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ENEMIGOS DESTRUIDOS
Se cuenta que cierto emperador chino, cuando le avisaron que en una de las provincias de su imperio había una insurrección, dijo a los ministros de su gobierno y a los jefes militares que lo rodeaban: "Vamos. Seguidme. Pronto destruiré a mis enemigos." Cuando el emperador y sus tropas llegaron a donde estaba los rebeldes, él trató afablemente a éstos, quienes, por gratitud, se sometieron a él de nuevo. Todos los que formaban el séquito del emperador pensaron que él ordenaría la inmediata ejecución de todos aquellos que se habían sublevado contra él; pero se sorprendieron en gran manera al ver que el emperador trataba humanitariamente y hasta con cariño a quienes habían sido rebeldes. Entonces el primer ministro preguntó con enojo al emperador:
"¿De esta manera cumple vuestra Excelencia su promesa? Dijisteis que veníamos a destruir a nuestros enemigos, los habéis perdonados a todos y a muchos hasta con cariño los habéis tratado.
Entonces el emperador, con actitud generosa, dijo:
-os prometí destruir a mis enemigos; y todos vosotros veis que ya nadie es enemigo mío: a todos los e hecho mis amigos."
ENEMIES DESTROYED
It is said that a Chinese emperor, when told that one of the provinces of his empire had an uprising, told his government ministers and military chiefs about him: "Come on. Follow me. Soon I will destroy my enemies." When the emperor and his troops arrived to where the rebels were, he treated them graciously, who, in gratitude, were subjected to it again. All who were the emperor's entourage thought he would order the immediate execution of all those who had rebelled against him, but was greatly surprised to see that the emperor treated humanely and even loving those who had been rebellious. Then the prime minister angrily asked the emperor:
"This way your Excellency met their promise? You said you were coming to destroy our enemies, you have forgiven everyone."
Then the Emperor, generous attitude, said:
"I promised to destroy my enemies. You see that nobody is my enemy. I've made them all my friends."
“Many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary and enjoyed a comfortable living Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his performance, the impostor took poison and killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that found its way into the English language: “He refused to face the music”. (As cited by Max Lucado’s Just Like Jesus. Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998, pp. 110-11, from the following source: Paul Lee Tan. The Encyclopedia Of 7700 Illustrations. Rockville, Md.: Assurance Publishers, 1979, pp. 562-63).
Se cuenta la fábula de un mercader en Baghdad que envió a su siervo al mercado. El siervo retornó más pronto de lo esperado, pálido y temblando. Le dijo a su amo, “Cuando estaba en el mercado sentí que alguien me estaba empujando, cuando me di vuelta vi que era la muerte la que me empujaba. Ella me miró y me hizo un gesto amenazante. Por favor, présteme un caballo para que yo pueda escapar a Samarra y esconderme allí para que la muerte no pueda encontrarme.”
El amo le prestó el caballo y el siervo salió huyendo a todo galope. Más tarde el mercader fue al mercado y vio a la muerte entre la multitud. Se le acercó y le dijo, “¿Por qué has asustado a mi siervo esta mañana? ¿Por qué lo amenazaste?”
La muerte contestó: “Yo no lo amenacé ni quise asustarlo. Fue sencillamente que no pude contener un gesto de asombro. Yo estaba sorprendida de verlo en Bagdad, porque yo tengo una cita con él esta noche en Samarra.”
A. Many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary and enjoyed a comfortable living. Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo perf...
Esteban Ulloa
Hace algun tiempo escuché la historia de un grupo misionero que había sido invitado a Rusia para enseñar Cristianismo. Era la época de Navidad y mientras enseñaban las historia del nacimiento de Jesús en un Orfanato; todos los niños escuchaban con mucha atención. Ninguno de los niños había escuchado esa historia nunca antes. Uno de los misioneros contaba: “Le dimos a los niños algunos materiales y les dijimos que deberían armar una escena del nacimiento de Jesús, según la historia que habían escuchado. Todo iba bien hasta que me acerqué a la mesa de un niño llamado Misha. Parecía tener unos seis años de edad y había terminado su trabajo. Mientras miraba el pesebre me quedé sorprendido cuando vi que allí habían no uno sino dos niños. Llamé a un traductor para preguntarle por qué. Mirando su trabajo el niño comenzó a repetir la historia con exactitud, hasta que llegó a la parte donde María puso al bebé en el pesebre. Entonces Misha comenzó a crear su propio fin de la historia.
El dijo: “Y cuando María puso al bebé en el pesebre, Jesús me miró y me preguntó si yo tenía un lugar dónde estar. Yo le dije que no tenía papá ni mamá, no tengo un hogar donde estar. Entonces Jesús me dijo que yo podía estar con él. Así que me metí en el pesebre, y luego Jesús me miró y me dijo que podía estar con El para siempre. Llevando sus manos al rostro, la cabeza de Misha se inclinó hacia la mesa y comenzó a llorar, llorar y suspirar. Por primera vez en su vida había encontrado alguien que nunca lo abandonaría, ni abusaría de él, alguien que estaría con él para siempre.”
Durante la guerra entre Irak e Irán en los años 80, la Fuerza Aérea Iraqí utilizaba el avión MiG-26, uno de los más avanzados de todos los tiempos. Sin embargo, sufrieron muchísimas pérdidas de aviones, aun cuando los iraníes utilizaban aviones inferiores. Los fabricantes de los MiG fueron a investigar, y uno vez leí que descubrieron lo siguiente. Esto aviones tenían una alarma que advertía cuando un misil tenía al avión en su sistema de guía electrónico. Este alarma estaba diseñado para advertirle al piloto para que pudiera hacer las maniobras necesarias para esquivar el misil, lo cual era muy posible con estos aviones. Pero los iraquíes reaccionaban de otra forma. ¡Se saltaban del avión! Se salvaban pero perdían los aviones sin necesidad de hacerlo.
¿Nos estamos saliendo de nuestros matrimonios cuando debemos estar salvándolos? ¿Es más fácil “saltar” que hacer que nuestros matrimonios vuelan más altos? ¿Por qué será que en un entonces 90% de nuestros matrimonios duraban toda una vida, pero ya no es así?
Alejandra tenía 1 añito cuando sucedio esto. Estabamos trabajando alrededor de la iglesia limpiando y podando el cesped. Mi hija quería entrar al templo pero cuando me fije que había una gran avispa a la puerta le dije a mi hija que no. Ella lloró y hasta de coraje se tiró al suelo e insistía con grandes alaridos que la dejara abrir la puerta. Pero yo me rehusé y la tome en mis brazos aunque ella no lo deseaba y la aparté del lugar en donde se encontraba la avispa. Como podrán darse cuenta ella no vio lo que yo veía. Yo veía desde lejos el peligro y porque la amo no le permití que se arrimara al peligro. Aunque gritó y pensó que yo no era justo el No que yo le dí fue lo mejor que le pudo pasar.
Hay momentos en que nosotros vamos a Dios en oración pidiéndole por algo y encontramos que nos respondió NO, en vez de pensar que no nos contestó o buscar como torcer su voluntad preguntemos ¿qué es lo que Dios desea evitar en mi vida o qué es lo que Él ve que yo no he visto? Creanme que cuando Dios dice NO es lo mejor que nos puede pasar. Porque cada NO de Dios vienen con dos SI. Si te estoy protegiendo. Si ya te he provisto a esa área de tu vida.
In the film The Shawshank Redemption, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)—a young, successful banker wrongly convicted of murdering his wife in 1947 and sentenced to two consecutive life terms at Shawshank Prison.
Halfway through the film, an old con, Brooks Hadlin, becomes enraged and threatens to take another inmate’s life—holding a makeshift knife at the inmate’s throat. A few tense moments later, Red and Andy persuade Brooks to lay down his knife. That’s when they discover that Hadlin had just received word that his parole was finally approved. The mere thought of freedom outside the prison walls was enough to send Brooks over the edge.
Later, discussing it in the prison yard, an inmate concludes that Brooks had "bugged out," gone mad. Red quickly disagrees:
Brooks ain’t no bug! He’s just…institutionalized. The man’s been in here 50 years—50 years! This is all he knows. In here, he’s an important man. He’s an educated man. Outside, he’s nothing...
Why Mike Guglielmucci Lied to the World
The Australian musician who wrote "Healer" needed his own healing from a porn addiction. His tragic story should challenge us to embrace purity.
I play the song "Healer" all the time in my car. I can't get the tune out of my head. You probably know the words:
I believe You're my healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need.
Thousands of churches have been singing the popular worship chorus since Australian youth pastor Michael Guglielmucci wrote it in 2007. The Aussie worship band Hillsong United has made it a global anthem, and it's especially popular among people battling illness. But the song took on a darker meaning in August when Guglielmucci admitted it was part of an elaborate hoax he created. When we sing "Healer' from now on, let's remember that Jesus wasn't lying when He promised to heal our broken soul.
Christians around the world felt shocked and betrayed when the 29-year-old minister admitted he had faked cancer for two years in a strange ploy to hide his secret pornography addiction. The fiasco has become one of the biggest scandals to rock Australia's Christian community in years.
In a tearful apology aired on Australian television several weeks ago, Guglielmucci said he faked symptoms and wrote bogus e-mails from doctors. He sat in waiting rooms alone while his family assumed he was getting treatment. He appeared in church concerts with an oxygen tube in his nose, deceiving thousands of mostly teenage fans into believing he needed a physical healing.
This talented but tormented young man eventually trapped himself in his own deceptive web. Church leaders asked him to confess his lies to the police, since he used the story to raise funds. He was stripped of his ministerial credentials and is now receiving psychiatric help. Aussie church leaders, including pastor Brian Houston of Hillsong Church in Sydney, had to make public statements to calm distraught churchgoers who feel betrayed and, in some cases, defrauded of their money.
I can't begin to imagine the pain that Guglielmucci's parents feel. (His father is an Assemblies of God pastor who read his son's apology to a stunned congregation outside Adelaide). I am sure trust has been severely damaged among members of Guglielmucci's family. But how do we respond when a leader fails us like this?
Thankfully, in Guglielmucci's case, he did not justify his behavior. His apology was read in churches all over Australia. He told a news reporter: "I'm so sorry not just for lying to my friends and family even about a sickness, but I'm sorry for a life of saying I was something when I'm not. From this day on I'm telling the truth."
Guglielmucci admitted that he began to weave his false story of illness in order to mask his addiction. Sometimes he felt so guilty after looking at porn that he couldn't go to work--so he called in sick. He dug himself deeper every day. His little lies grew to become a monstrous con job.
This man's pretend sickness was caused by a disease of the soul that plagues millions of people today, including many Christian men who wear masks to church to hide their shame. They haven't stuck tubes in their noses or broadcast their lies to teenage audiences like Guglielmucci did, but they are lying just the same to cover up their lust. They, too, need to come clean.
(Source: J. Lee Grady, Charisma.)
Bill Harper
A woman named Dawn McKnight wrote a letter to the editor of the Birmingham News. She said:
My 14 year old son and I were recently running an errand and saw a sight that made me sick to my stomach.
As we were going through a drive-through window at a bank, my son observed that in a pile of trash on the side of a neighboring building were two American flags-one still on a flagpole. When the management was questioned, one man appeared somewhat con-cerned and assisted with removing the flags in order for me to take them and have them treated with the respect that they deserved. The other man said he had “more important things to do.”
Fortunately, there have been others who felt that they had the “time” to fight, be wounded and die for this very flag.
I was proud that my son was as concerned as I was. Naively, I thought this was a single incident. But not long ago my husband rescued and brought home two brand new American flags, one still partially remained in the commercial wrapping.
He saw them in a dump-site behind a building where he was working. The persons who so irreverently discarded these flags will hopefully think about what the true cost of these flags are.
