womens’ page

October 25, 2012 at 8:26 am (Womens page)

Joyce Meyer

FEAR NOT, GOD’S ON YOUR SIDE

Can you think of a time in your life when you needed to press through something in faith?

Maybe you’re going through a trial of some kind right now and you’re struggling to stay positive.

In times like that it’s nice to receive encouragement from family and friends. But ultimately, we need to decide for ourselves that we will have victory.

If you think about it, almost noth­ing worthwhile happens in life without having to press through some area of difficulty. It’s just part of the journey.

The fact is, we can either suffer the pain of fighting our battle to the finish or we can give up and suffer the pain of defeat. I’ve come to realise it’s better for me to do what God requires of me from the begin­ning because the truth is that he always has my best interest at heart and he is not going to change his mind.

Sometimes God delivers us from hard­ship and sometimes he takes us through it. The choice is up to him. He knows what we need, when we need it. And when we’re in the midst of a struggle, it helps to ask this question – am I willing to serve God and not understand everything?

If we’re only willing to serve God when everything’s going our way, then we aren’t trusting him entirely. We need to serve God at all times, even when we don’t feel like it.

One thing you must remember is that God is always with you and he’s always for you. The enemy wants us to forget that. So each time we experience progress in our journey of pressing through something, he will try to take it back.

The enemy tries to get us caught up in a lot of negative thoughts and feelings – re­jection, betrayal, abandonment, jealousy, discouragement and depression, and sometimes even disappointment in God.

When the enemy is pressing against us, we have to continue to stand in faith and press into God’s Word, keeping our eyes fixed on the promises he’s given us. I encourage you to make up your mind and say: “I don’t care how long it takes or how hard it is to get through this, I’m not giving up! I am not going to live in bondage! I am not going to let my past control me!”

In Philippians 3:10, Paul writes: “I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Do you see what Paul is saying? There’s a place – spiritually – where we can be lifted above every evil thing. This means that no matter how people treat you, you can have God’s joy in your heart, and no matter what kind of storm you’re in, you can have the peace that surpasses all understanding.

I believe God wants us to press on for more of what he has in store. He wants us to enjoy the journey. And above all, he wants us to have a life that affects other people in positive, life-giving ways.

People who press in and press on are those who do great things for God. And every single one of us can live like this by God’s grace if we choose to do it because God never asks us to do anything without giving us the ability to do it. Philippians 3:13-14 tells us to forget what lies behind and strain forward ‘to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward’.

The best way to do that is to take life one day at a time because we’re living in a world filled with trouble and stress. It takes a lot of power to live in victory today. There are many things that happen in life that come against us – disappointments, offences etc. But God chose us to live at this time in history and he knows what he’s doing. With his help, we can get through the trials and troubles we face and be victorious over them.

So today, I simply want to encourage you to press on. Remember, you already have the victory because God is on your side!

 

 

 

 

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wisdom’s ways

October 25, 2012 at 8:11 am (Wisdom's Ways)

Rev. Aeron Linford

POVERTY 

“He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack” – Proverbs 28:3,6,8,11,27

Poverty will always be with us. It can result from misfortune, from misdeeds, from mismanagement of one’s affairs, from natural calamities, from oppression by others. In any case it is a burden.

The poor are beset (vs 3). The exactions of the wealthy are bad enough, but they are far worse when a poor man grasps power. He is like a cloud-burst that floods the valley and swills away the very soil on which the poor depend for toil-won crops. To be beset by such a person who knows what poverty is – is woe indeed.

The poor are better (vs 6) than the rich when their integrity is in marked contrast to the perverse and perverted opulent. There are greater riches than money: gold will perish, the noble character rich in wisdom, truth and love, will last forever.

The poor are battered (vs 8) by the unscrupulous money – lender with his crippling usury. “But God will not allow him to retain his profit, diverting it into the possession of one more worthy to have it” (Cohen). Poor men are sometimes obliged to raise a loan to tide them over a treacherous time, but woe to the person who takes advantage of his misfortune: troubles will visit them.

The poor are often brainy (vs 11). A man who is successful in business may become con­ceited, thinking that he is clever in all matters, and that deference should be accorded to his superior wisdom. But a wise man (though poor) can weigh him up and estimate his real worth. A successful business-man may be a novice in the knowledge of art, of music of philosophy, or even of religion. His prosperity, though well-earned, does not necessarily dub him a man of science: dexterity of hand does not always mean dexterity of mind. A good trader may make a bad teacher; a commercial success a failure as a communicator. No man should boast much outside his sphere of experience, and little within it.

The poor are blessed (vs 27) by the bounty of the charitable. The dispenser of benefits to the needy should ponder three great facts. First, that he could not give it if he had not got it. When God blesses us with goods beyond our personal needs, it is that we may dispense them to the less fortunate. Secondly, it gives us such a warm feeling of complacency when we help others. And thirdly, God will be no man’s debtor. When we give to the poor we lend to their Maker, and he repays with abundant interest. Try it!

PRAYER: Thou hast given to me, help me to give to others, O Lord.

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sermon starters

October 25, 2012 at 7:16 am (Sermon Starters)

Rev. E. Anderson

This is a simple outline for you to think about and meditate on. The introduction, main thoughts and conclusion need further material to be added. It is an outline for you to expand, develop more fully and fill in to spiritual profit and inspiration.

YOU WILL HAVE ENOUGH!

Word for Today

“My God, shall supply all your need” – Philippians 490.

Are your afraid you won’t have enough to meet your needs? Let’s read the story of feeding of the 5000 and observe three things about the disciples.

FIRST, THEY TRIED TO ESCAPE THE PROBLEM. They told Jesus, “Send them away, that they go . . . buy themselves bread” – Mark 6:36 NKJV. and changing very. But He said no. Jesus understood that you grow by dealing with problems, not avoiding them.. Your faith increases only as you place a demand on it. Lazy, inactive faith will fail you in the hour of need, so you must feed on God’s word and exercise your faith regularly.

SECOND, THE DISCIPLES THOUGHT WHAT THEY HAD WASN’T ENOUGH: “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among some mane? John 6:9 NKJV. God will ask you to look at what you’ve got because even though it doesn’t look like much, when you factor Him in, it’ll be more than enough to meet the need. In the disciples hands it was just lunch for one, but in Christ’s hands it became dinner for 5000. So put what you have into  God’s hands and let Him work.

THIRD, ONLY WHEN THE DISCIPLES OBEYED HIS PLAN WAS THEIR NEED MET. When you ask God for a miracle He will often give you a plan with a set of instructions. At that point, your obedience sets the timer, activates the plan and determines the results. With God, there’s no lack of no limit. When it was over, “they took up 12 baskets full of fragments, and of the fish” Mark 6:43 NKJV. Don’t worry, you will have enough!

 

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