There are 5 sponges laying on your kitchen counter top. Each member of your
family has been cleaning up different areas of your home, but all the sponges
look the same. You are curious as to what was cleaned in your home, but you
can't tell by looking... they all look the same... so what do you do?
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!
David Langerfeld The Daily Encourager
dlangerfeld@HarrisburgBaptist.org
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.