ONE DAY AT A TIME (Song) By Kris Kristofferson and Marijohn Wilkin I'm only human, I'm just a man Help me believe and all I can be and all that I am Show me the stairway I have to climb Lord, for my sake please teach me to take one day at a time. One day at a time sweet Jesus That's all I'm asking of you Just give me the strength to do everyday What I have to do. Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus And tomorrow may never be mine Lord, help me today, show me the way One day at a time. Do you remember When You walked among men Well Jesus, you know if you're looking below It's worse now than then. There's pushing and shoving And crowding my mind So, for my sake teach me to take One day at a time. One day at a time, sweet Jesus That's all I'm asking of you Just give me the strength To do everyday what I have to do. Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus And tomorrow may never be mine Lord, help me today, show me the way One day at a time. Lord, help me today show me the way One day at a time... (Sung by Daniel O Donnell and others.) ONE MORE STEP (Song) One more step along the world I go, one more step along the world I go; from the old things to the new keep me travelling along with you: And it's from the old I travel to the new; keep me travelling along with you. Round the corner of the world I turn, more and more about the world I learn; all the new things that I see you'll be looking at along with me: And it's from the old I travel to the new; keep me travelling along with you. As I travel through the bad and good, keep me travelling the way I should; where I see no way to go you'll be telling me the way, I know: And it's from the old I travel to the new; keep me travelling along with you. Give me courage when the world is rough, keep me loving though the world is tough; leap and sing in all I do, keep me travelling along with you: And it's from the old I travel to the new; keep me travelling along with you. You are older than the world can be, you are younger than the life in me; ever old and ever new, keep me travelling along with you: And it's from the old I travel to the new; keep me travelling along with you. Words: Sydney Carter (1915-2004) © Copyright 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd ONE STEP AT A TIME Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. —Proverbs 3:5–6 It is good to plan, but do not try to do it without God. God knows what we need better than we do. He knows where we ought to be, and how to get us there. Moreover, He loves us, which means we can be sure He will do what is best for us. Be careful to take life in steps, not leaps. When we take life in leaps, we miss out on much. It’s the simple steps we take along the way, that help us to better appreciate what lies ahead. Where there is little appreciation for what God has done, there is risk of losing it all. Be grateful for the presence of God in your life. No better objective can be aspired than to have a heart fully consecrated to God. He knows what we need even before we ask, and can handle our cares better than we can. So, leave your worries to God. Let Him direct your paths. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and you will see that He won’t fail to deliver on any of His promises. By Christopher S. Esty HELP PEOPLE ONE AT A TIME "Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." – Mother Teresa ‘It is a kingly act to assist the fallen.’ (On Service to Humanity: Mother Teresa Quotations) The very fact that God has placed a certain soul in our way is a sign that God wants us to do something for him or her. It is not chance; it has been planned by God. We are bound by conscience to help him or her. Once we take our eyes away from ourselves, from our interests, from our own rights, privileges, ambitions - then our eyes will become clear to see Jesus around us. Keep the joy of loving Jesus in your heart and share this joy with all you meet especially your family. Mother Theresa Bible Story. The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25:31-40 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a 31 stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Jesus says, as ye have done it unto one of the LEAST. That means the beggar on the street, the young girl whose clothes are too small and worn out with no money to buy more, the elderly lady in front of you at the grocery store, who is holding up the line trying to decide what she needs to put back because she doesn't have enough money. Jesus knows that if we saw him in ANY of these situations, we'd be falling over each other to help Him, the King of Kings, our Saviour, the Messiah, for the KING shall not have want, right? Neither, says Jesus, should anyone. People become more charitable during the holidays like Christmas, but this is something we should do daily. Look for opportunities to bless the less fortunate. You never know when that homeless person, that dirty child, that crazy street corner preacher, that woman pushing the empty cart...is Jesus in disguise. ONE DAY (Hymn) One day when heaven was filled with his praises, One day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin— Dwelt amongst men, my example is he! Chorus Living, he loved me; dying, he saved me; Buried, he carried my sins far away; Rising, he justified freely, for ever: One day he's coming—O, glorious day! One day they led him up Calvary's mountain, One day they nailed him to die on the tree; Suffering anguish, despised and rejected: Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is he! Chorus One day they left him alone in the garden, One day he rested, from suffering free; Angels came down o'er his tomb to keep vigil; Hope of the hopeless, my Saviour is he! Chorus One day the grave could conceal him no longer, One day the stone rolled away from the door; Then he arose, over death he had conquered; Now is ascended, my Lord evermore! Chorus One day the trumpet will sound for his coming, One day the skies with his glories will shine; Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing; Glorious Saviour, this Jesus is mine! Chorus Lyrics by J Wilbur Chapman & Music by Charles H Marsh Copyright J Wilbur Chapman 1910 FIRST THINGS FIRST A young ensign had nearly completed his first overseas tour of duty when he was given the opportunity to prepare his ship to "set sail." With a stream of crisp commands, he had the decks buzzing with sailors and soon the ship churned slowly out of the channel. The ensign's efficiency was remarkable. In fact, the talk was that he had set a new record for getting the ship underway. But his captain was not as pleased. A message delivered to the young officer read, "My personal congratulations upon completing your underway preparation exercise according to the book and with amazing speed. But next time, you might wait until your captain is aboard before setting off." What good is a ship without the captain? The ensign did all the right things, but he never did the most important thing. It is a matter of priorities. I know that I may accomplish a great deal every day. I may do the right things, but am I doing the best things? To borrow language from author Stephen Covey, do I put first things first? I can relate to the man who believes he spends too much of his time in meetings. “I have this recurring nightmare,” he says. “My wife and children are gathered at the cemetery for my funeral. After the service, the funeral director approaches my weeping family and hands them a box containing all my earthly possessions. In the box are 35 years of my annual calendars and diaries. I read over their shoulders as they scan the appointment notes that kept me busy for so many years. It occurs to me how seldom anything of significance was ever accomplished at those gatherings. I turn to look at my tombstone. The epitaph reads, “Daddy has gone to another meeting.” That man could be me. I need to regularly ask myself, “In my most significant relationships, in my work and in my free time, in all areas of my life, am I doing what is truly important? Important to me? I do the mundane. I do the urgent and the pressing. But do I spend enough time with what is actually significant?” I once made this demonstration to an audience. I filled a large, clear jar with coffee beans almost to the top. The beans, I said, represent all of the activities we accomplish in a day. Then I produced two golf balls. “These,” I said, “represent a couple of the truly important things in our lives.” I asked them to think of the golf balls as time spent with a significant person, such as a family member, or doing something special for somebody else, or developing their spiritual life or just beginning that project they keep putting off. I placed the balls on top of the beans then tried to screw on the lid. I couldn't do it. There were too many beans in the jar. “Does this remind you of a typical day?” I asked. “We're so busy doing the usual we can't seem to squeeze in anything else.” I emptied the jar and started over. “But what if we put first things first? What if we start each day doing something special, something we truly WANT to do?” I placed the golf balls into the jar first. Then I poured in the coffee beans - all of them. They fell neatly around the balls and filled the jar to the top. When I screwed on the lid it fit perfectly. And that's the secret to building the kind of life you want. I've discovered that if I can begin every day with one or two things that are important to me, the other stuff still fits into place just fine. I don't want to just do all of the RIGHT things and never get around to the BEST things. And I certainly don't want my life summed up in the sentence, “Daddy has gone to another meeting.” So I handle the golf balls first. And in comparison, everything else is just beans. By Steve Goodier www.LifeSupportSystem.com