Why You Need a Ministry Partner

Jesus didn't call us to be alone in our work for Him. He wants to give us ministry companions who offer affirmation, encouragement and correction.

Companions play an awesome rolein the life of every servant. This is clearly the intent of both Jesus and the Father. Therefore it is crucial that we recognize whom God is sending to us, and why.

Jesus knew whom God had granted to Him and why. He said to His Father, "'I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your Word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me'" (John 17:6-8, NKJV).

The principle of companionship in the kingdom of God remains the same to this day. It is important to be able to recognize when God is sending you a companion or providing you with a dear friend, colleague, or co-worker to help you along the way.

God expects His people to work with one another in unity and harmony and will give them one heart and one mind to serve Him together. He never intended for them to compete with one another in His kingdom but to complement one another in their work.

You are naturally incomplete as a part of the body of Christ and need those whom God sends to add what is lacking and ensure your obedience. God places at your side those who will affirm His call on your life and the assignment He has given you. The skills, abilities and insights of companions will be invaluable to you as you work together toward the completion of God's assignments.

Confirmation of the Spirit
Prayer needs to play a significant role in recognizing the companions God sends: "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'" (Acts 13:2, NIV). God's Spirit will confirm a person's companionship to you and your companionship to him. Both must sense the Spirit's leading, or it is not of God.

During the years, several people have told me that God has called them to come and work with me in ministry. But God's Spirit has either warned me not to pursue them or has revealed to me that their character, motives or life situations were such that they would do far more harm to me in ministry than good. It is crucial that you have God's clear guidance and divine wisdom before allowing people to join you in ministry.

There may be times when you come to the realization that your companions no longer have your best interests in mind. Sometimes it may become clear that their hearts have shifted to other things, away from the common vision and ministry you once shared.

Of course, there are also times when you release companions because the Spirit has other plans for them. At these times I have rejoiced with my companions as they followed God to their next assignment and given them my blessing and encouragement. But any time a companion is released from working with you, regardless of the circumstances, his departure needs to be bathed in prayer.

It is imperative for companions to have one heart, mind and soul as they work together. A companion is one who understands your ministry call and affirms it to you. Such a person does not have his or her own agenda to fulfill through you, but rather a heart to see you succeed in all God has set before you to do.

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Stewarding Our Relationships
Companionship is truly a matter of stewardship. Whatever God gives us He is entrusting into our care and expecting us to use for His glory. How we treat our companions will be noticed by the One who sends them (see Heb. 13:17).

We should love our companions, care for them, protect them and help them to grow in the grace of Christ as best we can. We are to pray for them, encourage them, inspire them and challenge them to be what God wants them to be. We are to lead them by example, love them as brothers or sisters in Christ, and serve them as Christ served His disciples.

We are also to submit to them "in the fear of God" (Eph. 5:21, NKJV). If you can think of even one occasion on which you would not be willing to submit to your companion, then you are not ready to have companions.

Another part of our roles should be to affirm God's call on our companions and to do everything we can to ensure their success and obedience to God's assignments. We are not to stand in their way or cancel their God-given vision or tasks.

We are in the perfect position to encourage our companions to pursue God's agenda for their lives and to use their God-given gifts for His service. They may lack self-confidence and need our prompting to venture into ministry. We can identify their potential and help them achieve God's best for their lives.

Making Christ Known Together
God's plans for your companions may not always be the same as your plans for them. It is important to seek God's will together rather than dictating to companions what your will is for their lives.

God does not send companions for your own personal benefit; He sends them because He has something for them to do and to become with you.

It may be that your companions are called to more prominent ministries and tasks than you are called to. It would be wise for you to encourage, bless and support them. When pride and jealousy rear their ugly heads, our usefulness in ministry begins to diminish.

It is important to see our spouses and possibly even our children among our primary companions as they begin to respond to God. It is crucial for a husband and wife to share the visions and dreams God has given them so that they can help each other achieve those dreams together.

The husband does not have the right to cancel the lifelong dreams and ministry visions of the wife simply because he wants her unqualified support for his own ambitions. Peter reminds us that a husband's treatment of his wife could have a direct impact on whether or not God will even hear his prayers (see 1 Pet. 3:7).

God's Agenda for Companions
I recommend spending much time in prayer over your companions and not taking them for granted. If God has sent companions to you, it would be wise to ask Him what He has in mind. Certainly He means to help you in your work, but also, you are to help them in their work.

We need companions to keep us alert and maturing: "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend" (Prov. 27:17). The presence of a God-given companion is a great stimulus to grow in our relationship with God and to have a fruitful ministry.

Read a companion devotional.

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Henry Blackaby is an internationally known Bible teacher and speaker. He is the author of several books, including Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (LifeWay). Tom Blackaby, along with his father, Henry, is co-author of The Man God Uses (Broadman & Holman) and Anointed to Be God's Servants (Nelson).

Adapted from Anointed to Be God's Servants by Henry Blackaby and Tom Blackaby, copyright © 2005. Published by Nelson. Used by permission.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/life/women/9995-he-sent-them-two-by-two

Is the Great Falling Away Already Underway?

While in prayer over the vision God gave Steve Hill about the "spiritual avalanche that could kill millions," an alarming question nagged my soul: Could the great falling away already be underway? Could we be witnessing the first fruits of the great falling away even now? Are we at least seeing a shadow of the Great Apostasy?

There is much talk about Christ's soon Second Coming. But we know that Jesus will not return for a church without spot or wrinkle unless the falling away comes first … (1 Thess. 2:3). Although it's nothing entirely new, we are indeed witnessing a fast-progressing departure from sound doctrine and a holy life.

Even a quick comparison between what Scripture tells us about the last days and the manifest sin that has penetrated our generation should serve as a wake up call to every believer: Don't ignore the signs of the times. In His discussions on the end of the age, Jesus warned us not to let anyone deceive us (Matt. 24). If it weren't possible to get caught up in the Great Falling Away, Jesus wouldn't have issued such a strong warning to His followers and left a record of it for you and me.

Discerning Doctrines of Demons

Paul wrote, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth" (1 Tim. 4:1-3).

Some have indeed departed from the faith because they have engaged with deceiving spirits and embraced doctrines of demons. We've witnessed more than one man of God with a major ministry platform bow a knee to doctrines like universalism, deceiving and being deceived with this deadly heresy. Despite many in the church lifting their voice against heretical teachings, these deceived ministers hold fast to their demonic doctrine.

We've also watched famous pastors speak lies in hypocrisy—lies that left many hurt, wounded, and disillusioned—and yet they remain adored and adorned in the megachurches that made their name great. Clearly, the conscience of some influential church leaders has already been seared with a hot iron (see 1 Tim. 4:2). Some have become the proverbial blind leading the blind.

And would you believe it? Some modern-day, Spirit-filled churches even reserve the right to tell you whom you can or can't marry (along with many other details of your personal life). I've known folks who have nervously gone to ask the pastor for permission to marry another congregant, hoping that their request wasn't denied and their love wasn't dashed. And this wasn't during the Shepherding Movement, this was recent.

Living Idolatrous Lifestyles

Paul wrote, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" (2 Tim. 3:1-5)

Paul's laundry list of idolatrous ingrates is not particularly new, but the love of many has certainly grown colder. Many pastors ignore the homeless (and the widows and the orphans). All the while, they spend multiplied thousands on sermon props and video announcements that rival MTV so they can entertain an idolatrous generation on Sunday mornings.

Some pastors offer a 20-minute sermonette and afterwards neglect the opportunity to lay hands on the sick, get people filled with the Holy Spirit, or otherwise open up the altar for believers seeking a touch from God. This form of godliness does not make room for God's power. Pleasure has taken its place.

Scratching Itchy Ears

Paul also warned, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Tim. 4:3).

We see some of this among congregations even now. Beyond universalism, there's the prosperity gospel that only demonstrates one side of the cross. There's the grace message that perverts the gospel. These are fables. Billy Graham once filled stadiums with his bold preaching on subjects like hell and holiness. Today, seeker-friendly preachers fill stadiums to hear a motivational message followed by a call to give. Many modern believers may cringe if they had to endure a Billy Graham sermon on hell. Again, some deny the existence of hell.

The Great Falling Away

Victorious believers will overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony—and the fact that they did not love their lives even unto death (Rev. 12:11). I fear there may be fewer victorious believers at the end of the age than some may think.

The Bible tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). We need to get at it because this is sure: Jesus is coming back for a glorious church without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:27). I believe the spots and wrinkles will fall away before His return. The gates of hell are trying to prevail against the church and will ultimately fail, but not before enticing some believers into heresy, idolatry and other sin.

I don't believe in once-saved, always-saved doctrines. I believe you can lose your salvation. I don't think it happens overnight. I think it's a slow progression down the slippery slope of deception. I often ask people who are deceived this question: "How would you know if you were deceived?" I've never met one who was deceived find an answer for the question. Rather, they insist that they cannot be deceived or that they would know if they were. If we don't think we could be deceived, we're deceived already. And if we are deceived, we wouldn't know it unless the Holy Spirit broke in and opened the eyes of our heart.

So is the Great Falling Away already underway? Only God knows. At the very least, I think we're seeing the shadow of this turning. We're seeing the hints of this apostasy. And I pray. I pray that the Lord would count me faithful, that I would not be deceived in these last days, and that I might be a pure vessel the Lord can use to sound the alarm. What about you?

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Did the Spirit of God Say That? You can email Jennifer at  jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/the-plumb-line/16365-is-the-great-falling-away-already-underway

4 proven steps to creating multiple income streams that will make you rich

by Jesse L. Ford for Reach for Happy

Regardless of your current career path, employment status, or life path, you can follow these proven steps to create multiple viable streams of income that will make you rich and get you living the life of your dreams.

We are focusing on getting rich through viable long-lasting income streams you set up for yourself.

These proven steps constitute a formula I call The EDCS Process. It encompasses the whole process from discovering what abilities and ideas will produce money, to converting it to a business, building a business system and bringing in the money.

Here are the proven steps to create multiple viable income streams:

Step #1 – Explore

Explore your skills, talents, abilities, and ideas. Somewhere in the mix are elements you can convert to viable income streams, either on a part-time or full-time basis. Go through a process of reflection and analysis to determine your skills, talents, abilities, and competencies. Get them all out into a map.

The second element in this step is to generate ideas for business. Do this by brainstorming and generating ideas. These can be ideas you have had previously that you remember, those that lie in your subconscious, or those you come up with during this exercise. When you take a close look at these two elements (your abilities and your ideas) you will find raw material that can be processed and refined to create a money making machine.

I usually favour mind mapping to generate ideas because typically when you ask people to go through this exercise they write lists; lists of ideas, lists of skills and talents, etc. Generating ideas in lists limits your ability to go beyond the norm and tap into your brain power. Visual thinking is the best way fuel creativity, maximize the power of the brain, and help you explore unconventional routes and thereby produce truly innovative ideas. Mind mapping is a visual thinking tool that helps you generate ideas and analyze information. So for this exercise, please use mind mapping. You can download free top of the range mind mapping software here.

Step #2 – Determine the Use Value

Determine the use value of the configuration of ideas, skills, talents, abilities and business ideas you have generated in Step 1. Take the time to do this exercise. Do determine the use value ask yourself questions like: how does this help people? What problem does it solve? How does it make life better for people? How does it help people and organisations achieve their objectives? How does it advance life?

It is important that you understand and establish the use value for people or organisations because obviously you will give them a use value for the money they will give to you. You will have to communicate this use value clearly to them in Step #4. Understand all the elements of the use value and in a way you can communicate and demonstrate.

Step #3 – Create a Business System

Take the use value you have established in Step #2 and create a business system around it. By creating a business system around the ideas, you can use your time to work on the business without necessarily having to work in the business. In essence you do not have to become an employee of the business but you create an income stream out of it and it enables you to create multiple income streams. You get the picture?

A business system is methodical procedure or process that is used as a delivery mechanism for providing specific goods or services to customers. Expressed simply it is the process for making money. It is where you take the idea or concept and create a step by step process for the business operations.

Document it and create a flow chart. This ensures that you can either do it yourself or other people can do it. It also polishes the process in a way that can be communicated should you choose to sell the business idea at this stage and cash out.

Step #4 – Start Selling

Having completed step 3, you should start selling. Get the word out and start prospecting potential customers. Depending on the nature of the business you can choose different advertising and promotion methods ranging from word of mouth, online, flyers, etc.

Anyone can learn sales and marketing. To help you in your sales efforts, building your business, prospecting for customers, making sales, and building your brand I highly recommend that you register for a convenient online professional development programme where you can learn various aspects you require at your own convenience and at your own pace. Knowledge is power. You can learn in a week concepts and processes that would take other people six months or more to figure out. Get started with an online professional development programme taught by tutors with real business experience.

Summary

These are four proven steps to creating viable multiple streams of income. With these steps you can create multiple income streams. Having read this article you will realize it is not a get rich quick method, each step requires your effort and attention. Best wishes as you start now to create multiple income streams.

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Jesse Ford is a developer, author, and publisher. His interest and expertise is new thought, spirituality, personal development, and utilizing your inner power. Visit www.reachforhappy.com to get more information, tools, and resources that can guide and help you to create  a brighter, happier, and more fulfilling life.

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Submission in marriage: What if the man is abusive?

by Nomalanga Mhlauli-Moses

Christian Submission  seems to be a very sensitive and controversial topic. It seems that a lot of women will call themselves women of faith but when the topic of submission comes up, it becomes a little more complicated. Of course there are women of faith who absolutely believe in submission, wholeheartedly practice it and are happy in their marriages, but there are also some who don't.

A question that comes up a lot about submission is what a woman should do if she finds herself in an abusive marriage. A prominent Baptist pastor, John Piper recently wrote a blog post clarifying the issue of submission and how a woman who still has the desire to be a submitted wife should handle the situation.

Well-known pastor John Piper recently offered a statement clarifying his thoughts on a wife's submission to an abusive husband. Piper, who preaches at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, had been criticized earlier for only mentioning the church and not law enforcement as recourse for protection.

In a blog post this week, Piper clarified, "A Christian woman should not feel that the only help available to her is the police. That would be a biblical failure of her church. But recourse to civil authorities may be the right thing for an abused wife to do."

The Reformed theologian explained that a husband who physically abuses his wife is breaking both God's moral law and state civil law.

"God himself has put law enforcement officers in place for the protection of the innocent. 'If you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer' (Romans 13:4)," Piper cited. "A wife's submission to the authority of civil law, for Christ's sake, may, therefore, overrule her submission to a husband's demand that she endure his injuries.

"This legitimate recourse to civil protection may be done in a spirit that does not contradict the spirit of love and submission to her husband, for a wife may take this recourse with a heavy and humble heart that longs for her husband's repentance and the restoration of his nurturing leadership."

Piper was first asked about a wife's submission to an abusive husband in 2009. In his videotaped response, the longtime pastor asserted that a person's higher allegiance is to Christ – above his or her spouse.

In that response, he also advised that the wife seek help from the church and have the husband disciplined by church leadership.

"She should have a safe place in a body of Christ where she goes and then the people in the church deal with him. The church is really crucial here to step in, be her strength, say to him 'you can't do this.' … Let the leaders step in and help you navigate the difficulties."

He received criticisms for his answer, he said, for not pointing to law enforcement as another form of help.

In his updated response, Piper wrote that every Christian is called to submit to various authorities so a wife's submission is put into the wider context of submission to Jesus, civil authorities, each other and the church.

"This means that the rightness or wrongness of any act of submission is discerned by taking into account all the relevant relationships," he stated. "We are all responsible to Jesus first, and then, under him, to various other persons and offices. Discerning the path of love and obedience when two or more of these submissive relationships collide is a call to humble, Bible-saturated, spiritual wisdom."

He also stressed that while churches are called to mercy, they should not harbor someone whose abuse would be punishable by civil law.

"[T]here are times when mercy to one demands justice for another," he stated. "This is often the case with criminal abuse. Moreover, there are many ways to show mercy toward a guilty person who must pay fines or go to jail. We are seldom in a position where the choice is simply mercy or no mercy."

While a church may be able to bring the abusive spouse to repentance and reconciliation, there may also be cases where a church determines that civil authorities must be notified.

"In either case, no Christian woman (or man) should have to face abuse alone," he highlighted.

In a plea to churches, Piper called for a culture where the men will not tolerate the abuse of any of its women.

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Original Page: http://www.ynaija.com/submission-in-marriage-what-if-the-man-is-abusive/

The Hazards Of Abuja Pedestrian Bridges

The 26th of November 2012 is one day in the life of Rashida that she would want to forget in hurry.

The journalist was on her way home from work, around 9:00 pm, full of smiles, because she had just been paid. Joyfully therefore, she did some quick mental arithmetic and a review of her plans for her Christmas spendings.

Her route took her across a pedestrian bridge near a car- wash base at the Lugbe Bus Stop, a suburb of Abuja. Unknown to her, she was being followed by hoodlums.

Lost in her dreams as she crossed the bridge in her world of oblivion, the rude awakening arrived suddenly.  She felt a sharp blow on her head, and before she could regain her posture, her handbag had been snatched from her! Having asked to take it directly, as she needed it that night to pay her rent to an impatient landlord, her whole salary was in the bag! One needs not use many words to describe her shock and sense of loss. It is better imagined than described.

Globally, a pedestrian bridge is necessary for ameliorating the traffic challenges of any city or metropolitan area as it enhances easier movement of pedestrians who would otherwise have been at risk trying to cross busy roads or waste time in careful wait till the speeding cars passed. While these bridges save life therefore, they save time as well, not to mention making things easier for drivers who would not have to apply brakes suddenly to avoid killing or who may have to kill. The importance of bridges cannot be enumerated, hence the huge investments in them.

Yet, at the other side of the coin is this picture of Rashida and her likes who have become victims of hoodlums and outright criminals who take these bridges for homes. Not only have these urchins turned these bridges into their domicile; they defecate around them and sometimes on them.

A walk on the pedestrian bridge at Dei-Dei, Kubwa for instance, is a health hazard as one is greeted with the revolting stench of faeces and urine. It is not easy repressing the nauseating urge to vomit. Yet this bridge has just been constructed.

In the face of rapid urbanisation and its attendant social ills, such as population explosion, heavy human and vehicular traffic and frequent accidents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it indeed became imperative to construct these pedestrian bridges in many areas of the metropolis.

For many residents of the (FCT) however, pedestal bridges are probably new. Few years ago, they did not exist. These foot crossings were better known in cities like Lagos and Ibadan. But while awarding contracts for the comprehensive expansion of the Abuja-Lugbe-Airport and Zuba-Dei-Dei-Kubwa-Abuja roads, pedestal bridges were prudently awarded as necessary interventions.

The World Bank, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, the Federal Ministry of Works with its coordinating unit, the Road Sector Development Team (RSDT) awarded multiple contracts for such bridges particularly to ease crossing of roads within the metropolis as scores of people had been knocked down by fast moving vehicles.

Some of the new bridges under construction are at Mabushi near the Ministry of Works, Banex Plaza junction, NICON junction, Area 3 junction, Wuye junction and Sheraton Hotel by the ShehuYar'Adua junction.

Since more of these bridges are being constructed, and those already completed have become the homes of criminals, one may imagine what would happen when all are completed. Instead of saving lives, these bridges would rather become sources of danger to their users, especially women.

This state of affairs invariably hinders their use, hence pedestrians being forced to cross roads with their attendant dangers. In effect,the very purpose for constructing these bridges has been defeated!

The indiscipline covers the use of these bridges as shops! Some traders who could not acquireshops in Abuja, have turned these bridges to make- shift selling spots. They also constitute a menace to users of these bridges as some harass passers-by to patronise their wares. One wonders what the Environmental Protection Agency's duties are.

A visitor to Abuja expects Abuja to be a city boasting of unrivalled beauty, cleanliness and arty architectural but the pedestrian bridges on ground do not help to depict such.

Hawkers and beggars in their hundreds have brazenly taken over some of these new bridges along the Abuja-Kubwa expressway.

Most of these petty traders and beggars had, at one time or the other, escaped from the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), for the board's officials had embarked on surveillance and intermittent raids around the Abuja metropolis and rounded up many.

An official of AEPB told GOVERNMENT they are doing their best to rid thebridges of these tearaways, but immediately they (the AEPB) are spotted, they run away only to return later.

Bola, a street trader interviewed, says "I have no money to pay for shops. Shops in Abuja are very expensive. Government should build affordable shops for the masses."

Some pedestrians interviewed suggested that government provides adequate waste disposal bins close to these bridges. Also, there is need for adequate security.

Indeed, the FCT administration should ensure that adequate waste disposal bins and security are provided. Also, the new bridges should portray the standards expected of Abuja in architectural designs, with bright lights, as the night is mostly used for these robbery activities.

Culled from LEADERSHIP Government

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Original Page: http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/43705/2012/12/29/hazards_abuja_pedestrian_bridges.html

TEN STEPS TO FULFILLING YOUR DREAM Bishop E. Bernard Jordan

TEN STEPS TO FULFILLING  YOUR DREAM

Bishop E. Bernard Jordan

1. Listen to your inner conversations.
   What are your mental habits telling you? A poverty mindset knows why things can't work out. A successful mindset always steps up to the plate and looks for a way to work through a crisis.
2. Meet the Challenge.
   If you have a melt down and lose your focus, freak out, and go into an emotional tail spin, once it's over go back to your image and refocus. You don't have to beat yourself up because you lost it.
3. Congratulate yourself.
   Give yourself credit when you react to a negative situation as an opportunity rather than a setback.
4. Throw off the old you like a snake shedding its skin.
   If something happens that threatens your peace of mind reassure yourself that all is well.
5. Treat yourself well.
   You don't need to prove that you are a failure anymore. You need to treat yourself like someone you love and care about.
6. Let go.
   It is time to clean house and surrender your concepts of lack. Why allow negative people to scramble your brain?? Let go and let the Power work for you.
7. Accept Responsibility.
   Responsibility means the ability to respond. Choose your thoughts and you will choose your reactions.
8. Commit to new results.
   Keep your partnership between your conscious and subconscious mind strong and success will be your closest companion.
9. Feel like a million bucks.
   Feel good. The power to create is anchored in the present moment.
10. Don't look back!
    Once you have consciously imaged a new result don't turn your attention back to your former concept of yourself.

Cooperation

Cooperation

It has been well said that the man who holds the ladder at the bottom is about as important as the man at the top. Everybody wants to be the man on the top, but he would not be there very long without the assistance he receives from the man at the bottom. If he is wise, the man at the top will recognize the importance of the man at the bottom. If he does not recognize it, he may find his ladder slipping away!

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.

5 golden rules to finding your life partner

by Dov Heller, M.A.

When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50%, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Miss. Right!

If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say: "We're in love"; I believe this is the ..1 mistake people make when they date. Choosing a life partner should never be based on love. Though this may sound "not politically correct", there's a profound truth here.

Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: "You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone"; You need a lot more!!!

Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner.

QUESTION ..1: Do we share a common life purpose?

Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose.

Two things can happen in a marriage:
(1) You can grow together, or
(2) You can grow apart.

50% of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work, you need to know what you want out of life!

Bottom line; marry someone who wants the same thing.

QUESTION …2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?

This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust – i.e. trust that I won't get "punished"; or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one.. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.

QUESTION ..3: Is he/she a mensch?

A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions. Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis? Are they serious about improving themselves? A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right ";. So ask about your significant other: What do
they do with their time? Is this person materialistic? Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement.

There are essentially two types of people in the world:
(1) People who are dedicated to personal growth and
(2) people who are dedicated to seeking comfort.
Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know
that before walking down the aisle.

QUESTION ..4: How does he/she treat other people?

The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure.

Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self- absorbed?

To measure this, think about the following: How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as waiters, bus boys, taxi drivers, etc.. How do they treat their parents and siblings? Do they have gratitude and appreciation?

If they don't have gratitude for the people who have given them everything; can you do nearly as much for them? You can be sure that someone, who treats others poorly, will eventually treat you poorly as well.

QUESTION ..5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married?

Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve"; them after they're married. As a colleague of mine puts it: "You can probably expect someone to change after marriage for the worse" If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them.

In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating; to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don't want to find yourself trouble because you didn't do your homework.

Another perspective…

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going anywhere relationships. Observe the relationships around you.

Pay attention…
Which ones lift and which ones lean?

Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?

Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?

When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse?

Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know, or appreciate you?

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you….the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

An African proverb states, "Before you get married, keep both eyes open, and after you marry, close one eye"; Before you get involved and make a commitment to someone, don't let lust, desperation, immaturity, ignorance, pressure from others or a low self-esteem make you blind to warning signs. Keep your eyes open, and don't fool yourself that you can change someone or that what you see as faults aren't really that important.

Do you bring out the best in each other?

Do you compliment and compromise with each other, or do you compete, compare and control?

What do you bring to the relationship?

Do you bring past relationships, past hurt, past mistrust, past pain?

You can't take someone to the altar to alter them. You can't make someone love you or make someone stay..

If you develop self-esteem, spiritual discernment, and "a life"; you won't find yourself making someone else responsible for your happiness or responsible for your pain. Seeking status, sex, and security are the wrong reasons to be in a relationship.

WHAT KEEPS A RELATIONSHIP STRONG IS:

1. TRUST

2. COMMUNICATION

3. INTIMACY

4. A SENSE OF HUMOR

5. SHARING TASKS

6. SOME GETAWAY TIME WITHOUT BUSINESS OR CHILDREN

7. DAILY EXCHANGES (meal, shared activity, hug, call, touch, notes, etc.)

8. SHARING COMMON GOALS AND INTERESTS

9. GIVING EACH OTHER SPACE TO GROW WITHOUT FEELING INSECURE

10. GIVING EACH OTHER A SENSE OF BELONGING AND ASSURANCES OF COMMITMENT

If these qualities are missing, the relationship will erode as resentment withdrawal, abuse, neglect, and dishonesty; and pain will replace.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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Original Page: http://www.ynaija.com/5-golden-rules-to-finding-your-life-partner/

The Birth of Jesus - Gospel of Great Joy - Luk 2:10

Birth of Jesus - Gospel of Great Joy - Luk 2:10

Luke 2:1-20

The story of Christmas is the reason for our gathering and our celebration (festivity) today. I like to stress the fact that in spite of the dissenting opinions about it: be it some historical claim about the origin; controversies about dating; or questions about the spiritual relevance of the season; we simply celebrate the season because beyond all controversies a king was truly born. 

- Promised by God Isa 7:11-15; given in Israel, Isa 9:6

- Suggested to the nobles, he came in an humble circumstance Mic 5:2; 

- His birth was proclaimed to the lowly, albeit, he is the joy of the whole world.

His birth is for joy

- The circumstance of his birth was was not exclusive. Since he wasn't born out of this world, his circumstance was within the circumstances then.

- He was born at a time of political disappointment

- He was born at a time of religious frustrations

- He was born at a time of economic uncertainty

- He came at a time when fear was in the air: Herod 

- As it was then, even so it is now - Rom 11:5

- He that was born is the answer for the world today

His birth is cure for human fear

- Do not be afraid

- That was the proclamation of the angel to the lowly shepherds

- That is the call to you also today

- He is not an apparition or an appearance that is scary; this is not Sinai, Heb 12:18-21, he brought Zion to us, Heb 12:22-24. God is now with man

- The whole bible speaks of him and whole bible features do not fear, 365 times

- His presence is the answer for the world today

His birth begins the Gospel of Great Joy

- Gospel is the teaching or the revelation of Christ

- From the bible it means the announcement or proclamation of good news/tidings

- Joy is an inner state of great pleasure and excitement

- From the bible language it means cheerfulness, i. e. calm delight

- Joy exists despite the circumstances around. It is here now. It is ahead also

His birth brought joy to all people

- The suggestion of the joy that day wasn't just for the shepherds; the bethlehemites, or the nation of Israel alone. It is for the whole world

- No matter what it is like in your personal experience or in the larger society, you will find your joy in him

Neh 8:9-12

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.

The Queen James Bible and ‘Homophobic’ Interpretations

In case you haven't heard the news, there is a new edition of the King James Bible that rewrites eight key verses that speak against homosexual practice. It's called the Queen James Bible (I kid you not), and the editors state that, "We edited those eight verses in a way that makes homophobic interpretations impossible."

Yes, you can now practice homosexuality and read your Bible without feeling condemned, although you still have to deal with the hundreds of verses affirming only heterosexual marriage and family (including one of the Ten Commandments that says, "Honor your father and mother" rather than, "Honor your father and father").

And then there are the thousands of verses that assume the importance of male-female gender distinctions, beginning with the first chapter of the Bible, which states, "God created man in His own image ... male and female He created them"(Gen. 1:27). But why quibble?

On the genuinely positive side, it is good see a hunger for the Scriptures in the LGBT community, and the editors boast that the Queen James Bible (QJB) "is the perfect Bible for ceremony, study, sermon, gift-giving or simply to put on display in the home or church."

On the totally negative side, to the extent professing LGBT Christians believe this translation to be accurate, they are deceiving themselves. And that would be tragic.

Take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of a Christian struggling with homosexuality. You want to follow Jesus and obey the Scriptures, but you find yourself attracted to the same sex, through no conscious choice of your own. You pray for God to change you and often cry yourself to sleep, only to wake up the next morning with the same unwanted attractions.

You wonder if God hates you and has singled you out for condemnation: God, why won't you change me and make me normal?

You hit rock bottom and are considering suicide when someone tells you that your homosexuality is a gift, that God made you this way, and that preachers are misinterpreting the Bible when they say you can't be a practicing homosexual and a Christian at the same time. Then they hand you your very own copy of the QJB, and voila, all those negative verses are gone.

Can you imagine how tempting it would be to embrace this new "revelation"?

So, Leviticus 18:22 doesn't say, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination" (King James Version). It really says, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind in the temple of Molech: it is an abomination" (QJB; Molech was a pagan idol).

And Paul didn't actually write that "men who practice homosexuality" will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9; ESV). What he really said was that neither "morally weak, nor promiscuous" people will inherit God's kingdom (QJB).

The problem, of course, is that the original Hebrew of Leviticus and the original Greek of 1 Corinthians do not say what the QJB says. Not a chance.

The editors have simply changed the Bible to fit their sexuality, opening up a Pandora's Box of potential mistranslation. It would be like changing "Thou shalt not commit adultery" into "Thou shalt not commit adultery unless you are deeply in love and willing to divorce your spouse to marry your adulterous partner."

Interestingly, the QJB editors recognize the difficulty of translating the Hebrew word to'evah in Leviticus 18:22 with something less than "abomination." But they bypass this difficulty by claiming that the abomination was not a man having sex with another man. Rather, it was only an abomination for two men to have sex if they did it as an act of pagan worship in the temple of an idol.

Really? Well, the very next verse (Lev. 18:23) condemns bestiality, calling it "perversion" (tevel). Using the same logic, would the QJB editors argue that bestiality is only wrong if carried out in an idolatrous temple?

In point of fact, all of Leviticus 18 deals with forbidden sexual unions (according to Leviticus 18:24-30, these practices were wrong for both pagan nations and Israel), with only one reference to the practice of sacrificing children to idols (Lev. 18:21). And there is not a hint in the chapter that adultery or incest or bestiality or homosexual practice are condemned only if committed in a pagan temple. Strikingly, even though all of these practices are called to'evot, abominations, in Leviticus 18:26-29, only homosexual practice is singled out as a to'evah, abomination, within the chapter.

Other reviews have exposed additional, serious errors in this new mistranslation of the sacred Scriptures, but, to sum things up, we can say that the Queen James Bible accomplishes the exact opposite of what it sets out to do: It provides eloquent testimony that the Bible and homosexual practice are incompatible.

Does Jesus love the homosexual? Unequivocally yes. Does he affirm homosexuality? Unequivocally no. The Bible (as in the real deal, not the QJB) tells me so.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience.

Learn Keys to Experiencing More of the Miraculous

Being in healing ministry, I have witnessed the miraculous regularly and seen thousands touched by God each year.

I remember two times when the Lord spoke something to me out of His Word, and it gave me an insight that brought an increase for healing. The first instance happened about two years ago, and the second about a year ago.

The first came out of 2 Corinthians 4:13, where Paul said, "It is written: 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' Since we have that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak" (NIV).

I'd seen this Scripture many times, but when God quickened it to me, all of a sudden it took on life. All of a sudden I made this connection: Faith needs to be spoken. You can say you believe something, but if you don't have enough faith to declare it, to speak it, there's something that's not released.

I do not believe what the New Agers teach, that we make our reality by the words we speak. That's the difference between Christian and New Age thinking. Christian thinking is that the Lord is the one who gives the faith. We're in a dependent relationship with Him—we can't create anything we want. We create what He's showing us.

I realized I could speak things in faith, things that God is showing me. I used to say, "I believe God is going to heal some people tonight," but I quit saying that. 

I started paying attention to numbers, and over time I started connecting the dots. I'd see how many people were in attendance and then how many got healed, and God showed me a pattern. We discovered that we almost never have fewer than 10 percent of the people get healed.

The other one came when I was in Brazil again, on the way to this Baptist church, Agua Vidas (Living Waters) Church. And I was thinking in my mind, In Jesus Christ, it's not yes and no—it's yes.

I didn't know where the Scripture reference was, but all these people had iPhones, so they took out their little Bible programs and they looked it up for me. It was 2 Corinthians 1. I read that passage and verse 20 was the key: "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God."

I had read that a lot, but all of a sudden it was as if the lights went on. These promises are not just biblical promise, though they include that. They are rhema word promises. They're not yes and no. It's not us saying, "Yes, I want it" and God saying, "If I give you a promise, sometimes it's no."

It's always yes regarding His promises. They're always yes. So, I got that, but that wasn't the part that really stood out to me. It was "And so through him (enabled by the Spirit) the 'Amen' is spoken by us"—and it was a plural.

And I got an understanding that the greatest miracles we'll see in the future will come when we have taught the church to raise its corporate faith. People need to know that if someone gets a word of knowledge for somebody else, it's not just the person giving the word whose faith goes up and who increases others' faith.

The whole congregation needs to understand how God works. When they understand the ways of God, it literally causes the whole congregation to rise up in their hearts and say, "Yes, God's getting ready to do this!" So all of us speak the "Amen," which means "let it be" or "So be it," to the glory of God.

Randy Clark is the founder of Global Awakening, a teaching, healing and impartation ministry that crosses denominational lines. This article is adapted from his latest book, Healing: Unplugged (Chosen Books), co-authored by Bill Johnson.

The Greatest Season of Revival? The Choice is Yours

In spite of worldwide conflicts, the Holy Spirit is guiding the true Church into her greatest season of transformation. We must not look at the pressures of our times as though they were obstacles set to restrict us. For in the hands of the Almighty, these are the very tools He is using to perfect us.

One of the problems of interpreting end-time events is the tendency to focus upon only one set of conditions. If we look only at the fact that satan is raging or that lawlessness, wars, earthquakes and famines are escalating, we might conclude that difficulty and darkness are all that we have awaiting us until the rapture. And, as I mentioned, many people have been taught that life will only grow more evil until Christ returns.

But the same Spirit that predicted the perilous conditions at the end of the age also forecasts that, in spite of difficulties and battle, the gospel of Christ's love will be proclaimed worldwide to all nations (see Matthew 24:14). The Lord also said that the "crop" of last-days Christians will reach full stature (see Mark 4:28-29), and that those who know their God will be strong, do exploits, shine like the stars and lead multitudes to righteousness (see Daniel 11:32; 12:3).

In every age God requires that we walk as overcomers. Our call is to pray, to stand in spiritual warfare, to intercede for our leaders and soldiers and not to surrender our vision of a world in revival, regardless of whatever temporary setbacks we may face. The very fact that some distant nations are experiencing renewal and great harvests in recent years (Uganda and Fiji, for instance) reminds us that there is still time for our own nations. Our focus must remain riveted upon becoming like Christ in all things.

We might feel overwhelmed by the flood of evil storming against our societies, yet the promise of God is that, when the enemy comes in like a flood, He shall raise a standard against him (see Isaiah 59:19, KJV).

So we must ask ourselves, is our focus upon the enemy's flood? Or are we aware of the standard God is raising up to counter the onslaught of evil? Do not forget, beloved, that even when darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the peoples, the promise of God is that His glory shall rise upon us and His presence shall be visibly seen through us! In spite of the appearance that darkness is never ending, the Lord promises that, at the end of the war between light and darkness, "nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:1-3). Indeed, God's Word reveals that nestled and unfolding in the panorama of end-time events will also be an ongoing "period of restoration" ( Acts 3:20-21).

This does not mean that the world will be subdued by the Church (as some erroneously teach), but that the true church itself will be glorious, subdued and transformed by Christ! This final display of grace will be consummated in a Christlike Church, whose spiritual maturity shall manifest on earth the person and passions of Jesus Christ Himself.

Our fight is the fight of faith: Do we believe what God has promised? Our war is against principalities and powers: Do we believe the report that Christ shall "sprinkle [that is, cleanse, and bring forgiveness and transformation to] many nations" (Isaiah 52:15)?

I, for one, believe the promises of God. His Word is not just a comfort to me in times of trouble but a sword that I wield in times of spiritual war. His faithful Word is what I proclaim over my family, my church, my city and nation! Consider His proclamation: "So will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). No matter how the battle rages, God's Word shall not return to Him void.

Consider also His commitment: "I am watching over My Word to perform it" (Jeremiah 1:12).

And His accessibility: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into Heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down), or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 'The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' – that is, the Word of faith which we are preaching" (Romans 10:6-8).

We are not mere mortals stumbling blindly on earth, separated from God and isolated from His response to our needs. No! We are new creatures, born again from above, and resident within us is the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.

Yes, we labor and intercede; we repent for our sins and the sins of our nations. But the weight of our victory rests not upon how much we labor and groan, but upon how sincerely we believe what God has promised. The Lord does not want us worrying about the future; He wants us to create it through the knowledge of His will, through the proclamation of His Word – which is the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17) – and through our yieldedness to the power of the Holy Spirit. And then He promises, "Whoever believes in [Me] will not be disappointed"(Romans 10:11).

Beloved, the sword God has put in our hearts and mouths is nothing less than the echo of His voice in us! So, let's not whine about negative conditions in the world or sigh prayers muttered in fear and unbelief. Let's embrace the fight of faith! May Christ's love for mankind be our compelling motivation! Pick up your Bible and speak audibly the promises of God's Word. Pick any verse quoted above and speak it out loud, with faith and authority. I guarantee that if you proclaim God's Word with faith, it will release power in and through your spirit. No power can quench the promises God has inspired in His Book.

He assures us, "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). Let's break the bondage of a passive spirit. Let's take up the sword of the Spirit and embrace the fight of faith!

Lord, I repent of self-pity and fear. Train my hands for war! Teach me to stand and fight back on behalf of Your righteous cause. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The preceding message is adapted from a chapter in Francis' book, This Day We Fight!

Francis Frangipane is the founder of River of Life Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and has traveled throughout the world ministering to thousands of pastors and intercessors from many backgrounds. Francis' heartfelt prayer is to see established in every city Christlike pastors and intercessors, united before God, revealing the love of Christ to their communities. Since 1985, he has written fourteen books plus a number of study booklets. Over the past decades, Francis has served on a number of other ministry boards. However, in recent years he has gradually resigned from these various boards. As of June 2009, he has also retired from his position as senior pastor of River of Life Ministries. In this more simplified life, Frangipane is devoting himself to prayer and the ministry of God's Word.

7 Tips to Develop Your Bible Reading

A man who became a Christian bought a Bible. He said, "Have you seen this thing?"

The Bible is daunting. At roughly 770,000 words, that's about 2,500 normal book pages—equivalent to 12 non-fiction books!

Bible reading falls into that special category of things we all know are important but struggle to do, like diet and exercise.

Every year since 1988, I've read the Bible cover to cover. This is certainly not required, but I've learned some things along the way that may be helpful to you.

As you might suspect, I've encountered every imaginable distraction from lack of motivation, inability to concentrate, and outright laziness to barking dogs and making the mistake of checking my email just before I planned to read!

There have been times of emotional weariness, physical tiredness, and spiritual warfare. Nevertheless, I succeed because I have a plan.

If you already have a plan, great. But if you don't—and even if you do—here are seven tips to help you make the most of reading your Bible.

1. A Purpose for Reading

First, what is your purpose for reading the Bible? When I attend a meeting I like to ask, "What's the purpose of our meeting today?" That way, we tend to stay on target.

Uppermost, I read the Bible for communion with God. First and foremost, Christianity is a relationship with the Father who lavishes His love on me. When I read the Bible I am literally spending time with the living God who delights in me.

The Bible, along with prayer, allows us the experience to holy presence of God for a few moments. Communion is what keeps me coming back. For everything else, there's google. I also read the Bible for discipleship—to grow and mature in faith.

So, my purpose to read the Bible is for communion (knowing) and discipleship(growing).

What is your purpose?

2. A Fixed Routine

What is the best time of day, frequency, place, and amount of time for you to read the Bible? My best time to read is early in the morning, because that's when I'm fresh. I grab a cup of coffee and settle into a favorite chair for an unhurried time of prayer and reading the word of God. If it fits your personality, it's a good idea to have a set schedule.

Daily Bible reading (often called a "quiet time" or "personal devotions") makes sense for the same reasons we recharge our cell phones. Of course, things come up—an argument with your spouse, an alarm that doesn't go off, early meetings, or cranky kids. On average, I read about five days a week.

How much time you spend reading is completely a matter of personal preference, but I like to read one day from an annual Bible reading plan.

What routine works best for you?

3. Pray Before Reading

Third, how should you pray when reading your Bible? It's a good idea to pray when you read. How I pray connects to my purpose: communion and discipleship. I start by bringing myself into the presence and power of God. I usually start by praying:

"Father, I come to meet with You. Please meet with me, Your much loved son. (Then I will usually add a few sentences, mostly repeating Scripture about God's love for me and my love for Him).

"Jesus, I come to meet with You. Please meet with me, Your much loved servant. (Again, I add sentences like, "I surrender my life today to Your Lordship.")

"Holy Spirit, I come to meet with You. Please meet with me, Your much loved vessel. (Plus the additional sentences like, "Lord, I invite You to disciple my heart, to reveal what's inside of me, and to speak to me."

Also, I pray about things as I read. How do you pray, or want to pray, when reading your Bible?

4. It's Always Good to Have a Goal

Fourth, what is your goal for reading the Bible? My friend Tom Skinner said, "When you set a goal, you are literally writing history in advance."

If you're new to the Bible, your goal might be, for example, to read a chapter a day in the New Testament five days a week. (If you did this you would read all 260 chapters of the New Testament in one year: 52 weeks x 5 days = 260 chapters).

I don't micromanage my Bible reading. Instead, I set one annual goal each year. That's to read through the Bible cover to cover annually. I don't worry if I miss a day or two. Call me "inconsistently" consistent. I like the flexibility of chasing down rabbit trails, such as looking up all the verses in the Bible on, say, "God's will." As I wrote this, I'm 20 days behind in The One Year Bible. It doesn't matter. By December 31, I'll catch up.

You may prefer shorter goals. God has no set formula for Bible reading.

What is your goal for reading the Bible?

5. Increase Your Comprehension

Fifth, what can you do to increase your learning and retention? I mark up my Bible. Some may consider the Bible too reverent to mark. But from a learning theory perspective, writing things down improves my comprehension. I've got margin notes, underlines, arrows, check marks, asterisks, and a few chicken scratches I can no longer decipher!

You can also journal in a notebook, on a computer, on scraps of paper, or in the margins of your Bible. I do them all.

You may concentrate better with a display screen or a hard copy. If you learn better by listening than reading, the Bible is available in all popular audio formats. It's totally up to you.

Memorization makes up an important part of my plan. I keep a list of verses I'm working on. At this point in my journey, it's rare to find myself in any situation without a verse coming to mind.

Another part of your plan could be to teach the Bible. Preparing Bible lessons drives me deeper into the Bible than anything else.

What can you do to increase your learning and retention?

6. What to Do When Your Mind Wanders

Sixth, what will you do when your mind wanders? My mind wanders all the time. And to be honest, I like it. There are four possibilities when my mind wanders: the world, the flesh, the devil, or the Spirit. When your mind wanders, you have to figure out which one it is. If it is the world, the flesh or the devil, then of course you want to reel it back in.

However, if I read a text and my mind goes racing to a relationship that's not right, or I am convicted of a sin, or prompted to some good deed, then that is the Spirit and I let that happen. When I read a phrase or sentence that impacts me, I like to linger awhile, letting the Word soak into my soul.

What if your mind wanders because you're tired and exhausted? When I get that way, I try to read out loud. If I still can't concentrate I just stop and live to read another day! What can you do when your mind wanders?

7. Know What Keeps You Coming Back for More

Seventh, figure out what keeps you coming back for more. My commitment is to stay at it each day until I have what I call "a moment of humility," an overwhelming sense of God. It could be an insight, a sense of awe, or feeling completely and totally loved. It's a moment when I feel the power and presence of God washing over me. I'm not looking for a self-help book. I want the truth. The truth is what's relevant and applicable. That's what keeps me coming back.

What keeps, or will keep, you coming back for more?

For three decades, Patrick Morley has been regarded as one of America's most respected authorities on the unique challenges and opportunities that men face. In 1989, he wrote The Man in the Mirror, a landmark book that poured from his own search for meaning, purpose, and a deeper relationship with God. With over 3,000,000 copies, this best-selling book has captured the imaginations men worldwide, and was selected as one of the 100 most influential Christian books of the twentieth century.

 

Nigerians urged to eat for healthy life

By Gabriel Olawale, Busola Likolo & Charlyne Ikpe

Hallelujah Acres, a  Christian health organization, has urged Nigerians to eat healthily by adopting proper diet and healthy lifestyle.

Speaking a seminar on Nutrition and Nourishment, the Chief Executive and President, Dr. Paul Malkmus  said 70 percent of sicknesses come from what a person eats.

Noting that 70 per cent of sickness comes from animal products such as white sugar, white flour, artificial sweetness, caffeine, he stated: "God designed our bodies to be healthy. But every day, toxins, free radicals, artificial additives, pesticides and preservatives enter our body from the foods we eat and this depletes healthy cells and when this multiply, disease comes in."

Malkmus said God did not create humans to be sick but has given them every food they need to be healthy, strong and vibrant. Part of which include fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts among others.

Chief of Education and Training, Ann Malkmus, said diseases manifest when there is no relief, no balance, no cycle work and rest. She further advised that people should engage in exercise, relax and embrace diet plan adding that juicing vegetables and plant foods are major parts of the diet plan required to get nutrients into the bodies.

"Your digestive system only extracts 35 percent of nutrients in food, whereas when you juice the food, it is like an intravenous shot of nutrients, and you will absorb 92 percent of available nutrients, so juicing vegetables and plant foods will get nutrients into our bodies," stated.

She said the Hallelujah Diet product can help strengthen the body because it contains living foods designed to build cells in the body.

"This Hallelujah diet is made up of variety of supplements, including B12, oils, digestive enzymes, a cleansing product, and barley powder, which can help to restore the body back to normal."

How the Holy Spirit Is Misunderstood

How the Holy Spirit Is Misunderstood

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Today the third person of the Trinity is underappreciated by those who misunderstand Him and misrepresented by those overzealous for His manifestations. Somewhere between those extremes we must realize our desperate need for a genuine move of the Holy Spirit.

The world is full of books about God the Father who created the universe, and more books are written about Jesus the Son of God than anyone who ever walked on this planet. But isn't it interesting that far fewer books have been written about God the Holy Spirit?

When teaching on prayer, Jesus declared, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13, emphasis added). You'd think that promise would create a huge desire to know more about this promised Helper—?who He is and what He does. And it would be even better if we were to experience Him as a living reality the way the early believers did.

We know that Jesus the Son is seated at the right hand of the Father (Luke 22:69; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1). So that means the Holy Spirit is God's only agent on Earth. He is the only experience we can have of God Almighty, the only way we can have the work of Jesus Christ applied to our lives and the only way we can understand God's Word. Without the Holy Spirit, we are like the disciples before Pentecost—?sincere but struggling with confusion and defeat.

More than 100 years ago, Samuel Chadwick, a great Methodist preacher and leader in England, summed it up concisely: "The Christian religion is hopeless without the Holy Ghost."

The early church provides the perfect illustration of that hopelessness. It was made up of simple men and women. The leaders were former fishermen and tax collectors who fled in fear when Jesus was arrested and needed them most. They weren't courageous and faithful. In fact, they lacked faith and courage. They were the least likely to be put in charge of any Christian enterprise.

Yet after the events in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, those same nobodies were suddenly transformed. With courage and faith, they turned their community, and eventually the world, upside down.

It wasn't a result of their seminary training; they didn't have any. They couldn't hand out copies of the New Testament; it hadn't been written yet. It wasn't because they were wealthy and had the greatest sound system and light show at their church; they were poor people without a church building. 

To the existing Jewish religious establishment, those early Christians were mocked as unlearned and ignorant people with few resources. To the Roman Empire they seemed fanatical and strange.

But one thing they did possess was the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them to rely on the Spirit for everything. The early believers knew well that Christianity was hopeless without the Holy Spirit.

Giving the Spirit His Due

The Holy Spirit is underappreciated and underpreached by the 21st century church. There is a prejudice of sorts against the Holy Spirit that impedes many from learning more about Him.

The body of Christ is often divided into two sides. One side stresses the Word of God, separating itself from what it views as the emotional fanaticism often linked to those emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit. The other side is sometimes known for drifting into unbiblical manifestations and unorthodox teaching while attributing it all to the Spirit of God.

Seeing the abuse and bad teaching, many on the first side will say: "I'm not interested in experiences and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. I just want to study the Word." 

But it was the Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible, and there are lots of promises concerning His person and work. How can anyone treasure God's Word without giving the Holy Spirit His rightful place?

To those who move in circles strongly emphasizing the Holy Spirit, they must be reminded that everything must be tested by Scripture. The Spirit never contradicts the Word He gave us. He also never puts the focus on the preacher, because the Holy Spirit was sent to glorify Christ alone (John 16:14).

Somewhere in the middle is the kind of Christianity we see in Scripture, where the Word of God is honored along with a childlike dependence and openness to the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can make the things of Christ real and alive to people. 

Christianity does not stop at the cross where Jesus died and paid the price for our sins. After Good Friday was Resurrection Sunday, when the Spirit raised Christ.

Yet so many of us live with faint trickles and shallow pools of the Spirit, rather than the promised rivers of living water. "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38, emphasis added). 

By this He meant the Spirit. Everything about the Spirit speaks of powerful currents of life that refresh us and flow out to bless others.

Let's remember how any person becomes a Christian: Before a person can feel the need for Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she must first be convicted of sin. "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit shows us our sin and our need for a Savior. That is what every believer experiences in conversion to Christ.

It is the Holy Spirit working inside of us that causes us to turn from our sin and fix our eyes on Jesus. While we may be tempted to think we can create emotional environments for this to happen, the truth is that this kind of rebirth or transformation can happen only through the work of the Holy Spirit.

When God looks down on the earth, He doesn't focus on ethnicity, and He never acknowledges religious denominations. He just sees two kinds of people: His children who have the Spirit living inside of them and unbelievers who don't have the Spirit living inside of them. It's as simple as that.

Today we split hairs about doctrinal positions to validate our faith, but to the early church the definition was simpler. Either we are temples or we are not temples. Paul wrote, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Rom. 8:9).

It would have been impossible for the apostles to consider someone a true believer in Jesus without the accompanying witness and work of the Spirit. The Spirit of God was the bottom line.

And He still is. His miraculous work on behalf of believers hasn't ended. 

One Saturday night, I got a call from our chief financial officer, Steve. A pastor we knew of in Gojra, Pakistan, had telephoned him and reported a problem in his city.

"What's wrong?" I asked Steve.

"At the five o'clock Muslim call to prayer, something set them off," he replied. "Now they're shouting: 'Death to the Christians! Burn their houses down. Death to the Christians!' The pastor's really concerned."

"OK, I am going to pray tonight. You pray too, Steve," I said.

I prayed that night, and then saw Steve the next day as our service was beginning. He was holding his cellphone, and I could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong.

"The pastor just called again. The situation's worse," Steve said. "He's on the rooftop with his wife and children and some of the local Christians. There are thousands of people in the square chanting, 'Death to the Christians!' I can hear the fear in his voice and the chanting mob in the background, so I know what he's saying is true."

I felt as if I'd taken a punch and the air had been knocked out of me. As we walked into the sanctuary, the congregation was singing and praising God. When the song ended, I interrupted and told the congregation, "We're going to get back to worshipping God in a moment, but right now there is an emergency situation we have to pray about."

I told the church what I knew and asked our worship leader to lead in prayer. Suddenly a chorus of cries went up to God on behalf of the Pakistani believers. It was just like what occurred in the book of Acts: "They raised their voices together in prayer to God" (4:24, NIV).

Later in the day, Steve gave me an update. "You won't believe this," he said. "The pastor called me back. As they were on the rooftop, some clouds came out of nowhere. It rained so hard it dispersed the crowd! Everyone was safe, and they were able to get off the roof and return to their homes."

I couldn't wait to tell the church. God rescued the man, his family and the other local Christians through the prayers of His people half a world away. The Holy Spirit was working in Pakistan, protecting those believers from the mob. But at the same time, the Holy Spirit was also moving among the people of our church, helping them to pray fervently and with a bold faith that only God could give. 

Genuine Manifestations

To many people this story about Pakistan might seem "out there." But maybe that's because without the Spirit of God moving strongly among us, many of us have become faithless and cynical. We have seen so much ministerial self-aggrandizement and so many dubious financial appeals linked to a supposed "Holy Spirit anointing" that we have turned away in disgust because so little of it reminds us of Jesus.

But don't the false appeals prove that something true really does exist? William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said: "We are not such fools as to refuse good bank notes because there are false ones in circulation; and although we see here and there manifestations of what appears to us to be nothing more than mere earthly fire, we nonetheless prize and value, and seek, for the genuine fire which comes from the altar of the Lord."

The counterfeit proves there must be a true genuine manifestation of the Holy Spirit! There is a counterfeit gospel, but there is also a true message of salvation. There are false portrayals of Jesus, but there is also the true Son of God, Savior of the world. And so it is with the Holy Spirit. We must not be scared away by the abuses.

To the Corinthians, Paul said: "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Cor. 12:7). Now what are we going to do with this verse? The infallible Word of God says the manifestation of the Holy Spirit was given to each one for the common good. To each one, not just to the apostles.

Think of the impact of that verse. Is that something we preach? Do we believe it? Do we pray about it? Do we expect it? God has promised every one of us a manifestation—?supernatural by definition—of the Holy Spirit. It is part of being a Christian. To water that down to mean human talent is unbelief in God the Holy Spirit.

One of the ways the Spirit glorifies Christ is to build up His body for the common good. That is how God strengthens His church. Since the church is a spiritual organism, it needs spiritual ministry to build it up. 

Spiritual ministry can only come by the Holy Spirit showing Himself through human beings. His power flows through human vessels.

Our Lord Jesus Christ never intended that His church operate without visitations and blessings from the living Spirit of God. Why would He send another Helper if not to help us? Just look around at our world. Don't we see the obvious need of something fresh from God to overcome the powerful influences of evil?

The early church was alive and active because of the Holy Spirit. There is no verse—not even one—?that relegates the importance and vitality of the Spirit only to the New Testament church. That's the key: We have to believe the Holy Spirit is present for us today. 

We can receive only according to our faith. If we don't believe, we won't pray; and when we don't ask, we won't receive the blessings God has for us.

How easy it is for us to become parched and dry. What we need are fresh showers of blessing to soften our hearts and bring fruitfulness to our lives. That's why the Old Testament prophet cried to God, "Rend the heavens and come down" (see Is. 64:1, 3). 

Come down on us, Holy Spirit, for we are truly helpless without You.

Jim Cymbala is the pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City, the church he has led since the 1970s. He is also the author of several books, including the best-selling Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. This article was taken from Spirit Rising by Jim Cymbala. Copyright © 2012. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com.

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How to Obtain Extraordinary Power in Prayer!

How to Obtain Extraordinary Power in Prayer!

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You can live a life of extraordinary, supernatural power! The secret is actually quite simple. God's power is obtained through a lifestyle of intimacy with Him.

Jesus understood the connection between power and intimacy. Luke 5:15-16 says: "Great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed" (NKJV). Jesus was constantly flowing in the power of God and releasing it through His life to others. The level of His anointing was in direct proportion to His prayer life.

Everything Jesus accomplished in His earthly ministry was birthed out of the time He spent with the Father in prayer. In John 5:19 He declares, "'Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.'" The mighty power that flowed through Jesus' life to work miracles was a direct result of His communion with God. God taught me this truth early in my walk with Him. Both before and during my years in pastoral ministry I would spend hours a day waiting in His presence.

At that time I had no idea how God would use me to bring His love and power to thousands. I would often walk into my office at the church as a young pastor to find the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit waiting there for me. Periodically I would spend all day and night locked in my office basking in the radiance of His glory.

One day I felt guilty for spending so much time in prayer. I knew there were practical things that needed to be done. But God said to me, "Matt, if you do not have this time with Me now, you will not be able to walk in what I have for you in the future."

Instantly all the guilt was gone. I knew that my future ministry would be released out of the time I was spending with God. And, of course, the tasks I had to do always got done.

After five years of pastoral ministry, during which the anointing of God increased on my life, I suddenly found myself being launched by Him into a worldwide, prophetic healing ministry. During the last several years we have seen thousands saved, healed and delivered by God's power.

I attribute the anointing I have today to the years of hidden devotion I had with God as both a young person and a pastor.

I could write pages of accounts of divine encounters in which the power of God has been released as a result of my cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit in my life. One particularly memorable event occurred during a church service in West Virginia. It was 8:30 p.m., and we had already been worshiping for an hour and a half. Suddenly God said to me, "At 9 p.m. My power will hit this place."

I knew something extraordinary was about to happen. I stood at the pulpit and encouraged those in attendance to continue worshiping. Then I instructed the ushers to close off all the air vents. I didn't want anyone to mistake the air conditioning for the wind of God.

The members of the congregation lifted their hands and began to worship with a new fervor. The atmosphere became electrified with a supernatural faith.

At precisely 9 p.m. I could feel a surge of power hit my body as the person of the Holy Spirit swept across the sanctuary. Some could feel a physical wind blowing over their bodies, while others felt a tangible fire. God had invaded the meeting!

People ran forward testifying of God's healing power. Many were instantly healed of fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, chronic back pain, chest pain, shoulder conditions, knee injuries, pneumonia and rheumatoid arthritis.

As we have allowed the Holy Spirit to move in our meetings since that incident, we have also witnessed the healing of cancer, the opening of deaf ears, the restoration of sight to blind eyes and the ability to walk to the lame, as well as the healing of deep emotions. Glory to God!

Let me encourage you to continually develop a lifestyle of intimacy with God. Not only will you experience His tremendous power, but you will also enjoy getting to know Him, walking closely with Him and learning the secrets of His heart. You will discover that fellowship with Him is the greatest joy a person can experience.

You can walk intimately with God and live in the reality of His presence every day of your life. You can be a releaser of His glory in a hurting and lost world. Whether to the woman in the grocery store who needs healing from arthritis or to the multitudes in Africa and India who are starving and lost in spiritual darkness, you can carry God's power and love as you intimately walk with God each day.

Matt Sorger (www.mattsorger.com) is a prophetic revivalist who travels worldwide preaching and teaching God's Word and bringing a fresh impartation of His Spirit through national conferences, prophetic healing revival services and international miracle crusades. He has seen thousands saved, healed and delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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