As a Man Thinketh So Is He

For the past several months I have been meditating upon the profound effect our thought life has on our actions, attitudes, behaviors and ultimately those around us. James Allen (2007) in his book “as a man thinketh so is he” puts it this way:

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth.”

In keeping with this analogy of our mind being a garden, it behooves us to be vigilant in ensuring that we do not allow weeds (hate, envy, doubt and anger) to grow out of control.  We must dig out all the useless and impure thoughts and cultivate the growth of flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts (James Allen, 2007).

Ensuring that the garden of our mind is well cultivated is imperative to our success in rearing well-adjusted children and in propelling them to the door of their destiny.  We must not allow the weed of negative thinking affect how we see our children.  We cannot allow our children’s’ persistent negative actions and behavior cause us to develop doubts in their abilities to succeed.  Proverbs 23:7 tells us that “as a man thinketh in his heart so is he”.  If we think that they will not succeed then they won’t.  We must plant seeds of hope, faith and unconditional love.  Saint Paul tells us in Romans 2:12 : That we should “not be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.

Let us renew our minds, by getting rid of doubts, replacing it with faith, getting rid of impatience, replacing it with patience, getting rid of failure and replacing it with success.  As we embark upon this week let us be cognizant of the thoughts we are cultivating in our minds.  May God help us to keep the garden of our minds spiritually cultivated.

In His Service,

Paula Watson (Guest Writer)

A PERFECT HEART

 Did you realize that God is looking for people whose their heart is “perfect” towards Him?  II Chronicles 16:9a  For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of [them] whose heart [is] perfect toward him.

This passage occurs during the reign of King Asa the third King in Judah, the grandson of Solomon.  Asa had a heart of worship and was one of the godliest and dedicated King of Judah.  When he became king he sought to destroy all the idols that were in Judah.  This was pleasing to God and Asa was blessed as God delivered Him from his enemies.  Asa had peace for most of his reign.  Asa’s heart was “perfect” towards God.  
In the latter part of his reign, Asa’s heart turned away from God, when he sought advice from the King of Assyria concerning the war.  His decision was a foolish one and was henced faced with war for the rest of his reign- the very thing he wanted to avoid.  II Chronicles 16 9c - Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

God is looking for those with a “perfect” heart toward Him.  The word “perfect” here does not mean sinless, instead it means a renewed heart that is loyal and obedient to God.  Being loyal means that regardless of what is going on in our life, we will remain firm in our trust and belief of God and His word.  We will seek to always advance His cause above ours.  In addition being obedient to God involves total obedience to everything that God requires of us.  We cannot choose to be obedient to the things that we like or the ones that seem easy to do and then discard the requests that we do not like or seem more difficult to keep.

 A heart that is perfect is always in pursuit of God to serve Him whole heartedly not partially.  In other words it is a God-chaser kind of a heart.  God is seeking for those who in our obedience will love our neighbors as we love ourselves, regardless of color, age or financial status.  He is looking for people who will be willing to forgive, who will have compassion for the lost and down-trodden.  God is looking to and fro for people who will take the good news of what Jesus Christ has done according to Isaiah 61:1-3 – bind broken hearted, set captives free, comfort those that mourn, give beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness

As mothers we are not exempt, we need to also seek out other mothers and children less fortunate than we are and extend to them this good news.  They need to know that they do not have to remain in captivity by their situation, and staying in self- imposed prisons when the doors were already left wide open by Jesus Christ.  We need to let them know that the shackles of shame, depression and low self -esteem have all been loosed and they are no longer bound.

Remember that God wants to show His-self strong on our behalf.  He wants to be there to fight our battles, to walk with us when we go through many difficult situations, and when the need arises to carry us.  Will you be that person that God is looking for?

In His service

Vilma

The Privillege of Abiding In Christ

I have on numerous occasions talked about and encourage us to go boldly to the throne of God with our petitions.  I have no doubt in my mind that God does answer our prayers, whether it is yes, no or wait.  I would like to add another scripture for consideration as we make our request to God.  John 15:7 states- If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

In the preceding verses of this chapter John states that Jesus Christ is the True Vine and we are the branches and encourages us to abide in the vine so that we will bear much fruit.  Not only will we bear much fruit but as so clearly put in verse 7   If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

As Christians most of us know the importance of reading the Bible, but unfortunately quite a number of us do not understand the importance of abiding in the Word and allowing the word to abide in us.  

The word Abide in the Greek translation has several meanings- intensive, to remain in a place instead of leaving it, to be true to, perseverance in continuing to do something, and constant residence.  So, abiding in His word means that we stay put, or remain in place instead of leaving out.  To abide in His word means that we keep pressing on even when it gets difficult or we get weary.  Abiding in His word also means that we stay true to the word regardless of what may be happening in our lives and regardless of what others do with the word.  Abiding in Christ means to live in Christ, it is a life of commitment.  Getting our prayers answered is a privilege of abiding in the Word.  The indwelling of God’s word in us would secure the harmony of us asking with His divine will.  So abiding is more than mere words, it is essentially an action- Stop saying and start doing!

In His Service,

Vilma

LIFE AND PRIORITY

Today we will look at 2 very important words LIFE and PRIORITY
The word priority has many definitions; the following are some that I would like us to consider.

•       Something or somebody perceived as most important.

•        Precedence in date and position.

 •        State of quality.

                                                 •         The life or heart of a matter.

Today I would like us to look at a familiar scripture John 9:1-9 as we discuss this crucial topic of LIFE and PRIORITY.  In this passage we find the disciples asking Jesus about this blind man and questioning if someone did something wrong that may have caused his condition.  As I reflected on this line of questioning I cannot help but think of how this sound like some of us at times.  Whenever something goes wrong with us or our children, we start checking our records, wondering what we may have done wrong.  I would like to suggest, that we should instead recognize and admit that we all thrive by God`s sovereign mercy and not our good deeds, all our so called good deeds put together are not enough to afford the breath of life for one second.  It is by grace that we are sustained.

Jesus’ answer was very simple that this man’s blindness happened so that the glory of God could be made manifest.  Several things may have happened in your life and that of your children’s lives that left you wondering, ‘surely God!’  I will not tell you I understand because I do not, but I trust that if He says it is for His glory, we should keep moving until we see His glory come to pass.

After Jesus made this clear He directs the disciples` attention to the important matter of the day, in other words what the PRIORITY really was- to heal the man.  When we consume time researching for answers that are only known and hidden in God, we forfeit the blessing that could be ours to enjoy now, so why not just leave it to Him. 

Jesus continued to tell them that they must do the work of God, while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work.  We must face this long avoided reality that we are just passing through this world, we are not residents, we are ambassadors on duty, when our time is done we will go home.  You do not want to work in your night, it is frustrating, maximize your day and make sure your time which keeps moving, matches your priorities and assignment.

Why should we prioritize in life?

•  We are created for a purpose – in Ephe. 2:10 the apostle Paul admonishes the church in Ephesus that we are on earth for a purpose, and that purpose is to do good works that God Himself ordained for us before the world began.  So no matter how we were conceived, and the circumstances that surrounded our upbringing, we have a purpose in God, well planned and thought by His predestination.  This takes precedence in our life’s priorities, find your purpose in God and fulfill it, you are not created to simply be a statistic on earth. 

•        Life is not a rehearsal – immediately conception takes place, life begins, and there is no minute that passes after this, that can be repeated.  We cannot afford to ignore the fact that, when it comes to things in life like; music, poems, exams etc, you may have time to rehearse for it, repeat and even postpone, but life, age, time, seasons and dispensations do not repeat, with that in mind, dare to prioritize and focus you attention on that which is important and of eternal value.

Life under the sun is characterized by various aches and pains that are normal because we are human; seasons and times of happiness and some of  sadness, why not give your self, time, and energy to those things that are worth the pain! (Ecc. 3:1).

•        The human nature – (Rom. 7:15), many of us have struggles with the issue of knowing and planning what we want to do.  It is in the human nature to want to follow its dictates which are carnal and worse still, enmity to God.  There is no single day you will wake up and the flesh wants to follow your priorities, it will always want to do what pleases and feeds it`s craving for the moment and excuse itself from the consequences later, or even blame it on someone or something else.  We have to wake up every morning and follow our priority list, because we know that our biggest enemy to the discipline of fulfilling destiny lives with us daily – ME, MYSELF & I.  But those that are led by the Spirit are sons of God, you are freely given the Spirit of a sound mind, you have what it takes and you can do it!

•        We have an enemy – The devil will at no time be happy with you because you woke up and decided to accomplish destiny.  He actually does everything within his reach to keep you busy in life but on zero dispositions, it is one thing to be busy in life, and another to actually be effective.  The greater percentage of the people around you may not applaud you when you decide to move forward, you must be ready to be offended and offend people, if you are  to stick to life`s priorities.  You do not want the enemy and haters to simply see your flames (busy), you want them to feel your heat (impact).

What hinders life`s priorities?

•        Ignorance – (Prov. 4:7) to set goals in life and stick to them, you must love, value, seek, and apply knowledge.  Wisdom is a shelter, and the advantage of wisdom is that it protects the life of its possessor, (Ecc 7:12).

•        Disobedience - (Isa. 30:9-11) many times in life we tend to love those who tell us what we want to hear, and avoid God when He brings up topics that are calling us to prioritize our life and what we do with it.  You must love both the promises and the instructions of God even when they do not feel soothing, no one succeeded by feeling nice, everything you see growing, somebody daily takes the pains of the maturation processes.

Yours in Christ,

Jennifer Ikonne (Guest Writer)