DAY FORTY TWO | Why The Tears
June 11, 2009
DAY FORTY TWO | WHY THE TEARS?
PSALM 84:6 – As they pass through the Valley of Baca (tears), they make it a spring: the rain also covers it with pools.”
Custom has it that when ancient pilgrims had to camp in a dry and desolate valley, they would dig a small well, so that others coming after them would find waters to refresh them. Understand this! Tough times come to all who journey by faith. There will be some dry desolate valleys where no water can be found. Read more
DAY FORTY ONE | Moving On
June 10, 2009
DAY FORTY ONE | MOVING ON
PSALM 84 : 5 – Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
When did you last do something out of your normal routine? Blessed is the man who sets his heart, and makes himself ready to move on. I don’t mean packing your bags and running every time there is a problem in your world. I do mean preparing yourself for new adventures in your walk of faith. To prepare you heart for journeying does not mean you have a restless spirit; rather you are ready to rise to new challenges when they are presented to you. Read more
DAY FORTY | Wise People Win Souls
June 9, 2009
DAY FORTY | WISE PEOPLE WIN SOULS
DANIEL 12 : 3 – Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”
He that wins souls is wise. God has given us such a wonderful life full of blessing and hope for eternity. How unbelievably selfish it would be to keep such a blessed hope to ourselves. Why then do we find it so difficult to share our faith, and to speak of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. God’s light has come and we are the carriers.
I think possibly because we have been trained to share steps or formulas to salvation, rather than simply live the delights of our Christian faith. Light does not need to be advertised. Wherever light shines in darkness it can and will be seen. Light has a way of making itself known. Light is associated with wisdom, whereas darkness is associated with foolishness.
I love the fact that the Bible declares that we are to turn people to righteousness, not just add a “decision” notch to our belt. We are to help people make wise decisions and to show them how to live righteous lives. Righteousness must be outlived through us for others to follow.
To turn people to righteousness requires that you are living a righteous life.
A life full of faith and faithfulness!
A life full of fellowship with Godly people!
A life full of endeavour for the cause of Christ!
A life full of commitment for the local church!
A life full of love; for God, others and life!
Your righteousness will shine when you make wise decisions in your Christian walk. Sadly many so called Christians make repeated dumb decisions and wonder then why no-one follows the Christ they talk about. Those who are wise shall shine!
DAY THIRTY NINE | God Has A Plan For You
June 8, 2009
DAY THIRTY NINE | GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU
JEREMIAH 29 : 11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
This is another one of my many favourite scriptures. Let me share what I get from this verse. Read more
DAY THIRTY EIGHT | Boasting In The Lord
June 7, 2009
DAY THIRTY EIGHT | BOASTING IN THE LORD
1 CORINTHIANS 10 : 17 – “But he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
In Jeremiah 10:23&24 we read two powerful scriptures on how to boast in life.
Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, hat he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD. Read more
DAY THIRTY SIX | Knowing Your Limits
June 5, 2009
DAY THIRTY SX | KNOWING YOUR LIMITS
2 CORINTHIANS 10 : 13 –
DAY THIRTY FIVE | Stand Out From The Crowd
June 4, 2009
WELCOME TO DAY THIRTY FIVE | STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
1Chr. 4:9 – Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
1Chr. 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested. Now Jabez was more honourable than his brethren.”
Jabez chose to live in a manner that exceeded the behaviour of those around him. He chose to ignore the peer pressure and the crowd dynamics imposed upon him.
There are certain crowd dynamics, that we should be aware of, and guard against, if we are to succeed in life.
- Crowds always follow. We are called to be leaders who lead in life.
- Crowds need the spectacular. We are called to be faithful in the little things.
- Crowds turn away quickly. We are called to stay until the job is done.
- Crowds create heroes. We are to honour those who show the fruits of righteousness and faithfulness
- Crowds desert you when trouble comes. We are called to stand in the day of trouble and fight the good fight of faith together.
- Crowds want to be entertained. We are called to love the meat of God’s word and consume it.
- Crowds want it for free. We are called to pay the price to serve the cause of Christ.
- Crowds always forget. We are called to remember Him and not to forget all His benefits.
- Crowds run on enthusiasm. We run on momentum that comes from consistent action.
- Crowds live by convenience. We live by convictions.
Don’t be content to run with the crowd. Follow Christ as an individual and you will find crowds coming to watch you shine.
PRACTICAL
1. Identify the ways in which you act to hide in the crowd.
2. Plan ways to change your “crowd” behavior to “leader” behavior.
3. identify friendships that keep you back with the crowd and decide to change them.
DAY THIRTY FOUR | Clear the Room
June 3, 2009
WELCOME TO DAY THIRTY FOUR | CLEAR THE ROOM
ACTS 9 : 40 – But Peter PUT THEM ALL OUT, and knelt down and prayed.”
Feel like you are living in a crowded house? Are you under siege with a thousand different problems, ideas, opinions, or solutions? Do you feel like you just need time out to breathe?
Sometimes you have to get a bit ruthless and command the crowd to leave. Just usher them out the door and close it for a while. Then do what Peter did. He knelt down and prayed to the Lord. Nothing can equal a “time-out” with the Lord. You will get your sanity back. You eyes will lose their cloudiness. The ringing in your ears will stop and your breathing will return to normal. Take regular “time-outs” with the Lord.
Do not wait until you have a life or death situation but learn to “sit at His feet” and listen.
Prayer is not always about storming heaven. Sometimes prayer is the stillness of the garden at evening when he comes to meet with you alone.
The crowd will always be there waiting outside the door. Learn some crowd control in your life and you will be a lot better for it.
Don’t live life waiting for phones calls to determine what you do next. Plan your time and make it count.
Your friends will understand and your enemies will still be the same, so why not take control today and let Jesus into your important moments and decisions.
Learn to take “time-outs” with Christ and you will be amazed how many times He will show Himself powerful on your behalf.
PRACTICAL
1. Plan a “time out” with God asap.
2. Look through your diary and see what is crowding you in so that you time with God is limited.
3. Now ruthlessly eliminate the “crowds” from your life.
4. Get your friends to help you get alone with God. ask them to hold you accountable to get away for “time outs.’
DAY THIRTY THREE | It is time to Act
June 2, 2009
WELCOME TO DAY THIRTY THREE | IT IS TIME TO ACT
JOHN 20 : 27 – Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.
DO NOT BE UNBELIEVING, BUT BELIEVING.
Jesus addressed doubting Thomas by directing him to action. Believing always progresses to action, whereas doubt and unbelief always leads to inaction.
We are well into our 70 days to excel and by now you should know clearly the things you decided to do in this season that are still waiting for the action to commence.
Notice Jesus gave Thomas two opportunities to believe and act.
Firstly He directed Thomas to take hold of His hands and observe the nail scars from the cross. To do so would be to identify with the pain and suffering of the cross. Thomas would be able to see and identify with God’s plan for his life.
Next Jesus directed Thomas to reach out his hand and insert it into the spear hole in His side. No longer would Thomas just see and identify with Christ’s suffering, now he would feel the heartbeat of Christ and know why Jesus paid such a price to redeem his life.
In life there are often two levels of Christian involvement.
The first happens when people believe enough to take the hand of the Lord and identify with Him.
The other deeper and greater level of believing is when people become joined to the heart of Christ by reaching into Him and feeling His compassion for the lost and hurting.
To reach into Christ and believe for His heart to become your heart, and His anointing to be your anointing, and His compassion your compassion: is to know the joy of true believing. This kind of believing results in a life of action that can make a real difference on the planet.
Are you just holding Christ’s hand or are you genuinely feeling His heartbeat?
To feel His heart is to really believe. You can never live the same when you know why Christ died. To know Him is to know life eternal.
PRACTICAL
1. When did you last reach into Christ and feel His heart for a broken world.
2. Set aside some time to spend in God’s presence until you have a meaninful encounter with the heart of God.
3. Don’t go to God with any agenda except to feel His heartbeat for lost and hurting people.
4. Don’t treat this as something for another time. You will be changed forever when you feel God’s heart for humanity.
DAY THIRTY TWO | Stand Up & Be Counted
June 1, 2009
WELCOME TO DAY THIRTY TWO | STAND UP AND BE COUNTED
NUMBERS 26 : 2 – Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and above, by their father’s houses, all who are able to go to war.”
God commanded Moses to “quantify” the crowd according to those who “qualify”. Do not be a back seat passenger when it comes to serving God. Do not be a pew warmer or a spectator in your local church.God commanded Moses to count the people according to two criteria;
1. Those who were connected to their father’s house.
People who were rightfully born into the family of God and who knew where they belonged! There is a real emphasis on people being connected to the House according to family size groups. Small groups have become an integral part of the church in action. Count these people as valid members of the House.
2. Those who were able to go to war.
Those who are trained to fight for the cause of the local church should be counted. Many people want to fight for every cause they can find on the planet, yet do not lift a finger when asked to help build the local church. Count only those who have been trained in the House and who know what battle is to be won.
Make sure you are integrally joined to your local church and have found your area of ministry and service. Then make sure you are trained with the “weapons of the House” and know what battles are presently being waged. In other words find out where your leaders are going and join them on the journey. If it is not where you want to go then you are in the wrong house.
When we all “stand up and be counted” the church becomes an invincible force on planet earth, and you start personally winning in life along with your church family.
PRACTICAL
1. Identify the names of the poeple that are part of your small connect support group in life.
2. If you are not connected – contact your local church to find a support group of people with whom you can do life and ministry.
3. Take time to connect well with the people in your support group and build meaningful friendships with them.
4. Find a key area of service in your church where you can stand up and be counted.
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