishop Weeks

What kind of mess is this? Bishop Thomas Weeks, the estranged husband of Prophetess Juanita Bynum, claimed anonymity when he said "The Devil Made Me Do It." Like we church folks say" The devil is a lie!" I guess when He stands in court he will also tell the judge this same ridiculous story.

This story below is taken from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Weeks took the pulpit two days after his surrender to authorities in connection with the alleged attack on Bynum. His remarks included appreciation for the prayers and support that he said have come in for him and his wife and thanks to those in attendance in spite of the controversy.

Weeks sparked thunderous applause and cheers when he asked members to tell those seated next to them: "We've got certain things going on right now, but I refuse to stop coming to the house God built."

Weeks, wearing a dark suit and his customary bow tie, blamed the devil for the accusation that has him facing two felony charges. He didn't, however, offer any specifics before introducing a guest minister who preached in his stead, then exiting the room.

Weeks, wearing a dark suit and his customary bow tie, blamed the devil for the accusation that has him facing two felony charges. He didn't, however, offer any specifics before introducing a guest minister who preached in his stead, then exiting the room.

After turning himself in, he spent six hours in the Fulton County Jail before being released on $40,000 bond Friday.

Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone. BUT EACH ONE IS TEMPTED WHEN HE IS DRAWN AWAY BY HIS OWN DESIRES AND ENTICED. THEN WHEN DESIRE HAS CONCEIVED IT GIVES BIRTH TO SIN, AND SIN, WHEN IT IS FULL GROWN BRINGS FORTH DEATH”- JAMES 1:13-16. Sin here comes about when people are drawn away AFTER THEIR OWN DESIRES AND ENTICED!

The Lord is cleaning house. He is sweeping back the rug so that the Church can look at itself in light of His Word. We are not alright! But thank God, HE will not leave us in the state we are in. He will uncover and expose so that we can acknowledge that there is a problem. Once acknowledge the problem can be dealt with.

Individuals come to the church for a healing of their souls. It supposed to be not just a place to fellowship but a place to worship! Time out for all of the prosperity messages and let us do the work of true ministry.

Candace House

http://www.candacehouse.org/

2007 Candace House, All Rights reserved. Email info@candacehouse.org for permission to use.