In addition to individual factors in motivation, there are other factors that arise from interactions with other people.
Competition is one of these interpersonal factors. Competition motivates behavior because people can enhance their own self-esteem when they are able to make comparisons of their own performance to that of others. While all learners appear to be motivated to some extent by competition, the importance of competition is greater for some learners than for others. These differences are often related to the person's previous experience or to the importance that cultures or subcultures place on competition versus cooperation. A detailed discussion of the role of competition in education can be found in Rich & DeVitis (1992). An argument against the use of competition in schools can be found in Kohn (1986).Examples of ways to use competition to stimulate intrinsic motivation:
"Yours was one of the best papers in this class."
A student graduates with a high enough class rank to get into the college of his choice.
A student wins the Jeopardy-style game based on the information her class was required to study.
Note: The competition doesn't have to be a formal competition. All that is required is that the person compare his/her performance to that of others.
Note: Not all competitions are examples of intrinsic motivation. If students are required to compete over things that they don't care about, this would be an example of a very extrinsic form of motivation.
A second interpersonal factor in motivation is cooperation, in which learners derive satisfaction from working toward group goals. As was the case with competition, the motivating force of cooperation is stronger for some persons than others, and these differences are often related to the person's previous experience or to the importance that cultures or subcultures place on cooperation. The motivating effects of competition and cooperation are discussed in greater detail in the Classroom Atmosphere section of this chapter.Examples of ways to use cooperation to stimulate intrinsic motivation:
"Because each of us contributed, our group project received a high grade."
"If we all do our part, we'll make lots of money."
A team of student wins a College-Bowl-style game. The teacher assigned all the members of the class to groups of five students. In order for the team to succeed, each individual had to do well. Therefore, all the team members helped the others on the team. {This is an example of a combination of competition and cooperation. It may also involve a challenge.}
Note: The cooperation doesn't have to be based on formal cooperative learning. All that is required is that the person derive satisfaction from contributing to the success of others.
A third interpersonal factor in motivation is recognition. Most people enjoy having their efforts and accomplishments recognized and appreciated by others. In order to obtain recognition, the activity of the learner must be visible to others. There are three ways to achieve visibility: (1) the process of performing an activity may be visible, (2) the product of the activity may be visible, or (3) some other result of the activity may be visible (for example, an article may appear in the newspaper listing the names of people who participated in a science fair).Examples of ways to use recognition to stimulate intrinsic motivation:
"Son, that's a really good paper." {The same comment could be directed to Mary, Bubba, or anyone else.}
"The following students did outstanding work…."
"Because of your contribution, our group project received a high grade." {This is a combination of recognition and cooperation.}
"Here's an award for finishing first in your class." {This is a combination of recognition and competition.}
Note: The differences between recognition and competition are that (1) recognition does not require a comparison to someone else's performance and (2) competition does not require the approval of an outsider.
Review Quiz 6
Indicate whether each of the following teachers is emphasizing competition, cooperation, or recognition as a motivational strategy. (The answer could be one of these, a combination of these, or none of these.) Also identify any of the individual motivational factors that are present.
Mr. Walters lets his students play NUMBER MUNCHERS, an arcade-style game in which students practice their math skills. When a student's game score is among the ten best, that student's name goes into the Hall of Fame, which other students can view when they play the game.
Miss Monroe gives her weekly ten-minute quiz. Then she lets the students retake the test together and study together for a half hour. They get points toward their grade based on the performance of the group on the retake. Then they take a different form of the test at the end of the class. The higher of the two individual test scores counts for each student.
Coach Wilkes gives outstanding performance rewards to all members of the track team who improved their weight-lifting performance by at least 20%.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Motivation
The derivation of the word tells us that motivation refers to getting someone moving. When we motivate ourselves or someone else, we develop incentives - we set up conditions that start or stop behavior. In education motivation deals with the problem of setting up conditions so that learners will perform to the best of their abilities in academic settings. We often motivate learners by helping them develop an expectancy that a benefit will occur as a result of their participation in an instructional experience. In short, motivation is concerned with the factors that stimulate or inhibit the desire to engage in a behavior.4
When we look for ways to motivate students, we often look at people who have motivated us ourselves or who are famous for motivating other people. This is often a mistake: the people who have gained fame as motivators have often worked with special audiences who are not at all typical of the students who show up in our classrooms. While what these motivators do is effective with their selective audiences, it is possible that we ourselves deal with people who require entirely different motivational techniques. It is not even remotely reasonable to assume that the tactics that will make a group of football players eager to "win one for the Gipper" or a brigade of soldiers willing to march into the valley of death will have a similar impact on uninterested non-readers in the third grade.
Motivation is an extremely important but sometimes mundane topic. Motivation influences learners in complex ways. For example, in a single situation there may be numerous factors motivating learners to engage in a behavior and an even greater number of factors motivating them to avoid that behavior. A thorough understanding of the principles of motivation will enable you to get students moving - to want to participate and do their share in the instructional process.
It is an axiom of most motivational theories that motivation is strongest when the urge to engage in a behavior arises from within the learner rather than from outside pressures. Bruner (1966) has stated the relationship between motivation and learning in the following way:
The will to learn is an intrinsic motive, one that finds both its source and its reward in its own exercise. The will to learn becomes a "problem" only under specialized circumstances like those of a school, where a curriculum is set, students are confined, and a path fixed. The problems exist not so much in learning itself, but in the fact that what the school imposes often fails to enlist the natural energies that sustain spontaneous learning... (p. 127)
This chapter will deal with the problem of helping students develop and use the energies that sustain spontaneous learning. It will examine several approaches to motivation, but each approach has the same goal: to make learners more willing to channel their energies into the productive activities offered by an activity or by a unit of instruction.
Review Quiz 1
Which of the following teachers is primarily concerned with motivation? (Mark each item Yes or No.}
_____ Miss Peters is looking for ways to make Tommy want to study long division more industriously.
_____ Professor Vockell is trying to figure out how to make his book more practical, so that readers will want to apply the principles of educational psychology to their daily practice.
_____ Mr. Howell is trying to organize his lesson plan in such a way as to make it easier for students to make associations with previous material and thereby remember the information longer.
_____ Mr. Jorden is presenting information that will show the connection between his unit on geometry and the practical problems of living in an urban setting. His belief is that if students see this connection, they will be more eager to learn from the unit. _____ Mrs. Jeffries has developed a set of instructional objectives, so that students will know exactly what they need to learn in order to do well on the exam.
{Answers are at the end of the chapter.}
When we look for ways to motivate students, we often look at people who have motivated us ourselves or who are famous for motivating other people. This is often a mistake: the people who have gained fame as motivators have often worked with special audiences who are not at all typical of the students who show up in our classrooms. While what these motivators do is effective with their selective audiences, it is possible that we ourselves deal with people who require entirely different motivational techniques. It is not even remotely reasonable to assume that the tactics that will make a group of football players eager to "win one for the Gipper" or a brigade of soldiers willing to march into the valley of death will have a similar impact on uninterested non-readers in the third grade.
Motivation is an extremely important but sometimes mundane topic. Motivation influences learners in complex ways. For example, in a single situation there may be numerous factors motivating learners to engage in a behavior and an even greater number of factors motivating them to avoid that behavior. A thorough understanding of the principles of motivation will enable you to get students moving - to want to participate and do their share in the instructional process.
It is an axiom of most motivational theories that motivation is strongest when the urge to engage in a behavior arises from within the learner rather than from outside pressures. Bruner (1966) has stated the relationship between motivation and learning in the following way:
The will to learn is an intrinsic motive, one that finds both its source and its reward in its own exercise. The will to learn becomes a "problem" only under specialized circumstances like those of a school, where a curriculum is set, students are confined, and a path fixed. The problems exist not so much in learning itself, but in the fact that what the school imposes often fails to enlist the natural energies that sustain spontaneous learning... (p. 127)
This chapter will deal with the problem of helping students develop and use the energies that sustain spontaneous learning. It will examine several approaches to motivation, but each approach has the same goal: to make learners more willing to channel their energies into the productive activities offered by an activity or by a unit of instruction.
Review Quiz 1
Which of the following teachers is primarily concerned with motivation? (Mark each item Yes or No.}
_____ Miss Peters is looking for ways to make Tommy want to study long division more industriously.
_____ Professor Vockell is trying to figure out how to make his book more practical, so that readers will want to apply the principles of educational psychology to their daily practice.
_____ Mr. Howell is trying to organize his lesson plan in such a way as to make it easier for students to make associations with previous material and thereby remember the information longer.
_____ Mr. Jorden is presenting information that will show the connection between his unit on geometry and the practical problems of living in an urban setting. His belief is that if students see this connection, they will be more eager to learn from the unit. _____ Mrs. Jeffries has developed a set of instructional objectives, so that students will know exactly what they need to learn in order to do well on the exam.
{Answers are at the end of the chapter.}
Intrinsic Motivation
Some theorists (e.g., Combs, 1982; Purkey & Schmidt, 1987; Purkey & Stanley, 1991) maintain that there is only a single kind of intrinsic motivation, which can be described as a motivation to engage in activities that enhance or maintain a person's self-concept. Most theorists (e.g., Malone and Lepper, 1987) define the term more broadly.
Note that even though the following pages will describe intrinsic motivation ashighly desirable, most of the activities in which teachers, students, and other human beings engage are most directly influenced by extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation (Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, 1989). For example, most people use a knife and a fork in a certain way or follow conventions in a restaurant not because they find knife and fork use to be intrinsically motivating, but because the correct use of these utensils leads to such intrinsic benefits as a good meal or the respect of people we care about. This is not a serious problem, unless the person feels coerced or in some other way alienated by having to use the utensils.
However, as the discussion of artificial reinforcement in Chapter 10 will further clarify, extrinsic motivators may lead to merely short-range activity while actually reducing long-range interest in a topic. Therefore, it is essential that extrinsic motivators be backed up by intrinsic motivators or that the extrinsic motivation become internalized through processes described later in this chapter. If this does not happen, the result is likely to be a reduction in the very behavior we want to promote.
One of the most frequent failures in education is that students rarely say that they find studying to be intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984). This is a critical problem. One of the most straightforward conclusions of research from the past two decades is that extrinsic motivation alone is likely to have precisely the opposite impact that we want it to have on student achievement (Lepper & Hodell, 1989).
Malone and Lepper (1987) have defined intrinsic motivation more simply in terms of what people will do without external inducement. Intrinsically motivating activities are those in which people will engage for no reward other than the interest and enjoyment that accompanies them. Malone and Lepper have integrated a large amount of research on motivational theory into a synthesis of ways to design environments that are intrinsically motivating. This synthesis is summarized in Table 5.1. As that table shows, they subdivide factors that enhance motivation into individual factors and interpersonal factors. Individual factors are individual in the sense that they operate even when a student is working alone. Interpersonal factors, on the other hand, play a role only when someone else interacts with the learner. These are discussed in detail on the following pages.
Table 5.1. The Factors That Promote Intrinsic Motivation.
Factor
Description
Related Guidelines
Challenge
People are best motivated when they are working toward personally meaningful goals whose attainment requires activity at a continuously optimal (intermediate) level of difficulty.
Set personally meaningful goals.
Make attainment of goals probable but uncertain.
Give enroute performance feedback.
Relate goals to learners' self esteem.
Curiosity
Something in the physical environment attracts the learner's attention or there is an optimal level of discrepancy between present knowledge or skills and what these could be if the learner engaged in some activity.
Stimulate sensory curiosity by making abrupt changes that will be perceived by the senses.
Stimulate cognitive curiosity by making a person wonder about something (i.e., stimulate the learner's interest).
Control
People have a basic tendency to want to control what happens to them.
Make clear the cause-and-effect relationships between what students are doing and things that happen in real life.
Enable the learners to believe that their work will lead to powerful effects.
Allow learners to freely choose what they want to learn and how they will learn it.
Fantasy
Learners use mental images of things and situations that are not actually present to stimulate their behavior.
Make a game out of learning.
Help learners imagine themselves using the learned information in real- life settings.
Make the fantasies intrinsic rather than extrinsic.
Competition
Learners feel satisfaction by comparing their performance favorably to that of others.
Competition occurs naturally as well as artificially.
Competition is more important for some people than for others.
People who lose at competition often suffer more than the winners profit.
Competition sometimes reduces the urge to be helpful to other learners.
Cooperation
Learners feel satisfaction by helping others achieve their goals.
Cooperation occurs naturally as well as artificially.
Cooperation is more important for some people than for others.
Cooperation is a useful real-life skill.
Cooperation requires and develops interpersonal skills.
Recognition
Learners feel satisfaction when others recognize and appreciate their accomplishments.
Recognition requires that the process or product or some other result of the learning activity be visible.
Recognition differs from competition in that it does not involve a comparison with the performance of someone else.
Click on a topic from the following list, or use your web browser to go where you want to go:
IntroductionMotivationIntrinsic Motivation <>ChallengeCuriosityControlFantasyInterpersonal MotivationSummary of Intrinsic MotivationMotivating Through CurriculumReinforcement and PunishmentAffective Aspects of MotivationPhysiological Aspects of MotivationCognitive Aspects of MotivationNeeds and MotivationSelf-EfficacyAttribution TheoryDevelopment and MotivationMotivation as a Personality CharacteristicTeacher ExpectancySocial Aspects of Motivation: Classroom StructureWhat Teachers Can Do About MotivationWhat Parents Can Do About MotivationWhat Students Can Do About MotivationChapter SummaryAnnotated BibliographyFootnotesAnswers to Quizzes
Note that even though the following pages will describe intrinsic motivation ashighly desirable, most of the activities in which teachers, students, and other human beings engage are most directly influenced by extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation (Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, 1989). For example, most people use a knife and a fork in a certain way or follow conventions in a restaurant not because they find knife and fork use to be intrinsically motivating, but because the correct use of these utensils leads to such intrinsic benefits as a good meal or the respect of people we care about. This is not a serious problem, unless the person feels coerced or in some other way alienated by having to use the utensils.
However, as the discussion of artificial reinforcement in Chapter 10 will further clarify, extrinsic motivators may lead to merely short-range activity while actually reducing long-range interest in a topic. Therefore, it is essential that extrinsic motivators be backed up by intrinsic motivators or that the extrinsic motivation become internalized through processes described later in this chapter. If this does not happen, the result is likely to be a reduction in the very behavior we want to promote.
One of the most frequent failures in education is that students rarely say that they find studying to be intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984). This is a critical problem. One of the most straightforward conclusions of research from the past two decades is that extrinsic motivation alone is likely to have precisely the opposite impact that we want it to have on student achievement (Lepper & Hodell, 1989).
Malone and Lepper (1987) have defined intrinsic motivation more simply in terms of what people will do without external inducement. Intrinsically motivating activities are those in which people will engage for no reward other than the interest and enjoyment that accompanies them. Malone and Lepper have integrated a large amount of research on motivational theory into a synthesis of ways to design environments that are intrinsically motivating. This synthesis is summarized in Table 5.1. As that table shows, they subdivide factors that enhance motivation into individual factors and interpersonal factors. Individual factors are individual in the sense that they operate even when a student is working alone. Interpersonal factors, on the other hand, play a role only when someone else interacts with the learner. These are discussed in detail on the following pages.
Table 5.1. The Factors That Promote Intrinsic Motivation.
Factor
Description
Related Guidelines
Challenge
People are best motivated when they are working toward personally meaningful goals whose attainment requires activity at a continuously optimal (intermediate) level of difficulty.
Set personally meaningful goals.
Make attainment of goals probable but uncertain.
Give enroute performance feedback.
Relate goals to learners' self esteem.
Curiosity
Something in the physical environment attracts the learner's attention or there is an optimal level of discrepancy between present knowledge or skills and what these could be if the learner engaged in some activity.
Stimulate sensory curiosity by making abrupt changes that will be perceived by the senses.
Stimulate cognitive curiosity by making a person wonder about something (i.e., stimulate the learner's interest).
Control
People have a basic tendency to want to control what happens to them.
Make clear the cause-and-effect relationships between what students are doing and things that happen in real life.
Enable the learners to believe that their work will lead to powerful effects.
Allow learners to freely choose what they want to learn and how they will learn it.
Fantasy
Learners use mental images of things and situations that are not actually present to stimulate their behavior.
Make a game out of learning.
Help learners imagine themselves using the learned information in real- life settings.
Make the fantasies intrinsic rather than extrinsic.
Competition
Learners feel satisfaction by comparing their performance favorably to that of others.
Competition occurs naturally as well as artificially.
Competition is more important for some people than for others.
People who lose at competition often suffer more than the winners profit.
Competition sometimes reduces the urge to be helpful to other learners.
Cooperation
Learners feel satisfaction by helping others achieve their goals.
Cooperation occurs naturally as well as artificially.
Cooperation is more important for some people than for others.
Cooperation is a useful real-life skill.
Cooperation requires and develops interpersonal skills.
Recognition
Learners feel satisfaction when others recognize and appreciate their accomplishments.
Recognition requires that the process or product or some other result of the learning activity be visible.
Recognition differs from competition in that it does not involve a comparison with the performance of someone else.
Click on a topic from the following list, or use your web browser to go where you want to go:
IntroductionMotivationIntrinsic Motivation <
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Jesus leaves us in the world to be a witness to the world.
Rabbits are timid creatures that pop out of their holes every morning, try to avoid everything (except other rabbits), eat their food, and jump back into their holes in the evening. "Whew! We made it through another day," they'd say if they could talk.
Rabbit-hole Christians are a lot like that. They eat lunch with other Christians at work and relate almost exclusively with fellow-believers in their church. They avoid socializing with unbelievers and wouldn't think of accepting an invitation to one of their parties. No wonder unbelievers equate being a Christian with a kind of aloof self-righteousness.
No one could say that about Jesus. He actually invited Himself to the home of Zacchaeus, a notorious tax collector. His congeniality among disreputable people earned Him the title of "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matthew 11:19). He reached out to such people because He knew He couldn't help them without becoming their friend. Jesus never said anything He shouldn't have said, nor did He laugh at off-color stories. He won people's respect by caring for them.
Jesus has equipped us with the Holy Spirit and assured us that He'll be with us so we can follow His example. Let's guard against being rabbit-hole Christians. —Herb Vander Lugt
Help us, O Lord, to live our livesSo people clearly seeReflections of Your caring heart,Your love and purity. —Sper
Rabbit-hole Christians are a lot like that. They eat lunch with other Christians at work and relate almost exclusively with fellow-believers in their church. They avoid socializing with unbelievers and wouldn't think of accepting an invitation to one of their parties. No wonder unbelievers equate being a Christian with a kind of aloof self-righteousness.
No one could say that about Jesus. He actually invited Himself to the home of Zacchaeus, a notorious tax collector. His congeniality among disreputable people earned Him the title of "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matthew 11:19). He reached out to such people because He knew He couldn't help them without becoming their friend. Jesus never said anything He shouldn't have said, nor did He laugh at off-color stories. He won people's respect by caring for them.
Jesus has equipped us with the Holy Spirit and assured us that He'll be with us so we can follow His example. Let's guard against being rabbit-hole Christians. —Herb Vander Lugt
Help us, O Lord, to live our livesSo people clearly seeReflections of Your caring heart,Your love and purity. —Sper
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Waiting on the Holy Spirit: Dependence on Him
(By Howard Culbertson)
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -- Psalm 27:14
Sometimes we highly-motivated types want to rush out to serve the Lord using not much more than our own thoughts, ambitions, actions and desires. We need to reflect a bit on the stern warning given in Isaiah 30 to those who develop plans without bothering to ask if they fit the mind and will of God.
The discipline of waiting on the Holy Spirit is a powerful reminder to me that I'm not to be the one ultimately in charge. I need to be reminded of that often. When we truly learn to wait on God, we discover how great He is, how immense His love is toward us, how powerful He is and how involved He wants to be in our lives.
Years ago Andrew Murray wrote a devotional book called Waiting on God. In these 31 devotionals Murray pours out his message that an adequate knowledge and understanding of the ways of God only comes to those who know how to patiently wait. So, in some ways, our willingness to wait on the Holy Spirit can be a measure of whether we have recognized the real source of power and cleansing and strength.
In one of his books, Henri Nouwen recounts a spiritual insight that came to him through a friendship he had struck up with the Flying Rodleighs, famous German trapeze artistes. Nouwen spent a week in Germany with this group of South Africans and Americans. One day the trapeze group leader told Nouwen: "As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think that I am the great star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump. . . The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. . . The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. . . .A flyer must fly and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him."
What a great picture of what God asks us to do. We are the flyer and He is the catcher. We are as dependent on Him as the trapeze flyer is upon his catcher. People may see us and think how great we are but the real star of this is our Lord, not us. On this day, as you swing through the air seemingly far, far above safety, you must trust in the the Lord to be your catcher. Wait for Him; He will be there for you...
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -- Psalm 27:14
Sometimes we highly-motivated types want to rush out to serve the Lord using not much more than our own thoughts, ambitions, actions and desires. We need to reflect a bit on the stern warning given in Isaiah 30 to those who develop plans without bothering to ask if they fit the mind and will of God.
The discipline of waiting on the Holy Spirit is a powerful reminder to me that I'm not to be the one ultimately in charge. I need to be reminded of that often. When we truly learn to wait on God, we discover how great He is, how immense His love is toward us, how powerful He is and how involved He wants to be in our lives.
Years ago Andrew Murray wrote a devotional book called Waiting on God. In these 31 devotionals Murray pours out his message that an adequate knowledge and understanding of the ways of God only comes to those who know how to patiently wait. So, in some ways, our willingness to wait on the Holy Spirit can be a measure of whether we have recognized the real source of power and cleansing and strength.
In one of his books, Henri Nouwen recounts a spiritual insight that came to him through a friendship he had struck up with the Flying Rodleighs, famous German trapeze artistes. Nouwen spent a week in Germany with this group of South Africans and Americans. One day the trapeze group leader told Nouwen: "As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think that I am the great star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump. . . The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. . . The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. . . .A flyer must fly and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him."
What a great picture of what God asks us to do. We are the flyer and He is the catcher. We are as dependent on Him as the trapeze flyer is upon his catcher. People may see us and think how great we are but the real star of this is our Lord, not us. On this day, as you swing through the air seemingly far, far above safety, you must trust in the the Lord to be your catcher. Wait for Him; He will be there for you...
Wherever a human being exists, there is an opportunity to do a kindness. —Seneca
When my son Steve came home from a concert recently, he had with him a free T-shirt and a brochure for an organization that helps needy children in a far-off continent. Apparently, one of the singers had issued a challenge.
"We wanted to change the world with our music," he said, "but often all we do is sing. We decided that we were going to take action to change some lives, so we started supporting some needy kids." Then he set forth the challenge, which Steve accepted. He then talked with his Bible-study group at church about supporting a child each month.
Most of us want to change the world for the better, but the job seems too big. So what if we decided to do at least one thing to change just one person's life? In the name of Jesus, who said that providing physical help would be the same as helping our Savior Himself (Matthew 25:35-36), what if we reached out to one person with food, or clothing, or transportation? And what if that person, wondering about our motive, asks why we helped? We could then help change that person's life for eternity by introducing him or her to the Savior.
Change the world? Let's start with changing one person in Jesus' name. —Dave Branon
Do a deed of simple kindness,Though its end you may not see;It may reach, like widening ripples,Down a long eternity. —Norris
"We wanted to change the world with our music," he said, "but often all we do is sing. We decided that we were going to take action to change some lives, so we started supporting some needy kids." Then he set forth the challenge, which Steve accepted. He then talked with his Bible-study group at church about supporting a child each month.
Most of us want to change the world for the better, but the job seems too big. So what if we decided to do at least one thing to change just one person's life? In the name of Jesus, who said that providing physical help would be the same as helping our Savior Himself (Matthew 25:35-36), what if we reached out to one person with food, or clothing, or transportation? And what if that person, wondering about our motive, asks why we helped? We could then help change that person's life for eternity by introducing him or her to the Savior.
Change the world? Let's start with changing one person in Jesus' name. —Dave Branon
Do a deed of simple kindness,Though its end you may not see;It may reach, like widening ripples,Down a long eternity. —Norris
Conscience is a trustworthy compass when God's Word is your true north
The much-loved children's story Pinocchio is about a wooden puppet whose nose grows long when he tells a lie. His friend Jiminy Cricket chirps, "Let your conscience be your guide." Pinocchio follows his advice, repents, and returns to Geppetto his creator, where he is given a heart of flesh and is freed from his strings.
There's a principle in this story for God's children. If we don't listen to that voice deep down inside that tells us what we should and should not do, we live in bondage. But a cleansed conscience brings freedom.
Some people have no strong basis for making godly decisions. Their conscience is weak, and they can be easily swayed by the behavior of others. Then there are those whose conscience is defiled. The standard by which they measure good and evil is corrupted, polluted, and impure (Titus 1:15). But saddest of all are those who have a "seared" conscience (1 Timothy 4:2). They have resisted that inner voice for so long that they no longer hear what it has to say.
But you ask, "How can we have a cleansed conscience?" We must repent of our sin and return to our Creator. We must ask Him to conform our desires and behavior to His Word and then be careful to obey it. —David Roper
There is a treasure you can ownThat's greater than a crown or throne;This treasure is a conscience clearThat brings the sweetest peace and cheer. —Isenhour
There's a principle in this story for God's children. If we don't listen to that voice deep down inside that tells us what we should and should not do, we live in bondage. But a cleansed conscience brings freedom.
Some people have no strong basis for making godly decisions. Their conscience is weak, and they can be easily swayed by the behavior of others. Then there are those whose conscience is defiled. The standard by which they measure good and evil is corrupted, polluted, and impure (Titus 1:15). But saddest of all are those who have a "seared" conscience (1 Timothy 4:2). They have resisted that inner voice for so long that they no longer hear what it has to say.
But you ask, "How can we have a cleansed conscience?" We must repent of our sin and return to our Creator. We must ask Him to conform our desires and behavior to His Word and then be careful to obey it. —David Roper
There is a treasure you can ownThat's greater than a crown or throne;This treasure is a conscience clearThat brings the sweetest peace and cheer. —Isenhour
All I Want Is To Be With You
So many times my mind was full - occupied with things that were going on in my life. From the very first minute when I woke up in the morning, I started to think about what I had to do for the day and not remembering to greet You and communicating with You Or even just giving thanks for the new day that You had given. At the end of the day, as I rested in a quietness, I did not know why I felt emptiness in my heart - As if feeling like in a desert and there was no way out. All my strength was swept away and I felt weary. I thought all I need was just a little rest. Instead, I looked for entertainment that could bring me joy. However the joy was only temporary And I even feel more despaired. Then You gently called me to walk out from the desert to the living water. You filled the emptiness in my heart with the joy of being in Your presence. It seemed You never taken my absences into account. You are always faithful, waiting for me to come to Your presence. You embraced me with your love and restored my broken heart. All my worries and fear were taken away from me. And I felt so secure. It will always be the longing of my heart. To greet you every morning when I wake up. To celebrate Your goodness during the day. To count Your blessings at the end of the day. I could not describe with words of how grateful I am for Your everlasting loving kindness. But I just want You to know that all I want is to be with You.
hai world
hai world..
it's glad to see you from this blog, with this ,i can see world, joyfull, and happiness on your eyes.
hope u all the best in your life.
many thanks
it's glad to see you from this blog, with this ,i can see world, joyfull, and happiness on your eyes.
hope u all the best in your life.
many thanks
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