Abandon: Materialism

At some point we all think about what we have. We also tend to think about what we don’t have; the list of “don’t haves” is most likely as long, if not longer, than what we have. This isn’t exactly a bad thing unless our thinking drives us to the point of materialism.

Dictionary.com defines materialism as a "preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values." New Oxford English Dictionary defines materialism as " a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than Spiritual values" .This definition highlights the struggle we all face with the relationship between physical and spiritual things. We often feel as though we have to choose one or the other. Thankfully, to avoid materialism, we don’t have to.

Abandoning materialism happens when we acknowledge God as the source of all that we have and work to manage what we've been given well. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (NIV) There is nothing wrong with what we have or don’t have. The question is, what are we doing or not doing with what God has blessed us with?

Prayer: 
Our Father, the giver of all good and perfect gifts, we ask you to give us wisdom to manage well the things that You have entrusted to us. May we, both give and receive, with a thankful heart. May others experience Your love and grace in their lives because of what you are doing in and through us.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Written by Brian Price

Posted by Kachi

Lying? ( white lies, yellow lies, flowery lies)

It was just a little white lie. Really? Is there such a thing? Some lies hold bigger consequences than others, but a lie is a lie. What about a half-truth? Well, isn't a half-truth really a lie? After all, you really don't know which half you are getting. Some people think that lying is OK as long as it doesn't hurt anyone or it is OK as long as it helps someone. This is the very trap of lying. People deceive themselves into only thinking about the moment and don't give much thought as to how that lie can snowball into a bigger problem. 

The bible says God hates and cannot tolerate liars! I don't know about you but i want my life to be pleasing to God. I want to be one of the reasons He has a smile on His face. I want Him to look down from heaven and be happy He created me. 

Lies i have realized are very tempting, it saves us stress,helps to save the situation,saves us from the possible consequences of the truth,gets us out of trouble. Its always a quick fix but as tempting as it is,God hates it!

We all need grace where lying is concerned even the holiest of us. Even Peter who had being walking with Jesus fell into this temptation. Peter who had such a great relationship with God. Jesus had warned Peter earlier that he would deny Him but that He was praying for Peter to rise above that temptation. Jesus went ahead of Peter in prayer so that Peter may overcome.

We need to make a decision to stop lying and ask God to walk with us on this journey to overcome. We need Gods grace to be able to do this. Lets pray ahead for Gods grace and strength to overcome any temptation to lie. Lets not forget that the devil is the father of Lies ( the white lies, flowery lies, yellow lies and half-truths),devils desire is to get us to 

Check out what God says about lying in the scriptures;

 Then keep from speaking evil and from telling lies. (Psalm 34:13 GNT)

There are seven things that the Lord hates and cannot tolerate: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people, a mind that thinks up wicked plans, feet that hurry off to do evil, a witness who tells one lie after another, and someone who stirs up trouble among friends. (Proverbs 6:16-19 GNT

The Lord hates liars, but is pleased with those who keep their word. (Proverbs 12:22 GNT)

No more lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:25 GNT)

Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourself. (James 1:26 GNT)

Because God gives him victory, the king will rejoice. Those who make promises in God's name will praise him, but the mouths of liars will be shut. (Psalm 63:11 GNT)

If you tell lies in court, you will be punished—there will be no escape. (Proverbs 19:5 GNT)

Written by Kachi

Ideas for writeup from lifechurch

Courage to Confront ( from Daniel 4)

At this, Daniel, who is also called Belteshazzar, was so alarmed that he could not say anything. The king said to him, “Belteshazzar, don't let the dream and its message alarm you.” Belteshazzar replied, “Your Majesty, I wish that the dream and its explanation applied to your enemies and not to you. (Daniel 4:19 GNB

It took great courage for Daniel to stand up to the king because he could have been killed for telling the truth. Daniel stood up to the king and confronted him about his sin. Confrontations are not easy for many people. In fact, most people fall into two extremes when it comes to confronting those who are doing wrong. They’re either unwilling to confront, or their confrontation comes across as unloving.

There’s probably someone in your life you need to confront about their wrongdoing. Maybe it’s a person at work that claims Christ, but curses all the time, tells dirty jokes, or looks lustfully at women. Maybe it’s a kid at your school who goes to youth group, but parties on the weekend and cheats on their tests. Maybe it’s a friend who is full of spiritual talk, yet is verbally abusive to their family.

When you confront someone about their sin, don’t go to one of the two extremes, but instead prayerfully confront them. To do this, there are two things you should pray before you confront. The first is, “God, help me confront with the goal of restoration.” The second is, “God, help me confront with caution.”

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: Who do I need to confront? How will I confront them in a prayerful way?

What Do You Stand For? Gods Standards or the Worlds ( focus Daniel 5.)

King Belshazzar, you knew all this, but you still refused to honour the Lord who rules from heaven. The words written there are mene, which means “numbered”, tekel, which means “weighed”, and parsin, which means “divided”. God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be king. So God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians. (Daniel 5:22, 25-28 CEVUK00)

Belshazzar didn’t learn from the mistakes of his father. Instead of standing for God like Nebuchadnezzar did in the later days of his life, Belshazzar decided to stand for himself and his own pride. He put himself and other idols before God. Belshazzar was measured by God and came up short. Over time, Belshazzar loosened his standards to the point where he didn’t think twice about defaming God’s people by using their goblets.

What do you stand for? In today’s culture it seems more people stand for the wrong things than those that stand for what God says is right. What standards are you using to measure your actions? Are you using God’s standards or the world’s? When you use the standards of the world as your sliding scale to measure your actions, you’ll often find yourself doing things you shouldn’t, and justifying your actions. Maybe the movies and television shows you watch and the music you listen to may be acceptable to the world’s standards, but are they to God’s? Maybe the type of language you use is acceptable to the world, but is it to God? Take an extensive inventory of your actions today and see what you really stand for. If you were to be measured by God today, would you come up lacking?

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: If God were to measure my actions and my heart, how would He rate me? What’s one thing I will stop doing today that does not meet God’s high standards?

Can Your Faith Handle the Fire? ( Focus on Daniel 3)

From the story of Daniel

At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered the three men to be brought before him. He said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you refuse to worship my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have set up? Now then, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, oboes, lyres, zithers, harps, and all the other instruments, bow down and worship the statue. If you do not, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Do you think there is any god who can save you?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, “Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:13-18 GNB)

The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was so deeply rooted in God that it enabled them to boldly stand tall and against the crowd when everyone else bowed. They knew the fate the king had in store for them as a result of their stand for God, but they were willing to put their faith to the test. A faith that’s tested by fire is a faith that can be trusted. Think about your life for a moment. Can your faith handle the fire you’re enduring? Maybe you’re enduring unanswered prayer, the loss of a loved one, or betrayal by another. These types of situations can rock the foundation of our faith and put our faith to the fire.

When you find your faith being tested by fire, there are three things to remember. First, obey God’s commands instead of man’s expectations. The king and his people expected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to bow, but instead they followed God’s command and stood tall. The second thing to remember is to believe God’s truth instead of the facts. The facts were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would be killed if they didn’t bow, but God’s truth said they would not be harmed for standing up for Him. Finally, believe God. Don’t just believe in God.

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: How is my faith being tested by fire? What’s one thing I can do today to help me endure the fire with courage?

Nothing Intimidates God.

     

 

No matter what difficult situation you may be facing today, God can turn it around! The doctors may have told you there's no hope. Your bank account may be empty and thecreditors knocking on the door. There may be trouble in your family or on your job. You may have a loved one in prison. Your problems may be stacked so high, you feel like you can never overcome them. But don't let the devil fool you! He has never devised a problem that faith in God can't fix! Nothing intimidates God!

Its just as easy for God to heal a cancer as it is for Him to heal a headache. It is as easy for Him to buy you a new home as it is for Him to pay your rent.

Think about that! If you'll dare to believe God's word, you can have light in the midst of a dark world. You can have protection in the midst of a dangerous world. You can live healed in the midst of a sick world. You can live prosperousin the midst of an impoverished world. You can live free in the midst of a captive world.

But you can't do it by dragging around in an attitude of defeat.

If you want to walk in constant victory, you must develop a spirit of faith and persevere when the devil is putting pressure on you.

Faith believes God's word just because God said it- whether natural circumstances seem to agree or not. That means if you want to maintain a spirit of faith in the area of healing, you must start by getting your Bible and finding out what God has said about healing. Then you must choose to receive that word as the truth. Then say it! Say, "The word says healing belongs to me and I believe it!" keep putting the word in your heart day after day until faith rises up within you and your body begins to line up with that word.

People with the spirit of faith always receive the blessings of God. They may go through test and trials, but they come out victorious everytime.

I like those odds, don't you? I like to beat the devil everytime. And glory to God, we can do it if we'll walk continually in the spirit of faith.

Keep faith stirred up. Get your expectancy up and out there ahead of where you are now. Dare to believe God. It won't shake Him up, NOTHING INTIMIDATES GOD!!!

 

 

Written by:

Gloria Copeland;

Pursuit of His Presence.

Posted by Mis Lin

None of These Things Move Me

If you want to Rob persecution of every last scrap of its power, adopt the attitude Paul had in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. He wasn't concerned about the pressure he was experiencing down here on earth. And, believe me, he was under tremendous pressure.

He'd probably laugh at us talking about persecution these days, we've had so little of it.

Paul's thoughts weren't centered on his natural life. He was thinking about the eternal weight of Glory. He was looking ahead to spending eternity in the presence of Jesus. So he didn't grow weary, he didn't faint under persecutions, tribulations or threats. In fact, in Acts 20:24 he said, "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy."

Once you adopt that attitude, the devil won't be able to control you at all. He won't be able to find any persecution that will stop you. You'll have your eyes so fixed on running your race and finishing your course, you won't even pay any attention to his junk. Instead of fussing and fuming over all the ugly things people are saying about you, you'll be busy looking forward to the day when you will stand face to face with Jesus and hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

 

Written By:

Gloria Copeland ;

Pursuit of His Presence.

Posted by Mis Lin

The Submissive Bride

The submissive bride:We are the bride of Christ.

What does it mean to be submissive? It means to always be willing to obey someone. The bible tells us that wives MUST submit to their husbands so that your conduct would win over your husband to believe in Christ.

A few weeks back, on my way home from work, I got into a bus and just as the vehicle was about to move a woman started preaching, she didn't exactly have any topic or focus area, but among the many things she said I got this; "we are the bride of Christ and we must be submissive." it got me thinking, the bible says wives must be submissive and husbands must love their wives, Christ obviously loves me but am I doing enough as a bride of Christ? We all as Christians make up "The Bride" so perhaps I'm one of the fingers or one of the arms that make up "The Bride" am I functioning properly on the bride or am I a broken arm or an infected finger (the effects of sin) that needs to be replaced or cut off?

Submission to Christ can never be over emphasised, that's the only way we can make it in this life, that's the only way we can gain eternal life. After all is said and done what's most important in our lives is Gods will for us, Gods will can not be done in your life if you are not willing to obey him. Are you ready to be the bride you were chosen to be? Are you ready to obey Christ's every instructions? Are you ready to accept Christ as your groom? As the love of your life? Receive Jesus today, believe in Him, trust and obey Him and above all things love Him. These days are not the days of compromise, we must stick to our faith no matter what! Jesus is coming soon, Bride of Christ will you be ready when He comes?

 

Please say this short prayer with me, "Dear Lord, I give myself to you, I believe in your only begotten son JesusChrist, I believe He died on the cross of Calvary to save me, I accept Him as my Lord and my saviour, I will love you Jesus, everyday of my life till you return to get me, I will wait in love, patience and faith, I will depend on your word, your mercy and your grace which I believe is sufficient for me. Jesus I trust in you, Jesus I love you, now and forevermore;Amen."

Standing Out not Blending in ( lessons from the story of Daniel 1)

Please read Daniel chapter 1  for better understanding 

We live in a world that’s much like Daniel’s, where culture is trying to train our minds to think, behave, and believe like the rest of the world. It trains us to lower our standards. However, you can’t live passively as a follower of Christ in today’s world. You need to take a stand like Daniel did.

The world calls you to blend in. Daniel and his friends could have blended in with the rest of the young Israelites, but if they had done so, nothing historic would have happened. God can and will use you like Daniel, but only if you take a stand and stand out from the rest of the world. Those who have the courage to stand out inspire others. Why spend your life trying to fit in when you were born to stand out? Wouldn’t you rather be remembered for standing out than forgotten for blending in?

Daniel didn’t go before the king begging and pleading with him to spare his life, but rather he stood before the king with boldness and confidence. Daniel had full confidence in God’s ability, and knew that He could do anything, even interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar.

When you take a stand for God, do so with boldness and confidence. No matter how difficult the situation is, don’t let your fears guide you. Instead, let your confidence in God guide you to take a stand. God will never let you down when you take a stand for Him, even in the darkest of situations.

Boldness is behavior born out of belief. It’s a belief that God is who He says He is. Next time you take a stand for God, do so with boldness. Your boldness will be a light into the world. It’s time to stand out.

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: How am I guilty of trying to blend in? What’s one way I need to take a stand for my faith in Christ? How and when will I do it?

Written by Craig Groeschel

Posted by Kachi