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Coals of Fire
hillsbororiver:
Hello Everyone,
Earlier today my daughter wanted me to provide her some scriptures that pertained to a particular ongoing issue she has had at work, as I was putting some things together my search took me to Proverbs 25 & Romans 12, I thought I would share this in the hope that it may comfort one or two of our brethren here.
Proverbs 25
1These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
2It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
3The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
5Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
6Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:
7For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
8Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
9Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
10Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.
11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
13As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
14Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
15By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
16Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
17Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
18A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
19Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
20As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
21If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
22For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
23The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
24It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
25As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
26A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
27It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
28He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Romans 12
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
His Peace and Wisdom to you,
Joe
hillsbororiver:
I thought it might be of some value to give a few more details as to what the real issue was behind my daughter's request for some scriptural advice or Words of comfort.
Our daughter is a Special Ed. teacher in the public school system here in Tampa, she presently holds a Masters Degree in her field and is only a few hours away from her Doctorate, she takes her work very seriously and is constantly looking for new and different ways to capture these children's attention and getting them to interact with others. She is qualified to teach gifted as well as challenged children but this year she is teaching the severely physical as well as mentally handicapped children, many of them have to have their diapers changed even though they are of middle school age.
At first this was a real shock to her as the reality of the situation was not quite what was advertised to her when she applied for the position (coming from a different school district) she was promised an Aide and a nurse to be at her disposal but she was not told about the attitude and complacency of her "helpers" and the prevalent apathy of the Administration in regard to the students under her care and tutelage.
The reality of the situation was that the Aide and nurse actually felt they ran the show and were resistant to any changes brought to the classroom, they were more than a bit jaded and were not shy in stating that they were all there to babysit as these kids were "too far gone" to ever learn anything. Our daughter was advised by them to "just get over yourself" and help out cleaning these kids up when they mess.
She found out the hard way that this complacency and jaded attitude was all pervasive and went virtually all the way to the top with very few exceptions. Thankfully for the children our daughter has inherited some stubborness from her parents and refused to just fall in line, she created some interesting and unique programs to get these kids attention and hold it.
To make a long story short her creative style of teaching actually started to show measurable results and parents (and even the children's medical doctors) began to write and call the school with positive comments about the progress of many of the kids, our daughter only heard of a few as most of the communication was sent directly to the Administrators.
Someone from outside (either a doctor or parent) sent a synopsys of the improvement of one of the children in understanding words even vocalizing a few on their own and their new found interest of observing and interacting with the computer to an outside (private) entity that promotes Special Education's use of technology, they donate money and nationally recognize the top 10 (in their opinion) Special Ed. teachers in the country.
The winner gets a trip to Washington, D.C. and a cash prize, the trip to Washington includes a meeting with government as well as private corporation representatives who have an interest in Special Ed.
Her school's staff were very unsupportive in her quest and seemed to not want the publicity inherent in a situation such as this, there was no help or encouragement from any of the brass but a few of the teachers did privately give support.
Anyway, word came that our daughter won the Special Ed. Teacher award and the sponsers were coming to the school to film her class and interview the players, what had her so upset and wanting some biblical comfort was that the administration treated the sponsors of this award and program like unwelcome guests, leaving them to wait over an hour in the school gym even though they knew her classroom was decorated and prepared for the crew, it was a very distressing start of what should have been a very proud moment in her young career.
I have purposely been rather vague in some of the details as the announcement of this award has not been officially made and it will be accompanied by the footage filmed at her school.
His Peace to you,
Joe
Kat:
Hi Joe,
What an amazing acomplishment your daughter has achieved. And what a disgraceful additude her school has shown. But I see she is going to get the recognition that she so deserves, and those others will one day give account too.
But as you brought out in the scriotures you presented;
19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
mercy, peace, and love
Kat
YellowStone:
Hi Joe,
In a past life I too was involved in a situation somewhat similiar as your daughter, although in a different capacity.
If you are interested I will PM you the story :)
Bottom line, the powers that were, treated the kids less than cattle. At least cattle were "worth" something :(
Thanks for sharing, my prayers are with her.
Your brother in Christ,
Darren
hillsbororiver:
Thank you Kat & Darren for your thoughtful responses (yes, Darren send me a PM),
Our daughter really feels that she is being being called by God to be a tool in opening up and expanding the communication level of these very challenged children, we are constantly reminding her that pioneers in any field or situation will meet adversity, especially if the motivation stems from a love for our Lord and a willing spirit to do His Will in our lives.
We all believe that these trials are only going to strengthen her both spiritually and professionally, overcoming obstacles and adversity through faith is a lesson we will all learn at some point, (hopefully)sooner rather than later.
His Peace to you,
Joe
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