THE SHIELD OF FAITH
Paul described faith as a shield that extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the enemy. Such description explains why the enemy has great interests in shutting our faith before trying to destroy us. Get a greater understanding of the shield of faith by reading this post at this link: https://www.mauricelavoice.com/2021/07/spiritua-warfare-5-shield-of-faith.html

Simply because God gives us something, it does not mean that we do not have to maintain it. Maintenance in Christianity remains an important activity contributing towards spiritual resilience. Learn more by reading this post at this link: https://www.mauricelavoice.com/2022/09/the-art-of-maintenance-in-christian-life.html

One day, a woman came to Jesus with a very bold request, and said:

'Master, grant that one of my two sons may sit at your right and the other at your left in your Kingdom' (Matthew 20:21)

The woman's desire was to see her sons rule besides Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven. In my personal opinion, the request seemed very bold and was coming straight out of a mother's love for her kids.

But Jesus made a bold statement in response to the woman's request. The response He gave, would become the number one key secret to 'greatness'.

Do you want to know what it is?




After a while, Jesus called the two sons in private and told them His secret formula to greatness:

'If anyone wants to be great among you, let him be your servant. He whom wants to be first, must be the last. Because the Son of Man, never came to be served but to be a servant.'
(Matthew 20:25-28)

That's it. The secret to be great is to be a great servant useful to the multitude. The more you are useful to people, the greater you will be. A title does not make you great. There are people in history who held the biggest honor their nations could bestow them. But they were mediocre. Think of people like Hitler, dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko and others...Those people held the highest title in their Nations but because they failed to serve the people they were leading, History has classified them as 'Villains'.

A title, a position or even a gift won't make you great. Real greatness comes from serving people. If you are so obsessed with the desire to be served,to be fed by flatters, you will probably be famous, but History will not classify as a great character.

Unfortunately, these days, even in churches, there are leaders who are consumed with the desire to be served. They don't serve anymore, they want spiritual slaves around them. It's no longer about the lost souls, but rather about building a name for themselves. A church top priority should be the lost souls. When fame becomes the priority, then church growth will slow down.

Even in business, the most useful product, will be the greatest. The reason why 'Microsoft' corporation or 'Google' are great companies, is simply because they focus on products usefulness that will serve customers.
Under Steve Jobs, 'Apple' used to upgrade its products all the time. Do you know why?
Because they were obsessed with the desire to increase their products usefulness for their customers.

If anyone wants to be a mayor, he/she must be willing to SERVE the City. If anyone wishes to be a President, he/she must be willing to serve a nation. That's why the President is often called :' The first public servant.'

It's all about service.

A great minister will keep serving the community,like Billy Graham did.
A great President will serve his Nations and its interests, like Nelson Mandela did.
A great hero will carry the weights of the weak, like Mother Theresa did.
A great CEO will boost a company and its employees, like Steve Jobs did.
A great blogger will produce contents that serve its readers,like Seth Godin or Jon Acuff are doing.
A great manager will serve all the members of his/her team through his leadership.
A great writer will publish moving books that serves its readers.
A great 'book character' always serves by saving the world like Superman and Batman. (laugh)

Do you wanna be great?

If yes, then stop talking about yourself all the time ,unless if it's useful to others,and start serving as many as you can. Ensure that your product is useful and you will surely see greatness.

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God can realize in a moment, what you tried to do in years.

You might be going through debt, payments arrears, educational struggles, troubles in your relationships...
It might have endured for a long time but I have good news for you:

'God can solve your problems in a moment,
God can heal your long lasting issues at a higher speed,
He can.'



The reason why God is not involved into solving your long lasting issues, is because you don't invite Him to do so.
God will never force His way into anybody's life. He does not force Himself into your life, He knocks at the door (Revelation 3:20). We do not serve or pray to a God who forces himself like a burglar or a rapist. Our God is a gentleman. He will only enter when you decide to open the door.

God also said :'If you call me, I will show you great plans (Jeremiah 33:3). He did not say :' I will just get involved in your life'.

He is interested in getting involved in your life, but He wants to do it only after being invited. In Luke 9:52, the disciples were sent to announce the arrival of Jesus in a Samaritan village, but the inhabitants of the village refused to welcome Jesus. So the disciples asked Jesus to burn the village. In response to their requests, Jesus rebuked his disciples and told them that He came to save and not to destroy. They just walked away from the village.

Even that short anecdote explains how God operates; He comes when invited.

A lot of people get frustrated with the misery in their lives and in the world, they wonder and ask the 1 million bucks question: 'Where is God when it hurts? Where is God when everything seems to fall?'

God is always around, He just don't want to get involved into your personal business without being invited.It's only when you will call on Him, when you will invite Him and His word, that He will get involved.

He is a gentleman. He is not a rude boy like Satan.

Imagine a man or a woman who seems to show some unwanted affection towards you.That person might be sending you flowers, chocolates, cards and gifts...things that you never asked for. Would you not see it as a creepy kind of thing?

Most people would feel 'creepy' and sense the presence of a stalker. And God does not want to look creepy. He is love and true love does not force itself unto people. True love enters through consent.

This is my message to you:

'Invite God in your issues , whether it's joblessness, debt, a dream, your family...He will get involved when your consent will allow Him to do so.
He will speak to you, (I know, He speaks to me every day).
He will tell you what to do in your situation. Just call Him.
Whether you are at work, at your house,
Just open the door, He is Knocking.

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