The Scent of Christ

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

'...We are...the aroma of Christ...' 2 Corinthians 2:15 NIV

‘We are…the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved, and those who are perishing. To one, we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life…’ (2 Corinthians 2:15–16 NIV)

When the Roman army won in battle, they paraded their defeated foes through the streets in chains. And as part of the celebration they burned incense on a series of altars throughout the city. That way those who couldn’t see the procession knew the army had triumphed because they could smell the incense.

The aroma was symbolic of their victory—and there’s a lesson here for you. As followers of Christ we’ve been called to carry with us ‘…the fragrance of the knowledge of Him…’ (2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV) Forget Estée Lauder and Chanel No. 5; your life should be so permeated with God’s presence that people around you sense it. After all, you are the most compelling evidence that Jesus is alive and well in His children.

In the great cathedrals of Europe you’ll see beautiful stained glass windows portraying important events in the life of Christ. And while it’s good to appreciate such craftsmanship, God doesn’t need church windows to tell His story. He uses born–again, tuned–in, turned–on believers to do that. Have you ever noticed that the longer some husbands and wives live together, the more they begin to talk and act alike? It’s the same with us: the more time we spend with Jesus, talking to Him, meditating on His Word and basking in His presence, the more people are going to ask, ‘What’s so different about you?’


SoulFood: Jer 22-24, Luke 22:63-71, Ps 31, Prov 8:34-36



This is The Word for Today

Study Your Bible (1)


Wednesday, 01 April 2015


'Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.' Psalm 119:18 NKJV

Let’s consider some practical suggestions for getting more out of your Bible study: Schedule it. If you don’t, it won’t happen. Learn to say no to unimportant things. For many of us the biggest obstacle to studying the Bible is television; the average person watches over four hours every day. Do the maths: that’s sixty–one days a year—two months! By the age of eighteen, the average person has seen 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders. And by the age of sixty–five they’ve spent about nine–and–a–half years watching TV.

By contrast, if you went to Sunday school regularly from birth until the age of sixty–five, you’d only have had a total of four months of Bible teaching. No wonder we struggle spiritually. Discipline yourself by setting aside a specific time each day to study your Bible—and let nothing get in the way. And do it when you’re at your best physically, emotionally, and intellectually, not when you’re distracted and hurried. You know if you’re ‘a day person’ or a ‘night person’, so pick the time when you’re most alert.

The spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak, so if you don’t want your study time to turn into ‘snore time’, don’t try to study when you’re tired, or right after a big meal. Keep a notebook to jot down your observations and keep track of what God is saying to you. Writing does three things: it clarifies, reinforces and personalises. Also, ask yourself, ‘What can I take away from this passage?’ It will help to fix God’s Word firmly in your mind and jog your memory regarding what you’re supposed to do about it.


SoulFood: Jer 25-27, Luke 23:1-12, Ps 72:1-11, Prov 9:1-6


This is The Word For Today

Study Your Bible (2)


Thursday, 02 April 2015


'I have rejoiced in your decrees as much as in riches.' Psalm 119:14 NLT


Spend time in prayer before you study the Bible. Ask the Lord to cleanse you from all known sin and fill you with the Holy Spirit so that you’ll be in fellowship with Him during your study time. Again, the purpose of Bible study isn’t to get new revelations and new rules; it’s to build a relationship with the Author of the Bible. The Psalmist said, ‘How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed [of] Your Word.’ (Psalm 119:9 NKJV) Sin doesn’t cancel your relationship with Christ, but it hinders your fellowship with Him. You have to be in fellowship with Him to understand and apply His Word.

So before you search the Scriptures, ask God to search your heart. Paul says, ‘A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit… He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. “Who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can teach Him?” However, we have the mind of Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 2:14–16 GWT) It’s possible to read the same portion of Scripture many times, yet fail to see what God wants you to see until He ‘opens’ your eyes. Once that happens, your attitude toward Bible study will be transformed.

Like a hungry person at a table overflowing with good food, you’ll relish God’s Word and your faith will grow. As Paul said: ‘…“No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.’ (1 Corinthians 2:9–10 NCV)


SoulFood: Jer 28-30, Luke 23:13-25, Ps 72:12-20, Prov 9:7-9


This is The Word For Today

Facing Death Without Fear


Friday, 03 April 2015


'...O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy...!' Isaiah 26:19 NRS



Aristotle called death the thing to be feared most because ‘it appears to be the end of everything.’
Jean–Paul Sartre said that death ‘removes all meaning from life.’
Robert Green Ingersoll, one of America’s most outspoken agnostics, unable to offer any words of hope at his brother’s funeral, said, ‘Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the heights.’
The last words of French humanist François Rabelais were: ‘I go to seek “a Great Perhaps”.’
In Hamlet, Shakespeare describes the afterlife as: ‘The dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns.’

Clearly, unbelief isn’t just a miserable way to live; it’s a tragic way to die. A comedian once quipped, ‘I intend to live forever…so far, so good.’ But what if death is different from how the philosophers thought of it? Not just a curse, but a passageway? Instead of a crisis to be avoided, a corner to be turned? What if the cemetery isn’t the domain of the Grim Reaper, but the dominion of the Soul–Keeper who’ll someday soon announce, ‘O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy’?

Paul writes: ‘If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.’ (1 Corinthians 15:19–21 NKJV) Death isn’t the ‘great perhaps’. No, your last day on earth will herald the best of all your days!


SoulFood (Good Friday): Luke 23:26-49, Ps 22, Is 53


This is The Word For Today


Happy Good Friday!

Welcome back Alwaystrue !

Saturday April 04,2015

You Will Be Raised from the Dead

‘…Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [over death] through our Lord Jesus.’ 1 Corinthians 15:57

Jesus promised what no other religious leader could: that He’d return from the dead, and also resurrect His followers from the grave. And He has already made a good-faith deposit on that promise. When He died, ‘…Graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised…they went into the holy city and appeared to many’ (Matthew 27:52-53 NKJV). And the day is fast approaching when Jesus will fulfil His promise completely. ‘…In Christ all shall be made alive…each one in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, afterwards those who are Christ’s at His coming’ (1 Corinthians 15:22-23 NKJV).  Note the word ‘afterwards.’ The date of Jesus’ return is classified information, but His resurrection guarantees ours. Traditional Judaism was divided on this topic. The Sadducees said, ‘There is no resurrection’ (Acts 23:8 NKJV). They saw the grave as a one-way trip to Sheol with no escape and no hope, while the Pharisees envisioned a resurrection that was spiritual, not physical. The Greeks believed the soul of the deceased was ferried across the River Styx and released into a sunless afterlife of spirits, shades and shadows. Then Jesus, ‘…the first-fruits of them that slept’ (1 Corinthians 15:20 KJV), entered this world of superstition and darkness and turned on the light. The word ‘first-fruits’ can literally be translated ‘prototype’. Jesus was the first off the resurrection assembly line, and the rest of us who follow will look just like Him. It’s a message that dries our tears, calms our fears and assures us that our best days are yet to come.

Joshua 7-9, John 1:29-51

Sunday April 05, 2015

Rejoice, He’s Coming for You!

‘…I will come and get you...’ John 14:3

Jesus said, ‘…I am going to prepare a place for you…When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am’ (vv. 2-3 NLT). This was a groom-to-bride promise. In Christ’s day, when a couple received permission from both their families to marry, the groom would return to his father’s home and build a house for his bride. And by promising to do the same for us, Jesus elevated funerals to the same level of hope as weddings. From His perspective, the trip to the cemetery and the walk down the aisle warrant identical excitement. Both celebrate a new era, a new name, and a new home. Rejoice, your heavenly Bridegroom is coming to take you away on His arm! Does that sound too good to be true? Check the record. If you can find one time in all the sixty-six books in the Bible where God made a promise He didn’t keep, you’ll have reason to doubt this one. Your final glimpse of life will trigger your first glimpse of Jesus. Because Christ’s tomb is empty—His promise isn’t. He made it two-thousand years ago, and He’s been working on your new home ever since. Can you imagine what it’ll be like? Living on a tiny, barren island called Patmos, John the Revelator wrote, ‘…There was no more sea’ (Revelation 21:1 NKJV). Every morning when John arose the sea was all around him; it was the barrier that separated him from his loved ones on the mainland. Think about it: in your heavenly home there’ll be no barriers, no separation, and no limitations.

 

Luke 6:27-49 , Psalm 35-36

Monday April 6, 2015.

THE BLESSED HOPE

‘Looking for the blessed hope...’ Titus 2:13 NKJV

The blessed hope of the resurrection isn’t like a lottery where only one person out of millions will hit the jackpot. And it’s not a wishful sentiment offered at gravesides to comfort the grieving. It’s a hope built on certainty. Jesus said, ‘…Because I live, you will live also’ (John 14:19 NKJV). Paul puts it this way: ‘…There is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when He comes back’ (1 Corinthians 15:23 NLT). Paul was writing to Corinthian Christians who’d been schooled in the Greek philosophy of a shadowy afterlife. Someone was trying to convince them that corpses couldn’t be raised, neither theirs nor Christ’s. And the apostle couldn’t bear such a thought. So with the brilliance of a great attorney in his closing argument, he reviews the facts: ‘…[Jesus] was raised from death on the third day…He presented himself alive to Peter…his closest followers…more than five hundred…James…the rest of those He commissioned…and…finally…to me’ (vv. 4-8 TM). How many witnesses were there? A handful? No, hundreds! And they didn’t just see a phantom or experience a sentiment. Graveside eulogies often include phrases like ‘She’ll live on forever in our hearts.’ This isn’t what Jesus’ followers were saying. They saw Him ‘in the flesh’. And if you’ve trusted Christ as your Saviour, one day you, too, will see Him in the flesh. At death, your spirit will go to be with Him, and at His return, your resurrected body will rise to meet Him in the air. ‘So shall we ever be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Awesome, absolutely awesome!

Jeremiah 31-32, Mk 1:29-34, Psalm 72: 12-20, Proverbs 9:7-9.

Tuesday April 7,2015.

‘GRANNY BRAND’ (1)

‘…Do it with all your might...’ Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV

Evelyn Brand felt called by God to go to India. For a single woman in 1909, a calling like that required a lorry-load of faith. She married a young man named Jesse and together they began a ministry to the people in rural India, bringing education and medical supplies and building roads to reduce the isolation of the poor. For seven years they went without making a single convert to Christianity. But then a priest in a local tribal region developed a fever and grew deathly ill. No one else would go near him, but Evelyn and Jesse nursed him as he was dying. He said, ‘This God, Jesus, must be the true God because only Jesse and Evelyn will care for me in my dying.’ The priest gave his children to them to care for after he died—and that became a spiritual turning point in that part of the world. People began to examine the life and teachings of Jesus, and in increasing numbers began to follow Him. Evelyn and Jesse had thirteen years of productive service, then Jesse died. By this time, Evelyn was fifty years old, and everyone expected her to return to her home in England. But she wouldn’t do it. She was known and loved for miles around as ‘Granny Brand’, and she stayed another twenty years under the mission board she had served so faithfully. Her son, Paul, came over to see her when she was seventy years old, and this is what he said about his mum: ‘This is how to grow old. Allow everything else to fall away, until those around you see only love’
(1 Corinthians 13:1-2).

Galatians 5:22, Isaiah 61, Hebrew 12:2, Jas 1: 2-3.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

‘GRANNY BRAND’ (2)

‘…We can certainly do it.’ Numbers 13:30 NIV

Here’s the rest of Evelyn Brand’s story. At age seventy she received word from her home mission office that they weren’t going to give her another five-year term. But she had Caleb’s ‘we can certainly do it’ attitude. A party was held to celebrate her time in India, and everyone there cheered her on. ‘Have a good trip back home,’ they all said. ‘I’ll tell you a little secret,’ she announced, ‘I’m not going back home. I’m staying in India.’ Evelyn had a little shack built with some resources that she had smuggled in. Then she bought a pony to get around the mountains, and this septuagenarian would ride from village to village on horseback to tell people about Jesus. She did that for five years on her own. One day, at seventy-five years old, she fell and broke her hip. Her son, Paul Brand, the eminent doctor, said to her, ‘Mum, you’ve had a great run. God’s used you. It’s time to give it up now. You can go back home.’ She replied, ‘I am not going back home.’ She spent another eighteen years travelling from one village to another on horseback. Falls, concussions, sicknesses, and ageing could not stop her. Finally, when she hit ninety-three years old, she could not ride a horse any more. So the men in these villages—because they loved Granny Brand so much—put her on a stretcher and carried her from one village to another. She lived two more years and gave those years as a gift, carried on a stretcher, to help the poorest of the poor. She died, but she never retired. She just graduated.

Jeremiah 33:1- 36:26, Mark 1:35-39, Psalm 32, Proverb 9:10-16

THURSDAY APRIL 9, 2015

SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING YOU

‘Let your light so shine before men...’ Matthew 5:16 NKJV

A reporter once said to Joe DiMaggio, the famous baseball player, ‘You always seem to play with the same intensity. You run out every grounder and race after every fly ball, even when the Yankees have a big lead in the pennant race and there’s nothing on the line. How come?’ DiMaggio replied, ‘I always remind myself that there might be someone in the stands who never saw me play before.’ That’s the kind of unselfish mindset you must maintain in order to influence others for good and for God. It takes energy and intentionality, whether one-on-one or in a group, but it pays dividends. Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, was drawn to Christ because he’d listened to His teachings and observed His works from afar. He may have come to Jesus at night to avoid ridicule, but the fact is, he came because he couldn’t stay away! (John 3:1-21). The Bible says you’re ‘…a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you…’ (2 Corinthians 3:2 TM). Today someone is watching how you handle problems; how you treat your family and your employees; how you act when the boss isn’t around; how you respond to criticism or temptation. Don’t disappoint them. Jesus said: ‘You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV).

Jeremiah 36:27 - 40:16, Mark 1:40-45, Psalm 25:1-7, Proverb 9: 17-18

SATURDAY APRIL 11, 2015

ARE YOU FLOURISHING? (2)

‘…They will flourish in the courts of our God.’ Psalms 92:13 NIV

Inside you there’s a battle between your flourishing self—the person you were created to be—and your languishing self. ‘What’s that?’ you ask. Your languishing self feels uneasy and discontent. You’re drawn to bad habits like mindlessly watching TV, drinking too much, misusing sex, excessive spending—things designed to temporarily anaesthetise pain. Your thoughts automatically drift in the direction of fear and anger. Learning doesn’t feel worthwhile. You think about yourself most of the time. Whereas flourishing [thriving, blossoming, and prospering] takes place: 1) In your spirit. You sense you’re beginning to receive ideas and energy from an outside source. And you are. You’re being empowered by God’s Spirit. We talk about being inspired, which literally means ‘God breathed’. God breathes into you; you come alive and feel like you’ve a purpose for living.
2) In your mind. Your thoughts are marked by joy and peace. You have a desire to love and to learn. You’re literally being transformed by ‘…the renewing of your mind…’ (Romans 12:2 NIV). 3) In your time. You wake each day with a sense of excitement, and you realise you’re never too young to flourish. Mozart was composing brilliant music when he was five. Paul told Timothy, ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young…’ (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV). You also realise you’re never too old to flourish. Grandma Moses was sixty-nine when she took up painting, and artist Marc Chagall did some of his best work in his nineties. It’s humbling to acknowledge you can’t be anything you want. But once you accept that and seek to maximise what God created you to be, you start flourishing.

Jeremiah 45-48, Mark 2: 13-17, Psalm 25: 16-22, Proverb 10: 4-7

SUNDAY APRIL 12, 2015.

ARE YOU FLOURISHING?(3)

‘…But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces…many times over.’ John 12:25 TM

Here are two more areas in which God created you to flourish: 1) Your relationships. Relationally, your languishing self is often troubled. You’re undisciplined in what you say, sometimes reverting to sarcasm, gossip and flattery. You isolate. You dominate. You attack. You withdraw. Whereas your flourishing self seeks to bless others. They energise you. You’re able to disclose your thoughts and feelings in a way that invites openness in them. You’re quick to admit your own mistakes and to freely forgive others. 2) Your experiences. God grows you because He wants to use you in His plans to redeem His world: that’s why you find Him changing your experiences. Your flourishing self has a desire to contribute. You live with a sense of calling. Indeed, your inner longing to become all you were meant to be is a tiny echo of God’s longing to begin the new creation. The rabbis spoke of this as tikkun olam—to repair the world. Focused on yourself, your life is as small as a grain of wheat. Given to God, however, it’s as if that grain is planted in rich soil, growing into part of a much bigger project. Jesus said: ‘…Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces…many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life…as it is, destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal’ (vv. 24-25 TM).

Jeremiah 49-50, Mark 2:18-22, Psalm 50:1-15, Proverb 10: 8-10.

Monday APRIL 13, 2015

YOUR ANSWER IS IN THE BIBLE

‘The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul...’ Psalms 19:7 NLT

Worldly success can leave you empty, but here’s something that won’t: ‘The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul...’ Have your plans fallen apart? Have you made a mess of your life? Do you need direction? Read this: ‘The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple’ (v. 7 NLT). Have the things you thought would bring you happiness, ended up bringing you misery? Read this: ‘The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart…’ (v. 8 NLT). Are you directionless, wondering where to go and what to do with your life? Read this: ‘The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living’ (v. 8 NLT). The answers you’re seeking are in your Bible. David was a brilliant soldier, a popular king, and a man with access to all the riches anyone could desire. But he discovered these things don’t bring lasting joy. What he found instead is that: ‘…The laws of the Lord are true…They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward to those who obey them’ (vv. 9-11 NLT). What was David’s problem? ‘How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt…’ (vv. 12-13 NLT). What was David’s solution? Reading God’s Word daily, feeding his soul on it, and walking according to its precepts.

Jeremiah 51-52, Mark 2: 23-28, Psalm 50: 16-23, Proverb 10: 11-13.

TUESDAY APRIL 14, 2015.

THE PERSON YOU WERE MADE TO BE

‘…We are…created…to do good works, which God prepared in advance...' ’Ephesians 2:10 NIV

God created you, and He knows what you were intended to be. He has ‘good works’ for you to do, but they’re not necessarily the kind of ‘to do’ things we put on a list for our spouses or employees. They’re signposts to your true self. Your spiritual life isn’t limited to certain devotional activities. It is about being empowered by God to become the person He envisioned when He created you. But just as nobody becomes happy because their goal is to be happy, becoming the person God intended you to be won’t happen if your focus is always on yourself. Flourishing is tied to a nobler vision; it doesn’t happen by ‘looking out for number one’. People who flourish bring blessing to others, and they do it in unexpected and humble circumstances. Every once in a while you catch a glimpse of the person you were made to be. You say something inspirational. You express compassion. You forgive an old hurt. You give sacrificially. You refrain from saying something you’d normally blurt out. And as you do, you glimpse for a moment the reason God made you. Only He knows your full potential, and He’s always guiding you toward the best version of yourself. He uses many tools, He’s never in a hurry—and that can be frustrating. But even in our frustration He’s at work producing patience. He never gets discouraged by how long it takes, and He delights every time you grow. Only God can see the ‘best version of you’, and He’s more concerned with your reaching your full potential than you are.

Galatians 5:22, Luke 2:8-20, Proverbs 3:13-18, Psalm 119:161-168.

Blessed @lateef4me and @Odunharry. Keep up the good work. Our God is truly faithful making us who He wants us to be as ong as it takes or as frustrating as it may be...His plans are always the best.

Alwaystrue:
Blessed @lateef4me and @Odunharry. Keep up the good work. Our God is truly faithful making us who He wants us to be as ong as it takes or as frustrating as it may be...His plans are always the best.

welcome back.. where have you been

@ Odunharry,
I have been very much around. I just have not been posting much and I have been actively checking out some other sections. Atimes I go through some threads on NL and surprisingly see my comments and I am like 'Wow, did I post all these at a time?' . And those posts minister to me again and again. The fire is still there.
How is the school front?

Hurt by Christians (1)


Wednesday, 15 April 2015


'...You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.' Psalm 86:17 NIV


Have you been hurt by a Christian who chose to condemn you instead of showing compassion and helping you? Or by someone who neglected you when they should have sought you out, restored you spiritually and returned you to your rightful place in the family of God? Most people who’ve been hurt by other Christians could easily convince a jury that it should never have happened. And the truth is, it shouldn’t. But it did—and reliving it won’t change things. But it will change you—and not for the better.

Stop and think: if you were mugged and taken to the hospital, you wouldn’t spend all your time obsessing about the person who beat you up. No, your main objective would be to recover as quickly as possible and move on. Ironically, with physical wounds we seek help immediately, but with emotional ones we’re inclined to focus on the problem instead of the solution.

So what are you going to do? Here are your options:

(1) Rehearse it. By constantly talking to others about what happened, you empower your pain and keep it alive.
(2) Repress it. David did that: ‘When I kept silent…my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.’ (Psalm 32:3–4 NIV)
(3) Process it. That means being willing to uncover the areas where you were wounded and opening yourself to receive God’s grace. That’s when you discover: ‘He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.’ (Psalm 147:3 NKJV)
(4) Share it. The Bible says, ‘Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed…’ (James 5:16 NIV) If you’re wise you’ll choose options three and four.


SoulFood: Acts 1:1-3:10, Matt 2:1-12, Ps 127, Prov 10:19-21


This is The Word For Today

THURSDAY APRIL 16, 2015.

HURT BY CHRISTIANS (2)

‘…Do you want to get well?’ John 5:6 TM

Getting hurt in life is inevitable; staying hurt is a choice. You can decide to remain a victim by dwelling on how things should have been, or use the experience to grow stronger and wiser. At the Pool of Bethesda Jesus met a man who’d been lying paralysed on a mat for thirty-eight years. When Jesus discovered how long he’d been there, He asked, ‘Do you want to get well?’ After thirty-eight years, the chances are this man saw his handicap as part of his identity. He’d been incapacitated for so long that he thought like a victim: ‘…I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool…’ (John 5:7 TM). Translation: ‘Nobody cares.’ But Jesus did, and He commanded him to get up and walk. Now, it took faith for this man to overcome those old ingrained feelings of hopelessness and self-pity, but when he obeyed Jesus he was healed on the spot. God never forces healing on you, even when you’re hurting. You must want to get well, and make a conscious decision that by God’s grace you can. Let’s face it, the church is made up of flawed human beings who sometimes speak without thinking and hurt others. But that’s no reason for leaving the church! ‘…You’re part of the body of Christ…’ (Colossians 3:15 CEV). Apart from it you’ve no function, no food supply, and no fulfilment, so you begin to die spiritually. The truth is, it takes the same energy to choose healing as it does to choose helplessness—but the results are very different. One leaves you paralysed by events, the other gives you hope for the future. Which one will you choose?

Acts 1:1 -3:10, Mark 3:7-12, Psalm 43, Proverbs 10: 17-18

FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2015

GENEROSITY PAYS OFF

‘…The measure you use…will be measured to you.’ Luke 6:38 NIV

Dr William DeVries, the surgeon who pioneered the artificial heart, is the kind of doctor who shows up at the hospital on Sunday, just to cheer up discouraged patients. He even changes dressings and, if a patient wants him to stick around and talk, he always does. His friends say he’s ‘an old shoe’ who fits in wherever he goes. He wears cowboy boots with his surgical garb, and repairs hearts to the music of Vivaldi. 'He’s always got a smile lurking,' says friend Dr Robert Goodin, 'And he’s always looking for a way to let it out.' DeVries believes that ‘arriving’ is not a place where others serve you, but where you get to serve them. Chuck Swindoll writes, 'We occupy common space, but we no longer have common interests. It’s as if we’re on an elevator with rules like ‘No talking or smiling or eye-contact allowed without written consent of the management.’ We’re losing touch with one another! The motivation to help, to encourage, yes, to serve our fellow man is waning. Yet it’s these things that form the essentials of a happy, fulfilled life. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, 'The greatest among you will be your servant' (Matthew 23:11NIV). Everything God gives you is first a gift to enjoy, then a seed to sow. Got a good education? Leadership ability? More money than you need? You’ve got seeds - sow them! Read God’s promises regarding generosity, then start giving to others what He’s given to you. That’s the way to find happiness!

Acts 3:11 -5:42, Mark 3: 13-19, Psalm 127, Proverbs 10:19-21

SATURDAY APRIL 18, 2015.

PRACTISE BEING UNSELFISH (1)

‘You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.’ Philippians 2:5 NLT

‘Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too’ (v. 4 NLT). Spiritual maturity is the ability to see and act in the best interests of others. Immature people have difficulty seeing things from someone else’s point of view. They rarely concern themselves with what’s best for the other person. In many ways they’re like children. In ‘Property Law as Viewed by a Toddler’ Michael V. Hernandez describes the world from a typical child’s viewpoint: 1) If I like it, it’s mine. 2) If it’s in my hand, it’s mine. 3) If I can take it from you, it’s mine. 4) If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine. 5) If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way. 6) If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine. 7) If it looks like mine, it’s mine. If I saw it first, it’s mine. 9) If I can see it, it’s mine. 10) If I think it’s mine, it’s mine. Unfortunately, maturity doesn’t always come with age; sometimes age comes alone. You must fight your inherent selfish attitude, and that can be a lifelong battle. But it’s an important one, because if you don’t win you’ll end up focused on your own agenda and overlook other people. Unless somebody’s important to your cause or your interests, they won’t get your time or attention. The Bible says, ‘You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had,’ and everything He did, He did for others. It comes down to this: if you’re serious about following in His footsteps, practise being unselfish.


Acts 6-7, Mark 3:20-27, Psalm 75, Proverb 10: 22-23.

SUNDAY APRIL 19, 2015.

PRACTISE BEING UNSELFISH (2)

‘Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.’1 Corinthians 10:24 NKJV

GREAT LEADERS often have great egos, and therein lies great danger. In ‘The Empowered Communicator’, Calvin Miller uses the form of a letter to describe this problem and the negative impact it has: ‘Dear speaker, your ego has become a wall between yourself and me. You’re not really concerned about me, are you? You’re mostly concerned about whether or not this speech is really working…about whether or not you’re doing a good job. You’re really afraid that I will not applaud, aren’t you? You’re afraid that I won’t laugh at your jokes or cry over your emotional anecdotes. You’re so caught up in the issue of how I’m going to receive your speech, you haven’t thought much about me at all. I might have loved you, but you’re so caught up in self-love that mine is really unnecessary. If I don’t give you my attention it’s because I feel so unnecessary here. When I see you at the microphone, I see Narcissus at his mirror…Is your tie straight? Is your hair straight? Is your deportment impeccable? Is your phraseology perfect? You seem in control of everything, but your audience. You see everything so well, but us. But this blindness to us, I’m afraid, has made us deaf to you. We must go now. Sorry. Call us sometime later. We’ll come back to you when you’re real enough to see us…after your dreams have been shattered…after your heart has been broken…after your arrogance has been wrecked with despair. Then there will be room for all of us in your world. Then you won’t care if we applaud your brilliance. You’ll be one of us.’

Acts 8-9, Mark 3:28-35, Psalm 130, Proverbs 10:24-26.

Monday APRIL 20, 2015.

PRACTISE BEING UNSELFISH (3)

‘…take an interest in others, too.’ Philippians 2:4 NLT

John Craig says, ‘No matter how much work a man can do, no matter how engaging his personality may be, he will not advance far if he cannot work through others.’ That requires you to see value in other people. This truth is understood worldwide by successful people from every walk of life. At an international meeting of company executives, an American business person asked an executive from Japan what he regarded as the most important language for world trade. The American thought the answer would be English. But the Japanese executive, who had a more holistic understanding of business, replied, ‘My customers’ language.’ Having a good product or service isn’t enough. Becoming an expert isn’t enough. Knowing your product but not your customers just means you’ll have something to sell and no one to buy. Furthermore, the value you place on people must be genuine. Leadership coach Bridget Haymond writes, ‘You can talk until you’re blue in the face, but people know in their gut if you really care about them.’ If you want to connect with others you have to get over yourself, change your focus from inward to outward, away from yourself and onto them. And the great thing is, you can do it. Anyone can. All it takes is the will to change, the determination to follow through and a handful of skills anybody can learn. The motivation to learn can be found in these words from the apostle, Paul: ‘Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.’ When you look for opportunities to invest in others, you’ll find them.

Acts 10-11, Mark 4:1-9, Ps 103: 1-12, Proverb 10:27-29

Have a stress-free week ahead !

TUESDAY APRIL 21, 2015.

PRACTISE BEING UNSELFISH (4)

‘…no man cared for my soul.’ Psalms 142:4 (KJV)

THE PEOPLE you seek to influence in life always ask themselves: Do you care about me? Think about the best experiences you’ve had with people in your own life. What do they all have in common? They genuinely cared about you, right? And what’s wonderful is, you can broaden your ability to care about others outside your social circle. Regardless of your profession, when you help people, you make your life and theirs better. Let’s listen to some observations by successful people from various backgrounds. Business: ‘You can’t make the other fellow feel important in your presence if you secretly feel that he’s a nobody’ (Les Giblin, former national salesman of the year and popular speaker). Politics: ‘If you would win a man to your cause, you must first convince him that you are his sincere friend’ (President Abraham Lincoln). Entertainment: ‘Some singers want the audience to love them. I love the audience’ (Luciano Pavarotti, legendary Italian opera tenor). Ministry: ‘The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have’ (Norman Vincent Peale, pastor and author). The Psalmist wrote, ‘No man cared for my soul.’ And deep down some of the people you deal with every day feel that way, too. Whether you’re trying to share your faith, do business with them, make friends, or help them in a particular area, you must prove to them that you truly care. It takes time, effort, and even sacrifice, but if you’re serious about connecting with others, you’ll do it. The chances are somebody did it for you, and it helped determine the person you are today. So do it for others!

Galatians 5:22, 2 Peter 3:3-15, Matthew 5:39, 1 Samuel 25:1-42.

Practise Being Unselfish (5)

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

'...I am not seeking my own good but the good of many...' 1 Corinthians 10:33 NIV


Here are three questions people often ask themselves when you’re talking to them:
(1) Do you really care about me? Dr. Calvin Miller put it like this: ‘When people listen to others speak, sometimes they’re silently thinking, “I am loneliness waiting for a friend. I am weeping in want of laughter. I am a sigh in search of consolation. I am a wound in search of healing. If you want to unlock my attention, you have but to convince me you want to be my friend.”’

(2) Can you really help me? Successful people bear in mind that others are continually asking themselves that question. And one way you can answer it is by focusing on the benefits you have to offer. Let’s face it, people are bombarded every day with the information on the features of this product and that gadget. So eventually they tune out.

(3) Can I really trust you? William Arthur Ward wrote, ‘Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.’ Your charisma and ability may get you to the top, but only your character and commitment will keep you there.

Trust is built on telling the truth and following through on your commitments. People take action for their own reasons, not yours. And what we learn about them always results in a greater reward than what we tell them about ourselves. Whether they’re buying a car, choosing a mate, or listening to a sermon, deep down they want to know, ‘Can I trust this person?’ Well…can they?


SoulFood: Acts 14-15, Matt 4:8-17, Ps 7:1-9, Prov 11:3-6


This is The Word For Today

You Can Do It!


Thursday, 23 April 2015

'...we can certainly do it.' Numbers 13:30 NIV

After seeing the giants in the Promised Land, ten of Israel’s twelve spies came back and said, ‘It can’t be done.’ But the other two, Joshua and Caleb, said, ‘It can.’ But because of Israel’s unbelief, Caleb had been forced to spend forty more years wandering through the wilderness. And by the time the Israelites crossed the Jordan River he was almost eighty years old. Then another seven years passed before the various tribes of Israel were assigned land to occupy.

Here’s how Caleb described it all, years later: ‘I was forty years old when Moses…sent me…to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’ (Joshua 14:7–8 NIV)

If you’ve a negative attitude when you’re 40, there’s a good chance you’ll have one when you’re 85. Actually, there’s a good chance you won’t even make it to 85! Psychologist Martin Seligman studied several hundred people in a religious community; he divided them into quartiles, ranging from the most to the least optimistic. 90% of the optimists were alive at 85, while just 34% of the naysayers made it to the same age.

Twelve spies went out, but only Joshua and Caleb had the faith to say, ‘We can do it.’ And over 45 years later Caleb was as feisty as ever! Want to guess what happened to the other ten spies? They died. None of them made it to Caleb’s age. It’s as simple as this: faith and optimism can add years to your life.

SoulFood: Acts 16-17, Matt 4:18-25, Ps 7:10-17, Prov 11:7-9


This is The Word For Today

Enjoy Your Old Age

Sunday, 26 April 2015
'
They shall still bear fruit in old age...' Psalm
92:14 NKJV


Age is just a date on a calendar; attitude is what
counts. You can be old at 29 and young at 92.
Larry King once interviewed Ty Cobb, one of the
all–time great baseball players. He asked Cobb,
then 70 years old, ‘What do you think you’d hit if
you were playing these days?’ Cobb, a lifetime
.366 hitter (still the record) replied, ‘About .290,
maybe .300.’ King asked, ‘Is that because of
travel, the night games, the artificial turf and all
the new pitches like the slider?’ Cobb responded,
‘No. It’s because I’m 70!’

Here are three great
benefits to having lived longer:
(1) You should be more tolerant .
Having fallen into many of life’s
potholes yourself, you should be quicker to
extend a helping hand when others fall into
them. Having survived defeats and lived to fight
another day, you’re qualified to offer strength
and hope to those who struggle.

(2) You should be more humble.
A man who’d just celebrated his
50th wedding anniversary said, ‘A man is always
as young as he feels, but seldom as important.’
Realising that the world doesn’t stop at your
command or cater to your whims, you become
more realistic. And in the process you find
peace.

(3) You should value time more . Margaret
Deland said, ‘As soon as you feel too old to do a
thing, do it.’ Start by asking yourself, ‘If not me,
who? If not now, when?’ Here’s a promise from
Scripture you can stand on: ‘ They shall still bear
fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and
flourishing .’ ( Psalm 92:14 NKJV) Now get up off
the couch and get going.

SoulFood: Gen 6:9-8:4 , Matt 24:37-51

annice2014 , hfog, alwaystrue, lateef4me

Are You in a Storm? (2)
Tuesday, 28 April 2015 01:08

'...Who can this be...?' Matthew 8:27 NKJV
Matthew records: ‘Then His disciples came to Him
and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are
perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you
fearful, O you of little faith”? Then He arose and
rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a
great calm. So the men marvelled, saying, “Who
can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey
Him?” ’ ( Matthew 8:25–27 NKJV) You’ll never
really know Jesus, or what He can do for you,
until you go through a storm with Him. That’s
why He plans your storms as part of the journey.
Jesus asked, ‘Why are you fearful?’ He was
teaching us that fear will suck the life out of you
and drain you dry of joy. When fear rules your
life, safety becomes your God. And when safety
becomes your God, you seek a risk–free life. But
those who are fear–filled cannot love deeply,
because love is risky. They cannot give to the
poor, because humanly speaking, benevolence is
no guarantee of return. And the fear–filled
cannot dream. What if their dreams shatter and
fall from the sky? No wonder Jesus wages such
a war against fear. The Gospels list some 125
Christ–issued imperatives. Of these, 21 are to
‘not be afraid ’. The second most common
command, to love God and your neighbour,
appears only eight times. If quantity is any
indicator, Jesus sees fear as one of our biggest
issues. That’s why the one statement He makes
more than any other, and the one He is making
to you today, is: ‘ Don’t be afraid .’


SoulFood: Acts 24-26 , Matt 5:21-26 , Ps 94:12-23 ,
Prov 11:16-18

Thanks for the updates Alwaystrue and Odunharry !