The strongest, most mature Christians I have ever met are the most hungry for God. It might seem that those who eat the most would be the least hungry. But that’s not the way it works with an inexhaustible fountain, and an infinite feast and a glorious Lord. 

When you take your stand on the finished work of God in Christ, and I begin to drink at the River of Life and eat the Bread of Heaven, and know that you have found the end of all your longings, you only become more hungry for God.  –JohnPiper

Take my life and let it be,

 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;

Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love,

 At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee;

Take my voice, and let me sing,

Always, only for my King,

Always, only for my King.

Take my will, and make it Thine,

It shall be no longer mine;

Take my heart, it is Thine own;

It shall be Thy royal throne,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

–Frances R. Havergal

OUR BELIEFS DETERMINE OUR BEHAVIOUR

by Rick Warren

The Bible tells us there are three reasons why it matters what you believe.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” The first reason why you need to know what you believe and why you believe it is because it shapes your life.

The Bible tells us that our beliefs determine our behavior. If there are things in your life you want to change, you don’t change them from the outside in. You change them from the inside out. You start with your thought life, not by trying to change external things.

Second, if you have a faulty worldview, it’s going to cause all kinds of unnecessary problems in your life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed” (MSG). When you don’t have God’s truth and a correct worldview, you stumble all over yourself. But when you pay attention to God’s revelation, then you are blessed.

Do you want your life to be blessed? Just attend to the truth. Pay attention, and get your worldview in line with truth, not popular opinion.

The third reason is found in 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you. But do it courteously and respectfully” (AMP).

God expects you to not only know what you believe and why you believe it but also to be able to explain it to other people. Our world needs people who can explain effectively to others what they believe, because most of the people in the world don’t have a clue what they really believe, much less why they believe it.

God expects you to know what you believe and why you believe it and to explain it to other people. Whether they show it or not, the world is desperate to hear about something they can believe in. Sometimes, it just takes you being obedient and telling others about your worldview for them to hear truth.

ISAIAH, CHAPTER 19 GNT

This is a message about Egypt.

The Lord is coming to Egypt, riding swiftly on a cloud. The Egyptian idols tremble before him, and the people of Egypt lose their courage. ² The Lord says, “I will stir up civil war in Egypt and turn brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor. Rival cities will fight each other, and rival kings will struggle for power. ³ I am going to frustrate the plans of the Egyptians and destroy their morale. They will ask their idols to help them, and they will go and consult mediums and ask the spirits of the dead for advice. ⁴ I will hand the Egyptians over to a tyrant, to a cruel king who will rule them. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”

⁵ The water will be low in the Nile, and the river will gradually dry up. ⁶ The channels of the river will stink as they slowly go dry. Reeds and rushes will wither, ⁷ and all the crops planted along the banks of the Nile will dry up and be blown away. ⁸ Everyone who earns a living by fishing in the Nile will groan and cry; their hooks and their nets will be useless. ⁹ Those who make linen cloth will be in despair; ¹⁰ weavers and skilled workers will be broken and depressed.

¹¹ The leaders of the city of Zoan are fools! Egypt’s wisest people give stupid advice! How do they dare to tell the king that they are successors to the ancient scholars and kings? ¹² King of Egypt, where are those clever advisers of yours? Perhaps they can tell you what plans the Lord Almighty has for Egypt. ¹³ The leaders of Zoan and Memphis are fools. They were supposed to lead the nation, but they have misled it. ¹⁴ The Lord has made them give confusing advice. As a result, Egypt does everything wrong and staggers like a drunk slipping on his own vomit. ¹⁵ No one in Egypt, rich or poor, important or unknown, can offer help.

Egypt Will Worship the Lord

¹⁶ A time is coming when the people of Egypt will be as timid as women. They will tremble in terror when they see that the Lord Almighty has stretched out his hand to punish them. ¹⁷ The people of Egypt will be terrified of Judah every time they are reminded of the fate that the Lord Almighty has prepared for them.

¹⁸ When that time comes, the Hebrew language will be spoken in five Egyptian cities. The people there will take their oaths in the name of the Lord Almighty. One of the cities will be called, “City of the Sun.”

¹⁹ When that time comes, there will be an altar to the Lord in the land of Egypt and a stone pillar dedicated to him at the Egyptian border. ²⁰ They will be symbols of the Lord Almighty’s presence in Egypt. When the people there are oppressed and call out to the Lord for help, he will send someone to rescue them. ²¹ The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptian people, and then they will acknowledge and worship him, and bring him sacrifices and offerings. They will make solemn promises to him and do what they promise. ²² The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will turn to him, and he will hear their prayers and heal them.

²³ When that time comes, there will be a highway between Egypt and Assyria. The people of these two countries will travel back and forth between them, and the two nations will worship together. ²⁴ When that time comes, Israel will rank with Egypt and Assyria, and these three nations will be a blessing to all the world. ²⁵ The Lord Almighty will bless them and say, “I will bless you, Egypt, my people; you, Assyria, whom I created; and you, Israel, my chosen people.”

THINKING FOR A CHANGE

‘The plans of the diligent lead to profit…’ Proverbs 21:5 NIV

In his book, Thinking for a Change, Dr. John Maxwell says, ‘The right thought, plus the right people, in the right environment, at the right time, for the right reason, always produces the right result.’ Let’s take a minute and break those words down: (1) The right thought. Thinking produces ideas, and ideas have incredible power and potential. But every idea begins as a ‘seed thought,’ so you have to nurture and protect it. (2) The right people. When you expose the right idea to the right people, great things happen. In their company it blossoms and becomes infused with possibility. (3) The right environment. In the right environment thinking is valued, ideas flow freely, fresh eyes are welcome, changes are expected, questions are encouraged, egos are checked, ideas stimulate better ideas, and thinking generates teamwork. (4) The right time. The Emperor Hadrian said, ‘To be right too soon, is to be wrong.’ While still in the ‘stretching’ stage of an idea, present it without expectation, time frames, or rigidly defined goals. Why? Because if you try to implement your idea too early it may not survive. (5) The right reason. JP Morgan said, ‘A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good idea, and the real reason.’ Motives matter – and selfish motives disqualify us. God only gets behind ideas that fulfil His purposes and demonstrate His love for others. Sometimes an idea becomes great when it partners with another idea; other times it excels just as it is. One thing is certain: as you stretch your thinking, you will discover that your thinking is stretching you. Bill & Debby Gass

WORKING IN THE KINGDOM

‘The father [or mother] of a righteous man has great joy…’ Proverbs 23:24 NIV

The hardest work is sometimes the most overlooked work. A husband came home from work one day and the house was an absolute mess. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, dirty dishes filled the sink, the kids were crying, the beds were unmade, the bathroom smelled badly and the TV set was blaring. When he asked his wife what was going on, she replied, ‘You know how you ask me every night what I did all day? Well, today I didn’t do it.’ If you’re a stay-at-home mum or dad, God considers your work to be important. It’s more important to the future than just about any other profession – because you’re determining the quality of the next generation. Martin Luther said, ‘What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in Heaven for our Lord.’ One day God will say, ‘Well done,’ to parents who cared for children – bathing them, feeding them, cleaning up after them – when they were tired and thought nobody was looking. Somebody is looking. Somebody is keeping track. It is worth it! You are the one who makes your work significant – not the other way round. When you discover the gifts God has given you and the passions He has placed within you, and put them to work in the service of values you deeply believe in – you are ‘working for God’ in the truest sense. So each day ask God to make your work go well. And try to identify the larger picture in your work that makes it a ‘calling’. Bill & Debby Gass

WORKING IN THE KINGDOM

‘To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given…’ Matthew 25:29 NLT

Your  value in a job is determined by the value you add to the job. When a Christian goes to work each day, God holds them accountable for adding, enhancing and improving things in their workplace. Jesus told the story of three men who were each given money. One was given five bags of it, another two, and another one. The first two ‘…went and traded with them, and gained…’ (Matthew 25:16 NAS) They showed skill, initiative, and made 100 percent profit. So they were commended by their master. But the third man just punched the clock, called in sick, didn’t train, try, dare or do. So his job review didn’t go too well. And Jesus said something that ought to make us all sit up and take notice: ‘To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.’ That means if your attitude and work ethic are poor, you’re in trouble with God. So, let’s stop and think about your job. If Jesus were your supervisor, would you do your work any differently? How would you answer the phone, type documents, treat your employees, or teach your pupils if Jesus were checking your work? As a citizen of God’s Kingdom you need to periodically review your attitude on the job, solicit feedback on how you can grow, demonstrate love and grace to those you work with, make your company profitable, and enjoy the work you do. Bill & Debby Gass

WORKING IN THE KINGDOM

‘…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.’ Mark 10:43 NIV

Disneyland is referred to as ‘the Magic Kingdom’. For those who work there, one value is emphasised above all others. It’s what puts the ‘magic’ into that kingdom. What is it? Servanthood! Employees are told that when you walk through those gates, you serve. You treat every encounter with people as if they were your personal guest. If they need directions, you escort them. If they ask a question you’ve heard a hundred times, you answer it as if you’d never heard it before. There’s a ride called the Jungle Cruise, and the most common question asked about it is, ‘How long is this ride?’ So the staff is given a prepared, standard answer: ‘The Jungle Cruise is an exciting adventure ride that lasts ten minutes.’ But one employee had been asked it once too often, so when a couple asked, ‘How long is the Jungle Cruise?’ he said, ‘Three days.’ The couple got out of the line, left the park, went back to Disney Hotel where they were on their honeymoon, packed up their suitcases, checked out, and came back to the line at the Jungle Cruise. The next day that Disneyland employee was gone. Someone else was standing at the line to say, ‘The Jungle Cruise is an exciting adventure ride that lasts ten minutes.’ When you represent God’s Kingdom you’re supposed to go out of your way to facilitate people, love them and meet their needs. Why? Because Jesus, the King in this Kingdom, said, ‘…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…’ (Matthew 20:28 NIV) Bill & Debby Gass

GETTING REFUELED

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” – Mark 1:35-36

How do you get refueled? When our cars run low on fuel, we simply drop by the local filling station to get more fuel. When our bodies are hungry, we feed them. How do we refuel our spiritual lives? We can learn from the example Jesus modeled in His life.

In the New Testament we see that Jesus had a very demanding schedule. He traveled from town to town, often walking many miles between the towns. He spent a lot of time with people. As a speaker and teacher I can tell you that it is very draining to minister for extended periods. Your body and your spirit become fatigued.

The day before the above scripture was recorded, Jesus had a full day of ministry healing the sick, delivering people from demons and walking to different cities (Mark 1:29-37). The following day it says Jesus got up before the sun rose and went to pray. The disciples were wondering where He was.

When Jesus was on earth, He was fully man. Everything He did was based upon receiving specific directions and power from His father to do them. He was not operating as God, but as a human being with the same limitations you and I have. So, Jesus knew one of the key ways to refuel His mind, body and spirit was by spending time in prayer to His Heavenly Father.

This is a critical discipline for every follower of Jesus if you expect to have power and victory in your Christian walk. We each need to find a solitary place to focus upon the Lord, His Word and His input for our lives.

If this is not a part of your daily experience, why not start tomorrow with a few minutes of focused time of reading and prayer. You will be encouraged with the new spiritual focus you will have by making this a priority.  Author Unknown

FACING THE IMPOSSIBLE

“And at Kadesh-barnea the Lord sent you out with this command: ‘Go up and take over the land I have given you.‘ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him.” – Deuteronomy 9:23

Moses reminded the people of their unbelief 40 years earlier, when they had refused to enter Canaan. The Israelites had refused to follow God in spite of all he had already done. They looked only to their own resources instead of to God’s power.

Sometimes God asks impossible things of his people. God asked Nehemiah and Ezra to rebuild the walls and the Temple under their enemies‘ watchful eyes. He asked Peter to walk across the waves. He asked Paul to bear a thorn in his flesh. And he asked Israel to drive the nations out of the Promised Land.

We tend to fear that God gives orders like these and then abandons us to complete them. But God is not like that at all. God told Israel he had already given them the land. God wasn’t going to wish them luck and disappear. God was going with them. In truth, he was going before them.

If God is asking you to do the impossible, remember that he has not abandoned you to do it alone. God is going with you. His “power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And “what is impossible for people is possible with God” (Luke 18:27) Rev. Timothy Satryan

Stay with God!
Take heart.
Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.
Psalm 27:14 MSG