by Marie | Oct 15, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
AT FIRST, Nelson Mandela was motivated by a dream to free himself from oppression. But his dream expanded to include others. He writes: ‘The hunger for my own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of my people. It was this desire for freedom of my people to live their lives with dignity and self-respect that animated my life, that transformed a frightened young man into a brave one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving man into a man without a home, that forced a life-loving man to live like a monk.’ When Mandela found himself at the crossroads of life—with one path leading to personal gain and the other to serving his people—he chose the more difficult higher road of helping others. And look at the impact he has made. Have you been confronted with that decision? If so, it doesn’t mean abandoning your dream. It means expanding it! Thomas Edison said, ‘I never perfected an invention without thinking in terms of how it would benefit others.’ He didn’t stop being an inventor so that he could help others. No, he used what he had already accomplished for himself to help others. Don’t simply aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference! Meditation: “And I will very gladly spend
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by Marie | Oct 14, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
God has given each of us a tongue: a simple, basic tool to help us encourage one another. It has been given to all—young and old, rich and poor, wise and foolish. It is a tool we can use to discourage or encourage. Too often, we use our tongue to tear people down rather than build them up. And it is in the closest relationships that we are usually the most critical. Criticism given in the wrong spirit undermines a person’s self-esteem. And it can make that person critical of others. GOD HAS given each of us a tongue too! We also hurt people with our ridicule and sarcasm. ‘What makes you think you’re so smart?’ or ‘That’s the stupidest question I’ve ever heard.’ Laughing at another’s mistakes, making fun of a person and labelling them as ‘a klutz,’ ‘lazy,’ ‘sloppy,’ ‘stupid,’ or ‘fatty’ may get a laugh from others, and even from the victim, but such words often leave painful wounds. We can discourage people by trying to show off our superior knowledge. Sometimes we hurt them just by talking too much and leaving them no time to express themselves. It gives the impression that what they have to say is relatively unimportant compared to our words of wisdom. So each day you need to pray for guidance and
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by Marie | Oct 13, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
This story is told of a man reading a newspaper when he came across a map of the world. So he clipped it out, cut it into pieces and told his little boy to put it back together again. After a while the boy said to him, ‘I’ve done it!’ His father marvelled, ‘As quick as that? How did you do it?’ His son said: ‘I turned it over and on the back was a picture of a man. I put the man together—and the world came together!’ You can’t change the world, but Christ can change you, and when that happens, your world will start coming together. Meditation: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 Also Read: The Influence of Jesus Christ Understanding God: God of Delegation After A Flash of Inspiration, What’s Next? (2) Reaching Rahab (1) I Found a Community of Believers What Is Draining You? Learning to Set Boundaries and Love the Saint Within You can now partner with the Daily Dew Ministry by clicking here
by Marie | Oct 11, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
A young couple moved into a new house. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the washing outside. “That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better detergent.” Her husband looked on, remaining silent. Every time her neighbor hung her washing out to dry, the young woman made the same comments. A month later, the young woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, “Look, she’s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?” The husband replied, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.” And so it is with life … What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look. So don’t be too quick to judge others, especially if your perspective of life is clouded by anger, jealousy, negativity or unfulfilled desires. “Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are.” Meditation: “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 Also Read: The Influence of Jesus Christ Understanding God: God of Delegation
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by Marie | Oct 10, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
But what if your path leads through pain, pressure, and problems? John the Baptists did. He didn’t deserve imprisonment. After all, he was the forerunner of Christ and the voice of God in the community. Plus, he was Jesus’ cousin. So he sent Jesus a message asking, ‘Are you really the Messiah, or should we keep looking?’ Paraphrased: ‘Lord, if I’m in your will, how come I’m in this situation?’ It’s a question motivated by unfulfilled expectations. We think, ‘Lord, I’ve obeyed you, how come things aren’t working out for me?’ And it feels worse when you’ve faithfully served Him. Writing about her daughter’s death, Meg Woodson says, ‘I’ll never forget those shrill, piercing screams; that the God who could have helped, looked down on this young woman who was devoted to Him…and decided to sit on His hands and let her death top the horror charts.’ Talk about unmet expectations! Jesus could have saved John, but He didn’t. Instead He sent back word: ‘Don’t worry, everything’s on target, the kingdom is being built. You did your job well’ (Matthew 11:4-5 paraphrase). It probably wasn’t the answer John hoped for. He was looking for solutions to temporal problems while Jesus was busy establishing an eternal kingdom. So next time God doesn’t seem to meet your expectations, it’s not that He
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