Stewards

Today is Sunday and we had a sermon on stewardship, it was more or less an introduction to the theme of the year which is growing in Life Stewardship. The key scripture for the theme is drawn form Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
   the world, and all who live in it (NIV)
In the sermon, the pastor referred to key events where God gave stewardship to man, The first to Adam and the second to Noah after the flood.


Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (NIV ,emphasis mine)


Genesis 9:1-2 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. ²The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands(NIV,emphasis mine)


Lessons from the two events is that God always blessed, before he gave them the role of taking care of His creation. Both of this two men had pleased and had God's favor prior to their blessings. Adam from the fact of been created in God's image and Noah due to his obedience.


The rest of Psalm 24, kind lay out the preconditions to be blessed of God and been His stewards:


 ³ Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
   Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
   who does not trust in an idol    or swear by a false god.^[a] (NIV ,emphasis mine)


What will happen to them?
 ⁵ They will receive blessing from the LORD 
   and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
   who seek your face, God of Jacob.^[b][c] (NIV ,emphasis mine)

The Work Place

Day 3
Oops, i have missed a day...

Today's Scripture readings: Genesis 2 0:1 - 22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22


Genesis 20:1-22:24, is the story of Abraham living in the land of the philistines where God fulfilled the promise of giving him a soon. i think the most famous sections of this passage are when Abimelech took Sarah, when Issac was born, when God provided water for Ishmael, when Abraham obeyed God and choose to sacrifice his son.God will always watch over us and all that He has given us when we are faithful to Him, regardless of who or what opposes us, we can always have that assurance that at the end we shall triumph. Abraham prospered in a foreign land, was respected and feared because God was favoring him in all He does, walking with God will enable us triumph in our work places and business regardless of what opposition we may face.

We should not sacrifice our relationship with God, as we seek progress in business or career, we should always be ready to give all for Him, many loose their faith to keep their jobs, Abraham choose to give up his only son, so he could obey His God, he received him back from God so to speak with even more confirmation of what great things God intended for him, we today are beneficiaries of this act of faith. Lets not neglect our walk with God for anything.

A key phrase of this passage should be "In the mountain of the LORD it will be provided", most true, most accurate statement of all times, what we want, it will be provided at the mountain of God. There is that psalm that talk of them who can stay/stand in the mountain of God, i will check it out later.(I got it :) psalm 15).

Matthew 7:15-29, i guess i am been biased in the way i look at the passages, as mainly because i want to relate them to the theme of prayers today which is the work place. The first part of the passage is a warning against false prophets, Jesus said the only way to tell bad from good is looking at the fruits, i want to relate this to many persons who may give your counsel on how to about your job or business, they may be well intention  but are their fruits good? do they walk with the lord? on the the flip side are we in the work places true or false prophets, lets ask God to help us that in all that we do, that we shall be true to His word and we represent Him well.

Finally the passage says, it will do us a lot  good to practice His words (i think in context here of the sermon on the mount), i think it will be really nice if we were to look at the sermon on the mount with specific to our conduct at the work place.

Psalm 9:1-12, It is a call to sing praise to Him, He has overcome our enemies, it is also a call to trust Him more, for He is  a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Even as we pray, we will have the confidence that He has vanquished  our enemies, and given us victory.

Proverbs 2:16-22, it continues to extol the benefit of wisdom and retaining the word of God, it will keep us in the right path and save us from harm, it ensure our permanent blessings while the evil ones will perish. lets then pray that God will help us walk in wisdom and also pray that those we work with/for will too find the way of truth and follow it with all diligence.

DAY 3 January 11, 2012
Genesis 2 0:1 - 22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22
Workplace
• Pray for colleagues, and the organization you work for
• Pray for the your colleagues by name
• Pray for those that do not know the Lord that they would know Him
• Pray for those who know the Lord that they would be salt and light to others (Matt 5:13-16)
• Pray for the prosperity of your organization (Gen 39:2)
• Pray that ungodliness will be uprooted in your organization
• Repent for the sins committed and any kind of injustices in your organization

Praying for the family

Second day, i feel tired and have that thought, if only i could watch a movie... That aside today was a good day, but last night was wow, just after reading that He is the One who sees me, and getting so encouraged in knowing that God will be with me, i got good news as long time client emailed and requested for a meeting.. it seems i getting out of the woods and i am so grateful to the One who sees me. Today was a great day, full of hope because of Him, been my God, been there for me in love and compassion, i am so grateful to my God for helping me come this far.

Today is set to be a prayer day for the family.

Scripture readings : Genesis 18:16 - 19:38, Matthew 6:25 - 7:14, Psalm 8:1-9, Proverbs 2:6-15


Genesis 18:16-19:38, This is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and their destruction. The major lesson in relation to the prayer items of the day is the power of intercession. Abram interceded for the righteous in the cities not to be destroyed with the wicked. Through His intercession, God had mercy on Lot and his family that they were saved from the destruction. We have a responsibility to intercede for our family through prayer and also through Godly living. If the cities had some righteous people (10), the cities would have been spared, if we live Godly lives, God will also deliver our families, our cities and our countries because He will remember us, hence spare them. V20 says "So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived (NIV)"


Matthew 6:25-7:14, The passage start by telling us that we should not be worried about anything, but we should commit all things to God. Despite what could be happening in your family, do not worry about it, but take this time to present it before God in prayer. It also encourages us to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness and that all things will be added to us, as we pray for our families, we should especially pray that all the family members will be righteous and men and women after God's heart, for after we all attain this, the all other things we need, be it peace, love, wealth, health, children etc will be added to us. So the major prayer item we should always have for our family is that we should be right with God.

Lastly it encourages us to ask, seek, and knock, with the assurance that God will hear and answer us. It gives the example of parents who always grants the requests of their children, it assures us that despite all things, God will assuredly answer our plea. This will give us the assurance as we approach Him, in prayer.

Psalm 8:1-9, This passage recognizes the majesty of God and how He has blessed us, Indeed as we go to pray for our families, we should not forget to thank and praise God in recognition of this far He has brought us. Everyone of us have something to be grateful for, no matter how difficult life has been, God has been with us, that why we are not yet crushed, that why we can still read and write this. He's been good to us, and we need to recognize His power and majesty as we approach in prayer, let our hearts be full of praise and adoration. This will also help boost our faith, Knowing He is so capable and that He has been with us in the past.

Proverbs 2 : 6-15, The benefits of been good far out weights the benefits of been evil if any. God will uphold the upright, giving them victory. Lets our prayers be also prayers for God to give us wisdom and His knowledge for then we shall be guided into His ways. He shall be a shield to us if our walk is blameless, He will guard our course if we are just and will protect our way if we are faithful. Indeed we should pray for this wisdom, because after we have it ⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just  and fair—every good path. ¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,   and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,  and understanding will guard you (NIV From Bible Gateway).

One of the lesson i am getting from this is, i ought to pray so much for me and my family, to be right with God primarily and for all other needs secondarily, whatever i ask in His name, i am assured He will give, and that i should not worry or be anxious of anything, but bring all to Him.

The Prayer Items for the day: 

DAY 2 January 10, 2012
Genesis 18:16 - 19:38, Matthew 6:25 - 7:14, Psalm 8:1-9, Proverbs 2:6-15
Family;
• Repent any sins on behalf of the family (2 Chron 7:14  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.)

• Pray for your extended family, and their needs (1 Tim 5:8  Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever)

• Pray for God to save those that are not born again (Mk 5:19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”)

• Pray for those who know the Lord to continue to experience Him (Acts 10:2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.)

• Destroy any kind of strongholds that would be present in your nuclear and extended family (Judges 6:25-26 That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶ Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”)

• Pray for God to use you to reach out to the extended family

• Pray for God’s visitation

New Beginnings

Prayer and Fasting

Today marks an interesting season for me, it is the start of our church's annual beginning of the year prayer season. It involves prayer and fasting for 21 days, for the fast, you are free to choose various forms of fasts that you are comfortable with. I will provide a link later on to the church's website where you can get more info on this. For me i am not sure i can go through a full fast for 21 days, so i choose a fast i think i will be able to go through with (with God's help), i will not watch movies for this period and will spend the time i used to watch movies in reading the word and in prayer.

Scripture Readings
Today is day 1 and the scripture readings are: Genesis 16:1 - 15, Matthew 6:1-24, Psalm 7:1-17, Proverbs 2:1-5 

Genesis 16, is the story of Hagar and her son, Ishmael. It is preceded in chap 15, with God making a covenant with Abram that He will increase his descendants to be as numerous as the stars in the sky, in chap 16, Abram agrees to go by his wife's plan to have a child through her maid. This chapter is about what happened after the maid conceived. she was mistreated and later sent away, it is during this bleak moment of her life, that Hagar obtained the promise of God's prosperity and blessings.

I would identify with Hagar, for this year has begun quite in the wrong footing for me, and like her feel like giving up. It must have been difficult for her sitting beside that spring in the desert, not knowing what to do, or where to go. But God came through for her and all she could say is "You are God who sees me, i have seen the One who sees me" vs 13. As i begin this year, i am trusting to see Him who sees me, am trusting that in midst of all this desolation, He will affirm and encourage me in His word and promise.

Perhaps you too like me are wondering what will become of you, or your family this year, believe with me that the One who sees you our Almighty God, will come through for you and encourage, comfort, guide and bless your life.

Matthew 6:1-24, is part of the sermon on the mount. I think it generally addresses the aspect of attitude in our doing the religious duties like giving to the needy, prayer, fasting and what we treasure. As we begin this journey of seeking God and allowing Him to work in us. We are been cautioned of doing it inappropriately as so doing will rob us of God's blessing. My prayer at this point is that God will help us pray, and help us be of such attitude and motive that is pleasing to Him in all we do.

Psalm 7:1-17, what i can get from this is the confidence of psalmist, he is confident that he has lived a righteous life and is not afraid to approach God. As much as i may not have such confidence based on my record, i will entrust my life to Jesus Christ whose blood washes  sin and all sins giving us confidence in approaching the seat of mercy. My prayer is to commit the entire of me to Him in repentance that He may reign in me and guide me in all what i do.

Proverbs 2 1-5, this is a call to be deliberate in our search for God , the fear of God and knowledge of God. We are called to accept His words, storing up His commands, applying our ears to wisdom and applying our heart to understanding. May He indeed help us to be deliberate in seeking Him and living in the manner He directs.
Prayer Items
The prayer items of the day were posted as:
Personal
Today is the first day of something new. Regardless of where you are in your relationship with God, 21 days of prioritizing the Lord over essential needs in your life will draw you closer to him and transform whatever needs to change. Pray for the following;
• That God will help you to envision how you will resemble him more closely at the end of these 21 days.
• Repent of your sins and wherever you have not been walking in God’s will (Ps 51:7).
• Pray that the Lord will continue to transform you (Ps 51:10)
• Pray that God’s will be done in your life as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10)
• You will continue to grow in your spiritual life and disciplines that would help your growth, such as prayer and fasting, reading God’s word, fellowship and witnessing (Acts 2:42-47)
• Pray for your personal needs such as, financial, social etc. (Phil 4:6).


According to me, the verse of the day is:
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4: 1-7 NIV , Verses taken from Bible Gateway)

The Samaritan Lesson

When we read the book of John chapter 4, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the lesson we mainly get is that of repentance and forgiveness among some other lessons. But yesterday night as i looked at some of this verses, it came to my mind something i had not seen clearly before. When Jesus told her in v10  ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”(NIV), The Samaritan woman was like: ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”


Which was in fact true, looking at the face value of the situation, what she did not know or realize at the moment was the potential and the power of who was promising to act.  Jesus was of course not referring to the physical water at that moment, but we know if He wanted to provide her with the physical water, He would, based on all the miracles He had done and later did. The point here is, The woman looked at the physical impossibilities and never at the power of whom promised, basically because she was ignorant of the capability and power of Jesus.


This may not be the "actual" or the "intended" lesson of the passage, but i tend to draw a parallel between her response and my response to many situations that i gone through and am going through, when i am called to trust upon God for provision and tend to wonder how He will come through for me. When i cannot find a way, i feel so desperate wondering if He will actually deliver me.


The lesson i am learning is, He is capable of doing what He promises, whether we can see how or not, it faith to believe onto His promises without physical evidence.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (NIV) 
[Bible Readings taken from bible gateway]

New Year Wishes

We have many wishes for xmas and the new year. But this song the favorite of my senior pastor at lifespring quite captures my desire for the coming year and indeed my entire life.

May you find it too an inspiration the life to come. God bless you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2012.

Studying the Word, 5 Tips

From my reading Matthew 13, i realized i needed to take more time and  interest in reading, understanding and applying the word of God. It is then i recalled some tips i read some times ago, and today i decided to take some time and review them.
What follows are about five basic ways to approach bible study, i hope you and i will learn and keenly apply what is good.

• Reading: Just going through the bible, getting familiar with its message, histories, personalities etc, noting things that stands out for you. Things that you would want to come back to for further understanding and clarification. This reminds me of set books in high school, the way i would just take the novel and read, underling here and there, writing notes on the book margin. At times i do this with my bible, though it have been quite random without systematic plan, but i intend to do it now  more deliberately and regularly. 

• Interpreting: Getting to know what the bible means by what it says. Going back to the set book example, we used to seek to comprehend what the characters meant, or intended. It is like when you read a poem, you tend to draw a message out of the words and the phrases. I tend to think it is the same with the bible, when we read, it says something to us, a message, getting to know what the writers, or the voice in the text meant consist interpreting. There are various resources available for helping us interpret the bible.

• Evaluating: When we have an interpretation, it does not necessarily means it is the correct one, hence we need to evaluate our interpretation / understanding of the Word to ensure it is consistent with the entire truth. Many have started cults based on erroneous interpretation of the word. Just the way we used to use study guides, teachers and fellow students to clarify and enhance our understanding of the set books, we need to discuss with fellow Christians, church leaders and cross referencing through the bible to make sure our understanding of the Word is the correct one.

• Applying: Put into use all that we have learnt from the word, there is an article from which i go all this from, and will just quote what it says about this: If there is a command to be obeyed, obey it. If there is a promise to be embraced, claim it. If there is a warning to be followed, heed it. This is the ultimate step: submit to Scripture and let it transform your life.

• Correlating: Add together all the bits of knowledge we have gathered to form a clear understanding of the truth and a basis of the doctrine that drives and defines our faith.

NB: There is an article that covers this in much more depth, i actually borrowed a lot from the article.