Double up. Bring in reinforcements

Sometimes you need somebody to agree with you in prayer; somebody who knows how to stand on God’s Word and intercede with Him for your finances, your children, your marriage, etc. James had just been executed and Herod was planning to kill Peter in the morning. Now, you’d think Peter would have been up all night praying, but he wasn’t. The Bible says he was sleeping (Acts 12:6). Where did he get that kind of faith? The Bible says: ‘The church was earnestly praying to God for him’ (Acts 12:5 NIV).

Any time you can sleep in the face of danger and experience grace in the midst of chaos, it’s one of two things:
1) You know God well, you’re standing on His promises and you’ve handed the situation over to Him. 2) Somebody is praying for you, somebody with ‘clout’ in the heavenly realm.
Notice, the church didn’t say, ‘If Peter was in God’s will, he wouldn’t be in this mess right now,’ or ‘Since Peter’s in jail, who’s going to preach for us next Sunday?’ No, while they were praying in faith for a breakthrough, God was at work on the other side of the city dispatching an angel to set Peter free. That’s how prayer works. John Wesley said, ‘We can do great things when we pray; but we can do nothing great until we pray!’ Do you feel like your prayers aren’t getting the job done? Double up. Bring in reinforcements! Find somebody who’ll agree with you, for Jesus said, ‘”If two of you…agree about anything…it will be done for you…”‘ Matt. 18:19
http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

till next time people,
easy does it

…life can be plain impossible sometimes…

It doesn’t have to be, so take a minute to read this, and think about it, enjoy your day, wont you?

…Making Jesus Lord of your life

‘I am crucified with Christ.’ Galatians 2:20

Paul writes: ‘I am crucified with Christ…’ Those words are about as appealing as a root canal, to our carnal minds. Yet God’s kingdom can only come and His will be done in us, when self is ‘crucified.’ In what areas of your life are you hearing the hammering of the nails? Those are the un-surrendered areas; they’re the ones that give you the most trouble, right? Paul addresses the struggle between the flesh and the spirit that we all face daily: ‘Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good – crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives…’ (Galatians 5:24-25 TM). What does it mean to be ‘crucified with Christ?’ In Tell Me Again, Lord, I Forget, Ruth Calkin writes: ‘At first, Lord, I asked you to take sides with me. With the Psalmist I prayed, “The Lord is for me…maintain my rights, O Lord.” But with all my pleading I lay drenched in darkness, until in total surrender I cried, “Don’t take sides, Lord, just take over,” and suddenly it was morning.’ It’s said that one day Martin Luther answered a knock at his door. ‘Does Dr. Martin Luther live here?’ a man asked. ‘No,’ Luther answered, ‘He died; Christ lives here.’ Your rights, your ego and your comfort levels, no longer matter. You say, ‘What does?’ Dying to self, and making Jesus Lord of your life!

Till next time,
easy does it (smile)

Next Experience at the Rouge, here’s a poem

Still I Rise

by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

till next time,
easy does it (smile)

Taking personal responsibility (2)

Another dose of the Word to get us through the day, I hope you’re encouraged

‘Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…’ 1 Peter 4:10

Each time you make a responsible decision, you become a more responsible person. Successful people don’t blame others, they take responsibility for their actions and attitudes. They show response-ability – the ability to choose a correct response no matter what situation they face. Responsibility is always a choice, and only you can make it. If being responsible hasn’t been one of your strengths, then start small. You can’t start from any place other than where you are right now. Which areas of responsibility are the toughest for you? 1) Following through; taking responsibility to finish what you start? If you’ve a tendency to quit, give yourself relatively small goals that require you to stretch. Start in areas you care about deeply, then with a few wins under your belt, begin tackling other areas. 2) Taking care of the small stuff? How often do you forget small things – that are big things to others? Like forgetting anniversaries and birthdays, not picking up the dry cleaning or taking out the rubbish, missing your child’s game or play. ‘Let your light shine…that they may see your good works and glorify your Father…’ (Matthew 5:16). 3) Stepping forward; not expecting someone else to do it for you? Most of us have a tough decision that’s waiting to be made, and we keep putting it off. What’s yours? Why aren’t you taking action? Write down the reasons, so you understand clearly what they are. Now write down the advantages of making the decision. Once you know in your heart what you should do, ask God for strength, do it, and stand by it. That’s taking personal responsibility!
http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

How’s that left you feeling?
Till next time,
easy does it.

Taking personal responsibility (1)

A good place to start would be to read the book of Proverbs, chapter 12, the ninth verse is the center of this message, enjoy.

To display the kind of responsibility that makes you successful in life:
1) Recognize that gaining success means practicing self-discipline. Every time you stop yourself from doing what you shouldn’t and start doing what you should, you’re increasing your capacity for responsibility and the rewards it brings.

2) What you start, finish. There are two kinds of people: those who will and those who might. Responsible people follow through. And that’s how others evaluate them.

3) Don’t expect others to do it for you. Paul writes: ‘…each one should carry his own load’ (Galatians 6:5 NIV).
Addressing students at the University of South Carolina, Chief Judge Alexander M Saunders said, ‘As responsibility is passed to your hands it will not do to assume that someone else will bear the major burdens, that someone else will demonstrate the key convictions, that someone else will run for office, take care of the poor, visit the sick, protect civil rights, enforce the law, transmit value, and defend freedom. What you do not value will not be valued, what you do not remember will not be remembered, what you do not change will not be changed, what you do not do will not be done. You can, if you will, craft a society whose leaders…are less obsessed with the need for money. It’s not a question of what to do, but simply the will to do it.’ Sometimes we don’t take responsibility because we believe others are more qualified. No, those who make a difference in life, don’t do so because they’re the best qualified, but simply because they decided to try. Plus: God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called
http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

Lately I don’t say much, I read a bit more, so the middle ground for me would be to share what I get my hands on from time to time with you,
till next time,
easy does it (smile)

…In and Out of time…

written by Maya Angelou… I hope you enjoy it as much as I do (smile)

The sun has come
the mists have gone
we see in the distance
our long way home

I was always yours to have
you were always mine
we have loved each other
in and out of time

When the first stone looked up at the blazing sun
and the first tree struggled up from the forest floor
I have always loved you more

You freed your braids
gave your hair to the breeze
it hung like a hive of honey bees

I reached in the mass
for the sweet honeycomb there
Hah
God how I loved your hair

You saw me bludgeoned by circumstance
lost, injured, hurt by chance

I screamed to the Heavens
loudly screamed
trying to change our nightmares
into dreams

The sun has come
the mists have gone
we see in the distance
our long way home

I was yours to have
and you were always mine
we loved each other
in and out, in and out, in and out of time

What’s the plan for sunday?

Hope this gets you thinking (smile)

See you in church on Sunday!     21 Nov 2008
‘…Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Psalm 122:1
What’s your reason for not going to church? Before you answer, read Ten Reasons Why I Never Wash!
1) I was forced to wash as a child
2) people who wash are all hypocrites; they think they are cleaner than everyone else
3) there are so many different kinds of soap; I just can’t decide which one is best for me
4) I used to wash, but I got bored and stopped doing it
5) I only wash on special occasions like Christmas and Easter
6) none of my friends wash
7) I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier
I don’t have time to wash
9) the bathroom is never warm enough in winter or cool enough in summer 10) the people who make soap are only after your money!

Sound familiar? Speaking of the church, Paul writes: ‘…there should be no division…its parts should have equal concern for each other…each one of you is a part of it’ (1 Corinthians 12:25-27 NIV). You are part of Christ’s body, the church, so you need to be there! Watchman Nee says, ‘Alone I cannot serve the Lord effectively, and he will spare no pains to teach me this. He will bring things to an end, allowing doors to close and leaving me effectively knocking my head against a wall until I realise that I need the help of the body, as well as of the Lord.’ There are truths taught in God’s house that you won’t hear anywhere else. There you’ll find a spiritual family to belong to, a faith to live by, and a focus that gets your eyes where they should be; on Christ! So, see you in Church on Sunday!

reference http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

drat…

I’ve got tests this weekend and I’ve barely prepared for them, Then Obama is this close to being pronounced President of the United States, the enigma that is Morris is touching down at the airport as I type….sheesh,the tension is all over, oh bummer!
Easy does it