“A Promise Kept”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish.” John 3:16

There are times in our lives when we go through some difficulties.  Some people father walked out on the family. Some others lost their husbands or wives.  There are some who retirement investment is of no use, and they feel cheated. Do we identified with such problems? Broken promises have made some one life miserable, uncomfortable or even bitter.  In emotions, we all know disappointment is among the strongest.

The fact of the matter is we can’t always count on the promises people make, nor can they always count on ours.  Not so with God.  He always keep his promise to us.  The Scripture says, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfilled?Numbers 23:19.

God is faithful always! He keeps his promises. Always! And those promises are not trivial.  God made this promise directly to you.  You can personalized this promise.  It is good news.  Maybe you have known this good news for years.  Whatever the case, don’t take it for granted! Believe it! Then live in the power of God’s love, love beyond measure.

Memory verse: 1 John 2:25

“God promises are like the stars; the darker the night, the brighter they shine.” David Nicholas

 

“Having a Positive Spirit”

Tuesday, October 30.

“God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

In life, we will be surrounded with positive as well as negative circumstances. Depending on how one approach a circumstance in one’s life, there can be success and failure.  When we find ourselves in situations that are tough, we need to understand that such situation is temporal.  It will go away.  Often times we tend to blame others for situations in our lives.  We sometimes believed a particular person is to blame for our circumstances.  I want you to remember that when there is a situation in your life that is bad, do not blame anyone.  For an example, if you are at a job and you do not get promoted, do not blame it on your boss.  Probably that is not the place God wants you to be.  God has a great plan for you.  When the circumstances is right, you will be promoted by God.  Paul reminds young Timothy that God gives us the spirit of power and love and of self discipline.  We need to discipline the words that comes out of our mouth, we need to discipline ourselves in terms of work ethics, we need to discipline ourselves when it comes to our time.  God has empower us to take charge of our circumstances.  Any situation that poses challenge to us is a period of preparation for us.  God is preparing us for bigger things.  But we must be conscious of the fact that we have power to overcome any situation.

Memory verse: Hebrews 12:11

“By Constant Self-Discipline and Self-Control, You Can Develop Greatness of Character.” Greenville Kleiser  

 

“God So Loved the World”

Monday, October 29.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

When I first moved to North Newton, the beauty of the neighborhood around me was such a wonder,  The beautiful houses, beautiful lawns, nice looking mailboxes, beautiful trees, you name it.  Each day I drove to work, I marveled at the beauty I saw.

It took months, but eventually, I stopped seeing the beauty.  As pastor of a three point charge, the hectic schedule demanded my attention.  I had too much on my plate.  Has that ever happen to you? Have you ever been caught up in the business of this world, and forgotten the beauty of God’s creation?  Do you ever take something wonderful for granted?

Before you answer, think about what John says about God: God so loved the world.

These are powerful words.  Maybe it is familiar to you that you scarcely hear it when you read it.  The splendor of these words may have gone gray, and has faded into the landscape of your heart as you deal with details of your life.  Perhaps you wonder what it means or if it is meant for you.  No matter where you find yourself right now, the person who first spoke these words was Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ intended to bring you hope unimaginable.  Jesus Christ wants to open your eyes and your heart and reveal the splendor and transforming power of these words.

These simple words convey a profound truth.  God’s love has no limits.  God’s love is beyond measure.  His love defies description.  His love is personal, very personal.  His love is meant for you.  We need this love more than we can count.  The hole in our hearts is deeper than we know.  We do not deserves God’s love.  We have not earned it.  Quite the opposite in fact.

Memory verse: Psalms 103:8

“Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.” David Wilkerson

The Importance of Living in Harmony!

Friday,  October 26.

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live in harmony! Psalms 133:1

In the genesis account, God created everything from nothing.  The record tells us that God only spoke words, and animals, water, and everything else came into being.  In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our own image and after our likeness.” God proceeded to make man from the dust.  After God finished making man, He put the breath of life in man.  Man became a living soul.  We can clearly see that God’s intention was to create a person, who would act and behave like God.  A human person who love the way God love us.  God created a person, who would love peace like the way he loves peace.  God created humankind to dwell in unity, and to live in tranquility.  God knows that if humankind live in harmony, the earth He created will be a pleasant place.  It will be void chaos and confusion.  There will be no quarrels.  But sadly, humankind have lived in chaos, to the displeasure of God.  What does it takes to live in harmony?  It takes only love.  It takes patience and kindness, because love is patient and kind.  It takes tolerance.  It takes respect for one another.  It requires the ability for one to see the other as fellow humans and equal.  When these things happens, people will develop feelings of trust for one another.  God’s good world has become a place for hatred.  It has become a place of chaos.  In order to live in harmony, we must all have an appreciative knowledge of our environment.  We must have an appreciative knowledge of others we live with.  We all have been placed on this earth to make it a better place.  Please love your neighbors as yourself.  Please be hospitable to one another.

Memory verse: Luke 22:39

“True happiness comes from living life in harmony with all that is.” Gail Lynne Goodwin

“God Answers Prayers.”                                                                                   

Thursday, October  25.

“Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, an He delivered them from their distress.  He made the storm to be still, and the wave of the sea to be hushed.  Then they were glad that waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven.”  Psalms 107:28-30

Throughout the history of the children of Israel, there were difficult periods.  There were difficult periods, and the nation had to come to its feet and offer national prayers.  In the life of many great men of God, there were dangerous period.  David had to run to the caves to protect his life.  In our own Christian life, we have run from life threatening situations.  We often label these difficult times, ‘the storms of life.”  There are different kinds of storms that raged in our lives. I served as a volunteer in hurricane Katrina for eight days.  There was desperation everywhere.  I saw desperation for safe drinking water, the destruction to homes, means of transportation, the loss of lives.  The human suffering was immense.  The grief level was high.  I saw folks who had to be uprooted from the only community they have known since birth.  Up to this day, I can still feel the pains of those people through the eyes of memory. In Houston, the storm is raging.  Our people in these communities are dying.  Many are homeless.  It is believed that over 50 people have died.  It is difficult to watch the scene on television.  Many prayers are being offered.  This is very important in the lives of the Christian.  These storms has the tendencies of drawing us from God.  It focuses our attention on the storms rather than on God.  One gap we sometimes have in our Cristian life is having the know how and the faith to put it into action. No matter what storms we faced, we must adopt the attitude of the children of Israel.  The children of Israel cried to God, and they were heard.  The were glad that the waters were quiet.  Let us pray in seasons for our brothers and sisters in Houston.  God is able to quiet the storm.  God is able to quiet the storms in ours lives; jobs, illness, death, hunger, or troubles.

Memory verse: Matthew 8:6

“We have to pray with our eyes on God, and not on the difficulties.” Oswald Chambers    

Finding God’s Path in Troubled Times.                                                        

Wednesday, October 24.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Whether you like it or not, trials and tribulations are part of the lives of individuals everyday:  A mother’s health and needed examination; The deploying of a wife or husband to a war zone; A suicidal daughter; a dying dad; a traffic ticket; or a teenage son in crisis.  Many more of these difficult situations are bound to be part of everyday’s life.  But every Christian should be joyful in the midst of difficult circumstances.  James 1:2 urges us, “Count it all joy…when you fall into various trials.”  Life isn’t easy, and being a Christian isn’t easy either.  But Christ assures us that we will have peace in him.  The good news still is that Christ has overcome the world.  You may be going through some situations that weigh heavily on your mind.  Remember you are only human.  As a human, you will feel the pressure to waiver in your faith.  Please know that God is with you.  God will not let you carry a burden you cannot bear.  He is near and will take you through.  Just allow Him.

Memory Verse: Psalms 27:13

“God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.” John Wesley

 

 

“Being Careful of What to Joke or Jest About.”

Tuesday, October 23,

“Let there no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” Ephesians 4:5

Throughout my seventeen years of ministry, I have seen people talk in the presence of other brothers and sisters without caution.  One thing is clear from the words we speak: it comes from our hearts and sometimes reflect our everyday conversations.  We all have heard that “from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.Paul is urging us that our conversation should be fill with blessings.  Paul here is telling us that unhealthy joke is not a good thing.  Jesting is also not  a good thing.  Remember what we say can be dangerous to ourselves and the work of God.  The church is body of believers and it consists of many parts.  If one part is affected, the entire church is hurt.  It important to pattern our speech after Christ so that the body of Christ be blessed.  When we gather as believers, one of the things that we should be cautious about is what we say.  Words can have a lasting impression on people, or it can contribute to the thought process of others.  If we say wrong things about others, it affects them.  Please watch what you say among others.  Please let the Spirit of God direct you in whatever you do.

Memory verse: Psalms 19:14

“Words can inspire, words can destroy, choose yours well.” Robin Sharma

“Love One Another”

Friday, October 19.

And besides this, giving all diligence, and to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness.  And to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.”

Many of us view love as something indefinite.  Love is the loftiest preference of one person for another.  Jesus demanded that this sacred preference be maintained.  When the love of God has been poured into hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), it makes it easy to put Jesus first.  Many people do not show love to others because they lack love themselves.  The Holy Spirit is not in residence in their hearts.  Jesus Christ made it clear that “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”  We must practice the things mentioned in our Scripture today.

You see, God loves us not because we are lovable, but because it is His nature to do so.  Now He is telling us to do the same: “Love one another as I have love you” (John 15:12). God has love us beyond all limits.  It compels us to go into the world and love others.  We may get irritated living with an unusually difficult person. But, Let us remember that we too have been difficult to deal with in our sins.  God  forgave our sins by sending His only Son. God loves us just the way we are.  Let us reciprocate the same love to others.

Memory verse: 2 Peter 3:9

“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and to be loved.” George Sand

 

“Putting On the New Man”

Thursday,  October 18

“Therefore if  any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; Behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17  

It is usual for people to look to the past.  It is often said that one cannot build the future without the past.  The past is important in certain respect.  One can learn some valuable lessons from the past.  Those lessons are of value because it is important.  It contributed to our present life in positive ways. Some things in the past comes to hunt a person.  It hunts a person, when it is some thing negative or bad.  This can be a hindrance to our spiritual growth.  But Second Corinthians 5:17 informs us that once we accept Christ, every thing we have done in the past, that continues to cloud our minds, or hunts us in diverse ways is erased.  God has made us a new person.  There is no need to look at ourselves in a negative way.  Sometimes we say I can be nothing because of the evil I have done.  God loves everyone no matter who you are or what you did.  If God was taking into consideration who we are or what we have done, no one will be able to stand in His presence.  The Scripture say no one is righteous.  Yes not even one person.  Everyone stand on the grace of God.  God’s grace is that unmerited favor God gives to us.  It is that grace that takes away our sins and makes us new creatures.  Today, let us put away our past life of sin and hold unto God’s unchanging hands.

Memory verse: John 3:16

“If we really want to love, we must forgive.”  Mother Teresa   

“God Heals”

Wednesday, October 17

“Perfect love cast out fear” 1 John 4:18

The bravest of men or women trembles at the mention of the six letter word ‘cancer.’  It is a horrible disease that has destroy the lives of many people around the world.  It is a disease that has no regards for race, religion, or socioeconomic status.  My mom died of cancer.  My aunt died of cancer also.  It has destroyed people around the universe, and many families have been able to escape its life altering grasp,

We can be scared, when our family member or friend is diagnosed. Our Scripture today informs us that perfect love cast out fear.  No matter the diagnosis, we can find peace with God.  Jesus Christ came into the world to take away the fears and doubts that haunt us.  Jesus Christ came to give us strength and hope in the midst of life’s pain and struggles.

The Bible says he gives strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.  Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  If you are facing a crises like cancer, and you are scare, just know that with Jesus Christ you can fight through any situation.  Without Christ, you would be more fearful.  If you are face with uncertainty of the future, thank God for His presence with you.  You are not alone, Christ is with you.  Jesus Christ says , “My peace I give you…Let not your heart be trouble.”

Memory verse:  John 14:27

“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes a matter of opportunities.” Hippocrates