THOSE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD pt 1

I was admiring the achievement of a sister in Christ and at the same time challenged when the scripture Daniel 11:32 ("... but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.") crept into my heart and has stayed.

It was an answer to an unsaid question," why can't I?"

Then the Holy Spirit opened my heart to the following truth, which i will share in the next few weeks.

Daniel 11 showed clearly that our knowledge of God will be known or tested in the face of temptation, persecution, affliction etc. just as light is valuable in darkness. Just like the 10 virgins, we are all natural carriers of the Light of God. We have been empowered with the lamp but we have the responsibility to fuel it and keep the fire burning.

How we keep burning for God is in our knowledge of Him.

What it means to know God?

I needed to ask myself this question and these 5 answers were what I got from Daniel 11:32 in various Bible versions.

1) Commitment

Daniel 11: 32(MSG)

...but those who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand.

To know God means to be committed to Him. Commitment means to stay (be rooted) in God. This means we must be committed to the word, to prayer and to fasting. We must be committed to fellowshipping with God. It's an investment of time and resources to build a relationship with God. It's very profitable too.

2) Courage 

To know God means courage to stand in the face of opposition. Courage to have faith (believe) in God despite the reality.

3) Loyalty

Loyalty means to give or show firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. 

Knowing God means to give firm and constant support to the things of God. Regardless of our situation, condition or position in life, we must remain loyal like Apostle Paul...when we have plenty and when we have nothing.

...to be continued...

WELCOME TO 2016: HOW TO STAND WITH GOD

I am delighted to welcome you to Year 2016. I have had this surge of excitement for this New Year since last year August. I cannot explain why but I believe it’s because what the Lord is set to do this Year is way beyond us. By the end of the year we will be dazed by the goodness of God over our lives.

CONVICTED OR CONDEMNED

The summary of what you are about to read is that God loves you so much whether you love Him in return by words or by deed. Continue reading if you want to hear more about the Love of God. 

God Wants You To Prosper

One of the ways the devil has robbed us of our benefits as a disciple of Jesus is that until we become poor we cannot be righteous, holy or bring pleasure to God. Someone once said affirmatively that there are people that are like Christ living in this world (yes I agree) but they are only found in the villages where there is no civilization and they live in penury (I disagree).

You can live in the city and be righteous. You can be rich and be holy. You can be wealthy and be like Jesus. 

THE EXEMPLARY YOUTH

For the cycle of man's fleeting life, like the cycle of the revolving year, has its succession of seasons -- its springtime of childhood, its summer of youth, its autumn of maturity, and its winter of old age. The season of youth is a very glad and glorious time. It has all the freshness of spring and all the fertility of summer. Yet it is a season of great and frequent perils (Bible Illustrator NT).

Youthfulness is accompanied by vigor and vision which is an attractive tool for the enemy (devil). For this reason we fight battles with the devil that we cannot afford to lose because at the old age when we would realize that all is vanity, we would no longer have the strength neither the vision(Acts 2:17).

FRIENDS

We are influenced by our friends, even more than our families, probably because we spend more time with friends than with family as we grow up. I assume this is why an adage says “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”, and not “show me your family”. Our lifestyle is defined by the company we keep. Therefore it is paramount that we chose our friends wisely. Our friends don’t choose us but we chose them. It is our choice to

REPENTANCE

I was just wandering why I kept doing the things I had never wanted to do again because after doing those things, I feel unattractive to the Grace of God.

I have been thought that determination will not do the magic but only Grace could set me free from this ‘thing’ that easily entangles me. Only Grace could set me free from self righteousness. Only Grace could take me to the everlasting realm I longed to live through holiness and refined righteousness.

So I began to consciously look out for Grace. I thought that Grace was a knowledge I needed to attain. I tried to apply the principle of Grace. I forgot that Grace is a function of the Spirit and not of the flesh. I tried to apply Grace to my human reasoning but I ended up becoming my own grace. The inevitable result was that I got more entangled.

If you have ever felt this way, you are not an alien.

If All Men were like Joseph

Joseph, the husband of Mary.

It sometimes seems like Joseph gets swept aside in the story of the Nativity. Mary and Jesus are the main characters, and Joseph seems to have gotten the supporting role. Yet, as I have studied Mary this last year, and Jesus Christ's interactions with women, the more my appreciation for Joseph has grown. He exemplifies every good trait that you could want in a husband, a father, and in a man. I know so many good, good men who are a lot of like Joseph, but I also know that there are so many women in the world who suffer because of the bad choices of men. So as I've thought about Joseph I've found myself wishing that ALL men were like him and here is why.

A Secret to Marriage for Life

We didn't talk for two days after I wrote about him. Them. It wasn't because he wouldn't but because he couldn't.

"I know it's all true because I've lived it," he quivers, "but it's still hard to believe when you see it in writing." My words are a mirror to their lives, an undistorted reflection of what I've observed for over 30 years.

At 75, he and his bride still hold hands. At times I've seen them look at each other, with grins telling secrets, eyes sizzling. Their son ignored it because — gross — but I thought it was amazing.

Marriage is a hard thing, and untended, it will cool.

I want heat.

Even the most blistering of fires will eventually dwindle to ash if not fed. 

Give me flames.

When I wrote about my father-in-law, apparently I poked a bear. Not a mean grumpy grizzly, but more along the lines of Pooh — not exactly a willy, nilly, silly old bear, but sweet nevertheless. With all manner of deference, he suggested a different title (his, based on a poem he penned 25 years ago, is better) and that I might want to rethink my choice of words in one spot (because I "might present myself better"), so I did.

How To Choose The Right Life Partner

The most puzzling question for most singles is "Who should I marry?" especially when you have lists to chose from. It is only at such time that most of us suddenly become spiritual just to be able to hear the voice of God say "Tola…lagbaja is your husband" #LOL.

It really doesn't work that way.

Would you leave your job to promote Christ?...A Woman did just that in the US

Linda Barnette has issued marriage licenses in Grenada County, Missisipi for 24yrs. On Tuesday June 30th, she resigned rather than issue gay marriage licenses, writing in her letter of resignation;

Jesus will travel any road to find you...

Michelle McKinney Hammond shared on her IG an extract from book 'The Shack'.

The Shack is a Christian novel by Canadian author William P. Young, a former office manager and hotel night clerk, published in 2007.

What are you missing?

A few summers ago, my son, Mark, was working at a family camp. While the mountains were breathtaking, the friends were plentiful, and the food was every teenager's dream, he missed home. Not horribly — but just enough to tug on the vulnerable places of his heart.

I knew he needed some sweet comfort from home. So, I packaged up some things he needed and a few things I knew would make him happy and sent my gift of love.

After a few days, I kept wondering when I'd get a text message from him with smiles and thank you's and "Wow! You're the best mom ever." A girl can dream right?

But no text message came.

Sometimes it can be morally necessary for parents to separate - Pope Francis

Pope Francis says it may be "morally necessary" for some troubled families to split up so that the weaker partner or the children can be protected. He said this today June 24th while addressing Catholic faithfuls ahead of a global meeting on family life in October. He said;

Happy Christian Women's Week!!!

Dear Christian Women,

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IT IS CHRISTIAN WOMEN WEEK AND YOU SHOULD SHARE THIS WITH ALL BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN WOMEN.

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ  that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living. I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

Always Look for the Light

When I was a young single woman searching for a job, Kentucky wasn't even on my radar. I figured it was mostly rural. Horse farms. Fried chicken in a red-and-white bucket. Hillbillies.

Clearly I didn't know the Bluegrass State, and I definitely didn't know the Lord. But He knew me. Knew where I needed to be, knew what was best for me.

    "The Lord knows those who are His." {2 Timothy 2:19}

When a job offer came, I moved to Kentucky in the darkness of winter, figuring I'd be there six months, tops. Even as I unpacked boxes, I plotted my exit. Big City Miss Ruth Ann wasn't about to call the rolling hills and hollers of Kentucky home.

Then spring came.

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

I received this and thought to share...

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said,  "How do I know if I married the right person?" I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?"Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.Here's the answer. EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love... Because it's happening TO YOU.

5year old boy touched 11 people's lives through the love of Christ.

How heartwarming is this? 5 year old Josiah Duncan (pictured with his mum) brought brought a group of Waffle House diners to tears when he asked his mother to buy dinner for a homeless man he saw outside - and then sang a blessing with him at the table.

Ava Faulk said her son wouldn't stop asking her questions when he spotted a disheveled man holding a bag with his bike outside the restaurant in Prattville. When Faulk explained the man was homeless, little Josiah asked 'What does that mean?'  Faulk told Josiah that it meant he didn't have a home, to which her son responded, 'Where is his house? Where is his family? Where does he keep his groceries?'

3 Excuses Keeping You from Making a Difference

Apart from an active faith in God's sovereignty and grace, it's easy to throw up our hands and adopt a "What's the use?" mentality. If it's going to be so hard to make really significant improvements, what does it matter if things deteriorate a little further?

This sort of faithless attitude could apply to the "house" that is our life, or the "house" that's the regular environment in which we live and work. We could all come up with lots of good reasons to remain passive. The problems seem too numerous, and many seem too large. You see yourself as one little person, in one little place, at one little moment in time, and it just doesn't seem logical that you could make any difference at all. To be specific, let me propose three arguments that we all tend to make at one time or another that keep us passive and uninvolved.

Teen revived after 20 minutes with no pulse said he saw Jesus

A 17-year-old Texas high school student claims he saw Jesus after he collapsed in gym class and was without a heartbeat for 20 minutes. Zack Clements suffered sudden cardiac arrest at Victory Life Academy on May 5 and was unresponsive. But just as doctors were about to declare him dead after 20 minutes, he revived.