2 Chronicles 18:4

Ahab and Jehoshaphat were sitting together. They were friends, and they were kings of two neighbouring kingdoms, Israel and Judah, which lived at peace for quite some time. The two kings had a good time together. Then Ahab came up with a suggestion: They could do something together, something a bit adventurous, something that he would have liked to do since the longest while: go to Ramoth in Gilead and re-conquer it from the Syrians. Gilead is east of Jordan, and Ramoth is on the border between Syria and Israel. At the time it belonged to Syria. Jehoshaphat is willing to go with him and to form an alliance with him. Ahab is in the swing and in the mood, just to go. Jehoshaphat however cautions not to jump head over heels into such an adventure.
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GodÂ’s Sure Promises

Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33

Jesus’ words are lasting. What a wonderful assurance! Have you ever thought of that when you considered some of the messages contained in scripture? Do you give it a thought when you consider his promises? Are you ever conscious then of what 2 Cor.1:20 says of him? “For all the promises of God in him are ‘Yea’; and in him are ‘Amen’.” Therefore reflect on some of his promises to you in the new assurance that such promises will not pass away, nor return to him void. (See Isa.55:11)

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MARRIAGE IS A JOINING TOGETHER

I never considered myself to be good at maths but at least I knew enough to get me through the high school academic qualifications. Even if you know how to do the basic addition, it calls for some measure of thinking in the equation of MARRIAGE where 1 + 1= 1. How can an individual come together with another individual and in the process, not two but one be seen. That is a mystery that only could have been birthed in the mind of God. And so as we conclude this month looking at MARRIAGE, for our FF today we ponder: MARRIAGE IS A JOINING TOGETHER.

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You Shall Speak

No matter what excuses you have Moses, “You shall speak”. The Lord’s command was in response to what appeared to be Moses’ reluctance to go to Pharaoh for the release of his fellowmen from captivity. What caused his reluctance? Was it more than just that he had “uncircumcised lips” (16:30)? Was it the past that drove fear into him when he recognised that he had to confront the Pharaoh? Or was it the fear of disbelief by his own people (4:1ff)?

Moses was honest in expressing his fears before God and to himself. He recognised his inadequacy or shortcomings. Honesty of this nature will always open the door for experiencing GodÂ’s power in our earthen vessels (2 Cor 4:7). This honesty ought to lead us, servants of God, to greater dependency on the LordÂ’s supreme authority and power given to us either directly or through help from co-workers as we face the challenges in ministry.
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Remember the Poor and Needy among You!

Deut. 15: 7 Do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbour.

I greet you from the lovely Pearl Lagoon, Nicaragua. Thanks for your prayers during last weekÂ’s Evangelistic Campaign in Bluefields. The Lord was truly present and blessed his people in a mighty way.

Today’s text speaks of our treatment of the less fortunate among us. As it is, it speaks for itself. However there is greater meaning to grasp if we look at it in its entirety. The verse in it’s entirety says ‘if there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother.’ The entire section of this chapter deals with the cancellation of debts. This was to be done every seven years and was being instituted as a way to help the poor. No one should seek any loopholes, any underhanded escape, when it came to helping the poor and needy. It is therefore a direct command on the way we are to treat the poor among us. A few things to think about:

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The Grace Of The Eternal God

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Rev.1:8

God here declares himself as eternal and from the beginning. He was there at the creation with the invitation “Let us make man in our own image”. He was there throughout the history of the children of Israel, when they could gladly say, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side!” He was there in Jesus Christ on earth. He is here in the Holy Spirit sustaining and guiding us daily. He is the one who is to return to claim those who walk in his way. He is the first and the last. He is truly here throughout time. But what does that mean to me or you?

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MARRIAGE IS DESIRE-DRIVEN

Some years ago I lived in New Jersey and how well do I remember that first winter. There was a blizzard which left the whole of the East coast of the United States under several feet of snow. Although that was not my first taste of winter weather, it was the first time experiencing the season in full since I was not just on vacation but living now in that part of the USA. I remember it started to get a bit chilly in October, then it dropped a few more degrees in November and even lower in December. By the end of February IÂ’d just about had enough. At first it was exciting to see snow fall but now the freezing cold was getting to me and for the first time in long time I understood being home sick and just wanting to get back to the Caribbean. Anywhere in the Caribbean would do. My longing for some warm weather fuelled my DESIRE to head South. For our FF for today as we continue looking at MARRIAGE, I want us to ponder on MARRIAGE IS DESIRE-DRIVEN. Continue reading "MARRIAGE IS DESIRE-DRIVEN"

That I May Know Him

Paul wrote: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.
Philippians 3:10

That I May Know Him

Having experienced salvation through faith in Christ, the Apostle Paul expressed a deep desire to know Christ. With all his credentials, social status and knowledge (3:4-6) he considered all these things as nothing (dung) compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (v.8b).

For Paul, it would not suffice just to have a saving knowledge of Christ or to know he has been saved. He expressed a desire to know which the Greek word indicates as having a personal knowledge. It is not simply an intellectual knowledge of certain facts or principles about someone. This was the deep desire of one who has been saved, who enjoyed the full conviction that his sins were forgiven and that he was in Christ, whop wants to experience more. It is only the regenerated and saved person who can feel such a desire, “That I may know Him”, deep, deepen longing for a personal experience. Apostle aimed to know Him as being in Him. Such desire of this knowledge is inspired by the consciousness – not elaborated by the intellect. It rises up from within, from the experiences the saved one enjoys in union with Christ and the righteousness of God that he/she has through faith in God.

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Get Your Praises Up!

When we look at the Covenant with Abraham, we see where God promised specific territory to him and his children after him. This was a Covenant based purely on the Grace of God. It was unconditional. There was nothing Abraham needed to do to be a recipient of this covenant, neither His children. It did not depend on them, but on the graceful, merciful, giving action of God. The psalmist then points out the many acts of God from the moment the Covenant is given to Abraham to the moment the children of Israel enters the Promised Land. It is noteworthy that the Psalmist focuses only on what God did, not on the sinful mistakes of the people, as many as they were. It certifies to us then friends that GodÂ’s grace is constantly available to us not because of us, but because of God. His mercy and pardon is applied to our lives not at our discretion or at the discretion of others, but through his tender compassionate love towards us. When all our earthly goods, our possessions then can be taken from us, GodÂ’s love, through which his mercy and grace flows into us, will always be available to us. None can take it away from us nor destroy it.



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Your Branch Or GodÂ’s Command?

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for God who has promised is faithful. Heb.10:23

This thought of exercising faith without wavering, although repeated in scripture, is more easily preached than practiced. Jesus frequently said, in the presence of his disciples, “Thy faith has made thee whole”. Yet, when they though that they were in peril, he had to say to them, “Where is your faith?” Practising faith is challenging. Consider the story of a lone mountain climber.

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MARRIAGE IS TRANSPARENT

I grew up in a village where you were first introduced to swimming in a pond. I remember how different it was swimming at the beach (one of the many 365 in Antigua – just had to plug that in). And of course the first time I went into a swimming pool was also a new experience. There are many differences if you were to compare the water in the pond to that at the beach or in the pool. But the one thing that struck me was in pond you couldn’t see anything under the water whereas in the other two you can. One was TRANSPARENT allowing you to see through to the bottom while the other was all brown and you couldn’t even see your feet to know what you were stepping on. Last week we reflected on MARRIAGE IS PERMANENT. Today’s FF continues a similar path by calling us to consider MARRIAGE IS TRANSPARENT. Continue reading "MARRIAGE IS TRANSPARENT"

"This is the Lord's Doing"

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the LordÂ’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. Psalm 118: 22-23

“This is the Lord’s Doing"

The Saviour is pictured as a discarded stone that is then reused as the most significant stone of all, the Chief Cornerstone. This potent imagery depicts JesusÂ’ rejection by many. The prophet Isaiah prophesied this: He was despised and rejected by men (53:3a); and Mark has it recorded that Jesus predicted His own rejection as the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejectedÂ… (8:31b).
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YOU HAVE A SHEPHERD!

Micah 5: 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD.

The prophet Micah is one of a group of prophets who are known as the Minor Prophets. The name Micah means ‘who is like Jehovah’ and proves that this prophet was a servant of the one true God, the God of Israel. He prophesied during the same time as Isaiah, and in fact confirmed predictions made by Isaiah.

Having pointed out how low the house of David would sink, the prophet now turns attention to the hope of Israel and indeed all people which would be found in the birth of the messiah. Micah points out that this ruler has been in existence for all times. However he would come as a human being, born in Bethlehem Ephrathah. Mi. 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Continue reading "YOU HAVE A SHEPHERD!"

The Promise To The Righteous

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. Psalm 146:8

Beginning at verse 5 of this Psalm the writer speaks of the activity of God in the lives of his people. He outlines some of the things God does for those who are in need of special help. When we look at JesusÂ’ life on earth we see the type of activity of which the Psalmist speaks. Jesus dared to reach out to bring healing, either by touch or by word, to many around him. The Psalmist goes on to say that persons who experience such intervention by God are happy. Indeed all those persons who were healed by Jesus went away rejoicing. So the Psalm gives assurance that the righteous are loved and will be helped by the Lord, whatever their condition may be.

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MARRIAGE IS PERMANENT

He goes down on his knees, takes a small box from his pocket, and with the gaze that betrays his heat that is nervously excited, he looks her direct into the eyes, and asks the question she’s always dreamt of hearing coming from her beloved knight: ‘will you marry me?’ These words having not quite fully left his lips, the tears were already rushing to her eyes. She covers her mouth to muffle the excited scream she knows is rising from deep down inside her and through the sobs of joy and out of this world excitement she exclaims ‘yes!’ not just once or twice but what seems like eternity.
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