Authority

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you."
Romans 13:1-3 (NIV)

This is a tough teaching I must say. Submitting to authority as God requires. What does it mean to submit to authority? And who is Authority anyway? Well, authority is anyone who has an administrative role over us or someone who exercises leadership over us. This could be an employer, a team leader or a mentor. It could also mean the president, the members of parliament and so on.
Submitting to authority means to yield to the authority that is above you. Meaning that you respect them, and really strive to do as you are told.
God's word clearly states that all authority is established by God and God expects us to respect and obey authority. Do you ever find yourself in conflict with your boss a lot? Then listen to him, he probably has a point. It is good to follow the rules and requirements set out by authority, then there will be no need to fear or to constantly feel like the radar is on you! Do the right thing always!

Blessings!

Transformed

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual (or reasonable) act of worship.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The only reasonable thing we can do when we think of what God has done for us-reconciling us to himself through Jesus Christ- is to offer ourselves to him wholly and totally. This is our spiritual act of worship. Offering ourselves to him means that we give ourselves entirely to him: our service is to be for him…everything we do or engage in should be for him.

As we offer our bodies, we are to be careful not to allow our lives/lifestyles to be shaped by the patterns (attitudes, thought processes, concerns, ways) of this world. It’s easy to let our lives be shaped by how the world thinks. I mean, we are in the world. We are influenced by it! It’s easy to do or think as the world does.

How can we avoid the patterns of this world? Well, God’s word. As we read, study, meditate on, listen to God’s word…it sinks into our minds and hearts such that we are able to do exactly what God wants us to do. It will be easy to know and distinguish the pattern of this world and what God thinks. As we engage ourselves daily in God’s word we are continuously transformed. Our thinking processes are changed. We begin to think as God wants us to think. God’s word shapes our thinking processes.

The key is to offer ourselves daily to God and to allow his word to transform us.

Loving God II

"Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" Deut 7:9 (KJV translation)

Loving God is easy, very easy indeed. All through life we look for someone we can fully rely on, someone who will guarantee us that they will be there for us no matter what, someone who will accept us just as we are, someone who will stick till the end. We look for promise keepers.
God's attributes are many, we cant possibly exhaust his character! Few of the ones mentioned in the above scripture include:

• Faithfulness
• he keeps his covenants, his agreements
• He is constantly merciful
• He is constantly Loving
• He is consistent

Faithfulness: steadfast in affection or allegiance, loyalty. God is faithful!! Steadfast in affection, always loyal to his covenant with his people. This is exactly what we human beings look for! Someone who will stick by us no matter what!!!
Merciful: forgiving, showing compassion. God is very compassionate. He will not overlook your suffering or your heart of repentance. He is moved by these. Many times we meet people we would categorize as mean, or without compassion! Ever found yourself asking yourself, "Why cant this person see that am suffering?" Well, God sees. He is moved.
Isn't this reason enough to trust and fully rely on God. He is exactly what we need, exactly what our hearts crave for. Love in its truest form! We, therefore can love God and obtain the blessings that come with it.

Choose today to enjoy loving God as He loves you!

Loving God

Matthew 22:37-38

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."

Loving the Lord is a beautiful thing. It is a life full of peace, joy and rest. Tough times will definitely come, but this love will keep us glued to Him with hope and faith.
To love God with All your heart, means being genuine about loving him and letting it come from the depths of your heart. Not out of being forced by your friends, your peers, your pastors etc. It should stem from the depths of your heart. This means that you must make a decision to love God from within. Loving God with our emotions is also not a bad thing! So do not be afraid of crying when praying, or laughing when God does something that makes you happy. Our thoughts are als0 a part of us. we should really love God with our thoughts. This means thinking the right thoughts, thoughts that please God.

John 14:21

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
Remember to obey the Lord in all you do. Obedience is a great key for God revealing himself to us! It is our expression of our love to God.

Be blessed!

Love..

"Love is patient, 
love is kind. 
It does not envy, 
it does not boast, 
it is not proud. 
It is not self-seeking, 
it is not easily angered, 
it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil 
but rejoices with the truth. 
It always protects, 
always trusts, 
always hopes,  
always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Faith

'Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.'
'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him'
Hebrews 11:1,6 (New International Version)

Faith..one of the easiest yet hardest things to comprehend and even do! Faith is believing. Believing then seeing. We should be able to believe in the promises of God, that what He promises in His word will come to pass in our lives. We must believe that God exists. We must believe that God loves us. We must believe that God's plans for us are for good and not evil. The hardest time to believe some of the things I have mentioned above is when we are facing trials, hard times, challenges or even when things are not going according to our plans. Trusting that God has the best in store for us despite everything, can be a task.

But I believe that practicing faith is a daily thing since we don't wake up one morning and we have faith!
 It grows daily. Day in day out we must decide that we are going to have faith in God and in His promises. Everyday, make a decision to really believe. Memorize a verse and every day believe it. And you will see it come to pass.

Faith Touches God's heart in a big way! It pleases Him. Are you looking for a way to please God? Your actions won't do..your Faith will definitely please him.

Amen

Afraid?

1 Timothy 1:7
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."
(New Living Translation)

If you are God's child, there is no reason why you should be filled with fear. If you find yourself fearful, realize that it is not from God but from the enemy. The enemy's job description is to Steal, Kill and Destroy (John 10:10) To steal your joy, peace, confidence; To kill your morale, to destroy you! Therefore, anytime you feel fearful, intimidated, worried and timid, remember that this is not from God.
God has already given us the Spirit of Power(boldness, influence), of love and of self-discipline (other versions say sound mind). Instead, you should ask yourself, "Where has the Spirit of power, love and self-discipline disappeared to coz God has given them to me?"
We should be confident enough to know that God has our best interests at heart and he has good plans for us. We may pass through the waters, but he will safely bring us to the other side.
This should be our antidote for fear. That God has given us power, love and sound mind to live through each day.

Blessings!

Character Development..

^"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires."
Galatians 5:22-24 (Amplified Bible)
If you want to assess your character, the above is a summary of what good character entails. Many times we focus so much on our outward appearance more than what is on the inside-which is of more importance. True test of character is whether we are loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, faithful, good, humble and self-controlled when the world around us is the opposite of these.When a collegue in your office seems to irritate you every waking minute, how do you react? When your spouse accuses you or rebukes you, how do you respond? Is it lovingly accepting your mistakes or honestly explaining yourself to them or do you give them silent treatment for days hoping that that is punishment enough for the mistakes done? When someone shoves you in the streets as you are walking, what is the first thing that comes out of your mouth? and many more instances!
Well, we should really evaluate ourselves and allow God to spread the love through us. Its not easy, but it is definately possible!! The world is a better place with alot more love in the air!
Blessings!

How do you keep your cool despite the un-cool around you?

Jeremiah 17:7-8
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fail to bear fruit."

Trust in the Lord always. He is as real as the trees you see and touch everyday. How do you trust him when every of your faculty screams for your attention and causes you to worry? Do your best and then leave the rest to Him. He will come through for you in amazing ways. When you surrender to Him, you will still be strong and will continue to bear fruit...at home, in the work place, in school, wherever! Infact, when you keep your cool, you'll find people telling you often, that you look like you don't have any problems. But only you and the Lord know better!
Trust Him today, and let His waters quench you with amazing rest and tranquility!

Be blessed!