‘300’ – GIDEON? SPARTANS?

‘300’! Did anyone watch that movie? The movie where Spartacus starred fighting a legion with his 300 men! It was Awesome Action! It only reminds of Gideon in the bible, i honestly thought they stole the concept from the bible (lol... Wikipedia has more gist on the Spartans though). Interestingly, Gideon’s greatness just like Spartacus did not come over-nite.

When we observe highly skilled people, we can often forget that they didn’t start out that way. It took discipline and practice to reach a high level of proficiency.

Through faithfulness to God we are empowered to do His will, make Godly choices, exercise our faith, trust him for strength and advance the kingdom. Gideon in this case is a classic example and now we must examine  how God empowered Gideon (...well, i need those tips if you don’t: come-on, lets trample the enemy together) Judges 6 - 7:25

Lessons learnt from the stories of this GREAT, (if you like , MIGHTY) MAN OF VALOUR include the following (to mention a few):

-          Take Joy in the privilege of God’s call to serve him (answer the call; don’t put God on voicemail)

-          Affirm the need to look to God for resources & direction instead of ourselves or others

-          Serve God with expectations of Victory  

-          Use what God provides (strength-in-numbers doesn’t always work)

-          Triumph in God’s strength (even if it seems like an unusual battle plan)

I really wish leaders today, in church, family, secular environs would decide to step out & do what’s right even when out-numbered, ridiculed & despised or even persecuted. Gideon would not have experienced God’s power through him, missing the opportunity of being a co-labourer if he chickened-out on the call.

Not much was said of the ‘300’ besides their obedience & commitment but we need Godly leaders & followers to see that God’s plan for the church succeeds. Ephesians 4:11-16

Never underestimate what God can do with people that are faithful to him. He doesn’t need your ability but your availability. Answer his call Today & triumph in His strength. Become A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR!

 Step Out in God’s direction!

Personal Demons

Patricia, an excellent lead vocal in church, knew the blackness in her soul was beyond measure. The world has been unfair; life has been wicked. No parents, no money, no education, practicing corporate prostitution, a typical Lagos chic, a survivor: the Philosophy books only emphasized it as a temperamental default, bile; the 'darkness' in her soul was adjudged normal. Her heart wanted something else, something pure, lovely, true .She was through, her soul yearning for peace. Her personal demons of unforgiveness, despair, revenge, anger had to go! She chose to end it all, Yes Suicide was the answer.

Then the radio preacher started his usual Sunday sermon, his teaching from Psalm 85, A Prayer for Mercy...

                                     

"...Because of great mercy, God forgives the sins of those who call on him. The Book of Psalms, contains a collection of poetry, songs, and hymns primarily devoted to the worship and praise of God. Often reflecting the moral and spiritual challenges of human experience, the Psalms present numerous prayers for mercy, forgiveness, strength, and guidance. Among these, Psalm 85 presents a prayer for mercy against the backdrop of God’s forgiveness of past wrongs, concluding with a view toward His blessing that can provide assurance for believers and sinners alike.

                                   

Psalm 85 describes the spiritual journey taken by many believers, after which each man should be able to do the following:

1.                  Acknowledge the extent of God’s grace to forgive them for past wrongs.

2.                  Realize their dependence on God’s mercy and forgiveness.

3.                  Commit to a life of righteousness in order to receive God’s favour and blessing.

In the chorus of one the old hymns, the songwriter declared, “such love, such wondrous love, that God should love a sinner such as I; How wonderful is love like this!’’ There is no greater or higher expression of love than God’s willingness to forgive our sins and give us His blessings of grace, love, and favour. Such love is beyond understanding.

            Are you in deed, for the first time, of asking forgiveness of sins committed and being brought into a right relationship with God? Or is there need to be brought back to right relationship with Him? The beauty of grace is that He is ready to forgive you in this moment and bring you into right standing with Him.

            If you already know the Lord, be sure to take time this week to thank Him for His mercy toward you in the past and for the wonderful blessings of salvation that you enjoy…”

Patrica broke down in tears, knelt by her bed a read aloud the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), asked for forgiveness & revival from Jesus (Ps 85:6)…indeed He answered. Oh what peace she felt. Great is His Mercy, it endureth forever.

MOST WANTED???

If you could spend a day with anyone you wanted, who would it be? A music star, world leader, family or who??? According famecount.com, Eminem has surpassed Lady Gaga as the most-liked living artist on Facebook with 28,905,721 fans.

Just like the frenzied fans above, some of you might pick a famous person from the past they admire, family, anyone. We’d have varied responses, the actuality of which might be exhilarating, bittersweet or unforgettable.

But as Christians, do we ever consider the wonderful opportunity we have to spend everyday Abiding with God? Even my blackberry contests with Him for my time #sadly so#.  I still hear him yearning, desiring to have intimate communion with each of us. He’d really like us to conclude as the psalmist did, that a day in God’s courts is better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10)

Who is the Most Wanted in your life? What’s the importance of meeting with God? From personal experience, I’d say that God’s presence brings me Joy & strength. I simply download my thoughts, worries, queries, burdens, needs etc to his site and HE promptly sorts them out. He no doubt has the password & content management system codes to my life…#sounds great doesn’t#

Friends, we are pilgrims on planet earth, and whilst we traverse the difficult terrain (life’s issues), let the difficulties & discomfort turn-on your zeal & enthusiasm for God’s house/presence. Afterwards, you’d see how the dry places of your life will become springs.

Today I’ve decided to cut-down my time spent to movies, sleeping & pinging on my blackberry, rating myself on the following areas:

·       I desire to spend time in worshipping God both corporately and personally

·       My relationship with God is growing stronger. I find joy strength for living from God

·       I live each day with a sense of God’s presence with me and my greatest desire is to spend time with him   

JOIN ME ON THIS RESOLVE TO ABIDE WITH GOD.

MR WORRY

As i studied for sunday school this morning, my mind flashed back to certain days i had contemplated Suicide because of the worries of life. i even went ahead to write a suicide note http://berylehondor.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-suicide-note.html

In dealing with doubts , times of personal crisis. and praying through your troubles the book of psalms is often a place where people turn.These musical poems often put into words emotions we sometimes hesitate to admit we have or find difficult to express to God in prayer. DOUBT is one of these.

In Psalm 77, we can explore how to deal with doubt when we troubled. We can battle doubt through prayers by reminding ourselves of God’s goodness and desire for what is best for us. Like the psalmist, we can come to realize that we can have confidence that God loves us and is in control during our troubling times.

This week’s lesson explores the process of praying through our troubles leading us eventually to achieve the following:

1.       Recognize the importance of calling on God during times of trouble

2.       Confess their doubts to God without worrying that God will reject them

3.       Experience for themselves the blessing of meditating on God’s redemptive works

You can apply the principles learned in this lesson in three ways.

   1.       Call on God when you find yourself in trouble. Like the psalmist pray and keep on praying until you are sure

        God has heard you. Do not grow weary in seeking God’s help.

   2.       Don not be afraid to confess your doubt to God when you feel puzzled by your situation. He wants to hear from you

  3.       During the process, remember to meditate on God’s redemptive works in the past. Thininking about the good things God has done for believers through the ages can do a great deal to reas your doubts about God’s faithfulness

Remember God loves you and want what is best for you. Encourage yourself in the Lord by spending time in prayer, confessing your doubts and remembering all the things God has done, is doing, and will do in your life. That  is truly the way to to pray through your troubles. 

dADdY's LiTtLe GirL

"Na wa o! Which kind yeye oyibo im wan do sef?"....The neighbours just thought his actions were rather ridiculous and outlandish. What was he doing, you may ask? My Father in a bid to stop me (a toddler then) from getting messed up with sand in my grand-ma's compound, would tie me to his back with a wrapper and then ...(this is the ridiculous part)...then he would TIE HIS BELT ACROSS MY BACK TO HIS STOMACH to secure me from falling...lol...funny but touchy.

Touchy cause his action just exuded his depth of love for me (for that role is ordinarily a woman's) but he looked beyond himself for love-sake & is ever still involved in every detail of my Growth & Development. Wow! I just Love him.

Today's lesson talks of the Amazing Care of Our Creator. God is so intimately involved in caring for his people. So much so that David in the 139th chapter of his book of songs especially verse 17 expresses his depth of understanding & praises him for his care.

You will agree with me that the seemingly innovative TV trend of round-the-clock-observation & reality shows isn't original, GOD has been FULLY AWARE of You since before Time. Psalm 139 besides expressing gratitude & praise vividly illustrates two of God's attributes- Omni-Presence & Omniscience. So, no matter what we're facing (challenges & troubles), we can be sure God never loses sight of us, He knows your name, your need and that's just beautiful.

Today you must carefully take time to do the following:
--- Consider the extent of God's intimate knowledge of all parts of their lives
--- Take Comfort in knowing that God is always with them regardless of life's circumstances
--- Experience peace in the knowledge that God cares for them

Even if you try, dear friend, YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM GOD (so stop running, stop rejecting his love & enjoy his presence). Well, is that Comforting or Embarrassing?...lol...depends on how you see it...But hey, I’m not ashamed to say I’m Daddy's Girl...Where do you stand?

Sweetheart, even now having known God's intimate concern for us & setting our hearts right with him, we have a great opportunity to tell others about God's love and care; People everywhere desperately need to know God's personal love for them.

I'm Daddy's (God's) Little Girl and I’m not ashamed to share his love; Are you? Choose your path today!!!

ABC of Salvation

What gives you a sense of self worth? What makes you lovable?Questions about self-esteem are common today. People who have a realistic and positive view of themselves do better than those who are encouraged and critical of themselves.

In their quest for self-esteem people have sometimes lost their sense of direction. The Gospel that proclaims Jesus came to save people from sin seems to some like a judgement on their worth. In reality, it is an affirmation of value of every person to GOD.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is one of the most popular bible scriptures that both “Non-Christian and Christians” alike can easily quote, without the full understanding of what it really means and what God is saying.

Here, in this scripture are details and revelations that explain how simple it is to be saved. In this scripture is the simple direction, the ABC to get saved.

During much of Jesus’ ministry, large number people followed Him, to hear from Him, touch Him, see the various miracles He would perform and as for a few, tempt Him. Today’s Sunday school lesson tries to lay emphasis on the events that were recorded in the bible by Luke. It contrasts two people who wanted to see Jesus- Simon (self righteous man) and an unnamed woman (prostitute sinner).

Are there any similarities between Simon and the woman???

There are many questions that are to be asked in this lesson, some of which are best answered personally, to what’s in our hearts and mind. We must learn the attitudes of these two actors here, towards being close to Jesus and our hospitability towards him in our hearts.

The really question about this lesson that must be answered rhetorically is:

·        Are we Simon or the Sinful woman???

    ·       How do we treat those people we consider as sinners?

·        What are the barriers that keep people from trusting Jesus for Salvation?

·        How can we show our love for Jesus for the forgiveness he has shown us?

·        What does God really want from us?

God has made loads of provisions for our redemption, through the blood of His son and through faith in His word. God sent His son into the world to save the lost. Each of us need to first believe in His word, then we can gain life eternal and then we now boast of been Christians. We need to consider our faith in Christ for salvation and guard our hearts, least we take his grace for granted.

Guard your heart; Appreciate God’s wondrous Grace,his forgiveness and express our love and gratitude to the Saviour (JESUS) daily.

bLiNd OnLy PlEaSe...Shine Ur Eye!

A Friend of mine told me this story. "God has given me a friend who lost his sight when he was about 12 years old or so. Craig Nelson and I have spent a fair bit of time together, especially in our travels to India and Africa. Observing Craig’s response to his own blindness has been a great inspiration to me, and watching people of the Third World relate to Craig has greatly enhanced my appreciation for our text. 

When Craig and his friend landed at the airport in Delhi a few years ago, their first task was to go through customs. The experience there was unlike anything they have gone through anywhere else in the world that I have visited. We were led to a large metal building (something like a storage building, but with no air conditioning) which served as the “overseas terminal” and customs area. We were questioned by a customs official who asked all the standard questions. Suddenly, it dawned upon him that Craig was handicapped in some way. In his British accented English he asked me, “Is he a sick man?” Craig responded, “I’m blind.” From that point on, the customs official would not speak directly to Craig. He spoke only to me, even when the question pertained to Craig. For all intents and purposes, Craig was not regarded as a person—at least not by this fellow."

The people never interact socially, never nod, never say “Hello” or “Thanks” or “Pardon me.” The simple fact is that the blind are, without question and without exception, beggars. There are so few laws, if any, which prescribe and protect the rights of the blind. There are no Braille buttons on elevators (at least that I ever saw); there is no special handicapped status. The blind are almost completely ignored. As it is in the Third World today, so it was in Jesus’ day. John 9: 1-41

Today's, TOPIC, Faith To See. It goes beyond our need for physical sight, but it also the need for spiritual sight. You will also find that the FOCUS of the lesson today is on the importance of spiritual sight and trust Jesus for clear vision of who He is. The CENTRAL TRUTH is through faith in Christ, we gain spiritual sight.


Now the lesson proper:
People tend to ask questions to try to determine why someone is having troubles. However, these questions are more often than not looking to assign blame, not to try to figure out how the trouble can be addressed. This only Qualifes us all as Blind People. Somehow, being able to blame someone or something seems to make it easier for us to deal with feelings such situations cause.  Jesus wanted to teach his disciples to understand it is more important to remove evil than to explain it.

In this case, the man’s lifelong inability to see was an opportunity for God’s work on two levels:

• By healing him, Jesus could show he was truly doing the work of God (John 9: 3 & 4). He could show God’s love for individuals in need.

• Even of greater importance is that through this man’s healing, Jesus could illustrate the sharp difference between those who were spiritually blind and those who had received spiritual sight.  The neighbours were blinded by his past & the pharisees were blinded by religion.  A classic case of the Blind leading the blind.

We often suffer from limited vision also. We see what we expect to see, physically and spiritually. It may be hard for us to see through God’s eyes, because we may have limiting beliefs about what is possible.

Christians today are reaching out to the lost on every continent. Through aid groups, they even meet needs in countries that forbid evangelism. Jesus healed this man’s sight, but that was not His end goal. Meeting physical needs can prepare a person to respond to God.

As Christ’s body, we should do work that He (God) did. Nevertheless, Jesus’ main concern was not physical. He gave sight to the blind so He could also bring spiritual sight to many. Jesus paired healing with new spiritual sight.

Our own lack of need can blind our eyes. If we are satisfied with our lives and our own goodness, we are blind to our real spiritual condition. Jesus said, "I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.  If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty." (John 9:39 & 41 TEV)

Things are different today. The line is drawn. There are those who know they need God and are willing to trust Jesus for clear vision. Moreover, there are those who will continue in spiritual blindness because they refuse to acknowledge their need for the light of the world.

To which of the above-mentioned group do you belong dear blind friend? Do you still need to carry with you the white stick indicating your blindness or will you acknowledge like the Healed blind man? “Who is He, Lord that I may believe in Him?” (John 9:35).

Through Faith in Christ we gain Spiritual sight giving us a clear vision of Who Christ really is and how much of our lives he can transform.

Shine your Eye Today! See Jesus & have Him Restore You!

DESPERATE TIMES CALLS FOR DESPERATE MEASURES

TOPIC:                             FAITH BORN OF  DESPERATION

MEMORY VERSE:             MARK 9:23 "Jesus said to him, 

                                        If thou canst believe, all 

                                        things are possible to him that 

                                         believeth.

 

FOCUS:                           To reframe desperation as a 

                                         catalyst for faith and grow in 

                                         our ability to trust God.

What is the worst problem you can imagine? A dying loved one? An epidemic? War? What problem seems so big that nothing touches it?

How do you feel when you think about this problem? Depressed? Hapless? Angry? We can be paralyzed with fear. Unable to act, we don’t know how to go on.

Such problems can be reframed in a way that increases faith. If we see God as the One who has power in impossible situations, our trust in Him grows.

 

Looking at the story of Centurion, he acknowledged Jesus’ authority by:

1.     He approached Jesus with humility

2.    He also showed that he knew that Jesus had the power to do something about his problem

3.    He understood that Jesus had real power over all of God’s creation.

Jesus was amazed by this Gentile man’s faith (Matthew 8:10)

When we really trust God, we believe that He has the power heal us, but we must also trust Him to do what is best if He does not heal us. Our despair can lead us into a closer relationship with Jesus. This close relationship can help us live through terrible times as well as overcome them.

It is not our perfect faith the brings healing but God’s power, when we trust God enough to ask Him in prayer (Mark 9:28,29).

 

The woman in Matthew 15, believe Jesus could heal her child. Yet she also knew that her background should cause her not to expect help from a Jew. 
But she was so desperate that she sought Jesus’ help anyway. Her desperation was a catalyst to her faith.

Sometimes, the delays to answers to our prayers may be because:

a.    The spiritual condition of our heart

b.    The straitening of our faith

c.    God’s timing

But we should remember that a time of despair is an opportunity to understand who God really is.

ACTION PLAN

Are there problems which seem so hopeless that you don’t even dare to ask God? As they come to your mind, don’t dismiss them. Write the problems down and begin to make them part of your prayer.
 

Today, make a list of your resources for prayer. Who is willing to pray with you? With whom could you share your problems? Now is the time to begin to approach God about these stubborn problems. We need others to pray with us. They also need us.

 

Who in your community may be in despair, in need to God’s help? As a class, brainstorm ways to reach these people. As an individual, figure out some way to reach out to help those who are in need.