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Monday 29 March 2010
Sound Judgment
The outcome we obtain in life at any instance is the result of the decision(s) we have taken previously. The most unfortunate thing is that we are not able to predict precisely, the outcome of most of our decisions, before we give our commitment to such a course. Many a times,we plunge ourselves into a particular venture, only to discover at the 25th hour that it is unprofitable,and at such point there is no allowance for withdrawal from the venture. It is also a well-established truth that success or failure tomorrow is anchored on the decisions we make today. Such decisions are highly influenced by the forces at work within and around a person. A decision can be an excellent decision but not the right decision. Sound judgment is that ability to make the right decision at the right time,in the right locality.Taking the right decision at any moment is only possible when you place yourself in the right sphere of influence. Jesus understood this reality when he told his disciples to tarry for the coming of the Holyspirit,further elaborating on what the Holyspirit would do when he comes. God is all-knowing. If our judgment on all issues must be right we must first subscribe to divinity,that he may teach us how to make the right decisions per time(ps.25:9). The fact that we are born again gives us this privileged right to divinity for guidance(1jn2:27).We do not need any additional help from humanity as to what decisions we should take at any point in our lives. The presence of divinity keeps us at an advantage and launches us expressly into the place of sound judgment.The most unfortunate part of the whole story is that many Christians today are either ignorant or do not believe in the possibility of subscribing to divinity for sound judgment.in every decision they want to make.The good news is that we have been called to live a SUPER-LIFE, above all obstacles by the help of divinity in us.He enables us at every juncture to make the right decisions.This ensures sound judgment on all issues,bringing out the best in us.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
What do you Weigh?
By Nkop Mmekeme
"You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk." 1.Pet.2:2 (NLT)
The field of Mechanics, a part of Physics, has proven that weight is one of the major factors that contribute to the stability of matter irrespective of how much space it occupies. It takes a greater force to displace a concrete slab than that required to cause such a displacement in a cork of a bigger size. I therefore would concur by saying, the greater the weight of a given object, the higher its stability and hence the greater the force that is required to displace it.
Our focus today is on the need for spiritual weight. We should not be oblivious of the fact that in this race, there are so many forces contending to put us off the track leading to our target. The race gets tougher as we make progress, and this suggests the reason why we all need to gather spiritual weight. We should also understand from our introduction that what you weigh determines how long you can last.
The world has invaded the church today with its systems and methodology, and this constitutes one of the strongest forces contending against the spiritual progress of so many Christians. In the faith today, we witness lots of ill-behaviours which are not befitting of Christians, not because these ones have not truly accepted Jesus into their hearts but because they can not withstand their opposition.
You do not pray to have spiritual weight, you eat to grow in faith and have spiritual weight. The higher you go the stronger the forces designed to pull you down. We should all understand that our only means of staying afloat and surviving to the end is by growing continually and consistently in faith. Gathering spiritual weight is achieved through a steady growth in faith and faith grows by hearing and making use of the word of God in our lives, at all times. This means if you are faced with trials fourteen times in a day, you apply the word of God fourteen times a day. This is how faith grows and spiritual weight is acquired.
Imagine a helicopter, whose propeller is at a very high speed. It blows out of range, any object placed along its path whose weight does not exceed or is commensurate with the force exerted on it by the propeller. It is also easier for a fan to blow away a paper than a book. Today, no matter how much you think you know, give yourself to a consistent study and meditation on the word. It is the only way out.
Prayer:
"You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk." 1.Pet.2:2 (NLT)
The field of Mechanics, a part of Physics, has proven that weight is one of the major factors that contribute to the stability of matter irrespective of how much space it occupies. It takes a greater force to displace a concrete slab than that required to cause such a displacement in a cork of a bigger size. I therefore would concur by saying, the greater the weight of a given object, the higher its stability and hence the greater the force that is required to displace it.
Our focus today is on the need for spiritual weight. We should not be oblivious of the fact that in this race, there are so many forces contending to put us off the track leading to our target. The race gets tougher as we make progress, and this suggests the reason why we all need to gather spiritual weight. We should also understand from our introduction that what you weigh determines how long you can last.
The world has invaded the church today with its systems and methodology, and this constitutes one of the strongest forces contending against the spiritual progress of so many Christians. In the faith today, we witness lots of ill-behaviours which are not befitting of Christians, not because these ones have not truly accepted Jesus into their hearts but because they can not withstand their opposition.
You do not pray to have spiritual weight, you eat to grow in faith and have spiritual weight. The higher you go the stronger the forces designed to pull you down. We should all understand that our only means of staying afloat and surviving to the end is by growing continually and consistently in faith. Gathering spiritual weight is achieved through a steady growth in faith and faith grows by hearing and making use of the word of God in our lives, at all times. This means if you are faced with trials fourteen times in a day, you apply the word of God fourteen times a day. This is how faith grows and spiritual weight is acquired.
Imagine a helicopter, whose propeller is at a very high speed. It blows out of range, any object placed along its path whose weight does not exceed or is commensurate with the force exerted on it by the propeller. It is also easier for a fan to blow away a paper than a book. Today, no matter how much you think you know, give yourself to a consistent study and meditation on the word. It is the only way out.
Prayer:
Lord, help me grow spiritually. I desire to thirst for you as the deer pants for the river brooks. I need you in my life. I want to eat the word daily, I want to drink in your ever-refreshing presence. I love to feast at your table. Enable me meditate and grow fat & strong so that i can become unshakeable
Further Study: Ephesians.4:14-16
Do not forget to add your comments after reading. Check our blog archive on the right of this page to read other posts. Feel free to get in contact with the author of this article or the other contributors on this blog. Stay connected and remain blessed!
Further Study: Ephesians.4:14-16
Do not forget to add your comments after reading. Check our blog archive on the right of this page to read other posts. Feel free to get in contact with the author of this article or the other contributors on this blog. Stay connected and remain blessed!
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Look Away
By Nkop Mmekeme
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." Philippians.3:13 (NLT)
Like the saying goes; there is no future in the past. We most often drown ourselves in the oceans of our past, denying ourselves of a more promising future. The problem is always that either we are not able to look away from what we’ve seen or what we are seeing at the present, to what lies ahead of us. So we tend to attach ourselves so much to our present conditions instead of looking at what God has prepared in the future for us.
The experiences of the past however beautiful or ugly are meant to be discarded if we must move forward in life. The fact that you were and still are a champion does not make you a champion tomorrow except you look beyond its glory- the glory of today- and take the future from today by doing what needs to be done to remain at the top. Also, that you failed today does not make you a failure tomorrow. All which is required of you is the courage to look beyond your present failures, and buckle up by doing what is required for success tomorrow.
Apostle Paul, the writer of our scripture on focus, choose not to be dissuaded by his achievements or failures, but to place his mind on a target which was his calling, his assignment, his ministry, his goal in life etc. He never reached a point in his ministry where he felt he has arrived or that he cannot go any further until he could say with all conviction to Timotheus in 2.Tim.4v6, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." Why would he be bold to say this? See verses 7 and 8: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
Many of our short comings today can be attributed to our attitude towards the race; the feeling of uncertainty over a future that has been guaranteed or the feeling that one has achieved so much, introduces laxity and causes retrogression. This usually comes as a result of our inability to take our focus off the past, and place it on the target which is every Christian’s place of destiny.
There is a call to every Christian today, to continually loosen themselves from the cords of their past and brace up for a more glorious future ahead.
Prayer:
Like the saying goes; there is no future in the past. We most often drown ourselves in the oceans of our past, denying ourselves of a more promising future. The problem is always that either we are not able to look away from what we’ve seen or what we are seeing at the present, to what lies ahead of us. So we tend to attach ourselves so much to our present conditions instead of looking at what God has prepared in the future for us.
The experiences of the past however beautiful or ugly are meant to be discarded if we must move forward in life. The fact that you were and still are a champion does not make you a champion tomorrow except you look beyond its glory- the glory of today- and take the future from today by doing what needs to be done to remain at the top. Also, that you failed today does not make you a failure tomorrow. All which is required of you is the courage to look beyond your present failures, and buckle up by doing what is required for success tomorrow.
Apostle Paul, the writer of our scripture on focus, choose not to be dissuaded by his achievements or failures, but to place his mind on a target which was his calling, his assignment, his ministry, his goal in life etc. He never reached a point in his ministry where he felt he has arrived or that he cannot go any further until he could say with all conviction to Timotheus in 2.Tim.4v6, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." Why would he be bold to say this? See verses 7 and 8: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
Many of our short comings today can be attributed to our attitude towards the race; the feeling of uncertainty over a future that has been guaranteed or the feeling that one has achieved so much, introduces laxity and causes retrogression. This usually comes as a result of our inability to take our focus off the past, and place it on the target which is every Christian’s place of destiny.
There is a call to every Christian today, to continually loosen themselves from the cords of their past and brace up for a more glorious future ahead.
Prayer:
Father, help me to let go of my past: all the disappointments, the heartbreaks, the failures, the broken vows & promises, the mistakes. I thank you for the availability of the blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, that washes me white as snow. Much more beyond my sins, I need you to make me whole. Heal me completely by the power of your Holy Spirit. Save me from what is behind and endow me with the strength today to depend on you that I may be able to focus on what is ahead, that I may be able to run my course from this day henceforth without fault; in Jesus Christ Name. Amen.
Further Study: 2.Kings.7:3-15
Do not forget to add your comments after reading. Check our blog archive on the right of this page to read other posts. Feel free to get in contact with the author of this article or the other contributors on this blog. Stay connected and remain blessed!
Wednesday 3 March 2010
No Diplomacy
By Nkop Mmekeme and Araromi Afeh
"But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being." Psalm.51:6 (NLT)
The lyrics of the popular hymn by Joseph Scriven (1819-1886), "What a friend we have in Jesus" describes our message for today clearly. Our focus today is the line that says, "Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer."
I have come to discover that many Christians go before God trying to modify the true conditions of their hearts, they become hypocritical in their relationship with God. I tell you, God desires the kind of honesty that emanates from the heart and has no joy in our engaging in diplomacy when we come to present our issues before Him. God expects you to tell him exactly how your situation is because He already sees and knows. All He needs you to do is to acknowledge it before Him, and trustfully let Him take charge and turn the situation of things to your own good.
Remember if God Himself is omnipresent then He is also all-knowing. As such, there cannot be any pretense before Him and He cannot be deceived; so every man automatically gets what he bargains for by his or her attitude towards God. It is worthy to note that our attitude towards God will eventually determine our altitude both in this life and in the life to come.
Let me (Afeh) use something that happened in my life some time ago to explain. At a point, I began to have some emotional attachment towards a certain sister who was my friend. Sincerely, she is gorgeous and I can boldly say that any time and any day, she was a terrific person to hook up with. But I knew within me that my friendship with this dynamic lady wasn't commissioned to tow this new direction. All I had to do was meet with God.
So one night, I talked with God as I paced the floor and it was just like a friend talking with another friend who was in the room. I told the Father how I felt without mincing words, I told Him that I needed His help urgently so I don't do something stupid. God answered. And it was a beautiful thing. God so purged me that all those feelings simply disappeared. It was so easy and simple. I simply talked with my Father concerning the situation and He solved my crisis. Two days later, I discovered that I could enjoy that sister's company without all those emotions that were springing up.
See, God is actually interested in every single thing that happens in our lives, but He would not just intrude into our affairs. No, He would not except we give Him the chance to do so. Most times the problems we face in some aspects of our lives come as a result of not letting God call the shots in those aspects of our lives.
One of the commonest aspects where such problems prevail is in the area of our relationship(s). Many of us are not patient enough to wait for God’s approval before we kick off, as such we end up in crises and come back to ask God ‘’why?’’ Our relationship with God is on the basis that He is in charge of all that goes on in our lives, outside that there is no deal. This is as serious as it could be. No negotiations! No diplomacy!
Today, there is still a chance to put him in charge of all that pertains to you, and see him bring you into a perfect life of all round peace. Bear in mind, your attitude towards God is an important factor in determining your ALTITUDE in life!
Prayer: Dear Lord, i come in honesty of heart before you, laying everything that pertains to me and i ask that you take absolute control in Jesus Name. Amen.
Further Study: 1.Sam.30:1-20
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