God

The strength of Love

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. . .

A young man sat trembling in the police station. He had been picked up for shoplifting and now he waited for his parents, who were on their way to take him home. Being arrested was frightening and embarrassing. but it wasn’t half as bad as having to face his mother and father.

As they burst through the door the young man saw that his mother had been crying. He bowed his head in shame and awaited the fury to come from his parents. Instead, he felt his mother’s arm wrap around his shoulders and his father’s big, warm hand on top of his head. He looked up through tears and saw that both of his parents were watching him with love and concern.

The boy asked, “Aren’t you angry with me? Why aren’t you yelling at me?”

His mother spoke. “Honey, when you hurt, we only want to help you. You have done wrong, but that doesn’t mean we stop loving you. What you did hurts us, but we’ll work it out together.” (Adapted)

God loves us every bit as much. No matter what happens, if we work to find God, we will find love we never thought possible.

Dear heavenly Father, I fall prey to so much temptation and sin. I am ashamed that I cannot do what you would like for me to do. Thank you for your forgiveness and love, especially in times when I don’t deserve it. Amen.

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Tapping into the unlimited resources of Jesus Christ

It is amazing how believers like to boast about their heavenly Father—how He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and how He is their provider, their Rock and their hiding place. Yet many of us fail to tap into the unlimited resources of our heavenly Father. We are just like Jesus’ disciples who were willing to turn away the multitude, because they thought they did not have enough food to feed them.

Look yonder believers, and “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not better than they?”  (Matthew 6:26).

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes

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Our heavenly father has an unlimited amount of resources and He wants us to tap in.

Jesus tapped into His Father’s resources and fed over five thousand with 5 loaves and 2 fishes.

“And when it was evening, His[Jesus]  disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

But Jesus said unto them, they need not leave; give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, we have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, bring them hither to me.

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 14:15-21).

As you look around, the needs that you see are often great and overwhelming. Your own resources seem so small, and your own abilities seem so limited to meet such great needs.

if you tried to quench the thirst of others out of your own fountain, no one would be satisfied; if you tried to feed the hungry with your own bread no one would be made full; if you tried to reassure others with your own thoughts, no one would be comforted; if you tried to bring meaning to the lives of others with your own plans, no one would be fulfilled.

Jesus asks you to give all that you have to Him. And as you place your life in His hands, He will break you as bread, multiply you, and use you to meet the needs of others with His unlimited resources.

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Do you love Christ enough to die for Him?

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. The Apostle Peter denied Christ 3 times when he faced danger. But the prophet Daniel did not compromise his religious principles, when king Darius threatened to throw him in a den of hungry lions. Instead, he remained resolute in his commitment and turned to God in prayer.

Do you love Christ enough to die for Him? Believers, we may not be willing to die for Christ because our faith in God is not as strong as Daniel’s, but we should be willing to honor our commitment to Him, in any situation. Let us thrive to be like Daniel, and not like Peter before he repented.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Daniel 6:19-28 NIV:

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Are you satisfied with your life?

Sometimes in our lives we all have pains, we all have sorrow. Sometimes our prayers help us to avoid them sometimes not. So, we become miserable and unhappy with our lives–that we start to play the blame game, which if not checked can make things more difficult.

However, most often than not, if we took the time to look around, we’ll see lots of people who are worse off than we are, and to our surprise, they are thankful and happy as a clown.

I have learnt that the happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Furthermore, until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.

The apostle Paul to the Church in Philippi: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Stop Talking And Pray

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is a time to speak, and a time not to speak. Happy is the person who can discern between the two. In many cases silence is golden. Therefore, anything we say will only hinder the flow of what God wants to do, so it is best to: “Stop talking and pray”

Esther, formerly (Hadassah), Queen to king Ahasuerus, fasted and prayed and sought God’s timing before she approached her husband about a very important matter. Was she upset about what was happening to her people? Of course, she was. There was a lot at stake and she knew it. She didn’t run in and start arguing. Rather, she prayed first and then ministered to him in love, while God prepared his heart. The Lord will always give us the right words to say, and show us when to say them if we ask Him. Timing is everything.

I have known people who never miss a chance to use the excuse of “just being honest” to devastate others with their words. The Bible says: “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back” (Proverbs 29:11). In other words, it is foolish to share every feeling and thought. Being honest doesn’t mean you have to be completely frank in your every comment.

If you do have to say words that are hard to hear, ask God to help you discern when the person would be most open to hearing them. Pray for the right words and for the person’s heart to be totally receptive. I know that’s hard to do when you have a few choice words you are dying to let loose. But hard as it may seem, it is best to let God hear them first so He can temper them with His Spirit. This is especially true when talking has ceased altogether and shouting becomes the norm, and every word brings more pain…

It is time to stop talking and pray.