When the fool becomes wise
13 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
Now at the first look, you may think the master, has lost his mind. But when you look closely, at these two verse, then you know why he is the master. So lets look at them
NLT Prov 10:19, Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
NLT Prov 17:28, Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent
so i will write more about these two verses, now am out of power ——
Sleep Sleep Sleep
07 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. Psalm 4:8 (New Living Translation)
Are you plagued by worry–to the point that you lie awake at night? The secret to peaceful sleep is to look away from your anxieties and focus on the Lord. Tell your fears to him. The best way to say that is to remind you on the song
- O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!- Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
- Refrain:
- Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conqu’rors we are! - His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Faith in Suffering- Reflecting on Kari’s Devotion
06 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
When Kari, posted her devotion on Faith and Suffering, at first i thought she was writing for a christian post. On reading the whole, devotion, i noticed she was writing on herself. I knew Kari and worked with her during her two year missionary work in Uganda. On several occasions, we trekked together in the bushes looking for our HIV/AIDS Clients, i can remember Vividly the wired car accident we were in after leading a church service in one of the Villages.
When Kari writes about suffering, she is writing from a heart that has seen suffering families, children mothers teenagers, grand parents name them all. Suffering from a disease they knew has no cure. Looking back and remembering the words of Hope we took to these families, as we read scriptures for them, i can tell it was God preparing all of us for the pain that we would both endure in our lives. Her medical condition is strange for me to understand but when she talks about Faith, i know what she means, the Lord has taken her through it all and we have a heart of a woman that has learnt to trust God not just for the people she lives each day to encourage but for herself too. Kari, you saw suffering in Africa now you can endure the pain you have, when you have endured it, i know the Lord is preparing your for a great calling. Praying for you. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Bellow is a full post by Kari on Christian walk Devotionals http://shortdailydevotions.com/devotions/christian-walk
Hebrews 11:36-38 – Faith in Sufferin
4 Jul
Bible Verse of the Day
Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38 ESV)
From our friend Kari,
Hebrews 11—the great “hall of faith” chapter, as some have called it. I have meditated on the faith of Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph and Moses numerous times in my life, but only recently have I stopped to ponder the significance of these verses at the end of the chapter.
Verses 33-34 tell of all the amazing things God did through men of great faith: conquering kingdoms, stopping the mouths of lions, quenching fire, and escaping the sword. Then in stark contrast verses 35-38 describe men who endured great suffering.
It is popular today in some religious circles to hear that if a Christian has enough faith they will be happy, healthy, and wealthy. So were these “others” who were so destitute they only had sheep skins to wear not men of great faith like David and Gideon? It seems very clear that by faith some men escaped the sword while others still keeping great faith were killed by the sword.
(Philippians 1:29) says, “…for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake” and John 16:33 tells us we will have trouble in this world. As a person who suffers from daily chronic pain, passages like this bring great hope. God in his sovereignty, not we and our amount of faith or good deeds, plans out the course of our life; and for some it will involve great suffering. We are only commanded to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) as we see demonstrated by these men “of whom the world was not worthy”. These men showed the world by their faith in suffering that Jesus is worth everything, even their lives.
Will you walk by faith trusting God’s goodness, no matter what road He has planned for you today? Read 2 Corinthians 10-12 to be challenged and encouraged by the life of Paul who endured great suffering by faith.
Kari Essenpreis is a young wife and mother of a busy toddler. After serving as a missionary to those suffering from AIDS in Uganda, Afica she is learning personally that pain has a purpose. She suffers from pudendal neuralgia, a rare type of pelvic nerve pain and widespread muscle pain
sometimes, you don’t realize that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have
02 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
Have you ever wanted to call it quits? We all have – every single one of us has gone through a time when giving up seemed like the best, more promising option.
It happens when the press of people’s opinions suffocates our lives or when the crushing demand of others’ expectations squelches our spirits. Couple those with our own sense of inadequacy and it all comes spiraling down … and the words “I quit” seem as the natural next step. But that’s not true!
Jesus Shows Up
When you’re ready to call it quits, Jesus shows up. Mark my words; He shows up! Your eyes may not recognize Him at first, but He’s there. If you’ll listen, His voice will cut through the fog, but you’ll have to incline your ear. You could easily ignore His voice; you can even deny His voice. But when you’re lost, He’ll show you the way out … if you’ll follow. When you’re ready to call it quits, Jesus will speak to you. Or, more accurately, He’ll speak to the spirit of defeat you’ve allowed to take residence within you.
“Simon Peter said to them, ‘I’m going back fishing’ […] that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (John 20:1). When Peter realized that indeed it was Jesus, he jumped out of the boat, swam to the Lord and, finding the Lord sitting at a fire with some fish, sat and stared. The Lord asked him again, “Peter, what have I called you to do?” Jesus asked Peter the same question He had asked the first time He cam across Peter and his empty nets. And there they sat, on the same sandy shore, after three dynamic years of world-changing ministry. Yet, Jesus had to ask the same question. And in doing so, Jesus restored Peter to his original call. This will be the very first step to take when you want to call it quits:
Return to Your Original Call
Go back to your original call. When Peter was ready to call it quits, Jesus called to him a second time from the lakeside. He reminded Peter of the fist call. “Do not fear, from now on, you will be catching men. And when they brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him” (Luke 5:10)
As soon as Peter met Jesus, he was given his call: to become a fisher of men. No, it wasn’t going to be easy, but it was clear. Sometimes, God has to bring us back to our original call by cutting everything else out. Sometimes, you don’t realize that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. And if we refuse to realize that, He lovingly cuts everything out in order to correct us back to that assurance.
God will always provide all the grace you will need for the assignment He has called you to do. When we move outside of God’s grace, we choose to move toward discouragement, bitterness and depression. When you’re ready to call it quits, that’s a warning light that you’ve been adrift.
Run to the Lord
Run toward God, not away from Him. It’s a natural tendency for us to run away when we’ve sold out and find ourselves at the end of a bad decision and its terrible consequences. When you’re ready to call it quits, you will not know what to do, so don’t try to figure it out. You may not be in the position to hear, but you are in a position to heal. But first you must do one thing: cry out to God; let it all go, give it over to God.
The first step in overcoming an impossible situation when you want to call it quits is to return to your original call. The second step is to run to the Lord. Finally, Jesus said, “Now, move forward in faith.”
Move Forward in Faith
“Master, we worked hard all night, but at your bidding we will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). “At your bidding” – these words prove that Peter didn’t want to do it. He didn’t feel like doing it because he didn’t have the energy left to do it. There are going to be times when you don’t feel like doing something but because God asks you to, you do. Sometimes we need to revisit things that came up empty the first time. The Lord will turn you back and say, “Yes, it came up empty but, if you’ll do this at My bidding and not because you’re expecting results, then you’ll find the catch.” And when you revisit it with this pure motivation, you’ll indeed find the catch.
There are times in our lives when, like Peter, we want to call it quits. That’s okay if you’re quitting those things God wants to deliver you from. But to call it quits for the other reasons—to look good or to be in control—may not be God’s best for your life. My encouragement to you is to relinquish our life with reckless abandonment and entrust your future to Jesus. Don’t call it quits and don’t try to do it on your own. Simply surrender to Him; when you want to call it quits, discover the life-saving power of Jesus
Discovering Your Resources for your next project for God
26 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
4 weeks ago, I finished a series of sermons from Nehemiah, and here is a reminder for you who are thinking about working for God and are worried about the resources. Let me remind you of my statement
If God wants you to undertake a special project, He probably wants to see it succeed even more than you do. If it is too much for you to handle on your own, that is when you will need to find your resources somewhere else.
Discovering Your Resources
Has God called you to do something that is bigger than you can pull off yourself? Then it’s time to call on Him to help you find the resources you need from somewhere else. It’s hard to ask for help, though. But the good news is that when you ask God first, He’ll show you who to ask next. Listen to this conversation that Nehemiah had with King Artaxerxes, just after Nehemiah had been praying to God about rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem:
“In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.’
“I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’
“The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’
“Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.’
“Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, ‘How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’ It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
“I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?’ And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me” (Nehemiah 2:1-9).
Even though Nehemiah was “very much afraid,” God opened a door for him with the king, and Nehemiah walked through it.
I cannot guarantee that God will send a king to give you what you need, but it may surprise you who God does put in your path. I was afraid to ask for help when I working on a water project for a community two years ago but I knew there was no way we could do it on our own. Therefore, when I asked God for help, He began to put me in touch with people who had the resources I needed to move forward. One person knew about water and came along to help; another knew about drilling and offered a hand.
At one point, God brought someone with significant resources at their disposal, but I was too afraid to ask for their help. I did not want to seem presumptuous. I did not want to jeopardize our new friendship. I did not want to hear another “No,” as I had often heard before. Nevertheless, God reminded me that this was His project, not just mine. So I asked–and God answered. It turned out to be the most significant contribution to the project to date.
There’s a story told about Mother Teresa, who went walking door-to-door to raise money for her orphans. At one door, when she asked for help, a man spat in her face. She took her habit, wiped her face clean and said, “Well, that’s for me. That’s for my humility. Now how about something for the children?” The man gave her some money.
If God has put a project on your heart, remember that He wants you to succeed even more than you do. My prayer for you is that when God opens a door in front of you, you’ll have the courage you need to walk through it and find the resources you need.
So where is God calling you to go for Him, what are you afraid of, ask God for the resources and you will be surprised at what He can do
Are you practicing One Another’s
20 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
It is very important to know that you belong to Jesus. It is great to find your identity in Him alone. He is our All in All and the ultimate source of our strength. Nevertheless, God has also given us something more. He has given us one another. One of the best ways to renew your mind is to fellowship with other believers, to encourage one another in your faith, so you can give one another a fresh perspective on your life and the situations that you face. This is what the Apostle Paul longed to do with the Christians living in Rome when he wrote his letter to them in about the year 57 A.D. If you know anything about this time in Roman history, you will know that these were the days of the gladiators, the colosseums, and the fights-to-the-death in those huge arenas. It was only seven years after Paul’s letter to the Romans—in 64 A.D.—that the mad Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for setting Rome on fire, a fire that many historians believed that Emperor Nero himself set so that he could rebuild the city more to his liking. This newly emerging group of Christians were an easy scapegoat. They were already looked down upon by the people because they chose to follow Christ rather than pay honor to the official Roman gods—one of which included Emperor Nero himself. The Roman historian Tacitus—who lived in Rome at the time—says that after the fire, Nero arrested a vast number of Christians and had them tortured in the most heinous ways. Tacitus writes: “In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and torn to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set on fire, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own gardens for that spectacle…” (Tacitus, Annals 15.44, circa 100 A.D.) Just in case you missed what Tacitus was saying in that last statement, he was saying that Christians were set on fire to serve as human torches to light Nero’s gardens after the sun had gone down. It is into this setting, just seven years earlier, that the Apostle Paul wrote his letter. For quite some time, he had wanted to visit the Roman Christians in person so that they could encourage one another in their faith. But being prevented once again, he wrote them a letter instead, a letter that has survived almost 2,000 years and still encourages us today. Listen to Paul’s heartfelt love for the Christians in Rome: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles (Romans 8:8-13). Life is hard for all of us at times. And it’s in those times that we need one another even more than ever. We need one another’s perspectives on the situations that we face, just as Paul gave his perspective to the Roman Christians. Although they were being ridiculed and persecuted—and they could have felt that God was treating them unfairly—Paul helped them to see their situation in another light. He thanked God for them, because their faith was being reported throughout the world. Rather than seeing their situation as lowly and humiliating, Paul saw their stars of faith shining brightly—stars that illuminated the darkness around them. And Paul was eager to join them in this dark place. While Paul could have been hesitant for many reasons to go to Rome, he wasn’t. As a natural-born citizen of Rome and one of the greatest intellectual thinkers of his day, he could have been embarrassed to align himself with those who followed Christ—a man who was mocked by the Roman leaders and crucified under the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. But Paul wasn’t ashamed. He didn’t flinch at the possibility that he could be ridiculed, beaten, jailed, or killed for his faith. Why? Because Paul knew the life-changing power of the gospel that he preached—the “good news” of Christ. Paul knew that the gospel had the power to save those who responded to it. He was eager to go to Rome and to have a harvest among those who were yet to believe. Paul said: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17). We could all use a few more Pauls in our lives, people who believe so much in the power of the gospel that their faith rubs off on us. If you need a new perspective on your life—and the situations you’re facing in it—can I encourage you to find some other believers and to be honest with them about the struggles you’re facing? You can’t go it alone, and God doesn’t want you to. Even though Jesus may be all you need, that’s because He’s the One who can provide you with all you need—like believing friends who can be like family to you. Seek them out and engage with them in heartfelt conversations. It’s risky. It’s hard. But it’s so worth it. Ask them if they see anything in your life that you might not be able to see. Ask them what God may be doing in and through the situations you’re facing. Open up the Word of God with them, and see how God has brought others through situations like the ones you’re facing. And if you think your situation is so unique that God’s Word doesn’t address it, that’s most likely because you haven’t read enough of God’s Word! God has so much to say to you, but sometimes it takes another believer to help you to see it. If you don’t have church home, find one that strongly believes that the Bible is God’s Word. Get involved with a small group of other Christians God wants to renew your mind, and one of the best ways you can do that is to fellowship with other believers. Seek them out. Share your story with them. Ask them to give you a boost in your faith, and give them a boost in their faith while you’re at it. And if you’re the one who’s feeling particularly strong right now, can I encourage you to take some time to write or call, email or text, or just stop by and visit someone who could use your perspective on their life today? As Paul longed to do with the Romans—to be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith”—God wants you to do the same with those around you. You’ll be glad you did.
Pr Enoch, Ubc 2011
WHAT TO KNOW WHEN STRESSED
17 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
Have the cares and problems of life burdened you with stress and anxiety, robbing you of peace? Take comfort from these verses and pray the prayer below asking the Lord to lift your burdens.
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)
“I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27 (NLT)
“I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.”
Psalm 4:8 (NLT)
Dear Lord,
I need you now because I am full of stress and anxiety. Reading your Word brings comfort, as I ask you to come and take my heavy burdens. I take each burden, one by one, and lay them at your feet. Please carry them for me so that I don’t have to. Replace them with your humble and gentle yoke so that I will find rest for my soul today. I receive your gift of peace of mind and heart. Thank you that I can lie down tonight in peace and sleep. I know that you, Lord, will keep me safe. I am not afraid because you are always with me. Please keep me daily, Lord, in your perfect peace.
Amen
This is the one I esteem
16 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
“Declares the Lord, ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.’” -Isaiah 66:2
I read this yesterday and had one of those “wow” moments. It really made me reflect on my prayer life and my walk with God. Am I humble? Am I contrite (sorrowful over my sin)? Do I tremble at God’s Word?
I don’t think I should be afraid of God and His Word. But I realized that I’m not nearly as sensitive to scripture as I used to be–or maybe I just don’t spend the time reading it that I used to.
I used to read one verse and it would stick in my heart all day. I would meditate on the truth and the wonders of God. I’d spend time praying and asking the Lord for wisdom and the strength to live it out. Now, sometimes reading the Word is just one more rushed thing on the checklist before I start my day.
I think my heart may have become hardened, just a little bit. Or maybe I got bored. Or maybe I just don’t take the time anymore to really dive deep and spend time in prayer and in the Word.
So this verse was a big reminder for me. A wake up call. I pray that the Lord would find me humble and contrite in spirit. And I pray that I would tremble at His Word–that I would be left in awe, amazed, and hungry for more of Him every time I read it.
I pray the same for you, that we would all grow deeper in our walk with God every day. And I thank God for His amazing grace that we don’t have to earn through devotion. Rather, it inspires us and draws us closer to Him. Praise God!
Be Still and Know
04 Nov 2010 2 Comments
Be Still and Know
Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God.
Mark 4:39
And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there as a great calm.
I Kings 19 records an interesting story of the prophet Elijah. In a time of great danger, distress and depression, he longed to die. The people of God had refused to heed Elijah’s message to turn back to God, and Queen Jezebel was determined to take his life for the spiritual work he had done. In his worry and fear Elijah hurried to run away, but God caught up with him. The Lord passed by Elijah in a great destructive wind, then in an earthquake, and finally in a fire; however, the Lord did not speak to the prophet in any of these. God spoke through a still small voice. When all was quiet Elijah heard from God. It was then that he could see God’s mighty power at work in the world around him. Finally, Elijah could truly see God as God, and he found peace
In the New Testament the disciples of Jesus found themselves caught in a horrendous storm as they sailed across a familiar sea. So intense was this storm that these well-experienced sailors were full of anxiety and they feared for their lives. They hurried to do all they could to save themselves, but at last they awakened their Master and cried for help. Then Jesus spoke three simple words, “Peace, be still,” and the wind and the sea were at rest. As the disciples stood in that miraculous stillness, they knew that Jesus was no ordinary man. Indeed, they saw that He was God and their worries faded away.
Psalm 46 speaks of troubling times-roaring seas, crumbling mountains and raging kingdoms. Yet at the conclusion of the Psalm we hear God speak, “Be still and know that I am God.” He tells us that in the worst of times we must stop hurrying and stop worrying. Just be still! And in that stillness see Him as the God He truly is.
Almighty God, in this busy chaotic world, help me slow down long enough to see Your greatness and hear Your voice. Let me know that You are God.
When peace like a River
04 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
When Peace Like A River Hymn
peace like a river click here to listen and watch the video
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control,
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and hath shed his own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
even so, it is well with my soul. click here to listen and watch the video when peace like a river
