Monday, 8 September 2014

THE BOOK

Where's My Book?
Back in the day when our kids were in school, you didn't really need to pay to go to a circus. You just could come to our house around 7:00 or 8:00 o'clock in the morning; any time before the school bus came. The boys were trying to find their socks and their shoes, or car keys, homework, contact lenses, glasses - mayhem. So many times they get home from school and things kind of landed wherever they landed, and they had to figure out where that was the next morning. The problem is, the next morning you can't remember where you left it, so you panic to find your stuff in those moments that you have to leave for school, because that's pretty unforgiving when school begins when the bus comes. So it was not unusual to hear in our house an old question ringing through the halls, "Mom, Dad, book?" And finding it? Well, everything depended on it.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Kings 22, and I'll begin reading with verse 8. The story takes place as young King Josiah has taken over as the ruler of Judah. And he's taken over after a period of great evil in the land. And he commissions Hilkiah, the high priest, and Shaphan, the secretary, to begin to mobilize and clean out the temple, because it was a mess; it had fallen into disrepair.
Here's what the Bible says, "Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, 'I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.' He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. Then Shaphan, the secretary, went to the king." So he gets the book, and takes it into the presence of the king. Now, verse 13, Hilkiah says, "Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."
They didn't know what was in God's book. They had lost God's Book somewhere in the shuffle. That's happened in some churches. That's happened in some of our lives. Back in the 1940s Billy Graham was an unknown student preacher. He had his Bible. He started to preach some crusades and people began to take note of him. By the late 1940's he was sort of a rising star in the preaching circuit. But he had a crisis of faith because a friend of his had gone off to seminary; a liberal seminary in the East and came back with more questions than he had answers.
Billy Graham resolved that crisis of doubt that day as he went out in the woods, laid that Bible on a stump, knelt beside that stump, and poured out his heart to God and said, "From this moment on, I will accept this as your total authority, God, as coming from you." From that time on Billy Graham's ministry was known for these three words, "The Bible says... The Bible says..." He had settled once and for all the final word, the final authority. That's what we've got to do.
When you come to Christ you base your life on these three words, "The Bible says..." But how about the rest of our life? How do you make your cultural decisions, your family decisions, your money decisions, your entertainment decisions? You see, the Bible is God's final word, and many times as you look at what we do in our private lives it's like we lost the book. It's buried again. Oh, we go visit it on Sunday. We read it occasionally. But is it the final authority no matter what our culture says, no matter what the opinion polls say, no matter what everybody at the office or at school says. Is it, "The Bible says..."?
God has spoken, and without God's Word it doesn't matter how nice the idea sounds or how charismatic the presenter of that idea is, it's just a nice idea. I can almost hear God running through our lives sometimes like our kids did back in the school days crying, "Where's My book?"


(Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. —Jeremiah 6:16)

 -Culled from C.R.C OUTREACH NEWS LETTER

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE NATIONS
 
Cook Islands

The Cook Islands

Pacific

Area: 236 sq km

Over 100 coral atolls and volcanic islands 3,500 km northeast of New Zealand, 15 of which are inhabited.

Population: 19,933    

Annual Growth: 0.87%

Capital: Avarua
Official language: English, Cook Island Maori
 
               Answers for Prayer
     ØThank God for the ability of islanders to migrate to New Zealand in search of jobs. Many are getting into new employments.( another means of bringing new life into the ØThank God for the financial progress these groups are making. (As around 90% of Niueans, 75% of Tokelauans and over 67% of Cook Islanders now live in New Zealand)
                      Challenges for Prayer

ØPray for spiritual revival in this island to stem the fast fading Christian legacy.

ØPray for great harvest of souls through this expected revival for the various ethnic  groups.

ØPray also for economic revival of the island to reduce despair and quality of life of the people.

ØPray for cultural transformation that will lead to godly values and righteous mind-set.

Ø Pray for the Island’s churches in Auckland and other New Zealand cities, to become more missional and reaching back to their homeland with the gospel.
(Adapted from Operation World)
 














Monday, 17 March 2014

Operation World Prayer Team
To Me
Today at 1:02 AM
WEC IVPress GMI
March 18 - Today we are praying for Brazil:


Brazil:

    Population: 195,423,252
    Largest religion: Christian
    Percent Evangelical: 26.3%
For prayer information on Brazil, visit the Operation World website and remember to:
    Pray for the specific country needs: Catholics in Brazil number more than in any other country. Please pray for true Christianity to reign in Brazil and that many will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM-POWERED BY JOB

  • Job Chapter 28 leads us through this beautiful narrative and we shall start with Job's question.
Verse 12 " But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?  It is interesting that a man like Job is the one leading this discussion. In Chapter 1:8, God boasted to Satan,"Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." He was also very wealthy-he was the greatest man among the people of the East. Job is obviously qualified to lead this discussion. 
  • In Verse 15 Job prepares his case, " It cannot be bought with the finest gold,nor can its price be weighed in silver."-Interesting!  Job was a very wealthy man so I thimk he knows what he is a talking about. Speaking from experience.
  • In Verse 17-18 Job strengthens his position, " Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,nor can it be had for jewels of gold. Coral and Jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies." Clever Job! He is rightly pricing wisdom.
  • In Verse 20 he repeats the question for greater emphasis and effect. "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
  • He lets the cat out of the bag! In Verse 23,28  " God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells ...And he said to man (if he cares to listen), the fear of the Lord -that is wisdom,and to shun evil is understanding." Whew!
May our Politicians, Professors of Science & Technology, New Age adherents,Humanists et al hear this. A word is enough for the wise. Did I say the wise?

Friday, 7 March 2014

IT IS GOD.

Job 13:15
" Though he slay me,yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."

Most Christians and some non-Christians are familiar with the trials of Job. He lost his sons and daughters,his wealth and other resources were wiped out . Finally his health was attacked and he was left with virtually nothing except his hope and confidence in the LORD. Reading through Job's discourses with his friends or when he addressed God, I noticed that at no particular time did Job accuse the devil of being the source of his trouble. In the text above as well as others in this glorious book, Job constantly directs his thoughts and recriminations about his pains at God and not the devil. Was he unaware of the devil's existence or his capacity to do evil and unleash troubles for man ?I believe he was!

Why then didn't he? Job knew that his life was so entwined and held together by God that nothing would have happened to him without God's knowledge and approval. Satan in his case was a mere agent/servant but the LORD was and still is the Master of the universe. In Matt.10:29-30,Jesus said that, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head is numbered (by God)."

Key Lesson:  Our victory will come sooner if we spend more energy and time appealing to the Supreme Judge and less time arguing with the devil and his agents ( 1 Samuel 1:10-11).



PLEASE PRAY FOR NATIONS


WEC IVPress GMI
March 07 - Today we are praying for Belgium:


Belgium:
    Population: 10,697,588
    Largest religion: Christian
    Percent Evangelical: 1.2%
For prayer information on Belgium, visit the Operation World website and remember to:
    Pray for the specific country needs: Leadership in the churches is a challenge. Please pray that spiritual leaders will emerge in the church and that Belgium will once again experience Holy Spirit's revival that will lead to the salvation of many.

SELF WORTH & VALUE


If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.
-Author Unknown

The Voice of a true Servant


Today at 3:06 AM
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People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
 
~ Mother Teresa