REMEMBER THOSE WHO HELPED YOU

REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE HELPED YOU

Philippians 4:16 MSG
Even while I was in Thessalonica, you helped out—and not only once, but twice.

We are familiar with the part of the this scripture that my God shall supply all your needs, not knowing what lead to that prayers,  Paul the Apostle had to remember what they did and prayed for them. We as Christians have to remember those who have been of help to us and pray for them. And if we can help in return it should be our life style.

Charles Swindoll tells the story of the giving tree: 'When the boy was young he swung from the tree's branches, ate her apples, and slept in her shade...But as he grew up he spent less and less time with the tree. "Come on, let's play," said the tree. But the young man was only interested in money. "Then take all my apples and sell them," said the tree. The man did, and the tree was happy. He didn't return for a long time, but the tree smiled when he passed by one day. "Come on, let's play!" But the man, older and tired of the world, wanted to get away from it all. "Cut me down. Take my trunk, make a boat, then you can sail away," said the tree. The man did, and the tree was happy. Many seasons passed - and the tree waited. Finally the man returned, too old to play, or pursue riches, or sail the seas. "I have a pretty good stump left. Sit down here and rest," said the tree. The man did, and the tree was happy.'
Swindoll continues: 'I stared into the fire, reviewing my life as I grew older with the tree and the boy. I identified with both - and it hurt. How many giving trees have there been? How many people have given themselves so I might grow, accomplish my goals, and find wholeness and satisfaction? Thank you, Lord, for each one. That night I crawled into bed. I had wept, now I was smiling. "Good night, Lord." I was a humble man. Thankful I'd taken time to reflect.'
Paul remembered those who helped him - and so should you.

Never you think you have out grown those who helped you to where you are today. Life is all about the helps you get and the help you render. Those who have helped you to where you are today.  always learn to go back to them if you can't always remember them. Any help we render is unto the lord not to man but
 God uses men to help men.

Learn to be appreciative of what God has done done for you. A little thank you for a good did can make another good to happen. God bless you.

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The life of a shepherd

Psalms  23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Who is a shepherd?

In a nomadic state of society, every man, from the sheikh down to the slave, is more or less a shepherd. The progenitors of the Jews in the patriarchal age were nomads, and their history is rich in scenes of pastoral life.

The occupation of tending the flocks was undertaken,not only by the sons of wealthy chiefs; but even by their daughters.

The office of the eastern shepherd, as described in the Bible, was attended with much hardship, and even danger. He was exposed to the extremes of heat and cold, his food frequently consisted of the precarious supplies.

He had to encounter the attacks of wild beasts, occasionally of the larger species, such as lions, nerves, panthers and bears, nor was he free from the risk of robbers or predators hordes.
To meet these various foes the shepherds equipment consisted of the following articles: a mantle, made probably of sheep skin with the fleece on, which he turned inside out in cold weather, as implied in the comparison in; a scrip or wallet, containing a small amount of food, a sling, which is still the favorite weapon of the Bedouin shepherd, and lastly, a which served the double purpose of a weapon against foes and a crook for the management of the flock.

If the shepherd was at a distance from his home, he was provided with a light tent, the removal of which was easily effected.

The routine of the shepherds duties appears to have been as follows.

  In the morning he led forth his flock from the fold which he did by going before them and calling to them, as is still usual in the East; arrived at the pasturage he watched the flock with the assistance of dogs, and should any sheep stray, he had to search for it until he found it, he supplied them with water, either at a running stream or at troughs attached to wells, at evening he brought them back to the fold, and reckoned them to see that none were missing, by passing them "under the rod" as they entered the door of the enclosure checking each sheep, as it passed, by a motion of the hand, and, finally, he watched the entrance of the fold throughout the night, acting as porter.

The Jesus is our chief shepherd and he servers all the requirements and made all the necessary sacrifice for the sheep. He has shown us the perfect example how leadership should be done.

This teaching points to the fact that the life of Christian is the life of a sheep under the tutelage of a shepherd to become a perfect shepherd as he grows.

We are to be concern about the welfare and development of all entrusted to us its our life its our duty let's do it with all our life.

Look to the lord and learn and let your life be lived affecting the lives others.


John  10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The shepherds office thus required great watchfulness, particularly by night. It also required tenderness toward the young and feeble, particularly in driving them to and from the pasturage

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LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Matthew  5:14 
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  
5:15
 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  
5:16
 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Every day as believers we come across so many challenges in this world and this happenings can change the character of a believer if he is not grounded on the word.
We are to shine as light in this dark world not compromise with its system. The system of the world is a corrupted system which darkness rules over, but we are to shine as light. We are the light of the world just as light prevail over darkness so we are to prevail over the darkness in this world. The light reveals hidden secrets and exposes wickedness. We as light are positioned to reveal the hidden secrets of darkness by shining our light.

How do we shine our light? We shine our light by the life we are living on a daily basis, the character of God we display shows the world the light . When people look as us they see christ. Both in conduct and in words. The best way to shine our light is to live the christ life.

In our office let's be different in all ways when everyone is doing the wrong thing we are to be the shining light without compromise. In our schools in our classes let your light shine. In your place of business how you deal with people, shines the light. That neighborhood can only see the light if you let it shine. The apostles where called Christians because the light they carried was exactly the light christ carried around as a man.

You cannot be hidden, never! Light is never hidden, God has placed so much in us that all we need is to let the life of christ rule us and we live his life and the world will see this light. Let's make our immediate world a better place let's do it right no matter the challenges. Light never compromise with darkness it's either you are shining or not. They will only see your light by your good works. We live to show men the light we live to do the good work. We are the agent of true light. So shine and keep on shining.

Is your life shining the light that shows good work that can turn men from darkness to light? If not make a deliberate effort to shine your light the scripture says let your light shine it simply means it's left to you to shine your light or not.

the light is already in you so let it shine. Never allow the world dictates for you how you should live your life. The world will only lead you astray. We are a city upon a hill that cannot be hidden. We pour out this light to lighten the heart and the life of men. We heal the sick, deliver the oppressed set captives free, give men understanding and knowledge. We reign we shine with the preaching and practicing of this gospel.

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OVERCOMING TEMPTATION

Temptation is the trial of our Christian faith and believe system.  the testing of our core values and virtues. Both in words in action in character and in all ways of life. Temptation is also facing the probability of compromising the standard of the word of God.


James  1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  
 James  1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Firstly the tempter is the devil, let's not make the mistake of saying or thinking that God is the one tempting us with evil. Temptation are meant to make you doubt God and his word to draw you away from God's presence.  God cannot devise a medium to make us miserable and far from him.  The scripture refers to the devil as the tempter. He is all out looking for weakness in the life of the believer. The devil feeds on fear and weaknesses.

Matthew  4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

When a man is tempted he is shown his deepest desires and if his not well rooted he will fall away. The devil tempted jesus with food because he was hungry, what are the things you are easily attracted to these are the things the devil will bring your way.

To over come temptation work on your desires and never allow your desires have a greater hold on you. The scripture says walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Learn to submit to the will of the spirit and continue to be lead by the spirit this will kill the urges of fleshly lust.

And the anchor on which christ overcame was the word, anytime the devil showed Jesus a picture or a suggestion the reply was the word. For us to win and overcome we must make use of the word to counter every of the devils attacks. The word is our shield of protection and victory.

Finally rebuke the devil resist the urges say no to these desires and you will see yourself winning always. Learn to speak boldly to arrest and address the devil and he will flee when Jesus rebuked him after the third trial he left him. So also if you resist and rebuke he will leave.

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Does suffering guarantee success?

1 Thessalonians  5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

It is a wrong belief to think how well you're suffering now is a sign of how successful you will be tomorrow


If the rate of a man's suffering today is directly proportional to the rate of how successful he will be tomorrow then,

The most successful people today will be those who suffered most yesterday

This kind of belief only put limit on God and self...God never designed anyone to suffer

I know someone is already thinking up scriptures like Rom8:17,Phil.3:10, 1Pet.4:19 and so on....when you understand the intention of God for your life then you know the mind of God for your life. Some even go as far to think and testify that God used sickness to draw them closer. This kind of belief are wrong.

The most successful people today aren't those who necessarily suffered most yesterday,

But they are those who saw themselves as success yesterday even while suffering,

they accepted what the word of God says about them as their realities not the issue they go through,

They took the limit off God and began believing that with HIM all things are possible and began acting on what they believe

The fact Is a man can suffer all his life and never enjoy success because the state of his mind. I wrote in one of my post on change your thinking and change your life.

Your life move on the direction of your dominant thoughts. Yes suffering maybe there but don't just sit and hope soon it will turn but make efforts both in your work and in your mind to turn it around.

God bless you.
Faith initiative..............

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Knowing the truth about predestination

The doctrine of Predestination

The teaching about God’s ability to know something in advance or being ALL KNOWING GOD (Omniscience) and the possibility to have predestined or predetermined things on earth has led to several questions like:

since God knew Man was going to eat the forbidden fruit, why did He create the fruit? Or Since He knew man was going to the fall anyways, why the whole drama in Genesis 3? Why the regrets over man? And many questions in that line

I will not want to go any full details on Gen.3 because I have seen several explanations (explanations stretched beyond Bible), “personal rhema” and unproductive arguments on it.

but I will rather start my post by saying that “to simply say that God knows and predetermines everything in people’s lives” is a wrong interpretation of the doctrine of foreknowledge and predestination.

  This interpretation is not consistent with other doctrines in Scripture.

This belief that God has predetermined everything put limits on God because it makes man accept to fate.

Que sera sera – “what will be, will be” The truth is what will be don’t be unless you make it be what it should be.

If God predetermines everything that happens in a man’s lives, then everything that happens to a man is God’s will for him which includes sin, poverty, suffering, sickness, etc.

If we believe every single thing that happens has been predetermined, then what’s the point of doing anything? why seek God? why go to church? Why don’t just sit at home and watch Tv? Why should we pray? Whatever you do must have been predetermined, it’s the will of God and it will come to pass anyhow

Since the sickness has been predetermined, why seek medical attention? To fight God’s will?

I believe in God’s foreknowledge and predestination because scriptures say so, but not the way it is generally interpreted.

 One scripture that has been used to support the teaching on foreknowledge and predestination is

Rom 8:29 which says “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,” KJV

From the verse above, first thing noted here is “FOR WHOM He did foreknow” not “FOR ALL He did foreknow” a simpler translation says “FOR THOSE (not for all) He foreknew” In other words, those foreknew here are the believers.

 God knew the believers who would accept His offer of salvation in advance before they actually did. So, God has infinite ability to know our choices in advance
Scriptures says

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” Eph.1:4. 

You also note this verse that, it is those He foreknew, He predetermined. Which means foreknowledge is sequel to predestination.

 So, our proper understanding of foreknowledge gives us proper understanding of Predestination.

Haven established that, let me also note here that, although God has infinite ability to know our choices in advance, scriptures also reveal that there are some things God want to get full proof of to be sure.

In Gen 18:20 – 19:29, God had to send two Angels to go inspect Sodom and Gomorrah to see if their actions were really bad as He was told. It means He didn’t know.

 After God tested Abraham in Gen.22, He said, for now I KNOW that thou fearest God. It was Abraham’s act that made God know how much he fears Him

In 1Sam.15:11, the Lord REPENTED for choosing Saul to be king WHEN HE SAW THE WAY HE TURNED OUT. So, God didn’t know how Saul will turn out.or wasn't sure Saul could turn out like this.

Twice in the book of Jeremiah, God said the fact that people would offer their children as sacrifices to demon gods NEVER CAME TO HIS MIND (Jeremiah 19:5 and 32:35) There are some things that Himself said He had never foreseen. There are many more examples in scriptures. There are things that men did that God never expected them to go that far either good or bad.

Let me note here that although God has the ability to know everything in advance, He probably didn’t choose to exercise that ability in every situation.

Therefore, God was probably really surprised that Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden tree.

Of course, God knew there would be a transgression and a need for redemption before man was created, that’s why we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, however obviously, God didn’t utilize His foreknowledge to the level of knowing every move that man was making.

There’s no reason for this, but certainly If He does use His foreknowledge, it will hinder His relationship with man.

Let me conclude t with this, since He told us to be wise concerning that which is good and simple (innocent) concerning that which is evil (Rom.16:19) and also said we should think (focus) on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, He desires us to be this way then that must be the way He is, then because of His love He would rather focus on the good part so much to consider man falling at the end of the day.

I hope this blessed you?

Faith initiative...........

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IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

Matthew  13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Its one thing to hear the word and be happy even excited at the point of hearing it. But the most important thing is to understand what you have just heard or read.
This is the reason a lot of believers are unproductive in their Christian life they run with a shallow knowledge.

When you hear the word there is a need to sit down allow the word to gain root and develop in your spirit. Never run your life with half truth because half truth cannot carry you for long.

Sometimes when you read the word wait for the lord to give you full knowledge and understanding of what he has said. When a preacher bring you God's word go home sit down and allow the word to gain ground.

When you don't understand the word you will not gain from the word. When you recieve the word with understanding it produces according to its capacity.

The devil steals from believers who don't understand the word because the word has not root in their life, you have to go beyond recitation to full meditation of the word.

Acts  8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?  8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.


You need the help of the spirit to gain understanding of the word you also need a patient spirit to sit down to learn and unlearn in order to gain knowledge and understanding. God has placed teachers in the church helping you understand be ready to learn so you don't loose the one you have already.

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